Very well stated, Katherine. Gardening, keeping a flock of chickens, preserving my own produce and meat, are just the beginning. I am not a prepper. I trust in God to take care of me as our great country slowly commits suicide. However. I intend to do all I can do, and learn all I can learn about taking care of myself and my family. My poultry flock is the back bone of my effort. They provide so much more than eggs and meat. They allow me to keep my soil healthy without bringing in manure from outside sources. Even that is suspect now-a-days b/c the newer herbicides persist through the cow's gut, into the manure, and linger in the compost, even a year or longer after the cow ate the treated hay. Every jar of home grown and preserved produce I pull off my shelf is one more item that I won't be placing in my grocery cart. It may take me hours from start to finish for that jar of Fortex beans that I will eat this winter. But, I know where they came from, and I will enjoy them all the more. It's not about the money. Let's get real. I could buy a can of beans at Hannaford for 79 cents. If I did the math, and figured out how many minutes I had to work at a job to earn the money to buy that 79 cent can of beans, compared to the number of minutes to prep the garden bed, plant the seed, tend the plants, harvest the beans, can the beans, pay for the jar and the LP gas to process those beans... I couldn't afford to garden! But I do, and thank God for the opportunity.
