Kakahead

Easy as it may be to focus on what’s wrong in the world, every once in awhile I get a day that gives me great hope.  I believe that the world will not change meaningfully from the top down, but rather from the bottom up.  One local example of positive change is the increased popularity of the farmers markets.  People grow or prepare wonderful food right here in our neighborhood; and local people show their support by thronging to market.  Sometimes one pays a bit more when buying directly from the farmer; but it’s well worth it.  And the growers are not getting rich, but they are sustaining themselves.

More and more of us are catching on to the fact that keeping our money and resources close to us will benefit those in our community directly.  All the while, Mother Earth is being cared for just a wee bit more because the food is not being shipped across the planet to a place that grows the exact same crop.

Sustainability emerges again and again as an alternative to “bigger is better.”  In other words, it makes much more long term sense to help each other thrive than it does for a minority to take advantage of the masses in order to acquire exorbitant wealth.

Yes, I know, there I go dreaming again.  However, I still believe that our biggest vote is the money we spend.  What we buy describes the type of world we want.  If we favor locally produced foods and tone down our “stuff addiction” we can help to make the planet a cleaner, safer place.

My beautiful girlfriend and I grew up in the 1960s when lots of us dreamed of stopping pollution, racial and social inequality, and of course war.  One of the finest compliments she gave me during our early dating years was, “you know Ken, you could be a hippie with no problem.”   Although I didn’t really embrace the “free love” (monogamy is much less confusing) or “turn on, tune in, and drop out” philosophies (drugs can kill you), I was pretty vehement about such silly ideas as “make love not war,” and “love your Mother (Nature).”  We often dreamed of having a small farm and growing veggies and fruit organically.  Although I would love to have much more ground, we settled on a 5 acre plot that’s close enough to town to be convenient but far enough away to see thousands of stars in the sky at night.

Recently we were able to begin a relationship with the owners of Mia And Grace, a local restaurant that welcomes produce from local growers.  We ate there a couple times and mentioned we loved to garden organically.  After a few conversations I ended up bringing a large trash bag full of freshly picked collard greens (along with a few stalks of swiss chard), and also hubbard squash to the restaurant.  Additionally, we had a much larger hubbard squash but they didn’t really have room for it.  That one ended up at the Rescue Mission.

Our first time, meager contribution to their pantry became a life changing experience.   Pretty spiritual really.  I told the owner that I was not interested in gouging anyone for my organic produce.  I merely wanted to prevent it from going to waste and hopefully help someone in the process.   He and I were happy to know that we were both on the same page.  “This is the way the world is supposed to work,” we both asserted. He asked me what I thought the haul was worth.  Being the shrewd businessman I am, I said confidently, “I have absolutely no clue.  We’ve never done this before.”  He threw out a figure which I thought to be quite generous; and of course I accepted immediately.

As he was writing me a slip; I asked about whether we qualified to have our names added to  his “Farmers and Friends” list, which is posted in the restaurant and also on their website.  “Absolutely,” he exclaimed, “what do you call yourselves?”

“Oh I dunno,” I floundered.  “K + K Hansen I guess.”

“OK, I’ll put you down as K + K Hansen Farms,” he replied.

I was simply elated.  We shook hands and exchanged mutual thanks, and I scampered outside to the van where my lovely girlfriend and our Musky Da Husky were waiting.

“Well Honey, you are now a farmer’s wife,” I chuckled, and told her the wonderful story.  Not sure where all this will take us, but it has definitely caused my mind to go into high gear about next spring.

It only took 37 years of marriage to get to this point, but dreams do come true… we are officially farmers!

Lastly for this week, a big THANK  YOU to Ed for pointing out the Who song, “Now I’m A Farmer” which I confess I had never heard before.  But here it is specially for your enjoyment…

On the other hand, you have this interesting cartoon depicting EXACTLY how a farmer lives…