KISS OHIO and other random thoughts

Home. Hands in the Soil. April is here. Windy Windy. There is dirt under my fingernails. This is a new sensation, in comparison to the gloves and sun that have been treating my hands all winter. Funny to admit this, but I greatly dislike the feel of soil and dirt under my nails. eek! But I don't end up wearing gloves that often--mostly for pruning raspberries (which I did a great deal of on Thursday) and picking/throwing rocks.

What I greatly like, however, is returning to Andover in the early spring, especially when there is little in the way of remnant snow. Reconnecting with the landscape, revisiting favorite haunts on walks and jogs through the woods with Poe, meeting neighbors again, and visiting with friends. In the woods, the bright green spears of wild iris are just beginning show up around stream banks and pond edges. The beaver who lives in the wetlands down the hill has significantly expanded her/his lodge (to Poe's great excitement). Meadows and lawns are just gaining their first green hues. A bluebird already in the upper field. Peach trees pushing fat buds. Sand from the winter road everywhere. Tulips and daffies coming along.
One neighbor brought me three giant, beautiful goose eggs. Time to try making Custard? These eggs were fantastical--heavy, lovely, almost filling my entire upturned hand. The geese run in a gang, all six of them, across the various hilltop properties here.

Returning to work, I remember why I feel myself particularly cut out for this venture: the fact that I never feel like I would rather be doing other work, no matter how cruddy the particular tastk is. It's also curious to feel the work habits and ethic rise back up from their winter hibernation. Like how I structure my work day around other elements of play and relaxation and poe. Or how silly acronyms (sp?) serve me really well. Such as OHIO: only handle it once, or KISS: keep it simple stupid. There are other un-acronymed ones too, like always walk somewhere with something, and do work for tomorrow, next week, next year, and something you forgot to do yesterday, and the important if you feel hungry, eat something.
Seedlings are growing; the unheated greenhouse is ramping up with cool-loving types and my apartment is being taken over by trays and shelves, lights and electric blankets (for bottom heat). I have also tried my hand at grafting some tomatoes (yipes)--classic and heirloom varieties onto disease resistant and vigorous-growing rootstock. The verdict is not in yet--it's the blind leading the blind here--but they aren't totally dead yet.
Plastic is back up on the first hoophouse, after significant (and fun) monkeying around on the rafters and purlins. Now I just have to get the other hoophouse's plastic on, which can always be a challenge the first time around, especially with the wiggle-wire system.

HR 875 is the next big Ag related bill to whirl around the senate. Coined the "Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009," this bill proposes "to establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes." My take on it is that it makes broad (ie. vague) allowances for government and regulatory agencies to slap all sorts of regulations and requirements on small scale producers and even non-commercial growers. This bill has the backing of a lot of the Agrobusiness's largest and lewdest companies, so unfortunately it'll take a lot of us-power to hold it back. I've already written to my senators. You should read the bill for yourself, check out the slew of internet chatter and banter regarding this bill, and then maybe take action yourself. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875

Well, enough of this scattered writing. Goodnight.