Food

Energy descent and transition in Mexico, part 1

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“In Mexico nothing happens, until it happens.” This is an old proverb here, and it can also easily apply to the current situation. Everything feels tranquilo and smooth, as if it is nothing out of the ordinary. However, as history shows us, once something begins in Mexico, it generally develops rapidly, and can end up being intensely spectacular.

Gardeners and farmers less fearful of death?

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When our bed of irises bloom for one brief but glorious week in late May, I think, strangely enough, of a letter a friend of mine received from a doctor in Minnesota. The doctor observed that in his medical practice, rural people face the prospect of dying with more equanimity than urbanites.

A guide for the perplexed, bothered, bewildered and outright resentful folks hitched to a wanna-be farmer

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Now I realize that some of you will look at any advice of mine on this subject with skepticism – after all, you may even blame me (quite correctly, perhaps), for your loved one’s going bonkers and talking about sheep and nut trees all the time. And yet, I do feel your pain. Or rather, my husband does, and he’s happy to tell me all about what it is like to look over at the person you love and wonder why on earth she’s babbling about soil.

A Day in the Life – Part 1

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In June, we wake up at 5 am when the sun rises. It’s important to get our outside work done before the heat of the day. Since we can’t afford A/C, we try to take siestas, or at least not move much, from 11 to 3. The ceiling fans help, and we’ve found that our bodies are getting used to the absence of climate control. I’ve seen a lot of lovely sunrises in the past few years from getting up at the crack of dawn.

Freezing…and why not to

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Freezers are vulnerable to either localized (and by localized this can be as local as “my husband accidentally kicked the cord out and we didn’t notice until it was too late) or widespread power outages. The reality is that if you keep food in your freezer, sooner or later, you will probably have an extended power outage.