It is that time of year where county fairs are gearing up for exhibits. A fair is a gathering of people to
display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals
and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment.
"The Dakota County Fair located in Farmington, Minnesota also has a 1900 era pioneer village. The five-acre site includes 22 buildings where visitors experience living history firsthand with costumed interpreters and demonstrations. Events throughout the year focus on rural life 100 years ago including how residents met their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and social connection. Ahlberg Heritage Center, our museum, houses more than 10,000 artifacts depicting social and rural history, with an emphasis on agriculture. (www.dakotacity.org)."
A person can sometimes learn the way of life, of the past, through living history. There are people who would love to pass along what they have learned living this way. There are other opportunities to learn the ways of life as a homesteader. The first way is doing gardening, not just for beauty but also for food, if possible. If one does not have the space one could try container gardening. When growing your own vegetables you can pick closer to harvest time and benefit from the vegetables nutrients (more). Due to the invention of transportation most produce is trucked or flown in from thousands of miles away. Here are some straight-forward benefits of eating local foods (more).
Here is an interesting article (urban neighborhood). In driving around the cities I have been seeing gardens popping up.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Life before "electricity"...
What many young people today do not realize that there was life before "electricity". Yes, indeed there was. In many areas today people are living exactly they way they did back then.
Benjamin Franklin's discoveries resulted from his investigations of electricity. Franklin proposed that "vitreous" and "resinous" electricity were not different types of "electrical fluid" (as electricity was called then), but the same electrical fluid under different pressures. He was the first to label them as positive and negative respectively, and he was the first to discover the principle of conservation of charge. These electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod. (resource)
Thomas Edison was an inventor of major technology. Some of the products he developed included the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, electric light bulb, alkaline storage batteries and Kinetograph (a camera for motion pictures). (resource)
With these two men who investigated their theories, we have a world that uses electricity to power many things today.
Another vast difference is that most rural areas didn’t have electricity in the 1930s. In fact, many areas were not electrified until the mid-1950s. As such, country folks did much of their work by hand, grew and preserved their own food, and relied heavily on horsepower and each other. Their skills were not limited to one trade. On any given day, a farmer could find himself as a carpenter, veterinarian, plumber and mechanic – using mainly human-powered tools.
When electricity, inexpensive fuel and motorized equipment reached everyone, those old treadle sewing machines, galvanized wash tubs, hand-operated push mowers, kerosene lamps, hand pumps and all manner of non-electric tools and appliances were tossed in the city dump. Horse-drawn farm equipment was left to rust behind barns or, worse yet, hauled to the front yard to be adorned with petunias. (Read more)
Granted many cannot have a horse in their front yard but what can a person change in their own living space that would not use electricity? When power goes out, what do you do to get by?
Find small ways to get unplugged.
Benjamin Franklin's discoveries resulted from his investigations of electricity. Franklin proposed that "vitreous" and "resinous" electricity were not different types of "electrical fluid" (as electricity was called then), but the same electrical fluid under different pressures. He was the first to label them as positive and negative respectively, and he was the first to discover the principle of conservation of charge. These electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod. (resource)
Thomas Edison was an inventor of major technology. Some of the products he developed included the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, electric light bulb, alkaline storage batteries and Kinetograph (a camera for motion pictures). (resource)
With these two men who investigated their theories, we have a world that uses electricity to power many things today.
Another vast difference is that most rural areas didn’t have electricity in the 1930s. In fact, many areas were not electrified until the mid-1950s. As such, country folks did much of their work by hand, grew and preserved their own food, and relied heavily on horsepower and each other. Their skills were not limited to one trade. On any given day, a farmer could find himself as a carpenter, veterinarian, plumber and mechanic – using mainly human-powered tools.
When electricity, inexpensive fuel and motorized equipment reached everyone, those old treadle sewing machines, galvanized wash tubs, hand-operated push mowers, kerosene lamps, hand pumps and all manner of non-electric tools and appliances were tossed in the city dump. Horse-drawn farm equipment was left to rust behind barns or, worse yet, hauled to the front yard to be adorned with petunias. (Read more)
Granted many cannot have a horse in their front yard but what can a person change in their own living space that would not use electricity? When power goes out, what do you do to get by?
Find small ways to get unplugged.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Where are we today.....
Where are we today compared to, let's say, 50 to 100 years ago?
In the medical field we have extended a person's life by many years, but at what cost. When doctors fix one problem they create another. Then when they work on that problem, they create another one. It then becomes a snowball of medical problems. Yes, there is always new medicines but are they creating problems. I know this from experience. Once I figured out my daughter's problem it was correctable. Each body is unique.
Food is being genetically modified to resist a number of problems in the area it is being grown. Certain crops are programmed to grow in areas not original to it.When livestock is given antibiotics and hormones those things end up in our bodies. Again, I know this from experience. When my joints were stiff and sore for hours in the day, I went to the doctor. Doctor then diagnosed me with arthritis. So, I thought to myself what was I eating that could be causing this? I figured out the culprit and modified my diet. After modifying my diet I was able to work myself off of the medications I was given. It was a slow process but I did it.
Earth resources are being drained. Our energy costs are constantly rising. Sometimes I think we need to back up and ask ourselves "what can we do to help slow things down?". When appliances were invented to help the woman of the house have more time with family it has gotten out of control. When time was freed up because a machine was washing the dishes, that time got filled with something else. Over time people kept filling in that time with "work" instead of relaxation. The body needs to some down time from work.
In volunteering at a 1900 era pioneer village I see how people lived and work. Yes, it was hard but when a person went to sleep at night it was a good sleep due to the work of the day.. They went to bed tired, not because they were bored or didn't have anything else to do.
We need to find a way in using renewable resources instead of using power that is toxic (ex. - nuclear, radioactive...).
In the medical field we have extended a person's life by many years, but at what cost. When doctors fix one problem they create another. Then when they work on that problem, they create another one. It then becomes a snowball of medical problems. Yes, there is always new medicines but are they creating problems. I know this from experience. Once I figured out my daughter's problem it was correctable. Each body is unique.
Food is being genetically modified to resist a number of problems in the area it is being grown. Certain crops are programmed to grow in areas not original to it.When livestock is given antibiotics and hormones those things end up in our bodies. Again, I know this from experience. When my joints were stiff and sore for hours in the day, I went to the doctor. Doctor then diagnosed me with arthritis. So, I thought to myself what was I eating that could be causing this? I figured out the culprit and modified my diet. After modifying my diet I was able to work myself off of the medications I was given. It was a slow process but I did it.
Earth resources are being drained. Our energy costs are constantly rising. Sometimes I think we need to back up and ask ourselves "what can we do to help slow things down?". When appliances were invented to help the woman of the house have more time with family it has gotten out of control. When time was freed up because a machine was washing the dishes, that time got filled with something else. Over time people kept filling in that time with "work" instead of relaxation. The body needs to some down time from work.
In volunteering at a 1900 era pioneer village I see how people lived and work. Yes, it was hard but when a person went to sleep at night it was a good sleep due to the work of the day.. They went to bed tired, not because they were bored or didn't have anything else to do.
We need to find a way in using renewable resources instead of using power that is toxic (ex. - nuclear, radioactive...).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)