F is for Family Farms: An Art That Needs Saving

…"every man is called to give love to the work of his hands. Every man is called to be an artist." The small family farm is one of the last places - they are getting rarer every day - where men and women (and girls and boys, too) can answer that call to be an artist, to learn to give love to the work of their hands.
~ Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food

Back in January, I began the One Page a Day Challenge and immediately threw away my quill.  Now in April, I’m participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and prepping for a Wilderness Writers’ Retreat.  I need ink, a stiff drink and therapy.

F

arming as art. 

Wendell Berry’s definition makes sense.  I know when I’m creating art ~ of any kind, I enter an almost-Zen state.  And this is especially true when I’m gardening.

From planning the layout, to choosing the seeds and transplants.  Even the mundane chores of cleaning out last year’s plant debris (with echoes of “Bring out ya dead!” sounding in my head) and stirring the compost heap brings me peace, the tension draining out of me.

There is something about playing in the dirt.  And sadly, it’s fast disappearing.

F is for Family Farms

I’ve forgotten the girl’s name, but I’ll never forget what she thought: that food comes from the grocery store.  I thought she was having me on.  But no, she had never visited a farm in her 20 some years.  Had no concept of planting, wedding, harvesting.  Everything that goes into growing food.

I should have immediately taken her to my home and put a rake in her hands.

Because each year, it gets tougher and tougher for small farms to make it.  And although I believe in smaller government involvement ~ the less, the better ~ something needs to be done to help ease the crazy tax and insurance burdens of the small farmer.

One charity I support is the American Farmland Trust.  Recently, they sent me the following letter, that I would like to share with you:

State funding to protect family farms is down 39% from where it was six years ago. This means that family farmers often have no choice but to sell their land to developers who transition their local farms into urban sprawl – shopping malls, McMansions and parking lots.

Farmland protection funding programs provide states with money to purchase development rights to protect fertile farm and ranch land from unchecked development. When these funds are slashed, we all lose.

AFT is leading a ground game to advocate in capitals across the country so that governors and state legislatures don’t slash our family farms. Please donate to support this work.

One example of our work in action is the urgent campaign we are spearheading in Maryland.

Maryland has the third highest rate of farmland loss in the country—losing nearly 20,000 acres of farmland a year to hungry developers.

Last month, Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley proposed to cut funding for farmland protection in half – by $23 million dollars. In response, we are mobilizing grassroots support to urge state legislators to restore full funding for family farms in the budget before it goes before the Governor.

Two of my neighbors are thinking of selling their land to developers ~ the taxes are simply too much for them to carry anymore.  It breaks my heart.  One, because I hate to see all that beautiful land get swallowed up in the maw of suburban sprawl.  And two, and quite selfishly I might add, I don’t want to lose my precious privacy. 

I have always hated suburbia and barely tolerated it when I lived across the river from DC.  Now, I loathe it with a passion.  It’s soulless and draining and encourages the Keeping up with the Jones’ lifestyle that so many people get sucked in to.  That’s bad enough taken alone.  But factor in the loss of farm-able land, and where does your food come from?  Huge, industrial farms that use GMOd seeds and plants? 

Oh, that’s convenient!  And very fishy.

 

Image Credit: Mikaela D'Eigh, 2014

Supporting Local Farms

So other than donating money to a charity like AFT, what can we do to help small farms continue to survive and thrive?

Stop buying the majority of your food from the grocery store.  Most of it has come so far from the farm where it grew or was raised, that it’s not as fresh or nutritious as it was when it was picked/slaughtered.  Not to mention, you have no idea whether it truly is organic, was grown sustainably, or was fed GMOd grain or not.

But if you can meet the farmer face to face, you can ask him or her about their farm.  What practices they use.  What they feed their animals.  Some will let you visit the farm and a select few will even let you work on the farm.  Or you can be like me and go one step further: Become the farmer.  You won’t regret it.

It’s very Zen.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Do you support local farms?  How? CSA? Co-op?

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La Belle's Hobby Farm: There's No Place Like Home

I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.

~ Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

W

hen I said I was going to share with you the story of my foray into hobby farming as it unfolds, I didn’t intend it to be a series of posts on the technical and practical aspects of gardening ~ although I knew that would figure into some of the telling.  Rather, I wanted to write personal essays of my story of starting a hobby farm while moving back with my aging parents.

And so far I’ve successfully avoided writing that part of the plot.

I feel like it would be easier if I were to write about this chapter of the story if it were about a fictional character.  But even fictional characters can annoy and disappoint you.  Just like real human beings.

Essentially, for all my extroverted ways, I am a very private person.  And since there are quite a few folks who know who Mikaela really is, it makes writing intimate personal essays a little sticky.  Yet if I can connect with just one person who is helped or comforted by my story, than perhaps shining a light into a few dark corners is worth it.  As a writer, I can’t really hide everything all the time.

So here I am, starting a hobby farm on the family property.  And to be honest, while the agony of deciding where to put the vegetable garden was due in large part to trying to figure out the best way to prepare the soil, it also came down to ~ how long will I be here? 

Translation: how long can I stand to be here?

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

To be continued….

La Belle Hobby Farm: How to Keep Out Pests Part 1

In gardens, beauty is a by-product.  The main business is sex and death. 

~ Sam Llewelyn

A

 nd nowhere is this more apparent than in a sustainable garden.  A gardener must be inventive if she wants to live in rhythm with the land, grow crops that are free of harmful pesticides, growth hormones, and not the product of the Frankenstein-Nazi combo of Monsanto non-reproducing seeds.

One Saturday a couple of months ago, I visited the local farmer’s market and asked one of the stands whether they used sustainable and/or organic practices.  And the lady (quite nastily) said that their crops wouldn’t survive and their business wouldn’t be viable if that were the case.  I just said, “Ah” and walked away without buying anything.  To give her props, I think their farm is a fairly large one.  So maybe it is tough to sustainable farm in large quantities.  I don’t know (note to self, research that.)  But if that is true, then that makes the case for smaller farmers more attractive and compelling.

Hence, my desire to don overalls.

Now all this sounds very romantic (except maybe the overalls.)  Until you get to the nitty gritty (great band by the way) of growing things and trying to keep down pests, etc.  As you’ve seen, my efforts so far have been sad.  But it’s Virginia, folks ~ I still have time to get those little green babies in the ground! 

In the meantime, how does one sustainably keep out pests?  Well, it depends on the type of pest you are trying to keep out.  But the other day, I found one pest control “device” that works really  well!  I think it may even cause some humans to run away very fast from, well, wherever it goes!



I'm just going to check for mice down here, don't mind me!



This beauty is a Black Rat Snake ~ about a 6-7 footer I would guess.  At least he (or she) was keeping the mice and mole population under control in the cellar!  Black rat snakes are common in Virginia and quite harmless.  You can find out more here.  Another great site is the Virginia Herpetological Society (and no, they have nothing to do with herpes!)

I actually feel sorry for them ~ they usually end up squashed on the highway.  As long as this one doesn’t find a way to crawl into bed with me, he/she can stay as long as they want to.  Just keep the mice away!

By the way, I’m shooting for Memorial Day weekend.  Anyone want to come help dig in the dirt?

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

How do you keep pests out of your garden?  And what do you think of sustainable and organic practices? 

Top Five Friday: In the Quiet Green - Five Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest,

I think this is why the environment has to be preserved.

~ Bill Bradley

A

 pril 22nd is Earth Day.  An appropriate time to announce that I will be starting a weekly series here on my adventures in organic farming rather than starting a new blog for just that topic.  There is an art to farming and gardening ~ especially if one wants to actually produce food! 

But one need not start an organic farm in order to celebrate Earth Day and all that is green and reusable.  Here are five things to do to help preserve our national green this weekend ~ preferably out of doors and off the roads!

Read Up!

You know I will always recommend reading.  I have one whole room in my house dedicated to books!  My favorite nature author is John Muir.  Mother Earth News also has some great articles on sustainability and organic farming.  This one deals with GM (genetically modified) crops and this one talks about why we are seeing a decrease in the bee population, which not surprisingly, relates back to GM crops. 

Another great book is Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Create a Kitchen or Herb Garden

Starting out small is good.  Less room for mistakes.  Not that I expect I won’t make mistakes, but they hopefully will be on the small scale.  Begin with a few containers on your patio, desk, or porch.  It’s too late in many zones to sow seed for some veggies ~ although I did just receive my direct sow seed packets ~ and too early to plant seedlings in others. 



from 123rf



Here in Virginia it’s hit or miss.  There is still time for one last nasty frost.  So I’m waiting and spending the time continuing to read (see point #1) and prepping the ground so that once it is time, my plants will have a fighting chance of growing healthy and strong.

A great blog to read for gardening advice: Margaret Roach’s A Way to Garden.

Plant a Tree

There are many places that are giving away free trees.  Take them home and give them lots of love and a good mix of organic matter, soil, and compost.  Just don’t forget to plant them!  I, uh, sadly did that last year.  Mea culpa!

Visit a Sustainable/Organic Farm

You can look up local farms in your area here and here.  It is a great way to meet the people who grow your food, and learn a bit about how things are done.  Some farms are part of an organization that encourages people to volunteer at farms to learn more about the agraiein life. 

If P. Allen Smith’s farm was closer to me, I would go there in a heart-beat, as he is the guru of all things green.  Actually, he’s a Renaissance man: in addition to gardening and farming, he cooks, paints, writes, designs, builds, chops wood – I don’t know, he may even sing or play an instrument. 

And he’s good looking.

That is just wrong.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

This is the mantra of the Piedmont Environmental Council ~ love them! ~ and it is a great economy booster.  You use less gas driving there, and you help create a vibrant and sustainable community.  Plus it’s fun!  Especially if you live in a great small town with cute downtown areas filled with boutique shops and chatty owners and salespeople like I do.   

And of course, we can all start small by carrying around reusable bags [they come in such cute patterns now too!] and not using the plastic ones; buying less items with plastic containers, and donating our gently used items to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or St. Vincent’s.  One woman’s trash is another’s treasure ~ really! 

I haven’t read it yet, but I just saw an interview of Edward Humes, the author of Garbology, where he talks about how much trash we actually produce and ways to reduce it.

Happy greening!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What are some other ways you plan to celebrate and preserve our beautiful, bountiful planet?

New Series and a Poll

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. 

~ E.L. Doctorow

I

t has been seven months since I moved back to the family homestead.  It has been an interesting journey so far and it isn’t over yet!  I have been jotting down notes, thoughts, rants, and raves since September, but I haven’t shared them yet.

Part of the reason is that I am still processing things.  But life is about processing ~ it doesn’t end until our life does.  Sometimes part of processing is sharing that process itself with others, receiving encouragement and respectful and loving criticism, and giving encouragement and hope to another’s journey.

The other reason is I haven’t been sure where the proper forum for sharing those thoughts and lessons learned is.  This blog is mainly about art and culture, which can cover a broad number of topics ~ fine art, performing art, food, manners, poetry, etc. 



Spring has Sprung! Lilacs in my backyard - photo by Mikaela D.

But sharing my experiences in choosing to move back with the family and the trials and joys that go with that choice, as well as trying to realize my dream of starting an organic and sustainable hobby farm ~ is that an art?  It could certainly fit in with the discussion of culture. I know several bloggers whose passions led them to create different blogs: Joanna over at The Art of Everyday Wonder, for instance, has a couple of blogs that cover related but different subjects.

Now, I don’t write just for the heck of it.  Ok, maybe I do ~  I can’t not write.  However, I don’t share my writing just for the heck of it.  You, dear readers, are the reason I post.  And since I can’t decide, and this journey is too crazy and fun not to share, I’m going to leave it up to you!  On the right, you will see that I created a poll.  It will be open until April, Friday the 13th [mwhahahaha!] 

Vote early and vote often!  And get your dead relatives and friends to vote too!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Word Count Blogathon Day 23: Love of the Land

Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything,

for 'tis the only thing in this world that lasts.

Tis the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for -- worth dying for.

~ Gerald O’Hara, Gone with the Wind

“The only thing in this world that lasts.”  I never knew how much in common I had with Scarlett O’Hara until this past Saturday. 

I gathered together about ten of my closest girlfriends and invited them down to my childhood home for an afternoon tea celebrating the 75^th Anniversary of the publication of “Gone with the Wind.”  Any excuse to dress up, eat and spend time with friends!

The menu consisted of fried chicken, ham biscuits, green beans [with pork fat of course!], mashed potatoes and gravy, chocolate-pecan pie, southern tea cakes and a Kentucky Jam Cake, a quartet of wine-based sorbets, and plenty of Southern sweet tea, fresh made lemonade and mint juleps.

After our repast, we retired to the living room where I had set up a projector and a white bed sheet ~ we Southerners make do ~ and watched Scarlett and her entourage live through a heart-wrenching and momentous era in our nation’s history.  Even if you weren’t blessed to be born in the land of soft, Southern drawls and the smell of fried chicken and fresh biscuits, you can still appreciate the writing brilliance of Margaret Mitchell and the amazing vision of David Selznik.

Getting in Touch with My Inner Scarlett

When I first watched the movie, I was very young.  I admired the all the beautiful dresses and the broad expanse of land of Tara and the mannered yet manly gentlemen and wept over the burning of Atlanta.  Other than that, I didn’t understand much of it.  As the older, wiser me watched the movie, I still oohed and ahhed with my girlfriends over Scarlett’s famous green muslin “Twelve Oaks BBQ” dress, her green velvet “curtain” dress and her daring red “Ashley’s Birthday” outfit.  But a theme that I had missed as a child kept coming up to haunt me.

There is a scene, after the war is over and Scarlett is trying to save Tara from her old overseer.  She goes to Ashley to get his advice.  But poor Ashley is stuck like Lot’s wife, looking back at the life that once was and will never be again and has no practical advice to give.  At one point, Scarlett throws herself into his arms and states that they should run away because there’s nothing to keep either of them there.  But he points out that [besides his wife and son], there is something that Scarlett loves more than even him.  He picks up a handful of dirt and places it in her hand.

And that is when it struck me how like Scarlett I am ~ at least when it comes to an attachment to the land.  It gets in your blood.  No matter how far away you may go, or how many times your heart gets broken, or how many jobs you’ve lost, the pull of the land is always there.  And I realized that Gerald O’Hara was right: land is the only thing that lasts, the only thing worth fighting and dying for.

It is always difficult to leave the peace of the country and come back to the noise and indifferent city.  But this time it I felt like my arm had been amputated.  What this means for the future, I have no idea.  But I do know that our land, though nothing on scale of Tara, will always be an anchor and a priority for me and I’d rather die than let it go.

What about you?  What from your childhood still has a hold on you?  Has it had a negative or positive impact on you?

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

P.S. I admit I can be as tenacious as Scarlett, and yes, a little pouty at times. But I can say without reservation, that if a Rhett Butler came into my life, I would hold on to him with both hands! Fiddle-dee-dee!