Yesterday, in preparation for the End of The World, I traveled about an hour north of Tampa to a little tiny town called Astatula where Cracker Legend had it they grew blueberries as big as grapes and as sweet as candy. Now I’m pretty sure the Rapture didn’t happen, but if it was coming, I was going to experience it with a belly and bucket full of beautiful blueberries. This little farm was just amazing and it was absolutely glorious to be sitting there early in the morning listening to the birds and the critters grabbing handfuls of these beautiful things. I chatted with the farmer who’s been running the operation for decades and I just loved to hear the pride in his voice as he described the dozen or so varieties of blueberry bushes and looked out at all the families and kids running up and down the rows…reveling in the good work he had created. I wondered why there were quite a few dead bushes and he explained that he couldn’t water all that he wanted to…something to do with some absurd regulations on the time and amount of water he could use.
And that conversation brought me back to another thought that I wish we could all change. We spend bajillions of dollars feeding and watering millions of acres of grass and ornamental grass and plants, then we turn right around and spend bajillions more cutting and trimming and killing back all that ornamental stuff. Why not, instead of all the ornamental stuff everywhere, we all started populating our yards and public spaces with edible stuff instead? Now sure the ornamental stuff has an aesthetic about it, but would yards really look that much worse with all manner of blueberry bushes and peach trees and peppers and tomatoes? I’ve got this tiny little garden but it’s produced more salad and wonderful stuff than we can keep up with at times…it isn’t anymore work than ornamental and it’s terrifically rewarding. I’d love to have a full sized yard and I’d really love to see just how much food could be eked out of a yard…and could you just imagine how profound it would be if numbers of people started doing the same thing? There are a growing number of families that are starting to do just that and it really is fascinating to walk their yards and grab a soft and delicious peach off a tree at one step, then pick up an egg that this little lady below dropped off…
Well anyway, check out the website for Mark’s Blueberry Farm….and while you’re at it, take a look at another nearby farm, Long And Scotts where they grow up then sell an amazing varietal of Florida corn which is just fantastic. These small farms and communities are just fantastic and it really is good for the soul to get away from all the insanity, crimes and corruption that are the mainstays of our national discourse right now. I really hope more and more people will get out there and support these people and their endeavors…I do and it really is quite fulfilling!
