21: It’s not failure… we’re going “fallow.” (with Sarah Loertscher)

Sep 22

In this episode, I sit down with bookkeeper, jewelry designer, and budding mushroom farmer Sarah Loertscher, to explore the poetic (and yet also rather technical) word "fallow." Together, we unpack the complexities of creative rest, the shame often associated with taking breaks, and the natural cycles of productivity and regeneration.

In this episode you'll learn:

The etymology and varied meanings of "fallow," from its agricultural roots to its metaphorical applications in creative life
How to reframe periods of rest or non-productivity as necessary and natural, rather than as failure
The difference between choosing to go fallow and accidentally finding yourself in a fallow period
Why "quit" might be too harsh a word for creative pauses, and how "going fallow" offers a gentler alternative
The unexpected connections between farming, creativity, and personal growth
The challenge (and potential benefits) of doing absolutely nothing for two hours a day

Pause, recharge, and tune in to the latest episode:

Note: Transcripts are AI generated. Please excuse any errors! :)
Nicole: [00:00:00] Oh hello, welcome to It's All Poetry, where in each episode we talk about one word, in depth, with one guest. We will bring you surprising word histories, etymologies, our real life stories about words, thoughts on the way we use those words to connect with each other, yeah, basically it's a podcast about words.
My name is Nicole Cloutier, and I am a copywriter, poet, and general word nerd, and I can't wait to dive into this with y'all, so let's get started.
Hello, Sarah. Hi! I'm so excited to have you on. We're talking about, such a fun word today. It's, like, very poetic.
Sarah: Yes, it is. And I didn't realize how many people didn't know it. And so I started talking about this podcast and I was like, Oh, you know the word fallow. And people would be like, No. No, I do not.
I do not know that word.
Nicole: Yeah. Well, it's funny because I thought Thought I knew the word [00:01:00] fallow. Like, I thought I knew what it meant, but then I looked it up and I was like, Oh, there's more to it than I thought, which is great. That's always such my favorite surprise. Um, but before we get too far into that, I want to tell people, tell people who I'm talking to.
So for everyone listening, I have Sarah Loertscher on the line today, and Sarah is the founder of Prism Bookkeeping, and also a jewelry designer. And I feel like multi passionate in a few other ways. Also, joining us on the call from outside, which is lovely. So if you hear some birds or some breeze, you're welcome for transporting you to Sarah's porch.
Sarah, anything you would add to that that you want people to know up front?
Sarah: Um, no, I don't, I don't think so. I mean, one of the titles I guess I'm adding to, my history is a mushroom farmer, so we are also starting that, which is a very nice, addition to the laundry list of job titles. [00:02:00] See,
Nicole: I knew it. I, I thought, I was like, Sarah must do a lot.
I just get that feeling. There's a lot of pies. Um, cool. And as Sarah mentioned, we're talking about the word fallow today, which I mean, when we first like introduced the possibility of talking about this word, I was like, I was honestly a little nervous. I was like, I don't know. Like, I don't know much about this word.
Like, can I talk about it for a whole episode? And as the dictionary provides, right. And research provides, and there is, there is so much here to dig into and I am. Thrilled to do that with you in a moment, Sarah. Yeah, awesome. Me too. Okay, so let's start with personal, a personal connection. Just, you know, nothing too heavy, or we can go heavy if you want.
Right. But what, what is your personal connection with the word fallow?
Sarah: Well, I grew up in Indiana, and so I was surrounded by fields and it was very common for me to [00:03:00] understand, like, the ebb and flow of, like, oh, that field is corn and then they move to soybeans and then it's empty and I must have heard the word fallow thrown around to, um, Reference like why that field was empty for a year or two, and I then like I think just forgot about it for a long time.
And, as you mentioned, I have a meandering history. My first big job title. I'm one of my first loves is metal smithing, and I. I did that for a very long time, and still do, but, for a while it was my entire source of income, it really was my entire world, and it was my entire being, and when I felt like I needed to step away from that because I was incredibly burned out, I, this word kind of floated back up into my world of, the need [00:04:00] to urest And that that is a cycle of productivity.
And it was like, this word just gave me permission to be able to be like, Oh, it's it's natural and it's okay. And to be able to have a name for the period of time that I think I'm still in in regards to this one specific slice of my life, is wonderful. It's like, I have a long fallow period, and that in metal smithing in particular.
And that's, that's just important of a phase than anything else.
Nicole: Yeah, and actually, you know, I don't want to get too far in without defining this word in particular just because for people listening, I think it's important for you to like, if you're unfamiliar with the word or if you, like me, think you are familiar with the word, but it's not.
So I'm going to read some of just the modern definitions and then I have some thoughts on what you just said as well. So, interestingly, the first definition of fallow in [00:05:00] the dictionary is an adjective, and it's of light yellow ish brown color. As in like, a fallow greyhound, or a fallow deer, I think is a phrase that, um, Sparked my memory like oh, I've heard the phrase a fallow deer, you know It's a yellowish brown deer.
So but I don't think that's the first definition that people think of when they hear fallow I think it's more likely to be the noun or the verb right the noun being as you said like it's kind of a technical farming term like plowed land or cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season.
And then
Nicole: there's the state of being fallow, or the tilling of the land without sowing it for a season, like letting it rest, as you're saying, and then the verb is like, You know, to the act of doing such a thing right so to plow to break up land without seeding and the purpose of that is to destroy weeds and to conserve soil and moisture so that after rest, it can again be [00:06:00] fruitful.
And then another adjective which is the last definition is dormant or inactive right to lie fallow so. Besides. The yellowish brownish one like they're all and when we get into the etymology we're going to see the connection there, but they're all about like this rest period. So all that to say now that we've gotten that out of the way like in response to what you're saying I like the way you're using fallow and that you you burnt out from something you loved that was creative and then like now you're seeing it as this resting period.
So do you see like a post resting period Reburst of metalworking for you? Probably.
Sarah: I don't think it will ever be. I don't know why in my brain, I, I seem to understand the world in terms of like plants and plant life. But even when I was in the middle of, being at my most productive, it felt really unmanageable.
And it felt like, I remember [00:07:00] thinking that I was like, had the same effect of like, standing over a garden and just like, be like, being like, not yelling at seedlings, but being like, grow, grow faster. I need you to fruit. And it's like, that is not how these things work. Creativity takes its time. Plans take their time.
Everything has its time. And I don't think I would ever. Want to put the burden of my income on my artistic practice again. So I think that the fruitful time that will come whenever it wants to, is going to just be a very different season. But I mean, it's still there, you know, I'll sit down at a bench and make something for a family member or like my neighbor's little kid for her birthday or, you know, something like that.
And it's, It feels like riding a bike. It feels like resting. It feels like coming home. [00:08:00] But I, yeah, I'll never, I'll never say never. I shouldn't say never, but I doubt that I would ever lean on it to be how I pay my rent.
Nicole: Yeah. And I, part of what appealed to me about like our preparation for this episode was like, I have a similar experience with poetry and writing, right?
Like I, My degree is in poetry. I got my master's like an MFA in poetry and then And we can talk about this a bit like the effect of capitalism and just the need to make money. After I graduated from my master's program. I was like, oh I have debt. I have student debt now Right. So like what do I do?
And so My poetry has gone fallow, and I often feel, a lot of shame and guilt around that.
Sarah: Yeah.
Nicole: A lot of shame and guilt around, like, Not writing poetry, but I still write a lot, because the way I make money is copywriting, so, but, so it's like this, [00:09:00] yeah, I don't know, I guess my question to you is, like, how do you feel about the, the shame that we often feel about letting our creativity go fallow?
Oh my god, it's so hard.
Sarah: It's so hard. I mean, I haven't made, well, I guess my, let's see, when did my, it's been about eight years, I suppose. Um, because when I, I lived in Seattle and then when I moved to New York, I was like, okay, this is such a clean line in the sand to be like, I'm going to do something different.
And I was really yearning for the comfort of a job to just go to. And then a person gives me money. And I was like, that's so dreamy. I want everything to do with that scenario right now because I was so tired. And, I mean, it took me years to, to work through that. Because I think one of the things that also felt [00:10:00] unhealthy was that I did start to realize that my art Which was beautiful. It's so complicated, right? Like the creative creations that we make, and then how that is so intertwined with who we are, and so for a long time, I was Sarah Loertscher, the jeweler, and all of my Worth and social standing like everything was wrapped up in that one title and I felt like such a paper doll I felt so one dimensional and it felt like uncomfortable that I couldn't be But that was all I had, you know, and I mean, I really admire people that have like It can balance all of that like that's what we're all after right probably or a lot of us just the balance of like how do we how do we make things how do we live how do we earn money but I just felt like such a failure for a long [00:11:00] time like I was like yeah I was so ashamed but I started to think about it and I mean this was through like help with talking to a therapist and a coach too, where it was like, it was interesting to start to reframe my relationship with it as like, almost like a, like a breakup that we were going to be friends again too, you know, like, like it's, it's okay that, uh, that we broke up.
It wasn't the right fit anymore, you know, and that, yeah. It would, it would come back if it was meant to be, and then there was like a piece with like having to let go of that, and also like a redefining of who I was in the world, which is like, not a small thing to do, you know, Yeah, so it's um, it's a complicated thing and it's been interesting.
I mean, I'm still in the periphery of a lot of crafty art [00:12:00] things and when I talk about like us leaving in a way. Some people, I say the most artists are like, Oh my God, I get it. And then a lot of people are like, how did, how did you, how did you get out? And then other people are like, I just, I know exactly how you feel.
It's just such a shared, I think, I think it's like people, a lot of people feel the same kind of stretch of like, it's hard to make money on. The creative things we bring into the world. And how do you unentangle yourself from that and still find value as a human can be a little hard.
Nicole: Yeah.
There are a few things coming up. The first thing that I want to share is that like, when I, so when I left my MFA program, I had an advisor who said to me, get a job at a flower shop. Oh my God, I love that. Yeah, he was like, I did not follow his advice, and to be honest, it [00:13:00] haunts me, because he was like, look, get a, like, don't, don't make poetry need to make you money.
You know, like, don't make your words need to make you money. I didn't follow that advice because I went into marketing and copywriting, where my words literally make me money, and I love copy in its own way, so it's not, it's A huge regret, but I don't really write poetry anymore because my writing energy is spent writing copy, right?
but that that line has always stated me of get a job at a flower shop like a job like you were saying you were craving that nine to five and Like to go in somewhere, you work for a certain amount of hours, and you don't take it home, they give you money, and then you can make your art without having to worry about it making you money.
So, yeah, any response to that?
Sarah: Well, it's really good advice, I mean it's really good advice, and I think it's interesting that I don't know how to say it, but like now I'm a bookkeeper and like, it's just a really incredible, like not irony, but I'm like, man, if I would've had a me back then, [00:14:00] I also probably would have been in a different place, but it's also like the thing that got me to where I am now.
And somehow it's like, In the best place that I could be. I mean, it's a very sweet, like, a very full circle situation of, learning through failing. And I say that, like, really gently, like, it's fine. And, and then turning that into something that, you know, other people can learn from. And I can, I can learn from.
Glean a lot of like satisfaction of service through to like the work I do now feels like it has so much meaning, not just to myself, but also to the world. And that feels really, really good. But, I think I started seeing that because of the nine or the flower shop job. Yeah, having something, I love a flower shop in particular because you would just be surrounded by like beautiful things all day, like what a lovely job to have.
And then you could like think about [00:15:00] publishery while you're there. It's not, it's really good advice, like intentionally make the balance that you want to have and try to find that in a place that isn't going to feel taxing, you know. The thing is, Sarah,
Nicole: I lived in New York City. So, can I just work in a flower shop and afford my apartment?
Sarah: No, as it turns out, no, I know, yeah, we still need to pay the rents and do the things. Yeah, so it's
Nicole: very, like, good romantic advice.
Sarah: It's very good romantic advice, but I think it's good advice, too, in that, like, If you can be intentional about finding, finding like a well paying flower shop job, like a job that's like kind of like gives you some support in some of your other, not just a financial way, but in a way that's going to like support you and like, Oh, I get to be around beauty or community or [00:16:00] this or that and can also close the gap with the income.
That's a really a nice thing to strive for as you.
Nicole: Yeah. Yeah, that would be awesome.
Sarah: It would be awesome. It's not really the world that we live in now. Well, especially in New York City. That one's tough. I lived in Seattle, too, and it just, I mean, not as, not as crazy as New York City, but it was a stretch.
Yeah. It was a stretch.
Nicole: Do you get to work with a lot of artists now in your bookkeeping?
Sarah: Some. I'm trying to figure out a way where I can, like, offer some version of, like, community bookkeeping. Where, you know, in the same way that community acupuncture can work, where it's like, it's smaller fee and it's more affordable and you get the support you need.
I haven't figured that out yet, but it's like a real, it's a consistent daydream of mine to be able to, like, support creative humans. With the bookkeeping [00:17:00] in a way that's, you know, so impactful, but yeah. Yeah. So, but just a
Nicole: handful right now. Yeah. That's awesome. Um, yeah. And I feel the same way about my copywriting.
Like I work with a lot of creative people who are running their own businesses. And, um, one thing I've said, I'm going to say this out loud, even though maybe I shouldn't, it's a little creepy, but like, it feels like my business sometimes, like I get to be like a selkie, like putting on like this creative persons.
Yeah. Skin. For a little bit and then I get to write in their voice and it's like, it's really, really satisfying and fun for me to be able to like embody these other creative people and like be like, actually like pretend to be them. Because when I'm writing, I do have to do that, you know, like I can hear their voice in my head.
Like it gets very, very spiritual. And I could like hear them talking and I'm like writing, trying to write like this. Like like them and it works best if I can get into that place where it feels like I'm actually embodying them. Oh my god. That's cool [00:18:00] Oh, I just had that thought the other day I was like, I can't say this to potential clients that's creepy They think I want to wear their skin
Or they're like, I love that girl
Sarah: And then you're like, okay,
Nicole: this is the client for me I know, I know. Okay. Well, one thing I want to do, and I think it's particularly nice for this word because like I said at the beginning of this conversation, like fallow, Even though it's kind of a Technical word in a way, like when it comes to farming, there's something about it that feels super poetic.
Yes. Like, like fallow deer, like it sounds like a magical deer almost, you know, so. Right. Because of that, I do want to look at the 1828 definition because I think that like lends some poetry to it, so. The 1828 definition, the first definition is the same, right? A pale red or pale yellow [00:19:00] as a fallow deer.
And here's something interesting. So, uh, the Latin root is fulvis, Um, and this word may be from the root of fail, follow. So called from the fading color of autumnal leaves, autumnal, autumnal leaves, or from failure, withering, hence, also the sense of unoccupied, which is applied to land. I love that. I love this word so much.
Sarah: Tell me more. No, I mean, it's just, I think it's a really beautiful, like if it, if it does come from some root about fail or that like really interesting time in between, like, I mean, it's so specific, right? Like the withering of leaves and I don't know. I mean, there's, One of the things I work with this amazing gardener, [00:20:00] and she's always talking about soil building and also like how, integral, like the leaves are like people like clear their leaves away.
And they're like, Oh, it's, you know, leaves. And she's like, Oh my God, like, just let them lay there and decay. And it is going to build up the soil and build up the soil. And I don't know, just like that is a nice loop of like the fallow, like the leaves are falling down and they're like coming into the soil and that's gonna be the one of the things that makes it stronger and more vital.
It does feel like a very poetic word, and it feels like very Old. I know the fallow deer thing was funny too because I was looking at definitions before this call as well to be like, I think pretty sure I'm using it the right way. And the like fallow deer thing, I felt like that was like hearkening back to like childhood fairy tales or something where I'm like, I feel like I've heard that and I do not know why.[00:21:00]
Nicole: Yeah, I know. I don't know. I feel like I've heard it a bunch. Well, it's, it's funny because that's the example that's used in the 1828 dictionary is, you know, fallow deer. But also what I love about to this etymology, like going back to the Latin root is that we get the connection between fallow field and the color of the autumn autumn leaves.
I don't know why I feel weird every time I say that word. No, it's, it's autumnal. Autumnal. Okay. Totally. I mean, I think, I think you're saying it right. Okay. Autumnal, maybe autumnal, probably autumnal. I think
Sarah: so.
Nicole: But it connects that and it also connects to what you were saying, which I don't even know if you were doing this intentionally, but about like Like that feeling of failure,
like that's, that shame coming, so we've got this root of fail and it, that leads to fallowness in the turning of a leaf that has failed to stay green. Of course, this is part of the natural process.
Sarah: It's [00:22:00] like a little harsh.
Nicole: And then this is like going back to yelling at plants to grow. Yeah. And then also like the fallow ground, but. I guess what this brings me to is I think that there's a difference between fallow as a choice and fallow as an accident. I think a lot of artists it feel it can feel like a fallow period is is happening By accident, like you didn't mean, at least I have felt this way, I should speak from the eye, like I didn't mean to stop writing poetry, but I did, right?
Sarah: Oh, right, like, life just took over, and then suddenly you're not writing poetry, instead of like, I am not writing poetry, it is a choice. Yeah, that is a really, You know, it's interesting when you're, I was thinking about fail, just as you're mentioning that also, and thinking about the fields and it's like, well, when is a farmer going to know when it's time to like the, for the field [00:23:00] to lay fallow, it's going to start to fail in whatever least harsh way we can think about that, where it's like, it's not producing and there will be a point where it's, Producing not enough that somebody is going to be like, it needs a rest.
I have to give it a rest. Or I suppose like you said, if they kept, if you're a farmer and you keep trying it anyway, like eventually nothing will come out and you're going to get to the same end point. Right. But you just wasted a lot of seed and like years and years of trying to be like, no, I think it's going to work instead of like, just being like, we're just going to put The field down for a nap and be back later.
Nicole: Yeah. If it's just not, I guess, yeah, if it's not producing, right, like, what are the signs to a farmer that a field needs to go fallow?
Sarah: Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I am certainly not an agricultural like expert at all, but I mean, if you know the signs and [00:24:00] I'm, you know, I'd be curious, like what other.
Makers and creatives like what their signs are, you know, there's a tipping point There's there's a tipping point where like when I was like God, this feels hard. Oh my God, I'm so tired. But you can run on that adrenaline for a while because you're also, well, it's a culture that we live in where you're supposed to just like produce all the time and probably getting some accolades, some money's coming in, and the money verifies that you're, huge air quotes there, like verifies that what you're doing is right, and so you're like, well, I guess I should just keep doing this thing.
I certainly didn't listen to those internal like rumblings like it had I had to be knocked over the head with like fatigue and burnout to be like I think it's a good idea to stop doing this and when your practice and you Or when my practice and me are [00:25:00] just the almost one in the same it is extremely hard to Like negotiate that. I don't know. I'm not sure what the word is, but it's a, it's a really hard place to get to that doesn't feel like failure.
It's really funny. One of the things that I Things that I mentioned at the beginning of our conversation was mushroom farming. Yes. And that has been a really interesting thing to, start to do. One of the reasons is it is the quietest kind of farming that you could ever do.
Everything happens underneath the soil. Like everything and then a mushroom is kind of like a fruit like a like an apple. It's like this, you know, the root network, the mycelium network. It's finally ready to go. It rains and then they like pop up. So our like garden. Looks like it's [00:26:00] like logs and like mulch, and there's so much happening but you can't see it.
You can kind of like pull back the mulch and be like, Oh, like there is stuff happening here. But you can't, you can't see it until like, until it happens. And I don't know. I mean, it's interesting to think about like the soil and what's happening in like a fallow field is, I mean, just again, like really, really quiet, but things are things are happening.
Things are mending, like, mushrooms are like my silly and like all sorts of wonderful things beneath the soil are happening.
Nicole: That's amazing. I like want to learn more about mushroom farming.
Sarah: We should talk about that separately because I'm so curious. I would love to. It is amazing.
Nicole: I mean, of course, like, I feel like it'd be, I'd be remiss if I didn't. If I didn't also mention that like a lot of stuff happening in the West right now with fallow fields is like not great, you know, [00:27:00] like,
Sarah: um, again, not a choice.
Yeah, that was made.
Nicole: Yeah. For the
Sarah: reason of rest.
Nicole: Yeah. And it's almost like the consequence of not making the choice, right? Like the fields are burnt out. Yeah.
Sarah: Yeah. I mean, there is a point. I really want to learn more about like permaculture. And there's a lot of like, in our area, I live in the Catskills and there's some really, really incredible farming communities.
And, you know, the idea of like no till land as a no till farming is something that, I mean, it's kind of new to me. Like, I, you know, I'm just right at the edges of this, this world. But yeah, like not disrupting what's happening and that really slow process and just kind of like, Layering things on top to help support, instead of like when you tell you you just ripped a lot of layers of things and then, you know, depending on where you are [00:28:00] farming, you just kind of like layer on a bunch of artificial pesticides and fertilizers and be like, well, that'll, that'll be close enough.
But
Nicole: there's a limit to that too. Yeah. Well, for years I was living in Connecticut. Not too far from where you were. My sister got married in the Cascades. I drove from Connecticut to, um, Oh, it's so pretty. Yeah, it was beautiful. Oh, it was the fall wedding in the Cascades. Ah! It was amazing. It's so nice.
Oh my god. But, like, one thing that I know, that I encountered at, the house I was in at the time was, I wanted to replace a lot of the, the grass because the grass was no longer a native, right? But it was like, so you had to till, like you had to dig deep because this like invasive grass had taken over.
So you were kind of forced to turn it over and flip it upside down or cover it with a dark plastic [00:29:00] sheet. Like I was doing all kinds of things.
Sarah: One of the things that's crazy to you about like tilling and, what I learned from like my gardener friends, Stacia is, there's like the seeds can also lay.
This is so relevant, actually. Like seeds can also lay dormant. For an extremely long time.
I mean,
Sarah: there's this amazing experiment going on at some college and like on the, like Eastern seaboard. I don't, I should find it. It would be fun to link to, but they, have, It started like, I don't know, decades ago where they would bury bottles of seeds and then it was like under the cover of night, like every 10 years, people will go and like pull out a couple of them and see if they would still sprout.
And they've been doing this for, well, like I said, like decades to see like how long can a seed hold. The ability to germinate, the ability to live, and it's like a profoundly long time. So the fact that you know, I'm in my [00:30:00] eighth year of, I don't know, fallowness or whatever, the seeds are still there.
Like all of those things like that make us creative, that make us like want to, to make things like it's not, it's not, It doesn't go away, you know, it's, I mean, I'm totally mixing like a ton of metaphors right now, but like, it doesn't go away, it's still there and it'll, it'll sprout in Germany when it wants to, like it volunteers to be like, now would be a good time.
Nicole: Yeah. I love that. And I love that, that like, like your story there breaks the shame. It breaks the shame around. Not choosing to go fallow.
Sarah: Yeah. Yeah. It's a nice, I don't know, for me, it is a nice place to rest, a nice word to rest in and be like, It's okay. It's okay. We all need, we all need those spaces and that time to
see what comes after.
Nicole: Yeah. Do you see the [00:31:00] word fallow being used much on the internet? Mmm, No, but I'm
Sarah: also, like, not on the internet very much, so. Yeah. Um, but I can't say that I do. Yeah, me either. I don't know.
Nicole: Me either. I was just curious if you were seeing something different than I was.
Um, do you wish more people used the word fallow?
Sarah: I think in the context that we're talking about, especially if people can relate, like, I mean, I do feel like that there's a certain part of our population that, like, Loves to garden and loves to like communicate with plants and there's like a real identity there and a lot of those people are also makers and to have that like the the word yeah I think it'd be really helpful for people to put their like [00:32:00] their quiet times in context and to just be like it's okay it's part of life so Yeah, I think it'd be cool to see it used in more of like a, I don't know, I didn't have language for it, you know, and I still really don't, I'm like, well, I quit, I quit, like, I, you know, it's like, no, that's not right, like, I didn't quit making things, but there's not a good word to land on that's right.
Neutral. Yeah. You know? I mean, do you know of any?
Nicole: No. I'm thinking, and I do, I do think we're in a place where we have kind of glorified the word quit, and I don't think that that's bad either. You know, I don't think that's bad. But I, but I, that's been happening for a while now, like that's not new to glorify the word quit.
Um, it makes me think of, I think, Is it Emily McDowell who like talks about quitting and um, anyway, I think there's that's like a decade old, you know, so maybe it is time right to say like, [00:33:00] maybe we didn't quit like maybe there's a softer word that implies that instead of just like burning a bridge, which is what quit implies, right?
Impersonate implies like a severing right going fallow is just like resting and letting things happen under the surface.
Sarah: Right. And like a cycle, right? Like what you were saying, like quit is very linear. It's very like, and we are, and we are done. Yeah. Failing is like, and we are done. Or you'd have to make a comeback, which also is like, you know, like what?
But, you know, fallow, just acknowledging that there's a circle instead of a line is kind of sweet.
Nicole: Yeah, maybe I'll just start saying like, I'm going fallow
Sarah: for the
Nicole: summer.
Sarah: Oh, oh god. Well, that's it too. I mean, the thing is that like, I recently learned when I was like, what is this word? There are so many types of fallow.
And it's strange that it's like a, it's cool that it's like a [00:34:00] verb and a noun and, but I mean there's like short fallows, which was just a season, and then there's like long fallows, which are years, there's like, if you plow and leave the, like in the, I mean like if you plow and leave it unseeded, that's a different kind of fallow than if you just don't touch it anymore, like there's all sorts of You I mean, you could go kind of deep into being like, well, what type of fallow am I, you know?
But, yeah, there, I think like a, yeah, like I'm going to have a fallow week would be lovely.
Nicole: Yeah. Fallow week. And I would love to time my fallowness with my own like cycle. Because I have different energy levels during different parts of my cycle. This is my fallow week.
Sarah: Oh my god, I really want that to be a thing.
Can we please make that a thing? That would be, that would be lovely.
Nicole: Okay. The other thing to mention is that, like, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, that, the color of [00:35:00] plowed earth is also that yellow brown color. Oh, interesting. And then, it's interesting to look at the dates of when different uses started to be used. So, in order we have 1300 fallow land, and then 14th century, it starts to be used as an adjective, and then 1520s, it starts to be used as land that has been plowed, but not planted. So not just left alone, but like, plowed.
Sarah: That is really interesting. I mean, I think it's really, I mean, there's a lot to learn, right, about like farming and the history of farming, of which I know basically nothing.
The fact that it's pretty old wisdom that the rest is required. Like we have to do that in order to have food. We have to do that in order for it to produce.
Nicole: And it's a, um, Assumption.
So I like getting into Proto Indo European roots. So it's derived from the root pel, which means to [00:36:00] fold, hence to turn.
So that applies to action too, it's folding, it's turning, it's, you're changing if we apply it to ourselves, like we are going through some sort of transformation or folding or changing.
Sarah: Yeah, that's really cool. I love etymology. Me too. I mean, clearly.
Nicole: Okay, so as we like, come to the end and wrap up, is after our conversation, after all your research, like, do you feel differently about the word fallow than you did before diving in so deeply?
Sarah: No, I think I just like, love it. Even more, honestly. I, um, yeah, I just, I really love it more. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, what do you think about it? I mean Yeah,
Nicole: it's not a word I thought about a lot before. Yeah. Um, so that's cool. Like, a lot of the words I do on this podcast are words that, like, are used a lot, and, and I, I learn to see them [00:37:00] differently.
This one I feel like I'm like, oh, right. Like, I've, I know you, I've heard you, I've seen, like, I've seen you. You remind me of poetry, which makes me feel fondly about you, , which is so funny. I think that it reminds me of poetry and not farming. Like my, it's probably just a product of like where I grew up and like what my life has been, that that's my first instinct for it.
But yeah, I feel like. I, yeah, I love this word and I didn't love it before. So my, my transformation has been like, we're going from unaware, unaware of it to loving it. That's pretty quick.
Sarah: That's really, that's really cool.
Nicole: I think it would be nice to wrap by like people who are listening. Like if I know my audience, it is a lot of artists, a lot of people who are trying to make money off of their art, in some way and build their own businesses.
Like what final advice do, do we, do you have for them about going fallow? Yeah.
Sarah: That's a really good question. I mean, I don't want any of it this to sound like [00:38:00] it's a requirement, but it's almost just a hopefully a reminder that like the resting is just as much a part of the cycle is production. And like you were talking about.
Like maybe using the word more intentionally, like I'm going to have a fallow summer. But even bringing that down to like, if you're a creative person, you know, having, or any person really, you know, but, having a, a fallow day or just making space for that rest and to be completely okay with not doing.
Air quotes, making, and anything, God, there's like so many air quotes, like those three words. I'm just like, like, it's, it's okay. I had a doctor friend who was like, I am going to give you a prescription. It is. [00:39:00] That you spend two hours a day, like not doing anything. And I was like, that is a huge amount of time.
And she's like, as it turns out, our brains need that in order to be functioning. You know, the connections that you make when you're staring at a tree or daydreaming or whatever. And I don't know anyone in my current circle and in this current world that could like Comfortably take two hours to stare at a tree.
Like that sounds incredible, but even just permission to do that, like once a week for an hour and being like, Oh, I'm going to have a follow hour because it's, it's actually like helping our brains to recover from everything else that
Nicole: we do. So, yeah, that like gives me anxiety to even think about that.
Like it's all my, and I'm, it's funny. Cause like, as you're speaking, I'm realizing that all my time that maybe Prior to you [00:40:00] saying that I would have considered fallow would have been like watching tv or listening to a podcast or I don't know if fallow can now I feel like fallow can't even be that it can't even be consuming like Not that it can't sorry.
I don't want to like put hard lines in the sand Here
Sarah: for our
Nicole: like
Sarah: made up use
Nicole: of this word. Yeah. Yeah We are defining um, um, but it the only time I can remember like doing that like actually You being fallow in the way that you and your doctor friend are describing are like sitting in the sun with my dog because she loves sitting in the sun and it's so hot here that i don't do it often but she just loves it i'll go sit with her and that's pretty fallow like we're just sitting and i'm like petting
her
Nicole: or like Times when I've been on psychedelics.
Like all I can do is stare at this tree, and that feels pretty fallow. Right.
Sarah: Yeah. I mean, it's, it's really incredible. I, you know, I, that is a really good realization. And it wasn't until my, this Dr. [00:41:00] Finn mentioned that, or I was like, Oh my, I mean, I've done it roughly one hour in the past six months. And I'm like, well, that was cool.
But it also feels nice to, again, have that permission to be like, it's really what you need. Now I have seasons. I have like tax season, which is like a real thing. That's really hard. And I do remember after the close of tax season, I was like, I gotta go sit. And stare. And my husband's like, okie doke, I'll bring you some food.
And I, I just like sat on a stump and like stared at the grass. Like, I was like, I can't do anything else. And it was so healing. It was like a couple of hours. Like, I was like, Oh my God, dude, are you okay? But, it was incredibly nourishing just to be like, I'm going to kind of let my brain go a little flatline here and, and then I would kind of, I don't know about woke up, but then I was like, Oh, okay, I do feel better, you know?
So [00:42:00] our brains, we ask them to do so much and any amount of fallowness that you can bring into your life is, a very good amount indeed.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sarah, this has been so awesome. I, like I said, I've fallen in love with this word. It's been fun because it feels like we're kind of creating definition, which is a fun exercise. And I know we didn't talk much about bookkeeping, but you have a bookkeeping business. We did talk a little bit about it, but yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, Yeah, where can people find you?
Are you open for new clients, for bookkeeping clients?
Sarah: It's probably not right now. This is also why the experience that I had in my former design business has been so instrumental in helping me have a healthier relationship for the second. Round this season because like I can pick up on the signs a little earlier of like, okay, it's time to slow [00:43:00] down So no, not right now, but I also have like an amazing network of people too I mean the fact that so anyway, if anyone needs help or If I want to get connected with a great bookkeeper, I can probably help with that because it's something that I could talk a lot about.
But, it's a very important job and finding the right person to do it is really important too. But yeah, no, so I, I still have a jewelry website, which is my name. So it's sarahLoertscher. com. Prism Bookkeeping is my current jam. That's Hey Prism.
And then our little, our little farm is called Cloverfield Farm, and it has a very basic website. We'll probably not have much more other for a while because, our mushrooms are also sleeping and are in a introductory fallow period and [00:44:00] they will show up. Roughly a year from now. So that's exciting.
Nicole: Yeah.
So much happening there.
Sarah: Yeah. A lot of like quiet stuff happening, which is, a really good underlying to this whole conversation.
Nicole: Yeah. And you have. Uh, like nine months till tax season, maybe less. Yes, yeah,
Sarah: yeah, it kind of starts, yeah, it starts in January, so. Oh, okay, so not as long, except five months.
Yeah, it's coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to carve out a little bit more fallow. Period. Fallow time. I'm gonna, I'm gonna use this word a lot more now, I, which is really nice. I've never used it actively. Like, I've just used it as like, oh, there's this nice word to describe what I experienced. But, yeah, it's like, it would be cool to use it
Nicole: in
Sarah: more day to day living.
Nicole: Yeah, I intend to.
Sarah: Awesome.
Nicole: Well, thank you so much, Sarah. This has been so lovely. [00:45:00] Yeah, you're welcome. Appreciate your
Sarah: thoughts
Nicole: and your time.
Sarah: Oh my god, it's so fun to talk. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for listening to It's All Poetry. You have no idea what it means to me to have you here. This podcast is recorded and produced and edited by yours truly. I've had to learn a lot of tech, y'all. You can find all the resources and links from this episode in the show notes. At Nicolecopy.com/itsallpoetry
the music you hear throughout is by Jack Pierce. And if you enjoyed this episode, there is a bunch of other stuff that you might want to check out from my weekly newsletter with marketing prompts to one-on-one copy coaching for your business to branding guidance, uh, and more things that I'm not even aware of at the time of this recording because I add stuff all the time.
But it's all right there at nicolecopy.com. Thanks again for loving words with me. I'll see you next [00:46:00] time.

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