A Season for Rest and Thanks

This time of the year on the farm is a very peaceful time. The gourds are all grown, cut from their vine and lying in the field in long rows slowly drying. There isn’t much to do on the farm except cut a little firewood to keep our home cozy and warm. All that can be done has been done. Winter is a time to let the physical work rest. It won’t be long until the rest turns into a bit of restlessness and the desire to be working outside returns. The restlessness sprouts the dreaming and planning that makes the approach of spring exciting.

I love to see each season come and I’m glad to see each season go. The seasons force a certain cycle on us, cycles of hard work and sweat and some of rest and recharging. I’m just amazed at how I’m so glad to see the first frost in the fall each year. This frost ends our growing season. There isn’t anything more you can do to have a good crop. The crop may be great or a bit of a letdown but it’s out of your hands. On this day, the season is done and you can enjoy your successes and plan on fixing your mistakes next year. What a cycle, it happens every year and I never get tired of it.

It is during this time of year that I remember all the people it takes to make this gourd business successful and this life possible.

Thank you to all the washers, crafters, part makers, finishers, sales, shippers, bookkeepers, maintenance, farm crew, and leaders. It takes a team of highly skilled happy people to make this fun and successful. Each of you has added your skills and twisted personalities to make this possible for all of us. Thanks to you we have a great team of high skill people all working together who really like and respect each other. I’m not absolutely sure but I think this is kind of rare and special. Thank you to all our customers for supporting us again this year. Of course, without you purchasing our products, there would be no gourd business and we would all have to get real jobs. I would also like to thank you for all the energy and enthusiasm you add to our business. We all have fond memories of the smiles and stories you shared with us this year. Thanks to you we had a really good year. Thank you for all the smiles you shared with us.

Thank you to all of our suppliers and service contractors that help to keep us running each day. I would like to send a special thanks to those of you that extended your trust to us. You make the business so fun and easy. You have extended thousands and thousands of dollars of services and supplies on just a handshake or a phone call. If our machines break, you are there in hours. You bring your combines to harvest our corn and beans when we call. Your artistic talent makes our catalog and website world class. Your expertise and helpfulness make our lives much simpler and easier. I think maybe we live in a place where there are a lot of honest business people doing a lot of good for all they touch.

So thank you, everyone! I’m looking forward to meeting and working with all of you in 2015.

I hope you all had a great year this year and an even better one next year.