Outraged

My favorite catalog came in the mail yesterday. While I can't paint myself a true, radical, left-oriented person (I have those occasional flashes of conservatism) I can certainly enjoy most of what the catalog has to offer, and definitely enjoy having a laugh. (Wit is appealing, no matter your politics)

Each year, I prowl the pages looking for my "must have" t-shirt. This one was my first choice:

After a summer of trying to eat exclusively off the farm, struggling with the worst gardening season in recent memory, and actually having outright arguments with people who are convinced it is impossible to feed oneself without the heavy use of groceries and processed food, I liked this one.

But a close second was this:

I mean, it's been practically non-stop Wall Street greed, force-feeding of the "national health plan", and a bogus Peace Prize nomination just to touch on the highlights...but I was trying to remain positive and limit my spending.

That's over.

This is something everyone should know about. The government is fully involved in telling us what we can put in our mouths. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what you put in your mouths, what you CHOOSE to consume, is now under the purview of Washington. Because, lord knows, you can't be trusted to recognize actual food when you see (or taste) it.

It was freaky when the Corn Refiners Association began stalking a flower farmer in Iowa who happens to make and promote salsa WITHOUT high-fructose corn syrup, it was frustrating that the government allows such rampant deception when it comes to food in our stores, but I have to tell you, it's FRIGHTENING when the government can step in, confiscate and destroy something already paid for through a private transaction, (purchased in the name of healthier living) and determine it is only fit for animal consumption. That's comforting.

Growing food, saving seeds, supporting organic agriculture, eating for health is becoming more of a radical act every day.

There's going to be a revolution in this country soon...and just remember:

It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Downsizing

Usually this means cutting back, laying off, and generally not good news...but we have a new twist on that phrase -

We've gone small (er)!

Introducing our Coturnix quail:

Ivory - the daddy, and Topaz, the mommy.

And now we have

Babies! The laying flock is on its way...although it will be 4 weeks till this little guy is feathered, and a few weeks after that we shall see if it's a boy or girl (Coturnix quail start laying around 6 wks.) A second baby hatched soon afterwards - you can see it's relative size

Their eggs sell for gourmet cooking, sushi, bento boxes and just the fun of itty, bitty omelets. And they sell for the same price as a dozen of our free-range chicken eggs. So no one can say these guys are slackers - they'll pay for themselves!

He came a knockin'

One moment I was sitting at the computer doing some work, and the next I heard a banging and a rustling in the back hall. Normally that means the chickens have gotten into the cat's food again, but this sounded a bit too rambunctious to be greedy poulty...

Isn't he regal looking? I was amazed that he flew into the back hall in the first place; I can't imagine what he was chasing...

I knew from the beak and the talons he was a raptor, but I had no idea what he could be (he was smaller than our banty rooster). It took some searching on the internet, but the views I got of his markings helped - here he is "resting" after another round of crashing into the windows -

He is a Sparrow hawk. How lucky I am to live here and be able to experience this kind of thing during my "work day"...