The excitement. No, really—could there be anything more boring than job, cook, clean, TV, repeat?
Nothing says earthly immortality like breeding a brand-new kind of corn, delicious and adapted to the weather and soil on your homestead, riding on strong when the expensive hybrid stuff on your neighbor’s farm quits during the inevitable drought.
Unless something’s wrong, animals are quiet. Can’t say that for most people.
And for that reason, farming is a good vocation for the antisocial. (That’s me!)
Chickens are really, really funny to watch.
What’s wrong with manual labor if you have the right tools and are smart about it? Decently designed tools and buildings make it thinking time, not back-breaking time. And looking around, I think most people could use a little more manual labor in their lives. Is there anything more ridiculous than paying someone else to take care of your yard and using the time thus saved to go to the gym?
If rural land is not owned by a smallholder who takes care of it, it’s owned by agribusiness or gets all the trees knocked down in favor of starter castles. I guess it’s one of those “think globally, act locally” things.
Good research indicates lower incidence of mental health problems among the Amish than among the population at large. It could serve us well to consider why.
And the final reason to farm is....
*drumroll*
I’m lazy. That’s right! Sloth! What self-respecting lazy individual is going to get all sweaty for no good reason? Jogging, my foot—if I’m getting tired and dirty, there’d better be a ditch or fence to show for it at the end or I ain’t comin’. I will either farm or die of heart disease at 55 years, 450 pounds.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
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5 comments:
Mellifera, it was great to discover your visionary blog. Are you really researching a book? I have to say that I left the agricultural field and jumped the fence into the remaining Rainforest. I started out as an Aggie (USU), transitioned into Range Mgt., which is a bit more natural, and then jumped head-on into environmental concerns. Now, after 30 years of field biology I am realizing that there is no longer any good news.
I fear we can no longer "save" anything, not even ourselves. And that is coming from someone who is the ultimate optimist! Anyway, I have not given up. I have a group of friends involved on conservation work in Latin America (See www.earthmatters.org). Cheers, E. A.
Thanks! Good luck with the eagles- that sounds like some pretty intense fieldwork.
The book might take a while- most of the sources (read: peoples' journals) are out in Utah and we're pretty stuck in Florida. Fortunately a big project is on to digitize many of the pioneer journals and make them available online, which should help a lot.
You're right- environmentalism is soooo depressing. That's why I became an agrarian instead. ; )
Ms. Mellifera, I must say that the beginnings of this look to be first class! Reading your posts gave me little pangs of longing for the kind of life you described -- maybe I can be a country doctor and do a little farming on the side!
Say hi to Mr. Mellifera for me.
I'm enjoying the blog. So while we all want to create our own environmental agro-paradise, any suggestions on how to get started on the small scale? Can you suggest some reads for how to use the tiny plots of abused earth we have to call our own? or any good reads on how to make the transition? I started a book or two by Joel Salatin and he was a tad crazy but I know his model works for him. I wasn't sure how reliable it was for everyone else.
Yup, good ol' Salatins.
Do you mean like... "think globally, act locally," or more specific things to do with one's own land? (Do you have a backyard? I am green with envy.)
One writer I can definitely recommend is Gene Logsdon. He's the good kind of crazy. :) He and his wife Carol have renovated about 20 acres of burned-out farmland in Ohio, and written tons and tons of books. Most of the links on this blog are also to Gene Logsdon stuff. Overall his writing is good smart stuff, and he's a cranky old cuss so it's a fun read too. Recommended first read: The Contrary Farmer.
It looks like today's going to be a slow one in the vet lab, so maybe we'll have a new post up by the end of the day. "So I'm Totally Depressed About How Screwed Up The Environment Is. Now What?"
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