Need I say much more? While I can't say I'm overly fond of the heat and humidity of summer (which we have been spared from much of this year thus far), I never feel much richer than I have the past few weeks. It's not just the abundance from our own land, but the generosity of neighbors and friends who have shared extra green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, dill, swiss chard and an abundance of blackberries which we have picked right next door. We even found ourselves out shopping this week for a second fridge/freezer to accommodate our need for additional cool food storage space. But alas the search continues as we look for a very energy efficient one that will meet our needs and be in line with our values. These purchases can tend to take us awhile and we may find ways to just make do with what we have.
A few things that can be noted from the pictures:
- Kali's face and hands have been stained purple quite a bit lately - whether it be from dipping out a bowl of frozen blueberries for her consumption or joining us to pick, eat and mash blackberries for jam. The color of cooked blackberry jam is something I had yet to encounter and the sight was one to behold!! And I have been very happy for my "Fruit Jell" which enables me to make jam with almost no sugar, comparatively. And I've experimented successfully with honey which I can get locally.
- We are VERY proud of our chickens - at least one of them!! Yesterday Jason surprised me with a little pullet egg, about a month ahead of schedule! Needless to say, the project of getting nest boxes in the coops has moved up a notch. I had to smile when I downloaded pictures just now. I had asked Jason to take A PICTURE of the egg for me, but upon downloading there were 14. Did I mention a sense of pride??
- I am quite certain that my favorite sound, maybe second to Kali's giggle, is that pop that jars make when they seal after coming out of the canner. I love it!! And we got to hear it this week with canned green beans, jam, pickles and zucchini. I love seeing our pantry transform from shelves of empty jars to shelves bursting with color and flavor and textures.
- It is quite possible that a future entry will take on a different tone when all the green tomatoes on our plants turn yellow, orange and red. It is quite possible my thrill in the produce will become the sound of exhaustion. I hope not, but the rush of tomatoes will be coming in right when the rush of new student orientation happens for me at work so we'll see how the two co-exist together.
As time goes alone, it seems I only feel more passionate about having what I put in my mouth be in line, as much as possible as much of the time, with my values. Jason and I (and Kali on the first) saw two movies in the past few weeks, both of which we would recommend: Fresh (http://www.freshthemovie.com/about/) shown here in Harrisonburg at Clementines last week sponsored by the Friendly City Food Co-op (which we now proudly publicize with our first ever bumper sticker) and Food, Inc (http://www.foodincmovie.com/) which we traveled with friends to Staunton's Visulite Cinema to see. Both left me feeling inspired and depressed, mad and excited, hopeful and disgusted - basically a lot of feelings that don't exactly neatly go together. It wasn't full of piles of new information, but somehow condensed into 1-2 hours its impact has been lasting.
It seems that the reasons for "eating well" just keep accumulating. I don't want to simplify the complexities of our global community today, but it sure is tempting sometimes. It seems to me that if we were eating in a way that cared for the earth and for people, a lot of things would be righted over time. But if I learned anything from the movies it was the shocking reality of the distance we have to go (that was the depressing part).
It is one of the reasons I feel so glad that Kali will be spending much of her waking hours at home. If it wasn't for my deep desire and felt need for her to have more 5-6 year old playmates, I'd be completely happy about it! We just submitted to the County our "plan" for her education over the next year. We love to see her enjoying learning and doing it without even knowing it is happening - whether it be spending most of a day butchering chickens and learning about all their bodies or making up a new recipe or reading an existing one and doubling the ingredients for a large batch or helping to dig potatoes, it seems that math and reading and writing and science are all blended in naturally to her daily activities. That is exciting for us, and it seems for her as well. Now just to find those playmates...
Time to get away from the computer and get laundry on the line to benefit from the breeze and sunshine of today!
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