Geek.Farm.Life

Comment by Warren

March 31, 2008 @ 10:56 am

I like the bees most…and then the rooster for the intro!

Comment by andrew

March 31, 2008 @ 10:59 am

Hi Warren!

Of course you would like the bees! You must be in full swing down there, how are your hives doing?

-Andrew

Comment by Warren

March 31, 2008 @ 8:45 pm

I am pretty mixed here on how the bees are doing. I lost a few hives though most are fine. They are slow to get going though…we’ve had a bunch of cold and stuff that has been unusual the last few years…it is messing with my view of how the bees are doing I think. Anyhow, I am geared up to make some splits and I have 5 more packages coming in April so things should be interesting soon. How are yours looking?

Comment by misty

April 1, 2008 @ 5:04 pm

I think it was a tough winter for a lot of people, even though we were completely oblivious (or at least I was). I thought it seemed like it would be a better winter for bees this year, as we didn’t have the prolonged cold stretches. Anyway, keep us up to date on your bees as the season goes on!

Comment by Kirsten

April 2, 2008 @ 9:51 am

Great Show—I loved the philosphical discussion at the end. I have listened to the Kingsolver book twice in the past year (a first for me). Her book was like a lightening bolt that got me started with my goats/chickens/super-gardening. You are right–there are limits to what she can show in a year and she pretty carefully constructs boundaries to her project to make it as accessible to the unconverted as possible. For example, she has chickens and turkeys and no hoofstock. —A few fowl shouldn’t scare too many people, right? And certainly, she is unable to present her project as a neatly cut and dried year. She has egg layers when she starts and a well-developed asparagus patch to boot, among other things. What she does do–masterfully–is illustrate how important, interesting, and rewarding it is to be responsible for what your family eats. Personal sustainablity is not possible, especially on a mass scale, but I love knowing that what I can produce is the best tasting, healthiest food on the planet for my 4 yr. old and people like me can collectively change the agro-industrial complex and stick it to the man. The man here being Sam Walton, of course. I haven’t become a fanatic and I still go to the store, but I do produce what I can and get as much as I can from local producers. I do believe that commercial farming is an unnecessary evil, there are better ways, and we are beginning to move toward them. PLease read the Kingsolver book. At the very least, she ia a hell of a storyteller. I highly recommend the Omnivore’s Dilemma by Pollan too. I’ll get off my soapbox now and get back to my to-do list.

Kirsten

Comment by misty

April 2, 2008 @ 11:34 am

Thanks Kirsten! I know Kingsolver is a great story-teller, because I’ve enjoyed her fiction for years. I think I will have to read the book especially after your review. As someone who is making steps toward sustainability, I trust your opinion somewhat more than a university professor’s (fair or unfair as that may be).

It has been fascinating for us to be privy to your journey with the goats and chickens. Thanks for your continued feedback to our show!

Comment by April

April 5, 2008 @ 11:00 pm

Hi, Misty and Andrew! I finally got a chance to listen to this podcast; it was fun to hear you talk about visiting IU South Bend. I agree with Kirsten — you should read the book (former English major speaking here!). At the very least, you’ll have the pleasure of hearing those stories Kirsten and Misty recognize as fab reading, but there are also excellent recipes tucked in every few pages.

My class found your visit really interesting and enjoyable, but a bit sobering in terms of the challenges of *really* living sustainably. The other missing ingredient in your description/vision of the happy co-op life of bartering and sharing the results of what everyone is good at is that not all folks want to live that way! Just because you may want to give away your goat’s milk doesn’t mean 1) your neighbor will want any or 2) your neighbor will have any interest in trading you for some hay. We’ll have to have a serious shift in what we think about living “in community” before the practices that will enable sustainability can move from the head to the heart and become something people really WANT to do.

And then there’s the matter of getting up every morning to milk those darn goats!!

Good fun to listen to you. We’re hoping to become another set of South Bend visitors before too long. Do you have an asparagus patch? I have a 10-year-old who loves asparagus and who can’t quite believe the pictures she’s seen of them rising from the soil like a primeval forest!

Cheers! (still finishing off that mead ..*hic* )

April