The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Tucking away the harvest

Okra seedsRain drummed on the trailer roof Tuesday morning. "Slow down," it urged. "Take the day to catch up inside."

Our kitchen had become a disaster zone of epic proportions in the rush of harvest and honeymoon. Baskets and mesh bags of butternuts, sweet potatoes, and pears spread out like a fungus across the floor while our lone counter had become a dumping ground for a big bowl of ripening peppers and tomatoes, crushed eggshells for next year's garden, and much more. Seed heads were scattered hither, thither, and yon, waiting to be dehulled, labelled, and stored away for spring, while the mattress off the futon we moved outside to clear window space for our citrus trees was engulfing half the room. I bought a bushel box of Stayman apples from the back of a pickup truck last week, and those were also tossed blithely on the floor in front of the sink.

Seven hours later, the rain was still drumming on the roof, but the harvest was tucked away, the house much cleaner. (
I sure am lucky to have a handy boyfriend who's also a much better housekeeper than I am!)  "Now sit down," said the wet cat, who had fled the bustle into the rain.  "It's time to purr in a warm lap."



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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"Boyfriend"? Didn't you just get back from a honeymoon?
Comment by Everett Thu Oct 29 11:15:57 2009
Well, ya know, I tend to call him my boyfriend when I'm happy with him. "Husband" just doesn't sound as sweet....
Comment by anna Thu Oct 29 17:05:36 2009





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