I was out in the garden this morning, planting garlic and harvesting the beans that were drying down. A cold front blew in while I was working, and I could feel the temperature drop about 10 degrees as I was digging and scurrying. And fall embraced me. And winter stirred in her slumber. My heart beat just a little faster, and the scent on the wind was more than just the coming rain.
This is our ancient and primal response to the seasons changing. Thousands of years of preparing for the uncertain winter has left its mark in our DNA. When we allow ourselves to slow down and feel this natural rhythm, we connect to our ancestors and to every human who has ever walked the Earth. There's an exaltation to being alive when you remember how precarious and precious our existence on this planet actually is.
The miracle of food in this age, in America, is an absolute marvel. I spend a lot of time thinking about what the modern lifestyle (buying food at a grocery store, most of it highly processed) does to us. Not what it does just to our waistlines and our physical health, but to our spirit. I feel that when we disconnect and disengage from our food production, we are turning off something intrinsic and vital to the experience of being human. So then, the urban homesteading trend is an important and necessary revitalization of the individual, the community, and of the human race (or at least those of us in industrialized nations).
Let's spend this winter being grateful for the modern age and all its convenience, but also grateful that we can choose to do a few things the old-fashioned way. For our betterment, enjoyment, and spiritual nourishment, let us be grateful.
I enjoy my garden produce... the fact I grow and pick it and I know where it comes from is important to me. I use to not care but six years ago I changed the way I eat and got rid of the grass in my backyard and turned into veggies
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