Welcoming Committee

Yesterday the neighbor's sheep hopped the fence to welcome us home from vacation. We don't mind at all -- we don't have any nice gardens or landscaping for them to destroy quite yet.

I actually have been feeling a little bummed that I didn't make the effort to plant a vegetable garden this year, despite the dangers of it having it be eaten by semi-wild animals. We have tons of space, and I am wasting it. But between the renovation and the pregnancy and my work schedule, I (very realistically) didn't think I could manage it this year since I'm a beginner.

Then yesterday our neighbor Tracy (not the sheep owning neighbor, but one with a big garden and chickens that lay lovely eggs) asked if we'd thought about homegrown organic baby food. She's been doing some research, and she is thinking of starting up a little baby food business. She didn't name any prices yet or go into any specifics, but I am very intrigued. They are such a nice family, and if I can't grow my own produce quite yet I'd much rather support Tracy than Gerber's -- while getting a better, fresher product.

I guess we'll see if she decides to embark on this endeavor -- and if she doesn't, maybe she'll help me plant my own garden next year. After buying a quart of fresh local strawberries (and devouring most of them) yesterday, I am all jazzed up again about locally grown produce. It just tastes so much better, making us much more likely to eat it. I even really liked the chicken and rice soup that S made last night, heavily spiked with brussels sprouts (!) from the local market. I would gladly eat the proper number of servings of vegetables every day if they all tasted that exceptionally delicious -- in other words, the way they are supposed to!