Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Naturally challenging


To be wholesome, we must remain truthful to our vulnerable complexity.

- John O'Donohue, Anam Ċara


This is my third year of vegetable gardening. I was so excited to move to a house that had a yard, a space for a garden, a patch of sunlight to support it. I have come to know the joys of knowing that half my dinner will come from my backyard. 


For about three months. 


I am not yet (although I am working on it) the kind of gardener that can maintain a continual harvest. I know there are ways of planting that will do this for you, in my fortunately mild climate, but this will be my first year trying it.


It is for this reason that I am continually in awe of organic gardeners, and of people who lived off the land for all the years that echo back into time before grocery stores and farmer's markets  and the relative abundance of today. 


Making do is what they did, beautifully. Cuisine based on the land and what it would yield. Being a locavore was a given.


Today it is even more natural to not be a locavore. I live in one of the most abundant areas in the west and could not maintain a locavore diet without considerable pain.


What I am saying, in a roundabout, circumambulatory, and run-on sentence-y kind of way, is that my hat goes off to one of my favorite ladies and reads, Life as I know it, and her undertaking the locavore challenge.  

7 comments:

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

I will have two raised beds up and running by next spring--inspired in large part by Barbara Kingsolver.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that. Living off the land is NO easy feat. But worth it in SO many ways.

Anonymous said...

Five raised beds...and no hope of not visiting the supermarket or farm shop!

Maybe next year?

hillary said...

Kingsolver has always been so inspirational to me in such a grounded way.

We live in an abundant local food area (even though we have deep winters) and I think we do pretty good. In the summer season I say a good 80% of our diet is local and in the winter we try to maintain around 50% with hopes of it growing. We don't have a yard b/c we live in the city but we have a winter and summer csa share, shop at farmers market and the co-op. oh and then lastly at the regular market ;-)

Life As I Know It said...

oh, thank you Jo!
My veggie garden is looking pretty pathetic right now so I'm going to be relying on the farmers markets A LOT in the next few months.
I'd love to see pics of your garden!
And Kingsolver? She is inspiring!

Jo said...

I have full faith in you, Life as I Know it! But I couldn't give up coffee! Aiii!

Katrina Hazel, Recruitment Hero said...

I can't even spell garden, but I would like some zucchini bread if you have it....
Also, if I buy a 4 bedroom house can you come live with me an cook for me forever? We can invest in a LOT of bunk beds.