Amy in the Garden

In the midst of the August flurry in the garden: weeding, harvesting, peeling, canning, freezing, and the August flurry with the kids: planning, shopping, laundering, packing, driving, delivering, I am trying to find time to think.

I want time to think about important things, instead of just reacting to the moment. I am always happier when I have time to think through a bigger issue , and then act on it. Often, thinking-through results in less flurry. And always, just the act of thinking-through is a calming act.

So it is with children, so it is with the garden. So it will be, I believe, with the issue of eating clean food. Americans are starting to talk about this. The evidence is becoming noticeable: op-ed pieces in the papers, the brief blips from talking heads on the news, the growing population of farmer’s markets, the new “organic” sections in the grocery stores (savvy marketers as always), the new labels appearing on our food: Cage-Free, Raised without Antibiotics, Natural, Organic. There is a lot to think about.

I want to be the logical dreamer about this. The one that thinks big, but thinks logically. I think those are the folks that actually get things done. As a parent, I admire people that get things done.

I have to get something big done today and tomorrow: delivering my middle child to college. But I will make time to think, to stop the rushing, and will share with you if I come up with anything worthwhile, even if it is just more questions. I’m hoping to hear from others, who are thinking about these things as well. Clean food deserves a good talk.

WORDS FROM OTHERS

“”What do people catch in the Queensborough Bridge — bugs?” asked Wilbur.

“No,” said Charlotte. “They don’t catch anything. They just keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinking there is something better on the other side. If they’d hang head-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe something good would come along. But no — with men it’s rush, rush, rush, every minute. I’m glad I’m a sedentary spider.”

— E.B. White, “Charlotte’s Web”