Trying to live like a small farmer from an apartment in Arlington, VA.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
First Garden
The Obamas are starting an organic vegetable garden on the White House grounds. That's about the coolest thing I've heard in a while. Here's an article about it.
I first stumbled on the term cottager on British census forms of my great-great-grandfather Walter. Before emigrating to the United States, he lived in Lincolnshire, England and his father James listed his occupation as 'cottager.' The family story had always been that we came from a long line of sheep farmers, but this was the first time I had heard this term.
So what is a cottager? Well the term is in such shallow use today that I've kind of adopted it for my own purposes. As someone who feels a deep dissatisfaction with being stuck on the consumer end of the production chain, I take it to mean someone who is the master of all crafts associated with living life. And by life I mostly mean drinking beer and eating food.
So one day I hope to be a true cottager -- live on a small parcel of land, grow my own vegetables, raise my own meat, brew my own beer, age my own cheese, attend to all the repairs my house requires. For now I can only pretend at it a little and blog about my experiences.
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