We walked a curving stone pathway through beds of wildflowers, the faint scent of honeysuckle in air. As we turn the corner around their old home, we are cast into the shade of two massive hundred-year oaks. A hammock lie in between them, and an old swing hangs from the largest branch. It’s been there so long that the bark is almost grown around the chains.

Next to the house is a handmade wooden teeter-totter whose original paint has faded and almost entirely peeled off.

Before we’ve even hit the garden, this property is a time capsule of a family’s connection to this land. A place where happy memories were made. Which makes sense, as Carolyn and Eli have lived and raised their three children on this land for over two decades.

Carolyn began farming 16 years ago while pregnant with her third child and facing the reality that due to the recession and another mouth to feed on the way, they needed to grow food to be sure they’d have it to put on the table.

Within a couple years, it had turned into a business and Carolyn found herself selling at the South Durham Farmers Market.

The items they grow and sell have changed over the years, but eventually settled into mostly microgreens and flowers, with some occasional produce during peak seasons.

During the school year, Carolyn does virtually everything on the farm herself. Eli works as a career public school educator in Durham, and when they added us as a second market last year, our market became his Saturday gig.

As we walked through the garden and microgreens shed, the chaos of this year’s fluctuating weather extremes were clear. Recently laid row covers to protect newly planted crops from cold are juxtaposed by shade clothes draped over the shed and hoop house to protect plants from extreme sun and heat. The time dedicated to these arduous tasks means less time to focus on planning, planting, and harvesting. Tomatoes not yet planted out of fear of more cold snaps. Flowers blooming prematurely due to early heat. What would have been weeks of gradual harvest time cut down to days.

Nonetheless, Carolyn maintains her glowing, positive spirit. There are two traits I see in every longtime farmer: adaptability and optimism. Struggle is an undeniable fact of farming, so the ones who last are the ones who can roll with the punches and keep faith that there is always a better day over the next horizon. Carolyn absolutely does both.

MamaSprings Farm is a magical land that holds both memories of a past well-lived and hope for a future left to enjoy. Any challenge in between is just a small bump on the larger journey.

Find them every Saturday at the Cary & South Durham Farmers Markets.