Right Now

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Our life right now is feeling a little like that peach pie – cobbled together, pretty messy, really hot, made without a recipe, and rare enough to be a real treat.

Right now is accepting defeat in the garden wars. Too many grasshoppers, too much heat, not enough water, and above all: soil that needs a lot of TLC. It looks like God has ordained for us to harvest some beans, maybe a couple of melons, and a lone cucumber. We are grateful for those small harvests and the plentiful gardens of neighbors who supply us with squash, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Right now looks like canning whatever cheap produce we can get our hands on. Our root cellar is still a hole in the ground and our kitchen runs between 90 and 100 degrees on most days, so lacto-fermenting large amounts is out. The solar drying set up had to take a back seat to fencing, so canning it is. I’m grateful to have a means to put some food into jars, though.

Right now you’ll find me trying to find beauty on these painfully hot afternoons. I know it could be much worse and I try not to complain, but the reality is I might be going a little crazy. There’s something about sweating instead of sleeping that, once morning comes, makes you stare at a glass of ice water like you’ve been wandering around the desert all night.

But the Lord continues to provide in His perfect timing: a respite from the heat this week giving us some sleep and even rain, flowers still living amongst the chickens, and the beauty of little boys dancing to an oh-so-different beat, each appreciative of the other’s enthusiasm.

Yep, that pie wasn’t easy or pretty, but boy was it good.

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11 Comments

  1. Beautifully written. I think you’re living in such a beautiful and, yes, hot and sweaty, way. Just think how good Fall and Winter will feel! Did your husband always have a beard or is that part of the style of dress you’ve adopted?

    1. Jennifer – He’s had a beard ever since I’ve known him, except he did shave it once and we agreed the beard is better :). He has grown it out more since he quit his corporate job and we moved to a plain-dressing community, though. Thanks for the comment and question!

  2. While I was growing up near my grandparents’ farm and helping with the hot, humid work of getting in hay, canning, and other work related to a homestead-type life in the summer, this was viewed by many as a sacrifice compared to the suburban lifestyle of my cousins. In retrospect, I perceive the experience as a blessing. More recently, I lived in an attic apartment for over a decade, so I well know how draining the heat can be. Thank you for sharing your life, including the challenges as well as the rewards, with us. I’m always happy to see a new post from you on my Google Reader. One thing I’ve been wondering about is where you store the frozen meat that you referenced in a previous post. I probably missed a link that mentioned this.

    1. Lora – We have a small (about the size of a refrigerator-top freezer) solar refrigerator/freezer. You can run it one way or the other. We ran it as a freezer for a couple of months to keep our 25 or so pounds of beef frozen until we ate it up. During that time I would freeze water bottles to make ice for a cooler we stored a few perishables in like milk and cheese. We are now using it as a refrigerator to store those things in. I think it is currently full of 1 gallon raw goat milk from a neighbor, a couple pounds of butter, and a pound of cheese :).

  3. I love that last line about the pie not being easy or pretty but good. I can definitely say that about life. I think that picture of your boys is awesome!

    Stay cool!

  4. Shannon – Dang! That pie looks mighty tasty to me! Oh, the challenges we face day to day. But at the end of the day, when it comes down to good food – such a blessing!

  5. Hello Shannon,
    We are in the middle of a very mild winter here. It makes me wonder what summer will be like as they are talking about lower than average rainfall for our summer. I do feel for you. I’m not that fond of hot weather and I know you have been getting plenty of it there. I am praying for good rains for you and your neighbours. Hang in there, your Autumn won’t be too far away.
    Blessings Gail
    ps Your little guys are just so cute and that pie looks pretty good to me.

  6. The pie looks gorgeous and your boys look so happy. Your attitude is such a good one, and I’m sure hard to muster at times — working through this iterative process of homesteading and learning more each season. I was mad that squash borers got our pumpkins again, and neglected to notice the tomatoes and melons and peppers thriving next to the sad pumpkin remains. Sometimes we all just need a reminder to be thankful for what is turning out well. Thanks for the reminder!

  7. Hi Shannon, sorry to hear things have been tough. This heat has been hard on a lot of people. Have you seen the video Back to Eden? If you haven’t it may be worth the watch and give some very helpful tips to making a garden that can withstand less water and help gain nutrients without any investment accept time. It is based off of mulching heavily. It is an excellent film and inspiring, especially about allowing God to guide us in all areas of life. For this man, God opened his eyes to ways to grow food more like God perhaps first intended it. We are implementing his technique in our own garden. We just found a free source for mulch, which we are extremely thankful for. You may have a free source in your area too. So far we have been blessed that the rain in MN has been just enough to with a hear and there watering with the hose to keep thing looking wonderful. I have to step back and thank the Lord for each vegetable we pull our of the garden, knowing so many are really struggling this year.

    I hope thing can turn around for you and your family regarding food. Pray for wisdom and guidance. I hope the Lord can reveal some new ways for you to provide for your family, especially with nutrient dense food.

    Here’s the link to the film. You can watch it free online:
    http://backtoedenfilm.com/

    If it doesn’t work on the website it’s on Vimo too.

    1. Hi Therese,

      Thank you for the link. We actually watched that shortly after we moved here and then again with the rest of our community here. We have a thick layer of mulch in our main garden area, but the soil is so eroded and terrible to start with that it is going to take years of living under that mulch and adding compost before it is really viable.

      Congratulations, by the way, on your new baby girl :)!

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