ROOTS IN ROCKS: THE HEMLOCK TREE ON THE LEFT AND THE SMALL BLUE FLOWER ON THE RIGHT HAVE SUNK ROOTS INTO GRANITE. How did they achieve this amazing feat?

ROOTS IN ROCKS

THE HEMLOCK TREE ON THE LEFT AND THE SMALL BLUE FLOWER ON THE RIGHT HAVE SUNK ROOTS INTO GRANITE.

How did they achieve this amazing feat?

Susan and I spent last week on the North Channel, in Ontario, which lies between Lakes Huron and Superior. We were struck by the feats of Nature before us, particularly involving tenacious plants and resilient shelves of granite.

How does that delicate blue flower achieve such brilliance, in a seemingly barren slab of granite? How does that hemlock tree grow so tall, despite the lack of soil? It is difficult to fathom the answer fully, but one suspects it has to do with unrelenting persistence and infinite patience.

Don't those two plants provide a metaphor for what it takes to live successfully, no matter what genus or species? Maintaining a successful marriage, developing a sustainable business, or becoming an accomplished athlete... are fueled by heart, persistence, and refusal to concede. Further, these difficult endeavors require unending patience.

Persistence and patience are two virtues, not extolled in the halls of higher education. Most business schools promote that an entrepreneur should seek a "return of capital" in five years. What does anybody know after five years? How realistic is that benchmark? Those magnificent athletes we witnessed in the All-Star game have been training for 10 - 15 years to achieve their excellence, even at their young ages. The businesses successes I have witnessed take ten years to come to the fore. Most marriages aren't in full bloom until 20 years have passed. The result of this kind of persistence and patience is true sustainability.

So, if you find yourself struggling with the slow pace of realizing your dream, remind yourself that is the way of the ages. In the meantime, you are being tested to fight for the dream. And no journey is more worthy, especially if it requires persistence and patience.

Below are water-lilies, whose roots are nestled in mud instead of rock. Perhaps with time, that would be the reward!

In the meantime, back at the farm, orphan lambs have come out of the barn to learn about electric fences before joining the flock. And juvenile laying hens are being moved daily on grass with a view, so they will be extra inspired when we move them into the eggmobile next month to begin performing.

We look forward to seeing you at the Hyde Park Farmers Market this Sunday the 19th.

On-line purchasing is available at: http://grassrootsfoods.biz/on-line-purchasing, with next delivery to east Hyde Park being Wednesday August 5 at 4 PM.

Below is a recent meal of lamb loin chops, pasta with chanterelle mushrooms and Farm Beach artichokes, Jim's tomatoes, squash, and flowers, Eduardo's cheese, and Blue Oven bread.

Sending roots with persistence and patience,

Drausin & Susan