Well I am off the road for a little bit, staying with family helping out during a military deployment. This entry finds me on a small farm in rural America. Yes, that's right a freaking FARM! Well 8 acres, 2 cows and 2, no wait one just got killed, 1 chicken. To those of you who exult in playing "Farmville" on Facebook, believe me that is nothing like a REAL FARM!! There's poop on the farm and lots of it.
OK, let me start off by saying that I am NOT in any way, shape or form, a farm girl. I am akin to Eva
Gabor on Green Acres and Paris Hilton in A Simple Life. I like to think that the stuff we buy at the supermarket comes that way from some kind of huge factory in an unnamed location. The idea of getting up close and personal with something I will then be eating is a little unsettling to me. I really can't eat something that has a name. I have to draw the line on that--so the cows are called "cow" as far as I am concerned and no one had better tell me differently!
There is, however, a large garden with lots of vegetables so I am seriously considering becoming a vegetarian. Well, except I will eat fish as I don't have to get to know them first and we don't grow them on the farm.
Recently, I went to the garden armed with a large colander and picked all the ripe tomatoes. Well, not ALL of them as some of them were rotten on the bottom and some of them had bugs in them. Sheesh! This farming thing isn't so easy after all! Wound up with a fairly large haul of tomatoes. So, today I will can some tomatoes as we are overrun with them from the garden. Yes, that's right--I am going to CAN! Ha this is something I can do as canning tomatoes is easy as pie (of course I stink at pie making, but then again...).
I have everything assembled for canning--jars, lids, lots of hot water, lots of tomatoes. I am feeling very "back to nature" and reliving those hippie days in the 70's when we were going to all live off the land and be free from "the man". Guess that isn't so popular these days as life without cable tv, the internet and air conditioning doesn't sound that fun to many folks--well maybe those who are living in the militias, but they are already a little off in my opinion.
After I can the tomatoes, I will go feed the cows and check the chicken. Of course feeding the cows consists of making sure they are not in the barn when I go there because, really, they scare me a little and I peek in at the chicken to see if it is still alive. See - I am getting this farming thing down!
