Where have all the markets gone?

I really miss those summer green markets in Vancouver where organic food and local produce overflow from one tent to the next. Florida's climate makes organic growing a bit problematic because the bugs never get killed by the cold and - like all the vegetation - the bugs just keep multiplying! Thank goodness for our deliveries from Green Cay Farm, where Emily and the team keep the bugs at bay with as many natural deterrents as possible.

This week there were yellow peppers, spinach, tomatoes,scallions, and head lettuce - all of it containing tons of life force (or as we call it in yogic terms - prana). That's what is missing when I look at the food in the grocery stores. Of course, when options are limited, I bless the food as we prepare and eat it, all in an atmosphere infused with positive energy.

When we return to Vancouver this spring, I will plant more food among our flower gardens - herbs, lettuce, beans and beautiful fragrant red tomatoes. Over the years I've accumulated a fair amount of experience to draw upon, and I look forward to rediscovering my green thumb.

Back in Vermont we lived a sustainable lifestyle - growing most of our food in summer, canning our own food for winter and using firewood for fuel The dome only needed 5 cords!

I ground wheat berries into flour to make our bread and boiled milk to prepare for the yogurt starter. Eggs came from the farm down the hill, and cheese from the Cabot Creamery, also down the hill but in the other direction. Those days seem long ago, but I remember the excitement of fresh picked food grown with love and care for the earth. Returning to the land in the Sixties wasn't such a bad or crazy idea after all!

Gary in our garden back in Vermont.