How the Times have changed

As summer is coming to a close in just a few weeks, I often think how quickly the seasons seem to be passing.  For many Fall is a depressing time.  The end of the summer blooms, the shortening of the days and in many places cooler and wetter weather.  To me I find the coming of Fall to be one of my most favorite times of the year.  The beautiful colors in the changing of the leaves. A gentle breeze with just a slight chill in the air, while sitting on the patio in the early evening with a small fire in the pit and my favorite cup of tea.  The festivals celebrating the harvests of the year.  These truly are the things that make life good.

But summer isn't over yet and there is much left to do before it does end.  Putting in the fall garden is at the top of the list.  Root plants, squashes, spinach, lettuce, and many other good veggies.  I think of this time as finishing gathering fruits and veggies for the long winter to come.  It is truly a good feeling to know the pantry will be filled and long lines at the grocery stores are now a thing of the past.

We are also looking to expand the goat pen and anticipating the newest members of our flock.  They'll be joining us around the beginning of November.  It is always fun when the kids arrive but much to do before the blessed event.

Being self-sufficient means a long list of chores that seems to never end.  Our family has many hands to help and we are truly grateful for that.  My husband has health issues which stops him from doing a lot of the repairs and chores.  We are one of the many families now living with multiple generations in the same house.  Some think it shouldn't be that way but not living together is a fairly new occurrence. 

Up until WWII, generations did so to help share the workload and for lack of money in many cases.  Farmers who were as self-sufficient as any, had large families to keep the farm running.  WWII changed that with the returning of Veterans and the housing boom that came along with the VA Loan Program.  This was the beginning of the end in being self-sufficient.  Returning GI's moved to the suburbs and the birth of the nuclear family began.  No more working the family farm, the GI Bill now had people who would not have ever thought of college before going.  Thus began the idea that everyone had to go to college.  Realizing not everyone was meant for college, trade schools were a welcome opportunity for returning GI's to find work off the farm.  The nation prospered but was losing the character which had built this land.  Continuing into the 1950's, what was once vast farm land was now suburbs for the sprawling metropolises.  Fresh picked fruits and veggies were now in cans for convenience sake and meat in markets not smokehouses.

Something else also changed the character of the country, prayer.  Prayer was no longer allowed in schools.  What brought people across the mighty oceans (religious freedom) was in fact now being taken away.  Many are unfamiliar with this piece of history, but Congress commissioned the first Bible to be printed in the newly formed country called the United States.  The dedication was so school children could learn from it.  How far have we moved from that idea.

So back to being self-sufficient.  Due to a number of decisions over the years to relinquish liberties in the name of safety and security, we find ourselves with an inordinate amount of regulations constricting the ability to remain self-sufficient.  One example is bartering, it is considered a taxable income.  Not being able to give extra food from your garden to soup kitchens is another.  Fortunately folks are beginning to realize, old ways are not always antiquated in new times.  Meaning to get through the financial difficulties many find themselves in now, we have to become more self-sustaining and self-sufficient.