An Open Letter to Uncle Loren

Over the past four years, since the very beginning of the farm, we have been helped by countless family members and friends. They have spent an incredible amount of time helping us get this dream off the ground and dealing with my crazy ideas and procrastinating ways. Our "farm angels" have helped us build a home, construct fences, move pigs around, fix equipment, find hay, make portable pens and buildings, and above all help us to survive the first four years without doing complete damage to our minds, bodies, and souls!

But, I want to take a moment today to send an open letter to my Uncle Loren. Some of you may know of him, but I'm convinced all of you should get to know him ... or someone like him. He is one of the many people that have helped out so much on this farm journey ...

When my feed auger wagon broke and my feeble attempts to fix it fell far short Uncle Loren showed up in the middle of the night to take it home to his shop to fix (after I called and said I was at my wits end). When the cattle had spent most of their time on the farm getting out of my horrible excuse for a fence Uncle Loren showed up with the equipment and the knowledge to get the fencing project started. When the pigs are boggling my mind he is always just a phone call away. When a tractor breaks down he has shown up with a loaner (sometimes a long-term loaner) to help me. When water lines and electrical lines needed to be run underground ... well ... you probably get the idea ...

My Uncle Loren has invested quite a bit of his time and himself into the farm. In fact just this week he spent almost two days building more fence, setting corner posts, smoothing ruts, and even moving and leveling a building that had been sitting haphazardly in the pasture for the past few months. When he left late Tuesday evening it hit me just how much he gives and how hard he works. The farm would not be where it is without the help of so many people! And, Uncle Loren is one of those people ...

Uncle Loren ... Thank you for the knowledge you share. Thank you for the work you give. Thank you for the time you so freely share with us. Thank you for the example that you are.

One of my many dreams is to have just a fraction of your farming knowledge. You remind me that farming is not just a set of physical movements, but rather an art. Uncle Loren ... you are an artist.