Fair Trade







Over the weekend, we traveled up the road again to another elderly neighbor's house.  He had stopped by to introduce himself and asked if we could help him get his garden beds cleaned up and ready for planting.  He loves his gardens, but he and his wife are eighty now and can't quite manage the raking anymore.  Mike and the boys spent the morning cleaning up last years leaves, while Chuck talked, and I dug up about a hundred raspberry plants, a patch of garlic and a few bundles of chives.   A fair trade, we decided, for a morning's work.  This work for trade is quickly becoming my favorite kind. Trading, bartering, learning from elders, passing on experiences and stories.  When we dreamed of homesteading, this idea was such an integral part of our plan, but we had no idea how fulfilling it would be to all of us.  On our way out the driveway, he asked if we would have any use for well pump and a solar powered electric fence system... um, yeah.  Now all we need are the sheep!

{The photos above are of the newly planted raspberries along our garden fence.  Our soil is extremely sandy so we're installing hugelkultur beds to help retain moisture and build the soil.}

2 comments

  1. What a great day. I wonder if those neighbors have any family near by. How you must have blessed them too. All those raspberries are going to be so wonderful, mine have tiny buds already. Our fruit trees and bushes are so early this year here in the NW, I can hardly wait. All that hard work, must feel wonderful that Spring has finally sprung for you.
    Traci

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  2. yes, yes- fair trade indeed! sounds like time well spent. :)

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