There is much to be said about turning 50. Life seems to be a bit settled, retirement is now within view (unless the Chair of the House Appropriations is successful in the demise of Medicare), vitamins are a must and the snap crackle pop of my joints are music that I am still around. Like many of my friends I wish life would slow down a bit. I am blessed with a great family, the greatest job on earth but I seem to living in leaps and bounds. The days roll by so quickly. Now that I attempt to slow things down a bit I find myself focused on issues that five years ago were never in my thought processes.
I have become extremely concerned about our food sources. It is with great fervor that I have devoured Joel Salitin and Elliot Coleman’s many writings. Neither claim to be experts in the current commercial food production arena but they provide a constant supply of knowledge to change the way my food chain is evolving. My parents have always had a large garden, my father in law has always had a large garden and I have always had a grocery store. Now we have the USDA approving genetically modified crops. I cannot argue the good or the bad of this new trend in crop production. I do have that little internal voice that tells me this is not good. So with a five decade old body, a few tools, fifty pounds of seed catalogs I am off to begin producing much of what I eat. I have never been one to do things in a small way thus my garden will cover an acre this first year. Probably not wise but no one has ever accused me of being wise.
Danny J. Spreitler 