Contagious

I am beginning to realize that good things and good people are contagious. The community center in Jericho is sponsoring a "Village University" on Sustainability, and I have gone to two of the sessions so far. With each, I have come home wanting more. Each speaker is limited to thirty minutes, and after their time, I have been left wishing that they had more time to share their ideas. This week's session was even better than last, possibly because I knew 3 of the 4 speakers, or possibly because 3 of the 4 topics presented are things we are working towards at home. Actually, by the time this Village University is over, 4 of 4 are going to be. I am hoping to spread some of the contagiousness on to you, so hang on.

The first speaker was our local soil scientist (who just happens to attend our church). I learned more about soil than I ever thought was important, and actually enjoyed every minute of it. I also realized that our lazy method of not really turning our compost pile every few days is actually OK, it just takes longer. Be lazy, be energetic; it really doesn't matter, and you end up with some great stuff for your garden at the end of the year and don't have to go to the local garden store to buy it.

The second person depressed me and excited me all at the same time. It was the lady that talked about raising poultry (who also attends our church). I came away ready to go, but fearing for the annual garden I have been working on so hard to make into my own little paradise. So, apparently chickens will tear up a flower garden if given the chance, and they don't really care for snails like I had hoped (escargot anyone?!). The good thing is my garden is going to get a lot of attention as I work in it while the chickens are free ranging (to keep them from digging holes in the garden and killing the flowers that keep me very happy throughout the summer). Of course, I think I am more fearful of the toddler who has already run down my daffodils. Thankfully, that episode was early on, and they have recovered to a wonderfully happy yellow that makes me very happy.

The third person made me run home and tell Andy that we need to till the garden right now!Apparently, anyone who really knows how to garden has already planted their cold weather plants. Needless to say, my lettuce, carrots and peas will be in the (freshly tilled) ground within the next 24 hours. Also, for those of you who live in New England, you can have a wonderful garden of greens for most of the winter and not even have to heat where they are growing. The hearty greens will grow almost all winter as long as you protect them from the wind and being buried in the snow. Now, Andy may take a little more convincing to make me a hoop house out of PVC pipe, but if I can manage it, in February while the rest of you are hoping for spring, I will be cutting fresh lettuce and herbs from my garden.......

Andy has already told me I am on my own with this last one. Although, the more I think about it the more into this idea I am. The last speaker this week talked about raw milk. Now before you shake your head, pause and think a moment: if your parents grew up on a farm, they drank raw milk. If you went to see your grandparents at that farm, you have drunk raw milk; and if you have ever traveled to a Third World country, chances are you have had raw milk. Now, I say this with the knowledge that I am probably going to pasteurize the milk after I get the stuff I need for cream, butter, cheese and yogurt from it. It is super easy, heat to 160 for 30 seconds, cool quickly in a water bath and refrigerate. The coolest part was the butter. The woman who taught this part skimmed the separated cream off the top, put it in a jar, shook it vigorously for a few minutes and then passed it around. By the time she was done talking (about 15 minutes), the very act of all of us passing it around and shaking it a little had turned it into buttermilk. I never even imagined I would consider raw milk, and now we may be buying it from a family we know well from church (their 4 year old is obsessed with our 2 year old), whose cows we have seen and know what they eat.

Hopefully, in my less than elegant writing, my enthusiasm for these ideas has proven to be contagious....