the first morning it was steve and morgan, father and daughter, doing chores in the half-light. chickens had spent the evening huddled in an arrangement of wood, aluminum roofing and stainless wire often referred to as a ‘broiler pen’. each daybreak, the lids comes off and the birds get to waddle about in relative freedom. feed is scooped and water refreshed.
i clumsily ran about trying to get the best angles, often a step behind, just missing a ‘perfect’ shot~ but who would know. the duo worked in unison, communicating simply with nods and glances, a well-worn choreography of tried and tested farm movement. eliot coleman, a legendary farmer out in maine often says- ‘a great farmer never wastes a step’
chickens done it was time to move the cows. the three of us jumped in the four wheeler with morgan riding in the back with a sturdy cattle dog. took turns filming driver and passenger, with occasional breaks to look at the sunrise not through the viewfinder.
there’s something magical about cows on pasture, a message from god that this is indeed correct, that for all the confusion in the world, if you’re moving cattle onto a fresh blaze of grass you are in fact in alignment. instead of playing the chasing game i’d just lost with the chickens, decided to setup the tripod and just get one shot, a wide angle more or less down the line of the temporary electric fence.
again, the two moved in unison.
i sat back and just let the moment happen, half-watching the image being generated, and half-watching reality.
later, sitting on an upside-down five-gallon bucket in the doyle’s garage, i’d realize just how connected this father and daughter are. steve had joined the coast guard. morgan the marines. steve had started the farm, morgan had kept it going.
it’s been said that trumpets do not suddenly blare to salute us when we’ve made the right decision. there is no parade when we make the choice that unites our family or heals our little slice of heaven. but i’d like to think when morgan made the decision to turn down a $25,000 signing bonus to continue on with the marines, when she made the decision to come back home after her parents said they were going to sell the farm~ perhaps there was a slight tremor of joy that moved up the spine.
how many family farms keep going because of these quiet choices?
here’s to morgan, and to young farmers like her.
best thoughts,
graham
p.s. thanks again to the doyle’s for being incredible hosts!
p.p.s. thanks to all of you for being a part of our leave it better community.
