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Women enjoying sunflowers

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Maple Lawn Farms: “Running with Flies.”

A Farmer’s Breakfast | Blueberries! | Apricots | Running
Interesting Image
Interesting Image
One of my favorite ads from ad king Nike.
Interesting Image
This was my farmer’s breakfast treat, fresh blueberries in a fresh apricot. No, just enjoy!
Life on the Farm: “Running with flies.”
Analogy time: After my morning run, I concluded that life is like running… with flies.
Part 1:
I am not a runner. If you’ve ever met me, I’m 5-foot-nuthin’ with shoulders wide as a truck. I’m meant to pick up heavy things, not run. Still I persist in running because I live to play Ultimate Frisbee and I need to be competitive.
Here’s the life part:
I never wake up thinking, “Gosh, I can’t wait to get out there and run.”
Yet, I roll out of bed, lace up and go for it. Sheer mental determination and a look towards the next Ultimate game with the goal I’ll be a better, faster player.
Isn’t life like that? You always have to work hard to get ahead, sometimes without seeing results for your labor for weeks, months, even years.
The fruit business is like that. We plant trees and don’t see an apple for 4 years, yet still we care for the trees, mow, prune and hope.
It’s a mental discipline to keep working.
Part 2:
After all the mental victory to get out the door with my sneakers on, I run down the road, doing what I’m supposed to and suddenly, “Ouch!” A giant horse fly bit me in mid-stride! I was attacked for the next 300 yards hoping for the best case scenario, which would be smashing a gross, giant, biting fly on my head.
Now seriously, I’m out here exercising like I’m suppose to and I’m attacked by biting flies?! Something’s wrong with this picture.
The life part:
Isn’t that always the way? You get started working towards your goals and you meet resistance. You get annoyed along the way and you start to lose focus on your objectives. Biting flies are very distracting.
I’ll share with you a bit of small business person struggle. We work very hard on the farm and at the maze to make sure our guests feel comfortable. We don’t want you to see any struggles, but I’ll pull back the curtain on a few.
We’re working hard to expand the farm market and our business in a secret-for-now way (more on that later, stay tuned!) This expansion employees a dozen contractors, our employees, and we’ll end up added 5-10 part-time positions.
Great for the economy, right? We’re doing a brave, good thing, right?
We took off running towards our goal, only to be bitten by permitting delays, regulatory delays, 20 inspections, loan meetings, on and on and on. Bite, bite, bite.
It makes you wonder if it’s worth all the work to do good and grow!
Sometimes, pardon the very brief political rant, I think “It’s no wonder business is struggling in America. It’s super-hard to get started in business!”
Swat, swat, swat!
Of course it’s worth it! A few flies along the run don’t take away from the value of running, the good feelings at the end, the fitness, the victory, the growth in physical and mental toughness. Of course it’s worth it. Swat!
I kept running. I was going to have a few welts on me but, by God, I wasn’t going to stop. That’s just not who my parents raised me to be. It’s certainly not what the forefathers of this country envisioned. They envisioned a united people, ready to work hard once lifted from the hand of tyranny.
This week, keep running. Swat the annoying flies that are trying to distract you. Set your sights on goals, big and small, that light a fire in you, put one foot in front of the other and
just…
keep…
running…
Have a great week,
Farmer Hugh