Ahead of the curve

Who knew that we were trendy?

With the nasty economy, I am seeing reports that more and more suburban homesteads cropping up. We of course seek to eventually move to more land so that we can run a true homestead, but as it stands now, we make due with what we have.

We are close to the nation's capital, on .77 acres, most of which is taken up by house and trees. We have worked to adapt our small backyard area to grow food. We will also be using part of the front yard to grow upside down tomatoes to help supplement the ones in the back. We joined a CSA. We buy dairy and meat at a local farm. We don't use pesticides or fertilizers on our land, especially since we have a creek in the front yard that would carry the nasties. We cook as much as we can at home, we recycle.

We are also human and have to live within our community. Our kids have activities, we have jobs, we are in no way living the most environmentally friendly life, but we strive to do better each day.

For everyone who says they can't make changes, we are living proof that baby steps do get you somewhere. We are almost one year out from deciding to change our lifestyle, and I could not be happier with the progress. We will order more beef late in the summer, we will continue the CSA through fall, we will can all of our extra vegetables this summer, and I will preserve apples and pumpkins in the fall when we pick them. Baby steps, that is all it took, and I believe we are happier and healthier for it.