The Good, The Bad, and The Bountiful

Well, we still don't have internet. And I have to say it's actually kinda tough. If I'm wondering something (for example, what's that bug on my tomato plant?), I can't just run to the computer and look it up. If I want to know what's going on with my friends, I can't just check facebook and get a general idea of what's going on. I can't check my email and communicate with people! It's much tougher than I would've imagined.

At the same time, I have been tearing through books like crazy, and in a way it is definitely more restful to be "disconnected." I've been very productive and made a lot of progress unpacking and settling in, weeding, chicken-tending, etc. etc.

AND...there is NOTHING to compare with the awesome amazingness of making your own blackberry fill-in-the-blank (cobbler, pancakes, jelly, etc etc ad inifinitum) because you're getting a bowlful of berries every day. Or making your own salsa with fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and peppers and onions. Or frying up some homegrown squash and onions and green beans with some backyard eggs and 'tatos. (Although, granted, most of that is from our neighbor. But how great is it that our neighbor gives us all this extra produce anyway?) Or going over to play with the neighbor kid, bringing a bottle of wine from grapes grown just down the road (literally, on our road), and having a great conversation about pregnancy, birth, and parenting with your new next door neighbors.

In other words, we've never eaten better in our lives. We love living on the farm, although there is a lot of upkeep involved. (Heck, that probably makes us healthier too!) Life is good. But I miss the internet.