Local Foods Plot—August 2016

As the season turns and the summer crops bear the last of their fruits, I am in a constant state of gratitude - Grateful for the privilege of growing food for my family and community; Grateful for the wild bounty of the land that stocks my freezer and pantry; And grateful that the fishy taste of the lake water is slowly returning to its cold, crisp, sweetness.

I had the chance to sit down and weed the downtown garden this morning, a rare pleasure of sitting in one place for an hour, usually reserved for poor Tia. And as I OCD’d on the tiniest of weeds, my mind wandered off to the hustle and bustle of Lower 48 living, and that giant interconnected web of humanity. I went back to my days on subways, weaving my way through millions of strangers every day, living next to people I’d never meet, on a block with more people than the entire Lake region.

And then I wandered back to the weeds and the turnip next to me, the size of baby Luke’s head. I looked down the row of them, at Aiden and Erika playing with an earthworm. I glanced over at our newest high school graduate, Tia, hard-working and dependable, getting after the weeds at a break-neck speed. Our high school IGAP interns drove by with yet another load of those pesky Alders they’d cut off the school grounds. Vehicles began arriving at AlexAnna’s office for their Yugestun exams. All of these and several more goings on… the hustle and bustle of Igiugig.

As I kneeled in my little corner of cabbage and turnips, I thought how wonderful it is to know that all the activity around me is purposeful, and devoted to the future and quality of life for our village. And quality it is. From the quality of our Elders, to the quality of our children, it makes me excited to grow old here. And it makes me more than happy to provide some of the food along the way.

Joke of the Month! I came across two bears the other day laying flat on their backs, gazing at the clouds in a sea of blackberries. I watched them in silence for a long time thinking they were asleep. Then, slowly, the bigger bear turned its head to the smaller bear and said, “Fred, when I die…. This is how I want to be berried.”

Pick More Berries!