My father in front of his restored Farmall Super M |
Let me back up, starting with my parents. My parents, by and large, aren't from a grower's background. My mother grew up in Detroit, and her only connection to agriculture was her grandfather's garden. From what I've heard, he had quite the green thumb, perhaps that's where my mother gets it from. My father, grew up in the small town of Warren, PA, which is near Erie. Both my parents met while working at a summer stock theater in Indiana, my dad was doing set design and construction, my mother is a "not-so-amateur" actress. They even were married in a theater.
After their marriage, they found work in Delaware, yes, the state. My father is a teacher by trade. My mother is a registered nurse (RN) at the local hospital here. Again, there's not much of a connection here to agriculture. However, my parents are very insightful. In 1985, they moved to an old farmhouse about 5 miles from the nearest town. The farm is pretty small, it's 12 acres of arable land. Arable comes from the latin word arare, which means "to plough". In addition to the 12 acres of arable land, we also have a large (what I call large, mainly because it took forever to weed) garden. When I mapped it out, it's only about a tenth of an acre, but it feels much larger when you have to hand weed everything. Early on, we grew alfalfa, and sold the hay to horse owners. It was a nice little way to supplement our income.
Since I was born, we have expanded. In the course of 22 years, we have tried our hand at various crops, whether it's vegetables, herbs, chickens, beef cattle, pigs, and even honeybees. I always took this experience for granted, but looking back, this was something that my parents did, not just for themselves, but also for my sister and me. I remember one night at dinner, I must have been 5 or 6 years old, we were talking about why we grew some of our own food. We still went to the grocery store every other week, but my parents informed me that growing your own food is an important skill. I vividly remember my mother asking me, "what would happen if there was a disaster, and there was no way to get food?" Right there, I realized how important it is to have that skill. Knowing how to grow your own food is a valuable insurance policy in the event of disaster.
I often wonder where I would be without this experience during my childhood. I can recall some of my fondest memories were on the farm. There's something to be said about spending an afternoon baling hay with friends or family. My mother can attest that my favorite activity in the garden was digging for potatoes. It's a satisfying feeling to plunge your hands into the soil and come up with a good sized spud. I always equated it to a treasure hunt, but instead of finding wealth in the form of gold coins, wealth was in the form of a Yukon gold potato, a symbol of grower independence. My first job was actually working at the local farmer's market, which I also remember fondly.
One of the big jokes in our state is when winter weather hits. The first thing that happens when the meteorologist predicts a snowstorm is people stock up on milk and bread, and it's more true than we would like to admit. When I was a child, I was always amused by this, because I never quite understood why people rushed to the grocery store when snow is coming. As I've grown older, I realize now that people are stockpiling, in the event of a blizzard. This is something that we did throughout the summer and fall. I can distinctly remember my mother in the kitchen preparing excess vegetables for freezing or canning. Growing up, we never really bought vegetables, or steak for that matter. We grew it here on the farm.
So, my question to you, the readers: how often do you visit a grocery store? How long do you think you could go without going to the grocery store if you needed to? say, if you were snowed in.
One of the big jokes in our state is when winter weather hits. The first thing that happens when the meteorologist predicts a snowstorm is people stock up on milk and bread, and it's more true than we would like to admit. When I was a child, I was always amused by this, because I never quite understood why people rushed to the grocery store when snow is coming. As I've grown older, I realize now that people are stockpiling, in the event of a blizzard. This is something that we did throughout the summer and fall. I can distinctly remember my mother in the kitchen preparing excess vegetables for freezing or canning. Growing up, we never really bought vegetables, or steak for that matter. We grew it here on the farm.
So, my question to you, the readers: how often do you visit a grocery store? How long do you think you could go without going to the grocery store if you needed to? say, if you were snowed in.
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