The Pleasures of Eating

Last night, after a late night, kerosene-lit, conversation with our boys concerning the state-of-the-farm, I read the most wonderful essay by Wendell Berry.  I want so much to simply re-publish it here but don't wish to to so without permission from the author, so I will give you a link and a quote and if I gain permission I will reprint it then.

The Root of the Matter

It's been a long summer . . . but I didn't need to tell you that.

An unprecedented quantity of produce has passed through my kitchen and been processed into sauces, jams, pickles, purees, relishes, frozen foods, pastes, dried vegetables, wine, and medicines. All of this in spite of a number of crop failures. 

And we’re not finished yet.  As a matter of fact the bulk of our most important crops are just beginning to flow in. 

Mindful Monday

The main facts in human life are five:

birth, food, sleep, love and death.

E. M. Forster
Aspects of the Novel

Mindful Monday

When you rise in the morning,

give thanks for the light,

give thanks for your life,

for your strength.

Give thanks for your food

and for the joy of living.

If you see no reason for giving thanks,

the fault lies in yourself.

Tecumseh

Independence Day

When we left our day jobs at the great Mammoth Cave a lot of people thought we were nuts because in this great nation of ours only one means of survival is considered viable: a good (read high paying) wage earning, job.  We have set out to prove that a beautiful, satisfying life can still be lived without selling our time for less than we believe it is worth.  And, so far, it seems to be working out.  Granted it has only been about a month, but in that month we have made serious strides toward true independence, without depleting our meager savings.  Indeed, our savings have actually increased!

"What is true independence?" you ask, well here at Groundwell Farm we consider independence to be:

Meeting, or even occasionally exceeding, all of the necessities and desires of life through either direct work, or through agreeable trade with people we are close to in everyday life.

Mindful Monday

It is time to come home to a nourishing food tradition that grows healthy guts and healthy minds,

 that creates a permanent and sustaining agriculture,

 and crafts a meaningful connection between our sustenance and the bioregion that gifts us with our food.
Leigh Senna
Growing Wise Children
in
Permaculture Activist Magazine