In the year 2000, an Amish farmer named Amos Miller attended a Weston A. Price Foundation conference with his father. He listened to Sally Fallon talk about traditional food: raw milk, grass-fed meat, fermented vegetables, the way humans ate for ten thousand years before the USDA decided it was dangerous. He went home to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and started selling it. Twenty-six years later, his farm has been raided by federal agents, subjected to three consent decrees, slapped with $85,000 in fines, and dragged through nearly a decade of litigation across federal and state courts. His products have been blockaded, detained, and ordered destroyed.
If you need some good news, continue reading . . .
He’s still selling. His food club has over 4,000 members nationwide. And an appeals court just ruled that Pennsylvania can’t stop him from shipping across state lines. This is the story of the underground real food economy, and why the government keeps losing to a man who doesn’t use electricity.
I endured the heat just long enough to harvest more eggplants and tomatoes, pretty much the only thing besides peppers still surviving. It was feeling a bit depressing, pretty normal for me this time of year. I really hate watching everything die and/or get over-taken by the pernicious grasses and vines, which thrive in the heat while I wither.
And then I saw it! Instantaneous mood booster: the first passion flower from a variety given by a friend, which I’ve planted in numerous locations. Stunning!
That got me thinking, and rummaging through my photo files for all things purple.
Of course we know purple is the color of nobility. I remember reading somewhere that’s because the dye was so expensive that only royalty could afford it. So I looked it up.
According to AI, that is true. Tyrian purple was among the original most-favored, called Imperial purple, originating in Tyre, ancient Phoenicia, which is modern-day Lebanon. From Wiki: The pigment was expensive and time-consuming to produce, and items coloured with it became associated with power and wealth. This popular idea of purple being elite contributes to the modern day widespread belief that purple is a “royal colour”. The colour of textiles from this period provides insight into socio-cultural relationships within ancient societies, in addition to providing insights on technological achievements, fashion, social stratification, agriculture and trade connections. Tyrian purple – Wikipedia
They call that purple?
Purple poke berries
Poke berries stain purple, but I guess that was not the proper shade for Byzantine royalty? Or perhaps it just sounded more elegant to them that the proper shade required monumental manual labor to extract the dye from special snails sacrificed for their purpose of pleasure for the leisure classes?
Anyway, I’d love to wear a gown made of purple passion flowers! Flower Haute Couture is another thing I just learned is a real thing. The wonders of the internet!
Royal influencers aside, there really is something special about purple. It would seem this little wren nesting in my purple wandering jew might agree.
Purple seems quite plentiful in nature. Purple grapes, purple berries, purple flowers, purple peppers, onions and potatoes.
Being so plentiful it shouldn’t feel so special. Yet somehow it still does.
Is the special of purple in the eye of the beholder, or is it somehow ‘objectively’ special, what do you think?
I really mean it, for all, not just the government. You seriously over-estimate yourselves, all ye who cling to the coping, helping, giving categories.
At 12 I asked my ballet teacher to help me improve my lacklaster turnout. I have hip problems to this day from her suggested, prolongued, insufferable positions.
At 20 I asked my professor to help me with a chapter of my novel. That was asking a lot, but rather than saying ‘no’ she redirected me from my natural aptitude toward her personal literary preferences.
At 23 I asked a close friend to teach me to snow ski. Big mistake, I loathe downhill skiing to this day after he ‘accidentally’ led me down the black diamond run instead of the bunny hills.
At 33 I asked my sister for advice on a very sensitive issue. Big fucking mistake, again.
At 40, oh yes, more bad advice. Not long after that crisis I was given ‘help’ after asking for it, in the form of drama from disturbed individuals. Ask for help, receive drama, that’s the pattern.
And more at 45, indeed still at 55, plus!
The solicited advice is bad enough, then there’s the constant stream of unsolicited advice.
The latest offense coming laughably not too long ago. “Don’t say yes to things that will drain you.”
Classic condescending cuntery! From a so-called friend! That will be going on a permanent plaque in the forefront of my mind, forever.
So many (not) thanks!
Will I ever learn? Can I ever learn?!
Let me give y’all some really hard-earned, yet totally unsolicited advice.
Most advice sucks! Most advice proferrers are FOS.
We-means-I . . .
Hopefully, maybe overtime we recognize and can more easily sift the rare and precious advice from the . . . might we dare to say . . . the profane?
Self-satisfaction is king and his queen is self-delusion! And you can quote me on that!
And all that bitched, here’s my best-ever advice based on a lifetime of bad advice, and now featured eternally on Youtube: Choose reality over fantasy.
That disgusting-looking melon is the first one to be halfway decent this year. We nearly fed it to the pigs out of looks alone. Our cucs and melons have been crap. We don’t know why. The cucs were bitter by their first harvest, the melons are ripening in a most bizarre haphazard sort of way that half rots while the other half remains unripened.
It’s not quite the same as the old adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’
that ugle cheese on the plate is a first-time cheese experiment success. and damn how I needed that yesterday. a soft, non-renneted fresh cheese wrapped in fig leaf and aged for 6 weeks.
I love cherries so much I display them over our own grapes, also coming in half-ripe, half-spoiled, on the same bunch.
That is, cherries from Walmart, on special at an irrestible $2/pound! On my once-a-month town run, which I mostly loathe, especially when it includes Walmart!
We call it a ‘bad year’.
I’m exhausted.
Hubby barrels on in the heat on our new bathroom, while I wither.
Bad years are to be expected, yet . . .
What will it take to see it through fresh eyes?
Tomatoes and feta, ugly, but still pretty tasty!
We don’t typically expect how that will feel.
Whether good or bad. It sort of molds into a morph-space best called ‘unexpected.’
I was not raised to be a ‘tough times’ sort of girl. I struggle every summer here, I complain in writing every summer. I think it helps, but, only because it helps me, to carry-on.
Seduced by slogans
I only became a fantasy tough-times type through marketing. So, forty years later I really understand its power.
My maternal grandfather was a salesman who used to try to warn us about marketing. He used to turn down the commercials on the constantly-on TV. The commercials were often the only part of the selected programming that I liked.
moisture in the cheese from fridge failureMajor cheese aging breakdown, a day’s unexpected work, severe frustration.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or, so the slogan says.
I liked this sewing lady’s take, she seems more aware and accepting of the times than I am. Sometimes inspiration comes from the oddest places. Thanks for that.
Luxury comes at great costs we rarely acknowledge, especially the appearance of it.
A homestead happenings post complete with dirty DIY pics, jungle-garden updates and my attempts at calm amidst the chaos.
While I see others around the world are thrilled with finally warm temps and blossoming gardens, we’ve already hit the hot mess stage. I’m embarrased a bit to include pics of the jungle that just a few weeks ago had several brag-worthy elements.
It’s so hot, wet and fertile here the seeds are coming up anywhere!
Oddly, not the cucumbers nor the onions. We’ve had bad onion years before, but cucs are our biggest no-brainer. I can’t recall ever having a bad year, normally they are so prolific they become pig food by this time, but this year we haven’t even had a big enough harvest to pickle, and they’re already dying back in the swelter. I’ve succession planted and can only hope whatever fluke has hit them, the youngens will bounce back by next month.
I guess it’s relative, when I see the onions displayed like that in Hubby’s hand-crafted bins, it seems ok.
The green beans in Hubby’s monster row are producing by the bushel and I’m already sick of them. We’re too unsettled with the bathroom DIY to do any canning and have even stopped harvesting them. Such a shame, I do hate to see them go to waste, but it’s all I can do to keep up with all the other chores.
Like the flowers! I know, it sounds rather frivolous compared to beans, to devote my painfully precious hours of manual labor to flowers instead of food, but they make me so happy I’ve gotten over it.
These Black Hopi sunflowers were actually volunteers from last year’s seed gift from Gavin Mounsey who sends heirloom seeds to those who buy his book or become a paid subscriber to his Substack newsletter–so worth it, a gift that really does keep giving! 😘
They are so rewarding and of course very functional as well. These giant sunflowers are not only gorgeous, but they serve as mid-day shading for the tomatoes and there are pollinators all over them. I even saw a squirrel up there eating the seeds. Too bad I didn’t have the tablet, it would’ve been a great shot, but I didn’t even see him until he started barking at me when I was picking tomatoes right underneath him.
First bloom of the lovely Blackberry Lily
Meanwhile, while I’m goofing off, Handy Hubby gets to experience male priviledge. Mr. Know-it-All likes to impress me and the dogs with all his savoir-faire. I know he secrectly delights in sweating and rolling in the dirt under the house with Buttercup. He’s totally thrilled that the bathroom remodel has turned into dirt to rooftop overhaul and his fancy tile project has been delayed by a month and tidy unplanned sum.
But not only was the subfloor coated in mold and mildew, but the piers and beams were sagging and unaligned and the drainage was partially blocked. He had to dig all that out and replace some and add more and while unexpected, it wasn’t terribly surprising. It was built as a camp cottage in the 80s, no one ever lived here full-time until us.
Considering that, Hubby says they did a good job and that the quality of materials for a camp cottage back then was leagues better than what goes into the pre-fab modern construction. We’re really lucky we got on this whim to remodel when we did, because that mess was only going to get more ugly with time.
That’s the bad news. The good news is the other development that grew spontaneously out of this project–I now have a real flex-room–a place for fermenting and seedlings and maybe just lounging. Considering how small our place is, I know it sounds a little crazy, but considering we’ll most likely never move again, why not? There was a big bed in there that just made for useless space, now it’s full function. Or rather, it will be, whenever the bathroom gets done.
Hubby is never so impressive to me than when he is in Mission-Man-Mode. He has a single-minded, goal-oriented side to him that perks up with such vigor suddenly you’d think he was once again a 30-something in hot pursuit of a sexy young thang (and by that I mean me). 😂
Seriously though, it is impressive and he can work leagues past my breaking point when he’s in the zone. And Youtube is another godsend sometimes, the two of them in lockstep is like any DIYers dream couple. Between that and the regular influx of inspiration from the home shows on TV, there’s really nothing a devoted follower can’t learn, it seems. How marvelous to be learning so much still at our age!
I made up a wee thought experiment for the automated answer system that passes for logic in our modern era.
I asked the machine a question with only a one word variable to learn what sort of mind-bending nonsense it would generate.
Here was my question: “Why are (XX) so exploitative?” For the ‘XX’ variable I inserted the following labels one at a time: Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bhuddists, Germans, Americans.
I wonder what the average reader might guess would be the results of such a series of inquiries? Would you expect a certain degree of objectivity? Of universality? I wonder also, would every individual in any location get the same string of answers?
I encourage everyone to give it a shot. In my case, as a U.S. citizen residing in Texas, in only one circumstance was I given an answer that completely ‘flipped the script.’
What do I mean by that? It uses a psychological weapons tactic referred to as DARVO–Deny, Accuse, Reverse Victim and Offender.
In abusive relationships this tactic is what keeps victims confused and trapped in their own demise, sometimes not even realizing they are in an abusive relationship. It is the tactic often used in cults and to create in victims the familiar Stockholm Syndrome.
In the public arena the tactic is the same, but the delivery is often more subtle and sophisticated. It can be very useful in spotting this type of manipulation in the public arena by studying it in interpersonal dynamics.
In the case of my wee AI psychology experiment we see the more subtle and sophisticated version playing out. Instead of direct ‘Denial’ we observe redirection. Instead of direct ‘Accusation’ we observe excuses, inferences, insinuations. And in the case of ‘Reverse Victim and Offender’ the person asking the question becomes the offender.
In only one case am I, as the one asking the question, inferred as being somehow hostile-adjacent for simply asking, and schooled about ‘hate speech’ and Antisemitism.
“The history of antisemitism, defined as hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group, goes back many centuries, being called “the longest hatred”. Jerome Chanes identifies six stages in the historical development of antisemitism: 1. Pre-Christian anti-Judaism in Ancient Greece and Rome that was primarily ethnic in nature 2. Christian antisemitism in antiquity and the Middle Ages that was religious in nature and has extended into modern times 3 Continued in Wikipedia”
Every link after that for two pages seeks to teach me about the ancient and on-going plight of a tiny group of people.
Other ‘XX’ inputs have a broader range of links, but each comes with its own bias and redirection. In the case of Americans I’m redirected toward considering the class struggle against the poor. In the case of Muslims I’m informed of their inherent violence. In the case of Christians I’m given many links of Bible verses demonizing exploitation, and in fact the only search results that stay on point, that is, address exploitation directly and at length, including the meaning of the word.
In the case of Bhuddists as well, I’m again redirected toward ‘violence’. But I did not ask AI about violence in my query at all, the word choice was ‘exploitative’ and in the case of Jews the only violence inferred is against them. In reference to Germans I’m redirected to ‘Stereotypes of Germans’ wiki page where nothing about exploitation is mentioned. NAZIS get a tiny blurb, that was a bit unexpected, I expected much more.
In any case, what does this mean? What’s my point exactly? It’s probably not news. Most folks know by now we are pawns in an information war that uses psychological operations against the public as a driving tactic of sociopolitical manipulation.
It’s ALL about Coercive Control. “Abusive power and control is behavior used by an abusive person to gain and/or maintain control over another person. Abusers may utilize tactics such as devaluation or psychological projection, and may seek personal gain, personal gratification, and the enjoyment of exercising power and control. The victims of this behavior are often subject to psychological, physical, sexual, or financial abuse.”
What many may not yet know is that there are many strategies we can use as individuals to protect ourselves. Learning about manipulation in abusive relationships is just about the easiest solution, because this information is ubiquitous online and easy to witness and relate, as most of us have experienced coercive control tactics directly or indirectly at some point in our lives.
More difficult is applying this on a broader scale, but examples like this wee thought experiment help to demonstrate it.
The most difficult is understanding HOW this is happening on a global scale–how the entire globe has fallen prey to manipulation and abuse by the SYSTEM ITSELF and BY DESIGN.
“Today, if you have money, you can buy what you like. Assuming you use a credit card your balance is checked and the money withdrawn. By 2029, the terminal checks a second balance — carbon, social, compliance — before the transaction clears. Fail the check, payment denied. It’s a permission system. We covered the EU implementation in How Europe is Building a Carbon Currency — Digital Product Passports, Digital ID Wallets, and the Digital Euro. But Europe is just one implementation. The architecture is global.” https://open.substack.com/pub/escapekey/p/conditional-existence?r=87pg2k&utm_medium=ios
The architecture escapekey identifies and explains is essential reading for anyone who wishes to grasp the big picture. But it’s not essential to understand the overarching effects of coercive control or how to minimize its impact on your personal life.
Recognizing it and eliminating it from your acceptable relationship criteria is the real escape key. What becomes intolerable to the individual will determine what becomes intolerable in the public sphere.
Choose your relations wisely and with utmost discernment and stoicism and you will know positive change in your lifetime. That is the next generation’s only hope to avoid their open-air prison.
