Lead Exposure in Game

My family and I eat and enjoy Venison.  Eating Wild Game just seems right on a very deep level.  Just today, we have learned about emerging research which suggests that "eating venison, other game raises lead exposure".  http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/lead-in-game-meat

Quite frankly, this makes me angry and anger is an appropriate response to situations which suggest threats.  That anger gives us extra energy which will somehow direct us to a solution unknown in the present moment. It further makes me angry that Venison is given to very vulnerable populations. 

Solutions seem simple.  We Humans with our supposedly Superior Brains will surely find a solution here. Those solutions will only come when we greet the Day with an Awakened Heart.

Great Hopes

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

It is unfathomable to me

that we Humans make so many Decisions

without consideration

for the consequences

those decisions have on Life.

With such an approach,

we play 

Russian Roulette

with Life itself.

Whose half-baked idea

was that

anyway?

If we really want to be here,

it is time

we make the Big Change.

At 1st glance,

it appears complex

and impossible.

At 2nd glance,

it is as easy

as falling off a Log.

Choosing to live Life

as a means

of honoring Life

is about coming Home

to who we are meant to be.

It's about honoring

the Sacred Gift of Life

given by the Creator

who has great hopes

for us all.

~~~~

Glinda Crawford, 2011

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

Great Expectations

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

In days of yore,

knowledge of growing Food

was passed down

from Generation

to Generation.

Such knowledge

was necessary

for survival,

essential

for sustaining Life.

It represented

a precious Gift,

the careful accumulation

of knowledge

from countless generations.

Somehow,

we in Modern Affluent Society

stepped outside the loop.

I guess

we thought

it was not important

for us to know.

We gave over

that responsibility

to Corporations,

Select Farmers,

Big Box Stores

whose motivation,

among perhaps others,

was economic gain.

As we Humans return

to the Land

and to growing our own Food,

we have Great Expectations.

Yet, we know

so little.

We have

so much to learn.

A different future

is possible.

And we have

innumerable Lessons

to learn.

~~~~

Glinda Crawford, 2011

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

Patti, Finn, and Asa Visit the Farm

On this cool and breezy day, we had some special guests for a brief time here on the Farm. Patti Szczys came with her husband Finn and 11 month old son Asa.  In the mid 1990s, Patti was a student in Richard's Wildlife Biology classes.  She took Environmental Studies classes from me that 1st year I taught them. Although Richard had seen her a few years ago, I hadn't seen her since 1998.  Where does the time go?  Patti is now a university faculty member in Conservation Biology in Connecticut.  Finn smiles proudly: "I'm a stay-at-home Dad." 

Over the years, we have kept in touch through holiday letters and occasional emails.  Plus, Patti is a regular follower of this Blog.  And she, Finn, and Asa are thinking ahead to the day when they will settle on their little acreage.

After sharing a meal, we headed for a walkabout on the Farm.  Our 1st stop was to check out baby Chickens.  Then we headed over to see the big Hennies and those stately Roosters.  Yes, Chickens may very well be on the horizon for them, so they had lots of questions.

Then we headed out to the Cane Field.  Sure enough, they knew already that we had just planted the Cane.  They wanted to know how it was doing.  And yes, if you look really closely, it is indeed just beginning to come up. We only planted it last Wednesday.

"Do you want to walk through the Garden?" The answer was yes, so into the Garden we headed. It is always wonderful to see what stories the Garden is ready to offer up. We didn't have to tell them much about what was going on in the Garden, because they knew from the Blog. 

Almost as quickly as they came, they were headed off again.  Since the Grandparents live in south Missouri, it is very likely that routine trips to Missouri will be in order.  And they let us know that they would stop by the Farm.  Thanks for sharing special time and space with us, Patti, Finn, and Asa.  Good wishes always from the 3 C's.



We planted Flowers from Mother's this evening. I wanted to put some of her Old Farm Lilies out by the sign which marks our address. I don't know where she got those Lilies. She may have gotten them from Aunt Louise and Uncle Russell's farm. For me, those Lilies are markers of Farms and Rural Living. We see banks of them along the roadsides where houses now stand or used to stand.

I smile. They are simple, humble, and jubilant. Those rural Homemakers did their best to tuck beauty into all the corners while juggling a myriad of tasks in their very busy days.

Those Lilies once adorned a rural Farm. They came to the city to adorn my Mother's house and yard. Now they have returned to the country side. Somehow, they say to me "Welcome home." They say that to themselves too.

New Peas and Potatoes

Tonight we had New Peas and Potatoes with our dinner.  Richard asked if I was going to make a White Sauce.  I had already decided "no", in the interest of not much energy.  I could tell that he was mulling over this in disbelief.  From a distance, I heard rustlings in the kitchen and I knew he had gone right to making White Sauce.  Not having White Sauce with New Peas and Potatoes must have seemed like an act of heresy.

So I headed into the kitchen and began making the White Sauce.  I do love to make White Sauce.  He had already dug the potatoes and washed them.  We had already picked the peas and I had shelled them.  He had dug the onions and washed them.  This time, I cut up the Green Onion tops and put them in bags for the freezer.  Now that is new experiment. 

When we sat down at the table, that wonderful dish just smiled up at us. It just can't be early summer without New Peas and Potatoes and White Sauce.

Family Help Me Out, Please

Their faces gaze intently out at me from that old grayish cream photo. I have some clues as to who they are. I know them and I know their names, but they are not yet connected to these images.  At least, not now.

I love family history work. It's like unraveling the best mystery ever.  It's about learning about my relatives and learning more about myself. 

I am struck by how many old photos that families have which have unidentifiable ancestors.  I believe that as the family tree spreads, we each have knowledge of specific relatives that are in our direct line.  As we gather around these photos, we can each bring clues.  Maybe it is the ancestors' way of bringing us together after our long journeys apart.  I like that.  So, relatives and community members, what do you think?

This is what I know about this photo:

• Date: August 15, 1926
• Location: "All met at Aunt Mary South Lorton's"
• The back tells us: "Aunt Mary Lorton passed away Jul 5"; "Grandma Myers passed away Sept. 7 1838"; "Jesse passed away Dec 23 buried Dec 26 1938"; "Less Lorton left for Boise Idaho May 1938, came home the last of May or June 1st 1938"; "Fred passed away June 12-1944 buried June 14 1944"; "Uncle Gid Lorton died Apr 20 1944".

Assumptions:

• The people written about and noted above are included in the photo (Grandma Myers might be the exception?).
• This photo belonged to Lottie Hart Brenz (who is pictured on the left); all of the descriptions of relationship would fit. Handwriting seems similar to other samples of her hand.
• All of the individuals in the picture somehow are in relationship with Mary South Lorton.

Who is in the picture? I can identify the following:

• Lottie Hart Brenz (woman at far left in vertically striped dress); Lottie is my Grandmother.
• Mary South Lorton (woman at center, gray dress, no trim)
• Thelma Louise Brenz, Lottie's oldest daughter (older child at Mary South Lorton's right shoulder)
• Fred Albert Brenz, Lottie's husband (behind Mary South Lorton, with dark skin)

Potentially others:

• Ruthirene Brenz and Dorothy Ione Brenz, Lottie and Fred's daughters (believed to be in front of Thelma Louise)
• Hattie Louella Myers Hart, Jesse Hart, their 2 daughters Cecil and Freeda
• Gid Lorton
• Less Lorton (Cecil's husband)

Family help me out here...? Help me out with spellings too.  I have chosen to post this on our blog.  I will integrate names and corrections when they come. This is history coming alive.