2024 update 9/52
This week has been stressful again (with poor sleep again) as we were finalizing paperwork and proposal for my job. The deadline (for us to them) has come and gone but they are still scrambling to finish everything. I have a call tomorrow to finalize my budget and will hopefully finally get an answer about the review. I’m completely unclear if this will be the final word on whether I’ll be able to resume work and get paid in July or if there’ll be more hoops to jump through. So tired of the uncertainty.
I ran 3 times this week, finished week 8 of the Couch to 5k program. First run after the week of hiking was a disaster, I had pain in my left knee and chin. Stopped running, walked for another 10 mins, tried running again with same results, so I decided not to push it. Runs 2 and 3 were ok but hard. Every time I deviate from the 3 runs/week schedule, it’s quite hard to pick up where I left off. My knees have been bothering me a bit since hiking unless I stretch a lot. I also did 2 bodyweights sessions and mixed exercises other the week.
I was going to go on another weekend hiking trip next weekend, but that got pushed to the weekend after when I can’t go. I’m pretty bummed since there is now LOTS of snow, but maybe that’s better for my knees. More time to recover.
I finished Gaia’s garden (so good) and will start Martin Crawford’s Creating a forest garden.
I’ve been daydreaming and looking at properties. Found a 2bd old house, partially renovated, on a one acre lot, that could be perfect, in Town 2, which I still haven’t visited. If it’s still available when I’m there in May, I’ll try to go take a look. No idea how fast houses sell around there. Buying it for cash would be a bit of a stretch though, especially since it would need a lot of insulation work, and since I don’t have a job at the moment, I doubt I could secure a loan. But it would be a good data point.
I also read Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence.
Not a very fulfilling week, crappy weather and a lot of time spent waiting around for work people to answer my emails and send me yet more stuff they need at the last minute...
NewBlood's journal
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 10/52
This was a better week. Progress was made. I have finally officially been approved as a subrecipient, and the proposal is getting finalized.
Of course, this is balanced by two new curve balls. Since this will be a new award, I can’t start work until the grant money actually gets to the university, which is actually end of July at the earliest (even thought the fiscal cycle starts July 1st). So the earliest I can start work again (and get paid) is early August… I also had a call with former boss, and apparently there are rumors that the funding agency’s higher ups are reconsidering the relationship with the university and deciding that some projects shouldn’t be part of a grant but should be a contract instead. What that means for me, nobody knows. Former boss is of the opinion that all the work we have been doing fits under a grant, but nobody knows if the higher ups agree. Finally, congress has finally agreed on a budget for us, now we wait to see how this will all be partitioned and how much will actually trickle all the way down to us.
TLDR: some progress, but still more waiting before more clarity. Next deadline (from university to funding agency) is Apr. 1st. Fun fun fun.
A friend of mine has some contract money for a project and I might jump on that once they flesh out what they want a bit better. Might be a very small project, but would be a cool one and nice to actually do something with my business finally. It’s also right up my alley, so I’m excited and grateful they thought of me for it. Highly hypothetical at this point though.
I ran three times, finished the Couch to 5k program! Which doesn’t quite get me to 5k though, cause I’m super slow. Although according to some stats I found, I’m right at the average pace for beginners in my age range, so I’m ok with that. I am going to continue to increase my running time by 10% a week until I hit 45 min. 5k will be sometime before then. From there, my plan is to join the 45min slow run group to get back to running with people, and slowly work to improve my time on 5k. I’ve been trying to find a 5k race, but all races around where I’ll be in the next few months are at least 10k… There is an 8k trail run at the end of May that I may try to join, although that would definitely be a stretch. Will see how I feel…
My knees and running have felt a lot better this week, it’s the best I’ve felt while running so far.
I also did two bodyweight sessions, one session of leg reinforcement, and a 2.5h bike ride. I’m out of biking shape, looking forward to better weather.
Knitting skillathon has had a very painful start. It took me forever to remember what I had learned over 4 years ago and after several false starts, I think I’m headed in the right direction. All cables for the circular needles were too long, and working with 4+1 double pointed needles is a special kind of hell. Until I remembered I had done the “magic loop” method for my mittens. So much better. So I’m ready to start in earnest, I now have the beginning of the ribbing set up correctly I think. The yarn I picked keeps splitting into different strands though, really annoying to work with.
I’ve made good headway with Crawford’s “Creating a forest garden”. I’m spending a lot of time making lists of which trees I’d like to plant, how much space they’ll need, how they would complement each other, etc… Learning a lot.
Finally, I’m going to go help my brother start his garden farm this week. He already prepped the poly-tunnel and some beds, so I think we’ll do a lot of planting. Should be fun. It’s going to be the first time I stay with him at his place, I’m curious to see how that will go. Looking forward to learning from him and giving him a hand since I have all this unplanned free time.
This was a better week. Progress was made. I have finally officially been approved as a subrecipient, and the proposal is getting finalized.
Of course, this is balanced by two new curve balls. Since this will be a new award, I can’t start work until the grant money actually gets to the university, which is actually end of July at the earliest (even thought the fiscal cycle starts July 1st). So the earliest I can start work again (and get paid) is early August… I also had a call with former boss, and apparently there are rumors that the funding agency’s higher ups are reconsidering the relationship with the university and deciding that some projects shouldn’t be part of a grant but should be a contract instead. What that means for me, nobody knows. Former boss is of the opinion that all the work we have been doing fits under a grant, but nobody knows if the higher ups agree. Finally, congress has finally agreed on a budget for us, now we wait to see how this will all be partitioned and how much will actually trickle all the way down to us.
TLDR: some progress, but still more waiting before more clarity. Next deadline (from university to funding agency) is Apr. 1st. Fun fun fun.
A friend of mine has some contract money for a project and I might jump on that once they flesh out what they want a bit better. Might be a very small project, but would be a cool one and nice to actually do something with my business finally. It’s also right up my alley, so I’m excited and grateful they thought of me for it. Highly hypothetical at this point though.
I ran three times, finished the Couch to 5k program! Which doesn’t quite get me to 5k though, cause I’m super slow. Although according to some stats I found, I’m right at the average pace for beginners in my age range, so I’m ok with that. I am going to continue to increase my running time by 10% a week until I hit 45 min. 5k will be sometime before then. From there, my plan is to join the 45min slow run group to get back to running with people, and slowly work to improve my time on 5k. I’ve been trying to find a 5k race, but all races around where I’ll be in the next few months are at least 10k… There is an 8k trail run at the end of May that I may try to join, although that would definitely be a stretch. Will see how I feel…
My knees and running have felt a lot better this week, it’s the best I’ve felt while running so far.
I also did two bodyweight sessions, one session of leg reinforcement, and a 2.5h bike ride. I’m out of biking shape, looking forward to better weather.
Knitting skillathon has had a very painful start. It took me forever to remember what I had learned over 4 years ago and after several false starts, I think I’m headed in the right direction. All cables for the circular needles were too long, and working with 4+1 double pointed needles is a special kind of hell. Until I remembered I had done the “magic loop” method for my mittens. So much better. So I’m ready to start in earnest, I now have the beginning of the ribbing set up correctly I think. The yarn I picked keeps splitting into different strands though, really annoying to work with.
I’ve made good headway with Crawford’s “Creating a forest garden”. I’m spending a lot of time making lists of which trees I’d like to plant, how much space they’ll need, how they would complement each other, etc… Learning a lot.
Finally, I’m going to go help my brother start his garden farm this week. He already prepped the poly-tunnel and some beds, so I think we’ll do a lot of planting. Should be fun. It’s going to be the first time I stay with him at his place, I’m curious to see how that will go. Looking forward to learning from him and giving him a hand since I have all this unplanned free time.
Last edited by NewBlood on Tue Mar 12, 2024 5:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: NewBlood's journal
Thanks for your journal update! Money flows to those who please the issuers. I remember a consultancy that specilized in greasing the subsidy path. Inside knowledge of the process was worth something. Best of luck with the agency!
Amen!
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 11/52
I spent the week on my brother’s farm to help him out. He is starting a biointensive garden farm on a 1-acre plot that is lent to him for three years as part of a learning scheme. He also has two 300 sq m polytunnels. The starts he had ordered weren’t ready yet because the weather had been crappy, so we spent the week hand weeding the edges of the polytunnel, prepping beds in the field, adding compost and organic fertilizer, setting up the irrigation, sowing radishes and installing row covers to protect the seeds from birds. We also installed some nets for the beans to climb in the polytunnel. Also figuring out how to use the various pieces of machinery he has access to through a cooperative. Mostly bigger machines than he’d rather use, he’s only one of two garden farmers in the co-op, everyone else is in big scale ag. Even the small tractor is a bit big, a cultivator would be better.
Lots of learning and sore muscles. He seemed grateful for the help, and I was happy to have the free time so I could lend him a hand. It was just the two of us in his mobile home, we had a good dynamic going, it all went well. My cat also seemed to enjoy the farm and the forest. I’ll probably go back for a few days to a week in April.
He’s also in a cool area, very touristy in summer, between the ocean and a big lake. A big farmer’s market (described by the locals as “very small in winter”, but it already looked a good size to us), so there should be vending opportunities for him, in addition to the other ones he’s already identified. Looks like it’s gonna be a lot of work for him, but quite promising.
No knitting or running or reading happened this week. Way too tired at the end of the days. Once again, it seems the answer to my sleeping issues is 8h of physical effort every day…
I signed up for another 5-day hiking trip in May, really looking forward to it.
I spent the week on my brother’s farm to help him out. He is starting a biointensive garden farm on a 1-acre plot that is lent to him for three years as part of a learning scheme. He also has two 300 sq m polytunnels. The starts he had ordered weren’t ready yet because the weather had been crappy, so we spent the week hand weeding the edges of the polytunnel, prepping beds in the field, adding compost and organic fertilizer, setting up the irrigation, sowing radishes and installing row covers to protect the seeds from birds. We also installed some nets for the beans to climb in the polytunnel. Also figuring out how to use the various pieces of machinery he has access to through a cooperative. Mostly bigger machines than he’d rather use, he’s only one of two garden farmers in the co-op, everyone else is in big scale ag. Even the small tractor is a bit big, a cultivator would be better.
Lots of learning and sore muscles. He seemed grateful for the help, and I was happy to have the free time so I could lend him a hand. It was just the two of us in his mobile home, we had a good dynamic going, it all went well. My cat also seemed to enjoy the farm and the forest. I’ll probably go back for a few days to a week in April.
He’s also in a cool area, very touristy in summer, between the ocean and a big lake. A big farmer’s market (described by the locals as “very small in winter”, but it already looked a good size to us), so there should be vending opportunities for him, in addition to the other ones he’s already identified. Looks like it’s gonna be a lot of work for him, but quite promising.
No knitting or running or reading happened this week. Way too tired at the end of the days. Once again, it seems the answer to my sleeping issues is 8h of physical effort every day…
I signed up for another 5-day hiking trip in May, really looking forward to it.
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 12/52
Not a very eventful week. I spent the week at my grandma’s. Managed to fit 3 runs, still plugging along, increasing my running time by 10% every week. Also did 3 bodyweight sessions.
I spent time with cousins and hung out. It’s a part of the family I don’t know well because my mom decided to not speak to them for 10+ years at some point. Which I resent quite a bit. I enjoy being able to know them better now, to walk around all the family history landmarks, get better acquainted with this city where I was born and hear family stories I didn’t know about.
It is nice to be flexible and be able to spend time with family or friends as much as I want.
The work contract is also humming along, good news on the budget front, so it sounds like it’ll be all good for August. We’ll see.
A friend is putting out an RFP for a small project they want me to do, and another friend wants to give me a contract. Still unclear if it’s something I’m competent for, we’ll hash it out when we see each other in a couple of weeks.
I might go from no work to too much work if this all pans out, but I kinda want to say yes to everything and see what happens.
I’ve had no motivation for knitting…
Not a very eventful week. I spent the week at my grandma’s. Managed to fit 3 runs, still plugging along, increasing my running time by 10% every week. Also did 3 bodyweight sessions.
I spent time with cousins and hung out. It’s a part of the family I don’t know well because my mom decided to not speak to them for 10+ years at some point. Which I resent quite a bit. I enjoy being able to know them better now, to walk around all the family history landmarks, get better acquainted with this city where I was born and hear family stories I didn’t know about.
It is nice to be flexible and be able to spend time with family or friends as much as I want.
The work contract is also humming along, good news on the budget front, so it sounds like it’ll be all good for August. We’ll see.
A friend is putting out an RFP for a small project they want me to do, and another friend wants to give me a contract. Still unclear if it’s something I’m competent for, we’ll hash it out when we see each other in a couple of weeks.
I might go from no work to too much work if this all pans out, but I kinda want to say yes to everything and see what happens.
I’ve had no motivation for knitting…
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 13/52
This week was too many places, too much time on trains. I went from my grandma’s to my parents’, then back to my place in Town 1, spent Saturday night at some friends’, Sunday morning egg hunt with their kids, cleaning up my apartment to move out on Monday, then off to City 2 where I will be staying at my friends’ for all of April. Five different places in one week is too much. I was away from my house for two and a half weeks, eating way more meat than usual, drinking way more alcohol than usual (which is zero when I’m alone), resulting in stomach issues which then impacted my sleep and ability to work out.
Still trying to find that elusive balance between doing cool stuff and seeing friends and family on the one hand, and having a routine/life hygiene that works for me. Or maybe I just need to be more disciplined even when I’m not at home.
Anyhow, I only ran once and did one body weight session.
I read Psalm for the Wild Built (lovely).
I signed up for a 29 mi walk/hike at the end of the month, so I decided to leave my bike in Town 1 and spend the month walking a lot every day to prep for it. Also, I’m finally going to swim once or twice a week.
Workwise, my proposal is officially in, now waiting for final ok from the feds along with all the other proposals. I guess I’m closer to resuming work in August-ish. Like so many others here, I have no idea how I will fit work into my days again. But having a regular paycheck will be helpful. Financially, I’m not quite ready for retirement yet.
In March, I got very close to spending only the local after-tax minimum wage income. Some cheating since my grandma fed me for a week, but this also takes into account the inflated rent I’ve been paying, private health insurance until I get onto the national system and 5 train trips. And way too much money on gifts (mom’s bday, things for my brother, Easter stuff).
This week was too many places, too much time on trains. I went from my grandma’s to my parents’, then back to my place in Town 1, spent Saturday night at some friends’, Sunday morning egg hunt with their kids, cleaning up my apartment to move out on Monday, then off to City 2 where I will be staying at my friends’ for all of April. Five different places in one week is too much. I was away from my house for two and a half weeks, eating way more meat than usual, drinking way more alcohol than usual (which is zero when I’m alone), resulting in stomach issues which then impacted my sleep and ability to work out.
Still trying to find that elusive balance between doing cool stuff and seeing friends and family on the one hand, and having a routine/life hygiene that works for me. Or maybe I just need to be more disciplined even when I’m not at home.
Anyhow, I only ran once and did one body weight session.
I read Psalm for the Wild Built (lovely).
I signed up for a 29 mi walk/hike at the end of the month, so I decided to leave my bike in Town 1 and spend the month walking a lot every day to prep for it. Also, I’m finally going to swim once or twice a week.
Workwise, my proposal is officially in, now waiting for final ok from the feds along with all the other proposals. I guess I’m closer to resuming work in August-ish. Like so many others here, I have no idea how I will fit work into my days again. But having a regular paycheck will be helpful. Financially, I’m not quite ready for retirement yet.
In March, I got very close to spending only the local after-tax minimum wage income. Some cheating since my grandma fed me for a week, but this also takes into account the inflated rent I’ve been paying, private health insurance until I get onto the national system and 5 train trips. And way too much money on gifts (mom’s bday, things for my brother, Easter stuff).
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 14&15/52
Busy week 14, I missed an update.
Week 14:
Once again, too many changes of location. I moved from Town 1 to City 2 to stay with my friends and their two toddlers.
I am really enjoying spending this much time with them, they are great people who seem to have a healthy relationship, and who, despite being busy with work and the kids, manage to still do quite a lot of things during the weekends, shop primarily at the farmers market, and cook every meal at home, mostly from scratch. Watching (and helping) them prepare good healthy meals every day is a good crash course for me since I didn’t grow up that way at all and I spent so many years living in the US with a very picky SO. They don’t compromise on health, good food or quality time with the kids despite demanding jobs that involve quite a bit of travel.
They also live a 10-min walk to a great public park I’ve been visiting every day, which confirms that I need some type of beautiful greenery within easy walking or biking distance to be happy. This park also features the most dynamic tiny library I’ve ever seen. I can walk past it 4 times in a day and every time the book selection is completely different. Pretty amazing. To be fair, this is the main public park of a fairly large city, but even DC didn’t reach that level.
I have been walking all around the city, which is beautiful, both to rediscover neighborhoods and check out ones I’m not familiar with, and to prep a bit for the 29 mi hike I signed up for at the end of the month.
I then spent the weekend in City 1 where my parents live for a friend reunion, which was good times.
I ran 2.5 times (I aborted the 3d run of the week about half-way through, I think I started too fast and couldn’t finish it, I didn’t want to push it). I did two body weight sessions. I also finally went swimming at the pool for the first time in years. I’m very slow, but it felt good.
Week 15:
From my parents’ house, I went to another town to visit a friend who wants to give me a small contract. We spent a day brainstorming on the project he had in mind, which is definitely in my wheelhouse, so I’m excited. Should only be a few days of work, but it’d be great to contribute to his new venture. He lives in a beautiful small fishing town, so we also went on a bike ride to a light-house.
Then back to City 2 again, more walking everywhere, shopping at the many farmers markets, cooking, baking, taking the kids to the park. I’m enjoying being able to help out my friends, trying to contribute as much as I can since I’m living here for free. It’s a nice wholesome life.
I’ve been dealing with some knee pain when running (and afterwards, especially when going down stairs). Since I run pretty short distances (just under 5k), I can’t imagine it would be overuse injuries already… ?
I have been running with shoes that are quite old though (2-3 years old), so decided to finally get new running shoes. I opted for ones with lots of cushioning (the young salesman was not particularly helpful). Went on a shorter run yesterday. Not very convincing, but since I already had knee pain and have been walking a lot more than in the last few months (very rainy winter), it’s hard to tell what’s going on.
Figuring out running shoes is frustrating because they are expensive and it’s not like I can return them if they don’t work out.
I’m going to spend the rest of this coming week helping out my brother at his farm, so won’t have time/energy for running. Depending on the type of farm work we do, this might give my knees a break, and the week before the long hike, I’ll probably skip running as well. I’ll reassess then, and will try the new shoes again, on hopefully fresher knees. But if anybody has advice, or exercise suggestions to address knee pain related to running, I’d appreciate it.
I did 2 runs this week and went swimming once.
Busy week 14, I missed an update.
Week 14:
Once again, too many changes of location. I moved from Town 1 to City 2 to stay with my friends and their two toddlers.
I am really enjoying spending this much time with them, they are great people who seem to have a healthy relationship, and who, despite being busy with work and the kids, manage to still do quite a lot of things during the weekends, shop primarily at the farmers market, and cook every meal at home, mostly from scratch. Watching (and helping) them prepare good healthy meals every day is a good crash course for me since I didn’t grow up that way at all and I spent so many years living in the US with a very picky SO. They don’t compromise on health, good food or quality time with the kids despite demanding jobs that involve quite a bit of travel.
They also live a 10-min walk to a great public park I’ve been visiting every day, which confirms that I need some type of beautiful greenery within easy walking or biking distance to be happy. This park also features the most dynamic tiny library I’ve ever seen. I can walk past it 4 times in a day and every time the book selection is completely different. Pretty amazing. To be fair, this is the main public park of a fairly large city, but even DC didn’t reach that level.
I have been walking all around the city, which is beautiful, both to rediscover neighborhoods and check out ones I’m not familiar with, and to prep a bit for the 29 mi hike I signed up for at the end of the month.
I then spent the weekend in City 1 where my parents live for a friend reunion, which was good times.
I ran 2.5 times (I aborted the 3d run of the week about half-way through, I think I started too fast and couldn’t finish it, I didn’t want to push it). I did two body weight sessions. I also finally went swimming at the pool for the first time in years. I’m very slow, but it felt good.
Week 15:
From my parents’ house, I went to another town to visit a friend who wants to give me a small contract. We spent a day brainstorming on the project he had in mind, which is definitely in my wheelhouse, so I’m excited. Should only be a few days of work, but it’d be great to contribute to his new venture. He lives in a beautiful small fishing town, so we also went on a bike ride to a light-house.
Then back to City 2 again, more walking everywhere, shopping at the many farmers markets, cooking, baking, taking the kids to the park. I’m enjoying being able to help out my friends, trying to contribute as much as I can since I’m living here for free. It’s a nice wholesome life.
I’ve been dealing with some knee pain when running (and afterwards, especially when going down stairs). Since I run pretty short distances (just under 5k), I can’t imagine it would be overuse injuries already… ?
I have been running with shoes that are quite old though (2-3 years old), so decided to finally get new running shoes. I opted for ones with lots of cushioning (the young salesman was not particularly helpful). Went on a shorter run yesterday. Not very convincing, but since I already had knee pain and have been walking a lot more than in the last few months (very rainy winter), it’s hard to tell what’s going on.
Figuring out running shoes is frustrating because they are expensive and it’s not like I can return them if they don’t work out.
I’m going to spend the rest of this coming week helping out my brother at his farm, so won’t have time/energy for running. Depending on the type of farm work we do, this might give my knees a break, and the week before the long hike, I’ll probably skip running as well. I’ll reassess then, and will try the new shoes again, on hopefully fresher knees. But if anybody has advice, or exercise suggestions to address knee pain related to running, I’d appreciate it.
I did 2 runs this week and went swimming once.
Re: NewBlood's journal
Thanks for your journal update! It's good to know what one values in a home, like having greenery nearby. It's also good to know what one doesn't value.
Knee pain is a curious subject. A little bit seems normal, I run really carefully to see how it behaves. Today I had a bit of knee pain in the first kilometer and it went away for the remaining six. I used to have shoes with "pronation" correction, but it turns out I run more pleasantly on regular shoes with a smaller cushion.
I've returned several running shoes when they didn't work out. I explain what I tried, why I can't use the shoe, how I feel about that, and that I need different shoes for running. So far the shops offered a new pair (sometimes a cheaper pair, I made no problem of that.)
Knee pain is a curious subject. A little bit seems normal, I run really carefully to see how it behaves. Today I had a bit of knee pain in the first kilometer and it went away for the remaining six. I used to have shoes with "pronation" correction, but it turns out I run more pleasantly on regular shoes with a smaller cushion.
I've returned several running shoes when they didn't work out. I explain what I tried, why I can't use the shoe, how I feel about that, and that I need different shoes for running. So far the shops offered a new pair (sometimes a cheaper pair, I made no problem of that.)
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mathiverse
- Posts: 800
- Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:40 pm
Re: NewBlood's journal
I've returned new shoes before that didn't work out. Check the return policy of the stores you go to. Some are more generous than others. For example, the store REI lets you return new shoes for up to a year if they don't work out.
Re: NewBlood's journal
Good to know, thanks! I fear return policies aren't as liberal here, the salesman did say the shoes need to be in a condition where they can resell them (ie like new), so I doubt they'll take them back if they don't work out, but I guess I could try anyway, see what happens. It's not a huge chain like REI though.mathiverse wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 8:30 amI've returned new shoes before that didn't work out. Check the return policy of the stores you go to. Some are more generous than others. For example, the store REI lets you return new shoes for up to a year if they don't work out.
Re: NewBlood's journal
2024 update 16/52
I spent the week on my brother’s farm, a lot of prep work before planting (setting up strings for the tomatoes in the green house, prepping beds in the field, adding fertilizer, incorporating the fertilizer in the beds, setting up new irrigation lines, covering the beds with plastic mulch using the tractor attachment from hell), and then a lot of planting: 60 tomato plants, 900 kohlrabi, 160 swiss chards, 350 fennels. Also figuring out how to deal with his first aphid infestation on some kohlrabi. Definitely not that easy on the knees
I feels good to be out there helping out my brother and learning a lot, but I would never want that kind of market vegetable farming to be my livelihood (or probably any kind of farming to be my sole source of income). So much work and stress for so little income. My brother is much better at staying patient and gritty about troubleshooting issues, I find it very frustrating and stressful. Good thing he’s in charge. There is so much to know and plan for and coordinate in addition to all the manual labor. It’s one thing to intellectually “know” it, it’s not like I’m discovering that farming is hard, but it’s really a whole other thing to be in it day in and day out. Which I’m not. I’m only there a few days at the time. I hope he can sustain it and make an ok living in the long term and not burn out, but I don’t think I could.
This type of operation feels so fragile, so much work and investment at the mercy of pests and the weather. Even though this is diversified organic ag, each 30m bed is essentially a monoculture, which is so attractive to pests. And so much plastic is used... Permaculture seems to make much more sense, but probably not practical at the commercial scale. It’s hard to tell what works and doesn’t when all popular permaculture/alternative farms out there seem to make a big portion of their income by selling workshops, books and farm tours.
I’m back in city 2 for the rest of the month, taking it easy, enjoying friend time and good food and city walks when the polar wind dies down. Debating whether I really wanna do that 29 mi hike this weekend as they are forecasting downpours…
We’ll see. It could still change.
No running or swimming or any kind of exercise except for all the farm work. Which was plenty enough.
Work-wise, former employer is still waiting for the ok from the funding agency to submit all the proposals, things seem to be hectic for various reasons, but I’m in the same boat as everybody else at last, which is oddly comforting.
I finally learned enough from friends and my accountant to understand taxes, payroll stuff, invoices and gross/net salaries here to decide on a day rate for the two small contracts I’m going to be working on with friends. Waiting for them to get on with paperwork to make it happen, but should be two small cool projects in direct alignment with my skills and expertise, so I’m excited about it.
One of them is part of an incubator which apparently is also interested in my company. I doubt I’ll pursue that if things eventually work out with former employer, but it’s nice to have options and a growing local network.
I spent the week on my brother’s farm, a lot of prep work before planting (setting up strings for the tomatoes in the green house, prepping beds in the field, adding fertilizer, incorporating the fertilizer in the beds, setting up new irrigation lines, covering the beds with plastic mulch using the tractor attachment from hell), and then a lot of planting: 60 tomato plants, 900 kohlrabi, 160 swiss chards, 350 fennels. Also figuring out how to deal with his first aphid infestation on some kohlrabi. Definitely not that easy on the knees
I feels good to be out there helping out my brother and learning a lot, but I would never want that kind of market vegetable farming to be my livelihood (or probably any kind of farming to be my sole source of income). So much work and stress for so little income. My brother is much better at staying patient and gritty about troubleshooting issues, I find it very frustrating and stressful. Good thing he’s in charge. There is so much to know and plan for and coordinate in addition to all the manual labor. It’s one thing to intellectually “know” it, it’s not like I’m discovering that farming is hard, but it’s really a whole other thing to be in it day in and day out. Which I’m not. I’m only there a few days at the time. I hope he can sustain it and make an ok living in the long term and not burn out, but I don’t think I could.
This type of operation feels so fragile, so much work and investment at the mercy of pests and the weather. Even though this is diversified organic ag, each 30m bed is essentially a monoculture, which is so attractive to pests. And so much plastic is used... Permaculture seems to make much more sense, but probably not practical at the commercial scale. It’s hard to tell what works and doesn’t when all popular permaculture/alternative farms out there seem to make a big portion of their income by selling workshops, books and farm tours.
I’m back in city 2 for the rest of the month, taking it easy, enjoying friend time and good food and city walks when the polar wind dies down. Debating whether I really wanna do that 29 mi hike this weekend as they are forecasting downpours…
We’ll see. It could still change.No running or swimming or any kind of exercise except for all the farm work. Which was plenty enough.
Work-wise, former employer is still waiting for the ok from the funding agency to submit all the proposals, things seem to be hectic for various reasons, but I’m in the same boat as everybody else at last, which is oddly comforting.
I finally learned enough from friends and my accountant to understand taxes, payroll stuff, invoices and gross/net salaries here to decide on a day rate for the two small contracts I’m going to be working on with friends. Waiting for them to get on with paperwork to make it happen, but should be two small cool projects in direct alignment with my skills and expertise, so I’m excited about it.
One of them is part of an incubator which apparently is also interested in my company. I doubt I’ll pursue that if things eventually work out with former employer, but it’s nice to have options and a growing local network.