.
We've just been running like crazy. Not much time to post anything. Lots of work, lots of activities.
Bad news, I think I have another cracked tooth.
Wistful news - I'm dying here. I have wanted a Dexter pair for AGES! I found all sorts of them for wonderful deals here. Sadly, morosely, dejectedly, horrendously - they are in Canada!
But what really matters is this:
I have to tell you, going from a couple of months of bad financial news; months filled with unexpected bills, land taxes coming due, a call saying no support will be given, car repairs, etc., the Lord has blessed us. We have had so much kindness shown to us and generosity from Heavenly family, both far and near, we are fantastically grateful, humbled, and awed by your love.
I was able to get Michael something he really needed, a replacement MP3 player for Christmas. He's already in possession of it, we shopped together and found an amazing deal, at about half price and free shipping. I think it must be a Christmas special. But he is as happy as a clam, and I could not help but shed tears at watching him receive such a gift from the Lord. In our work, we use them to listen to messages and worship music to encourage us. Others have given him lovely gifts as well.
More than anything, the gift that is the greatest is seeing just how the Lord cares for us, even when we have no idea how it could be possible to make it. And how others want to be used by Him, and offer their love and friendship.
Thank you so much! Some of you call, some of you write, some of you chat, some of you send surprises. All of you touch our hearts so deeply, there is no way you could possibly know how much your friendship and love mean.
Yeshua Meshiach was not born in December. He was born most likely in September. But because of various historical events, we followers of Christ have taken up the habit of celebrating the joyous occasion of His birth here in human form at the end of December. We rejoice, we sing, we give gifts to one another.
But the most wonderful thing about this world-wide celebration is the fact that so many people choose to set aside things that usually distract us, and instead focus on reaching out to others and loving them in tangible ways; from fun random acts of flash mobs, to giving to perfect strangers.
What a beautiful thing to see! I pray every day that we are blessings to others and that the Lord would show us how to serve others in whatever way we can. I know I fail much more than I am successful, but I am grateful to be growing. What an amazing thing it will be when the whole earth is a reflection of Christ's love for us, when He returns.
As I read of your own adventures, your own trials, your own walks, and share your loves and passions, I am blessed beyond all measure. I learn from you. I am humbled and grateful for all the blessings we have from the Lord; how He brings us through our trials and heals our pain. All our promise of the future, all our hope is in Him.
Merry Christmas to all of you. May you all be blessed. But even more, may we bless He who loves us, who is our Savior and Provider. May we all learn to love Him as He deserves and learn to serve Him and minister to Him in whatever way He shows us.
Much love to you all,
~Faith
.
Showing posts with label Cattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cattle. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
List for today.
.
After a $400.00+ day at the repair shop and helping my mom and dad all day long on their front yard project and dinner with freshly baked (and flattish) 100% whole wheat bread (very long run on sentence) in which we were so happy to be a blessing to my folks for the day and in which, despite being faithful to my juicing I ended up eating too much leftover Halloween candy from stressing out over the unplanned repairs on the van, we will continue to enjoy a week in which most of our regular activities were canceled.
So it's a work day here at home for me, and for Michael, when his school work is done. I have a wish list in front of me. Maybe I should add "Clean off desk" to it.... Nah.
1. Drive about 10 beautiful country miles to a farm and buy as many bales of straw as will fit into the back of the minivan. I might fit 10 or 12. Good deal, but no delivery.
2. Mulch the freshly manured gooseberry plantings with 2 bales of straw.
3. Repair the barbed wire fence that the neighbor's cows keep busting up. They did not come through yet, but it's torn down again. Probably the long-horn crosses. They really learn how to use those horns as tearing tools.
4. While back there making repairs, also pick up a wheelbarrow-sized load of manure for the raspberries.
5. Spread the manure in preparation for the rootings which should be here soon.
6. Leave 5 bales of straw next to raspberry row.
7. Neatly stack and cover the free lumber we got from my dad with the the $5.00 doors we found at the thrift store. These are for the future tables in the greenhouse.
8. Fasten the side base boards to the greenhouse hoops in preparation for walls. Wear black-widow smashing shoes. WooHoo! That stack next to my driveway for years will finally be gone.
9. Draw out a plan for building the ends, now that I have the storm doors (5 dollars at the thrift store) and locate the lumber from the wood pile. Hope there is enough there that has not rotted.
10. Cover 6 figs in straw (whatever is left) build cages or use rope to contain them, and cover with tarps.
11. Try to get some rest before doing an office cleaning tonight. :o)
I am glad that I have 3 good days of sun, in case I can't finish this as I hope to.
5:45 am. Time to clean house, juice, cook breakfast, pray, and load my iPod with Bible study lessons for the day.
Awaiting a beautiful sunrise,
~Faith
.
After a $400.00+ day at the repair shop and helping my mom and dad all day long on their front yard project and dinner with freshly baked (and flattish) 100% whole wheat bread (very long run on sentence) in which we were so happy to be a blessing to my folks for the day and in which, despite being faithful to my juicing I ended up eating too much leftover Halloween candy from stressing out over the unplanned repairs on the van, we will continue to enjoy a week in which most of our regular activities were canceled.
So it's a work day here at home for me, and for Michael, when his school work is done. I have a wish list in front of me. Maybe I should add "Clean off desk" to it.... Nah.
1. Drive about 10 beautiful country miles to a farm and buy as many bales of straw as will fit into the back of the minivan. I might fit 10 or 12. Good deal, but no delivery.
2. Mulch the freshly manured gooseberry plantings with 2 bales of straw.
3. Repair the barbed wire fence that the neighbor's cows keep busting up. They did not come through yet, but it's torn down again. Probably the long-horn crosses. They really learn how to use those horns as tearing tools.
4. While back there making repairs, also pick up a wheelbarrow-sized load of manure for the raspberries.
5. Spread the manure in preparation for the rootings which should be here soon.
6. Leave 5 bales of straw next to raspberry row.
7. Neatly stack and cover the free lumber we got from my dad with the the $5.00 doors we found at the thrift store. These are for the future tables in the greenhouse.
8. Fasten the side base boards to the greenhouse hoops in preparation for walls. Wear black-widow smashing shoes. WooHoo! That stack next to my driveway for years will finally be gone.
9. Draw out a plan for building the ends, now that I have the storm doors (5 dollars at the thrift store) and locate the lumber from the wood pile. Hope there is enough there that has not rotted.
10. Cover 6 figs in straw (whatever is left) build cages or use rope to contain them, and cover with tarps.
11. Try to get some rest before doing an office cleaning tonight. :o)
I am glad that I have 3 good days of sun, in case I can't finish this as I hope to.
5:45 am. Time to clean house, juice, cook breakfast, pray, and load my iPod with Bible study lessons for the day.
Awaiting a beautiful sunrise,
~Faith
.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
So Close, and Yet, So Far.
.
Such tasty, mouth-watering steaks!
But when they are still on the hoof, and not your own... you must resist.
"Mom! The cattle are over here again!"
"Go chase them back and repair the hole."
"Mom! The cattle are over here again."
"Go chase them back and find the other hole and fix it."
"Mom! The cattle are over here again!"
"I thought you fixed the holes."
"There's no more fence left. It's all down."
...sigh...
These cattle belong to our nice neighbor, who is very busy, and trying to work full time while taking care of many acres of land. He's helped us a lot in the past few years.
We had half a roll of barbed wire, so we went up the hill to put up fence.
Problem was, Michael had the flu. Poor guy, up there working on fencing with me with a fever, body aches, and exhausted. We did about 75 feet of fenceline, good and tight.
This is no easy task. The scrub trees have completely overgrown the fenceline, so you have to hack them away first.
And saw off the branches that are too thick for the loppers.
Then we returned to the house, grateful we had the supplies to do it, and got Michael some rest.
That night we did not go to Bible study, as you can lose a lot of friends sharing the flu bug. On top of suffering FROM the disease, having people glare at you while they are curled up in a fetal position is a real downer. The plan was to just go do office cleaning, get home, and get to bed early.
"Mom, the cattle are over here again!"
AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!
I'm OK. Really.
I'm hoping to take care of this quickly. I mean, we'd just repaired a lot of fence. It had to be a small issue, right? RIGHT?
I head up, to chase the cattle back through. They see me coming. It's like the showdown at the OK corral. Only neither one of us is OK. Most of them give their point of entry away...
"Look! The strange creature on two legs is coming! She looks really mad this time. Let's get outta' here!"
I see it. It's a small place. But one cow freaks. It's young. It's stupid. It's buzzard bait as far as I'm concerned. It sails past the hole, and foolishly heads toward the brand new fencing we just put up earlier that day.
Those of you who do not know cows might think, "Good. She'll see the new fence, figure it out, and head back to the hole with her good-for-nothing buddies."
WRONG!
Not only would you be discounting the amazing lack of brain that exists in the common cow, but you do not know one vital piece of information. You see, the broken fence is on a steep slope. On their side, it's 5 feet high, but on our side, when the cow looks at the fence as the only obstacle between her and, "Sanctuary!" (Done in my best Hunchback of Notre Dame imitation.), it's only about 2 feet high. I smell impending doom a mile away. So I go past, up the hill, and around to gently encourage her back this way, before all hell breaks loose.
Sadly, my extremely helpful and sick offspring was not aware of all this when he came up after me to help. You guessed it. He came through the thicket, and that cow went straight through 5 strings of freshly fastened barbed wire.
Oh, she didn't feel a thing. She was quite satisfied with herself. It was all I could do not to spit nails. Needless to say, our plan of getting home early for rest was out the window.
The new hole? They had actually decided to simply shove between the trees and break the old wire strands. That's bad news. That means they've learned the most evil trick a farm animal can learn. If you push on it long enough, it will break. This is something you NEVER want a farm animal to figure out.
I was trembling in fear. I'm out of barbed wire, and all the farm supply shops are closed by now. Oh, did I mention that all 30 head were milling about behind me, just waiting for me to leave so they could come over again?
Oh, yeah. It's raining.
Did I also mention that we had already robbed our incredulous horses of their own mineral block and sacrificed it over the fence to the cow gods?
They'd already licked most of it in the last two days anyhow. We'll buy the horses a fresh one this week, but I'm not sure they'll ever trust us again. And I'm pretty sure they hate cows, too.
Oh, and another little tidbit? My sister was in town from out of state, and my uncle, whom I've not seen in decades, too. I did not get to go see them. I was busy with precious little mooing things.
WHAT are you looking at?
And the age old question. "Why?"
They have a hundred acres of lush grass. Just look at this!
What do they see when they look at our side? Nothing but a line of scrubby trees.
They have water. Apparently not as tasty as our water, though. And we've already sacrificed our mineral block. We don't have enough grass for two horses, but 30 head of cattle want to chomp the life out of every bit of our soil before returning home. I guess it's like eating out; not as good as home-cooking, but more fun.
Here's the line where they wait to get in. Notice the lack of vegetation due to the milling about.
It is at this time I realize this post is getting long. But this is my WATERLOO! Custer's Last Stand!
Now, where was I?
Oh, yes, trembling in fear...
They'd broken the four strands of rusty barbed wire that were strung between two trees, about 3 feet apart. I had little hope at this point of convincing them they should not do this. Several of them are part Longhorn. They look to be a Longhorn/Angus cross. Nice... tasty... cows....
With horns, they learn to hook things and it doesn't hurt at all. Great for them, bad for us.
(Ah, I see I missed one of the sneaky buggers, head down, in that photo.)
I had just enough wire to cover the last 20 feet of fenceline where there were several bad places, but no time to clear it. So I cut across the corner, and prayed it would hold til the next day when I could go buy more wire and get home to do it properly.
It held, though I know they were plotting something anyhow.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!
Upon coming home the next morning from town, where tons of things went wrong, and actually ended up sobbing in front of my strong, yet impressionable young man, and had to go shopping with sunglasses on, I sent him to work on his schoolwork and I proceeded uphill to fix that fence or die trying.
Just start lopping where we left off yesterday.
The horrible thing about scrub red cedar is that is grows everywhere. However, the GREAT thing about scrub red cedar is ~ that includes in the fencelines. So you have naturally occurring posts that will just continue to get more and more numerous as the years go on. So I didn't need any posts, just wire and fence staples.
When I'd just about cleared the last 100 feet of line, my dad and uncle arrived. Dad was able to leave mom for a while with my sister, and my uncle declared this was the only way he was going to be able to see me. It was like the cavalry. Wasn't their motto "Always in the nick of time" or something?
Lopping through 2" branches was a lot more fun when someone with muscles was doing it, so I let them finish that up, as well as the sawing, while I used the pruning shears. And it no time, we were ready to begin stringing.
It's done. And I've not seen hide nor hair of those cattle ever since.
Good fences make good neighbors! (That's the country motto.)
~Faith
.
Such tasty, mouth-watering steaks!
But when they are still on the hoof, and not your own... you must resist.
"Mom! The cattle are over here again!"
"Go chase them back and repair the hole."
"Mom! The cattle are over here again."
"Go chase them back and find the other hole and fix it."
"Mom! The cattle are over here again!"
"I thought you fixed the holes."
"There's no more fence left. It's all down."
...sigh...
These cattle belong to our nice neighbor, who is very busy, and trying to work full time while taking care of many acres of land. He's helped us a lot in the past few years.
We had half a roll of barbed wire, so we went up the hill to put up fence.
Problem was, Michael had the flu. Poor guy, up there working on fencing with me with a fever, body aches, and exhausted. We did about 75 feet of fenceline, good and tight.
This is no easy task. The scrub trees have completely overgrown the fenceline, so you have to hack them away first.
And saw off the branches that are too thick for the loppers.
Then we returned to the house, grateful we had the supplies to do it, and got Michael some rest.
That night we did not go to Bible study, as you can lose a lot of friends sharing the flu bug. On top of suffering FROM the disease, having people glare at you while they are curled up in a fetal position is a real downer. The plan was to just go do office cleaning, get home, and get to bed early.
"Mom, the cattle are over here again!"
AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!
I'm OK. Really.
I'm hoping to take care of this quickly. I mean, we'd just repaired a lot of fence. It had to be a small issue, right? RIGHT?
I head up, to chase the cattle back through. They see me coming. It's like the showdown at the OK corral. Only neither one of us is OK. Most of them give their point of entry away...
"Look! The strange creature on two legs is coming! She looks really mad this time. Let's get outta' here!"
I see it. It's a small place. But one cow freaks. It's young. It's stupid. It's buzzard bait as far as I'm concerned. It sails past the hole, and foolishly heads toward the brand new fencing we just put up earlier that day.
Those of you who do not know cows might think, "Good. She'll see the new fence, figure it out, and head back to the hole with her good-for-nothing buddies."
WRONG!
Not only would you be discounting the amazing lack of brain that exists in the common cow, but you do not know one vital piece of information. You see, the broken fence is on a steep slope. On their side, it's 5 feet high, but on our side, when the cow looks at the fence as the only obstacle between her and, "Sanctuary!" (Done in my best Hunchback of Notre Dame imitation.), it's only about 2 feet high. I smell impending doom a mile away. So I go past, up the hill, and around to gently encourage her back this way, before all hell breaks loose.
Sadly, my extremely helpful and sick offspring was not aware of all this when he came up after me to help. You guessed it. He came through the thicket, and that cow went straight through 5 strings of freshly fastened barbed wire.
Oh, she didn't feel a thing. She was quite satisfied with herself. It was all I could do not to spit nails. Needless to say, our plan of getting home early for rest was out the window.
The new hole? They had actually decided to simply shove between the trees and break the old wire strands. That's bad news. That means they've learned the most evil trick a farm animal can learn. If you push on it long enough, it will break. This is something you NEVER want a farm animal to figure out.
I was trembling in fear. I'm out of barbed wire, and all the farm supply shops are closed by now. Oh, did I mention that all 30 head were milling about behind me, just waiting for me to leave so they could come over again?
Oh, yeah. It's raining.
Did I also mention that we had already robbed our incredulous horses of their own mineral block and sacrificed it over the fence to the cow gods?
They'd already licked most of it in the last two days anyhow. We'll buy the horses a fresh one this week, but I'm not sure they'll ever trust us again. And I'm pretty sure they hate cows, too.
Oh, and another little tidbit? My sister was in town from out of state, and my uncle, whom I've not seen in decades, too. I did not get to go see them. I was busy with precious little mooing things.
WHAT are you looking at?
And the age old question. "Why?"
They have a hundred acres of lush grass. Just look at this!
What do they see when they look at our side? Nothing but a line of scrubby trees.
They have water. Apparently not as tasty as our water, though. And we've already sacrificed our mineral block. We don't have enough grass for two horses, but 30 head of cattle want to chomp the life out of every bit of our soil before returning home. I guess it's like eating out; not as good as home-cooking, but more fun.
Here's the line where they wait to get in. Notice the lack of vegetation due to the milling about.
It is at this time I realize this post is getting long. But this is my WATERLOO! Custer's Last Stand!
Now, where was I?
Oh, yes, trembling in fear...
They'd broken the four strands of rusty barbed wire that were strung between two trees, about 3 feet apart. I had little hope at this point of convincing them they should not do this. Several of them are part Longhorn. They look to be a Longhorn/Angus cross. Nice... tasty... cows....
With horns, they learn to hook things and it doesn't hurt at all. Great for them, bad for us.
(Ah, I see I missed one of the sneaky buggers, head down, in that photo.)
I had just enough wire to cover the last 20 feet of fenceline where there were several bad places, but no time to clear it. So I cut across the corner, and prayed it would hold til the next day when I could go buy more wire and get home to do it properly.
It held, though I know they were plotting something anyhow.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!
Upon coming home the next morning from town, where tons of things went wrong, and actually ended up sobbing in front of my strong, yet impressionable young man, and had to go shopping with sunglasses on, I sent him to work on his schoolwork and I proceeded uphill to fix that fence or die trying.
Just start lopping where we left off yesterday.
The horrible thing about scrub red cedar is that is grows everywhere. However, the GREAT thing about scrub red cedar is ~ that includes in the fencelines. So you have naturally occurring posts that will just continue to get more and more numerous as the years go on. So I didn't need any posts, just wire and fence staples.
When I'd just about cleared the last 100 feet of line, my dad and uncle arrived. Dad was able to leave mom for a while with my sister, and my uncle declared this was the only way he was going to be able to see me. It was like the cavalry. Wasn't their motto "Always in the nick of time" or something?
Lopping through 2" branches was a lot more fun when someone with muscles was doing it, so I let them finish that up, as well as the sawing, while I used the pruning shears. And it no time, we were ready to begin stringing.
It's done. And I've not seen hide nor hair of those cattle ever since.
Good fences make good neighbors! (That's the country motto.)
~Faith
.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Little Adventures
.
We've had commode repairs.
Nicely done, Michael!
Accidents, just waiting to happen... Yes, those are pockets full of eggs. About 4 in each one. How many of us as children experienced the thrill of running and tripping with pockets full of eggs?
Why did I never think of cutting watermelon this way before? I like it!
More neighborly cows.
And a hastily blockaded fence line until barbed wire can be found.
I baked shortbread cookies for my dad and Michael.
Oh, yes! I'm enjoying this watermelon IMMENSELY, thank you!
Some peas, Swiss chard, and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce to put into the garden.
Those went in this corner.
We attended a Republican meeting at which a gubernatorial candidate was coming to speak.
Does anyone else think that is just a very silly name for someone running for governor?
I attempted a different sort of sun tea.
Dropping a sprig of lemon mint and a sprig of stevia is going to influence this gallon of tea? Such was the premise of several online articles. I was willing to give it a try.
It didn't work. Do people get paid to write articles about things they've never done? Next time I'll do what should have been done in the first place; crush them and let the oils release into the tea as it soaks up that gorgeous sunlight!
About a dozen young adults all had another Airsoft war game. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening of conversation, eating, tours of the gardens, and later, us oldER folks sat around talking politics. Are your tables filled with this conversation more and more lately?
Here are some of our battle hardened troops below.
And here they are later with another creative game they came up with.
And when my head was about to fall on the table, we headed home. I'm looking forward to Michael getting his license so I can sleep while he drives!
~Faith
.
We've had commode repairs.
Nicely done, Michael!
Accidents, just waiting to happen... Yes, those are pockets full of eggs. About 4 in each one. How many of us as children experienced the thrill of running and tripping with pockets full of eggs?
Why did I never think of cutting watermelon this way before? I like it!
More neighborly cows.
And a hastily blockaded fence line until barbed wire can be found.
I baked shortbread cookies for my dad and Michael.
Oh, yes! I'm enjoying this watermelon IMMENSELY, thank you!
Some peas, Swiss chard, and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce to put into the garden.
Those went in this corner.
We attended a Republican meeting at which a gubernatorial candidate was coming to speak.
Does anyone else think that is just a very silly name for someone running for governor?
I attempted a different sort of sun tea.
Dropping a sprig of lemon mint and a sprig of stevia is going to influence this gallon of tea? Such was the premise of several online articles. I was willing to give it a try.
It didn't work. Do people get paid to write articles about things they've never done? Next time I'll do what should have been done in the first place; crush them and let the oils release into the tea as it soaks up that gorgeous sunlight!
About a dozen young adults all had another Airsoft war game. We enjoyed an afternoon and evening of conversation, eating, tours of the gardens, and later, us oldER folks sat around talking politics. Are your tables filled with this conversation more and more lately?
Here are some of our battle hardened troops below.
And here they are later with another creative game they came up with.
And when my head was about to fall on the table, we headed home. I'm looking forward to Michael getting his license so I can sleep while he drives!
~Faith
.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Yum! Steak!
.
Boy do I wish these were ours!
But they are not. They are the neighbor's cattle who keep breaking through the fence.
Go get 'em!
Yeah. They KNOW they are not where they are supposed to be. The mares say, "Good riddance. Better you than us!"
Doyle Thornless getting ready to bury us in berries again.
Last year we had a lot of trouble with grass being stuck all over the berries every time we picked. It really added a lot of time to harvest and processing. This year we've been practicing mowing and making sure everything gets tossed in the opposite direction. I haven't figured it out on the grape side, but Michael has.
The black rot has got me trembling again. I'm about ready to take them out and replace them with Mars vines. Those are a type of blue seedless that are resistant to black rot. I'm looking into it now.
What ARE these?
And these are either Nanking or Hansen's bush cherries. I'm not sure which, but they are ripe and they are good to eat!
Just haven't decided what to do with them yet.
~Faith
.
Boy do I wish these were ours!
But they are not. They are the neighbor's cattle who keep breaking through the fence.
Go get 'em!
Yeah. They KNOW they are not where they are supposed to be. The mares say, "Good riddance. Better you than us!"
Doyle Thornless getting ready to bury us in berries again.
Last year we had a lot of trouble with grass being stuck all over the berries every time we picked. It really added a lot of time to harvest and processing. This year we've been practicing mowing and making sure everything gets tossed in the opposite direction. I haven't figured it out on the grape side, but Michael has.
The black rot has got me trembling again. I'm about ready to take them out and replace them with Mars vines. Those are a type of blue seedless that are resistant to black rot. I'm looking into it now.
What ARE these?
And these are either Nanking or Hansen's bush cherries. I'm not sure which, but they are ripe and they are good to eat!
Just haven't decided what to do with them yet.
~Faith
.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wow. I love Eliot Coleman even more!
.
Eliot Coleman has been my favorite gardening hero for decades. I know very little about him personally however.
Because of this, he has been a victim of a very common, and practically inescapable, human practice of generalizing and association. Yes, I'll say it.
Gardenal Profiling!
He's a casual, laid-back, gardener from the north-east, and I have made my assumptions about him...
"Hmmmmmmmm. Probably a hippy. Probably into hippy type things. Probably a yuppy, and into yuppy type thinking, as well."
I have received a very pleasant slap on the wrist for that presumptuous judgment.
Eliot Coleman - I apologize. You are up yet another step on my ladder of gardeners most admired, maybe even two or three steps.
Read this great letter he wrote to the editor of Grist magazine, debunking the 'eating meat causes global warming' myth.
GO ELIOT!!!!
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-07-debunking-meat-climate-change-myth/
I am dismayed that so many people have been so easily fooled on the meat eating and climate change issue following the UN report. The culprit is not meat eating but rather the excesses of corporate/industrial agriculture. The UN report shows either great ignorance or possibly the influence of the fossil fuel lobby with the intent of confusing the public. It is obviously to someone’s benefit to make meat eating and livestock raising an easily attacked straw man (with the enthusiastic help of vegetarian groups) in order to cover up the singular contribution of the only new sources of carbon—burning the stored carbon in fossil fuels and to a small extent making cement (both of which release carbon from long term storage)—as the reason for increased greenhouse gasses in the modern era. (Just for ridiculous comparison, human beings, each exhaling about 1kg of CO2 per day, are responsible for 33% more CO2 per year than fossil fuel transportation. Maybe we should get rid of us.)
If I butcher a steer for my food, and that steer has been raised on grass on my farm, I am not responsible for any increased CO2. The pasture-raised animal eating grass in my field is not producing CO2, merely recycling it (short term carbon cycle) as grazing animals (and human beings) have since they evolved. It is not meat eating that is responsible for increased greenhouse gasses; it is the corn/ soybean/ chemical fertilizer/ feedlot/ transportation system under which industrial animals are raised. When I think about the challenge of feeding northern New England, where I live, from our own resources, I cannot imagine being able to do that successfully without ruminant livestock able to convert the pasture grasses into food. It would not be either easy or wise to grow arable crops on the stony and/or hilly land that has served us for so long as productive pasture. By comparison with my grass fed steer, the soybeans cultivated for a vegetarian’s dinner, if done with motorized equipment, are responsible for increased CO2.
But, what about the methane in all that cattle flatulence? Excess flatulence is also a function of an unnatural diet. If cattle flatulence on a natural grazing diet were a problem, heat would have been trapped a 1000 years ago when, for example, there were 70 million buffalo in North America not to mention innumerable deer, antelope, moose, elk, caribou, and so on all eating vegetation and in turn being eaten by native Americans, wolves, mountain lions, etc. Did the methane from their digestion and the nitrous oxide from their manure cause temperatures to rise then? Or could there be other contributing factors today resulting from industrial agriculture, factors that change natural processes, which are not being taken into account? It has long been known that when grasslands are chemically fertilized their productivity is increased but their plant diversity is diminished. A recent study in the journal Rangelands (Vol. 31, #1, pp. 45 - 49) documents how that the diminished diversity from sowing only two or three grasses and legumes in modern pastures results in diminished availability of numerous secondary nutritional compounds, for example tannins from the minor pasture forbs, which are known to greatly reduce methane emissions. Could not the artificial fertilization of pastures greatly increase the NO2 from manure? Might not the increased phosphorus, nowhere near as abundant in natural systems, have modified digestibility? I am sure that future research will document other contributing factors of industrial agricultural practices on animal emissions. The fact is clear. It is not the livestock; it is the way they are raised. But what about clearing the Brazilian rain forest? Well, the bulk of that is for soybeans and if we stopped feeding grain to cattle much of the acreage presently growing grain in the Midwest could become pasture again and we wouldn’t need Brazilian land. (US livestock presently consume 5 times as much grain as the US population does directly.) And long term pasture, like the Great Plains once was, stores an enormous amount of carbon in the soil.
My interest in this subject comes not just because I am a farmer and a meat eater, but also because something seems not to make sense here as if the data from the research has failed to take some other human mediated influence into account. But even more significantly, if we humans were not burning fossil fuels and thus not releasing long-term carbon from storage and if we were not using some 90 megatons of nitrogen fertilizer per year, would we even be discussing this issue?
If those people concerned about rising levels of greenhouse gasses, instead of condemning meat eating, were condemning the enormous output of greenhouse gasses due to fossil fuel and fertilizer use by a greedy and biologically irresponsible agriculture, I would cheer that as a truthful statement even if they weren’t perceptive enough to continue on and mention that the only “new” carbon, the carbon that is responsible for rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, is not biogenic from livestock but rather anthropogenic from our releasing the carbon in long term storage (coal, oil, natural gas.) Targeting livestock as a smoke screen in the climate change controversy is a very mistaken path to take since it results in hiding our inability to deal with the real causes. When people are fooled into ignorantly condemning the straw man of meat eating, who I suspect has been set up for them by the fossil fuel industry, I am appalled by how easily human beings allow themselves to be deluded by their corporate masters.
~~~Eliot Coleman~~
Here's the book I just ordered by him.
Steak lover, signing off,
~Faith
.
Eliot Coleman has been my favorite gardening hero for decades. I know very little about him personally however.
Because of this, he has been a victim of a very common, and practically inescapable, human practice of generalizing and association. Yes, I'll say it.
Gardenal Profiling!
He's a casual, laid-back, gardener from the north-east, and I have made my assumptions about him...
"Hmmmmmmmm. Probably a hippy. Probably into hippy type things. Probably a yuppy, and into yuppy type thinking, as well."
I have received a very pleasant slap on the wrist for that presumptuous judgment.
Eliot Coleman - I apologize. You are up yet another step on my ladder of gardeners most admired, maybe even two or three steps.
Read this great letter he wrote to the editor of Grist magazine, debunking the 'eating meat causes global warming' myth.
GO ELIOT!!!!
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-07-debunking-meat-climate-change-myth/
I am dismayed that so many people have been so easily fooled on the meat eating and climate change issue following the UN report. The culprit is not meat eating but rather the excesses of corporate/industrial agriculture. The UN report shows either great ignorance or possibly the influence of the fossil fuel lobby with the intent of confusing the public. It is obviously to someone’s benefit to make meat eating and livestock raising an easily attacked straw man (with the enthusiastic help of vegetarian groups) in order to cover up the singular contribution of the only new sources of carbon—burning the stored carbon in fossil fuels and to a small extent making cement (both of which release carbon from long term storage)—as the reason for increased greenhouse gasses in the modern era. (Just for ridiculous comparison, human beings, each exhaling about 1kg of CO2 per day, are responsible for 33% more CO2 per year than fossil fuel transportation. Maybe we should get rid of us.)
If I butcher a steer for my food, and that steer has been raised on grass on my farm, I am not responsible for any increased CO2. The pasture-raised animal eating grass in my field is not producing CO2, merely recycling it (short term carbon cycle) as grazing animals (and human beings) have since they evolved. It is not meat eating that is responsible for increased greenhouse gasses; it is the corn/ soybean/ chemical fertilizer/ feedlot/ transportation system under which industrial animals are raised. When I think about the challenge of feeding northern New England, where I live, from our own resources, I cannot imagine being able to do that successfully without ruminant livestock able to convert the pasture grasses into food. It would not be either easy or wise to grow arable crops on the stony and/or hilly land that has served us for so long as productive pasture. By comparison with my grass fed steer, the soybeans cultivated for a vegetarian’s dinner, if done with motorized equipment, are responsible for increased CO2.
But, what about the methane in all that cattle flatulence? Excess flatulence is also a function of an unnatural diet. If cattle flatulence on a natural grazing diet were a problem, heat would have been trapped a 1000 years ago when, for example, there were 70 million buffalo in North America not to mention innumerable deer, antelope, moose, elk, caribou, and so on all eating vegetation and in turn being eaten by native Americans, wolves, mountain lions, etc. Did the methane from their digestion and the nitrous oxide from their manure cause temperatures to rise then? Or could there be other contributing factors today resulting from industrial agriculture, factors that change natural processes, which are not being taken into account? It has long been known that when grasslands are chemically fertilized their productivity is increased but their plant diversity is diminished. A recent study in the journal Rangelands (Vol. 31, #1, pp. 45 - 49) documents how that the diminished diversity from sowing only two or three grasses and legumes in modern pastures results in diminished availability of numerous secondary nutritional compounds, for example tannins from the minor pasture forbs, which are known to greatly reduce methane emissions. Could not the artificial fertilization of pastures greatly increase the NO2 from manure? Might not the increased phosphorus, nowhere near as abundant in natural systems, have modified digestibility? I am sure that future research will document other contributing factors of industrial agricultural practices on animal emissions. The fact is clear. It is not the livestock; it is the way they are raised. But what about clearing the Brazilian rain forest? Well, the bulk of that is for soybeans and if we stopped feeding grain to cattle much of the acreage presently growing grain in the Midwest could become pasture again and we wouldn’t need Brazilian land. (US livestock presently consume 5 times as much grain as the US population does directly.) And long term pasture, like the Great Plains once was, stores an enormous amount of carbon in the soil.
My interest in this subject comes not just because I am a farmer and a meat eater, but also because something seems not to make sense here as if the data from the research has failed to take some other human mediated influence into account. But even more significantly, if we humans were not burning fossil fuels and thus not releasing long-term carbon from storage and if we were not using some 90 megatons of nitrogen fertilizer per year, would we even be discussing this issue?
If those people concerned about rising levels of greenhouse gasses, instead of condemning meat eating, were condemning the enormous output of greenhouse gasses due to fossil fuel and fertilizer use by a greedy and biologically irresponsible agriculture, I would cheer that as a truthful statement even if they weren’t perceptive enough to continue on and mention that the only “new” carbon, the carbon that is responsible for rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, is not biogenic from livestock but rather anthropogenic from our releasing the carbon in long term storage (coal, oil, natural gas.) Targeting livestock as a smoke screen in the climate change controversy is a very mistaken path to take since it results in hiding our inability to deal with the real causes. When people are fooled into ignorantly condemning the straw man of meat eating, who I suspect has been set up for them by the fossil fuel industry, I am appalled by how easily human beings allow themselves to be deluded by their corporate masters.
~~~Eliot Coleman~~
Here's the book I just ordered by him.
Steak lover, signing off,
~Faith
.
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