I’ve been thinking about Ashton Kutcher in shower. Don’t worry, this is not turning into some weird confessions post (although he is rather aesthetically pleasing), but I do want to talk about Mr. Kutcher. First a bit of a farm update.
We have made some encouraging discoveries. I mentioned in an earlier post that we needed to do some soil testing to help us make a plan for the land and get the best possible growing outcomes. We purchased a soil testing kit and it’s been on top of the fridge unopened for two weeks. I don’t know why we’ve put this simple task off, maybe out of concern for what we will find. You see, the area we live in is zoned as agriculture land. Great! This protects us from townhouse complexes springing up around us but the irony is that the soil is not great for growing anything other than grapes. It is very sandy and stony across the entire area. However, it was me with my astute agricultural prowess (???!!!) who observed that the soil appeared very different at the back of our lot to the front. Anyway, we tilled the land at the back this week ready for some fruit bushes. As expected, sand and stones greeted us. But that’s ok; we will plant a ground cover crop, such as buckwheat, over the winter and then cut it, cover it and effectively compost it back into the ground. This will replenish the nutrients in the soil ready for growing. We think this will provide us with an excellent base for fruit growing.
The next discovery came when Ian was looking for the septic tank and found it at the front of the house, just outside the front door. I know, it seems a strange location. In digging down to find the tank we found a lovely rich loamy soil. Perfect for growing veg in the front paddock. And so, that has settled the debate about what to plant where. And what do you know….us inexperienced farmers have made these discoveries by instinct and not with plastic test kits!
Back to Ashton. Some of you may have seen Ashton Kutcher’s acceptance speech at the Teen Choice Awards. He gave a talk about opportunity looking a lot like hard work. Good for Ashton, someone of influence needs to tell our youth that success rarely just lands in your lap. But Ashton Kutcher, really? Is he a true ambassador for hard work? Because I thought about it a lot in the shower when I was using a nail brush to scrub paint off my bare skin and knocking scabs off as I went. I wondered as I plucked another set of splinters out of my fingers while my newly calloused hands burned in the hot water, if Aston with his perfect hair and his manicure should really be waxing lyrical about hard work? What does hard work look like to Ashton Kutcher? I know he regaled tales of having to work in a deli or something before he was an actor or whatever he is, but does this really quantify hard work? Are the kids getting the sincerity of the message from polished Ashton and his clichés? I would like to invite Mr. Kutcher here to my own personal Farmagddon. I would love him to show today’s youth what hard work really looks like. I want him to tell them about waking up at night every time he turns over in bed because his shoulder muscles are so tight and painful. I believe he needs to talk about feeling like he won’t ever be able to stand up straight again after bending over painting fence posts all day under the scorching sun. He really should share tales of lifting impossibly heavy timber beams at 10pm to get a chicken coop finished. Seriously, if you’re going to champion hard work, it should be well researched, right?
Ok, I’m going to leave Ashton alone now. I’ve started to sound more Kathy Bates in Misery than Cathy Finley of Laurica Farm. But I will give him this, opportunity IS hard work. And in the same way hard works looks different to different people, so does opportunity. I’m sure beautiful Ashton has had many opportunities in his career to become a celebrity, that kind of opportunity sounds like hell to me. Working here with my knotted muscles and my calloused hands is my opportunity. It’s my opportunity to give my family something Ashton will probably never experience. Ashton can keep the bright lights, fancy hair and manicure; I’m all good with my Farmagddon opportunities.
I could sure use a manicure though!
