tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post3620368145288552949..comments2024-02-02T22:31:03.045-08:00Comments on Mt. Hope Chronicles: Animal, Vegetable, MiracleHeidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878817427434603915noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-36515268033837673112008-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:002008-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:00I just LOVE your photos... I Just left you an awar...I just LOVE your photos... I Just left you an award {I am sure you have a TON of these}over at my blog check it out!<BR/>~JenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-5715756745300981382008-07-30T23:56:00.000-07:002008-07-30T23:56:00.000-07:00Bella Art Girl~ I've heard of that one, but haven'...Bella Art Girl~ I've heard of that one, but haven't taken a look at it yet. I'll add it to the list...<BR/><BR/>Jenny~ Oh, I hear ya on the limited hours in a day. :) That is partly why our garden is so tiny this year! I think you just have to do what you can. Thanks for chiming in.<BR/><BR/>Caralyn~ I sure wish we could have made it to Provence when we went to France years ago. It is still on the 'to visit' list. I'm still tinged green with envy over your awesome vacation!!<BR/><BR/>Christi~ Hey, that's the way to do it! Now I just need to convince my *sisters* to grow enough that they can share with me. :)<BR/><BR/>I Was Just Thinking~ I think growing veggies in containers is a great way to do it! That's the way we'd go if we didn't have so much land to work with. I think it would be more my speed. :) I'm glad that I didn't read The Poisonwood Bible. I'm guessing it would have turned me off to her as well. Maybe just knowing her background is what made me take so long to get to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It really was worth the read, though.<BR/><BR/>SmallWorld~ I know we are really lucky to have such a great area for growing. Sounds like you are really trying, though. I'm impressed with your list! Have you tried raised beds or square foot gardening?<BR/><BR/>Jen~ I enjoyed reading your review the other day just as I was finishing up the book! I grew up with a large veggie garden, and I think I was really not interested in going to all that work when I finally moved out of the house. I'm so inspired for a large garden, but I, too, am not sure I'm ready to return to that kind of work!<BR/><BR/>Candidreflections~ Wow! I loved your list. Thank you so much for sharing. Maybe we'll make it there someday... Baby steps!<BR/><BR/>Balancing Jen :)~ Oh, no! You lost your chickens? That would be sooo frustrating! I think that chickens might be an animal project we'd be willing to contemplate in the next couple years. Neither myself nor my husband are big animal (or pet) people, so we'll see. I have bread baking on my list of things to incorporate into our daily living.<BR/><BR/>The Good...~ Glad to hear you enjoyed the book also! Sounds like you have a wonderful garden going!<BR/><BR/>toomanyhats~ Great list. I think we might go for chickens, but no goat. I've been there done that in my childhood and it wasn't a pleasant memory, LOL. I was certain that a Heidi needed goats. :) Wasn't A Year in Provence hilarious!? Crunchy Cons is another book on my long list. Oh, for more hours in a day. :)Heidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878817427434603915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-54223550549248997542008-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:002008-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:00We are working away at gardening again. Zucchini,...We are working away at gardening again. Zucchini, cukes, kohlrabi, bush beans, cilantro, lettuce, radishes, beets, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, peppers, apples, pears and plums! I would so love to be able to have chickens and a goat. I checked the Kingsolver book out but didn't manage to read it...I shall try again. I LOVED "A Year in Provence". Have you read "Crunchy Cons". Take a look...would love to hear your take on that one.toomanyhatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16360736509808608088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-69075203479890918752008-07-30T18:18:00.000-07:002008-07-30T18:18:00.000-07:00We too loved this book. We are growing corn, lett...We too loved this book. We are growing corn, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermellon, tomatoes, beans, carrots and berries. We have not had a garden every year, but have enjoyed it and plan to continue.Reneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12303680733635723712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-35183586376739579712008-07-30T10:45:00.000-07:002008-07-30T10:45:00.000-07:00We are attempting to grow more, but wow, this NC ...We are attempting to grow more, but wow, this NC red clay is hard. We do go in with friends and buy a cow together, have had chickens for the last 12 years...until this month. Now we have lots of feather..sigh, and I have lots of grain if anyone needs any. It will take me another 10 years to use this all up. Just not baking bread as much as I used to, but definitely need to prioritize that:)Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09152743288585898776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-58818648594102421362008-07-30T10:13:00.000-07:002008-07-30T10:13:00.000-07:00Oh, I love the passages you shared, sounds like an...Oh, I love the passages you shared, sounds like an inspiring read indeed! I've pondered the very same thing that Kingsolver described on page 127 - I love the way she said it. Much of what you've shared from the book are my own convictions, it is inspiring to hear them from another angle.<BR/>How wonderful for you to have such resources nearby- your own neighbors raising beef and pork!<BR/>We grow a vegetable garden, canning greenbeans, pickles, and pumpkin, freezing brussel sprouts. I dry culinary herbs that we've grown. I can plum jam from my parents tree, we freeze blueberries and raspberries from a farm down the road. We also purchase tuna fish from a boat in the local harbor, and then can a years supply of it. My husband plans to purchase a calf to raise for beef. We raise hens which supply us with fresh eggs. <BR/>We are no where near self-sufficient, it'll be baby step by baby step for us. But the more self-sufficient things we do, the more we find ourselves wanting to do! <BR/>Happy list making to you! As you've quoted on page nine, we've found that the more informed choices we've made about our food, the more inspired we've become to educate ourselves of our food choices. Before you know it, you'll have your property all plotted out...a fruit orchard here, a compost pile there... a berry patch in back... have fun!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-77355896595886812012008-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:002008-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00My first tomatoes of the year are just about ripe,...My first tomatoes of the year are just about ripe, and I've got a patch of herbs that is flourishing. Oh, and a bell pepper plant with a single pepper growing on it. That's it! I've been making an effort to go to the farmer's Market though and really enjoyed all the tasty produce.<BR/><BR/>I always dream of growing a big garden, but I'm not sure I'm really up for the work it would be. I too came away from that book certain that I would never raise turkeys.<BR/><BR/>I also love that quote from the book about the oven-mitt hugs. So true! Kingsolver is such an excellent writer.Jen Rousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15318797787773072481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-53035539392678436902008-07-30T06:28:00.000-07:002008-07-30T06:28:00.000-07:00I was raised to grow my own vegetables. It took my...I was raised to grow my own vegetables. It took my years before I could buy fruit in the supermarket. But Tennessee soil is just plain HARD to grow stuff in!! This year we have strawberries, green beans, okra, tomatoes, cukes, and herbs. The zucchini died. The carrots are struggling. The strawberries yielded about a bowl's worth, as did the beans. But I sure have enjoyed making pesto with all the basil! I have not yet figure out how to garden in Tennessee...but I am working on it!Sarah at SmallWorldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15306137253094526922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-4993420641757850282008-07-30T05:47:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:47:00.000-07:00I would love to have an acre to grow, learn to liv...I would love to have an acre to grow, learn to live off the land, see the food I consume from birth to the table but it's not an option right now.<BR/>I know the rewards of growing food. I do have containers birthing tomatoes and herbs. There is nothing so tastey as home-grown tomatoes. Can't compare to even the expensive organic stuff in stores.<BR/>I should read this book but I was turned off of Kingsolver when I read the Poisonwood Bible. Shouldn't through the baby out with the bath water, I suppose.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10942988700815313215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-22099555532525434392008-07-30T05:14:00.000-07:002008-07-30T05:14:00.000-07:00I've had this book on my "to read" list for quite ...I've had this book on my "to read" list for quite some time now, but haven't gotten to it yet. Sounds as interesting as I thought it would be.<BR/><BR/>We have grown (quite large) gardens in the past, but haven't this year. Fortunately we have family that keeps in vegetables all summer long!Christihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17732288654277612085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-12776614753571097402008-07-30T04:13:00.000-07:002008-07-30T04:13:00.000-07:00Ok, I didn't make sense......I was visiting with m...Ok, I didn't make sense...<BR/><BR/>...I was visiting with my mom's aunt and uncle LAST NIGHT and WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MY TRIP and we were talking about Provence last night.<BR/><BR/>Sheesh...I JUST woke up and your site is the first I checked when I went on the computer. That'll teach me!Caralynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00408984473554314792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-23610747752919564982008-07-30T04:11:00.000-07:002008-07-30T04:11:00.000-07:00A little off topic...I was visiting with my mom's ...A little off topic...I was visiting with my mom's aunt and uncle and they always spend a month in Provence. I just loved that part of my trip, and would love to spend a year there! (If I spoke french, which would mean I'd have to pull up my boot straps and brush up big time!)Caralynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00408984473554314792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-64552509636253391282008-07-30T01:53:00.000-07:002008-07-30T01:53:00.000-07:00I would love to be self sufficient, growing all my...I would love to be self sufficient, growing all my own food stuffs, but there just isn't enough hours in the day.<BR/>I am growing brocoli (sp?), artichoke and peas at the moment.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02638994355372964966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750282299627894194.post-67265819705807972622008-07-29T21:25:00.000-07:002008-07-29T21:25:00.000-07:00you liked this you might like the Omnivore's Dille...you liked this you might like the Omnivore's Dillema...Bella Art Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00956547941523151355noreply@blogger.com