Friday 23 September 2011

Trading

My "work" is shifting as autumn rolls in... from digging, weeding and planting to picking, chopping and canning.  Clearly, I've traded gardening gloves and an aching back for a stained apron and aching feet.   I'm constantly humbled by the fact that this life we are purposing to live is not one of quick work.  It's a life of slow work and long days.  If it feels like I'm working for every bite we eat, it's because I am...   from seed to table, I dare not calculate how much of me is in each bite...

In spite of all that work and time, it feels so good.  Good homegrown food is the direct result of hard work which satisfies a need deep inside... a need long buried under years of weekly trips to the store.  I've traded grocery lists, muzak and wobbly carts squeaking under fluorescent lights for garden chores, seeds, spades, chirping birds and light breezes under bright blue skies.

I'll take the latter thank you very much. 






The reality is that we work for our food.  We either pay with money or we pay with dirty hands, an aching back and a stained apron :)

4 comments:

  1. I would always pick working your way if I could have that land! Your days remind me of the "little house on the prairie" books...I really enjoyed reading them to my youngest, and now you have me thinking I should read them for myself. love,andrea

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  2. You don't need a lot of land to grow lots of food! Have you checked out the Path To Freedom blog? They are urban homesteaders who grow a huge amount of food on their city lot. Check them out!

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  3. you have a very fancy chook house :o)

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  4. Yes, Nicole, we do :) Our winters are frigid (-30C to -35C) so our chickens stay indoors for several months of the year. Their coop needs to be big enough for them to have lots of space during those long winter months and as well, it needs to be well insulated for warmth. It's basically like a tiny house! There are lots of roosts at varying heights, so they can go higher where the warmth is if it get REALLY cold (and it does!).

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