Slippery Slope Soda Sanction Sought

There is one thing I am more in favor of than a whole food, self-sustaining lifestyle and that is a person's right to choose or not choose it - or any given lifestyle.  If I want to drink raw milk I will drink raw milk.  If I want to drink lighter fluid I will - I will suffer the consequences that naturally occur but at least that stemmed from my right to live my life on my own terms, so long as that immediate action doesn't infringe upon the rights of another.

This article has some VERY disturbing quotes from Law Professor Rick Hills.  Do we realize we have been allowing the courts to set a precedent for government to curtail our freedom?  The defense that a bill, should it be made law, infringes on our personal freedom should and by rights (and a little document some government representatives like to misrepresent or ignore all together) ought to be ENOUGH to warrant that bill's failure. 

The telling part of this article is Mayor Bloomberg's lamenting the health system having to compensate for people's less-than-healthy choices.  The government SHOULD NOT be involved in health care, period.  If anything is inflated, bloated, overextended and excessive, it is our government and the many extensions of it (most of which were not sanctioned by the people - an officeholder abuse in and of itself).  A bill reducing government size and its over-reaching infringement is what is in order here. 

Free will (provided the immediate action does not trod upon a fellow human) is human dignity and self - I repeat SELF-sustenance is a worthy goal.  Those in support of placing conditions on how others live their lives are generally either weak themselves or have an agenda, usually involving justification of their own jobs or a desire to control others in an effort to elevate their own station.  This is arrogance, this is flagrant bullying and this is WRONG. 

“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
Thomas Jefferson

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”

Ronald Regan

The Fruits of our Labor

One of the best parts of working toward a self-sustaining lifestyle is harvest!  I grew spinach for the first time this year.  I'm not sure what took me so long because I buy much fresh spinach over the course of the year.  How many gas miles have I contributed to when I could just walk out my back door and collect some for now and freeze some for later (if any is left :). 

The saying is true too - it is better fresh from the source!  We are finding that with everything we produce - vegetables, honey, eggs, etc.  That first fresh-from-the-garden spinach salad was the best I've ever had!  There is some work involved, but really planning is the key - if you think ahead and do a little preparation a salad from the garden is as convenient as pulling up to the drive thru - and such an improvement!

Both of my dads are outdoorsman, so I need to put in a plug for fishing.  Although probably over-regulated like most everything these days, fishing is an excellent self-sustaining practice. There are certain considerations to mercury levels in some fish but on the whole you can still create a tasty meal of freshly-caught fish.  Here is a link to a recipe for Walleye -

Walleye recipe

Oh look, it calls for spinach - guess I'd better get cooking!

Heritage Swine and Small Farms Prey to CAFO-pressured DNR?

First we aren't allowed to determine what we will drink and now a government agency will decide whose herds are "safe" and will do away with any that they deem suspect.  If feral swine are a concern then do away with feral swine on a case-by-case basis.  Attacking heritage breeds on small farms is not acceptable.  Blanket laws that do not delineate between  small, organic farms with well-maintained, effectively-contained animals and fly-by-night operations or wild animals are damaging.  We need the diversity of heritage breeds to avoid mono-culture that will require ever-more chemical measures to sustain and run the risk of being wiped out all at once should nature move faster than we can - which we know can happen.
The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund reports on this and other attempts to tamp down our whole-food alternatives.  Please consider both sides when big government issues alarmist reports - there are too many factors to consider just one side or the other.  Become an informed consumer (literally - I mean you are putting these things into your body daily!) and make your voice heard based on what you discover.

I passed a delivery truck for one of our local pork-producers yesterday.  It was running but rusty.  The local farmers are fighting to feed their families, not keep their lobby dollars.  They are farming via their beliefs, not fishing for votes.  These people are not in it for the money, prestige or influence.  They simply want to be independent, self-sustaining, consumer-pleasing and left alone.

Hunger Games? or Real Life?

When I read the books I said I wouldn't go see the movies so I wouldn't be just like the audience in the Capitol, gawking at these kids killing each other for "honor" and "tradition" (public reasons) and dumb-down entertainment for the mindless herd and a reminder threat to the oppressed (real reasons).  Half-way through the movie I remembered my vow and felt like a hypocrite but my husband said it was a good reminder to see it, and indeed it was.  Control is a corrupting and slippery slope - the more one has at stake from being in a position of power (money, control, celebrity) the more s/he will be willing to cross ethical and moral and spiritual lines to maintain it.  This is not simply a fictional account - there are examples of it every single day in our world.  Someone's son or husband or mother dies or gets a little sicker so that someone in control can still be treated to an expensive trip or so his company can continue to profit from building defense machines or so we can buy cheap gas or so the drug money won't dry up (and I don't necessarily mean drug lords or war criminals, but people we see on CNN too).  I have heard it said that the next conflict affecting this country will not be about race or nationality - it will be about poverty and greed.  Our food supply is going to suffer because fewer control more of it and it does not have the strength of diversity.  Government should not be in control of how we nourish ourselves.  This is not the business government was meant to be in and the constituents never approved the USDA or other groups who have control, supposedly for the public good but undoubtedly in the pockets of big money agriculture.  This hits your family right on the dinner table and in the bodies of your babies.    The Hunger Games are not as far away from reality as you might think. Click the link above - take the quiz - learn more.

New Life

Thankfully spring has sprung, and just in time.  I was feeling old after a back injury and a broken tooth.  This week, however, the chickens started laying full-force, the seeds from Southern Seed Exchange arrived and our cow Daisy showed off her brand new calf, Myrtle Ann! This is nature's way of saying, "Wake up! Make the most of each breath!" Even though I will only be able to work short shifts preparing and planting this spring I am still going to do it and try and make the farm that little bit more productive just as I strive to every season. I am blessed to have strong guys here to help with the heavy work. I'd love your help as well - if you have tips for "working smarter, not harder" in the agricultural arena, please share them in the comments.

Patience

It's been quite awhile and many little victories have amassed - I grew a whole patch of pumpkins and despite the squash bugs forcing me to put chickens in my patch and pluck several bugs off-plant and into water bowl for the chickens I did get 2 dozen pumpkins ranging from small to medium. I also harvested acorn squash, tomatoes and cukes. The best day this fall was not any of these though, it was the day my husband, Todd, harvested his first honey!!! You have to understand, this is the third year he's kept bees and the fourth colony he's raised - so we joke that it is $400 honey but it is a deep gold and as delicious as any I've ever tasted. We worked together to extract it and bottle it and though we got just enough to share with a few family members and for our pantry it was amazing to finally harvest it.

Finally a Sincere Pumpkin Patch

After three years of little or no fruit I had soil tested, amended and Voila! Finally a small but serious patch of a couple dozen hearty pumpkins! This may seem insignificant to some but it is a big improvement over the frustration of seeing the flowers and vines but no fruit season after season. Our little farm is also rocking the acorn squash this year, along with a few tomatoes and cukes and hopefully some sweet potatoes...

The hens have stopped laying - Hmmmm - molting, earthquake (8/23/11 at 1:51 p.m.), hurricane (8/27/2011) or not enough light (my son is in charge of them and a late sleeper - not an excellent combination). We may be starting with a new flock next year...

The honeybees have come through this year! We should have several pounds of honey in the next few weeks! Like the pumpkins, this has been awhile in the making but we're starting to get the hang of farming!