Thursday, May 10, 2012

Heavy Working Volunteers Invade The Farm Today

If there is one thing I can say about how hard it is to farm by yourself, especially in the ripe ages of 60, it is that when you can beg enough to gain a sympathetic ear and people respond, YOU LISTEN!  Which is exactly what happened today. 

Matt McComish, a young aspiring professional Vermont Brewer, and Tony Mackley, ole buddy from the 70's who's eager help here on the farm and homestead has been steadfast and brilliant without reward, came out today for a marathon of old fashion hard manual labor! 

It was Matt's second visit and Tony's untold work days here at the farm, and I put them to the limit of some of the most back-breaking work that I needed here at the Hop'n Blueberry Farm--  The physical transport of thousands of pounds of mulch onto several traveled miles of  hand transported wheelbarrowed and shoveled material.

In the above photo, the boys are standing in the remains of a 5 foot tall mound of pine mulch.  Me, I was barely able to hold my camera up to take the picture.  (Notice in the background, there is another bigger pile of mulch!)  Wow, how much labor, how much time!

Matt, who came to me from a post on facebook by Susanne Hackett,  the owner of Pollinate Collaborations who is now doing a fantastic job marketing for the Buncombe County Greenways.  She also  works at The Wedge Brewery. When Matt saw this post posted on the Wedge Brewing, his one minute response got him out here two days later!  Wow, I am a believer!

Before I leave this post, I would like to say something more about Matt.  This guy has come out to work at the farm now twice.  Both times he RODE HIS BICYCLE OUT HERE FROM ASHEVILLE!  What about that?? 

And one last plug for my ole friend Tony, or "Mack" as I call him.  This guy is as young as me, but still begs for as much physical labor as I can dish out, or at least as we think before tomorrow!~

This is the last pic of what needs to be done for my hops, it is called pruning, pruning, and more pruning.  Look at me smug face after Matt and I spent 40 minutes pruning one 60 foot row of hops!  The left side is done, the right side beckons only after two weeks of the last visit.











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