The depths of winter always bring a bittersweet flavor to the moment of existence for us warm blooded creatures. The beauty of the snows intermingled with the brutality of the cold are one of life's enduring mysteries. In a more ancient and balanced age, humans were at the mercy of the seasons, which most likely helped us be aware and understand the precarious niche we inhabit in the world. Yet with the advent of the modern age, we have fully distanced ourselves from the natural cycles that sustain. This separation has not been in total vain due to the fact that in the process of objective rationalism, birthed in the age of Enlightenment, we are able to fully understand many of the systems that sustain us on a scale that until now would have been unthinkable. Which brings me to the point that I am trying to make; the interconnectedness of the modern world and all the information and resources available to the 21st century monkey (us) we can do wonderful things, like grow lemons in Vermont in the dead of winter. It was a sight to see for sure. Granted their life cycle is assisted by petroleum products in the form of plastics and electricity but still the cost seems to be quite worth it. This particular lemon tree in question, according to the grower,
Buzz, produced fifty lemons in the month of December alone. Not bad for tropical plant growing at 1,300 ft surrounded by snow at the base of some of Vermont's larger mountains.
It makes one think, especially in light of what is going on in the world today when the average piece of food on an Americans plate travels 1,500 miles, that up until not too long ago, everyone grew their own food or knew where it came from. How many people today have seen a chicken processing plant or a salmon farm? I know I haven't but in addition to the lemons, I also ate some fresh cherry tomatoes that had been growing since June and also scoped the four season chicken coop. Its great knowing that a revolution is happening, one that is rumbling in the fields and forests and dinner tables across this land, a revolution that is more of a remembering than a forging of a new path. We've all been their as a collective group at one point in the past and we will be there again. It just tastes really good when you get to actually take a bite of it on a cold February day when the sun is shining.
The depths of winter always bring a bittersweet flavor to the moment of existence for us warm blooded creatures. The beauty of the snows intermingled with the brutality of the cold are one of life's enduring mysteries. In a more ancient and balanced age, humans were at the mercy of the seasons, which most likely helped us be aware and understand the precarious niche we inhabit in the world. Yet with the advent of the modern age, we have fully distanced ourselves from the natural cycles that sustain. This separation has not been in total vain due to the fact that in the process of objective rationalism, birthed in the age of Enlightenment, we are able to fully understand many of the systems that sustain us on a scale that until now would have been unthinkable. Which brings me to the point that I am trying to make; the interconnectedness of the modern world and all the information and resources available to the 21st century monkey (us) we can do wonderful things, like grow lemons in Vermont in the dead of winter. It was a sight to see for sure. Granted their life cycle is assisted by petroleum products in the form of plastics and electricity but still the cost seems to be quite worth it. This particular lemon tree in question, according to the grower, Buzz, produced fifty lemons in the month of December alone. Not bad for tropical plant growing at 1,300 ft surrounded by snow at the base of some of Vermont's larger mountains. 
It makes one think, especially in light of what is going on in the world today when the average piece of food on an Americans plate travels 1,500 miles, that up until not too long ago, everyone grew their own food or knew where it came from. How many people today have seen a chicken processing plant or a salmon farm? I know I haven't but in addition to the lemons, I also ate some fresh cherry tomatoes that had been growing since June and also scoped the four season chicken coop. Its great knowing that a revolution is happening, one that is rumbling in the fields and forests and dinner tables across this land, a revolution that is more of a remembering than a forging of a new path. We've all been their as a collective group at one point in the past and we will be there again. It just tastes really good when you get to actually take a bite of it on a cold February day when the sun is shining.
mmm. cherry tomatoes.
ReplyDeletethese past few days were a nice glimpse of a semi-thawed world. it has me anticipating the rebirth of spring. hope your well.
-s.h.