I need a raise of hands here: If there was a patch of green grass in your front yard... how many people would be out there grazing?
I have cabin fever, local food fever, warm sun fever...
Here in Northern NY the winter has been brutal; longs weeks of very cold weather. It has been years since I have lived through week after week of below zero temperatures. Snow, we have had plenty of snow this year to boot.
By the end of March I am always eager for the green foods of Spring: (Spring IS capitalized here because right now, Spring is very important to me!)
- wild leeks
- dandelion greens
- spring nettles
- violet leaves
- wild sorrel
- spring sorrel
To have some green nettles to chomp on, what a pleasure that would be.
It is but February 28th and I am crawling out of my skin for fresh food, food I can pluck off the vine or cut from the ground, food that is alive and vibrant with life force energy. I know it is a good two months before I am digging wild leeks. What is a girl to do when the root veggies, squash, and cabbage are no longer appealing to her? (Believe me; I am very grateful to my local farmers who work hard all season to keep me well stocked with these wonderful, winter storage veggies. I just need a break from winter; a bowl of freshness served up with sunshine.)
My radical plan to circumvent local food
I am off to the Potsdam Food Coop this AM to buy organic produce
- big, juicy navel oranges from Florida,
- sweet, furry little kiwis from California,
- luscious red peppers from wherever they were grown and harvested, and
- any other delicious, juicy looking fruit or veggie that comes from someplace that is sunny and warm.
I will bring them home, park my butt in a sunny spot (it is gorgeous and sunny today, by 2 PM my front porch will have warmed to at least 50 degrees... this is like a tropical paradise to me!), and indulge in food grown far from my home. My thoughts will go to the people responsible for caring for the orange grove and the kiwi orchards (Do you call a Kiwi farm an orchard?) with love and gratitude for the work they do to grow, harvest, and pack these sun filled wonders to be delivered to my hands. Gratitude to the many hands the crates pass through and the people driving up the East Coast and across this big continent, through the nights, to bring these delectable non-local foods to my hands and belly. This infusion of packaged sunshine, vitamin C, and so many other amazing nutrients may just keep me humming along until my feet are bare with the green grass under them again.
Enjoy the sun today, wherever you are and remember the words of my youngest son when he was an 8 year old boy:
"If you lift the corner of the clouds the sun is always shining." Eli
This is a warning to you dandelions... I will be eating you!
Please share your secrets for surviving cabin fever, the need for non-local food, and the need for grass under your bare feet.