Memphis Democrat Column from November 12, 2007

Stan here Ð with a snapshot of whatÕs been happening on the hill. ItÕs been about a month since Kathe last wrote - we were finishing sorghum harvest then. Kathe & Michael are on vacation down in the Ozarks at the homestead where they lived before they came here. They like to go there regularly to keep the varmints out of their cabin and for a well deserved vacation.

After sorghum season, most folks who came to help with the harvest went home Ð except for Otto from East Wind and Richard from Minnesota. Otto has made it a tradition to spend some of the fall/winter here and keep us supplied with firewood. Richard came to help with the sorghum harvest the last 2 years and is helping with everything. Otto and I are harvesting some saw logs for lumber for our own use and Gigi keeps working on the greenhouse on windows, vents, etc; occasionally some of us help with plastering. I have been doing more inspections of organic farms and businesses Ð mostly in Missouri.

Garden work keeps going: just before the big freeze, we harvested the rest of the tomatoes and peppers. We still have brussel sprouts, cauliflower, & kale out there. We had a fantastic sweet potato harvest and even sold several hundred pounds. We had a wonderful and productive growing season; as always, some crops did better than others. The bees were off to a slow start this spring but have had a great fall; so far we have not had the colony collapse stuff in this area yet.

This is the end of our fair season Ð where we sell our products Ð besides our usual line, we had various salsas, BBQ sauce, pepper relishes, & garlic. We go as far as St Louis, Kansas City, and closer to home: Hannibal, Kirksville, Keosauqua, etc. The last one was the Small Farm Conference & trade show in Columbia Ð where I always meet some local folks.

Laird has been gone for several weeks - meetings, conferences, & work. One was the board meeting of the Fellowship of Intentional Communities where they decided to keep publishing Communities Magazine (at the office on our farm) Ð even though it keeps losing money (small magazines are having financial challenges in this computer/web age). The magazine is a primary way for us in communities to keep in touch with each other and the rest of society. Laird plans to pop in here for a half day before he heads west to spend thanksgiving with his wife in Albuquerque.

On a sad note, one of the key figures in the communities movement for the last two decades, Geoph Kozeny, died a few weeks ago of pancreatic cancer. Geoph was a frequent visitor here and a personal friend to each of us and will be missed a lot.

Renay is playing orchestral bells in band at school and for her own (& our) enjoyment. The sounds are so clear and lingering. Last weekend she had her friend Chelsea from Memphis over for the weekend. My, those girls can hoot, holler, & giggle!

I am in awe at the fall colors this year. Earlier, I was beginning to wonder if the leaves were ever going to change - now I feel blessed with the richest colors that I can remember in my 28 autumns here ( then again, my memory seems to be fadingÉ.). My feelings of appreciation are also somewhat muted by the realization that we are still at war Ð it is easy to forget and not think about it Ð and yet how can I? My country is responsible for so much suffering and pain Ð and I feel helpless. But being depressed about it doesnÕt do any good either. Better go for another walk in the woodsÉ