Well, spring is coming to the garden. Some people mark spring’s arrival by listening for the Sandhill Cranes flying high overhead on their trek back to their northern summer home. Some listen for the serenade of tiny frogs in the wetlands to announce the warmer weather. I may be less romantic, I’m afraid, but I note the return of spring by the birth of the tiny black flies that hover around your face and ears, waiting for an opportunity to fly into your nose and eyes or get inhaled if you forget and breathe with your mouth open. Every spring, I just can’t wait for that first warm day … to get back outside without wearing piles of sweatshirts and long underwear. Every spring, I forget that the black flies will be here too. Suddenly they’re just here .. they weren’t here yesterday. They bite me, it stings, and itches … and then I swell up. Every spring, its tradition. They bug me.
But, seriously, I don’t think its any safer inside. That’s where .. even without a tv, the news finds me. It bugs me too. I try really hard to buffer myself from general bad news .. and focus on “food news” to inspire me. But, lately even “food news” has been seriously bugging me. Headlines are not encouraging : First Mama focuses on childhood obesity (to avoid discussing her abandoned-by-the-media organic First Vegetable Garden that sounded like such a good idea, but soon became a political sore thumb for not using products made by big-ag supporting companies); … genetically altered food is back on the menu in Europe; … here in our own backyards, ge-beets and alfalfa threaten the virtue of our seed supply, as more genetic experiments are served up to our neighbors in Mexico; … milk (a natural substance that comes from cows) is illegal and can land you in jail unless you cook it, alter it, reduce its nutritional value, and buy it from an approved source; …community colleges and universities are reducing and removing agricultural curriculum and facilities, while grade schools are complaining that the new school gardens are demanding too much by trying to integrate into lesson plans. But, on an “up” note, a soft drink manufacturing company will be creating a marketing campaign to fight childhood obesity …. (don’t they know that corn-syrup is the glue that holds the economic foundation together … subsidies=soda=obesity=healthcare=chemicals=subsidies … ?)
Oh, this probably isn’t really what you’all want to read about either. I apologize.
So, what can we do, on such a beautiful spring day ?
Let’s create good “food news”!
I’m going out to the garden. I think the swelling from yesterday’s bug bites has subsided, and I will brave the swarm ….. prepare my garden, feed the soil, soak up the sunshine … carefully selecting my veggie varieties for flavor, and with the intent of saving seeds for future gardens … looking forward to the nutritious and delightful real food that will grow here … and I will not let the news bug me – if it does, I know there must be something I could be doing or saying to improve the situation … I will speak out – careful not to inhale a bug while my mouth is open –
If the news is bugging you too, get your spring off to a fresh start – find the place in your community where you fit in, where your voice can be heard.
Find out more about community food groups and projects that welcome volunteers.
You can ask for ideas at the APPLECenter for Sutainability (www.applecenter.org) in downtown Nevada City, and join the Local Food Coalition Email Network (www.localfoodcoalition.org/contact.htm) to stay in touch.
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