I have been approached by a new friend, someone who I'd met a while back, someone I'd only just really started talking to...
It turns out that not only do we have a few common, artistic interests, she is wanting to move to the country to hobby farm. Her experience has been in small, suburban herb and vegetable gardening - not in managing acreage... I have acreage, but barely enough time to do much. I tried vegetables two springs ago, rapidly finding that much work is needed for little return. After that, I moved to mostly trees - some work, but not as fiddly. I continue to grow some herbs, mostly in containers, but devote most space to a large variety of trees.
Of particular interest, we have started swapping notes on aquaponics - the marriage of aquaculture (growing fish) and hydroponics (growing plants). In an ideal situation, you feed the fish, the waste from the fish fertilises the plants. Bacteria help, of course... There are many things to consider - not the least that you need to be able to give the time to look after the system.
I had written it off as a bad idea a while back, but have reconsidered my position. Most food comes from "non-land animals" - ie ocean farmed fish, not efficient or self-sufficient. It is possible, however, to use plant materials, fly larvae, snails, and others.
An extra farm-hand would definitely help things - and spread the costs... A few others would be good, but... we take opportunities where we find them.
Things are definitely looking up.