Wild Asparagus Hunting

In December of 2011, we lost an 8-month long battle with the Town we live in over property rights. We endeavored to defend our farm's 100+ year agricultural use in the face of a 20 year-old zoning code that allows horses, but not cows. After the town judge found us guilty of "possession of cattle", we began to search for cow pasture, which resulted in God leading us to a very unique property, with some wonderful new friends, just 4 miles away from our town.

Our new friends, SS & FF offered to house our cattle in their pasture in exchange for us doing a little work around their 140 acre farm. As their farm is outside of city limits, they experience all the freedom and autonomy we only dream of having on our place. They can lawfully hunt, fish, farm, shoot, grow, house livestock, and do whatever else strikes their fancy. So it's probably no surprise that for the last 3 months, we have spent nearly every weekend at our cows' new home, building fences, planting trees, cultivating garden areas or just sharing meals with SS, FF & their kids.

Last weekend when we visited the Farm to work on a new section of fence, I found SS down at the edge of the lake with a bag and a knife harvesting wild asparagus. I've only ever heard tales of asparagus growing wild in ditches and along waterways, and had never hunted it myself, but I grabbed a bag & headed over to see if I could participate. SS turns out to be a legendary asparagus hunter, spotting the tender new shoots amidst the dead marsh grass & old gray stalks. A total novice, I had to identify a stand of live, leafed-out stalks to recognize the emerging harvest, but got better at spotting our quarry toward the end. I've scarcely had so much fun and I think hunting produce actually fulfilled some ancient primal gathering instinct that has long been ignored.

 We came back to the house with two grocery bags overflowing with asparagus stalks. I brought mine home and soaked them in cold water to minimize the bugs and grit, and then prepared them by snapping off the woody ends, drizzling them with olive oil, and then sprinkling fresh minced garlic and salt over top. After soaking for around a half hour, I threw them on the barbecue until they were tender, but still crisp. This is my new favorite way to prepare asparagus courtesy of another friend and culinary genius, LP.

The kids were a bit put off by the much stringier texture of the wild asparagus, but I found the top 4 inches of the stalks to be sweet, tender and better than any bruised, wilted asparagus hailing from the grocery store.

A few stalks were too mature to eat, so I threw them in a glass of water to see if I could force them to seed. If I'm successful, I will plant my own perennial asparagus in my garden.

Fried chicken is my favorite animal...

I found this joke in my email inbox this morning:

"Our teacher asked us what our favorite animal was, and I said, "Fried chicken." She said I wasn't funny, but she couldn't have been right, because everyone else in the class laughed. My parents told me to always be truthful and honest, and I am. Fried chicken is my favorite animal. I told my dad what happened, and he said my teacher was probably a member of PETA. He said they love animals very much. Especially chicken, pork and beef.

Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal's office.I told him what happened, and he laughed, too. Then he told me not to do it again.

The next day in class my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal was. I told her it was chicken. She asked me why, just like she'd asked the other children. So I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken. She sent me back to the principal's office again. He laughed, and told me not to do it again. I don't understand.

My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn't like it when I am.Today, my teacher asked us to tell her what famous person we admire most. I told her, "Colonel Sanders." Guess where I am now..."

Yes, this is a joke, but let's face it, this kind of indoctrination is rampant in our schools, and is one of the many reasons I homeschool my kids. Somehow, entire generations of kids, now adults have lost an appreciation for where their food comes from...and it's only getting worse. I read an article recently about kids in the UK who thought bacon came from sheep. I can honestly say that my children know, without a doubt, where their food comes from, whether it's meat, veggies, milk or eggs.

We spent all Saturday morning harvesting our meat chickens. It was good family fun where the kids get to see their once cute, fuzzy chicks turn into....well...fried chicken. Sure, there are some aspects that are less than glamourous, but as we watched our kids spend an hour dissecting a chicken heart, it was hard not to recognize the irreplaceable value of real life exploration and discovery, and the long term effect it will have on their world view and awareness. Of course, many people (many more these days) do not share in our view that raising and harvesting your own food is a valuable learning opportunity for children. Most of my husband's family, for instance, live the PETA hypocrisy of swatting flies while they wolf down tofu burgers...

We chatted about these unfortunates as we plucked broilers on Saturday, laughing about friends who refuse to eat anything that didn't come from the grocery store, and what that trend has brought us in the way of food quality and safety. It's a sad state of affairs in this country where food is concerned. And kids get the worst of it. Even my farm-raised kids came rushing in halfway through an episode of Sesame Street last week to say that they desperately needed some vegetables for breakfast because they wanted to be 'healthy'...uh, really?

Folks, there's only One Authority when it comes to our food, as He designed the entire system. For now, I think I'll let His words end this post.

Genesis 1:26-30
26: And God said, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created  them.

28: And God blessed them, and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

29: And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food," and it was so.

30: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Birth and restoration

As you know, the last month and a half have been pretty rough, between losing our chickens, and being told to get rid of our cows. But God is an awesome restorer of peace. Monday, we presented our case for keeping our cows to the Town and by Wednesday, the Town had received so much mail from folks supporting our cause that the Town agreed to begin revising its livestock code. Following our success, it started to rain, and continued to rain for two straight days. Somehow, it seemed to symbolize a fresh start, and it brought with it some new arrivals to our farm.

Little Oreo was born May 11th in the pouring rain to first time momma, Daisy the Hereford. We obtained Daisy from a friend just 4 weeks before receiving the notice from the Town banning livestock. At time of purchase, we agreed for Daisy to stay at her home until she had her calf, as our friend's son was desperate to see her calf born. It was his success showing the cow in 4-H that had earned Daisy the breeding that resulted in Oreo.

Our new heifer is a big girl with a voracious appetite. As with many first moms, it is taking Daisy some time to get used to the concept that a wallop to the udder by a hungry headbutting calf is the universal signal to share her milk, but they're both starting to get the hang of things.

In addition to the cows, we have started to restore the chicken population. Today we added six 9-week-old pullets and five 2-week-old broilers to the flock, bringing our flock total to 15. I still struggle with the pain of losing all of our chicks, and had a twinge of sadness today when I realized that our chicks would have started laying this month if they'd survived. But the excitement of new hens, fresh eggs and meat is beginning to overtake the frustration and grief.

The hubby is on coop reinforcement duty this weekend, though we haven't seen the foxes in several weeks. The fact that the dogs have been sleeping through the night (and letting us do the same) makes us hopeful that the foxes have taken up residence elsewhere, but as we learned the hard way, it's better to be prepared than be caught with our pants down and lose everything.

I'll be in the garden getting the rest of the veggies planted this weekend. On the list are cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers and corn. Plus, I'll be replanting the bush beans and beets that failed to make an appearance. Everything else in the garden is doing well. We've already harvested radishes and will be eating bok choy very soon.

Despite the setbacks, things are steadily beginning to get back on track, and we are grateful for the bounty God has in store.

Government that prohibits citizens from growing food condems them to death

I came across this headline today in my internet perusal:

US meat and poultry widely contaminated with bacteria including superbugs 

In the past when I read headlines like these, I praised God for giving us the inclination and ability to raise and eat our own food. But now, we're in a battle with the Town to defend that right.

When we purchased our property 9 years ago, we recognized the value of owning land that could feed us. Our priorities have not changed: we don't have a 4000 square foot house in a fancy subdivision, and we can't take vacations to Maui twice a year because of this life we have chosen. But if our economy collapses or all of the commercially available meat is found to be tainted (see article above), we will be able to feed ourselves and our neighbors with what we painstakingly cultivated on our land. 

This is our right, given by God, not just to Americans but to every person in the world...from camel farmers in outer Mongolia to goat herders in Pakistan.

In a previous post I mentioned that we received a letter from the Town demanding that we remove our cattle from our property. Though our 7.44 acre property has housed livestock since before the Town existed, the current administrators are attempting to enforce a 20 year old municipal zoning code that excludes any animal you can eat from its list of approved "domestic large animals."

After we rejected the Town's first demand to relocate our cattle, the Town suggested that we apply for a Conditional Use Grant in order to keep our cows. At a non-refundable cost of $100, it holds no guarantee of being approved and can not be transferred to anyone who buys our property. For our family, the thought of paying a municipality for permission to feed ourselves runs contrary to everything our nation was founded on, and is simply not an option. So, true to form, we will stand firm.

We live in weird times. There are people who want the government to provide them with everything, and who live from disappointment to disappointment, perpetually irritated that they're not getting what they want or what the neighbors have. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who defy authority to provide anything for them, and struggle with age-old challenges to provide everything from food to clothing for themselves. And finally, there are people in the middle--most of America--who are completely indifferent...typical consumers trying to do their part, content to remain blissfully unaware of the struggle around them. Government, is equally conflicted, wanting the role of parent and provider for all mankind so intently that it often cuts off its suppliers to prove its sovereignty. This is the drama that's playing out here in my town.

Town government is not a Homeowners Association. Homeowners may voluntarily enter into a contract with an HOA and sign over their property rights to that private organization for whatever security it offers in exchange. But municipalities may not operate in this way; they are beholden to the Constitution and obligated to defend the rights of the people they serve. It seems that we have become so used to people telling us what we can and can't do with our private property that we've forgotten that it is our our property to begin with. If the Town wants to decide how our property should best be used, it can buy it from us.

 

Perhaps this latest hurdle is our chance to stamp out tyranny in our own backyard, or perhaps this is a lesson to us all about what happens when government is permitted to run unchecked on the taxpayer's dime. It's time we all remembered that it's not someone else's job to protect fundamental unalienable rights, it's mine and yours.

Land of the Enslaved, Home of the Timid

Let me be clear. We live in the greatest nation on earth. But last week, I saw two reports that caused me to grieve the loss of our great nation, and the oppression of its people. Apparently, our nation, established out of revolt against tyranny and founded as a sanctuary for those who take responsibility for their own “pursuit of happiness”, has been transformed to a place where citizens are unaware of their rights and, if they do take a stand, are impotent to protect them.

The first report I’m referring to is an article about a Detroit woman who noticed her daughter experiencing a possible vaccine reaction. The doctors she sought for the condition prescribed additional medications to alleviate the symptoms and it caused her to get worse. So she did what every mother who sees something causing her daughter distress would do and she took her off the meds. At this point, and the article is not clear on how it all transpired, Social Services appeared at her door and attempted to take her child from her for failing to give her the prescribed medication. When their intentions became known, this mom holed up in the house with her daughter, holding off the social workers with a gun. The long and the short of it is that she’s now being held on $500,000 bond, and being charged with multiple felonies. They’ve taken her daughter from her and stuck her in the system, despite promising that she’d be placed with a family member. Obviously, the authorities intended to make her an example of what happens to people who believe their lives and liberties are not subject to any government. 

What’s the lesson here, folks? It’s safer for a mother to walk into a doctor’s office and kill her baby than it is for a woman to refuse to administer mind-altering drugs to her child. And if you defend your position as the rightful authority in the home, you’ll be carted off to jail and made an example of.

Story number two features a family in Delaware whose private personal property is stolen, essentially at gunpoint, by the government sworn to defend their rights. When the homeowners confront the tyrants, they are told they don’t have the right to stand on their own property and speak on their behalf. They are lied to and threatened, and despite being filmed the atrocities continue. The “authorities” have become so brazen that they simply don’t care who sees them violate the law. After the standoff, the homeowner actually gets in his vehicle and moves it aside so the city workers can dismantle their property…who teaches us this? Are these the actions of the free and the brave?

I’ve heard people say that the best way to combat injustice is not to take up arms, but rather arm yourself with a camera and record the truth. But, honestly friends, who’s watching? The horrors witnessed in these two stories have become so commonplace, so ingrained in our culture that neighbors, as in the case of the mother, actually encourage one another to sacrifice their God-given rights to comply with unjust and unconstitutional authority. For as many people who see these reports and feel as I do, there are likely an equal number who watch and think that those poor folks could have saved themselves a bunch of hassle if they just went along with the authorities.

"No authority have you against Me in anything, except it were given to you from above." John 19:11

 When I was a kid, I used to write all over my school notebooks. One of my favorite quips back then was “Question Authority.” After reading the founding documents of our nation, it occurs to me that too many people have stopped doing this, so I’m including a quote from the Declaration of Independence here so you can read it for yourselves:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed… That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” (My emphasis added)

Fear is the greatest weapon of the slave master. We should approach each encounter with “authority” armed with these questions: Does this government operate justly? Does it recognize its citizens as its rightful authority? Does it uphold its citizen’s unalienable rights? If the answer is no, then it’s our duty as “The Brave” to stand our ground. If the enslaved remember their power in numbers and their moral obligation to do as the Declaration of Independence authorizes them to do, then the nation has a chance to be return back to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, but until then, we will continue to wallow in our own complicit obedience to unjust masters, praying each day that the injustice doesn’t come to our own doorstep. Good luck with that.