SUSTAINABILITY:THE GREAT DISCOVERY

There's that 'S' word again, SUSTAINABILITY but this time it's being used by younger folks, not middle aged/senior folks. We had a couple of guests Monday who wanted to come visit and talk to us about how we live off the land. They are on the Great Discovery, a road trip to visit people who are living a 'sustainable' lifestyle and learn all that they can.

I had received an email from one of the gals's Mom, someone from  my past life who actually helped me out with some transportation last year when I was in the Quad Cities for a funeral.  Her daughter was traveling the country learning more about being sustainable and she was in the La Crosse area. Small world. Of course, I replied, "just tell her to call." You see, we love sharing where we live because it is pretty special here in the End of the Rainbow Valley. The girls were camping with friends on the other side of the river (Minnesota) but would call for directions when they were packed up and ready to roll.  Even when you have GPS you can lose coverage out here in the Coulee.

Back row: Lucy and myself
Front row : Charlie and Cris

I would have recognized Lucy although the last time I saw her she was a very little girl and I welcomed the opportunity to see her and answer their questions. Although their arrival time would mean a later lunch, the mom in me had a strong suspicion they would be hungry. Hmmm, tomato time and almost an hour before they would be here made me think of an Israeli dish called Shakshuka. Big slices of Natureman's bread accompanying the chunky tomato stew with garden peppers and fresh eggs would make a great quick lunch.

Before we ate, we explained a little about our house the heating systems in our passive solar home, explaining the concrete floors, Ukranian stove, wood stove, heating with wood and tankless water heater, etc. 

Our last canning projects of stewed tomatoes and salsa still occupied our island counter and Cris was curious re: the pot filler over the stove. 

We ate lunch on the porch and spoke about why Natureman moved here and he in turn inquired as to they reasons for wanting to leave their city lives in Seattle. Lucy had worked on an organic farm/two and Cris was in IT support. They are heading to one of the oldest intentional community /collective Twin Oaks (1967) in West Virginia this weekend for a conference where they will be volunteering.  

The food disappeared and they didn't have much more time before an appointment about an hour away re: solar panels. Hay was needed for bedding for their bunny so they took a walk down with Natureman to our 1890 barn with their dog Charlie and to the overgrown vegetable garden. Hey it's August but still a bit embarrassing as the chickens haven't been released to free range quite yet and take care of those ginormous weeds. Whatever is still producing will be plenty for our needs.

Anyhow the visit was short and sweet and Lucy and Cris were off to their next adventure with hopes of learning more about living sustainably. All the best to all of you on your Great Discovery... we know whatever we all do to live a little bit lighter on this earth will leave it better for others. 

MOSES...

Some 3400 organic farm conference goers
descended upon the city of La Crosse this past weekend for the 26th annual 
MOSES Organic Farming Conference, the largest such conference in the nation with attendees from 25-30 states and 4 foreign countries bringing about a million dollars of economic impact to our area.

We happened to offer overnight lodging for one participant through  Couchsurfing and although our visit was short, it was refreshing to hear from one attendee in particular who has embraced  the idea of a sustainable lifestyle.  At 37 years of age he serves upon a board for Land Stewardship up in the Twin Cities area. He spent his first day listening to a lot about policy and viewing one of the film offerings (Mysteries of Driftless Region.) 

In addition to round tables, possibilities of over 67 workshops and  and 6 general sessions, an exhibit hall, poster gallery and Book Shop, the conference had both musical and film entertainment. (Film trailer links below),  there was even childcare for families traveling with children ages 3-12 which included breakfast, lunch and activities with a $45/diem.

On Thursday there were Organic University course offerings which included: Soil Biology, Health-Dairy Cattle, Storage Options, Farmscale Permaculture  In Her Boots, Farming with Beneficial Insects, Farming for More $-Less Work, Profitable Fruit Processing  Successful Grass-Fed Beef and Small Grains.

The Keynote Speaker Friday John Jeavons spoke on:Farming for the Future Now: "Optimizing Organic Farming" The Farmer of the Year was also announced that afternoon. 

Workshop categories were in Field Crops | Healthy Soils & Farming Systems | Livestock Market Farming and Specialty Crops | Business, Marketing & Certification Education, Environment and Emerging Issues.

There was something for everybody. Maybe we'll see you here next year. Mark your calendars for the end of February!

Here are some of those film links:
Food Chains

Green Fire

GROW

Mysteries of the Driftless

Organic the Real Natural

Out Here

TERRA FIRMA, a film about Women, War and Healing

LIVING OFF THE LAND

Seed catalogues arriving in the late winter months are like ‘porn’ for gardeners as we in the cold lands are already dreaming about getting outside into our gardens.

In fact, the kitchen sill was filled with poppy and eggplants seedlings in April. Every April Natureman and I start talking about what we’d like to add/redo in the garden. Much to my chagrin a list is discussed and made, but not always followed. Last year we successfully tried bok choi and this year we are also adding purple onions.

Asparagus is our first spring veggie and that 3 year old bed is still producing into June. If you look beyond all the weeds, there's still asparagus coming up. We also enjoy wild nettle just like the settlers used to eat which is high in vitamins and cooked like spinach only boiled a couple times to rid the prickly spines. Natureman adds olive oil and lemon juice atop his. Rhubarb is ready to be harvested about the same time and 35+ year old plants are way more than we could ever consume.

Due to unseasonably warm weather Natureman got into the garden earlier than usual to start his roto-tilling procedure, a process that involves at least 3 phases. You see the hardened soil needs more than one rototilling. Then, all of the used hay from the barn has to be carted up to the garden area with countless treks. Fortunately, the chicken coop poop is not as far away but is also used as natural fertilizer to be rototilled into the soil.

 A well earned cold beer usually completes each day’s work. Honestly I don’t know how Natureman holds on to that glass after being shaken around for hours but he manages to slowly sip his day’s pay. Then the cool weather crops are planted… radishes,peas,lettuces- a spring mix, arrugula, spinach, carrots, beets, onion sets, potatoes, swiss chard, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. After those cukes, summer and fall squashes, beans, corn, pepper plants followed by tomatoes and eggplant.

A second planting of radishes has already happened and next will be turnips. By late May this year this is what the garden looks like. The spinach needs harvesting but we have had some terrific garden salads already these last two weeks. One thing is for sho' about the End of the Rainbow Garden Valley, we eat 'real' well...