The Reintroduction: A Pantry Full of Jars
The abundance of this year’s foray into water-bath canning. This is but a portion of what all I’ve canned, and there’s still more to be done. From left to right: blackberry jam, tomato jam, blackberry...
View ArticleA New Year’s Plan: Worshipping the Earth
I’ve always enjoyed New Year’s Eve and the ensuing New Year’s Day. The midnight celebrations of the new year strike me as somewhat magical moments, with a fresh year stretched out before me and all its...
View ArticlePhotos: Baby Lambs
One of the farms I work for is currently dealing with an explosion of newborn lamb madness. It started a few weeks ago and is now entering epidemic status. There have been around 80 new lambs born and...
View ArticleWork Made a Farmer
— ∞ — And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer. God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day...
View ArticleThe Long Game
An entry in The Household Economy Last year, I started on the garden late. Aside from sneaking in a small potato patch in April, I didn’t really get going until late May and early June. I had some...
View ArticleThe World Beckons
Well folks, my time here on this blog is looking limited, at least for the immediate future. As noted in my previous post, I’m currently computer- and internet-free in my daily life. Of late, I’ve been...
View ArticleKilling Animals
When I was young, I killed a possum. It’s my earliest memory of killing an animal. That’s not surprising, as I don’t have many instances of killing animals to remember. I loved animals as a child. I...
View ArticleA Discomfiting Upward Movement
For a time there, I had it figured out. Okay, that’s only half true. For a time there, I felt comfortable. There have been moments during the last year when I felt at peace, in a good place,...
View ArticleA New Year’s Plan: Looking Inward
On Tuesday, a little after noon, I sat in the kitchen at one of the farms I work for, eating alone and browsing the tomato section of a Territorial seed catalog. Tomatoes, as it happens, are a sign of...
View ArticleOn Searching For Home
Almost two years ago, just a few days before the winter solstice, I was mucking out the sheep shed at one of the farms I worked for when I received news via a text message that I was going to be hired...
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