The Garlic Awakens

We planted the garlic last November. It "slept" all winter. With the thaw it "woke up" like so much does in Spring. Lst night we had a work party at Zephyr organic cooperative farm, on land owned by John, Robin and Sue. There were ten people, three dogs, and five million mosquitos, but a lot of work got done. (How DO those weeds grow so fast!) Poodledoc, Jr worked hard, side-dressing sweet corn and thinning it out sweet. People worked with concentration, sometimes alone with the plants and the soil. Other folks moved in and out of conversation. The sun was just getting ready to set when John came running up with six garlic plants that had just been born from the soil. It was exciting to see that the garlic was ready; the cloves/bulbs were huge. Then Eric came up with some newborn redskin potatoes. It is satisfying to see, at some level of the soul, the food coming out of the ground after the hard work that many people put in to make this happen. It's like a miracle.

And the dogs enjoyed themselves, too, as far as I could tell. Duke at some dirt. He said it was good.

Bubbling Potato Abundance, Part 2

So last night the potatoes tasted wonderful and the beans were fantastic. Poodledoc, Jr and I had a feast. During supper, I remembered and tried to hold in the Light the people in this world who do not have this abundance. On the farm, we give extra to the food bank, which is great. But it seems like a drop in the bucket. I struggle with this and feel a sadness for the people who don't have enough to eat. I guess a small comfort is to realize that I am, along with others, making my own food and not buying as much pre-packaged stuff. And I've learned more about taking care of the land, the soil and that is so prescious.

Apprently, that part of Wisconsin grows a fair bit of tobacco. It puts much-needed cash into the hands of farmers living on the margin. Yesterday, we were sorting part of our HUGE garlic crop in the old tobacco drying shed. It's hard to settle with the fact that significant amounts of tobacco are grown on the surrounding land. A crop that makes people sick, rather than fresh produce that makes people healthy. John, one of the owners of the farm shared his dream of filling the tobacco dryinng sheds with garlic, replacing the tobacco. I've carried that dream in my mind since then. I like the image of reclaiming something good.

I also like the image of the United States converting it's army into an agricultural army, taking the money wasted on weapons and using it instead to help people grow their own food. Many people will scoff at this idea. Does that mean they've given up at some level? I don't think it means they don't care, necessarily. We do the best with what we're given in life. Feeling guilty doesn't get a person anywhere. It doesn't help things to grow. Being mindful of the inequalities in the world and doing at least one small piece to change that is something that matters.