The Journey to Now

A little over 10 years ago we found an old horse property near the Phoenix Mountain Preserve which became the place we are raising our family. As a PhD biochemist no longer working in a lab and a newly minted master gardener the I saw the property as an ecological wonderland I could experiment with all the things that piqued my curiosity.

My round about driveway became a 12, 4x10 foot raised bed garden. The perimeter of palm trees separating the horse arena from the private backyard became an orchard of 24 different fruit, nut and olive trees that produce year-round. Over the years we have had all sorts of livestock; chickens, the gateway farm animal, goats, sheep, pigs, turkeys, horses, donkeys, peafowl and Guinea fowl.

The now organic urban farm has transformed from when we first purchased it. The farm has served as my teacher, presenting many long-forgotten skills to master to preserve our bounty, increase or maintain yield, protect from predators and overcome failure. I learned to can, pickle, preserve, ferment, dehydrate, make soap, make cheese, make prosciutto, render lard, butcher an animal, sheer sheep, make fiber, tan a hide, build an aviary, weld, keep bees, compost, cultivate and plant.

The laundry list of skills I've acquired hasn't been as valuable to me as how the journey has enriched my life and the life of my family.

As the gardens gained their footing and the soil developed, the biodiversity of our 2.5 acre plot completely changed. First baron of life beyond flies and full of dust, now full of seasonal birds, butterflies, bugs, and impervious to disease or pest manifestation. As the land became a healthy ecosystem, I felt healthy being in it.

I became in-tune with what was in season. It was about the time that grapefruits would ripen that I would crave them and no other time of year. In spring, I would want nothing but a juicy peach or plum, and there it would be in my yard.

My family became aware of the contrast in flavor, nutrients and freshness of what came from our backyard and what was available at the grocery store or restaurant. We all prefer a homecooked meal in our scratch kitchen than any meal away from home. The flavor of an heirloom variety, homegrown tomato uncompromisable to one that you can buy at a store. The flavor and color of a fertile egg from a chicken pastured in your backyard, makes a made to order omelet at a hotel taste like flavorless mush. These ingredients are beyond what money can buy, although our friends, neighbors and acquaintances quick to buy up what extra we have in peak producing seasons at a premium price.

My kids learned where their food came from and the amount of hard work it takes to put it on the table. The kids have always been a part of running the farm. They help with compost, raising chickens, feeding the animals, collecting the eggs, planting, weeding and harvesting the garden. They know the joy of eating snap peas off a trellised plant on a sunny afternoon. The pleasure in sitting beneath the shade of a peach tree and gorging on peaches as an afterschool snack. They know how their kitchen waste can be recycled to full the garden in years to come rather than the lack of connection that comes with sending the responsibility of your waste in a container to be picked up by some anonymous person, never to be dealt with again. Thery know the pain that comes with a coyote attack on the flock of birds you raised from eggs. They know the process of killing a well raised animal to feed the family that they have known since its birth. They are conscious of their role in this ecosystem and the responsibility that goes along with stewarding care for elements of the farm that cannot care for themselves. Of equal importance and in contrast to many kids of this generation, my kids are healthy, they don't get sick, they have muscle tone and no visceral adiposity, they are bright, articulate and conversational with multigenerational peers.

As I have talked with people over the years about our unconventional way of living. What I have to share is usually met with interest and a little bit of awe in being able to do what we do (How do you have the time for all that?). What I think is worth sharing here in this blog and podcast if what I have come to appreciate myself. What we have built is a lifestyle. Although it is different than what is common around us in the city, it affords us the foundation of health, quality nutrition and flavor, connection with the ecosystem and symbiotics benefits of employing sustainable practices. When a growing number of people around us are unhealthy, obese, sedentary, passively participating in a lifestyle of ease, poor nutrition and the path of least resistance. It has become clear that not only is good health a result of a series of conscious choices, it is hard to achieve in our modern world.

Here I would like to share with you what I have learned to carve out healthy choices for my family and perhaps motivate you to proactively choose options for your own health and the health of those and the environment around you.