Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Greetings from my Garden!

Sometimes this is what, "stopping after work to pick up something for dinner" looks like for me.  Instead of freezing in the frozen food section and waiting in line at the checkout while a musak version of the Beatles' 'Michelle' is piped through tinny speakers at the grocery store, I find myself biking in a pencil skirt and strappy sandals, to my allotments.  There I'm greeted by the live-wire hum of cicadas, birdsong and a light, refreshing breeze.  I feel the heels of my sandals sink into the earth as I meander between the garden beds.  I pull a few carrots that need to be thinned from one bed, two summer squash from another.  A quick weeding rewards me with purslane, lambsquartes and amaranth, all delicious.  Added to the handful of chard, kale and turnip greens I gather, it will make for a tasty and nutrient rich vegetable dish.  A flash of colour catches my eye and I quickly pick a bunch of flowers for the table at home.  Grocery shopping done and bag full, I take a few moments to notice my surroundings, feel the sun on my skin and give thanks for the gifts of my garden.  Back on my bike I head home to make dinner from fresh-picked, organic ingredients still warm and damp from sunshine and earth.  And I didn't have to stand in line.  Only thing is, without the tabloids at the checkout, I have no idea how little Suri is handling the split between Tom and Katie.  Darn!    ;)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Greetings from my Living Room Chair

"To understand the profound importance of regenerative agriculture, the kind of farming that builds natural capital, we need to see it not as a fringe or retrograde activity- "unable to feed the world", as conventional agronomists would claim- but as a heroic and undersung achievement in the face of overwhelming institutional neglect, cultural dissipation, economic monopolies and dire ecological challenges from chemical, nuclear and genetic pollution, climate change and an eroding resource base in the land and in society."
~ Peter Bane

The practitioners I work for gifted me with Peter Bane's new book, The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming For Town and Country. I read the first chapter yesterday. It made me feel all tingly and excited inside.

The book was a parting gift.  My job ends in a couple of weeks.  I've got plans for what I'll do next.  Garden farming is one of them.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012