Easter is over when you consider that my husband has the pleasure to work on Easter Monday. Never mind. We spent the last 2.5 days in rural Alberta with a farmer (he's over 70) and his partner (50 something). We also got to know half the family, they have a total of 6 children and several grandchildren. They have built the farm all by themselves, started out 10 years ago. The house is an insulated! joint-venture of two wide trailers and very cosy. There are no doors to any rooms - just has not been a priority. The sheds and barns are self-built of wood. The fences are wood as well as wire (for the cattle & chickens). Between all the family members they own 27 horses for riding and driving. They regularly go on trails into the Rockies, camping out for days. For them it's fun, not roughing it, especially since they don't have running water, cook and heat with a wood oven/ stove, and use electricity scarcely because it comes from a battery that they have to recharge in the nearest village, 11 km away. So no fridge. They have a well near the house and pump water up as much as needed, fill it into a variety of containers and carry it to where ever it is needed. They do drive cars. They also have cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks, and a dog of course. That provides them with meat, eggs and milk. The meat from slaughtering is kept frozen in a freezer in the village (friend's farm?). Besides they have a garden from which they preserve lots of the produce for winter (carrots, beans, potatoes, beets, ...) Especially in winter they still need to go to the supermarket but are not as dependent as city-dwellers are.
They love their life (style). Both teachers, they are well educated. They have a great interest in alternative building options, healthy food, the environment, and he's an expert on the failures of current government systems but that's a different story. When we talked to each other it turned out we'd seen the same documentary's or read the same books/authors (The world of Monsanto, Food Inc., Michael Pollan etc). They plan on putting up solar panels on their house. I was actually surprised they don't have a compost toilet. But the farm is a work in progress and will always be. They take it one step at a time, invest what they can afford without taking a mortgage and enjoy. I'm sure they enjoy their life much more than most people who have all the amenities and gadgets they desire (think they "need"). We had a great time. It was an experience. Getting up with the animals out the window, no city noise, no city smell, actually fresh air. Unfortunately it's no all that glamorous. They regularly have problems with city idiots coming out on 4WD and Ski-doos, ignoring private property, breaking fences, destroying trails, causing noise and even stealing from private property! The local paper listed the crimes of the week and you just knew that those were not committed by farmers stealing from their neighbours - why would they, they all know each other and they help each other. The rural people feel a bit helpless. They don't drive into the city to scavenge in people's front and back yards and take home what they please. They can't do much against the motorised rowdies in the countryside but have the damage.
I think lots of city people are so ruthless because they don't respect nature, take it for granted to get their joy out of it when desired and don't care about damage since they don't have to deal with it , they don't see how they depend on the land. I have just started reading this book that the farmer gave me: Last child in the woods, Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. The intro alone is great but I'll write about it later.
Before I forget. The culture shock is being back in Edmonton with the noise, smell and garbage that we did not miss out on the farm.
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