A Time of Abundance

I haven't much time before I leave the farm for a few days. I am head west to the coast. However before I leave the hot, sunny ranch to cool off and relax on the beach, I wanted to relay some of the more interesting things I've learned recently.

July has been a month of abundance. Generous amounts of sun and heat, bountiful harvests of zucchini, onion basil and sunflowers, prolific weeds that quickly overtake any crop and a surge in information regarding this "new food movement". Recently I finished a book by Barbara Kingsolver called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" It was a fantastic, informative read about her experiment to eat a year of local food. If you have the time and interest in gardening, local foods and/or cooking, I would highly recommend the book. Another great read for someone interested in the US food industry is Michael Pollen's "Omnivore's Dilemna". This was the first book I read that piqued my interest of exploring food systems.
Another recent outlet of information has been a couple of documentaries about our current food industry. If you only have a couple of hours and want to learn about our food system you could go see "Food Inc". Another documentary that came about deals more with Genetically modified foods and large seed corporations is "The Future of Food". And my final note is this article from the Stillwater Newspress.
http://www.stwnewspress.com/garden/local_story_206204917.html?keyword=topstory
It is an exciting article about the beginnings of a community garden in Stillwater, OK. I am elated to see movements like this in such a dear place to me as Stillwater. The gardening movement is taking hold in the US. It is manifesting itself in different forms throughout the US and I am so happy to see it unfold.

Let me know of any good books, documentaries or articles that you are aware of. Also I would love to know about other local projects going on in your area. Hope you are staying cool. I'm off to the ocean!

The photos are of our news chicks that got moved to the garden today. They are eating the remains of our early spring garden. Also a sunflower in the garden.