Winterized! Almost...

We cut the grass for the last time this year and put away the mower, garden tools, hoses, and outdoor furniture.

The new windows make storm windows unnecessary this year, though some weatherstripping around the front door would probably be a good idea.  

Got wood for heating the garage workshop, blankets, sweaters, coats, gloves, boots...

We don't exactly have the food thing  under control. Oh sure, Wegman's is nearby, but they're dealing with supply lines like everyone else. Stuff doesn't grow here in the winter--the food shares from our CSA stopped a couple of weeks ago. And while I've got a decent supply of potatoes, onion, garlic, and winter squashes at the moment, it has occurred to me  (many times) that if this eating locally thing is going to work out, we need to learn how to store up food for the non-growing season.

It's kind of scary to realize just how unprepared most of us are for disruptions in our (long) food supply lines--which can happen short term, in case of a really big snow or ice storm or other natural disaster, and longer term, in the event that a sharp increase in the cost and/or a drastic decrease in the supply of oil--which our entire system runs on, from factory farms to warehouses to markets. I read somewhere recently (if you'd like a really scary example)  that the city of Los Angeles has on hand at any given time (including in warehouses) only a three-day supply of food for its entire population. That exemplifies just how dependent we are on keeping the machinery in motion, nonstop.

Well, we can't go on this way. Oil is a dwindling resource, and the rapid industrialization of giants like India and China are giving us a lot more competition these days for what's left.  Not that you would know, from observing how our governments choose to deal with this situation, that we need to be moving in high gear towards alternatives in the way we live. I guess the thinking is that whoever kills off the rest of the competition is the winner. Downright Darwinian.

So, the proactive thing to do, if you're not really crazy about this "eat or be eaten" scenario, is to look around you and find your local sources of food. We're pretty fortunate here in Chautauqua county to have lots of farms. We can even grow some of our own food in our gardens, and that really cuts the supply line, farm to table, to a matter of feet--both in distance and means of transport.   Of course some of us will keep drinking coffee from thousands of miles away as long as we can get away with it!

But again, our growing season here is limited, which means storing up food for the months when the local pickings are slim. I started small this year, to prove that I could do it--I made strawberry jam from local berries and applesauce from the fruit of our ancient gnarly backyard trees. Those jars of organic goodness are beautiful to look at, and we'll be enjoying them when the wind is howling and the snow is swirling outside our windows.


But we cannot live on strawberry jam and applesauce alone, so next year I'd better step it up and fill some jars and freezer containers with beans and greens, tomato sauce, and a chicken or two.

It's ironic that our progressive modern lifestyle with all its work-saving conveniences has left us so vulnerable when it comes to taking care of ourselves.