Old Traditions New Technology
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| Roger's Adventures - 1948 |
Don't worry about it there is plenty: plenty of gas, plenty of fresh water, plenty of time, trees, paper. We realize all too well that this is no longer the case. As consumers/citizens we are aware of the fact that our resources are not endless, there is indeed a finite supply to all that we treasure.
Although it has been too many years to recall his name or any distinguishable features, I do remember with great clarity comments my Environmental Science professor made back in 1979. "There is not enough for everyone." Meaning our natural resources, he was also implying that there was not enough for the world's population to experience the same level of existence that we were enjoying. As young college students we weren't living an especially lavish lifestyle; I felt fortunate to have food, shelter and great trails to explore.
Keep in mind this was decades before "Going Green, or Recycling or Sustainability" was in vogue. So why did his comment stick with me all these year? Why did it have such an impression on a high strung 20 year old? Was it fear that motivated me or my deep love for the Adirondack wilderness? These are questions that I continually ask myself. The more important question is what can I do to facilitate change?
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| *Dave Minor (center with cowboy hat) - Freedom & Friendship |
Community Corporation
We moved on to our 100 acre farm in 1973, I was 13 years old. We had zero farming experience; it didn't matter, owning a house in the country was a dream that manifested itself during my father, Roger Dahlin's scouting adventures. As a
"city boy" trips mountain climbing, hiking, camping, swimming, rope swinging, were his escape from Syracuse's north side.
It was his love for the "open" land that brought us to North Volney, NY. Money was tight; nothing was wasted. We exchanged/shared: time, talents, energy, and knowledge. Our neighbors realized right away that theses "city slickers" were in trouble. They taught us to bale hay, ride horses, train horses, cut wood, chop wood, harvest vegetables and then preserve them; we learned to pick garden spots that didn't have an underground stream running through them. Wasting anything translated in to wasted time and energy, the two things that were always in short supply.
We Couldn't Waste it - We Didn't Have It
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| Left to right - Roger , Ci & Timm Dahlin with Joe Maribittio & his dad. |
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We simply didn't have enough to waste; horse, goat, duck quail and chicken manure along with jack-o-lanterns, kitchen scraps and any other organic material were added to our compost pile. With the assistance of soil microorganism ( which I didn't know existed at the time) our organic left overs were miraculously converted into rich black humus.This of course was added back on to our fields and gardens the following spring. Nothing special just the way things were done.
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| Ci & Timm and the Clothes Basket Given a " Second Life" |
Used More than Once
Don't laugh at the shorts my brother Timm was wearing, they were very stylish at the time, the entire NBA sported them.
The point of this picture is the clothes basket my sister Ci and Timm are using to pick corn. I am certain that was not my mother's good basket. My guess is a nice cheap role of duct tape gave it a "second life"
Suburban Curbside Changes
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| Santa Monica Public Works |
February 1, 2013, I no longer live on a farm, no one in my neighborhood has a horse or a goat; I do think there is a rooster somewhere within a half mile.Come to think of it I haven't heard from him since Thanksgiving.
Why not change the way we view organic material that we accumulate? This is not a novel idea cities are already making significant progress in this area.
Going Beyond - Aluminum, Plastic and Glass
Most communities are now recycling at some level. Westlake a suburb west of Cleveland, Ohio, USA has taken recycling above and beyond aluminum, plastic and glass. This progressive city recycles organic material in the form of branches, and leaves. I have on several occasions requested a truck load of their "gardener’s gold" as a birthday gift. Although the services Westlake offers highly commendable why not take it one or two steps further and collect additional organic material.
Collecting Organic Material
The concept of recycling organic material seems foreign to most Americans however, numerous cites, business, universities and organizations are on the for front of change. Here are a few great links that I discovered. I am sure there are more.
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| Michigan State - Photo - greatlakesecho.org |
Change Takes Time
It may take a while, change always does. We like things to remain the same, constant and stable. I raise my hand high on this one. The simple fact is we are doing ourselves a disservice not adding things like pumpkins back into our yards, gardens and farms. Pumpkins alone are loaded so many vital vitamins and nutrients, it is a shame we aren't using them more than Halloween jack-o-lanterns and pie loaded with whipped cream. I will save my fancy Excel chart on that topic for another time.This blog is simply to long.
Thinking that maybe life was better, in many way, back then... wonderful thought provoking post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carolyn, I was not sure how this post would be received. I sent this blog on to my sister Ci, This what she had to say.
ReplyDelete"I loved the picture of North Volney. I just sat there for a few minutes and stared at it, and thought, I used to live there, and it was a wonderful feeling, wonderful memories, of being so privledged to have lived out there. No wonder we love to be in the country. Perhaps it wasn't the prettiest house, but boy it was great.
I know you sent me the blog to read, and that was neat, but I loved the picture!
I loved walking and walking those trails and the open field.
I assume Dad took it. "
Picture was indeed taken by my father - Roger Dahlin
After planting my garden this Spring in Wisconsin we had a major rainfall that killed just about everything. I decided to replant the entire thing with pumpkins. By the end of October I had tons of them for decorating around the house. After a few weeks when I no longer needed them for decoration, I threw them all back in the garden. In two weeks the deer had them devoured.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, pictures, and links.
Sorry about the rain fall we hardly had any last season. Very resourceful on your part, even down to feeding the deer. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI put up a "Recycle Your Pumpkins Here" sign, it worked fairly well. However, I am embarrassed to say "snatching" them from the tops of tree lawn garbage cans was even more successful.
Things one will do for potassium!
Thanks on the pictures, as I mentioned they are my dad's
I grew up on 25 acres of a homestead in Vermont. We rented an additional 75 ~ 100 acres for out cattle, and horses. We estamated that until my parents lost the labor (us kids) we had about 90% of our food comming from the property. We hayed other peoples fields and split the result, we cut all our own wood to heat with. It was hard work. but I believe it was good. and I would never ever want to go back and change any of it.
ReplyDeleteWe feel the same way! We worked hard but oh the freedom we had. When I was little we rented a house in I believe Middleberry Vermont. Does that sound right? My mother who was a city girl was pretty lonely in the middle of nowhere with four kids under four. She was a spunky young thing and told my father she was moving back with or without him. Funny thing is they ended up in Oklahoma ( she loved it he didn't).
DeleteThere is only 8 acres left of our "North Volney homestead" my father is the process of selling those last few memories. It is a shame the four of us are so far away. He just sent me some pictures, I will try to add them to the blog.