Whatever Happened to "Made In America"?

Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. 
Frank A. Clark

Today, my neighbor Willis drove me over to visit our  friend John's orchard.  We were greeted with a smile and told to help ourselves (we had come to dig plum tree saplings).  It was my first trip to John's house. 



My friends and country neighbors Willis and John.

An orchard doesn't really shine this time of year but the mass removal of trees shocked me.  John said the apple trees were over 20 years old (past their prime) and he was 80 years old so it was time to cut back.  For both he and the trees.  He told us that last year most of the fruit rotted on the ground because no one wanted to come and pick it (the orchard is one of those pick your own fruit enterprises) and he had trouble finding anyone to work the land with him. 
Don't misunderstand me, there are still plenty of trees left, but in my mind I could see it as it once was. The blackberry bushes had been ripped out. There are the remnants of a beekeeping building located next to the pond which has an irrigation system for the orchard.  It is easy to imagine how glorious it was in days gone by.

I came home with five new plum saplings with the hope of having an orchard one day.  We already have a good start with a Granny Smith apple tree and a Red Delicious, both very nice producers. We also had one plum tree already and last year we planted two Black Walnut trees. There is also a Pear tree out the in pasture that requires some attention before it will bloom (smothered out by scrub brush).

Five of these little darlings now grace our land.

Our long driveway has blackberry bushes all the way down to the road on one side.  I picked some last year and boy, did I have the chiggers to prove it.  Snakes are really fond of blackberry bushes too so I wore boots to pick berries. If I were ever bitten by a snake, forget anti venom, just bring Life flight because I'm sure a heart attack would be imminent! 

The trip to John's was bittersweet.  I can almost see happy families picking fruit together, children running and laughing and finally taking their treasures home for freezing, canning or just eating as they are.  It was a much simpler time. 
There is a deep sadness for the waste of last years crop because no one was willing to pick their own as opposed to running to the nearest WalMart.  It's very important to buy as many local products as possible.  We save on fuel consumption to deliver the product, ensure employment for our friends and neighbors and more importantly buy American.  There was a time when the only things in the stores marked "made in China" were junk trinketts.  However, that is no longer the case.  How did this happen?  Apparently, I did not fully understand the legal mumbo jumbo of the trade agreements and the long term effects on the working class (me and you)!  It's hard to decipher the truth when two opposing sides have spin doctors to deliver "their" truth.  This is America, dog gone it! How did this happen?

 If we, as a nation, continue on this instant gratification binge, I fear we are in for some serious hard times ahead.  We will someday chastise ourselves with.....if only I had............What? Picked an apple? Planted a tree? Found alternative fuel sources? Learned to plant a garden? Used less with more efficiency? Appreciated our elders for the vast knowledge they have? What?  It's never too late to start! Anything wrong with beginning today?  I have an unshakable faith in "we the people". Americans are "clutch" players. (A "clutch" athlete is one who performs well in pivotal or high pressure situations. This includes many instances where a good performance means the difference between a win and a loss.) The more difficult the circumstances the better we perform. Just watch us!  God Bless America!

Well, I'll step off my soapbox for the day and get back to my gardening.  Let me leave you with one last thought:
America is another name for opportunity.  Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race. 
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Seeds.....Miracle In A Package

Now seeds are just dimes to the man in the store
And the dimes are the things that he needs,
And I've been to buy them in seasons before
But have thought of them merely as seeds;
But it flashed through my mind as I took them this time,
"You purchased a miracle here for a dime."
-   Edgar A. Guest,
 A Package of Seedshttp://www.gardendigest.com/seeds.htm

I've taken another eager step toward Spring!  I bought my seeds!  They cost a little more than a dime (not much for most) but who can put a price tag on a miracle in a package.  It was so exciting trying to choose which ones to buy when there were so many.  My garden is becoming a reality!  Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.

This morning the sunlight streaming in through the windows and doors beckons to me.  As I step outside, the birds are singing the unmistakable songs of Spring.  The bees entice me to begin my labor as they have.  There is a very special joy in the soul that only Spring can bring.  Life! Life!  There are signs of life everywhere.  Even the harshest of winters cannot withhold Spring.  Today I will plant my little miracles keeping in mind an old saying:

One for blackbird,

one for the crow,
One for the cutworm,

and one to grow.

-  American saying

I have planted my salad garden in a never used grill.  It's domed cover will serve as protection against birds and provide a greenhouse effect when covered in plastic.  Have high hopes for this cleaver idea from my sister(Joyce). She is way ahead of me on her planting.  Darn her. Just because she was born first, doesn't mean she has to be first and best at everything. Different flower, same garden. 

Every year I have to add to my perennial collection.  Perennials are awesome! Plant one time, enjoy many years.  Cuts down on manual labor.  The one thing I had not counted on was all the little kitty help I would be getting.  Pushka cannot help herself!  She has five acres to play in, but no she wants the fresh turned soil in my planters.  Kittens.  You gotta love em!  I also see signs of life in my daylillies we planted several years ago:

Well, that's all I have time for today.  Got to go clean the Wickett's (lovebird) house.  Talk about a nasty attitude.  She  has  plenty  of  it and plenty to  spare.

 

And then there is my moral obligation to the hateful treadmill ( but I have promises to keep, and  miles to go before I sleep-Robert Frost you know). 

Before I go, I must leave you with one more thought for the day.  It is another way of saying "Living Simple" is beautiful.

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. 

The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. 

~Elise Boulding