16 Year Anniversary with Lots of Sparks 3/10/17

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posted on

March 11, 2017

Hello SMALL Farm Enthusiasts,

Alicia and I have been married for 16 years, today. Now that we have
experienced the ups and downs of many years of trying to become "one" we
realize what a feat it actually is. A lifelong challenge and a
constant balancing act, as well as a communication skills builder,
marriage will help you grow and become a better person if you commit to
it. We have a ways to go before we have a perfect marriage but we are
committed and we, as well as our children, our community and society
will be all the better for it. Not to mention, neither one of us would
be farming if we did not have each other. So, we are both thankful for
the years we have built together, the 6 children we are raising and for
the opportunity to serve others through regenerative farming. They say
that 2 is better than one and that has been true for us!

Our anniversary started with a "bang" 2 nights ago when a fire woke us
up at 1AM. Ben our farm partner rented a wood chipper for a day. All
was well until toward the end of the day we had a little fire in the
engine compartment. We immediately shut it down and put the fire out.
Ben proceeded to call the rental co and explained what happened. He was
going to return it in the morning and ask for a discounted rental fee,
as we were not able to use it as long as planned. He left the truck
hitched to the chipper, ready for departure in the morning. At 1AM our
intern Charley who had just been here 4 days woke us up because the
chipper was on fire. This time it was not a little fire in the engine
compartment, it was a 10 ft ball of fire engulfing the whole chipper. We
knew immediately that the chipper was gone, but how to save Ben's
truck? The fire was hot with occasional explosions, we were too scared
to do anything but call 911. Of course, in hindsight there were several
things we could have tried but we erred on side of safety and waited on
the fire dept to arrive. As you can see in the pics the chipper and
truck completely burned up with very little salvageable left behind. The
rental company came the next morning and looked it over and discussed
things, rentals are often the responsibility of the renter while in the
renters possession, the challenge is that Ben had just bought this truck
and not yet insured it. Auto or truck insurance usually covers anything
towed. So they asked about homeowners insurance, no he does not have
that either. They indicated Ben may be liable for the chipper, so along
with a complete loss on the truck he may owe for the chipper too?? We
will know more soon I am sure. If anyone would like to help Ben with the
loss of his truck we will put a product on the website called Ben's truck fund,
it will be $5 and you may buy as many of them as you like........or
just add any amount to a check written to Cypress Consultants, say what
amount was added in the memo and we will forward it to Ben. I will say
this yet, only give if it strikes you and you want to, we do not reach
out to you, our faithful customers with any feeling of obligation, you
all owe us nothing, but we know from past experience that many will want
to help and it is with that in mind we let you know how to do so. Ben
has been here a year and a half and took over the pork business from
Brian and Angela, he is doing a superb job with that plus we pay him for
walk in management, he is a worthy cause as he has proven himself a
hard worker and very faithful.