I’ve lived in the country for most of my life. As a child I grew up on the edge of smallest of small towns where my closest neighbors were about 5000 dead people. Needless to say things were quiet and they were great neighbors. Before I was married I lived in Jackson, Michigan and took advantage of all the city had to offer. Things were convenient and at hand. When I married I moved in rural Indiana and had to adjust to the country life. It was not a hard adjustment for me as I’m a country girl at heart. I love to live in the woods, build campfires, go backpacking, and sit quietly and observe nature. Things that I was used to in the city were not here. Internet is not available to me at our location unless we would like to build an 80 foot tower in our backyard to get reception. Yikes. No thanks. Stores that I was used to were now 30 miles from my home. There is a small town about 10 miles away that carries everything I truly need and a trip to the big city is far and few between. So the big question is how does one do paleo when things are not available to purchase that one would fine in bigger urban areas?
First let me say that I’m married to a man who is a generational farmer. His great, great, great-grandfather, and probably further down the line, has been a farmer. It’s in his blood. He finds farming as relaxing as most people do sitting on the beach. He loves it all the way down to the smell of money (cow feces). That’s what farmers call it. Haha. So when I married my husband nearly 8 years ago I got an education that not all tractors were made by John Deere and not all cows are the same.
The first addition to our farm was a flock of chickens, (This was before I knew what Paleo was). We raised about 50 hens and loved it. We still have around 40. We purchase new hens each year and do the rotation of two years laying and then do a culling each summer or fall. We have only had a couple of meat birds and I’m not a fan of the genetically focused Tyson meat birds. If you have ever seen them, they can’t really walk because their meat grows so fast the skeletal frame can’t hold the weight. It’s really sad to see an animal lay, eat, drink, and poo in the same area day after day.
We then ventured into ducks. These are more of a pet. I used to sell the eggs we found to people who had egg allergies. But now I don’t find eggs any longer so they are merely to look at. They are funny creatures.
I grow my own garden, though it’s not as big as one might think living in the country. I grow beans, sweetcorn (not Paleo), cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, bell peppers, radishes, carrots, and broccoli. It’s rather small. Four small garden boxes and one large one garden box holds all of that. Most of the time I visit our local farmers market to get fall veggies to store through the winter.
Our next venture is to raise our own cows, sheep, and goats. My husband grows hay and sells it through the winter to farmers and horse owners alike. When we have our own livestock we will be able to use it for our own feed.
Living in the country is work to it but it is rewarding also. Raising free range chickens can be a hassle. We find one dead in the road every now and then until they learn what cars are. But over all we are able to raise extremely healthy eggs and veggies. We have mulberry trees, grape vines, apple trees, and pear trees. We try to use what we can and take advantage of the summer bounty. We know where our food comes from and that is what makes living in the country worth the hard work.
-Annie
No comments:
Post a Comment