A Little Philosophy

Christmas-time activities and some wet, rainy weather have put most of the "homesteading" style projects on a temporary hold, so I've been doing a little more thinking and reading.  A couple of folks have wondered how my little bit of land can be considered a homestead, or asked why I put time and energy in growing food and canning it, when it is so readily available and convenient at the store.

Truth is, sometimes I wonder myself.  I buy seeds, plant them, spend the summer watering, weeding, and caring for the plants, then do all the work of harvesting and processing, just to put some jars of vegetables in the pantry.  Think how easy it would be to walk into the store on a "10 for $10" day and walk out with dozens of cans of veggies twenty minutes later.  I suppose a quick answer would be that I come of very stubborn German/Dutch people not known for doing things the easy way.  But the real answer is much more complex.

My "homesteading" mentality has long been a part of me; growing up on a farm taught me a lot about the value of hard work and resourcefulness and my love of American history filled my head with stories of the brave pioneers who were willing to face tremendous odds to be independent, self-sufficient, and establish a home where they could provide for themselves and their families.  So the basis was there, though mostly dormant during my young adulthood years of college and living in more urban settings.  Then it seems a lot of factors, such as parenthood, home-ownership, and experience gradually came together to bring me to where I am today. 

Or perhaps I've simply gotten cranky as I've gotten older, who knows.  But I look around and see a corrupt, liberal government driving us deeper into debt and further into socialism.  I see people woefully unprepared for even a minor setback, such as an ice storm disrupting the grocery supply chain for a while.  I see churches losing their identity and succumbing to popular culture. I see illegal aliens living off government programs while demanding that American culture become subservient to theirs.  I see crops in the fields that have been genetically modified to the extent that growing them is ruining the soil.  I see people being mindlessly sucked in to tv shows where faith and morals are ridiculed. I see meat in the store that has had colorants and salt water added so it looks good....I could go on, but no one wants to read a rant.  Simply put, I don't like what I see. 

So I am willing to put my time, energy and effort into changing what I see, wherever I can, and like most changes, it starts at home.  My little homestead is where I make my stand and start the process.  I hope that by sharing the journey through this blog that others will find some ideas and inspiration to make changes to what they see, perhaps just starting with the small steps of growing and canning fresh, healthy food.  I promise I'll try not to get too cranky.

He doesn't like the rain either.