06/01/2024
🏞️ Cycles of Renewal: Embracing Natural Gardening Practices
I was looking through family photos recently and came across pictures of one of the coolest vacation spots.
I don't know if I even want to disclose the location, for fear of it being overrun with people...
But you are an awesome person that I wouldn't mind spending a week with, so I'm going to let you in on the secret.
In Southwest Idaho and Northwest Utah there is a lake called Bear Lake. It has been called "The Caribbean of the Rockies", due to its almost turquoise-blue color.
If you are ever looking for a place to spend a week or two of your summer, I highly recommend it.
Three summers in a row, my parents, brothers, sisters, and all of our families had our family reunion there.
It was definitely one of the highlights of the year!
We started each morning with a family workout on the giant grass area next to our condos, then we spent the rest of the day enjoying several activities; playing at the beach next to the lake, swimming in the pools and lake, miniature golf, table tennis, frisbee, baseball, horseshoes, and just enjoying catching up with everyone.
One winter prior to our reunion, there was a lot of snow all over that region.
In the photo, you can see two rock piers that extend out into the water. (I did not take this picture, but this is what it looked like.)
Those are each probably about 50 yards long.
The first two years we went, the shoreline didn't even get to those piers. In fact the water didn't start for another 30 yards or so AFTER those piers.
It was quite a sandy, rocky trek to get to the water from our condo.
As you can see in the picture, the water that year had risen and the shoreline was a good 100 yards closer than it had been in years past.
This memory has got me thinking about the cyclical nature of things.
The water recedes and recedes until, in one highly precipitous year, it comes rushing back in.
In gardening and agriculture 100 years ago, EVERYTHING was organic. People used animal manures and other organic matter for fertilizer.
Then chemical processes were invented to manufacture synthetic nitrogen and for decades that has ruled the way our food is grown.
Over the past several years, a growing movement of healthy living has started bringing us back to natural and organic inputs into our food, back to gardening and agriculture in general. Back to practices that use natural inputs to produce the best quality, best tasting, most nutritious food possible.
The waters recede, and it comes back.
The gift of a more beautiful, more productive garden is just about the best gift you can give to your family and to gardeners in your life and Terra Fresh is the surest way to give it!
The waters are coming back in, my friend!
