It ain't easy bein' green

Most everyone who knows me knows I have a little tinge of green haired tree hugging freak in me. I don't know where it comes from honestly. I'm a staunch right winger on most issues. I drive a foreign car. I don't recycle anything but aluminum cans and I REALLY don't do that.   I give them to my housekeeper and SHE recycles them. I am a meat eater. I give my kids too much sugar and yes, (gasp here) I am not convinced there is any real threat from global warming and even if there was, I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it. Oh, and I've never even been close to Berkeley!

So, even though I have no clue why I have an "eco-affliction", I know I've always had it and it's here to stay. Part of it is having an agriculture degree, and being raised on the land. But, I think a bigger part of it is that I worry about my own children and the world we are leaving them. The more I read, the worse it gets. I heard a scientist talking on a BBC show the other day and it caught my ear. The premise of the talk was that "organic ain't where it's at".  The scientist, Dr. Tim Lang, insists that although organic farming is a valiant endeavor, FOOD MILES is the kicker. More could be done to alleviate environmental concerns by buying local food rather than focusing on buying organic food from across the continent. Interesting.

However, my concern over food production in this country has less to do with the environment and more to do with sustainability and survival. When fossil fuels begin to dwindle and we can no longer afford to import our food, and no one here remembers how to grow their own, what WILL we do? This is a problem that should be dealt with now- not later. This is why I part ways with my republican friends over Drill Baby Drill. Why prolong the agony? Why push this problem on down to your grandchildren? The problem with fossil fuels isn't going away. It should be addressed, not passed off to future generations. Personally, I have made it a point to pay attention when my daddy plants his garden, and I want the girls to pay attention to how food is grown, where it comes from, and how to prepare it.  If we wait on the government, it will be too little too late. If we act individually, it will be too little, but if we act as a community focused on providing each other with wholesome, local food when possible, it just might make a difference.

I recently joined a facebook group called "Liberate your lawn! Grow food not grass!". I say this as my sprinklers water my azaleas outside, but the idea does fascinate me and when I have more time, I'm going to GROW not MOW! I did recently talk my husband out of spending 600 dollars on Zoysia seed for our front yard. Seriously, who needs that? We live on a dirt road in a pine thicket in a beautiful house that we literally carved out of the bush.  I love the "wildness" of this place. If I wanted Zoysia, I'd have stayed on a golf course. Pine needles, crabgrass, and sand make a great front yard in my opinion- at least till I have the time to grow peppers and tomatoes out there.

With THAT being said, my husband has had a wild hair for several years now to raise his own honeybees for organic raw honey. Raw honey has many more medicinal effects than pasteurized, strained honey. Many allergists believe that taking daily doses of locally grown honey can solve 90% of all the seasonal allergy issues we endure every spring because the local pollen, mold, etc. that makes us all miserable is found in the honey and your body will build up an immunity. Fascinating.  Anyway,  I guess there are far worse things for men to spend their time doing, so I'll humor him on this one.  And I thought I was the eco-nut! We already have homegrown organic eggs. Now raw honey. We're regular hippies around here these days but I couldn't be happier about it.  A little slice of heaven is what it is.

Update

It's spring around here and we have been busier than a one armed paper hanger as my papa used to say!  The girls really have enjoyed the warmer weather. My Addie, although quite rough and tumble, prefers to wear skirts and dresses, and she also loves to go bare legged. She has been so excited to be able to wear a dress with no tights to school this week.  

Ali Grace has continued to progress with her riding lessons. She has always had a hard time maintaining her focus and concentration and I really think her riding lessons are helping. She gets frustrated sometimes and I have to remind her that if this were easy, everyone would do it. She loves her horse, Treasure. Treasure is a very small mare that was picked on by the other mares in the group and so we had to move her because she was losing weight and constantly being bitten by the other horses. This horse LOVES Ali. I guess they are kindred spirits. Ali has never mentioned being picked on or anything, but she often laments the fact that she's the tiniest kid in her class. I guess she knows how Treasure feels. Treasure will come to her when she walks in the gate and follow her all over the pasture until Ali decides to leave. We all find it quite comical.  Her teacher emailed me this week and told me how proud she was of Ali Grace. She said Ali finished her benchmark tests in the allotted time and exceeded the standard on the test. We were VERY worried about her concentration and her ability to finish in time. Whew!

My cousin Julie had her first baby this week. Her name is Anneli and she is just beautiful. I am so happy for she and her husband Goran. That poor girl has more Hokie clothing than the law allows I'm sure, but I found a burp cloth this week that said "I drool maroon and orange" and I had to have it.  So so cute!


In other news, my friend Tammy mentioned in her blog recently that if we Americans want manufacturing jobs to return to this country, we have to do more to support companies who pay American workers on American soil. I whole heartedly agree with this idea. It is only an extension of my locavore belief. Imagine the fuel and energy used to transport cheaply made tee shirts from China all the way to the United States.  I have mentioned before that I love buying handmade items, just because of their originality and also because an American woman made them in her American home - albeit on a Japanese sewing machine. BUT, I feel like that's what this country has to get back to in order to survive tough times. We need to provide for each other. Is there something YOU do well, that you could trade someone else for goods or services?  My dad does a lot of bartering with other people and has found it quite profitable and beneficial to both parties involved. We depend far too much on other countries to provide our necessities. Americans need to do more to provide their own food and clothing. I personally love farmer's markets in the spring and summer and I WISH I had Tammy's sewing ability. But, alas I do not, so I must stick with what I know. She has Family and Consumer Science degree and I have an Agriculture degree. I wonder if she'd trade some sewing for some cucumbers, tomatoes and squash!  LOL  :)  Have a wonderful Easter everyone!