I am by nature a tinkerer, an inventor, a public nuisance perhaps (to some). I like to invent things, try things, dream. Creativity exudes from my very pores, constantly. Am I conceited? No! Certainly not! I'm just done denying it. I've kept quiet for most of my life, afraid of what people might think of me if I shone too brightly. What a waste! No more! I am what I am, whatever that is.
I want to convert all my vehicles to run on ethanol that I produce in my very own still, from food scraps garnered from all the local restaurants. I think I can do that. Just imagine the possibility. Thumbing my nose at all the oil baron thief guys. Those who sit in high towers, some of whom wear towels to work. Take that, you wearers of variously patterned towels, and suits!
Unfortunately, that day has not come yet. I have not deemed myself ready to dive into that big one yet. That is for another day.
Today, I am writing about another topic, namely, creating beauty via decorative gardens. I can imagine the nay-sayers jumping to their feet, jugular veins popping out on their necks, screaming at me, "NO. That is wasting time and effort. Food production only." Well, that would have been me, till lately. I have come to the realization that you can catch more bees with sugar, than you can with horse manure, which only draws flies. I have been struggling with my family for all these years to try to get them involved in my various projects, with naught to show for my efforts. Now I see that they need positive incentive to draw them in.
My friend and I are also attempting to create some sort of consortium of like-minded individuals to start farming, on small acreages. We want to create a CSA. What, pray tell is a CSA, you say? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It's sort of a buying club for those of you/us who want to feed our families food that isn't poisonous. It's also a way for farmers to preserve their way of life, and retain their farms, while earning a good living, without going into debt to do it. It is a good thing (thanks, Martha!).
So what do you mean Panchito? I mean that I think that creating a pleasant sanctuary for my family will encourage them to participate in my endeavors, if even for selfish reasons. Same goes for the CSA. It seems that folks don't see the benefits of a CSA because of the work and/or expense involved. So, they need to be given incentive, value. Things aren't yet bad enough to where folks can see the writing on the wall, that things are going to get much worse. Now I don't hope that they WILL get worse, I just believe that they will no matter what we want. It's nearly time to pay the piper. But not yet.
So, last year, I allowed my neighbors to cut down my honeysuckle bushes. They served as a privacy screen. They thought that they would gain a good bit of space in their yard that the bushes were then taking up. They were mostly mistaken, as the property line was much farther East, toward their yard, than mine. But, what happened is that both of our families began to work to improve the area, planting wildflower seeds, decorative bushes, garden flowers, perennials, and vegetables, greatly beautifying the area and improving our lives in the process. The area is really quite lovely now. It was something less than lovely before. I salute my neighbors for their efforts and vision.
Last year, due to reasons beyond my control, well not perhaps completely beyond my control, some other neighbors sicked the cops on me. I had allowed my back yard to become a bit unsightly, and that is a criminal offense in our little, uppity village. You see, there are very many very wealthy individuals here, I being possibly not one of them, yet. Obviously, and it was somewhat less obvious a short while ago, a guy who is constantly building various contraptions, parking large trucks in the back yard, plowing up more and more of his grass to increase planting space, keeping bees, growing fruit trees, and more, has no place, and no right to be living in Uppityland, USA. Tis the place for those with executive qualities, the movers and shakers (and here I thought the Shakers were extinct).
So, despite the shortsightedness of some of my neighbors, I have decided to bless them, with flowers and beauty. In the midst of the flowers and beauty, I will raise food. I will grow so much beauty that they won't be able to see past that beauty, and therefore my other activities will be hidden from their eyes, and I'll be free to create! Good plan, I like it.
So follow along as I create a photo journey from where we are today, to the mini-farm of tomorrow. It's gonna be fun!
Panchito
P.S. The photos are coming soon. Hang in there.
