Radishes

The wind whipped the trees all day. Reminding me of the colossal power of nature. It forced the trees to bend, and bough. The wind sounded a bit like a train rumbling it was so loud outside. The wind was so enraged that it ripped the pretty decorative Christmas wreathe off the door of the old fashioned colonial farmhouse. It rattled my windows and ran screaming through my woods. The wind banged on the windows of the greenhouse. The whole time the cold rode on the wind’s back, thrown off with every gust to infect the area with lower temperatures.

Inside the farmhouse, I was safe and warm. Old Rusty, was doing it’s job and sitting atop it, a kettle of water with warm spices boiling spreading a beautiful, lively, fragrance through the house. Cinnamon, vanilla, Cardamom, all hung in the air all day today.

Outside the wind was on the move. Inside, I was. My daily chores were on my list of stuff to do this morning. Things like watering my greenhouse, Doing dishes, and cleaning up my creative studio space, all needed to get done today in addition to a number of other chores such as feeding the yeast I depend on for bread. Yes, I live the old way, so I don’t have too much use for that icky dry instant yeast. I let the dog out, then in, then out, then back in…. I suspect demanding to go out and come in again is her way of keeping my constant attention.

Then, I ran into a bit of a shocker. The time… So much more of it in the day, when you spend none of it on your old social media location of choice. It was incredible to notice how much more mine my mind was. This dumping of most social media, I think is really a very positive thing for me. You forget the sound of your own mind when you inundate it with the sound of memes and other people’s voices on and off all day long. It was also incredibly freeing, to not need to reach for my phone. Or to reach for it out of habit and realize there was nothing there for me.

Instead, I took that time, and I practiced typing with my new typewriter. Trying to get used to a typewriter keyboard with keys in a somewhat different order than I am used to. It is a travel typewriter, so it’s quite small for easy transportation. The keyboard too is smaller than I am used to. Then there is the “touch,” it takes more to press typewriter keys down. The speed too is rather different much slower. My typing speed is around 104 words per minute with 97% accuracy. The typewriter is totally different, as I must function at half my usual speed. The keys get stuck if I press them too fast and at the same time, or before one metal letter bar is fully laying back flat again. Then there is the margin and the moving down of the line I am working on getting used to. My little ancient typewriter which is over 100 years old, doesn’t even plug into an electric socket. I will continue to practice with it for a few more days then I will see if I can actually function half way to adequately with it. I suspect I will be able to just fine. which is odd. It truly is a novelty to use a machine that is over 100 years old. People rarely live that long so a machine that stays functional that long is just amazing.

After typing practice, I went out to visit the plants in my greenhouse. Not long ago we had a horrible event, the thermostat crapped out during a cold snap. We lost most of our fresh food for the winter. I had to replant everything. As you can see, even while many things are not yet coming up, some things have started. The radishes, are poking themselves up through the soil and for the first day, are large enough to photograph! So there it is. The rebirth of my lost food.

That is homesteading. Stuff goes wrong. You can either give up, or you can start over. This is why so many quit this way of life as quickly as they start. The dream is lovely, the workload is heinous, and the forces working against you can be devastating. At times, the challenges can seem insurmountable because just when you think you are getting somewhere something happens to knock you flat on your ass again. Most people can’t take it. To be fair, it isn’t easy. I don’t think I deal with it well, but I try to do a little better every time it happens. I don’t think anyone does well when everything they have worked for gets destroyed all of a sudden just when everything is going so well, most give up. I however have a small melt down when something fails, then I start over. That new life, forcing it’s way through the top of the soil is what keeps me going. Seeing these little newly started radishes just brought me so much joy today. I almost forgot the whipping wind for a moment.

Seeing the radishes rise up through the soil is also a lesson. Destruction happens. It happens in greenhouses, gardens outdoors, houses can and do burn down, societies have collapsed before. They will again, because they always have. Devastation is just a part of life. Even as a new cycle of devastation seems to be unfolding right now… We can still build our small miracles such as fresh radishes in the middle of the winter. We are not powerless. We control our own destinies, and we get to choose how we respond to the collapse. I hope we will choose to be gardeners like me in my greenhouse, rather than crazy violent people like the guy who just killed 15 people with his car. We are the seeds of tomorrow. How we sew ourselves matters. What grows can be a powerful force towards a better world, like the howling wind. What grows can be healthy like the vegies I grow in my greenhouse and garden. Let’s be those people that grow something healthy. Let’s be those people who take the set backs with grace and start over to build back better. Let’s adhere to permaculture principles that are kind and enrich the soil rather than depleting it.

Well, I just wanted to share the new life in my indoor garden.
I am very proud of it.
I am very proud of me for not throwing in the towel and instead starting over.
Thank you for reading.
Amanda Of Wildflower Farm