farm life And The Beat Goes On.. Amy Smith ·May 7, 2024 Some of our "Dreamy Blends" ready for market I love Spring. It means that summer is right behind the corner. Plus, this year actually feels like Spring. Late night thunderstorms, cool moody mornings that occasionally open up to be beautiful sun-filled afternoons. Chilly nights followed by warm, steamy nights, followed by bigger, brighter thunderstorms. The days are getting longer and although it has been a little cooler than some of us would prefer, we still get those warm, late spring days where we feel the first sting of the summer sun. We are all dreaming of vacations — even us! We are busier than ever with conflicting schedules, the slight possibility that we slightly over-scheduled ourselves for farmers markets, and waiting for the ground to dry just enough to get the rest of our plants in the ground. June will be here before we know it — and with the goals we have set for ourselves this summer, we are beyond excited to be in the midst of the crazy we have created for ourselves. The promise of sharing our dream with more of our community and showing them what we can bring to the table, the deliciously fresh produce we can bring to their families' table. It finally feels like we have our chairs firmly seated and we are inviting people to join us. Like-minded, and some very, very not like-minded individuals that we have had the pleasure of coming together with on the basic common goal of a community-supported agriculture system where farmers are working hand in hand to provide the highest quality, best possible products that Iowa has to offer — and bringing them into one location for our community as well as the surrounding communities. I find myself frequently reminiscing on last summer. Leafy Dreams isn't even a year old yet. Even still, things are so much bigger than either one of us ever anticipated. To think of where we started that sticky July day that we brought our little farm home without any REAL idea of what we were getting ourselves into — and managing to, in about six months, find our way into some of our favorite local markets and having the ability to bring our "Dreamy Blends" and other goodies to our community. To actually be able to speak of our dream and the hope we aspire to bring into our community is such a dream come true for Nick and I. I will never say that this has been the easiest choice we have made. Dropping our careers, throwing caution to the wind and diving head first into a field that we are both "new" to. We may not have degrees in our field, but we do have a love of food and a love of community and a mindset fully committed to providing only the best to the people that share our home. Every single day of the last ten months has been a blessing, a challenge, and a surprise (good or bad) that we weren't exactly expecting. Everything about this little leafy dream has tested us both physically and mentally — both as individuals, and as a couple. I guess the short version of this story is simply to never stop chasing your dream! You will always have the infamous "naysayers," you will likely have the short-sighted people watching your every move in the hopes they will get to witness your most epic fail — and they just might. But if you never take that leap, if you never allow yourself that brief moment of possible insanity where you convince yourself to go all in with your favorite person in the world and give it hell until you find a way to scrape and crawl your way into the reality of your dreams, you might just run the risk of leading a mediocre life that you spend wondering what might have been. Life is short, and has the ability to be cruel and heartbreaking. I just think if we all let a little bit of that childhood magic stick with us into adulthood, we might all just be able to bring a little bit of magic into a world that at times makes hope, let alone magic, seem like a distant memory. Keep Dreaming. Keep Growing. Keep Loving. And as always — Stay Leafy Friends. -A A Amy Smith Leafy Dreams Iowa ← Previous Don't Mind us over here with a little.. Mic drop.. All Posts Next → #stayleafy
