I have recently returned from a trip to Boise, ID for a conference. I really wasn't sure what to expect of that city, but I was relieved when I found out it was a pretty hip place. I asked a woman at the airport, "What should I do while I'm in Boise?" She said, I should go rafting down the river, and visit at least one of the nearly 10 breweries/distilleries in the city. Well, I got my priorities straight and visited 4 of the breweries in the city and went wading around in the river, hahaha. As always at these things, I met a lot of great people who I'm hoping to run in to in the near future, one person who lives particularly close who I'm hoping will come down for a visit for some beers and home grown veggies. One final thing about Boise, they have the coolest library sign I've ever seen:
So I got back from Boise, excited to tend to the garden. Turns out we had a ton of rain when I was gone so not only were the veggies doing well, but the weeds were also out of control. My corn and cucumbers were done, so I pulled them out and turned the dirt over to get it ready for some squash and pumpkins, umm Halloween Party in the making?? Anyways, I've been harvesting tomatoes, corn, cukes, zucchini, broccoli, peppers, okra, etc...but today was mostly herbs. I literally have a bale of basil, it smelled so good when I picked it up I wanted to carry it forever. Here's a pic of what I picked today:
From the left: Oregano, Sage, Dill, Basil
In the foreground: Fuel, Tomatoes, Okra, and the clippers I had to use to cut the basil down...
I've also been kicking out some monster beets. Apparently, there is a large breed of beet that is called a Mangel beets. This one isn't anywhere near that size, but gorgeous nonetheless, they always look so cool on the inside:
I also have some blueberry bushes that are cranking out some delicious berries. Last time we made some peach/blueberry crisp, it was sooooo good (it had some Jameson in it).
I'm so happy to be farming, I think I like it so much because I grew up doing it and it's such an essential part of life. Most people are so disconnected from their food. I have pity for them. I have my father to thank for raising us kids in the country. I hated when he made us work, but I'm glad I have the skill set to produce now. One of the other reasons I enjoy doing this so much is because I love reading books by authors like Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan. There is a huge movement happening with people moving away from centralized food, and I'm happy to be a part of that. REBEL!!!!!!!
Warning: Quasi-religious rant coming...
One of the other reasons I enjoy farming that I've been thinking about lately (brace yourself for a bomb) is the fact that the Sun and Earth are providing me what I need. People may send praise to Jesus Christ or Allah or whomever, these spaghetti monsters in the sky...I personally find happiness in knowing that the Sun is providing energy, my plants are harvesting that energy, I'm consuming that energy, and the Earth is providing the resources for harvesting that energy. Two things I can see, feel, smell, taste (obviously not the Sun, haha), that I can respect. Some people go to church and pray, I go in my garden, recycle, try to stay efficient and not use too much energy. Basically I consider myself a steward of the planet, and when I take care of it, it will take care of me. Listen all I'm saying is that this makes a lot more sense to me than praying to someone(thing) that you aren't even sure is there.
So come on over, stop in for a visit, we can have some home made beer, veggies, fruit. We can stand around and shoot the shit, we can get drunk and pass out. I'm overly happy to have what I have and willing to share.
Cheers, Beers, and maybe some Deer (buying a rifle for deer season),
Adam.
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