The solitude and monotony of planting peppers leaves plenty of time for thinking. This evening was no exception. Though the mosquitoes were stinging my back, I fought the urge to call it a day and allowed my thoughts to play out... Some 15 years ago I attended the University of Louisiana's study abroad program in London and France. During the latter part of the trip, I found myself shut away in my dorm room reading while my classmates were taking in that all London had to offer. While abroad, I picked up this little book on Beekeeping and I couldn't put it down. I spent that evening and the next day writing to my younger sister to let her know that I had a vision for my future. The letter is no where to be found, but I recall the outline that contained my goals for living a homestead lifestyle. I was held by the idea of feeding others and educating people (myself included) about where food comes from.
Tonight my sister took the long walk to our mailbox with me, only to find -fifteen years later- my dream coming to fruition with the first of our City Farm Membership Agreements inside. Although I feel good about the peppers now in the ground, I feel much better knowing that a Higher Power has allowed this dream to germinate.
"This is the season when despair may become so deep that only a total resurrection of the universe can be believed possible to melt the snow; but is is also the season for the miracle of faith-faith strong enough to believe even in the prophecy of a seed catalogue, which arrives an exact month before Lent... We reminisce about the season past, and gradually discover our reminiscences to focus less on what has passed than what is to come." John F. Adams, Beekeeping: A Gentle Craft
