Earth Kids

The decline in dinner invitations has been gradual since the Eat Local Challenge and the time I shared a visual of a slaughter house over dessert. I said, I was sorry. But word has gotten out.

I eat local food, barely generate trash and when asked what's new I'm likely to outline a talk I heard about local economies and a sustainable future. That is when I'm not curled in a fetal position under the kitchen table in despair. My friends think it's weird.

But this weekend I got hope. The cute guy's grandkids were here and they could care less what I eat although they know there's something going on. All they cared about was another carrot and to make sure they got their turn carrying the bag of strawberries so they didn't have to reach as far for their eighteenth berry.

They wanted to know what organic is. I sat down and told them, saving the unorganic poisonous scary parts for when they are older.

They didn't like the grass fed hamburger or the goat cheese. They did like the last of the summer corn I took from the freezer and the raspberry ice cream we made. They thought organic sugar was cool. They wondered if brown sugar is already organic.

They washed the shells from the eggs they ate, nuked them until they were crunchy and then ground them, "until they're like powder," I said. And they broadcast them to the flower beds with increasingly grand gestures.

They wanted to know why about everything. And they wanted short answers or sometimes only half an answer.

We visited the worm bin. Found two at home, swatting whole schools of gnats. I'm sure we swallowed a few. We harvested worm tea and then slung it on the backyard. "It's already starting to grow," one of them yelled.

And they gave me an egg they found from their hens. An egg the size of a quarter. In a princess box. "We knew you would like it."

I swear it's gold.

The kids are the ones that will lead us to a sustainable path and it's not going to be weird at all when they do.

9 comments:

Green Bean said...

Beautiful! Honestly, the egg in the princess box brought tears to my eyes. Yes - kids are the key. They are our hope and also the reason I get up every morning and do what I do.

Jenna said...

Sounds like you got a great dose of hope today. Pretty great gift.

Donna said...

Aren't kids great?! My 3-year-old never thinks I'm weird (well, not yet, anyway!) -- he just wants to know "why," "what is it used for" and "what bugs do you like?" Yesterday he asked if it was OK to eat slugs. Yuck.

Emily said...

Lily insisted on grinding up the eggs we had for breakfast...She had a great time and just informed me that "organic" is something that grows without chemicals to kill the bugs. So I think she, a little bit, gets it. I'm glad you like the tiny tiny egg...thanks for this weekend.

Kale for Sale said...

green bean - That princess box is going to be a bit of clutter I'm never giving up. Although it was borrowed from a little sister and maybe I should return it. Ummm.

jenna - The best. Thank you for recognizing it.

donna - But did he ask before or after he ate a slug if it was okay? They gross me out too although I have eaten them in a restaurant. And loved them! Double yuck.

emily - I love the egg. The cute guy blew it out so it'll be here for their next visit. Probably forever. Lily really ground up the egg shells? You are such a good Mom. The apple and orange trees would probably love the shell powder. Actually the dirt, but you know. The thanks are so mutual. BTW - Lily took the picture.

Theresa said...

I'm looking forward to the time, that will be led by these kids, when organic food is just food and alternative energy is just how we do things. That time is coming!

I don't know how to do the egg shell grinding - could you elaborate? Is it just wash, nuke and use a mortar and pestle perhaps?

Anonymous said...

beautiful post! and what is this about egg she'll grinding?

Kale for Sale said...

Theresa - You got it. I save up the shells and nuke them when I'm otherwise nuking something else or they can be put in the oven if it's on. And then crush them however you choose. Mortar and pestle is meditative and how I do it. For some reason it makes me happy.

kendra - I read about putting egg shells in the garden on another blog but whose I can not remember I'm sorry to say. I found this
link
with a good explanation doing a google search. The post I orignally found also mentioned that birds liked pecking at the egg shells too.

Theresa said...

Ok! Thanks for the explanation - I will definitely keep my eye out for a mortar and pestle at the thrift store. I have been throwing my eggshells away because they didn't break up in my compost, so now I can stop doing that! But even without a mortar and pestle I can wash and crisp the shells, and crunch them up well enough with some other method I'm sure. This is great! We've got lots of birds that will appreciate the shell powder as much as the garden will too!