Monday, February 21, 2011

For a long time... we've "been there and done that"

Before I had ever heard the Dervaes name ( in fact I had only heard about them about a year ago) urban homesteading(o.k. I guess I better put a big TM here) has been in my family's blood for quite a very long time.
My grandfather and grandmother were farmers in Idaho and in fact my grandfather was quite the envy of folks as they'd come to see his garden from miles around. He used to garden by the moon signs I was told. And my grandmother..I get my love of simpler living from her...she used to can loads of vegetables and had lots and lots of shelves full of canned items that they had grown stored in their basement. In fact my grandparents later moved to Washington and had a restaurant where they would serve such things as cantaloupe and watermelons to their customers(with a scoop of ice cream included)
  Then when my grandfather passed away my grandmother came to live with us, and the farming tradition didn't stop just because we lived in various towns/city limits.
  Nope..in fact they kept on pretty steady all through my growing up years. We'd have things like home made bread and noodles. We even collectively planted gardens in our backyards. Granny would can vegetables and I'd sneak into the jars of home made butter pickles.
 One year my dad and I rescued 200 baby chickens from a alligator farm and  raised the chickens in our backyard. Giving some away for free to the local community and maintaining a flock for ourselves to gather eggs from, and for my granny to prepare chicken dinners with.

 Yes, even one time we lived on the main street of Arcadia, FL and had a flock of chickens free ranging  in our yard. And my granny and dad decided to cull a few of the chickens. Yep, they did so right in the heart of the city..set up their chicken butchering station on the side of the yard and we enjoyed chicken dinner later.
 I honestly can say..nope the Dervaes have nothing on us and our lifestyle. We had already "been there and done that" for quite some time.
 I am a 3rd generation urban farmer if you will.
I've had chickens and ducks in the heart of the city, and ever since I've been a wee girl I have had a heart for the land and for growing things.
In fact my home now qualifies for homestead exemption. If the government deems my property as a homestead then surely when I farm in the city limits that makes me an urban homesteader/farmer.(insert big TM mark here too...gosh that looks silly but I guess "they" say we have to do it, but TM is my initials anyhow so maybe I should trademark the TM..huh? yah I like the sounds of that..ha)
My grandmother and I 
 Well, yep..I've been there and done that for a long time now. And in fact  I'm still doing it. I have been proud of the sore muscles I have garnered just this week alone as I plant blueberry trees, planted radishes and lettuces, started seeds on my kitchen counter, sowed pea and bean seeds and more.
 Yes, its in my blood and has been for a very long time.
  ~The Garden Goose!~

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this wonderful post!

Janet said...

Excellent, Tina! I grew up on the courthouse square right on Main Street, and we ran a business on the property, plus lived there. Yet, we still had rabbits, a strawberry patch, figs, pomegranates, and pears. And we canned the figs and pears. Later, my brother sold watermelons out of our front yard. So, we had an URBAN HOMESTEAD (no TM necessary IMHO)! But hey, maybe, just maybe, I will TM my Blog ID, Rambling Round, because by gosh it can't be a commonly used phrase! LOL

Tina Leavy said...

LOL well I'm afraid to say that "Rambling Round" is a commonly used phrase. I've used it a number of times myself. LOL is there a trademark dispute amongst us now? hee hee.

Wanda said...

Tina Hi, long time no see, I hope you are well. TTFN