As with the spring of 2008, March has started out with serious kookiness. Yes, I said kookiness.
With our beautiful warm, sunny days and blooming trees and flowers, it was easy to be seduced into thinking winter had spent all its energy on the Eastern parts of the country. Yesterday, March and its madness arrived. In the space of one day, the temperature dropped from the 50s to the low 30s. We had dark cloudy skies, hail, sleet, rain, snow and beautiful sunshine. While the children played outside frolicking in fast-flying snow flurries, chanting "Stick Stick Stick!" I burned the insert so hot you could break into a sweat in the living room.
Spring may now come. I have declared it!
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I remember the old days....sourcing farm vegetables
One of the peculiarities about moving to Gig Harbor when we did is the small pleasure of having chosen the area before it really grew up. We were here before the new toll bridge that made the commute accessible again for the first time in decades; before the Costco; before the YMCA. When we moved here we were still driving 25 miles-- each way-- to get our farm fresh produce from our beloved CSA on Puyallup's River Road. While I remain a huge fan of of Farmer Terry and her wonderful programs, the cold reality of rising fuel costs made an hour round-trip jaunt and a bridge toll just too much. Our own successful garden and the advent of the new Key Peninsula Farmer's Market also contributed so much food it just made sense to stay local. Our favorite local farmers are Greg and Maureen at Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch. They are friendly, hands on and very reasonable. Their working farm has provided us with berries, plums, apples and eggs. They also provide the community with CSAs of beef and lamb as well as whole chickens
A newer, local CSA that just formed last year is Peace of the Earth Farm. Their subscriptions are reasonable and they've had a year now to get up and running. I plan to go visit them very soon.
A newer, local CSA that just formed last year is Peace of the Earth Farm. Their subscriptions are reasonable and they've had a year now to get up and running. I plan to go visit them very soon.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Why backyard chickens?
This is a nice post on trying to acclimate your neighbors to your backyard flock. We've been quite fortunate so far and haven't had to justify anything but I love the tone of this non-threatening, non-obnoxious flyer.
from http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2010/02/backyard-chicken-pr.html
Why Backyard Chickens?
The eggs.
Beautiful, best-tasting, and most nutritious ever. They are higher in omega-3s and lower in cholesterol than commercially produced eggs.
Keeping a few hens reduces the demand for factory-farmed eggs which are produced under highly undesirable conditions. Plus, as far as “eating local” is concerned, the backyard is about as local as it gets.
Compost magic.
Chickens consume kitchen waste, weeds, and lawn clippings, reducing stress on landfills and turning household compost into a wonderfully balanced super-fertile soil. Perfect for the best
gardening conditions imaginable--without chemical fertilizers.
Sustainability.
It may be a drop in the bucket, but shopping for eggs in the backyard and enhancing
the production of a kitchen garden is a tangible step many people can take to reduce reliance on the corporate machinery that has taken a bite out of our independence.
You Have Chickens in Your Backyard? I wonder . . .
Is it going to be dirty and/or smelly?
A well-maintained chicken set-up is a very low or no-odor environment. Much less so than cats and dogs.
Am I going to get a wake-up call at dawn every morning?
Few backyard chicken owners keep roosters. Roosters are not necessary for egg production, just for egg fertilization. Some hens intermittently set up an “egg-laying cackle” in late morning to early afternoon, but it isn’t the penetrating crow of a rooster. Just a “bawk!, I laid an egg, I laid an egg” announcement. Hens are very quiet most of the time, particularly during the early morning hours and well before and after sunset.
If only all the neighborhood dogs, leaf-blowers and teenagers would be as considerate!
Aaahh! Bird flu!!
Bird flu has never been found in domestic flocks in the US. In fact, experts consider an increase in home egg production to be an answer to the threat of diseases such as avian influenza which are aggravated by overcrowded poultry factory conditions.
It it even legal?
Yes, municipal laws in our county permit backyard fowl.
Can I have some eggs? Can I bring my children to see your chickens?
Yes! We love to share! And we love introducing our flock to the people who appreciate them the most-- kids! Chickens are a great teaching tool and there’s nothing like the experience of gathering a warm egg from a nest.
Copyright Little House in the Suburbs (www.littlehouseinthesuburbs.com) 2010
Thanks Ladies!
from http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2010/02/backyard-chicken-pr.html
Why Backyard Chickens?
The eggs.
Beautiful, best-tasting, and most nutritious ever. They are higher in omega-3s and lower in cholesterol than commercially produced eggs.
Keeping a few hens reduces the demand for factory-farmed eggs which are produced under highly undesirable conditions. Plus, as far as “eating local” is concerned, the backyard is about as local as it gets.
Compost magic.
Chickens consume kitchen waste, weeds, and lawn clippings, reducing stress on landfills and turning household compost into a wonderfully balanced super-fertile soil. Perfect for the best
gardening conditions imaginable--without chemical fertilizers.
Sustainability.
It may be a drop in the bucket, but shopping for eggs in the backyard and enhancing
the production of a kitchen garden is a tangible step many people can take to reduce reliance on the corporate machinery that has taken a bite out of our independence.
You Have Chickens in Your Backyard? I wonder . . .
Is it going to be dirty and/or smelly?
A well-maintained chicken set-up is a very low or no-odor environment. Much less so than cats and dogs.
Am I going to get a wake-up call at dawn every morning?
Few backyard chicken owners keep roosters. Roosters are not necessary for egg production, just for egg fertilization. Some hens intermittently set up an “egg-laying cackle” in late morning to early afternoon, but it isn’t the penetrating crow of a rooster. Just a “bawk!, I laid an egg, I laid an egg” announcement. Hens are very quiet most of the time, particularly during the early morning hours and well before and after sunset.
If only all the neighborhood dogs, leaf-blowers and teenagers would be as considerate!
Aaahh! Bird flu!!
Bird flu has never been found in domestic flocks in the US. In fact, experts consider an increase in home egg production to be an answer to the threat of diseases such as avian influenza which are aggravated by overcrowded poultry factory conditions.
It it even legal?
Yes, municipal laws in our county permit backyard fowl.
Can I have some eggs? Can I bring my children to see your chickens?
Yes! We love to share! And we love introducing our flock to the people who appreciate them the most-- kids! Chickens are a great teaching tool and there’s nothing like the experience of gathering a warm egg from a nest.
Copyright Little House in the Suburbs (www.littlehouseinthesuburbs.com) 2010
Thanks Ladies!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Family Style
We took the weekend and packed it full of family stuff. It was nice, reconnecting with just us and carrying no outside plans. We made organic blackberry applesauce, using our own blackberries. I should say that this time, all I did was turn on the stove and mash the product. The kids did all the work.
The tongue of concentration
P-daddy even acquiesced to go to IKEA-- on a Saturday-- so that was a huge deal for him. We have some interior redecorating to do so we're desperately in need of some inspiration for furniture placement for a home-based lifestyle like ours. (I am just not finding it online so if you want to spam me, feel free to do so in the comments!)
D-meister always dresses for the occasion. The perfect outfit for IKEA? Eurotrash!
They're clearly stunned by the Vibrancy
The tongue of concentrationP-daddy even acquiesced to go to IKEA-- on a Saturday-- so that was a huge deal for him. We have some interior redecorating to do so we're desperately in need of some inspiration for furniture placement for a home-based lifestyle like ours. (I am just not finding it online so if you want to spam me, feel free to do so in the comments!)
D-meister always dresses for the occasion. The perfect outfit for IKEA? Eurotrash!
They're clearly stunned by the VibrancyTuesday, September 08, 2009
The White House Garden
http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/Inside-the-White-House-The-Garden/
I was such a happy camper when Michelle Obama put this in. As my own garden is coming to an Autumn Pause, I went looking to see how the White House garden was doing. According to Time magazine this month, the WHG has produced 250 pounds of food this summer.
This video jazzes me in so many ways--- the ties to the Victory Gardens I tried to model this year; the ties to Jefferson in Virginia; the obvious reasons we should be gardening and eating with our family.
It's something peaceful and optimistic to consider while everything else political rages on about us.
I was such a happy camper when Michelle Obama put this in. As my own garden is coming to an Autumn Pause, I went looking to see how the White House garden was doing. According to Time magazine this month, the WHG has produced 250 pounds of food this summer.
This video jazzes me in so many ways--- the ties to the Victory Gardens I tried to model this year; the ties to Jefferson in Virginia; the obvious reasons we should be gardening and eating with our family.
It's something peaceful and optimistic to consider while everything else political rages on about us.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Food not lawns, baby!
The squash are taking over the spaces between the gardens. It actually works for the salad garden; the leaves provide a nice shady spot so the salads haven't been bolting. 
He found the green beans. 
Jungle Predator. Watch out.... he might kiss you!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Oldie but goody--
10 ways to garden with your partner and stay together
from the Seattle PI, 2003
1. Eliminate the competition.
The most important thing is to avoid getting your partner interested in gardening in the first place. Then you get complete control over the garden.
2. Divide and conquer.
If your partner is keen on gardening, divide the garden down the middle. Better yet, try to interest your partner in mowing, weeding and general maintenance. That will free up your time for the really fun stuff.
3. Hoard the good stuff.
Spend at least a quarter of your free time going to nurseries. This will allow you to find those rare and attractive plants that will make your side of the garden look better than your partner's. Don't even hope to have any money saved to see you through your golden years.
4. Avoid the cutting edge.
Hide pruning shears from your partner until he or she promises not to turn any more plants into balls and doughnuts.
5. Don't throw the rocks.
Use super huge boulders in the garden. There are two ways to do this: Have them delivered and placed by the quarry where you bought them, or rent a truck and a backhoe. The backhoe method is much more fun, but remember: Place the rock in the garden, not through the side of the house, particularly if your partner is inside.
6. Secretly encourage sharing.
Use your partner's gardening tools with reckless abandon, but only when he or she is not home. Get them as dirty as you like, but wipe the evidence away before your sweetie comes home.
7. Subtle is good.
Enlarge your garden space by chipping away at the lawn. Do this by removing a few feet of turf at a time, and quickly filling in the new garden space with relatively mature plants. Hopefully he or she will not notice until the next time you set up the croquet course.
8. Acquire new lands.
Be quick to search for and claim new areas that become open. While my wife was away one weekend, I dug out a large camellia that she wanted removed. She was delighted until she realized that I had already filled the entire area with my new acquisitions.
9. Don't overlook concrete.
Cram every open space with containers before your partner has the same idea. That will give you somewhere to plant all of those incredible rarities that you couldn't resist buying and have absolutely no space for in the garden. Don't expect to ever park in the driveway again.
10. Claim bragging rights.
When neighbors and friends come over, lead them to your garden areas and wax poetic over the design, plant combinations and rare treasures. Be sure to denigrate your partner's side, particularly if it is gaining more compliments than yours.
If you follow these tips, don't throw away the marriage counselor's phone number. You will certainly need it soon!
-- Ciscoe Morris
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
When Chickens Attack
The desperation to get the chickens in their tractor-- outside-- reached a fever pitch about a week before we actually got the feat accomplished. Poor P-daddy's knee took a whallop so the project and the husband were out of commission for a while. The tractor is still not technically finished-- it needs a proper roof-- but it's well and done enough for the chickens to be quite happily outside.
For about two weeks prior to that, they were inside at night and then we would put them outside in a "play pen," a range shelter we cobbled together out of a soccer goal and unrolled chicken wire just leaned against it. The chicks grew so fast for we inexperienced poultry tenders; the unhappy limbo for us came in the time during which they lacked enough feathers to be outside at night but they had so much energy and poop that they made our home miserable when they were inside.
We finally gave up on the brooder box entirely when they were about a month old, and just barricaded off the breakfast nook with baby gates and plywood. We spread a gigantic tarp over the linoleum, covered that with pine shavings and just ignored it. Or tried to-- while they happily accepted dominion over our table, they also began roosting on the baby gates themselves, perched about 5 feet in the air. Sometimes their combined weight would take down the gate and defeat the whole setup. P-Daddy was most unhappy.
One of the books I read while embarking upon my self-directed, intensive get-er-dun course on raising chickens serenely suggested that like the author, the reader would probably raise the first batch of chickens in a box in the kitchen. The author sagely noted that "the dust they raise can be considerable" and that the rest of his broods were raised in the garage. This, my friends, is called UNDERSTATEMENT.
For about two weeks prior to that, they were inside at night and then we would put them outside in a "play pen," a range shelter we cobbled together out of a soccer goal and unrolled chicken wire just leaned against it. The chicks grew so fast for we inexperienced poultry tenders; the unhappy limbo for us came in the time during which they lacked enough feathers to be outside at night but they had so much energy and poop that they made our home miserable when they were inside.
We finally gave up on the brooder box entirely when they were about a month old, and just barricaded off the breakfast nook with baby gates and plywood. We spread a gigantic tarp over the linoleum, covered that with pine shavings and just ignored it. Or tried to-- while they happily accepted dominion over our table, they also began roosting on the baby gates themselves, perched about 5 feet in the air. Sometimes their combined weight would take down the gate and defeat the whole setup. P-Daddy was most unhappy.
One of the books I read while embarking upon my self-directed, intensive get-er-dun course on raising chickens serenely suggested that like the author, the reader would probably raise the first batch of chickens in a box in the kitchen. The author sagely noted that "the dust they raise can be considerable" and that the rest of his broods were raised in the garage. This, my friends, is called UNDERSTATEMENT.
Monday, June 08, 2009
First meal of the year
Of the gardening year that is....
Last night we had a stir fry with pak choi and basil from our garden. :)
Last night we had a stir fry with pak choi and basil from our garden. :)
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Medium Thing Really Loves Chicks
N-man really has a lot of affection for the chicks. I hope his eagerness to care for them continues after they've lost their down and their sweet little peeping voices. Given his behaviour regarding our friends' chickens, I suspect he will, and will continue down this path to become a Chicken Master. Even before we got the chicks, I took him to our friend's house so he could commune with their chickens. Her daughters are responsible for the care of their flock, so he has some good precedent in there.
After having met her flock, he pined for them. One of her children gets all moon-eyed over the chickens as well, so the two of them can be all chicken-loving together. He refers to this little girl as The Chicken Master, and she quite modestly goes about the business of showing him how to do everything from feeding and watering to gathering eggs. She's happy to instruct someone, it seems, who 'gets it."
Me, I don't get it. I just want eggs and some garden fertilizer. I do talk to them and hold them. They're cute! I just won't wub them. They know me pretty well, too, although I address myself as Big Thing. "It's ok, Big Thing will fix the water." They definitely recognize me as the Big Thing that brings the water and food. A few days ago, while I was doing dishes, I heard N-man come in to talk to the chicks.
"Hi! It's Medium Thing!"
This is the new improved brooder, which we went to after the Screeching Chick incident at the sleepover.
Gardening is Up
pictured: pak choi, five varietals of lettuce, celery (under cloches), acorn squash, vidalia onion, marigold, nasturtium, beet, tomatillo, spaghetti squash, spinach, fennel, black valentine bush beans
Here are some shots of the front gardens. My ailing camera went kaput on me, asking for more energy (shaw! who needs recharging?) so I really didn't get much taken today. Even people who know me well will see things they won't recognize. P-daddy and I have been very busy during these troubling months. Focusing on life and beauty helps us through.
Our Lady of the Spent RhododendronWe took Food Not Lawns seriously and built a number of raised beds in the front yard. We're experimenting this year with square foot gardening. I have been pretty enthusiastic about it, doing everything Just Right. Shortly after I installed everything in the front, I began reading Gardening When It Counts, written by a PNW gardening guru who founded Territorial Seed Company and now resides in Tasmania. He leads his book with why bio-intensive gardening (SFG) is a Very Bad Idea in poor economic times. Le Sigh.
The fruit trees in among the garden boxes.Foremost tree is from the Cherry Deer Incident.
I still have huge honking garden beds in the back, and I had already planned to row plant them anyway. It assuaged my anxiety as I read the book, making me feel like I wasn't totally off the mark. I haven't ready something so down-to-brass-tacks about horticulture since college. This is a garden writer who takes the reader seriously, which I certainly appreciated.
The Rose-Herb Garden remains a thorn (haha!) in my side. Reclaiming this huge, broad bed from the manicured rhododendron-in-beauty bark bed that was there before has been a monumental task. We haven't spent one month ignoring it since we moved here nearly four years ago, and we're still slogging it. This particular bed will have the biggest visual impact of anything we have done when we get it finished, but it's the worst kind of thankless work getting it there; it's the sort of task-set people who don't like to garden think about when they say "I don't like to garden." Fortunately, I do like to garden. To that fact, add that I also love herbs and roses AND I like a good challenge, and it's ~L~ versus the garden bed. Along with some (finally! finally!) earthworms, ~L~ may be winning at last.
Rose bordering the herb gardens
pictured: salad burnet, lemon thyme, culinary thyme, chives, oregano, chocolate mintA few from the back:
We're trying to grow some tomatoes upside down this year. We have two topsy turvies, with a roma in each. In the background you can see the sunflower house and beyond that, the net we're planning to use to grow the snap peas we have started and waiting.
The sunflower house is all volunteer this year. The cherry-eating deer literally slaughtered our sunflower starts. (We have to start them because of the slugs there in the rock wall adjacent to the sunflower patch.)
The strawberry patch is perennial now. It needs some weeding attention, but otherwise, it pretty much does its own thing now. Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
It happened. I am THAT woman.
It's 92 degrees outside, on what Jesse calls a chaos cleaning day. I have enough done in my garden that I can take one day (well I did plant three herb transplants and fertilize some containers, but that's nothing) off from burning the doohickeys out of myself. Laundry it is.
(Interspersed with a Netflix on demand festival for the children of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Keeps the computer occupied so I will actually, you know, clean!)
Anyway, I was walking from the back, recycling the bathroom reading materials when I saw it out the front door. It was eating my cherry tree. Right in front of my open front door. If you know me, you know what a misdemeanor that is. I screamed. I dashed my recycling to the floor, saving one magazine for rolling it up and brandishing it as a weapon.
(Interspersed with a Netflix on demand festival for the children of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Keeps the computer occupied so I will actually, you know, clean!)
Anyway, I was walking from the back, recycling the bathroom reading materials when I saw it out the front door. It was eating my cherry tree. Right in front of my open front door. If you know me, you know what a misdemeanor that is. I screamed. I dashed my recycling to the floor, saving one magazine for rolling it up and brandishing it as a weapon.
Picture then, if you will:
a middle-aged, overweight blonde woman in a sports bra and khaki capris,
screaming and chasing a deer down the street.
a middle-aged, overweight blonde woman in a sports bra and khaki capris,
screaming and chasing a deer down the street.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
So how does one "update" life this crazy?
Maybe not catastrophic (for us) anyway but crazy. A friend of mine just bulleted through, so I suppose I should too. In no particular order of chronology or importance:
Twilight. Nearly everyone around me has caught the bug. I rented the movie and read her online tome, (what there is), Midnight Sun. I have to admit that it is engaging, but not one to suffer from spoilers, I read ahead and I can't buy into the whole dead-guy-still-makes-active-sperm thing. I do like her take on the Vampire as an animalian subspecies, not a soulless, dead-but-not entity. I have one friend in particular who should lay some bricks when she gets to book 3. I can't wait.
Our garden is growing. P-daddy and I have been working together nicely to shore up the homestead. He built fine, square foot gardening boxes in the front yard. We mixed fill soil from our own compost, store-bought vermiculite, sphagnum moss, and Tagro a friend of ours scooped and delivered to us for free. All told, our garden beds cost us around $72.00. I know we would have done this years ago had we known! We tied them off in grids together, and have recently put in all our starts and our things we are willing to start from seed. Typically, once there is the slightest outside activity, I abandon the computer, so this is what partially explains our absence. The other is that my camera is all funky, so even on days when I would normally have great, wordless blog entries to share, ah, shucks.
Just today, the kids started their own children's gardens. When he built our primary garden beds, P-daddy used our leftover Trex board from building the treehouse and gave each of the kids a 2 X 2 box of their own to fill as they see fit. G-girl and D-meister chose to put them in the front yard with ours, but N-man placed his in the back, close his original garden and adjacent to Presley's grave. He says this is how he will grow flowers for Presleydog. They will still have access to the side gardens, but we have to get P-daddy's yard waste* out of there.
The neighbors moved for real this time. It has really saddened me on a number of levels; we will miss the little girl terribly, we enjoyed having neighbors so close to us in age and family composition; and we would like it if they had left on a completely voluntary basis. Most of all, though, it causes me some discomfiture to benefit so greatly from their departure. They moved offshore, so they left an amazing amount of things behind, including big ticket items like a chest freezer, a 10 X 10 garden shed and a yakima roof box. They gave their swing set to a friend of ours, and they gave us all their lawn furniture, which is great for us because the winter decimated ours. The kids in particular are thrilled with the influx or yard and sports toys. P-daddy has spent the past three weekends helping them sort their last things and then rebuilding the shed over here*. It's been abject chaos, and I am working so hard to be mor egrateful than I feel guilty. My guilt makes little sense, even to me, because when we moved across country, we did the same thing. We gave away or sold things I miss to this day (like our freezer!), so it's nice for some of it to come back to our family.
Interrupting all of this was a month-long illness on my part; I finally caught the flu / pneumonia / bronchitis beast that took out half of Puget Sound. Thankfully, all our family was better when it took me down. I have never needed an inhaler in my life, and needing one, plus antibiotics, plus weeks of absolute stillness to heal this, was truly startling. The illness prevented me from doing a lot of my planned work for the garden (never got my grow lights hung or my cold frame built) and it made dealing with the suddeen windfall from next door very inconvenient, despite how welcome it was. I simply haven't been fit for anything, much less extra putting-away.
I am having issues with challenging kids, my own and my friends'. My children have been celebrating spring by being mouthy and willful, scrapping with their siblings, disputing my authority and ideas on a daily, if not hourly basis. That's hard enough to deal with from just the three of them, but the thought of adding friends has become so very untenable. With a few exceptions, most of the children I know right now are half-deaf and completely bonkers. Combine that with the extreme physicality I have noticed lately in all of them, and people are getting hurt. Being bullied by my schoolmates and abused my some family, I am very sensitive to getting "beaten up." I am not very tolerant of verbal sparring either, but I really have a very hard time drawing the line between acceptable rough-housing and its resulting misunderstandings and out-and-out bullying. I think because of my awareness of my own sensitivities, I err on the side of letting it go too far. I am fully sick of stick-fighting, whoop-screaming, rock-throwing**"fun". They're all getting hurt, actual bleeding, bruising, why-won't-you-stop-I-said-enough! hurt. I don't know how to handle it; I am not willing to do some of what I've read I should do (remove the offenders from your life-- how does one do that when ones' own child is a full participant?), and furthermore a lot of that advice doesn't apply to our lifestyle as homeschoolers. While it's not natural to get cooped up all day with 35 others of your same age and real estate, its also not natural to just be able to shove people to the curb when you feel like its just too hard, either. Community means being stuck with the same folks sometimes. The goal here is to work forward towards some form of maturity and you know, having FUN when we get together or need to babysit. I'm working on it. The other Moms are good, smart people and do see what I see, so it's all good. I am hoping it's just a rough Spring on the heels of a brutal winter.
**D-meister broke the window out of my van during one of these festivities of "fun." He had a compatriot in the rock-throwing glee, but lucky for everyone it was actually my kid who broke my window. Lucky him I actually DO think spanking is a bad idea. Witholding dessert? That is something I am perfectly comfortable dishing out, especially for 200.00. (get it? Hardy har.)
The economy, in a very direct way. My husband works for a state contractor doing pretty integrated work with the department of corrections. I can't elaborate more on that here, but I can say that both the contract (every 7 years) and the state budget were up in the air this year. Anyone who lives here knows that Washington state has a 9 billion dollar shortfall in it's budget for the forthcoming year. That's a LOT of cuts, a lot. Even if his company does win the contract (fairly likely) which was decided in secret last week, the state budget will have to be appropriate to fund the work. It's been a potentially disastrous, completely perfect storm of happenstance-- the real estate crash, the stock market decline, the state budget crisis, the unemployment rate, the contract renewal date-- that has all these factors working together to a climax to come this month. It's been wearing on us for six months now but I haven't wanted to write any of it out here. All our life savings is in this house, which of course has lost all of its equity from the last four years. If he loses his job, that's it. We start over, middle-aged with three kids and three degrees between us. No home of our own, no job.
So I do what I can, I focus on gratitude and on ways to mitigate the changes for the children, if the worst should come to pass. We have very basic goals-- keep the family together, try to stay in Washington (even better, in this house!) if we can. We will see. Again, that Dalai Llama quote: "If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry."
I went blonde. Blonde. Like, really blonde and slightly reddish on the ends, as is the fashion, don't you know. Blonde, as in the first time since I was three years old that I was lighter than a muddled burgundy. I despise that it makes my skin light up-- I look so much younger, they say, and even with my behind still fat and my hair chopped short (to accommodate the perfectly expected damage from such a gigantic chemical step), I get a lot more attention. Go figure. It makes me look good. It does suit my coloring. 
The color worked very well and looks nice. I hate it. Ugh! I can't determine whether I despise the cut, or whether I am just so resistant to change that the stranger in the mirror makes me uncomfortable. I will leave it for now.
The color worked very well and looks nice. I hate it. Ugh! I can't determine whether I despise the cut, or whether I am just so resistant to change that the stranger in the mirror makes me uncomfortable. I will leave it for now.Twilight. Nearly everyone around me has caught the bug. I rented the movie and read her online tome, (what there is), Midnight Sun. I have to admit that it is engaging, but not one to suffer from spoilers, I read ahead and I can't buy into the whole dead-guy-still-makes-active-sperm thing. I do like her take on the Vampire as an animalian subspecies, not a soulless, dead-but-not entity. I have one friend in particular who should lay some bricks when she gets to book 3. I can't wait.
Our garden is growing. P-daddy and I have been working together nicely to shore up the homestead. He built fine, square foot gardening boxes in the front yard. We mixed fill soil from our own compost, store-bought vermiculite, sphagnum moss, and Tagro a friend of ours scooped and delivered to us for free. All told, our garden beds cost us around $72.00. I know we would have done this years ago had we known! We tied them off in grids together, and have recently put in all our starts and our things we are willing to start from seed. Typically, once there is the slightest outside activity, I abandon the computer, so this is what partially explains our absence. The other is that my camera is all funky, so even on days when I would normally have great, wordless blog entries to share, ah, shucks.
Just today, the kids started their own children's gardens. When he built our primary garden beds, P-daddy used our leftover Trex board from building the treehouse and gave each of the kids a 2 X 2 box of their own to fill as they see fit. G-girl and D-meister chose to put them in the front yard with ours, but N-man placed his in the back, close his original garden and adjacent to Presley's grave. He says this is how he will grow flowers for Presleydog. They will still have access to the side gardens, but we have to get P-daddy's yard waste* out of there.
The neighbors moved for real this time. It has really saddened me on a number of levels; we will miss the little girl terribly, we enjoyed having neighbors so close to us in age and family composition; and we would like it if they had left on a completely voluntary basis. Most of all, though, it causes me some discomfiture to benefit so greatly from their departure. They moved offshore, so they left an amazing amount of things behind, including big ticket items like a chest freezer, a 10 X 10 garden shed and a yakima roof box. They gave their swing set to a friend of ours, and they gave us all their lawn furniture, which is great for us because the winter decimated ours. The kids in particular are thrilled with the influx or yard and sports toys. P-daddy has spent the past three weekends helping them sort their last things and then rebuilding the shed over here*. It's been abject chaos, and I am working so hard to be mor egrateful than I feel guilty. My guilt makes little sense, even to me, because when we moved across country, we did the same thing. We gave away or sold things I miss to this day (like our freezer!), so it's nice for some of it to come back to our family.
Interrupting all of this was a month-long illness on my part; I finally caught the flu / pneumonia / bronchitis beast that took out half of Puget Sound. Thankfully, all our family was better when it took me down. I have never needed an inhaler in my life, and needing one, plus antibiotics, plus weeks of absolute stillness to heal this, was truly startling. The illness prevented me from doing a lot of my planned work for the garden (never got my grow lights hung or my cold frame built) and it made dealing with the suddeen windfall from next door very inconvenient, despite how welcome it was. I simply haven't been fit for anything, much less extra putting-away.
I am having issues with challenging kids, my own and my friends'. My children have been celebrating spring by being mouthy and willful, scrapping with their siblings, disputing my authority and ideas on a daily, if not hourly basis. That's hard enough to deal with from just the three of them, but the thought of adding friends has become so very untenable. With a few exceptions, most of the children I know right now are half-deaf and completely bonkers. Combine that with the extreme physicality I have noticed lately in all of them, and people are getting hurt. Being bullied by my schoolmates and abused my some family, I am very sensitive to getting "beaten up." I am not very tolerant of verbal sparring either, but I really have a very hard time drawing the line between acceptable rough-housing and its resulting misunderstandings and out-and-out bullying. I think because of my awareness of my own sensitivities, I err on the side of letting it go too far. I am fully sick of stick-fighting, whoop-screaming, rock-throwing**"fun". They're all getting hurt, actual bleeding, bruising, why-won't-you-stop-I-said-enough! hurt. I don't know how to handle it; I am not willing to do some of what I've read I should do (remove the offenders from your life-- how does one do that when ones' own child is a full participant?), and furthermore a lot of that advice doesn't apply to our lifestyle as homeschoolers. While it's not natural to get cooped up all day with 35 others of your same age and real estate, its also not natural to just be able to shove people to the curb when you feel like its just too hard, either. Community means being stuck with the same folks sometimes. The goal here is to work forward towards some form of maturity and you know, having FUN when we get together or need to babysit. I'm working on it. The other Moms are good, smart people and do see what I see, so it's all good. I am hoping it's just a rough Spring on the heels of a brutal winter.
**D-meister broke the window out of my van during one of these festivities of "fun." He had a compatriot in the rock-throwing glee, but lucky for everyone it was actually my kid who broke my window. Lucky him I actually DO think spanking is a bad idea. Witholding dessert? That is something I am perfectly comfortable dishing out, especially for 200.00. (get it? Hardy har.)
The economy, in a very direct way. My husband works for a state contractor doing pretty integrated work with the department of corrections. I can't elaborate more on that here, but I can say that both the contract (every 7 years) and the state budget were up in the air this year. Anyone who lives here knows that Washington state has a 9 billion dollar shortfall in it's budget for the forthcoming year. That's a LOT of cuts, a lot. Even if his company does win the contract (fairly likely) which was decided in secret last week, the state budget will have to be appropriate to fund the work. It's been a potentially disastrous, completely perfect storm of happenstance-- the real estate crash, the stock market decline, the state budget crisis, the unemployment rate, the contract renewal date-- that has all these factors working together to a climax to come this month. It's been wearing on us for six months now but I haven't wanted to write any of it out here. All our life savings is in this house, which of course has lost all of its equity from the last four years. If he loses his job, that's it. We start over, middle-aged with three kids and three degrees between us. No home of our own, no job.
So I do what I can, I focus on gratitude and on ways to mitigate the changes for the children, if the worst should come to pass. We have very basic goals-- keep the family together, try to stay in Washington (even better, in this house!) if we can. We will see. Again, that Dalai Llama quote: "If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry."
Thursday, April 09, 2009
More on the farm bill
First, to preface this post and to respond to the individual whose comments were so egregious I had to delete them:
Personally, NO, I do not think most of the US food supply is safe. NO, I do not think the government has done a responsible job of managing what involvement it has had with food saftey and regulation. NO, I do not think big agribusiness is absolutely invested in the consumer's well-being. In that, I absolutely agree with the foul-mouthed lout who has bothered to virtually vandalise my blog--we need a big change in the way our food supply is managed, and only the federal government has the resources and the geographical scope to pull it off. It is because I think that way, however, that I want small, local farmers protected. It's why I want my garden protected. What I don't understand is why anyone who shares that perspective is just raring for the government to pass a bill with as many loopholes for abuse as the recent lead-based toy bill. I am not asking them not to pass it. To quote myself, I wrote " As it is written, this bill would be catastrophic to the American people. Provisions must be included to protect the organic farmer and the family gardener." and "Please restrict it to conventional farming, or vote it down." My interest here is not withholding something that could help us all; I have been calling for sustainable agriculture for years, and this could be a giant leap forward in that regard.
If you want to comment here, then by all means comment. I welcome a discussion on this because I am certainly amenable to learning everything I can about this. I will not, however, host cussing, accusations or more death threats. Anyone else who suggests I feed my child peanut butter will likely be getting a real time visit from the PoPo. It's very out in the open on this blog that my child has an anaphylactic food allergy to peanuts. For those of you who need me to write in small words, that means she could die from ingesting peanut of any kind, tainted or otherwise. Living like this for the past seven years, living with constant vigilance about food and where it is sourced, is WHY I am passionate about protecting organics and small farmers. How I get my food, where I get my food is an absolute, literal passion for us.
I want to protect my daughter. I want you to be able to protect your daughter. Unlike the ...person... who posted here today, I am not willing to let Big Brother be the sole director of how that food gets to my plate. That's all. The bill, as written, does more than streamline the governance of food safety. It allows for a single agency to approve what kind of fertilizer, what kind of seed, what kind of record-keeping each farmer uses. At first blush, that sounds fandamntastic-- if you've got a sustainable-minded individual going in. If you have an agency that is sensitive to the cost-load for the organic farmer. I didn't write what I did here in a knee jerk reaction. I have talked to organic farmers here in Washington, and corresponded with CSA farmers from my hometown in South Carolina. The ones I spoke with are very concerned. They have encouraged us to get this into a national discussion, which is what we did. Organic farmers, particularly those who have pursued tilth certification, really shouldn't have anything to worry about, that's true, because their standards typically exceed anything in corporate farming. But the bill doesn't include any such provisos. That's the concern.
Today I received an email forwarded by a local farmers market with a less apprehensive stance towards the law. They're just as much "my team" as the farmers I mention above, and I will post it in its entirety here:
From the Farmers Market Coalition Executive Director (For more information about the Farmers Market Coalition, visit their website: http://www.farmersmarketcoalition.org/ )
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:20 PM
Subject: H.R. 875, Food Safety, & Farmers Markets: A Letter from FMC
Dear Fellow Farmers Market Advocate,
In the last few days, there has been much discussion and speculation
surrounding H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, which was
proposed by Representative Rosa DeLauro and 39 other co-sponsors and
currently under review by two house committees. The bill¹s intention is to
centralize most of the current food safety responsibilities of FDA and USDA
into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
While the bill does not spell out any specific regulations with respect to
food safety, it establishes a new framework of oversight to prevent the
breakout of food-borne illnesses (like the recent cases involving bagged
spinach, peanuts, tainted meat, imported tomatoes, etc.).
Calls to Congresswoman DeLauro¹s office from me and several colleagues have
been met by assurances that she is an advocate for small family farms, and
that the bill¹s intent is to minimize (or eliminate) the impact on such
entities while addressing the challenges posed by a global food supply by
more closely regulating imported food. Based on what we know at this point,
farmers markets are not considered ³food establishments² under Section 3
(13), and would not be subject to inspection as such.
Food production facilities (including farms), may be subject to additional
recordkeeping via a written food safety plan which follow ³good practice
standards² under Section 206(2). There is no language in the bill that would
implement a national animal ID system, or mandate farm inspection. In fact,
the legislation specifies that technical assistance would be provide to
farmers and food establishments that fit the definition of a small business.
There are also no assurances that, given the current economic climate and
the inherent cost of establishing a new administration, this bill will even
survive in its current form or at all. To what degree there may be any
change to current standards (like GAPs), which are now voluntary for most
growers, would be up to the new agency, which is directed to consult with
USDA and state departments of agriculture before enacting any new farm
production and handling standards. FMC believes that any standards designed
to prevent contamination at the farm and market level, whether voluntary or
mandatory, must take into account the cost, time, and ability to implement.
As many realize, a one-size-fits-all policy would ultimately do a disservice
not only to small, biodiverse farms, but to the consumers who value
affordable access to safe, fresh, nutritious food directly from the farmer.
FMC recognizes the importance of food safety not only from a consumer health
perspective, but also to uphold the integrity of farmers markets and
viability of small farms everywhere. Families and individuals across the
country put their faith in the quality, safety, and freshness of farmers
markets every day, and that investment of faith cannot be taken for
granted. Proactive measures to prevent contamination at the farm and market
level are good business. FMC's web site has links to several resources
developed by various states with regard to food safety at farmers markets,
many of which include good recommendations for food storage, handling, and
sampling.
FMC is working to ensure that strategies to prevent contamination are
science-based, sensitive to scale of production, and friendly to farmers
markets and the farmers they depend on. Recently, the Coalition represented
farmers markets at a national Good Agricultural Practices summit to support
voluntary (rather than mandatory) implementation of the Guide to Minimize
Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, which is
presently undergoing review for updates. We will continue to stay involved
in issues surrounding food safety, and keep you informed of developments
that could impact farmers markets and their producers.
Sincerely,
Stacy Miller
Executive Director
Farmers Market Coalition
--------------------------------------------------
There's too much at stake here for any of us to adopt a blanket thumbs up or thumbs down approach to something this big. Again, I welcome the discussion, should that come to me, but I won't allow anything that calls for harm to me or my family, or insults or degrades me or the other commenters. I am a citizen of this country, and like it or not, this is part of the process. We're fortunate we have a voice, and I for one intend to use mine.
Personally, NO, I do not think most of the US food supply is safe. NO, I do not think the government has done a responsible job of managing what involvement it has had with food saftey and regulation. NO, I do not think big agribusiness is absolutely invested in the consumer's well-being. In that, I absolutely agree with the foul-mouthed lout who has bothered to virtually vandalise my blog--we need a big change in the way our food supply is managed, and only the federal government has the resources and the geographical scope to pull it off. It is because I think that way, however, that I want small, local farmers protected. It's why I want my garden protected. What I don't understand is why anyone who shares that perspective is just raring for the government to pass a bill with as many loopholes for abuse as the recent lead-based toy bill. I am not asking them not to pass it. To quote myself, I wrote " As it is written, this bill would be catastrophic to the American people. Provisions must be included to protect the organic farmer and the family gardener." and "Please restrict it to conventional farming, or vote it down." My interest here is not withholding something that could help us all; I have been calling for sustainable agriculture for years, and this could be a giant leap forward in that regard.
If you want to comment here, then by all means comment. I welcome a discussion on this because I am certainly amenable to learning everything I can about this. I will not, however, host cussing, accusations or more death threats. Anyone else who suggests I feed my child peanut butter will likely be getting a real time visit from the PoPo. It's very out in the open on this blog that my child has an anaphylactic food allergy to peanuts. For those of you who need me to write in small words, that means she could die from ingesting peanut of any kind, tainted or otherwise. Living like this for the past seven years, living with constant vigilance about food and where it is sourced, is WHY I am passionate about protecting organics and small farmers. How I get my food, where I get my food is an absolute, literal passion for us.
I want to protect my daughter. I want you to be able to protect your daughter. Unlike the ...person... who posted here today, I am not willing to let Big Brother be the sole director of how that food gets to my plate. That's all. The bill, as written, does more than streamline the governance of food safety. It allows for a single agency to approve what kind of fertilizer, what kind of seed, what kind of record-keeping each farmer uses. At first blush, that sounds fandamntastic-- if you've got a sustainable-minded individual going in. If you have an agency that is sensitive to the cost-load for the organic farmer. I didn't write what I did here in a knee jerk reaction. I have talked to organic farmers here in Washington, and corresponded with CSA farmers from my hometown in South Carolina. The ones I spoke with are very concerned. They have encouraged us to get this into a national discussion, which is what we did. Organic farmers, particularly those who have pursued tilth certification, really shouldn't have anything to worry about, that's true, because their standards typically exceed anything in corporate farming. But the bill doesn't include any such provisos. That's the concern.
Today I received an email forwarded by a local farmers market with a less apprehensive stance towards the law. They're just as much "my team" as the farmers I mention above, and I will post it in its entirety here:
From the Farmers Market Coalition Executive Director (For more information about the Farmers Market Coalition, visit their website: http://www.farmersmarketcoalition.org/ )
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 2:20 PM
Subject: H.R. 875, Food Safety, & Farmers Markets: A Letter from FMC
Dear Fellow Farmers Market Advocate,
In the last few days, there has been much discussion and speculation
surrounding H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, which was
proposed by Representative Rosa DeLauro and 39 other co-sponsors and
currently under review by two house committees. The bill¹s intention is to
centralize most of the current food safety responsibilities of FDA and USDA
into one new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
While the bill does not spell out any specific regulations with respect to
food safety, it establishes a new framework of oversight to prevent the
breakout of food-borne illnesses (like the recent cases involving bagged
spinach, peanuts, tainted meat, imported tomatoes, etc.).
Calls to Congresswoman DeLauro¹s office from me and several colleagues have
been met by assurances that she is an advocate for small family farms, and
that the bill¹s intent is to minimize (or eliminate) the impact on such
entities while addressing the challenges posed by a global food supply by
more closely regulating imported food. Based on what we know at this point,
farmers markets are not considered ³food establishments² under Section 3
(13), and would not be subject to inspection as such.
Food production facilities (including farms), may be subject to additional
recordkeeping via a written food safety plan which follow ³good practice
standards² under Section 206(2). There is no language in the bill that would
implement a national animal ID system, or mandate farm inspection. In fact,
the legislation specifies that technical assistance would be provide to
farmers and food establishments that fit the definition of a small business.
There are also no assurances that, given the current economic climate and
the inherent cost of establishing a new administration, this bill will even
survive in its current form or at all. To what degree there may be any
change to current standards (like GAPs), which are now voluntary for most
growers, would be up to the new agency, which is directed to consult with
USDA and state departments of agriculture before enacting any new farm
production and handling standards. FMC believes that any standards designed
to prevent contamination at the farm and market level, whether voluntary or
mandatory, must take into account the cost, time, and ability to implement.
As many realize, a one-size-fits-all policy would ultimately do a disservice
not only to small, biodiverse farms, but to the consumers who value
affordable access to safe, fresh, nutritious food directly from the farmer.
FMC recognizes the importance of food safety not only from a consumer health
perspective, but also to uphold the integrity of farmers markets and
viability of small farms everywhere. Families and individuals across the
country put their faith in the quality, safety, and freshness of farmers
markets every day, and that investment of faith cannot be taken for
granted. Proactive measures to prevent contamination at the farm and market
level are good business. FMC's web site has links to several resources
developed by various states with regard to food safety at farmers markets,
many of which include good recommendations for food storage, handling, and
sampling.
FMC is working to ensure that strategies to prevent contamination are
science-based, sensitive to scale of production, and friendly to farmers
markets and the farmers they depend on. Recently, the Coalition represented
farmers markets at a national Good Agricultural Practices summit to support
voluntary (rather than mandatory) implementation of the Guide to Minimize
Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, which is
presently undergoing review for updates. We will continue to stay involved
in issues surrounding food safety, and keep you informed of developments
that could impact farmers markets and their producers.
Sincerely,
Stacy Miller
Executive Director
Farmers Market Coalition
--------------------------------------------------
There's too much at stake here for any of us to adopt a blanket thumbs up or thumbs down approach to something this big. Again, I welcome the discussion, should that come to me, but I won't allow anything that calls for harm to me or my family, or insults or degrades me or the other commenters. I am a citizen of this country, and like it or not, this is part of the process. We're fortunate we have a voice, and I for one intend to use mine.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Congress voting on bills to outlaw organic farming
And raw milk, and fresh eggs and heritage seeds and farmers markets and roadside stands.... and oh, yeah, your backyard garden.
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message761823/pg1
http://www.treehuggersofamerica.org/Say_Goodbye_To_Farmers.php
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)
This isn't a tinfoil hat moment, folks. This is Monsanto again, trying to control you and your food supply. This I implore you : contact your representatives and senators. Tell them to Just Say No to Monsanto and it's attempts to stamp out the competition. It sounds ridiculous, because it is. This is a Big Brother-meets-Borg moment and your very civil liberties are at stake here. When planting a backyard garden can be considered an act of defiance, not of patriotism, then we have a problem.
Even Michelle Obama has begun an organic garden on the South lawn, which I think is a fantastic, encouraging thing for us all. In a time of economic despair and war, we NEED to be doing that, people! Even as she plants her starts, though, just a few miles away, 40 legislative sponsors are attempting to demand she use this kind of seed and that kind of fertilizer.
The intentions of the bill, the at least the people in congress who are trying to draft it, are most certainly honorable. But like the recent ripple effect from the lead-in-children's-products act, because the language is not specific enough, this law could put a lot of good people on the out and outs. In this instance, I am not worried about being an alarmist. I'd rather raise a ruckus now and have the legislators pay attention to what they are doing so they can revise it appropriately than pass this "schill," to use a word a deleted commenter decided to use for my blog post.
DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, READ THIS LEGISLATION FOR YOURSELF.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)
Pay special attention to
And Chuck, no thanks on the peanut butter. We're allergic here.
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message761823/pg1
http://www.treehuggersofamerica.org/Say_Goodbye_To_Farmers.php
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)
This isn't a tinfoil hat moment, folks. This is Monsanto again, trying to control you and your food supply. This I implore you : contact your representatives and senators. Tell them to Just Say No to Monsanto and it's attempts to stamp out the competition. It sounds ridiculous, because it is. This is a Big Brother-meets-Borg moment and your very civil liberties are at stake here. When planting a backyard garden can be considered an act of defiance, not of patriotism, then we have a problem.
Even Michelle Obama has begun an organic garden on the South lawn, which I think is a fantastic, encouraging thing for us all. In a time of economic despair and war, we NEED to be doing that, people! Even as she plants her starts, though, just a few miles away, 40 legislative sponsors are attempting to demand she use this kind of seed and that kind of fertilizer.
The intentions of the bill, the at least the people in congress who are trying to draft it, are most certainly honorable. But like the recent ripple effect from the lead-in-children's-products act, because the language is not specific enough, this law could put a lot of good people on the out and outs. In this instance, I am not worried about being an alarmist. I'd rather raise a ruckus now and have the legislators pay attention to what they are doing so they can revise it appropriately than pass this "schill," to use a word a deleted commenter decided to use for my blog post.
DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, READ THIS LEGISLATION FOR YOURSELF.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas (look for HR 875)
Pay special attention to
- Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it's entirety.
- section 103, 206 and 207- read in it's entirety.
- Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept.
- Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn't actually use the word organic.
- Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it.
- Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game.
- Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is.
- Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with?
- Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more.
- Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment.
- Contact your members at 202-224-3121 and ask them to oppose HR 875 and S 425. While you are at it ask them if they personally have read the legislation and what their position is? If they have not read the legislation ask them to read it and politely let them know that just because other representitives are not reading the legislation and voting on it does not mean they can do the same.
- Get in touch with local farmers and food producers by attending a local farmers market and asking them how business is.
- Attend a local WAPF meeting, this is a good start to learning about what is going on in farming and local & state initiatives . The website is Local Chapters
- Check out the Farmers Legal Defense Fund at Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
- Find out who sits on your states agriculture and farming committee and contact them with your concerns.
- Continue to contact your elected officials and let them know your position on legislation and why.
- Get active at the local and state levels, this is the quickest way to initiate change.
Dear Norm Dicks,
I am writing regarding HR 875.
As it is written, this bill would be catastrophic to the American people. Provisions must be included to protect the organic farmer and the family gardener. We cannot "outlaw" organic farming and the bill does not include adequate protections for those of us who DO protect the people and the environment with whom we coexist.
PLEASE say no to Monsanto and do not legislate away our rights. We have to be able to protect natural, organic gardening and adding on one-size-fits-all regulations will cause widespread harm. Please consider Monsanto's absolute interest in squelching its competition. Please consider the amazing rise of food allergies, chronic illness and autism, much of which can be accredited to frankenfoods.
Many of we the people have been following Obama's suggestion to provide for ourselves and to create local, interconnected networks. This would seriously hamper our efforts, and the future of the open-pollinated (natural, existing outside the tweaking of a laboratory) seed supply. It's dangerous and unconstitutional. Please restrict it to conventional farming, or vote it down.
And Chuck, no thanks on the peanut butter. We're allergic here.
Monday, March 30, 2009
This is where I get boring
I can breathe! I have been spending my time turning seedlings into starts, putting them in slightly larger peat pots, if I have them and nursery pots when I don't. I was unprepared for how fast and furious these seedlings would grow. It's been fantastic.
I am not even 70 %-- I am still coughing a little painfully and I get fatigued easily. Before the past month I would say I am SICK. However, in contrast to said month, I feel like a spring chicken. Gratitude! It's all about the gratitude!
And genius-- two shiny red shovels from home depot make for busy little boys all day long. They ate breakfast-- then went outside. YAY!
Last year's garden is still giving-- I have collards out there, chard, kale and one very gigantic leek. I am going to go take a pitchfork out there and look for carrots and potatoes.
I am not even 70 %-- I am still coughing a little painfully and I get fatigued easily. Before the past month I would say I am SICK. However, in contrast to said month, I feel like a spring chicken. Gratitude! It's all about the gratitude!
And genius-- two shiny red shovels from home depot make for busy little boys all day long. They ate breakfast-- then went outside. YAY!
Last year's garden is still giving-- I have collards out there, chard, kale and one very gigantic leek. I am going to go take a pitchfork out there and look for carrots and potatoes.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Spring has Sprung (?)
It is officially the first day of spring. Read that???
SPRING
SPRING
SPRING
Happily, I have hundreds of seeds optimistically tucked away in homemade, optimum seed starting mix. They're loosely covered with saran wrap and located where it's warm. I look forward to hanging the lights in the garage so I can move them out there when they're ready. I look forward to putting out the frames for the square foot gardens we're using to fill the front lawn. I look forward to being able to work the soil in the big, back garden, that I do indeed plan to use again this year, much to my own surprise. The birds are going nutso in the backyard, and for all the world it sounds like spring.
But it's grey. It's raining. It's 48 degrees. The children are happily making kites and running them, outside, in between showers. The kids planted indoor terrariums a few weeks ago and we can happily look on those sprouts when we need a boost. We got the seeds started in time this year. Hopefully, we can keep them as happy, flourishing starts so that we can put them out and save a bazillion dollars on our Freedom Garden. Think Victory Garden, but no war effort.
So despite its grey and overcast beginning, despite my being on antibiotics for the first time in years, despite the errant economy, despite me forgetting to obtain tomato seeds; spring has come at last. The birds are partying and taking their fill at our feeders. And we are here, simmering beans on the stove and planting beans in our garden. Let's get a move on!
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