Ten Reasons I’m Thankful This Thanksgiving

November 24, 2016

I’m thankful this Thanksgiving that …

  • The severe drought has made us grateful for the water we have stored in our cisterns and has made us more thoughtful about our usage and plans for conservation.
  • Several years of culling to improve our flock of sheep has paid off. The market wethers are fat and healthy. The ewes are pregnant and lambing season is still a couple of months away.
  • Our hoop house is complete, loaded with greens, and warm on a cold day.
  • Cindy, as my partner, continues to inspire me with her energy, skills, and willingness to share this life.
  • My father, after suffering a stroke this year, is still with us at 89. He continues to find the time to volunteer each week at a local church helping feed the needy.
  • My mother’s eldest sister is still alive and well at 96, the last surviving stalk of that line. She reminds me through her continuing penchant for reading that one’s intellect is a gift to keep and nourish.
  • The Republic still stands even as those on the right and the left trumpet its demise.
  • My blogging friend Clem, with his insufferable positive outlook, reminds me to not herald the end of the world, just yet.
  • My friend Rayna harvested enough pawpaw fruit this year for Cindy to make pawpaw crème brûlée for Thanksgiving dinner.
  • My brothers and a brother-in-law managed to find the time for a recent get-together. A weekend in the north Louisiana woods eating good food and sitting by a fire is a wonderful tonic for the soul.

Feature image: A few cisterns in happier times

Brian Miller

Brian Miller lives in rural east Tennessee with his partner, Cindy. Since 1999 they have owned and operated Winged Elm Farm: a 70-acre working farm of pastures, orchards and mixed hardwoods. They direct market pork, lamb, mutton and beef to customers in Knoxville and Chattanooga. A native of Louisiana, Brian’s guiding influence in life is to know that everything begins with a roux. Brian blogs at The South Roane Agrarian. He is the author of Kayaking with Lambs: notes from an East Tennessee farmer.

Tags: building resilient food systems, giving thanks