Tools O' the Trade 1: The Crowbar

Says Brendan: "My father always told me never to get between a woman and her crowbar!"

Thus far, this is my favorite gardening tool--a crowbar with one bent edge and notches out of both sides.  I use it for hacking up chunks of dirt and also for the more delicate work of weeding in between closely spaced plants.  It got a lot of use today--I spent all morning weeding between the rows of peas, radishes, lettuce, and beets, with this bad boy in my right hand and a bunch of weeds in my left. 

By lunch time I had weeded, thinned, and mulched these four rows.  They look lovely, but I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed.  Five hours of work for four measly rows??? This is one of my big lessons so far.  This work takes time, and the gratification is the opposite of instant; it'll be another month before we're enjoying the crops off of these plants.  Life on the farm is forcing me to slow down, do one task at a time, and do it well.  It reminds me a bit of the taoist idea of wu-wei, or "actionless action."  Followers of the Tao are supposed to act without being attached to the outcome of their actions.  Of course, I'm terribly attached to the dream of peas coming off of these plants, but I know that any number of factors could get between today's hard work and next month's salad, and I have to work hard anyways.  It's incredibly satisfying to work so hard, so simply, in the clean air.  Just me and my crowbar.