The Connection Between Human Health and Soil Health

...een children who grew up on farms and their lack of asthma and allergies later in life. Research that is taking an Integrated Pest Management approach to cancer, treating it as a symptom of a lack of internal biodiversity. Studies that have shown the higher nutritional value of eggs from chickens raised on pasture. It seems obvious that there’s a connection between the health of a farm and our own health. Biodiverse soils produce healthier, more n...

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Plymouth Rock Monthly

...ebruary 1925 issue, at right, promises articles on, “Selecting and Packing Eggs for Hatching”, a poetically titled essay, “The Things We Leave Undone”, “Theory and Practice in Breeding Barred Color”, “White Plymouth Rocks”, “The Embargo on Poultry”, and “Breeding White Rocks Satisfactorily”. Incidentally, the Embargo article probably refers to a avian influenza outbreak of 1924-1925 that repeated in 1929 and 1983. By the 1950s interest in backyard...

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An Open Letter to Our Mammalian Friends

...ountant will have to devise an elaborate amortization strategy to keep our eggs affordable. I’m also not cool with the daytime raids on the fig tree even if it entertains our indoor cats. To the rats of Los Angeles: avocados do not mature on the tree. This is probably why you take a single bite and allow them to fall to the ground. You’ll never get guacamole this way. And can you please not drop half-eaten grapes all over our patio furniture. Not...

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Day to day, our decisions count

...door. Some CSAs go beyond veggies and fruits to provide meat, fish, milk, eggs, bread, flowers, etc. It takes some getting used to being in a CSA, because you don’t get much choice in what you’re given week to week, so you and your family need to have a spirit of adventure to go forward with it. CSAs and farmers’ markets teach you many things, including: The amazing flavor of food which is both fresh and in-season. You could live your whole life...

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Bird’s Nest

...ther post. Anyone have any guesses about what kind of bird made this nest? The bowl is about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across. ETA: I’ve been looking at this great page of bird nests–it’s heaven for the bird nest enthusiast. So many types of nests! Wee little eggs! Baby birds! One bird even made its nest in a sweatshirt hanging on a laundry line. (That’ll teach you to bring in your laundry promptly): http://www.thebirdersreport.com/egg-and-nest-identifica...

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