I’m not the most social person you’ll ever meet.  Sure, I’ll smile when we’re introduced and I can carry my side a conversation plus some.  Still, I like people in small doses; and I want to be the one to select the medicine, schedule, and delivery mechanism.

It seems this personality type is more or less perfect for farming. So far, farming seems to largely be a solitary pursuit.  Sure, folks show up to help with the big projects.  But growing stuff is accomplished as much in the little daily chores as the big pushes.  One reason I picked Christmas tree growing was that it felt like most of the work could be metered out so one person could handle it and only need to call in for support a few times a year.

Spring:  Planting – People needed but only for a day or two as hundreds of trees need to get in the ground pretty much overnight.

Summer – Mowing, weeding, watering -- you are a lone crusader fighting back the trees’ enemies.

Fall – Pruning and preparing the soil in the next plot to be planted – again, manageable alone over weeks.

Winter – Selling, which is, of course, a very social endeavor.

So, summer and fall, those are my solo work times.  And that’s okay.  It suits my nature to work by myself a little everyday to chip away at this stuff.  Still, I suspect I’ll need to get a little social engagement in the midst of that solo labor to remind me there’s a goal beyond destroying my nails.

I decided to plant lavender when I heard that deer hate it.  Before I planted a single Dougie or Canaan, I planted 60 tiny lavender plants along the edge of my first tree plot.  Since then, I’ve learned that ‘hate’ is perhaps too strong a word for the deer attitude toward lavender.  Yes, they take a pass on eating it, but they will gladly tiptoe through those ‘stinky’ tuffets to crunch a tasty Canaan.

Useless lavender -- Pull it out!  Mow it down!  Make room for more trees! 

No, actually, I don’t think I will because I’ve kind of become obsessed with my ineffective deer repellent.  Lavender may actually be the most pleasing plant I’ve ever grown.  It looks pretty (even pre-bloom); it smells great (unless you are a deer); it even keeps the flies and gnats away from your face while you weed it.  And bonus, I appear to be really good at growing it.  Every plant I put in last October made it through the winter.  Today, all 60 of those babies are blooming like crazy.  And, I’ve planted another 75!  I’ve got English lavender, French lavender.  There’s still Spanish lavender to try.  Oh, and my family in Hungary swears their lavender smells the best!

So now, in addition to mowing and weeding and watering my trees; every morning at dawn for the past week, I’ve been out there harvesting lavender.  Then I sit in my kitchen with a cup of coffee and count 25 stems to a bundle, secure the bundle with a rubber band and tie the bundles to a stick to hang from the kitchen ceiling.  I cooked salmon the other night and my house pretty much smelled like a bordello that specializes in octogenarian hookers.

I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with all this dried lavender – sachets, essential oils, candles.  But, I do know that in a few years’ time, I’ll have another reason to have folks out to the farm – lavender harvest!  And, I just had another thought -- Goats!!  What would sell better in my little Christmas shop/ she-shed than Iron Sun Farm goat milk soaps and lotions fragranced with lavender?  Well, maybe cute little crocks of Iron Sun Farm lavender honey.  So, I guess goats AND bees are next.