Pappy Freeman: The Good Earth

There is something both sensual and instinctual about newly turned soil. I grew up on a farm, and in Spring, my heart longs to again plow the ground and walk barefoot in the fresh earth. The smell of fertile soil makes me want to ask a farmer if I can have a turn driving his tractor for a bit.  I wonder what he would say?

There is something primal about planting, watering and seeing the fruit of our labor.  Is it odd that my blood boils more in anticipation of the tilling, sowing and planting that it does for any harvest?  It does not matter whether I am filling a planter box with petunias or seeding corn on a 40 acre field,  there is a euphoria that in a small way, I taking part in creating life. 

If you always ride a computer or stay on the couch, if you think that getting your hands dirty is beneath you, then you NEED to try engaging with the earth in this way.  SEE your food develop from natural processes.  WONDER at the interaction of soil, water, light.  EXPERIENCE the daily growth.  TASTE and see that the God who made this earth provides for you in miraculous ways that we take for granted.  It is almost as astounding to watch a garden grow as it is seeing a baby born.  Almost.   

Every child should learn the value of the good earth first hand.  If nothing else than to see that success and failure comes with effort, care and intuitive knowledge.

Guest Blogger: Sylvia Gallihugh "Like Grandma Use To Say"

I am Sylvia Gallihugh.  I am 70, and live and work on a farm that has been in my family for 182 years. I live a simple life and have a strong sense of right and wrong.  My character comes from my Christian upbringing, parents that loved one another and who taught me a good work ethic and by living simply.  I am collecting a book of folk wisdom and sayings that were common as I was growing up but have been forgotten or at least fallen out of common use- I think we are the poorer for it.  Here are some examples...

(Usually over spilled milk)  Oh well, at least no one got hurt

Some people just need a snack and a nap

Locks are to keep the honest people out

You cannot reason a person out of what they did not reason themselves into

All that you do, do with all your might, things done half-hearted are never done right

The help we extend others in their hour of weakness will return at the time we most need

There is no problem with a child that a spanking won't cure

A clean conscious makes a soft pillow

A kind word is never wasted

Show me your friends and I will show you your future

If you aren't early, you are late

Today is the tomorrow you thought about yesterday

A good lie is believed more than a bad truth

A good name is a second inheritance

Better to give away than lend

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, try again.

Always keep your promises.

A good neighbor is worth more than gold

He who hears forgets, he who sees remembers, he who does learns

It's better to bend than break

IF's and BUT's butter no bread

It's better to have a hen tomorrow than an egg today

Silence is consent

The person who thinks too little talks too much

Weeds need no sowing

You never know the length of a snake until it's dead

Give a strong handshake, speak clearly and look people in the eye when you talk

Never argue with a fool

Never judge a book by it's cover

Fish or cut bait

The cemeteries are filled with people who thought the world couldn't get along without them

You made your bed, now lie in it

You cannot unscramble eggs

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink

Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put back it in your pocket. 

I don't think that hill is worth dying on

You don't know what you've got until it's gone