{"id":5533,"date":"2020-08-25T11:59:17","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T15:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5533"},"modified":"2020-08-25T12:04:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T16:04:13","slug":"episode-100-best-crop-is-flax-for-the-movie-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5533","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 100 BEST CROP IS FLAX…FOR THE MOVIE INDUSTRY"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 100    BEST CROP IS FLAX\u2026FOR THE MOVIE INDUSTRY<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
August 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cOUR best crop is Flax.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Friends  and relatives often ask us what do we grow on our farm.  I have <\/div>\n
a standard answer\u2026\u201dFlax\u201d\u2026followed by fragment of explanation\u2026\u201dfor the movie  industry\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Now that makes us,  Marjorie and  I, sound like big time farmers.  The truth is less exalted.<\/div>\n
Our flax  crop needed  a little high powered marketing before we reached the big time.<\/div>\n
Big time?  What a load of  hot air.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We  grow about an acre of flax which fights for existence in a <\/div>\n
field  full of  weeds.  Flax  is  tough and succeeds here and there.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
But to get rentals.  Yes, rentals\u2026we rent our flax.  It is  not a consumable unless the mice<\/div>\n
get at it in the seed  ball stage.   Our flax never reaches  the seed ball stage.  We harvest it<\/div>\n
just after the beautiful tender blue or purple flower drop their petals.  Less  attractive to mice.   That is<\/div>\n
our little trade secret.  Do not copy.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Harvesting about 100 bundles of flax.  Not a truckload.  Maybe two  wheelbarrow loads when its bound<\/div>\n
with binder twine and looped for hanging. Then the flax  is ready for the sales pitch.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat you  people need is a load of our flax to hang here and there<\/div>\n
in your movie\u2026maybe a market scene or a murder scene.   Hanging<\/div>\n
flax can make things mysterious.  Your camera can  move on one side<\/div>\n
and presto \u2026 you have mystery.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet me  demonstrate”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“There are 44 bundles  of flax now hanging in the workshop.  Our target each year is 100.  <\/div>\n
the rest is left for the field  mice or winter  birds.   We are generous farmers.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Please do not look closely at our harvest.  I would  prefer you not see the binder twine looping system.  Just look<\/div>\n
at the pretty blue or purple flax  flower.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We diversify our crop rentals with a bunch of hanging tobacco.  The trouble with<\/div>\n
renting tobacco leaves is that some never comes  back.  I suspect the movie<\/div>\n
crews like to  roll your own .   Who cares?  Loss is just the cost of doing business.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Now  suppose you want the aged effect.  Well we have a supply of  aged flax\u2026brown.  <\/div>\n
Some of it is in the ball stage because we were too slow in harvesting.  That gives <\/div>\n
the flax and even more mysterious appearance.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cOur flax is hand harvested.  This dump rake is just a prop to make us look mechanized.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cCan you find the flax among the weeds?\u2026look for the little balls\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan  skeoch<\/div>\n
August 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
p.s.  Do not call in the next couple of hours.  We will be in the back field<\/div>\n
hand harvesting and bundling.   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 100    BEST CROP IS FLAX\u2026FOR THE MOVIE INDUSTRY alan skeoch August 2020 \u201cOUR best crop is Flax.\u201d Friends  and relatives often ask us what do we grow on our farm.  I have  a standard answer\u2026\u201dFlax\u201d\u2026followed by fragment of explanation\u2026\u201dfor the movie  industry\u201d Now that makes us,  Marjorie and  I, sound like big time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}