Lesson #1 - Do Nothing

Manipulative action fails of itself;

clutching control, it slips from your grasp.

Things sometimes move forward, or follow behind.

life blows hot and blows cold,

strong and weak, firm and soft,

getting on, getting off, rising up, falling down.

Sages let go of over-doing,

are not caught by extremes.

- Tao te Ching #29

Intuition in farming is important. For every action there is a reaction. As a potter sculpts a lump of clay into a vase they are acting on the clay itself, but it is the emptiness inside the vase that we use. Things may not always be as they seem. We can force ourselves to come up with a solution for no reason other than satiating our need to feel like we are working. Doing nothing at times is the best decision we can make. I am reminded of this every season.

Late in May, I spent the better part of a day riding through our two vineyards writing notes. When I had finished, the notes were very few. I felt I could come up with tasks to do in the vineyards. They felt forced to me. I discussed my opinions with the foreman, running into him on the way back. He felt the same way. We decided to do nothing that week. The following Monday, I ran through again. This time finishing with many notes. We added them to the schedule. It felt right.