We have a whole new understanding of the term “labour of love” after writing this book. As if being farmers wasn’t hard enough, we had to go and write about it too! It could not have happened without the loving support of Heather and Rachel’s partners, who minded our farms while we were away on writing retreats, who put the kids to bed while we spent long hours at the computer, and who brought us coffee and chocolate to keep us going. Robin has been the glue that kept this project going by keeping the end vision in sight, planning island getaways for writing, and being ever-eager to have this book ready to present at the next conference.
The seed of the idea to write a book was first planted by Lara Fisher during a meeting with Robin and Rachel. Heather was away in North Carolina at the time visiting Lamont’s family; she confided later that when she and Lamont heard the news that we were writing a book, they thought Robin must have overdosed on her thyroid medication! Our thanks to Lara for getting the ball rolling.
We are indebted to Catherine Etmanski for her gentle but thorough editing of our rough draft, which improved it immensely; to Lucy Mei Lee for the title of the book; and to Ireta Fisher for the use of her Mayne Island cottage for a writing retreat. We also want to thank the photographers among us who contributed many of the beautiful photos, most notably Jill Banting, Jesse Cottingham, and Madeleine Gauthier.
We would also like to acknowledge the people who make our farms viable: our box program subscribers, our market customers, and the chefs who order produce week in and week out. Special gratitude, of course, to those lovely chefs who have created giant feasts from our produce for our year-end parties: Brock, Louis and Genevieve, Mohammed, and Sheena.
Thank you to all those in our organic farming community, especially the IOPA and its members. Your spirit of co-operation rather than competition has made this community thrive and made us all better people, as well as better farmers.
We’d especially like to extend our thanks to Ruth Linka and the TouchWood publishing team. Your recognition and transformation of our diamond in the rough, and commitment to manifesting our vision in book form has made the process so meaningful and satisfying.
Last, but not least, we’d like to thank the people who have gotten their hands dirty making our farms something worth writing about. We hesitate to try to name everyone, because we’ll inevitably miss someone important, but here’s our best shot (with apologies in advance for omissions): Cyra, Wendy, Chrystal, Ilya, Larkin, Jeremy, Ali, Aida, Ian, Hannah, Dara, Kate, Alex S., Melanie, Karen, Julie, Scott, Alex M., Jessie J., Jesse H., Sasha, Lindsay, Mik, Dennis, Pat (Mom), Gord (Dad), Matthew, Jenny, Scott L., Devin, Aaron, Jennie, Karlyn, Tim, Cat, Brenda, Gracie, Barb, Chantal, Jen, Joshua, John, Jill, Carly, Jesse C., Vanessa, Kat, Kate, Briar, Hannah, Steve, Kira, Liz, Carla, Justin, Peter, Randi, Catherine E., Andrew, Caleb, Nadia, Sachiko, Jesse, Catherine L., Paula, Rachelle, Paul, Chris, Ken, and dear Angie, who has appeared at the Moss Street Community Market every week to help us set up our booth for so many years that we have lost track.