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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Small World and Foiled Again.

Being now in business together, my DS Melanie and I have been splitting rhubarb plants and potting them up for sale.  (Let me say right here that, should I ever be stranded on an island - I would insist being stranded with DS Melanie.  She is amazing.)  I let them sit for a week, taking full advantage of a sprinkling of llama beans (the plants tripled in size in a week), and then took their picture and put them on Craigslist.

The Power of Beans!
Either everyone has Spring fever, there is a mad craving for rhubarb, or I happened to post them at the exact same time a bunch of gardeners were perusing the list - I had eight requests in less than an hour.   As is usually the case with these things, the first person lived over an hour and a half away and, although they wanted them, it made no sense.  (This is a real needle in my side - you must put down where you are located and yet, most people make no effort to check first.)  Gardener #2 wanted me to deliver them.  Gardener #3 lived close by and could pick them up that night.  Sold to Gardener #3!  I got a time range of between 6:30-7:30 and went about my nightly chores, waiting for their arrival.  7:30 came and went and no Gardener #3.  Another problem with these things - no-shows.  I was just about to curse them mightily, when there was a knock on the door.  We all jumped - the dogs now furiously barking, trying to make up for the fact that they let someone slip by...

I opened the door - to find my hay guy!  You know how there is someone you know from one place and when you see them somewhere else, it throws you?  It also throws me because I have a major mojo crush on him.  Unfortunately, he is in a happy relationship.  Unfortunately for me, that is. I managed to stutter hello and he carted the plants to his van.  He came back up and handed me two packages of frozen venison.  "I thought it might be you," he boomed in his velvety deep voice.  Sigh.  I gave him a quick tour to introduce the recipients of his great hay.  Then I blathered some more, then off he went.  Sigh.

Then I eyeballed the venison.  I have been wrestling with changing my diet to vegetarian.  (A Lacto/Ovo/Vego, if you're into labels... *:-} ).  I have been trying to winnow out all meat products from the freezer and have seesawed on raising meat chickens this year.  Unfortunately, I have two friends who pleaded with me to raise some for them and I said yes.  I don't want to go back on my word.  Plus, I know how important it is to know where, how and why my food was grown/raised, and I have pontificated on this ad nauseum.  I also do not want to put myself in a position that I find personally loathsome - that of being a hypocritical farmer.  A vegetarian who raises animals for food.  That puts a twist in my knickers like nobody's business.

The plan now (this would be, let's see, Plan X) is to eat mostly Lacto/Ovo/Vego until every speck of meat is gone and then make the change with a clear conscience.  It will also give me time to arm my recipe box with lots of good, nourishing, healthy LOV recipes.

6 comments:

SunnyBeachJewelryGarden said...

Good luck! May be you can try Raw diet , it is cool, not just Lacto/Ovo/Vego but no cooking at all.

Michelle said...

I can help you with recipes. Also, I don't think it's hypocritical to raise meat for others if you don't eat it. Why shouldn't others who choose to eat meat have a source they trust?

An aside funny: Years ago Rick was doing some vet work for a client with cows. When they learned he was a vegetarian, they wondered out loud if they could trust a vet who didn't eat meat. My retort when he told me the story was that pediatricians don't eat children!

Sue said...

I don't even like rhubarb, but yours looks so nice and healthy! Glad you found a buyer. And sorry he's taken.

Carolyn said...

Weird! About the hay guy. Well, and that fact that some people have enough willpower to go meatless.
I hate, hate, HATE craig's list and even our local Facebook trading page. I was giving away roosters once. Had like five people want them in the first thirty seconds I posted them. How many do you think actually came after saying they would? I'll give you a hint - there's still a lott'a crowing going on in the barnyard. And yes, I also had one who wanted me to deliver her free roosters, almost 45 minutes away. Uhm, no. And not only no, but you're a rude person to even suggest it.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I don't think your vegetarian thing is really a dilemma at all - just a choice. I rarely eat meat but I don't consciously avoid it either. You are one up on me because at you know what you are eating has been raised ethically!

Florida Farm Girl said...

Deep velvety voice, huh? Bet that did throw you for a loop.