Market Farming

[Alex McGregor <waldenfarm AT sprintmail.com>]

Liz and Others,

I do most of the farming work, with some occasional help from my wife- mostly 
with
transplanting and other light work. She works as a massage therapist and 
provides half
our income. (I sometimes joke that she works so I can afford to farm.)

Our relationship is intact because we are supportive of what the other does. 
We both
respect the other's work and realize that we are following our own paths. We 
do, however,
fight like dogs sometimes in the garden. This. I think, is from familiarity 
and a feeling
of safety- we don't talk that way to others.

What keeps our marriage intact is that we are of one mind in the big picture- 
we want our
lives to be in tune with nature, be of service and have everything we do be 
an expression
of deeply held spiritual beliefs. Both our vocations fit this and we are 
happy with them.

One of the main problems is that during the growing season, I'm working 12+ 
hours a day
and have no energy for anything else. There are periods where we don't do any 
serious
talking and things build up- not good. We have instituted appointments in our 
schedules
where we go off by ourselves and talk. This has helped, but we need to do 
more of it.

I hope this helps others of you out there who face the same challenges. How 
about sharing
your experiences and how you've learned to cope with the pressures of farming?

Alex