A Question of Access

It happened again.

We just returned from four days of "digital communication blackout".  Zero access.  No computer.  No phone.  There was nothing but the mountains, the river, some deeply moving Americana Roots music, and a few hundred of the most relaxed folks I've ever had the pleasure of spending the weekend with.

Joe and I attended the "Jammin' at Hippie Jack's" Americana music festival and my only regret was that I forgot to pack my camera.  I don't regret it overmuch though.


I have my memories and I can throw some videos on here to show you all just how great this festival really is:





But that's not really the focus of this post.

You see, there's been a question rankling around in my mind ever since the Radical Farmwives nominated our Groundwell Farm website for a Liebster award.  One of the nomination questions they asked us was, "How long can you go without checking your phone or email?" And this got me to thinking.  We are all so concerned with digital access.  For many folks, texting and facebooking have all but replaced all other forms of communication.  For myself, blogging replaces a great deal of letter writing, phone calling, and face to face talking that I once engaged in.  The problem is, that it is not an adequate replacement for all of that one on one communication.  My blogs do not reach all of the people I wish it could, and for whatever reason, it does not have the give and take of a conversation.  It has just never developed in that direction, and maybe that's just as well.

But, I digress.  The point I'm really trying to make is that when I am in an "access free" area I do not miss the phone or the computer at all. And that makes me wonder about my habits when I do have access.  Do I actually need to check my email and my blog stats several times per day when they only reveal interesting information about once or twice per week?

This questioning is not leading up to some rash pledge of, "I will only turn on this computer once per week." or anything like that, but I am able to feel electronic communication gradually fading away from me.

Perhaps the Groundwell Farm site will morph into a monthly newsletter that encapsulates all of our blogging needs.  We'll see.  In the meantime, if you have any input into my cogitations go ahead and leave them here in the comment section, I'll get them sometime this week.  

Better yet, give me a call and we can talk about it person to person.  I't'd be lovely to hear your voice!