It Wasn't a Challenge After All

3/20/19, 8:40 AM

By: Diane Frances

In late February I was “nominated” for the 10 day farming family challenge by a Facebook – and real life - farmer-friend. The challenge is to post pictures from a day in the life of farming that had an impact on me, without any explanation, and to nominate someone to take the challenge, for 10 consecutive days.

My first reaction was ugh. Do I even have 10 pictures to post? How can I possibly post a picture without any explanations!? Do I know 10 farmer-friends who wouldn’t react the same way that I just did when I nominate them?

Those hesitations were quickly replaced with a flood of memories from our life on the farm.  The trick became finding them among the many rather unorganized picture folders on my hard drive. I set to work and soon found that I had way more than 10 and was finding it difficult to choose. Then it came. I was nominated again.

For the past 21 days I have been immersed in beautiful and poignant memories captured by a snapshot in time, not only by me, also by dear friends who have been part of these special, unforgettable, life changing moments. These pictures offer a glimpse into the love I feel for our farm, for the lives who share it with us, for the life we have built, continue to build, together. The challenge turned out to be no challenge at all. It was satisfying in a way I had not imagined.

The list of farmer-friends came almost as quickly. I have been active in our farming community for quite some time and have met and worked with many people who share the love for our region, for the land, for their farms, for the families their farms sustain. I feel honored to be counted among them. As I watch their family farming challenge posts flow through my feed, I feel a deep kinship. Pictures of  family, special moments, beloved.

As to the 21 days, well, in many ways life is a circle. The final photo is a symbol of that…and the beginning of the next farming family challenge.