Thinking is difficult, that is why most choose to judge instead.
Guilty. What can I say, I know my own flaws, and getting judgy at times...is one of them. So, today's blog is definitely going to hit on a lot of topics. Let's dive in, and talk through some of this.
While I am completely onboard with American's having to take back our country, reign in our government, and safe guard our borders...I am questioning the tales being spun to us. For every perceived tragedy in America, our government has stepped in to remove more of our freedom and liberty; in the name of "safety." In the grand scheme, I remember very little about conflicts prior to Operation Dessert Storm. What I do know of prior conflicts, was written in history books by the winners...not an unbiased report. So, take that as you will. My memories of soldiers coming back from Dessert Storm, coming into my history class and talking about that war, began my desire to help veterans...that was my during my high school years. The pride they took in serving their country, the horrific sights they saw, the amazing citizens they met, and being told who they could/could not fire upon; by their higher ups. During high school, History was my favorite subject...and that has never ended! After that, the next major tragedy was 9/11. I had a one year old baby. I was watching the noise box that morning when they announced the attacks. I remember being terrified. Being afraid like I had never been in my life. The common ground here is that with each new conflict came less and less freedom for our citizens. You know, I can remember the national pride on 9/12 and for many months after. There were flags flown everywhere, by nearly everyone. People became one again. The divisions that were felt prior to 9/11 were forgotten for a time. We the people rallied around each other. We helped each other. 13 years have passed, and we are more divided now than ever before. The government is massive, is handing out our tax money like it's candy, the political entities have managed to bring major divides back amongst our people and the result of nearly half our population depending on government support in some fashion has given them even more power. But....why now? Why after 3 years of invasion in Texas has the governor suddenly decided to make a move...and he is not even in OUR country? Why has the current resident suddenly decided that his policies must change because we do have a problem? Why has the media suddenly begun to air actual photos from one small area of the southern invasion, but has completely neglected the northern borders? It makes me really question the antics happening. Most people that I know, are sick of the illegals, sick of the government over reach, and sick of paying massive amounts of taxes that are showing any return on investment.
I honestly don't have answers. I'm just a no body, in fly over country, that wants to live a meaningful life, be left alone, not paying over 50% of our income to taxes, and be able to decide for myself, what is best for my family. While I am a little different from some: I do not believe any of us have the right to truly judge others for their choices, I also do not believe that any religion or government does either. I am all for living your best life...whatever that may consist of. However, do not push your choices on me. You want to be a purple people eater...fine. Go pretend away from me. I'm not going to tell you yay or nay, I may think you're not very smart...but hey, you do you. You want a job...great! Go earn a living, based on your skills. You do not deserve to be hired just because of some discriminatory stigma. Build your character to be one that is top of line. You don't deserve to be CEO, just because you think you should. You start at the bottom, and work to earn your way up...with class, integrity, character and skill. If you don't like the pay, again...build your skills, character and work your way up. Just like everyone before you. I believe that medical decisions are NOT a public conversation. What you and your doctor decide is your best course of action - is between you and your doctor...PERIOD! Not the government, not the media, not a court, and definitely not some pencil pusher in an insurance company. Everyone wants to save something. Whether that be money, business, animals, or even the land/air. Yet, the only thing I see is more taxes - leading to more expenses, more abuse and disconnect from the land/air, more CEO's and 501 companies paying grand amounts in salaries, more regulations strangling new business, more freedoms being taken, and more governmental control of our lives.
In my own household, a regular conversation we have is one about farming. We actually just had one this morning. We are in an area that is mostly row crop. For those that don't know, this means your typically thought of farming - corn, soybeans, and wheat. In the 13 years of living on our farm, we have watched so much destruction of the land. So many of our local farmers have to keep wiping out trees and brush, habitat for wildlife and the very oxygen production we need, because they have gotten too big. Before I get grief, I get that we need to feed people, but the large portion of our crops do not stay here. The extra acre or two they may get seems petty to me. So many of the farmers in our area could not farm anymore, without all the technology. They are so far in debt, they need $6 bushel for corn, just to continue to make their payments...yes, this came from an actual local farmer. Some of the local farmers, are destroying areas by throwing their trash(net of hay bales, feed sacks, seed sacks, etc.) into the brush/trees/ditches. This is killing the wildlife. Deer are getting hung up in the net, birds/baby fox, coyote, racoons, etc. are getting caught in the sacks. They are destroying other people's property driving across it, spraying their chemicals when the wind in too strong or not in a good direction, they have neglected to care for the land so the run off from those fields is causing multiple issues for the surrounding properties. I have seen so many beautiful areas decimated because that extra acre or two might give them another bushel or so. I get farming. It is necessary. It is essential to most of us. What I do not get is the complete disconnection and destruction that has occurred to chase the mighty dollar. I have heard a lot of non-farming folks talk about the "rich farmer," and I can promise you...I do not know a single one! They may LOOK rich, because of their large equipment or their numbers on paper but I can tell you - first, a large majority have a large amount of payments on that equipment, and the numbers on paper are just that - if you don't hold it...you don't own it! One bad year of crop growth, one bad year of decreased crop prices, and a whole bunch of these farmers would be in bankruptcy court! When you learn that all these lending institutions base your loans on cash flow....they do not have a choice but to keep lending, in hope that they will get, at least most of their money back. If you can't show a cash flow - typically by borrowing, repaying, and borrowing some more, you probably won't be getting a farm loan. It's pretty messed up, but that is what it is.
While I keep planting trees, keep getting after my own family to take care of our land...our little corner is just that...our little corner. Too many are in so deep, that don't have any choice other than to keep on their current path. I do get upset seeing my own yard, garden and trees killed off on a regular basis because of other's doings. It's very costly for my family, that doesn't live on debt. We have had boundaries pushed to where our last mapping was showing less property than our deed, we've had portions of our hay ground worked up, and as I said...trees killed, garden plants killed, and those expenses to replace and repair had to come out of our pockets. We have talked about getting a survey just to be able to set our boundaries, but we have tried to avoid that since the farmer is not the owner of the land next to us. The area where all the netting is would take a bulldozer to clean it up now. Fences have been damaged and some destroyed. I do my best to keep a lot to myself because I know nothing I say is going to make much difference to anyone. These things do matter to me though. I believe in having a solid connection to nature, be that the land/animals/resources. I work hard to avoid chemicals and trying to add in plants/trees to preserve the natural processes. Making the smallest foot print possible without all the hype of things claiming to be climate safe - which is a complete lie.
We are less than 24 hours from the start of February, which is a leap year this year. That means my gardening is beginning. While the gardens themselves are still under a lot of snow, my little greenhouse and probably several surface areas of my house, will be housing seed starts. I have spent several years learning how to seed save and grow plants from said seeds. It's not always as easy as just throwing some seeds in dirt. Especially in my area, where we will be in the 50's for the next 10 days but could fall back down to below freezing a lot over the next 3 months. I invested in myself this year and bought some heated seed mats, some more starter pots, and some grow lights. Our days are finally showing more daylight hours, which is amazing. However, I am not dumb enough to believe we won't have more snow/cold/freezing temps. The last frost date for our area is around the 26th of April. As I said, that's still 3 months off. But each day, is one day closer! This year, I am planning for multiple gardens again. Our main garden has been pretty consistent since 2011. Last year, I had my husband work up a small area to plant flowers that would draw bees, and another good size garden protected(hopefully) by our home. I have added a strawberry bed, the orchard(which we finally got a lot of fruit from last year - planted in 2014), grapevines, horseradish roots. This year, I have elderberries to make a bed for, and have a few more areas I hoping to convince my husband to work up for me too...and if finances allow, getting some replacement trees again. Those trees won't be near as affordable now, as they were the last few years. We will do what we can. I hope to get a few raised beds put in also. I love to mow, and have grass to walk on, but grass doesn't feed us, it's not cost effective to fence off the couple of acres around the house, and as much as I would love to cover the entire area with trees...at $20+ per tree...that's not in the budget either! So, I will make do with whatever I can pull off. Having a barrier to protect our food and livestock from chemicals is my priority.
This is already shaping up to be a very odd year. January has kind of set the pace for me. I do what I can, to the best of my ability...but I can not do it all. I am not going to kill myself to try to appease everyone. I do everything within my power for my family, but beyond that...I have to back up a bit. Trying to be everything for everyone, has only made me physically ill and a whole lot cranky. I have had to learn, set and limit my boundaries. This pisses people off, I know. My priorities, my responsibilities, are to my husband, children, and my farm. That means my energy goes here first. I know that is difficult for many to understand. I get it. Many people do not live the life I do, and do not understand it either. That's ok. I choose to not live under a mountain of debt. I don't need a vacation from my life - I love my life! I have no desire to travel - even to our newest towns, although I do when I have to. I like my home, my farm, and the peace I have here. Traveling brings me stress - stress to my budget, stress to my brain, and adds responsibilities to others to tend to my farm. I have a child I am still teaching at home, livestock that requires daily(sometimes a lot more), and responsibilities that come with managing this farm. In short, I won't shirk my responsibilities unless necessary. I have worked extremely hard for the past 6 years to not only rebuild what we lost, but to continue to make a better life for my husband, children and myself; than we had before.
Jumping into this year, I am seeing the absolute need to be very conscientious in finances and preparations. I believe this is going to be a tough year for everyone. While we have a laundry list of things that need taken care of, we will be working diligently to do so with fiscal responsibility. I will continue to hone in my skills for gardening, finances, preservation, frugality, and anything else that help to improve my family. I hope to share so many back to basics ideas this year, and help others do the same. Forcing myself to step back some, slow down some, and refocus has truly been difficult, but necessary. Sometimes, it hard to see the forest through the trees. Taking a 40,000 foot view is the most difficult thing I have had to learn. I am looking forward to sharing along my journey, and bringing in some different perspectives along the way.
Salli
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