Delicious.
Last /
First things first, though. Or, last things last: the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, corn, and all the rest are long gone, but I’ve got one final pumpkin from the garden that needs eating.
Next /
Now that 2018 is drawing to a wintry close, soon this blog project will as well. I’m not sure exactly what’s ahead for next year—no one ever really is, are they? But now that I’ve given so much thought and a little hands-on work to how my life relies on healthy soil and water, I do find myself thinking more and more about how I can rely on wind and sun as well. Renewable energy must be the future for all of humanity, and I’m interested in how my own work can help bring about that future.
Festive /
I do love celebrating a good year and brightening these wintry days with a little festive decorating. And the New Mexican tradition of setting out luminaria is a particularly lovely way to do it.
Reflective /
World Soil Day came at a perfect moment, prompting me to reflect all the way back to the very beginning of this journey. Soil is where all food begins. It’s also exactly where we started back in January: standing before an expanse of crumbly dry dirt and wondering how I could possibly bring it to life. I knew nothing. And then I began to learn.
I attended local classes where instructors taught us how to analyze soil’s texture and amend it with organic matter. I joined the county’s Master Composters and began creating my own rich compost at home with an indoor worm bin and an outdoor pile. Eventually I gathered seeds from the region; I planted and watered and weeded and waited. I got my hands dirty over the months until, at last, I harvested the fruits of my labor.
I didn’t harvest all that much, of course. If I actually needed to feed myself then I’d have starved to death long ago, just as I predicted. But the goal wasn’t to become a self-sufficient food producer overnight. It was to experience how much time and effort and care go into producing the food we eat. It was to learn about the vast ecosystem of land and people who labor on our behalf each day to produce our food and enable us to live. And it was to explore how we can support a food system that’s healthy and sustainable, locally and globally.
In that sense, I think this has been a good year for me and my little food garden.
World /
It’s World Soil Day! I’m all for raising awareness about how vital soil health is and what agricultural practices harm or help it. Here’s a great video on the subject courtesy of Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford organic farm.
Sleepy /
Nothing like these cold, bleakly-lit days and long, frosty nights to make you feel like curling up under a blanket and waiting out the winter. And it’s not even officially winter yet.
Cold /
It gets cold in the desert at night, particularly up in the mountains; the stars hammer on the rock and strike frost.
Tanith Lee,
Biting the Sun
Snowfall /
So much for Albuquerque’s brilliant sunshine! It’s smothered today by thick clouds that have blanketed the city in white—our first snowfall of the season.
Wind /
While the sun shines brightly on New Mexico and its growing ranks of solar panels, I’m particularly interested in educating myself more on the promise of wind energy…