Eclectic Amateur

From Sharon Astyk:

So close your eyes. Or first, open them, and look at your property – or your friendly neighbor’s property, or your church’s lot, or your community garden plot. Now that you’ve got it in your head, close your eyes. And take what’s there and add on – what do you want to see? Look at it closely. Smell it. Taste it. Listen to it....

What do you see? A small farm of a few acres, with pigs that root out weeds and manure the ground and then feed your family, and chickens for eggs and a small woodlot, managed for mushrooms, coppiced wood and acorns for feed. Every year you plant more trees, grow more crops, and new garden beds sprout like weeds. There’s a sign at the end of the driveway reading “fresh eggs, raspberries” and the neighbors stop by to pick up your extras and trade neighborly gossip.

What do you see? The family farm brought to life again – the land made productive again, the weeds cut back, the family brought back, swales built to catch precious water, with new crops and new techniques for making fertile space out of what seemed like a lost cause. New hope, and the chance to work together again? Do you see yourself, slowly, patiently planting new trees, repairing the tractor, laughing with your sister again?

What do you see? Draft horses, pulling logs from the shady woodland, and a barn full of animals. A business plan and a market for your lamb, your wool and your vegetables. A diversity of plants and animals – life without monocultures. A pond. A quiet spot to rest, a kitchen full of peaches ready to can. And you see yourself, at work, at rest, in the kitchen, on the land, but there, and present, and ready.

Yeah, I can see that. I can see it all, practically taste it. It's a good dream.

Labels: agrarian, Garden

New blog! (OK, not that new, but I'm slow...)

Our friend Mary Lund is now blogging at A Homestead Daughter about her life as, well... it's pretty obvious from the title, now isn't it?

Labels: agrarian, friends and family, homeschooling, Michigan

Ann Arbor: following the lead of Ypsilanti!

Ann Arbor Council Member Stephen Kunselman is championing the right to have your own all-natural eggs, which he says taste much better than store-bought variety.

At a council retreat Saturday, Kunselman, D-3rd Ward, brought up changing city laws to allow chickens back in the city. He says there is a group of local business people and residents who support the idea and he plans to bring a resolution once he gets the local support organized....

At the retreat Saturday at the new W.R. Wheeler Service Center, the chicken issue livened up a discussion that focused mainly on bricks, mortar and taxes. When broken into discussion groups to talk about city priorities, Council Member Stephen Rapundalo, D-2nd Ward, questioned Kunselman on the chickens.

"What's with the chickens?" Rapundalo asked.

"Chickens lay eggs," Kunselman said. "I want fresh eggs. It's just a simple ordinance change."

"I want to have fresh milk," Rapundalo said. "Let's change the ordinance to allow cows or goats."

Of course, we can't mention urban chickens without mentioning pioneering micro-eco-urban farmer Peter Thomason:

The issue popped up earlier this year in Ypsilanti, too, where a resident is challenging that city's law against keeping farm animals on his property....

Ypsilanti resident Peter Thomason had his request to keep 12 chickens in cages in his back yard rejected last year by the Ypsilanti City Council.

Thomason said Saturday he still keeps the chickens on his property.

And Peter, like myself, doesn't think that Councilman Rapundalo's question about milk animals should be left a rhetorical one:

"And I'm picking up two pregnant goats tomorrow," Thomason said.

Yes, I know, this story is a few weeks old now, but I'm a lame blogger. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

For cooler coverage than I provide about the Underground Poultry movement in Ann Arbor, see Teeter Talk.

Labels: agrarian, Michigan

Last night, I dragged the kids through the Tour de Fresh in Ypsilanti, which was a showcase of cool things happening locally to promote local food production.

Weird synchronicity #1: At tour signin at the Ypsilanti Farm Market, the table next to us was being operated by David's old Cub scout leader and fellow den member. I had no idea they sold stuff at the farm market. Maybe my boys should be there with their extra tomatoes ...

After leaving the market, the first stop -- only a few blocks from downtown -- was Peter Thomason's backyard chickens.

Weird synchronicity #2: While I don't remember meeting Peter before at our homeschool co-op, a quick roster check proved that yes, we're in this together. The co-op isn't that big ("only" 150 kids), but obviously I still haven't met all the other parents.

Yes, chickens. In addition to an amazing display of heirloom tomatoes trellised along the fenceline and some very nice raised-bed veggie gardens, the Thomason's have a chicken coop.

Peter explains:

When people ask me, and they frequently do, why we have chickens living in the yard of our Ypsilanti home, I usually answer, "for the eggs.''

But the truth is, the main reason we have them is that it pleases my wife. And, if my wife is happy, most of the time, I am too. What I'm referring to is the inestimable value of pleasure that philosopher-farmer Wendell Berry speaks of in "Economics and Pleasure,'' an essay that should be required reading for anyone who refuses to accept the idea that a monetary bottom line is the only "real'' bottom line.

For several years we tried to sell our house, move to the country and start a farm, but the times and the market were against us and we finally accepted that, at least for the time being, we were going to have to stay where we were. Not that we had a problem with being here, we just felt a need to reconnect with our agrarian roots. The thought that we were not going to be able to do that was depressing, but we did our best to let go of it and to focus on growing as much of our food as we could on our one-tenth-of-an-acre city lot.

Then one day it just got to her and she said, "I don't ask for much. I don't want jewelry or fancy cars, I just want to have some chickens.'' My wife's distress about this weighed on me for weeks until it finally occurred to me one day to check the city's animal control ordinance...

Read the whole thing.

For more details on the politics of urban chickens, plus being a philosopher-carpenter, and building coffins (yes, coffins), see this "Teeter Talk" interview with Peter:

HD: Something I would sort of like to explore is that, as best I can tell, it's not that you're somehow obsessed with chickens per se, it's that chickens factor into this broader context of sustainable living, and even that has a much broader context of stemming from a Christian belief system that includes stewardship of the environment as an important component of your faith.

PT: And it's more than stewardship of the environment. It's what I think of as building a whole culture of life. The late John Paul II was excellent at re-presenting traditional themes in new language, so he sort of coined the idea of building a civilization of love as a way of talking about building the kingdom of God, which was a more traditional Christian way of talking about it. He talked about building a culture of life, and building a civilization of love. The components of that--certainly stewardship of the environment is a component--but also economics as if people mattered. And that is something that was largely talked about in my generation, among people that I grew up with because of the work of E.F. Schumacher. Small is Beautiful was a rallying cry for a whole generation of people I grew up with, the other two books in the trilogy being Good Work, and A Guide for the Perplexed. And from his perspective on sustainable economics, that what you can do in your own yard--in a cottage industry, what you can do to not just be a unit of consumption, but a unit of production, even in your own urban neighborhood--then counters so many of the negative and depersonalizing aspects of, if you will, a money-based economy, and makes economics human again. It's no longer just the exchange of money, it's the exchange of goods and services between people who've learned to trust each other and give people things of value. So there is a bigger discussion that, in my mind, that all of this is part of. But what it comes down to practical things that one can do--keeping chickens, or using worms under your sink to help compost organic material--it sort of brings it home. Chickens are in one sense emblematic of being somewhat independent, but they're also pragmatic. They're also a very real way in which you can make your own home economy sustainable. Not only are they pets, but they give back to you, you know? Your dog might be a pet, which you enjoy, but your dog may also guard your house. You may enjoy your cats, but your cats might take care of the mice that are a problem. Well, chickens also give you back food. And they eat compost, and they eat kitchen scraps, so they're more than just symbols. They are ...

HD: ... good examples.

PT: They're good examples. They're good citizens [laugh]. They give enjoyment and they give food back. So they really fit nicely into the idea of the home economy being a producing economy, not just a consuming economy. And to me, all of that is a big part of building a civilization of love, and replacing the impersonal exchange of goods and services for money. I mean, what's money? It's just a dead thing, it represents something. It's replacing it with real exchange of things that are of value and meaningful to people, because they've invested their time, their labor, and their love in them. So a money-less economy is not just something that communists or Marxists have a right to talk about, but people who have a Christian world-view, and who believe that it is possible to build a civilization of love.

Also worth a full read.

Anyone who can quote both Wendell Berry and John Paul II like that is all right in my book.

P.S.: David sampled one of their Amish Paste tomatoes, and is now praising heirlooms as tasting better. And Rachel was inspired to plead "Dad, can we have chickens?" in the same tones she usually reserves for "Dad, can I have a horse?"

Labels: agrarian, distributism, Michigan

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.
-- G. K. Chesterton

Yes, that's the new tagline for Eclectic Amateur. I've had that quote in my mind for years, but it struck me this morning in a new way.

GKC was writing about the things that every man should do for himself, such as blowing his own nose or writing his own love letters (I don't think he forsaw the latter being usurped by the greeting card industry).

But, there's a deeper meaning here too. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. The more it is worth, the more we should dare to do it, even if we will do it badly. Even if, most likely, we will "fail" to do it well.

I"m going to apply GKC's advice to our hoped-for family agrarian/distributist adventure (which he bears some responsbility for encouraging me to do). Self-sufficiency, good food, independance -- all good ideas, but the how of how to make this all work is rather overwhelming and discouraging sometimes. I flip-flop between wanting to just pitch everything and start right now and wondering if I will ever do anything different from today before being forced by circumstances.

But. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly. If the agrarian way is worth it, it is worth doing even if it is bungled. So what if I fail? I probably will. On my way to "failure", will I learn more, eat better, be closer to nature and to God, and give my children a better inheritance in the things that matter than if I hadn't? It seems most likely. How, then, can I really fail? What am I afraid of?

Not that I know what this means yet. Other than "Courage!"

We are not choosing between model villages as part of a serene system of town-planning. We are making a sortie from a besieged city, sword in hand; a sortie from the ruin of Carthage. "Safe! Of course it's not safe!"
-- G. K. Chesterton, The Outline of Sanity

Labels: agrarian, ChesterBelloc

Jeff Culbreath finds an outline of the differences between the two at The House of Degenhart (highlighting is mine):

By farming, we can:

Produce healthy food to feed our family
Get exercise which helps keep our bodies fit
Work beside our children and our parents
Teach our children practical skills and give them an opportunity to use them

A popular alternative to farming is to learn a highly specialised skill and become an employee. This is that alternative that I chose to pursue. By doing this, we can:

Sit in a chair all day, away from our family, and get a money-like electronic commodity in exchange for our time.
We then leave the home to buy food to feed our family, most of which will eventually cause cancer and a host of other diseases.
We then leave the home to purchase a membership at a health club to get the exercise our body needs to stay fit.
We try to spend quality time with our family in the evenings to learn what they’ve been doing all day, and get to know them. (This comes in handy on Sundays, when we teach a class on the biblical view of the family. )
We then leave the home to visit our parents who live many hours away. We mostly talk about our job and what activities the children are doing (We pass along the information about the children that we’ve learned by spending evenings and weekends with them).
Our children learn to be consumers, but not producers, so when they are of age, we send them away from home and purchase training which will enable them to become a wage-slave like ourselves.

As a young man, I never thought through all the implications of my career path. Now that I am beginning to do that, I have a growing desire to move to a more agrarian way of life, and also help provide others with some of the facts required to make an informed choice.

And has his own thoughts on the dilemma:

There is really no way around the extreme difficulty of going from industrial life to agrarian life in one generation. (The reverse transition is much easier.) The best writers on the subject all say that, for the most part, it can't be done and should not be expected. With respect to cheap land, it can be had - but the price is almost always separation from family, friends, and the Christian community we so desperately need.

This is why (as Wendell Berry repeatedly warns) that we need to preserve, not just farmland, but farmers. Because what can be lost easily and completely in one generation will take generations of concentrated struggle to regain.

Labels: agrarian

Dale mentioned the other day (I am unsure how much in jest) that it was "time to start collecting those distributist books."

There's one I'm sure he already has -- the Bible. It was my attempt, some years ago, to read through all of the Bible that got me started down the path of distributist thinking.

This version of Psalm 37 is the translation from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and was this morning's appointed reading. How could it not be dear to any agrarian/distributist's heart?

37

Part I Noli aemulari

1. Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
   do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
2. For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
   and like the green grass fade away.
3. Put your trust in the LORD and do good; *
   dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
4. Take delight in the LORD, *
   and he shall give you your heart's desire.
5. Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in him, *
   and he will bring it to pass.
6. He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
   and your just dealing as the noonday.
7. Be still before the LORD *
   and wait patiently for him.
8. Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
   the one who succeeds in evil schemes.
9. Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
   do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
10. For evildoers shall be cut off, *
    but those who wait upon the LORD shall possess the land.
11. In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *
    you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
12. But the lowly shall possess the land; *
    they will delight in abundance of peace.
13. The wicked plot against the righteous *
    and gnash at them with their teeth.
14. The Lord laughs at the wicked, *
    because he sees that their day will come.
15. The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
    to strike down the poor and needy, *
    to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
16. Their sword shall go through their own heart, *
    and their bow shall be broken.
17. The little that the righteous has *
    is better than great riches of the wicked.
18. For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *
    but the LORD upholds the righteous.

Labels: agrarian, distributism

Another stealth homeschooling endorsement:

The mindset that leads to consolidation in agriculture, so evident in the chicken business, has also taken place to an alarming degree in human culture, especially in consolidated schooling. Just as we herd more animals into confinement buildings, we herd more children into classrooms. Then we have little choice but to follow the rule of the chicken factory: one size fits all. And we justify both kinds of concentration camps with that all-American article of faith: it's cheaper per unit; we can't afford to do otherwise. Then we wonder why we must de-beak the chickens and frisk schoolchildren for firearms.

From All Flesh Is Grass, by Gene Logsdon (p. 137)

Labels: agrarian, homeschooling

Geauga County Extension Agent’s first book reveals Amish farming 'secrets'

The first day on his job as County Extension Agent for Geauga County, Randy James was asked a question his college professors had never covered: “When you’re plowing with a five-horse hitch, is it better to hitch three horses in front and two behind, or two in front and three behind?”

The question came from a farmer in the county’s Amish community, the fourth largest in the United States. Prior to taking the job, James, a Trumbull County native, knew the Amish existed and could identify them by their drab clothing. Beyond that, James was lost in this seemingly archaic culture.

During the next two decades, James received an education in not only Amish beliefs and lifestyle, but also the improbable economics of the Amish farm. Five years ago, he realized he’d learned enough to write a book about this often romanticized, misunderstood community.

That book, "Why Cows Learn Dutch and Other Secrets of Amish Farming," was released last month by Kent State University Press. The book provides a barn-owl view of the Amish community, taking the reader into the cow stanchions and ledger books of the Amish farm, an enterprise that, according to the textbooks, should be extinct by now.

...

"They are more economically efficient than almost any farm out there," says James, who has studied this efficiency throughout his years in the Geauga community. "On a per-acre basis, they make more money than any other farm we can find. My hope is (the book) provides insight to people who are curious about what it’s like to be an Amish family and why the farm works, both as a family and economic unit."

...

James opens the ledger books of the Amish farm and shows readers the economics of raising nine acres of alfalfa hay or seven acres of hand-picked corn. He delves into the numbers and emotions that a young Amish couple must wrestle with when deciding if they should purchase a family farm or work out in the community. As extension agent, James’ job includes doing a farm analysis to determine if it will be a profitable operation – something he was doing the day we met for an interview.

"It's a common thing, but it still scares me to death," he says. "It’s a lot easier to tell them how to kill a weed than to tell them to stop working as a carpenter and be a farmer."

I think I'm going to have to read this book.

Labels: agrarian

Jeff Culbreath outlines Why Rural Life Is Better For Children:

After 20 years of town-dwelling, I'm probably more suited to city life than country life. My five or six years on the farm in my boyhood gave me a love for the countryside, but it didn't really make a farmer out of me, nor did it give me the skills I would need as homesteader. So I am pretty much resigned to the fact that I'll always have a job in town and will never make a living from the land.

We moved to the country primarily because I am convinced that rural life - so long as it is not lived in front of TVs, computers, and video games - is much better for children. This isn't intuitively obvious to everyone, so I'll list a few reasons here:

I am in a similar spot, although change "five or six years" to "eighteen years." Also, scratch the part about being pretty much resigned to my fate.

It's a good list of reasons, and a good discussion. Read the whole thing.

Labels: agrarian

The full story is at NewFarm.org.

As Pavel Chichikov says, so much can be summed up by "How could it hurt?", followed by "How could we have known?"

Labels: agrarian

The Ann Arbor News ran an article Sunday on the decline in local agriculture and the businesses that support farmers.

Labels: agrarian, Michigan

It finally dawned on me -- I'm entirely through his cycle of the months, and into the regional essays, and the glaring difference between Leopold and Wendell Berry hits me: Leopold keeps talking about his farm, but he never gets around to actually farming. Hunting, yes, but so far not a word about actual farming. It's puzzling. Maybe it'll become clearer in the rest of the book ...

Labels: agrarian

I'm working my way through A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. I can't believe it's taken me this long to find and read it, given how highly Wendell Berry (and others) praise it.

Leopold is nearly as quotable as Chesterton. Here's a sample:

There are two great spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.

Labels: agrarian