So.. A little while between posts

I have been busy working on adding some video content via this site or YouTube. Going to have some pictures posted as well, so you all can see our progress. Going to be posting more frequently soon. Thanks for your patience.

Gardening and the challenges of mixing it up

So.. I thought I started late this year because of how hot May started off. I planted May 28th.. But then on June 2nd we got a surprise cool spell that dropped below 0. Needless to say some of my squash and eggplant aren't looking so well. I really didn't think I had to cover them.

With it looking like I might have to rebuild on top of the rebuild, I've been thinking about how I've overcome some of these shortfalls in previous years.

Now, I'm going to be honest: I don't start all my garden from seeds. In fact, I would say I start with 25 percent seeds and 75 percent purchases from the garden center. I implement seeds later into the season. But now it looks like I'll be buying more when I had hoped to reduce our food costs and be working towards independence from the garden center. Oh well.

Another thing I like to do, because I'm a lazy gardener, is use seed tape. Didn't do that this year and now I am thinking it's time to crank it out.

Sometimes

Sometimes.. I look at the world and think it's gone mad. Sometimes I think our leaders would rather let the world burn rather than do what is right. Why have all environmental accords been nothing more than fancy paper and photo ops? Why do we fight wars with countries that haven't attacked us? Why are we reverting to the same economic policies that lead to the great depression?

Sometimes.. I wonder about human nature and how tribal we can be. I wonder if I am racist, sexist, transphobic, and classist. I try to guard against such thoughts but sometimes I think I hear the echoes of family and friends and wonder if such ideas that they held are not my own. They raised me and interacted with me. It stands to reason that they influenced me. I worry that these things happen at a subconscious level and I don't even know it.

Sometimes.. I wonder if I could even be another religion if I tried and I wonder how much of that was also influenced by my environment. How would I react if I found out that I was wrong? I think I would still have the same basic beliefs of treating others as well as you want to be treated, but I think I might be overwhelmed nonetheless.

What a year

So, it's been uncharacteristically warm this year, and in years past I would have already begun with a thousand plus seedlings. Also, about half of those seedlings would die before they even left the basement (hence the reason for planting so many).

This year, however, we are attempting to tackle the ant problem and this involves moving all wood products from the front yard to the back. I personally wanted to get a ant-eater, but the family kinda won that argument. I still think having my own ant-eater would be more cooler and fun than a visit by the pest controller guy, but I digress.

Anyways, with every thing being moved to the back there has been a delay in getting everything set up. As well, the front yard has always been a success whereas the back yard has not. So, a strategy regarding the back yard needed to be in place.

I'll be posting pictures of the garden and the layout while explaining why we went with the locations and such. I appreciate any input people have.

Kinda really stoked for this year. I want to explore mushroom growing, finally figure out aquaponics, and start growing vertical as well. I will post the successes (and failures) on here.

On a side note, I want to eventually phase out my Facebook and use this blog for my updates.

Sincerely,
Shawn

A reboot, of some sorts, and a completely new blog in another.

So, this is blog zero.

Originally, I wrote The Big Mac Attack: a red Tory's reflection of Canadian politics. I stopped writing that blog, as I found myself increasing at odds with the conservative movements, and I needed to focus on my studies.

Later on, I began this blog under the alias Muskwa Littlebear, hoping to explore theocracies, aboriginal title, and the constitution. I never published any of the posts and deleted most of the content. I realized the name was confusing, and appropriated, and like my ideas on my former blog, changed over time.

Now, I'm a father and a husband to two beautiful Dene women, and we live with my elderly mother, sister, and brother in law. I have come to the belief that the greatest form of activism is to grow your own food and reclaim the planet one small portion at a time. I will be largely writing about my (mis)adventures concerning gardening and my challenges parenting.

However, I will occasionally go off topic and will probably rant about politics and world events. I might also explore such things like: religion, feminism, books and movies I like to watch, and food. Please bare with me.

Thanks for reading this far, and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Sincerely,
Shawn