Posted on 07/15/2011 8:59:04 PM PDT by Texas Fossil
I identify with your post and certainly agree.
For most people, a garden is not really about saving money, but about better quality of food.
In 2003 my grandmother had a heart attack at 96. The doctors told her she could no longer live alone as she had done for 17 years after my grandfather died. My wife and I stayed with her every night and cooked her meals and spent the day with here for about 1 year. We did not move in, but had a few changes of clothes there. She always had beautiful flower beds and working in the yard is what kept her going. We planted a garden the 2 summers we were there with her and she really enjoyed it. My wife (city girl) learned to love fresh garden veggies.
My son broke his back in a fall of his cutting horse and my wife and I turned my grandmother over to my father (her son) so we could nurse my son. He and my mom took care of my grandmother for about 9 months and then she was in a nursing home for a few months. She died at 98.
My grandmother was from old pioneer stock and was never happy again when it got to the point she could not work in her yard.
She taught me many lessons as a child and others when I was an adult. I truly miss her.
Water has always been scarce in the Desert Southwest. We are nearing the point that this will be a serious issue. Water tables are dropping to the point that a lot of farming will revert to "dry land" practices. The high plains of Texas are a good example. Many have abandoned sprinkler irrigation for drip irrigation systems because they no longer have sufficient water to supply their needs.
This is the hottest and driest year in my lifetime here in Texas. I am not sure that even the benchmark dry year of 1895 was dryer. This is driven by the sunspot cycle. We have known that during sunspot minimums and maximums that the weather patterns are more variable. Not dryer, nor wetter. Not hotter, nor cooler. But more variable depending on your location. We are just coming out of the longest and deepest sunspot minimum in my lifetime. This too shall pass.
I am a city girl too - maybe that’s why I love my little patch of vegetables and herbs. All surrounded by my beloved hydrangea bushes (called snowball bushes in NYC).
I’m sorry to hear about your son. I hope he recovered! What is a cutting horse?
Your grandmother sounds wonderful. I come from city people who arrived during the famous famine - the other half of my family were vaguely criminal 19th century NYC types until my grandfather was born and lived a wonderfully clean and wholesome life. Grow vegetables?? Fuhgeddabodit!
We raised chickens...once. Cleaning the coop is about the worst job I can imagine for a hot, humid summer day. I am an avid tomato gardener. My friend with *free range chickens* cannot keep any sort of plant alive because her chickens eat everything, right down to the ground. She cannot bear the idea of penning them. So: my tomatoes for her eggs and everyone is happy.
Also, my chicken-raising experiment took place back in the 1970s. I can’t remember the exact accounting, but I believe it cost me about 10x the supermarket price to raise my own chickens and back then, cracked corn was cheap. Of course, so was chicken.
It looks like I made the right decision! I think it’s Martha Stewart who popularized the idea of suburban chickens with her beautiful aracuna chicks. But she has a thousand flunkies to push around - and I don’t.
There is a small inner city where I live and I naively used to love the sound of the cocks crowing. Oh! I’d think, someone is raising chickens! Took me two minutes to realize it was all about cock-fighting.
Aracuna bantams!
LOL! THAT is exactly what we raised. Long story, but they were given to us in partial payment for some work I did for a show breeder. They were 1/2 wild, hated their pen, fought, produced too many roosters, produced tiny little eggs (which _are_ tasty)and are quite scrawny when plucked for cooking.
2nd chapter: we decided to add some big White Plymouths (I _think_ that is what they were called) to the flock. We first got rid of all the aracuna roosters. However, the aracuna hens fought with the big white hens, knocked over a heat lamp in the middle of a December snow storm and almost burnt us down. They did burn their coop down. The dogs feasted on BBQ chicken all winter!
Aracunas are pretty birds, but they are a handful.
First a reformed liberal, now a reformed chicken raiser! So glad I’ve read your posts in case I get another yen for a hen.
Frankly, I'd rather have someone tending their garden than some lawn fanatic who sprays Round-Up on his lawn and flower beds. Julie Bass is an organic gardener, so at least there wouldn't be any chemicals wafting into my house.
LOL!
Also former hippie back-to-the-land-er. But all that has turned out to have been a good trial run for this economy.
Little did we know, way back then.
Well, it’s nice to know an ex-hippie has come full circle. It sounds like you’ve lived a very interesting life!!
I think there are a lot of us. We’re the ones who grew up.
Yeah, it has been interesting. Right now, it is bordering on terrifying, though.
http://www.truecrimereport.com/2011/07/julie_bass_busted_by_oak_park.php
I really got a chuckle out of the wording of this report on Julie Bass's garden citation by Oak Park's “planner”.
Some of it is worded in a manner that I did not want to reprint on FR, so I furnished the link.
It lightens my day to laugh at these idiots.
They’ve dropped the charges about the garden, but now have cited her for dog license violations. He dogs are licensed (albeit late) and she’s paid the late fees. But, she has to appear in court anyway.
LOL!!! Rented fan belt. High five to the author.
“They’ve dropped the charges about the garden”
Not that simple:
Dropped it for now, until they can review the local statute.
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