The Kindest Cut

Scissors, string and a stick (throw in some seriously hard work, too) were the foundation of the Laverynth, a lavender labyrinth at our lavender farm in Upstate New York.

It wasn’t just any random pair of scissors that the kitchen junk drawer births unaided (alongside such treasures as that ancient wedge of cardboard half full of rusty thumbtacks and dried up pens promoting the local bank.) These particular scissors, Fiskars Multipurpose Garden Shears, deserve one of those long German words like tk or tk that just need a hashtag in front to capture their souls, such as #ItemIWouldSellMyFirstBornFor. These Fiskars are a tool second only to my smart phone that I'm never without on our farm. My husband David and I are each other's second (and last!) marriage and when he was cut from his company in a layoff, we made the transition to farming and created Lavenlair Farm, an agri-tourism destination near Lake George, NY. (Insert shameless plug here: LavenlairFarm.com). Our goal was to make a living while making a life worth living and on balance, we’re succeeding. Seven years later, while lavender is still our main crop, what we harvest here is happiness. Farm life is much like a labyrinth: the twists and turns en route to your goal can be disorienting (a global pandemic wasn't factored into our business plan, for instance) but if you stay true to your vision you'll arrive where you are meant to be.

We own no tractor and use no chemicals. Working the soil with hand tools like our Fiskars is truly a labor of love (and much like labor and delivery, it is often an agonizingly painful long slog to the finish that you forget about once you see the beautiful results.) Our labyrinth, like our farm and life in general for that matter, is far from perfect but it is a unique creation that draws on our combined talents. I know that the Universe truly has a sense of humor because growing lavender, known for its soothing calmness, has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life. If I had received a dollar for every time someone has said “You’re living my dream” I might almost have enough money to pay for the padded cell that the stress of it all has me longing for some days. And yet…and yet, each morning we rise and shine knowing that we steward a natural oasis that brings peace and joy to so many. We’ve seen guys thread engagement rings onto sprigs of lavender and casually suggest their intended “cut something from this bush.” Graduation photos, wedding photos, multi-generation photos have all had the backdrop of our farm and that brings great satisfaction when you’re facing another thousand plants that need weeding and harvesting.

Thank God (and Fiskars!) for the right tool for the right job to make doing the improbable possible. Just today we used the disconnectable blade portion of the shears to help stuff steel wool into a gap where one of the windows meets the stone of our 200 year-old farmhouse to discourage the swarm of honey bees who had decided this was move-in day. Never a dull moment here. The six hives of bees near the field make a raw lavender pollen honey that is truly the nectar of the Gods, but with so much pollen available from our thousands of lavender plants the bees regularly experience overcrowding and look for larger quarters. Our hospitality goes only so far and an “Air Bee & Bee” is not one of the services we are willing to offer inside our home. Life on a lavender farm: truly the craziest job you'll ever love (much/most/some of the time, depending on when you ask me and if I’ve set those Fiskars down somewhere and can’t find them…)