Pie in the Sky

Today I was preparing a turkey pie for our supper and my stream of thought took me to thinking about pie crusts and their purpose. Preserving food was a very difficult task before refrigeration, freezers and canning. These are all very recent methods of keeping our foods fresher, longer. Food had to be dealt with quickly and eaten within a very short time. 

Pie crusts became a way of keeping the food within them a few days longer. They were made with lard and usually in a heavy, deep dish. The crust would be thick and heavy as to envelope the food and protect it. It was most often a meat dish. Usually hunted game or pork. It was baked in a wood fired oven and then set to cool. 

Pie cupboards were created to keep the vermin out of the food. They were made mostly of wood with holes (vents) drilled into the sides to allow air to flow through. The vents were tacked with bits of metal grating so no creatures could get in. 

These pie safes, as they were called, are very collectable now and often found as decorative furniture in some homes. 

My mother tells of a story when she was young. The pie safe was full of goodies as Christmas was near. My grandmother had a lock on it. She was out and so my grandfather conspired with the children to enter the cupboard from below and remove some of the tasty morsels. He was positively delighted to be conducting this prank with the children and all anticipated how my grandmother would react once she discovered the theft !

I don't think you have to imagine too hard how my grandmother reacted. At first she just couldn't figure it out but once she did she was angry. Problem was, she couldn't get mad at the children because their father had set them to it. 

Needless to say they didn't try it a second time. Its always interesting to me how food got to be presented the way it is. There is always a story, usually practical and makes perfect sense. 

By the way. Our turkey pie tonight was delicious. 

Fence Posts 101

One of the great things about life at the farm is our young, farm stay participants. We have hosted so many, mostly young, guests here at Ironwood. They learn a lot of skills they will never be exposed to anywhere but at a place like this.

Farming is definitely one of the last hold outs for skills from bygone eras. Learning to use and manipulate tools and bodies. It is SO rewarding to watch young people transform their bodies and themselves. They become stronger in body and in mind.

Bryne is incredibly skilled at making and creating useful, necessary items for the daily operations of the farm. You cannot be running to town every time something breaks down nor can you afford to. You often need to be able to take control of a situation in short order. Things are breaking down at the most inappropriate times, and need to be fixed "pronto". This takes skill and imagination.

In times gone by you learned at the knees of our Fathers and Mothers. This is very similar. Just by being part of the experience and being able to watch and learn connects you to a part of yourself that inspires you to be resourceful and thereby more confident in your abilities.

Bryne and I are bolstered in watching ALL the potential of these amazing young people who are just beginning the journey of their lives. We are SO privileged to be a part of it.

Principles of Plant Health

The past few days have been full of questions and discussions about health and herbs. I love it when I get to talk about plants and their uses in our lives. I studied herbal medicine and nutrition and believe that food should be a substantial portion of our daily medicine. Plant foods that are grown conscientiously and with good, sustainable practices are some of our most powerful allies in maintaining good health. I remember my naturopath doctor telling me long ago that "ideally" his job was to help me maintain my good health and not to wait till I got sick before seeking guidance and assistance. I should prevent disease not wait till I was diseased. So much about health and growing plants go hand in hand. Organic growing follows the same principles, prevent disease, not create conditions for disease.

With 16 years of certified organic growing and countless programs and courses under my belt I have learned a thing or two about maintaining my health, my families' health and the health of the plants and the farm. The number one question people ask is "What do you do about pests and disease ?"

I say you have to first ask what you consider a pest ? a disease ? Everything alive on this planet is food for something else. If you keep taking the so-called pest away you are taking away food from another living thing. Even diseases are alive and have to eat. Take away what they normally feast on and the system becomes unbalanced and open to attack. Its all about balance.

That is the beauty of bio-diversity. In nature you never see anything living in isolation, on its' own. It is a great community that operates on co-operation and balance. No one, nothing is an island.

Plants and foods grown using the "industrial model" have been manipulated to the point of having no natural defenses of their own anymore. We have taken their ability to look after themselves away. Many crops are grown in enormous quantities, essentially in isolation, and do not have the benefit of their plant communities to help them out. They have been altered and hybridized to grow in a specific way with predictable results and rely on chemical applications to feed them, force their growth and protect them. If "anything goes wrong" in this model the results are often disasterous !

Science is beginning to show and understand that plants "think" and "communicate" with each other and their surroundings through chemical interactions. Stands to reason that they adapted this ability. I have often thought about this. A plant,a tree, cannot move to get away from something the way we can. They are forced to stay in one spot for the duration of their lives. They are at the mercy of the wind, weather, insects, animals, whatever comes their way and they have shown the many ways they have made brilliant adaptations to their environment. They have had millions of years to figure things out. A lot longer than we have.

Some of the most important practices we use at Ironwood Farm are crop rotation, green manures (cover cropping)and companion planting. By NOT using any types of chemical controls the farm attracts and thereby hosts all manner of insects, birds, wild life and most important, beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms. Together this bio-diversity creates a balance and feeds everyone.

We need to get back on track and let nature take the lead. By using and implementing practices that ensure soil health and vitality, bio diversity and mindful handling and care we not only help the planet but we help ourselves too.

Techno Frustrations

This morning I have spent the last hour trying to learn more about how to manipulate the blog and make it more attractive and figure out how to move images around and put them where you want them. Its amazing all the information you have to "slog" through to find what you want in a language you can understand. With all the advances in technology it seems you still really have to dig deep sometimes just to do something simple.

I can surely understand why so many people give up on trying new things. The frustration level is daunting at times. One thing I have learned is that you have to have patience with these things and just keep on trying. Not being scared of the technology really helps. I have learned that nothing really disappears and if you just keep pushing buttons you'll eventually retrieve what you think you've lost. I have also figured out that I need to write things down so I remember what I did.

Last night at flamenco lessons I was truly frustrated. I felt awkward and unable to make my feet do what my instructor was doing. She is so kind and patient. She keeps reminding me that she has been at it for 24 years and I am only on my 10th lesson. We are so hard on ourselves aren't we ?

I am determined not to give up. I enjoy the music and the rhythm of the dance and all it encompasses.  It is like learning a new language or technology. It requires patience and perseverance . If you think you can learn it in a day your are doing a great insult to those who have been at it for years. Learning something is one thing, perfecting it is another.

Watching the baby chicks emerge over these last few days is a great reminder of patience and endurance and determination. You can see how exhausted they are and how much energy it must be taking for these tiny little creatures to come forth and be present in the world. If they can do it then surely I can do it too.

Staying present and focused when taking on a task, a job, or almost anything for that matter is really a challenge at times but the rewards are boundless and satisfying to say the least.

Hang in there everyone ! We're not here for a long time, we're here for a great time !

Manifesting Your Dreams

I have started FLAMENCO dance lessons. On Tuesday was my second class. Its hard but so much fun. It is a very technical dance form and it has a structure. It got me to thinking about how this relates to other things in my life, especially the farm.

I realized that I actually like doing things that are hard, not for the feint of heart. After over 15 years of farming I am still practicing, still learning, still improving, still facing challenges. That is what appeals to me. I don't ever want to think that I know it all, that I can't improve, have mastered it.

Whats wonderous to behold is that when you do something for a long time, keep at it, you look behind you and see the structure that it has become. It has taken on a form, a shape. Something that is real and tangible. Your thought, dream, idea has been manifest.

Now that it has a consistency and a shape you can manipulate it, play with it, change it back if you wish. Its kind of like baking a cake. You want a cake but now you have to get all the ingredients together and get it to become a cake. Then you can start to decorate it, the fun part !!

The challenges are just that, challenges. They force you to "think" and out of that thinking process come ideas, opportunities and solutions. At 20 years of age I never could have imagined how my life was going to look at 54, the only thing "I" knew was that I liked challenges and wanted to be involved in something that would make me think for myself and present me with an arena to practice, learn and improve on my dream.

The farm now has an energy and life force of its' own as it draws people from all over the world to come and participate in its' growth. There is a real "hunger" for being in a place that "allows" you time to think and contemplate your dreams. It is shocking to me how many young people come here and tell us that they have never experienced enough "unstructured, unsupervised, downtime" to contemplate on their own thoughts, dreams and ideas.

It makes me very happy that the farm has become this kind of place, a kind of refuge and school for ideas and dreams to become manifest. This is the part that has surprised me the most and it has shown me how when you give form to something it will eventually begin to "live" on its' own and show you what it has in mind. It has opened ever greater doors for us and all who journey through.

Your dancing steward,
Barbara :-)))))