6-13-10: Finding my # 2, Yardbirds and Work Horses

Well with all things being said my first year as a farm manager at Hungry Mother Organics is not going so bad.

By my estimate a combination of the weather has set us back maybe 2-3 weeks, another is not having a number 2 at the farm while the need to divert my time towards the community, markets, and developing the "backyard bonanza garden" at the farm stand is left unfinished or in the balance.

However I still love the work.

Another set back for sure was that I didn't get to recruit Matt McCue's farm mule Jeremy Lopez early on during the off season farm draft. He is another of our long time FVC farmer veterans and was my 1st round draft pick.

I really need a #2 so to speak of and now "nursery season" is rapidly morphing into "farm season and despite my long hours and 6-7 day work week its difficult juggling all the fastballs and telegraphed punches coming my way when the support I need is left unfilled.

But you know what? I am making it work, and making the best decisions possible, the bad ones occasionally occur but those mistakes only happen once and I am thankful for the learning curve.

Recently in the farm draft I recruited "yard bird"
He is from Sonoma/Santa Rosa, is a Navy veteran and is one of the guys the FVC and I have been helping get into agriculture over the last couple years.

Originally he was coming for a couple weeks prior to panning for gold in the Sierra's, but looks like he needs a place to crash for a season, hopefully I can help him make some money while gaining some much needed farm experience.

Thankfully Yardbird tends to look at the world a little cockeyed; and though this bird can't fly straight he sure gets a damn good job done.

For all intents and purposes I have been left pretty much to myself to run the prison farm, which is good, after all I am the farm manager and the learning curve is steep but not unbearable.

But it takes a team firing on all cylinders and if one piston doesn't fire, such as our marketing guy not selling eggs then the 40 dozen eggs per day start piling up and tasks fall more onto my lap and what valuable space we have for produce is usurped for unsold product that normally is able to sell itself.

A farm such this I am learning takes a whole team. When the support I need to manage the farm and markets is there its awesome, however I am having to run a farm when decisions needed to be made on the fly but I am forced to wait hours if not sometimes days for a resolution.

Sometimes keeping an eye on the inmates is a full time job on its own, and each time I have to leave the farm to run errands then break time begins until I get back. Which I feel as accountability speaking is the greatest drawback of HMO operating at the prison

Having Yardbird around keeps an extra pair of eyes on the guys, he helps with many farm and house chores as well as even taking Agadez the wonder pup out on walks.

Not to forget he plays a mighty fine guitar too.

Damn I like this guy, a guess a bird on the farm is worth more than two in the bush.