I always looked forward to visiting the elders in my family when I was growing up. Both sides of my family have deep roots in Western Pennsylvania (one side even having land passed down for 6 generations), and both sides embraced a more natural way of life. We've always lived in a relationship with the land and the cycles of the seasons. Almost everyone in my family has grown their food in gardens, gone hunting and fishing, and the older generations did beekeeping and foraged for wild, edible plants and mushrooms. This made us stronger, healthier, and self-sufficient. Maybe it's time to reclaim a connection to nature, and to an older way of life.
Urban homesteading is on the rise. I have many friends here in the Bay Area that have backyard gardens, backyard chicken coops, and are doing beekeeping. And San Jose Public Library has a wonderful selection of books in our Home & Garden section to get you started.
Homesteading Booklist:
Canning and Preserves Booklist:
Pressure Canning for Beginners
Better Homes and Gardens Complete Canning Guide : Freezing, Preserving, Drying
The Homestead Canning Cookbook
Chickens:
An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Backyard Chickens
Final Thoughts:
- I can't help but long for my own piece of Earth, where I can live and work the land. And live in accordance with the cycles of the Seasons: planting, growing, and harvesting.
- I always look forward to visiting my friends who have backyard chicken coops. In fact, I tend to talk to their chickens first.
- Doing the best I can with my West facing balcony container garden.
- I couldn't help but caption the above photo as "Rooster roosting on a roof".
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