Ahh...SPRING...??

Already, the daffodils and hyacinths have blessed us with their cheerful faces. Soon, our yard will release it's wonders of roses and peonies, herbs and flowering plants whose names I've forgotten. The leaves will sprout forth with their tiny red and green buds...some unfurling into spring-green, (my most favorite color in the whole wide world), lacey leaves. The pond will need cleaning so the fish emerging from winter semi-hibernation can enjoy themselves, and the air will take on that balmy feel and smell one only finds when living near the sea in springtime. Oh...I can hardly wait!

photo: http://the5bennettgirls.com

Yesterday, Sr. Chief and I turned an entire section of our back yard into what is going to be a "Back-to-Eden" garden.  (Scroll down to see the inspiring video!) In-between jobs, I raked (and raked and raked) gumballs from our infamous Sweet Gum a.k.a."gumball" tree...Well, it's really ours AND our neighbors. We all hate it. Yes, I did use the strong word 'hate' there. But really, I've tried for ten years to figure out why God made gumballs and the answer is yet to come. I have satisfied myself with the fact that He's concerned about my health and therefore blows them off the tree into my yard so I'll get a jumpstart on my spring exercise. Yes, that's a bit over the edge in 'it's all about me' thinking, but...
If that was His plan, it worked.

But back to the Back-to-Eden garden...the whole concept is almost more exciting than than the approach of warmer weather. Almost. So, following the advice given in the video, we scouted out a place to get mulch and compost and FOUND a state facility within a half hour's ride! The mulch there is certified clean, comes in a variety of sizes and even non-toxic colors, and the operation is impressively and efficiently run...at a third of the cost of local nurseries. Yes. We were greatly impressed.

Now, you want to know about how God works sometimes? We have two vehicles, neither of which is a truck.                                 (We NEED a TRUCK!...)
...but Sr. Chief was training out of town Friday and on his way back through Richmond, he thought to ask his brother if we could borrow his trailer...our van does have a hitch for our camper. So, he came home surprising me with a trailer full of compost that he also picked up on the way home!

Who knew a lady could get so excited about dirt? (But I still carry lipgloss in my pocket, girlies!)

We drove to pick up the mulch early yesterday, came home and laid newspaper where needed, added about 2 inches of compost and 3-4 inches of fine mulch over that. We agree that in order to do as the experts say to do, we'll need to get at least an inch of regular mulch to cover that just because the mulch we got is so beautifully fine it will compost pretty fast...The weather can turn hot and humid here in an instant and the larger mulch will be needed to hold in water and keep those roots cool once the plants get started. But for now, I know we're safe.

 

Because today, here in the southeastern corner of Virginia, after raining coldly most of the day, the rain turned to sleet and then...it snowed. Oh, yes, it did.

 

I'm trying to keep my chin up and regard it as a nice, cozy blanket for the garden...Just a little something to help it out, and truth be told, I'm probably right. Still, I'm not really too happy about it.

But I did have a paper to edit.

And I was tired from gardening yesterday, three hours of music rehearsal yesterday afternoon, church yesterday evening, (our church meets on Saturdays and no we're not in a Jewish congregation, although I love God's chosen), and PORT* yesterday evening-evening.

And Senior needed to work on his school paperwork today, too. (Yes, people do think and study and even go to school after 50!)

And I still need to at least vacuum as dog hair is gathering in the carpet...I'll do that in the morning.

The point is, I'm excited, but I am a habitual over-doer so even though I know the snow's not really all about me, I think there's a chance that it could be some about me. Because if God knows the number of hairs on my head, (and He does), and if His thoughts of me are greater than the grains of sand on the beaches, (and they are), and if He is serious about coming unto Him all us who are weary, (and He is)....then there's no doubt that this nasty weather had something to do with keeping me indoors, resting by the fireplace and only taxing myself enough to drink tea while editing a paper.

I even settled back for a 'Facebook Session'.

 

Honestly, this type of garden does need to sit a bit before planting...We are creating ours along the format of the family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania...Their climate is more similar to ours than those across the country.

 

And we haven't even decided which seeds to plant yet...although I'm getting a very good idea.

 

But I sure did like the smell of that dirt and mulch yesterday...

 

Oh, yes...It's all so close, I can taste it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*PORT is a local program in which churches of all denominations join together to feed and shelter the area's disabled homeless.

The Sustainability Factor of Grass-Fed Beef

Grass-fed at Windhaven Farm in Virginia

Continuing our discussion of Grass-Fed meats, here are some Sustainability Facts.
(As stated in previous posts, info for this article is supplied by Gourmet Grassfed.)

Grass-Fed Beef Sustainability Statistics

• Ruminants are designed to eat grass, not grain. When we honor that design, we have a happy, healthy animal
that provides us with truly nutritional products.
• No need for Hormones, Antibiotics or Steroids to keep the animals healthy and growing.

“Grass Farmers”
Grass farmers steward the land with their ecologically sounds practices. They mimic nature and the natural conditions that allowed the bison to graze the Great Plains and keep the sod fertile for thousands of years.

Grazing
Feed the animals with the sun. Sun grows the grass, animals eat the grass. Just that simple.

Carbon Sequestration
Land in pasture is not tilled which allows for long term and highly sustainable carbon sequestration.

Bio-diverse Pastures
Affords great variety in soil ecology and wildlife diversity. Grass Farmers have a great mix of natural predators and prey which greatly reduces the need for predator control. The critters thrive in the pastures and the predators focus on them instead of livestock. Also, the grasses can number in the hundreds of different varieties which reduces the risk of loss associated with mono-cropping.

Erosion Control
Animals are not allowed to drink directly from waterways which keeps the streams pristine.

Drastically Reduced Water Contaminations
When animals are allowed to spread manure naturally as opposed to giant holding tanks (which are often
too highly concentrated to be a value as fertilizer), it greatly affects the positive growth of the pastures with highly soluble Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Calcium.

Minimal Carbon Footprint
Very little use of gasoline-dependent machinery and virtually no use of heavily oil-dependent synthetic
fertilizers.

• Sourcing from local farmers allows them to get the most fair price for their exceptionally produced products
and allows the buyer to get access to sustainably and nutrient-dense products.

• Local products possess what the French called “terroir” or “taste of place”: the delicate and unique fingerprint of flavors and nutrients that are intrinsic to a specific combination of location, management and environment.

Gourmet Grassfed produces beef jerky with the following characteristics and values. They were kind enough to send me gobs of material, which I have passed on to the reader. I have chosen to share the news about their jerky with you, not because they are paying me, but because they are producing a product that leaves them, and their customers, with a clean food conscience. Bon apetite!

Sustainably-Produced Jerky Statistics
• Minimally processed with no fillers or additives such as MSG, liquid smoke, trans-fats, artificial nitrates or
added sugars.
• Flavored with an old-world “slow and low” smoking method that produces a rich and authentic smoke flavor.
• Naturally cured without the use of synthetic nitrates but rather celery powder and bacterial cultures to greatly increase the shelf life of the product. This process allows the product to not need refrigeration and greatly expands the ability to consume the product in very diverse circumstances.
• Vacuum and cryo-sealed, negating environmental exposure and promoting ease of use.
• Sourced from local farmers who treat their animals humanely and in accordance with the highest ethic.
• From truly pastured animals, on grass, eating grass whenever possible, and eating hay and haylage during the few cold months. These animals never see confinement, so no need for growth hormones or antibiotics.
• Utilizing Organic and Fair-Trade Spices which let farmers dictate truly fair market price.
• Local, sustainable and organically-produced ingredients.