A visit from a friend

Some of you may know that for Jay's 35th birthday, I arranged a visit from our friend Dennis Plies. Dennis leapt into farm living with such natural gusto and vigor that nobody would ever have guessed that he harbors more urban leanings. We loved basking in his thoughtful, philosophical, fun-loving and irreverant presence for nearly a full week, and he and Jay had plenty of time to bounce ideas of all kinds, partake in the farm's many summer projects and offerings and even talk jazz together. What a gift! The only hard thing about his visit is that now we miss him just that much more. A small sampling of Dennis' reflections on the trip in his own words upon his return:

"One of the more powerful elements of this trip was my outlook on time. Instead of wearing a watch and attempting to accomplish said amount of work in said amount of time, this was not the way of the rural farm life. Continuous needs to be addressed but not an uptight approach to the various projects. Instead of seeing “thing to be done” as enemies, my normal attitude I now realize, the “list” can be the opportunity to apply energy in a positive manner. I have so much to learn.

"A self-confessed city slicker who digs the urban context admirably, I must admit there is a health and naturalness to the earth life of farm or ranch. The contact with soil, water, air, weather conditions and interaction of these factors without coating the earth with concrete and asphalt makes for a sweet human connection with the way God laid it out in the first place."