Going to Ground

Farmers are considered to be well-'grounded,' meaning they're firmly established, stable, practical. But even though we work with the 'ground,' we don't come in contact with it other than through our feet. (Grounding also refers to connecting electricity to the ground, but let's don't go over my head -- Melissa's the electrician in the family.)

A few months ago I read an article in the Utne Reader about how disconnected we are from the ground, and the electrical charges it holds. We wear shoes, and while gardeners might kneel in the soil, most of us rarely connect directly with the ground.

The premise of the article is that because we're not in sync with the earth's electrical currents, we get sick. I'm not going to debate the validity of wacky theories; the article just intrigued me.

So I decided to get some ground time. It was about 55 degrees out, but the sun had warmed the grass. So with our new barn kitten, Emmett, I lay down on the grass. I planned to spend 15 minutes there, getting connected to the earth's electrical charges. 

But when that time had passed, I didn't want to get up. It was weird. So I let Emmett climb over me for awhile. Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. Then Emmett crawled up into the bottom of my baggy pant leg and fell asleep.

I ended up 'grounding' myself for 1  1/2 hours!  The next day I did it for 30 minutes.

Then the sun disappeared for a week, but now it's back, and I plan to spend more time on the ground. I don't know if I buy the stuff in the article; I just know it feels good.  Weird.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.utne.com/Mind-Body/Earthing-Grounding-Sleep-Research-Electromagnetic-Fields.aspx

While I spent time on the ground, I amused myself by taking photos of Emmett.

So did it feel good to lie on the ground because of the electrical current running through the earth? Or was it because I spent 90 minutes doing absolutely nothing but playing with a kitten and soaking up the sun...  :-)

Happy Anniversary to Us

If you've read Sheepish, you know that Melissa and I flew to San Francisco in the fall of 2008 and legally married. This Saturday will be our 3rd anniversary.... and close to the 28th anniversary of our first date. Holy smokes.

With Melissa's permission (I've shared so much of our lives that I decided I needed to run this blog post past her), here are a few photos from that day, September 17, 2008, the day the farmers got married... Neither of us wanted a traditional wedding, so we created our own day, and we loved it.

San Francisco City Hall

This is the grand staircase. Weddings take place in the small rotunda at the top of the stairs.

Melissa signing the marriage certificate...

Photo op at the bottom of the stairs while we wait.

 

The wedding party: Lori, Sheryl, Melissa, me, JLee, and Cheryl. It was lovely having our friends with us.

Legal at last. :-)

At the restaurant with wedding party after the ceremony, opening gifts. Mrs. and Mrs. pillowcases!

Ending the day at the Pacific Ocean...

 

Twenty-eight years. It's hard to imagine that much time has passed, until I found this photo our nephew Jason gave us. He'd had it on his phone. We have no idea who took it, since Jason wasn't even alive yet. Here we are, total babes in our late 20s... 

We had no idea then, of course, that we'd end up living on a farm, raising sheep, and writing about it. We're never going to be rich, but we chose a path rich in experiences, animal connections, and nature. 

Thanks for sharing my meandering down Memory Lane. 

Stealing the Correct Corn

Some people tell me that as teenagers, they used to sneak to the edge of a farmer's cornfield and swipe a few ears. Hmmm. I'm guessing the farmer would have said 'yes' if they'd asked, but it does raise an interesting question: what's the best kind of corn to swipe?


Until Melissa and I moved out into the country, I didn't realize that farmers plant two types of corn. The first is sweet corn. It's what people eat. It, not surprisingly, is sweet. Sweet corn is harvested when the kernels are nice and moist, and the plant is still green.


The second kind of corn is field corn, or livestock corn. It's what livestock eat. This isn't very sweet. This corn is left on the field to dry out, and isn't harvested until the plant---and the kernels---are dry. 


But for a few months, both types exist side by side. I've been fascinated by this little secret that most people don't notice as they whiz by on the highway: You can tell the difference between sweet corn and field corn by the color of the tassels.


Sweet corn tassels are whitish-yellow. Field corn tassels are orangish.


See the difference?

It's probably not a good idea to steal a farmer's corn, but at the very least, you can impress friends and family with your knowledge when you pass the two different types of corn.

Hope everyone had some sweet corn for their Labor Day picnic, 'cause the season (at least up here in the north) is almost over. 

Sigh.