Living Outside the Dialectic: An open letter to all members of local Tea Parties...

I have found an article that is one of the most enlightening pieces I have ever read. It answers so many issues and questions. I highly recommend this. Long read, well worth it. Our very liberty depends on understanding.

Living Outside the Dialectic: An open letter to all members of local Tea Parties...: "An open letter to all members of local Tea Parties from the co-founder of the Anti Communitarian League Every policy the Tea Party has prot..."

Protect Local Food Sources - Call Your Senators Now!

Please go to the link below and check out the information on how to get in touch with your Senators. If they will listen of course. Sheesh, they are ALL too damn busy trying to save their hides.

Anyway. Onward.

We HAVE to stop this bill! If we do not, then we will have even more restrictions on our liberties, the least of which is choice in healthier and SAFER foods direct from the smaller farmers and ranchers. That big egg recall, remember it? Huge death farms for chickens, and hugely unhealthy. Think the FDA checked em out like they were supposed to? What the hell do we fund such a sham bureaucratic outfit for?? Well, because of that farce, this damn bill may go forward and be passed.

PLEASE check out the link and look into this. Bad news coming down the pike from the federal government taking over even more of our lives. No more buying jelly from the little farmers market. No more buying local honey for your allergies. No more anything if these bastards get away with this.

This is not about public safety, it's about control by the lobbyists for big agriculture squeezing out the little guy because they don't like the competition. Too many farmers markets, too many people waking up to the fact we have been being poisoned by all the chemicals and antibiotics in the food chain for the last 50-60 years. Look at how far removed we have become from our food? 3-5 generations ago the farms and the ranches have been being abondoned. We have so few of them left! Lets not let the feds take them all away from us.

WAKE UP!!!!

Protect Local Food Sources - Call Your Senators Now!


Thanks!

"Cute" Animals as Food

"Rabbits and Guinea Pigs! Are you serious!! No way!! You mean old beastie you!" (or worse names, just check out some of the comment posts to me from my husbands sister Lori on rabbits, but anyway...) We happen to have a meat rabbitry, not the Guinea Pigs. They are national favorites in Peru though, right along with their potatoes. Uh oh, better boycott them!

Yeah, right. Whatever.

I have to talk a bit about people who are SO freaked out over this concept of raising small animals for meat. I have to point a few things out.

Our ancestors did not survive as vegetarians. They survived and thrived as omnivores. Hunter/gatherers definitely did not do without in the "meat as protein" department. Those who made farming their mainstay still had to have sources of protein in meat in order to survive a variety of natural occurrences (such as winter, or winter after a drought and crops failed etc) Whatever, the farmers still ate meat as well.

So while in our age of information vegans have learned how best to survive without meat as protein, more power to them if that is what they choose to do. I don't yell and scream at them and accuse them of being plant killers. I mean seriously. Plants are very important now aren't they? They provide Oxygen and consume Carbon Dioxide. Pretty important stuff there.

Anyway, some vegans choose it for conscientious reasons, some for health...whatever the reason, fine...for them. But I will say, it is very difficult to grow your own food if you don't have the land. I mean ALL the food. What to do if the food grid fails? Have enough land to support yourself with just vegan fair, for a year? Probably not. Anyway, I digress a bit.

The problem I have is anyone getting seriously fussy with anyone who raises rabbits for meat (as well as goats for milk and meat and chickens) The garden part seems to be fine because hey, that's normal. The goats too (mostly) But rabbits??? Egads! Chickens even, that seems fine with most but let me tell you...those chickens are 10 times brighter than the real prey animal, rabbit. And there have been stories of silly people asking "Where do you get your eggs" Uh...from my chickens. "Really!? I get mine from the store!"

Or the gal who was buying farm fresh eggs and loving it until she found out the farmers wife washed them by hand before selling them. Because they come out of the "vent" Which is also the poop spot (different chutes, but still) She freaked out and went to back to buying them from the store. Uh...those eggs also come out of the vent and they wash them too I reckon, one hopes. Same thing...I'm digressing again, sorry.

Our western culture is horrified by the thought of cute critters because we must not get our hands dirty (those who are meat eaters even freak out over this because it's not normal, not from the *gasp* GROCERY STORE!? EGADS!) or we get TOTALLY freaked by the thought of eating Peter Cottontail. We as a society are and have been WAAY too removed from our food. Weird, isn't it? And eeekk!! What about all those eggs!? They might have been chickens! Cute little fuzzy chickens! Sorry...I'm running into digression again. Can't be helped.

I'm going to venture a big guess here and think that even those who settled this country from Europe didn't let that pesky little problem of Peter Cottontail get in their way of survival, let alone the natives who were here already. I'll just bet they hadn't had all that cute Easter Marketing. Or rather, being marketed AT - like how we constantly are in this lovely information age.

I could get started on the big agri "farms/ranches" and how they are ruining the food supplies for us all, omnivores and vegans alike...but I'd better stop digressing. I'll be addressing that another time. But in the meantime, I know what is going into these rabbits and chickens and goats. And what is not...like hormones, antibiotics, etc. My animals are all in healthy large cages and yards and have nesting materials with lots of room to stretch, not tiny little cages with no room to move or in huge broods where they can't move. And when they are cleaned after slaughter they are not sitting in their own feces and blood for hours while "being chilled" - Yep, that's what they do with chickens. Gotta get mass production out there for those masses...even the "organic" chicken.

Just some thoughts for the day. Still more to come as it pertains to my husbands sister. I need to get some of my home grown herbs ready for more cheese. Yeah, that would be cheese from my goats.

I think some people thrive on anger, hatred and bitterness, don't you? Why do they act that way otherwise? More thoughts later.

As Hank Williams sings "Mind your own business, then you won't be minding mine."

Insanity in Families - a discussion

5/26/2016 -------I now have an update....more has come in, as it always does with this woman. I will direct those interested to see my new post on it with all the lovely details. It has been bad for years but got much worse with the more daily usage of facebook. Lori also now has been seriously harassing my daughter. So. I will now start sharing everything she has been doing. Like I said, this has been ongoing for years and she just will not stop. So, I am sharing it all. Here is the new post::






http://westendmuses.blogspot.com/2016/05/update-insanity-in-families-discussion.html


................................................................................................
I wanted to put this up so that when I start responding to it folks will have time to digest what this is.

It's a comment from my other art blog as it pertains to this farm blog (I had linked one of these articles to the art blog for more viewing) My husband's sister Lori Wasankari Allen left this lovely little ditty. It has now sparked me to discuss and refute and all that jazz a wide variety of topics which I will be sharing in the days to come. As it is right now, I do have an awful lot to do in taking care of our little micro farm. But in the meantime....

Enjoy the rantings and lunatic ravings. There is a lot that needs to be said and I'm tired of this woman harassing me. So...more to come in the days to come.

2 Comments

Here is the direct link to that blog and the comments direct:

Lorirae said...

Great Work ! I applaud you & Joel for not living off the Govt. Especially since the good ole' Govt. must take care of Joel's son, Adam, insane as he is ! So sad. At least Joel does not mind, in fact, probably Enjoys :) ! killing fuzzy bunnies and eating them. I would suggest you and he look into killing & eating Rats ! They are at least not so cute as a bunny ! But, what the hell, who cares about Cute, just keep Govt. OUT of Our Lives ! As long as Joel does not have to Care about his own Son with his own Money, God Forbid !! Family, moral, ethical responsibility ? Hell No ! Not for Joel.

Oh, try researching some recipes, perhaps Shepherd's pie ! I heard you are good at producing puppies ! They are probably pretty good cooked with some potatoes and carrots. But, PLEASE Chris, DO NOT over cook the Damn Food, When it all get too mushy we can't tell the animal from the Veggie ! And then What ? Accuse me of being a damn Liberal Vegetarian, Damn Straight ! Keep my Meat separate from my Vegetables, and my Wife's pussy from my Dick, 'cause we are all SO Damn American! Smile, as you hear the Rabbit Scream, Look Into ITS eyes, and Thank HIM for your LIFE. Go to Hell Very Soon and Stop your Suffering and Waste upon This Earth of MINE !!

My Taxes support Your Sorry Asses, and I am sick of it and YOU!


http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=1831

Permissions
Free Resources

* PDF SUMMARY
* Display this book
on your site!
It is very wise of you and your husband to try and support yourselves without Government help ! I applaud you for this, especially since your son, Adam, R


Related Titles

* Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary Science
* Lost Crops of Africa: Volume II: Vegetables
* Other Related Titles

topleft topright
Microlivestock: Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future

Yep, a chef was willing to give slugs a go!

My last post about slugs was obviously tongue in cheek :-) You'd think the person who posted the nasty comment would get it. But she has an agenda of hate and bitterness so she missed it. I mean really...whew. But I DID find something rather interesting by chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in England:

Gill's slug satay recipe


It is well worth the watch and funny to boot.

Lori, hope you enjoy the video!

There is more to come!

Slugs - At least they are edible

After they get done with my lettuce that is. When considering eating slugs, let them take over your lettuce patch first. Cleans them out great and a nice purge is needed first. I had to go and research this first because I am at my wits end with these guys!!

These critters are so frustrating I could scream! We don't have regular slugs here in Washington States temperate rain forest (Twilight Land for those who don't know about the rain forests out here) Anyway, the slugs we have can get up to 10" long. No kidding. Most are around 5-8" long, but whose counting when you have hundreds of thousands of the bastards.

I have been trying my darnedest to stay natural and organic with this one. Eggshells...need much more grinding up. Large pieces they cruise right over (they are quite large themselves, after all). So I used my blender. That doesn't work real well. It all stays down in the well and it's a fussing match to get it all out. So I will use my food processor next. I do have a reasonable sized flock of chickens and get close to a dozen eggs a day. So will revisit that...with the food processor.

Speaking of chickens, I read in Mother Earth News that a few folks use their chickens and ducks for slug control patrol. My chickens won't even go near the big beasts. The little jelly bean sized slugs they will occasionally eat, but then they are reminded of the glue goo stuck on beak so will not try that again soon. The big ones?? No way. I know this from experience. I was so pleased with myself a couple of years ago. FREE protein for the birds and slug problem down to a dull roar! How perfect a solution.

Right. I gathered a full and heaping dinner sized plate full from my front herb garden area one evening (I'm not kidding) I got these creeps in just about 15 minutes or so. I sang and danced my way out to the chickens with their delicious gourmet meal. They all ran over to check it out...and then turned around and left. Seriously. I then took one off the plate and put it in front of a girl. She dignified that act with a decidedly nasty look and turned around and left. Slowly and with indifference. Ok, so then I chopped one of these huge slugs in front of more chickens. They checked it out, decided it wasn't worth the gluey beak and just left it there. To be wasted. I was stunned. They are spoiled and much prefer the delicacy of worms I guess.

Ducks might do the trick because I know they adore slugs...but how to protect the little plants until they are large enough to withstand being stomped by the big birds? I'm in a quandary.

Until I get ducks (maybe never) I guess I can go back out and gather them up and fry them up for my dogs. It's worth the experiment right? And they ARE full of protein...most dogs don't put their noses up to that quite like the chickens did.

I'm sure my husband will NOT go for us trying it out any time soon. He's really an open minded kind of guy. With limits that is, and believe me, he makes them up as we go. I made the suggestion and it sort of fell flatter than a fleet of lead balloons. :-)

History at Sekiu

I love learning everything I can about the area in which I live. When I come across a site that shares information and pictures so readily I will eagerly share them. Thank you Craig Magnuson!

http://www.craigmagnuson.com/sekiu.htm -- Click to see some amazing pictures of the area back in the 30's and 40's

And click here to see what it looks like today: http://www.sekiu.com

This IS my favorite place out here. I feel fortunate to live here. :-)