Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Pharm is taking shape

It seems so late in the season. It's only May and i keep thinking that it's already July. It hasn't been too warm, but there has been no rain. i am more and more happy that we bought those containers for collecting rain water and snow. Well, that sentence looks funny to me. . . but it isn't meant to sound sarcastic. We figured that since we bought them so late that we would bucket brigade water from the river this year. So, since we have had no rain i am happy that we have them and that we will have water (even if it is river water) for the garden.
Even without the rain, we can't put off things like the garden or we will be sorry come autumn. In fact as i am looking around i am feeling like we are behind. i hear stories of other who already have their gardens in place! We have many of our veggies started but we are just now starting to put plants in the ground.

Here on the pharm everybody works. Our family has a rule that anybody who wants to eat meat has to participate in the whole process of meat food production from raising to butchering to cleaning to packaging to cooking and eating. . . We of course wait until the kids are old enough lest we traumatize them for life! (That is considering before the evil of the industrial revolution kids as young and younger than ours had to do it. . . but that was before outfits like DHS//CPS legislated that all of our kids be a bunch of wimps!)
Anywho, Chris has instituted the thought that those who want to eat out of the garden will work in the garden. Another good rule. It brings us all back into fellowship with our food so to speak.
It also encourages one of the philosophies of community that several of us have come to really love and appreciate - everybody contributes. There are jobs for everyone from the little folks to the old. In a society that fails to teach it's young people strong work ethics (read your National Geographic and see what two year olds in other cultures are expected to do!), and discards it's old people and confines them in raisin ranches because they are too much a burden, we want to be different. We really hope that as we grow every member of the community will feel a strong sense of belonging and self worth! From the wisdom coming from the mouths of babes to the wisdom from the experience of our elders (No i am not calling our adult folks geezers. . .yet!) everyone has a place, and when everyone contributes, everyone grows - including the veggies!!!!!
10 rows left to build in the garden. . . and the turkeys are just about outside!!!!!! Yummy, yummy!

2 comments:

renee @ FIMBY said...

Don't feel bad, your garden is farther along than ours. Well, our peas & carrots are up but that's all that's in the ground. Still working on building the raised bed...learning patience... not easy.

On another note... why does everyone has to work in the garden to enjoy the fruits? Doesn't everyone have different jobs and roles and they all fit together to make the whole.

By the way, I think it's great to have everyone working in the garden but some people are gifted in other areas and might be better put to work in what they are suited for. Unless you're all suited for gardening : ) Not trying to rock the boat with too much "individuality" here just rambling on...

michial said...

I hear ya on the individuality bit. i think that the idea behind it is to teach the children the value of hard work, and maybe a good work ethic too. One of the things that we came back from Bellvale with is that no one has a specific job (everyone of course has things that they are really gifted in), but at the end of the day every one does what needs to be done in order that everyone benefits.
In the house everyone does things that they are best at, but when there are "big things" that are not specialty specific everyone chips in until it is done.

Long live the individuality!!!!