Cows Saved America
If you read the histories of the early settlers of America you can't help but be amazed at how precarious their lives were. Starvation was a real possibility. The one event that seemed to have made the difference was the importation of Jersey Cattle. Their small size, rich milk and pleasant dispositions made them perfect for families needing to insure a steady supply of wholesome food.
300 years later our food supply has been compromised by large agribusiness interests that raise our cattle in confinement settings, feed them grain instead of grass, breed them to weigh 2,500 pounds, instead of 900 pounds and them subject us to the risk of E.Coli 157 through their collective processing. For details read "The Fatal Harvest".
We have learned from our friends how to recognize what "enough" is. Enough is being able to eat healthy foods that cost more. Sure, that means we have less money to spend on other stuff, but it is enough. An old friend once told me "godliness with contentment is great gain." I believe he realized that contentment was the hardest part of that to apprehend.
Gratitude works wonders.
It is a chicken or egg question. Does escaping the city enable one to see the beauty of life that a farm makes possible or do you have to see it to find the courage to leave the rat race? On more than one occasion I have mentioned to friends how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to find Foggy Bottom Farms. The farm enables us to put into practice one of my favorite Al-Anon sayings, "Expectations are premeditated resentments". We can bring our expectations to the farm, but nature has its own agenda, timetable, rules and routines. The challenge is to learn how to be one with the farm. Life is much more pleasant when we learn to have "fun with the earth."
