Seeds, narratives, and community

What a time to be alive, no?

A time full of opportunity and growth coupled with division and fear and so much more.

Truly, I am so tired of all the “unprecedented times’, but the ball just keeps rolling, doesn’t it?

I don’t have a magic pill to pull any of us out of the vortex we’ve found ourselves in, but I have a few thoughts I thought might be worth sharing here in the hopes it reaches the people it needs reaching. Community and the sharing of ideas and information, whether virtually or in real life, continues to be essential for humanity and, I believe, it will become absolutely vital in the coming weeks, months, and years.

On seeds

Those of us in the food growing community always have seeds on our minds, no? Whether it’s purchasing, sowing, tending, or harvesting, they are the hope that carries us through.

With companies like Monsanto afoot, the below saying is always at the top of my mind:

Those that control the seeds, control the food and those that control the food, control the people.

And so those of us who can grow some of our own food do, placing intention on where we get our seeds and starts from. Then, those of us in abundance share that food with our family, friends, and larger community however and whenever possible.

Some of us get our seeds online, some from local nurseries, some from seeds exchanges or libraries. It doesn’t matter where we get them, it matters how they were grown and who “owns” those seeds before they’re in our hands.

Additionally, if you have the time and capacity, stock up on essentials as much as possible. An extra pound of beans this week, some canned corn next week, a few packages of pasta the week after.

Between climate chaos and supply chains, it never hurts to have a little extra on hand.

On narratives

Now, I don’t think it’s a secret that I am not a fan of our 47th administration and all of the plans in the works for the United States (and beyond).

If this is a surprise to you and you are offended, feel free to see your way out. This is not a place for debate.

Beyond those concerns, I have developed great concern for all of the uber-rich Tech Boys that have been given way more power than they deserve. Between all the donor dollars given, the appointments assigned, and new policies rolling out across social media platforms, it all feels quite gross and unsafe for many of us.

Not to mention the role of AI and bots in everything these days.

It all has me thinking about about the seed chain saying mentioned above but flipped for our news sources and social media platforms:

Those that control the media, control the narrative and those that control the narrative, control the people.

I believe we’ve always known this to be true on some level, but it’s hitting different these days, no?

On community

So, what to we do about all this?

I believe the answer is to pull in, prepare as best as we can for an unknown future, and focus on our communities, no matter how big or small they may be.

Our modern society has made it very easy to believe that, in the precious time we have left after work and errands, family and chores, the only community we have time for is what can be found on social media and the very occasional coffee date.

We’re all exhausted and so that’s what we do.

And, as someone who lives an hour away from town and farms full time, my isolated self has easily fallen into that trap as well.

As humans, we long for connection, so many of us have adapted. And don’t get me wrong, social media has it’s place, but real life interactions are what will truly feed our spirits and carry us through whatever lies around the bend.

This will mean something different for each of us and can include any or all of the following and so much more:

• Friends
• Family
• Neighbors
• Like-minded colleagues
• Local libraries
• Clubs/groups
• Small business owners
• Local growers

The point is, human to human connection is where it’s at 😉

Do what you can, where you are, with what you have

Now, you may have already thought about these things, talked about them with the people closest to you, and taken action where you can. If so, awesome! If not, I hope this all gives you pause for thought.

There’s no perfect solution for everyone and we’re all just doing the best we can, when we can.

In example, a few of the non-seed buying/farming actions I’ve taken include:

• Shutting down/going dark/deleting all Meta platforms (No FB, Messenger, or Threads at all. Insta pages are staying live for now but there will be no more posting after today). I’d rather throw my pennies in the well than in Zuck’s pockets.
• I also ditched TikTok as soon as it went dark over the weekend. The 50% potential purchase feels fishy to me.
• Moving away from Audible and Goodreads and replacing them with Libro.fm and StoryGraph. I’m also shopping direct instead of lining Bezos’ pockets.
• Using my Library card more often and visiting used bookstores

In place of Meta social media platforms I will be focusing on my websites, where I have ownership of my content and am not at the whim of those in power elsewhere.

Yes, I have more than one website. In fact, there are three!

• This beloved farm blog, where I’ve been writing since 2011 and where I’ll be writing more often. I’ll also be updating and reposting some of my most popular posts from the past.
• Bold and Queer, inspired by my 2x great grandma, where I write about all things family history and genealogy.
• Under the Elberberry Tree, my newest endeavor. Missing old-school blogging just to blog, I’ve just launched this site as a way to be in community with others without the pressure of a niche.

Additionally, I have been spending a little time on BlueSky as my only social media space. Find me there if you, too, like throwing stuff at the wall and seeing if it sticks 😉

I believe we are all doing the best we can to get through each day on any given day. We do not want to exist within echo chambers and it is so very important to know what is happening around us on all fronts, and so we will each have to choose where and how we receive and share information. Please protect your peace when you need to, but don’t bury your head in the sand.

Buy your seeds, talk to the people around you, prep a little, practice some self care, and…

Do tell…

How are you, my friend? How are you doing… what are your thoughts… how are you preparing for the days ahead? I’d love to hear from you 🙂

Onward,

Melissa