I keep hearing all my friends making resolutions for the New Year that involve getting fit. I think they are doing it all wrong, though. Why not volunteer at a local farm instead of joining a gym?
There are small farms popping up all over urban areas, or just a short drive away. Farms are very labor intensive, especially if you are trying not to use chemicals and pesticides. Weeds need pulling, animals need to be moved more frequently, which means more fences and paddocks are necessary.
We have Tamworth pigs, who root up lots of stumps and rocks. All of those need to be moved. Remember? That’s where all of New England’s stonewalls came from: out of their fields.
I like to trade good food for good work. Take home some pork or lamb chops! The first ones are always free.
It would be better for your local food shed to help produce the food you eat.
You would get good, healthy exercise, and it would have real, tangible results.
You’d meet your neighbors.
You would help small farmers thrive.
I don’t care what time of the year it is, there’s lots of stuff that needs to be done.
Stay out of the gym and off the boring treadmill. Go out to a farm right now and haul water, burn brush piles, stack hay, shovel pathways, shovel manure, start seeds.
It’s sustainable. It’s good for your world. It’s local. It’s hot. It’s in.
And more notes for the future. 1. The more I use the grinder, the more concerned I am about cleaning it. 2. I just opened a quart of syrup that should have been boiled more. New Hampshire specs are tighter than the USDA’s.
are you just trying to get us to come over and help you with your chores, lisa?