Back in my university student days, I took up photography with all the enthusiasm you would expect. I even learned how to develop and print my own photos. In my zeal, I took my trusty SLR camera with me everywhere, on every adventure. After a couple of years, though, I realised my world had shrunk to what I could see through the lens: I was framing my experiences by what would fit in the limited rectangle of the viewfinder. So I quit taking photographs, relying on the emulsion sheet of memory to record my adventures, hoping to regain a wide-angle experience. I regret not having a photographic record of those years, but I'm sure I was more present in each moment as a result.
I'm having a similar "through the lens" feeling of limitation with regard to writing the farm journals and posting on social media. My "lens" is now a focus on what makes a good story, in essay or photographic form. While I've thoroughly enjoyed the 4 years of writing Yarns from the Farm, and the 2 years of social media interactions and the Come Shepherding posts, I've decided I need a break from writing and photographing. I need to re-establish my wide-angle perspective on the farm and my connection to it. So, I'm taking the summer off. I'm going dark on social media, and I won't be posting any farm journals at least until April, maybe longer. It depends on what I learn about myself and writing while I'm having my break.
If you need a farm fix in the meantime, all of the old journal posts can be found on the website, along with a tag "cloud" that will let you search through them by subject. Think of it as summer re-runs.
