Trying to live like a small farmer from an apartment in Arlington, VA.
Monday, March 9, 2009
The hops are in the pot
It got into the 70s this weekend so I planted my rhizomes. I put the Wye Viking in the big pot and the Centennial in the ground below the deck. Now I just have to hope it stays so warm.
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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