Joël injured his back last night. Jean-Pierre and I were  working at the office when we heard that he was flat out, lying next to the pigs. What??? He was in fine form just yesterday afternoon! We rushed home, in time to help with getting Joël inside and putting the kids to bed, but we yet have no idea how serious the problem is, and how long it will last.

I suspect his injury was caused by the recent tilling blitz. There is so much pressure to get it done, and so little time, that I think Joël tries to go too quickly, turning the machine at the end of the rows by lifting it rather than letting it walk around. It’s a heavy machine to lift, especially while turning. Then maybe he again twisted a little while lifting something for the pigs and… big ouch.

Because I’m such a worrier, the implications of not having Joël involved for a while (a day or two? weeks? months?) kept me awake. Just one day of harvesting without him will be sooo challenging — imagine having to carry the loads that he normally handles! I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

We were already planning to do without Joël for a few harvest days while he would be off doing interviews with local producers for a special project (more on that to come), but that just meant that he was doing the heavy work the evening before. Now he isn’t available for either job, or for feeding the animals, or to continue with planting or putting up the greenhouse, or for the kids, or…

Okay, okay, let’s keep the panic to a minimum. He may be fine this morning! If not, one thing at a time. Tomorrow’s harvest, market on Saturday, garden progress.

I’ll keep you posted.