Finally

So I have finally decided to just take the time to write.  It's 97 degrees outside and I thought that just maybe it would be good to stay inside for a while.  The week has been filled with lots of work in the garden, flower beds, making food, playing vb (Jeff finished the poles so we could put up the net), and now getting ready to be gone for the next week.

I'm not sure why I haven't been drawn to the computer and this blog, but I was so excited when I got home from the garden this morning with all the lettuce and new carrots, I couldn't resist getting out the camera.  Thus, the prompting for the new post.  I hope to take 16 bags of buttercrunch lettuce & arugula to church tomorrow for everyone to enjoy, along with some freshly picked carrots.  What a treat!

One of the things that we have been grappling with recently is whether to try and find a little extra land so that Jeff can bring his cow & calf  here or to try and find a way to get our two acres here to work for us.  While I have appreciated the opportunity to have a garden within biking distance it would be really nice to have something more here.  The challenge is that all of our land is out to the front of our house and we haven't felt that turning the front yard into a garden or pasture would be the best, but we also wrestle with mowing so much.  So we continue to think through what might work here. Hopefully in the future we will be able to find a way to have chickens and goats again, even if it's small scale.  It will also be my desire to create more garden spaces here.

This week I happened upon a website "Grow Pittsburgh".  I found myself exploring other links and came across a site that showed how there are now some Panera Bread locations that have a donation site where food is placed on a counter with only a donation box, so that people can pay what they can/want.  It mentioned that some people will give more and others less.  Some may not have the cash, but donate some time to help in the back with some work.  Regardless it doesn't matter what one can give, it's meant to provide food for all people.   That is my dream.  To offer food to everyone, with no expectation of cost. 

So maybe, just maybe you will someday see in our front yard a garden where the harvested food is set out on a stand with only a donation box.  And, that there will be friends made, when someone decides to pull a few weeds in exchange for the fresh food.

Lettuce and carrots!!