The first time I got to this farm, I asked myself, “How much hard labor did these people do to create such a wonderful place?” and this thought made me dive into the history of this farm, which showed me that you need to work really hard to succeed in something.
Pumpkin King of the Patch
Gary, Patty and their two children moved to the farm in 1985 and waited for the first trees to mature. Just as the trees were ready to bear fruit, however, the orchard was completely destroyed by round-headed apple-tree borers, small beetles that make tunnels in an apple tree’s trunk and disrupt its ability to move water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves.
Sea of Orange
Their family’s dream seemed to be slipping away. But they still had each other, and together, we can do anything. With faith and determination, they replanted, by 1995, their sold our first apples, and now they grow not just apples, but pumpkins, blueberries, raspberries and many more fruits and vegetables.
Twilight Lanter
Second visit in the summer made me think how the fielsd has shifted with the season. Where once the ground was covered in orange dots of pumpkins – now the rows of berries.
Bueberry Dreams
It stuck with me how each season farm and harvest tells a different story of the soil itself. The farm feels alive every season of the year going through drastic transformation. The circle of life.
Yang
And the earth is offering its harvest in cycles, just like Yin and Yang, the goats, are showing harmony in contrast.
Yin
2 Responses
I really liked your series of photos, especially the “Sea of Orange” and “Twilight Lanter”. The skies in both of those shots are very pleasing with your attention to the rule of thirds.
I like the focus your story has on the concept of seasons, drawing parallels between the crops changing with the seasons and the metaphorical seasons the farmer couple goes through with their orchard, from times of struggle to times of abundance. I bet as the project goes on you can flesh this out into a story that intertwines human nature with the rest of nature, maybe fitting in a moral about the value of rebounding from setbacks and embracing change, or something along those lines. Gorgeous photos, by the way. I like how you seem to have a complementary color scheme going on in the whole collection, with the blue from the blueberries and nighttime sky versus the orange of the pumpkins and the setting sun, fitting the overall theme of transition.