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Heat, Humidity, Building, Canning, Weeding - is it worth it?

This summer will definitely be in my memory banks as a hot, miserable year. People who spend time by the water are likely thrilled to death with all the hot, sunny days, and I'm very glad for them. We are working on various projects here on the farm and the heat and humidity are making life tougher than it needs to be, in my opinion. Darrell is working, primarily alone, but sometimes with my help as needed, on building a new chicken coop. I've been wrestling with the garden, weeding, harvesting, processing, pickling. The kitchen is hot at night when, after supper, I'm processing corn for freezing, or heating the canner and various elements needed to pack jars . . . however, working against time and weather certainly gives you a sense of accomplishment and perspective! We, in our area, don't NEED to do all this - we could go buy whatever we want at a multitude of markets, stores, and specialty shops. Unlike Darrell's grandfather, whose family emigrated to Kansas, staked out a quarter section of land, and proceeded to turn over 10 acres of it by hand with shovels (this was virgin plains buffalo grass), plant and harvest wheat, then take that wheat to the nearest town to sell, in bags, in a wheelbarrow, because they couldn't afford a horse to work the land or pull a wagon until AFTER they had harvested and sold that first year's crop of wheat. And, while the men/boys in the family were busy with that 10 acres of wheat, the women/girls were scavenging, growing, and preserving every scrap of food they could find to feed the family. So, as we continue on with our house-recovery projects, farm improvement projects, and utilizing this year's garden, I'll try to keep focused on WHY we do this - for more healthy food!

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