resolved to eat more greens, and yes, do more yoga, and take more walks outside 😉

I think that messy people are the most creative so don’t stress to much!

Hi Alex,
I’ve decided to keep my ears held close to my heart so I don’t miss out the direction I am supposed to be going in…!
I also started walking just before Christmas and as soon as I get over this blasted flu I’ll be bundling up at 5:30 am to meet my walking pal at the end of my driveway for a new year of exercising more regularly! I do think winter time makes us all feel a bit yo-yo ish as far as inertia setting in… after all we are supposed to be resting up for a busy spring! Good luck with your resolutions and your lists! Can’t hurt!
Deb ( your farmgirl sis at the beach )

I still would like to read my way through the Classics…that is an ongoing resolution. Would LOVE to have Buff Orpington chickens…still trying to talk Hubby into this one!

I love these resolutions! As an English Major, I have a special spot in my heart (and library) for the Classics.  Maybe you can make some kind of deal the the Hubby about the chix?  You can let him read the Classics and report back to you, and you can get chickens.

You share a very poignant message, from your heart and it made my heart jump. Teachers are so very important in our children’s lives – whether it be in a school setting or in life. I am going in to my grandsons school today to help decorate for their Christmas party tomorrow, just being with all those lovely beings makes one know that life is so precious and it is a joy to share it with them. Thanks for being a REAL TEACHER, God Bless and Merry Christmas.

Thank you for sharing your feelings about the tragedy. I’m much older than you are and I remember the first time I heard about a victim of gunshots. We were told to go home from school on November 22, 1963, and be with our families because the President had been shot. It was the first time I saw a nun cry and there was complete silence on the streets of my neighborhood because everyone was home watching the TV. I was 15 and my brother was 9; my sister 4. We understood what happened but I don’t think my siblings really grasped the fact of death. We played with cap pistols and pretended we were cowboys or Zorro or Wyatt Earp. Pretend death was different: the President wouldn’t get up off the floor and appear on a different program tomorrow.

I hope the survivors receive all the psychological help they need and the support of their neighbors and friends.

Dear Alex,
Thank you for writing, even when you felt you couldn’t. Thank you for sharing a large part of who you are with us…You are a seed planter, a nurturer, a teacher. You understand the preciousness and value in children and in being a child. You are a blessing and those are some lucky kids in your top photo! Keep up the ‘good ‘ work… the world needs more like you working with kids!
Love and farmgirl hugs from the beach farmgirl!
Deb

Dear Alex:
I, too, want to thank you for writing this essay. I have been struggling with understanding the Sandy Hook incident and am a strong proponent of restricting the sale of assault rifles. Your quote of the poem of Wendell Berry touched me greatly. I have several grandchildren in elementary school and I remember when I was in third grade and President Kennedy was shot. I cannot imagine the pain and grief of the entire town and especially the families whose children were killed. I pray that in the New Year something is done to alleviate the uncontrollable use of weapons of mass destruction. I feel that people have the right to protect themselves and to have handguns and shotguns for hunting food. However, only the military should have the equipment needed to protect our country. God bless you and the feelings that you have expressed concerning your love of your students. It is evident that you are a tremendous teacher. Teachers are great people and they do a great job. Thank you again.

Rural? Oh, yes! Congratulations from another naturalized farmgirl!

Beautiful words to start off my thankful day. Peace and love to you!

Hi Alexandra,

Just read your blog post. I love what you have said here:

"This is a good exercise in appreciation. In a culture focused so much on criticism and constant improvement, it is great to take a moment to focus on what is great right now–not on what could be or what is desired." ~Alexander Wilson

It is so very, very true and if being in the wilderness breeds life learnings like that…. you are bound for higher thoughts. Thoughts that will continue to inspire.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Alex You do have lots to be thankful for, and it’s good that you so lovingly appreciate it all. I read an article a couple of years ago about being thankful, and the author wanted to get in the habit of being thankful for lots of little things as well. I took that to heart, and it is amazing how many good things we have on an everyday basis that we take for granted. For me it starts real early each day with a hot shower! then the coffee. You get the idea. Love your post — regards, Anne

Alexandra you say Thanks so well,I enjoy your Blog so much ,this one was the best. Thank You

You totally cracked me up! Loved this post! That candy is such a battleground! I know all the facts and then I consume and then I get sick and then I fight back and vow never to eat candy again…so the battle continues!

Oh my goodness. You are channeling me, as far as the last two paragraphs go. I am a candy addict and truly struggle on a daily basis. I cannot eat candy in moderation — it’s all or nothing. Thank you for your perspective and for helping me not feel so alone and so derelict as a health-conscious Farmgirl. We are going into that dangerous time of year when treats abound (including homemade). I also have an "only homemade treats" rule that flies out the window the minute someone puts a Tootsie Roll or an Almond Roca under my nose. I guess I need to read Sugar Blues again. That book scared me out of sugar for a long time (years). BTW, I too am glad the political environment has settled back down to the usual weirdness.

I enjoyed reading the post, it is sweetly uplifting and positive!

Alexandra,

You have "hit the nail on the head" – we ARE omnivores, but we don’t need to be ridiculous and we DO need to make sure the "critters" we eat have been given the best life that they can have for the type of critter they are. The DH & I practice what we like to call "sustainable omnivorism" – lots of veggies, but when we eat meat it has come from a source we know about.

Well done!

I agree one hundred per cent with your view. I learned a while back not to name the "food" critters…..actually, my spouse, in no uncertain terms, requested that I not name them….apparently my strong man felt a little tug about that issue as well….lol. There is nothing like your own home grown food source, whether meat or vegetable. So with that!…..and a repeated….don’t name the food critters!…thanks so much for your continued musings of the farm life. Blessings in All of Your Endeavors.

As much as I don’t want to eat any meat whatsoever, I find myself craving the protein (from chicken) every few months. (This doesn’t happen with beef – no desire whatsoever). So I’m a sometimes-omnivore with a serious aversion to eating any animal I’ve ever actually known. And thus I totally resonated with this post and thank you very much for taking the time to write it.

I found a super easy bacon recipe that you might enjoy. "Pig Candy" – simply dip bacon pieces in melted chocolate – dark or milk chocolate, whatever your preference. MmmMmmmmmm 🙂

I’m a part-time meativore. Love veggies, most fruit and meat a few times a week. My occupation: cattle rancher 🙂 I was raised on venison and it is still my first love.

Congratulations on being able to kill and roast one of your own! I’ve got of our own homegrown roosters in our freezer from last September… ( They were the fellas we didn’t plan on in our backyard flock ) We paid 5:00 each to slaughter them and I’ve yet to be able to cook them… I loved em too much to eat em I guess…I’ve got some farmgirl growin’ up to do! LOL Great post!
Deb ( MJF Beach farmgirl blogger)

Congratulations on the pickle bounty!! Total crunchy deliciousness! We’re having similar weather here in Montana, and I confess to being somewhat relieved that the harvest season is winding down, at least for the heat-loving veggies.

You MUST try fermented pickles – the Nourishing Traditions recipe – super simple and they are so good they curl your toes! Also much faster pickling than standard canned pickles (which you aren’t *supposed* to open for at least 6 weeks)… 3 days on the counter, a week or two in cold storage, and YUM!! All those incredible happy probiotics in a crunchy delicious pickle!! SOOOOOOO good! 🙂

Ok for my first pickling experience, I grew my cucumbers and then pickled them without tasting and they were so bitter. But all was not wasted, as my cousins husband does not have the ability to taste bitterness something about that tastebud of his not working?? soooo, he enjoyed all 12 jars. lol. Now I taste the cucumbers first. lesson learned
by the way, love the bunnies

Pickles!

My mother canned pickles only once when I was a child, and it’s possible for a pickle to taste like a sock.There were simply awful!
Each summer we canned a variety of beets,tomato sauces, and hot peppers with cauliflower and carrots.This was in addition to the many frozen vegetables we had in the freezer,but the pickles and some pears were a disaster.
Being a lover of pickles I must try again.Thanks for a reminder that try we must.

Sometimes in this busy life we take "mini vacations" on the weekends.
We pack up our little homemade camper, and head only 5 miles from our house to a consservation park where it is isolated and serene. For $5 a night, we camp, cook over the fire, take long walks down the banks of the creek,
lay down in the shallow rapids on the over 100 degree days, play card games by the fire, and enjoy. Life slows way down and then we head on home to face
everyday life once again!
Your pictures and story are fascinating, thanks so much for sharing with this farmgirl in the Ozarks of Missouri……..~hugs~

We went backpacking in end of August to the Olypmia National Forest. Beautiful! We take time every year to go camping and hiking. Some years it is only a weekend, but this year is was full week! It is a spiritual renewal for me. Like a sweat lodge, but sweat while hiking. It just puts everything in perspective when I return home. I realize I have much to be grateful and much I take for granted. The problems and issues don’t seem so large.

We have taken vacation in early September, but it seemed it was colder. This year it would have worked great!

I think we all need more down time. I take as vacation as I can get. Thanks for sharing.

Just as a farmgirl can be a condition of the heart, choosing to live as close to an organic lifestyle as possible can be as well. Unless we choose to live in a plastic sphere or bubble, we can not completely stay away from chemicals. I think finding the place that fits our lives is all we can do. I think conventional foods can be nutritious, depending on the ingredients, but continuous exposure to toxins, genetically modified, pesticide-filled so-called food can’t be good. It’s a personal choice and I personally participate in Bountiful Baskets Cooperative and raise livestock. But not everyone is able to do that; hence, we all do what we can.

I am with you all the way here, farmgirl. I don’t need studies and debates to know what feels good and right for our bodies, our health, our earth.
enjoy your early fall!

I have a dear friend suffering from pesticide poisoning and her story had me examining my own lifestyle. Now I am a kosher lacto-ovo vegetarian locavore (someone who eats local) and organic as much as possible. I’m lucky to live in northern California so I have access to fruits and veggies year round, most of them transported less than 100 miles. There are farmers markets nearly every day of the week and once you know the farmers, it’s easy to support them as well as compliment their hard work in growing and bringing their wholesome products to you. My eggs come from chickens that are free range (not just cage free). My dairy products come from a dairy that has their cows in the fields nine months of the year. They have individual stalls and are milked three times a day to avoid stress. Their "deposits" are used to power the electricity at the dairy and it’s cleaner than my apartment.
I saw the Stanford study and it’s one study. Remember when coffee was good for you, then bad, then good? I treat this study the same way. Like the old song "Big Yellow Taxi": "…give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees." Go organic!

Hi Alexandra! Saw that article too…and had a few negative Nellys call me with "I told you so". I am not swayed. I continue to eat organic. Here on the East coast, the difference in price between organic and non is not that much, and sometimes I’ve found organics to be cheaper. Eating organic also means we are skipping GMO’s, preservatives, and chemicals. Several years ago, my family and I went organic, thanks to MaryJane, and have not been sick hardly at all since. We used to be a family that was on antibiotics all the time! Even my pediatrician had thought we switched doctors (because she never saw us anymore), and said she wished more of her patients ate organic. That personal proof keeps me from ever going back. By the way, have you tried the "Late July" brand version of "Oreos"? They have green tea in them, and are a very tasty organic substitution. 😉 Hugs from your bloggin’ farmgirl sis, Nicole (Suburban Farmgirl)

Hi Alex,I concur yuck! Yet even though they dont have legs, they dont freak me out like the S-word creature. See I cant even write it!! I was reading through your blog and when I got to the part where you wrote Gulp, I had a flashback to a funny (well not really!) story that happened to me back in 1977 involving slugs. Youre not going to like it, but here goes. I was on a month-long Outward Bound program in North Carolina, and we were on the mountaineering part of the trip. We had HEAVY backpacks and had been planning to be out 4 days. Somehow, we got lost in the wilderness of the Smoky Mountains and this was Day 7. We had been out of food for 3 days. The terrain was DIFFICULT and we were told that we were burning between 5,000-7,000 calories per day. Not knowing how long it would be before we got back into civilization we prepare yourself boiled slugs. Oh my this vegetarian farmgirl actually ate a few. Chewy, tough, nasty things, but I guess you could say that there is another use for them you hadnt thought of. Just think of them as the Escargot of the Woods! Have a great day, Cathi (The Mountain Farmgirl)

The title of this article caught my attention. I am not a Buddhist but a United Methodist pastor. That doesn’t matter. It’s just that the title of "Meditation on Slugs" and your article gave me food for thought – and not slug food. What a great title for a sermon! What do we do with the slugs in our lives? They are not just on the underside of lettuce leaves but they abound everywhere – things that take our attention and cause havoc with our emotions and threaten the very nourishment – not of our bodies only – but of our souls – slugs – slugs – slugs. Thanks Alex for your meditation! Sandy

Putting wood ashes on the cabbages helps , and the heads stay firm and closed enough that it all washes off when you harvest. On a large scale, both farm size, and slug amounts, I don’t know. Not so many here this year, in north Idaho, as it has been dry since the end of June except for two brief rains and in the 80s most days. We all planted a month late because of the cold and wet spring, so we are hoping our stuff finishes before fall frost. Love your column, and wish you well.

I live in Pacific Northwest Washington and slugs are the bane of my existence! I can’t seem to get ahead of them and their voracious appetite for my greens!

I’ve found the best way to rid a garden of slugs (temporarily) is to take a dowel the width of a pencil, cut it into 2 foot length and then sharpen both ends in my electric pencil sharpener. Take them outside and start slug hunting, stab and fling! Repeat, repeat, repeat!

I am reminded of a wonderful RVing trip to the northwest where my family encountered massive slugs for the first time. A long diatribe erupted on ways to eat a slug…..slug on a stick, slug stew, slug saute, slug smoothie…..you get the picture.

What about a line of diotomacious (sp) dirt? I’ve heard they do not like to cross it…cuts their underside.