Author: Paul Deaton

Categories
Home Life

Autumn Days

Turnip Green Soup Stock and Tomato Juice
Turnip Greens Soup Stock and Tomato Juice

LAKE MACBRIDE— As cleanup from the Sept. 19 storm continues, the weather has been almost perfect for outdoors work. The plants in the yard have come alive, and the garden generated a burst of food (collards, Swiss chard, turnip greens, arugula, herbs, tomatoes and peppers) as the first frost approaches. Days like these are as good as it gets.

Roof Damage
Roof Damage

Slowly… systematically, evidence of the storm diminishes. Yesterday I cut up the locust tree and spread the branches in the back yard for easier final cutting. Today a construction worker comes to repair the corner of the house. All that’s left is to finish with the locust tree and replace one of the downspouts damaged during the storm. Then to glean the garden, mow the lawn, and collect the clippings for mulching the garden over winter.

What then?

Much as we relish our moments of sunshine in brilliant autumn days, there is work to do before the final curtain falls and we join the choir invisible.

Writing About Apples
Writing About Apples

My writing will continue. It has become subsistence, a part of me, like blood production in the marrow, a way to breathe life sustaining oxygen in an unsettling and turbulent world. It is not expected to contribute much financially.

Farm work and gardening, participation in our local food system will continue at a subsistence level. There is inadequate income to be generated in working for someone else, and farm work will always be lowly paid.

There is family life, but little role for that in the blogosphere. We depend on our families, and little more need be said here.

Mostly, life will be living as best we can during moments of brilliance and trouble. Like these days in early October, when worry seems far away, and life so abundant.

Categories
Environment

The Cost of Carbon – 24 Hours of Reality

the-climate-reality-project-logoOn Oct. 22 and 23, The Climate Reality Project will connect the dots between carbon pollution and climate change with the global live-streamed broadcast “24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon.” here’s the link:

http://www.24hoursofreality.org.

In Iowa, men and women in the agricultural community are talking about the likelihood of four or five more years of continued drought. Harry Hillaker, Iowa state climatologist, indicated 2013 was the wettest spring on record. He confirmed this summer’s drought conditions in Iowa. Like this year, the prospect for coming years is wet springs combined with long summer periods of little or no precipitation.  There is no doubt human activity is contributing to this extreme weather, and that carbon pollution is the driving force behind it.

Not only are extreme weather events happening in Iowa, they are happening throughout the world. Extreme weather has a tangible cost in dollars, and in its impact on human society. 24 Hours of Reality will bring a global perspective to the climate crisis.

There are a lot of reasons to participate in 24 Hours of Reality, and here are three topics of interest in the program:

Chances are, you’re exposed to the cost of carbon pollution in ways you may not even realize— and the bill just keeps getting more expensive. 24 Hours of Reality will provide a tool to calculate the cost of carbon to individual communities.

Climate change can lead to rising food prices in wealthy nations, but in some regions, the consequences can be much more severe, threatening basic food security and leading to political instability in Somalia.

One of the greatest costs of climate change is what it means for our health. The broadcast goes to towns across Australia to witness the consequences of carbon pollution in terms of fire and flooding, and address what such changes mean for the health of ordinary people there and the world over.

24 Hours of Reality will address two key issues: protecting what we hold dear from the effects of climate change, and doing something to address the causes of our carbon pollution. Click here for a link to the 30 second trailer about 24 Hours of Reality.

I hope you will consider viewing part of 24 Hours of Reality on Oct. 22 and 23.

Categories
Work Life

Starry Morning

Apple Harvest
Apple Harvest

LAKE MACBRIDE— The sky was a dome of stars as the newspaper delivery truck made its way down the street. Outside to take the trash and recycling bins to the street for pickup, it was hard not to stop and gaze into the limitless space above. My clothing fit loosely from working low wage jobs this year, and the cool air found its way under the cotton knit and invigorated me, awakening possibilities. It lasted only a few moments, after which I grabbed an apple and ate it in Eve’s bower— forbidden fruit no more. The stuff of dreams and hope.

The remaining apples fall into five categories. A bowl of Cortland for apple crisp later today, a bushel of apples collected after the Sept. 19 storm blew them from the tree for apple sauce, a bin of the best apples for out of hand eating, and another bin of less perfect apples from the final pick, for a variety of purposes. A lot of the lesser Golden Delicious apples on the tree. They are available, but one suspects they will end up food for wild animals and insects, or as compost. The end of this year’s apple season is in view.

The plan for today is more chainsaw work in the yard. At least two more eight hour shifts will be required to finish cleaning up the fallen branches. A contractor is stopping by to estimate the roof repair from the Sept. 19 storm. The plan is to harvest the turnip greens and make soup stock, and finish gleaning the first garden patch, maybe the second. All of this is subsistence work, unpaid except that there is a buyer for the firewood I make, and food for our table.

As dawn begins to break, it’s time to leave the comforting glow of the computer screen and get to work. Just a few more keystrokes, and then off into the garden, seeking life, and redemption.

Categories
Social Commentary

Navigating Health Insurance Change

Wellmark PhotoLAKE MACBRIDE— As a self-employed writer and farm hand, having health insurance means buying an individual policy in the marketplace. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance exchanges and initial open enrollment beginning Oct. 1 was a precipitating event for me and for others. There will be changes and some of them have little to do with the ACA.

There is a pent up demand in business to shed the cost of providing health insurance for employees, or to make it a fixed financial benefit. Already after Oct. 1, there is anecdotal evidence that small businesses are pulling the plug on group policies, and large businesses, like Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, are changing the rules for insurance benefits to exclude part time employees who are currently covered. If there is a way to stabilize or reduce the cost of having employees, businesses will find it, and the ACA appears to be providing the whipping post for moving forward to meet this long-standing want. Corporations and small businesses appreciate the opportunity this major cultural event represents. The days of employers providing health care to employees as a basic benefit are ending, if not over.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Iowa’s largest health insurance provider, decided not to join the Iowa health insurance exchange during the first year. The expectation is the company will apply to be part of the exchange beginning Jan.1, 2015. In an interview with the Cedar Rapids Gazette last July, Wellmark CEO John Forsyth said, “the company was concerned about the lack of information available and the roll out of the exchange in Iowa.” Forsyth was skeptical of the federal government’s ability to implement the ACA smoothly. In addition to some website glitches in early October, some of the rule-making is incomplete. Wellmark’s decision is understandable from a business perspective, and the impact is that the network of health care providers available in the exchange during 2014 may be significantly reduced without Wellmark’s participation.

What’s a person with an individual health insurance policy to do? Wait. First, wait until December to look at joining the exchange on Jan. 1, 2014. Perhaps some of the details like provider coverage will be better identified to make the consequences of changing more understandable. Second, someone who has a grandfathered plan (no changes in policy since President Obama signed the ACA), may not want to change until there is more certainty about the outcome. The open enrollment period goes through March 2014 during the first year. Take advantage of that extra time. Third, resist the efforts of Wellmark and other providers to rush a decision to remain the same, or lock in rates. Whether or not the Iowa insurance exchange will offer lower rates for equal coverage is uncertain. No reason to make a decision until one gets enough facts about the rates and coverage, and compares apples to apples.

There were five insurance company sales representatives in a health care reform seminar last week, compared to yours truly as the only member present. Organizations who sell health insurance have a lot to lose with implementation of the ACA, and the move to a marketplace. These insurance agents answered all of my questions, and the information provided will help in making a decision about health insurance. Getting facts and working through them, as I did, is essential in navigating change in health insurance, and there is no hurry to make a bad decision.

Categories
Home Life

Caesura

Silhouette on Parched Ground
Silhouette on Parched Ground

LAKE MACBRIDE— It’s 50 degrees at 4:30 a.m. with a slight chance of precipitation around lunchtime. There is a break in the narrative— caesura.

Intense activity with local food producers during recent months engaged me fully. Suddenly, expected, it is over. The pause is welcome. It’s time to reflect, catch up on neglected work and renew efforts to sustain our lives on the Iowa prairie.

Today will be a day of building a to-do list. When the sun rises, it’s outside to cut up the locust tree and fallen limbs from the Sept. 19 storm. The garden gleaning needs completion. The house needs repair. The list builds already. During this pause, there is much to do to prepare for winter, and before long, life will reengage my energy and attention. Already it leaks in. I’ll resist for another hour, and then embrace it again… until the next caesura.

Categories
Work Life

Attire at Work

Work Clothes
Work Clothes

LAKE MACBRIDE— There was a time when wearing a suit to work was de rigueur. While commuting to the Chicago loop I wore and wore out countless suits purchased to fit into the corporate culture of 200 East Randolph Street, the Illinois Center and the Prudential building. Those days are over. Silk ties hang on a rack in the back of the closet, lined up behind woven plaid shirts purchased long ago. There are only one or two decent dress shirts on hangers until a funeral or formal presentation wants the attire.

My work clothes on the farm have become blue jeans, a T-shirt and a pair of Justin boots purchased while working in west Texas. No collar, indicating the meaninglessness of so-called blue or white collared work. Most of the people I know in the local food system are either working on a degree, have a bachelors, or have done postgraduate work and have a masters or doctorate. Some wear collars, and some do not. Clothing is functional and long lasting if it is anything— less a symbol of an arbitrary status or social class.

While writing, it’s the same attire, sans shoes with white socks. After buying cheap tube socks for decades, I switched to a heavy cotton sock purported to be for wearing with steel-toed shoes. They are deluxe. The cost of one of my Chicago suits could have purchased a lot of them.

Categories
Writing

New Blog Feature – Restaurant Crawl

Restaurant CrawlLAKE MACBRIDE— During the next few months I’ll be making a restaurant crawl to every eatery in our area. The results of this activity will be written about and linked on the circled page above. Click on the image to find the beginning list of restaurants with links.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Thunderstorm Coffee Break

Storm Over the High Tunnel
Storm Over the High Tunnel

RURAL CEDAR TOWNSHIP— A task list arrived via email from the farm at 8:17 a.m. It included work in the germination shed and the high tunnel. After arriving, and before getting very far, thunder and lightning began, and after a phone call to the owner, we decided to stop work in the structures until after the storm passed. It meant a coffee break in town.

I watched the cloud formations move in, and they threatened and thundered, and ultimately did not bring much rain. As soon as it begins to clear, I’ll head back to finish what was started. In the meanwhile, I made hot sauce, and an apple crisp from Cortland apples is baking in the oven.

Thunderstorm Rolling In
Thunderstorm Rolling In

A Cortland apple is a cross between McIntosh and Ben Davis apples, introduced in Geneva, New York in 1902. When peeling and cutting the slices, the browning of oxidation doesn’t occur as quickly as with other varieties. They are popular with people of a certain age, and last week I stopped by and picked the rest of what was on the trees at the orchard. There is enough to test my theory that any apple can be made into apple crisp… more than once.

The western sky is beginning to clear. As soon as the apple crisp is out of the oven, it’s back to the high tunnel to plant more seedlings. Better have that coffee soon.

Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Bushels of Apples

Golden and Red Delicious Apples
Golden and Red Delicious Apples

LAKE MACBRIDE— Two hours were spent outside eating apples from the tree… and picking them. Their ripeness was perfection, and as sweet as an apple could get, these seemed sweeter, especially the Golden Delicious.

With a two-year supply of condiments already in the cupboard— apple butter, pear butter, apple-pear butter, raspberry jam, grape jelly, wild black raspberry jam and others— the question is what to do with the three remaining bushels of apples. The answer is clear, eat them out of hand, bake them, and make applesauce.

Apple Harvest
Apple Harvest

My four trees produced more than 24 bushels of apples this season, the most I can recall. Growing conditions were almost ideal, and the fruit is mostly bug and fungus free. Having never sprayed these trees, they are as close to organic as can be.

As the season turns to winter, I’ll store some for as long as possible for apple crisp, and maybe an apple pie. To remind me of the brief dash of brilliance that was this summer’s apple crop.

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Gleaning and Arugula Pasta

Volunteer Arugula
Volunteer Arugula

LAKE MACBRIDE— Arugula volunteered in the tomato patch and we had a simple pasta with it last night for dinner. It has been growing for three additional years since the patch was planted in arugula. Here’s the recipe:

Put a pot on to boil one pound of pasta.

In a large bowl, add five medium tomatoes sliced in wedges, two cups roughly chopped arugula, 1-1/2 cups chopped fresh basil, one teaspoon dried, flaked oregano leaves, one half cup olives, two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, three tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. When the pasta is cooked and drained, add it all to the bowl and mix gently with tongs. Add one cup of Romano or Parmesan cheese and continue to mix. Serve immediately. Makes five to six servings.

Red and Green Tomatoes
Red and Green Tomatoes

After the garden is through, we glean it. This means going through the plots, removing the plants and picking the last bits of fresh vegetables. Last night I gleaned half of the tomato patch and it yielded the arugula and green and red tomatoes. I also raked the mulch and put it in a pile to use later.

The best green tomatoes will be wrapped in newspaper to ripen indoors, and the lesser ones will go into a garden ends salsa which will include hot and bell peppers, ripe Roma tomatoes, onions, garlic and whatever else is found while clearing the garden spaces. I may make fried green tomatoes from the biggest slices as I have been experimenting with a buttermilk and cornmeal coating this year.

The empty garden plot will store a brush pile until the branches are either chipped for mulch or burned. It is time to consolidate all the piles of fallen branches around the yard and mow the lawn.

Adding to my to-do list: make soup stock from fresh turnip leaves, harvest and dry the rest of the herbs, and glean the rest of the garden. I saw at least one more patch of volunteer arugula, and there will be a few Brussels sprouts, more tomatoes and the turnip roots. There is leftover garlic from my shares at the CSA, and some may get cracked and planted.

With all of this end of season activity, some delicious dishes are in the works.