I have
farming & growing things
in my blood.
My great-grandfather
and his family were farmers.
[just me. and some chickens.]
My great-grandmother was an avid gardener well into her 90's.
[not my gran's work. saw this at the fair. am now inspired to make little fairy worlds myself. so cute.]
My grandparents on my mother's side spent much of their time
devoted to growing and maintaining their flower beds.
[another cute scene from mini plants seen at the fair. adorbs.]
My dad's parents had a beautiful backyard
filled with growth and splendor when I was little.
[i want to grow this. it's a true thing of beauty. an outdoor lettuce art/path/garden as seen on Pinterest]
My parents have always had an amazing vegetable garden
and have recently spent a lot of effort outdoors
in creating a beautiful space full of green goodness and pops of color.
[a portion of my parents' backyard]
I fell in love
with a
who had just begun to hone in on his own gardening skills
several years ago now...
[me and the man. summer of 2010.]
and we have been building a life around
plants and produce.
Most of my memories of tending
to the gardens
of my childhood
include doing so as a chore
without much pleasure involved.
And while I've always been able to appreciate
the fresh flowers on the table
or the surplus of veggies a garden can provide
...actually digging in the dirt
and planning what to plant
and tending to the needs of the growing things
hasn't been something I've been able to devote much time to
mostly because I've been pursuing
other areas of interest.
...
Until.Now.
[grown-ups converse with chickens all the time.]
I've always said
I believe the children are our future.
[we saw this at the Iowa State Fair and have decided we NEED one of our own.]
While I haven't been doing much of the actual growing
of our gardens personally
the past couple of growing seasons
-I have found my own way to
nuture growth.
[Ryan saw these competitive mammoth Sunflower heads at the fair and is determined to compete soon.]
If not in
plant form
then in the active development
of
babies and children
whom I love dearly.
[bowling ball bees seen at the fair. another must re-create project my tots can help with.]
The past couple of years
Ryan and I have really been seeking out
a future career
for the both of us
that somehow marries the concepts
of helping to provide care for growing children
while also having time to devote to growing produce.
[love this bench]
We've tossed several ideas around
and it wasn't until this past weekend that we really
felt like we nailed
just
exactly
what path we've been
searching and dreaming
in our hearts of following.
[it will definitely involve chickens as I now know I can speak their clucking language fluently.]
We truly desire to be productive
in making our world
a better place to live in.
[some artwork painted on the side of a trailer on the KC, MO urban farm we visited.]
The inspiration for our future plans
comes from a combination
of many years of dreaming and planning
and
and
our even more recent trip to an aquaponics workshop
in Kansas City, MO
held by
and
coming home and watching
[if you haven't already-please watch this. so good.]
[i realize this is Horton (and not the Lorax). saw this dyed and colored rice artwork at the fair and fell in love.]
A few posts ago I mentioned that
we have such a great desire to get out on some land
and then perhaps after our own children are grown
and out of the house
[i was a young mommy remember]
become foster parents
and build a space for those in need
to feel safe and loved
while being surrounded by immense beauty.
While that sounds and IS an amazing dream
and one we very well might pursue at a later time in our lives -
what we'd really like to do
with our lives
right.now
is find a house with enough land
in the city
and combine a small daycare
with a
non-profit growing organization
which would grow food, produce, and fresh flowers
for those in need.
[pics from Saturday's aquaponics course. on the middle right we're with Jason The Urban Farming Guy]
Right now all we can do
to move forward with our dream vision
is to
plan
plan
plan
save
save
save
and seek out assistance.
We're not sure of all
the in's and out's
of creating and running
a non-profit
food growing organization
out of our backyard
[which we haven't even purchased yet]
but we're
bound and determined
to make this vision
a
reality.
********************************************
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better.
Nothing is going to get better.
It's not.”
~Dr. Suess
********************************************
2 comments:
Love it!!! We need more people like you around to make our space a beautiful place :)
You're blogging again!! Hooray!
My cousin and his wife had THE most amazing CIRCULAR garden a few years ago. It was a sight to behold.
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