Wendell Berry on the 10 Commandments

I have been slowly reading Wendell Berry's The Need to be Whole of the past couple months. It is slow because I usually read it in doctor office waiting rooms. The introduction is excellent, and I meant to write some comments on it a few months ago.

This morning I read a new take (for me) on the tenth commandment (9 & 10 are combined here: Thou shalt not covet.) Here goes:

"Thou shalt not covet .... any thing that is thy neighbor's." By contrast the industrial famers of our time are economically constrained, and by the industrial orthodoxy are encouraged to regard their neighbors as competitors, and to overcome them (and possess their farms) by means of newer technologies and bigger machines. Thus a fundamental relationship and obligation is broken by the now generally accepted "realism" and "necessity" of economic competitions, which necessarily brings us to our present condition: a public consisting of dismembered families and communities and the virtually deserted economic landscapes of our country, where, as the parents grow old and die without successors, the children are distributed from sea to sea.

I never really thought of capitalist systems as violating the commandments against coveting, but I should have. I have looked at industrial farming and other capitalist endeavors from a moral view to be sure, but never really connected them to a specific commandment.

Oremus pro invicem!

This is crazy!!!!!

Tuesday night (starting around 4-5 PM) our area got .25 to 1 inch of snow. The snow ended by midnight if not before. It did not turn to rain or sleet. Wednesday morning the roads were clear - but never were icy. The snow was powdery, so it just blew around the roads.

Tuesday one of the colleges I teach closed their campus at 6PM on Tuesday shifted to remote learning for evening classes.

Wednesday morning (note the roads are very clear) both colleges closed their campuses ("due to an abundance of caution) and had a "remote learning day". 

Everything in our town (bank, dr office) except the Dollar General and the Hardware store were closed on Wednesday.

Here it is on Thursday, the colleges are open, but the local bank is delayed opening and the pharmacy and doctor offices also have delayed openings.

It is CRAZY! Less than an inch of powdery snow with no ice and the whole area shuts down for 2.5 - 3 days. 

I understand in Conway they had 6 inches of snow. For South Carolina, this is pretty major. But come on - let than an inch of powdery snow during the evening and night and we shut down everything?

Oremus pro invicem!

It is always about money!

 From Fox News article (Does the Color of Eggs Mean Anything?; 11 January 2025):

"Foods that are high in xanthophyll and carotene, which are basically pigments called carotenoids, will make nice dark orange egg yolks," she said. 

Carotene is found in orange-colored foods, she said, such as carrots, mangoes, cantaloupe and pumpkins. 

Xanthophyll can be found in leafy green vegetables, like spinach and kale. 

But while a darker egg yolk does not mean a chicken is eating a nutritious, organic or fresh diet, "it likely will correlate, since the foods with the pigment are also packed with other nutrients," she said. 

Which is why many folks want to buy pasture-raised eggs, especially from small farmers. 

But Big-AG can't lose a single dollar. So what do they do?

Even so, feed companies and commercial egg farms have discovered workarounds to create a darker egg yolk without these nutrient-dense foods, Steele said. 

These companies "have gotten smart and realized that consumers want to see that bright orange yolk, so they'll add things like marigold, paprika, sea kelp, corn [and] alfalfa to 'artificially' boost the yolk color," she said. 

Anything to make money; deception be praised and damn the consumer.

Oremus pro invicem!

 

 May the joy the Christ-child brings fill you this season and throughout the coming year!

Oremus pro invicem!

Root has another litter

 Sows often pick the stormiest or coldest night to give birth. This was the case last night. The low was around 21 F, and we woke up to Root's 3rd litter for us. Praise God!!

Pigs and gardens and voting

I have been wanting to vent my thoughts about voting, but just haven't had time to write a coherent piece.

I will say that this piece makes a lot of sense to me; at Front Porch Republic.

In the meantime, I am about to go off and vote myself, but here are some peaceful pictures: one of part of the fall garden and one of some pigs we are raising up.

Oremus pro invicem!

First frost; first fire in the stove

Posts are certainly sporadic, although I have much I want to write about. We finally had our first fire in the wood stove Friday morning. It should have been Thursday morning, but things happened to prevent it. We had to move all those pumpkins, plus a whole lot more that can be seen in the picture a few posts below. 

I did do a pre-season chimney sweep. I used to have to climb all the way in the chimney to do this, but last year or so, one of my sons bought a chimney brush that connects to a hand drill; and while I still get pretty dirty, I don't have to do body contortions to get the chimney clean.

I love getting that fire going in the wood stove early in the morning when the house is in the fifties and then putting the coffee on - I am glad fall has finally arrived (although it was in the 80's today.) and we had no fire this morning.

Pigs are still doing well. 

The first frost has left some of my pumpkins not yet ripe. Some will ripen off the vine if they are well along in color. Others will not. I had about 30 or so pumpkins not yet picked or fully ripe when we got the first frost on Thursday morning.

Oremus pro invicem!

Another litter

 We had another litter on October 3. 10 live births with all still doing well.

Oremus pro invicem!

Even more pumpkins!

 Still many more not ready to pick yet. 

Except the okra and green beans, the summer garden is gone, replaced by the fall garden of lettuce, cabbage, kale, spinach, broccoli, carrots, radishes, and turnips (so far.)

It has been a great garden year. 

Oremus pro invicem!

Liturgy of the Land Conference

In April my friends Jason Craig and Tommy Van Horn had their book Liturgy of the Land published (TAN books). The book explains the reason and history of the 'back to the land' movement - many of these reasons are why Lori and I moved to our homestead over 20 years ago.

It is worth the read, detailing how our country has purposely and actively removed support from those who want to be a center of production as a family. We should all be consumers and not producers. 

But a few of us have tried to at least partially bucked this trend for both practical and spiritual reasons and become homesteaders in one form or another.

Part of the book details the different levels of homesteading. Not all of us can homestead full-time (if any of us can.) From backyard urban gardener to rural full time homesteader, and every step in-between, the book discusses what is possible with entry level information.

As I said, worth reading, even if you are not thinking of making a move.

In December, TAN books is hosting the Liturgy of the Land Conference at the Catholic Conference center in Hickory, NC. You can meet the authors and learn from some real experts in the rural life and homesteading. 

See you there!

Oremus pro invicem!

My Marine

 He graduates from boot camp today.

Oremus pro invicem!

Pumpkins and Celebrations

We are going to have lots of pumpkins this year. This not so good (flip phone) picture shows the 4 varieties we planted: one "jack-o-lantern type (big orange) which has not so much meat and therefore not so great for cooking. The other varieties are meaty and all good for cooking (and for feeding to pigs.) Mrs. Curley will put some up so we can have pies and breads and soups throughout the year; the rest will feed the pigs. 

So far 110 spaghetti squash picked and counting!!! (Also good pig feed - we are running out of freezer space.)

Today is the feast of the be-heading of John the Baptist, AND it is Mrs. Curley and my wedding anniversary!

Here are a couple pictures - one about a week or two before our wedding, and the 2nd one of the (many) happy times here in Bethune. I think you will be able to tell which is which.

Oremus pro invicem!

I think I have written about EB White before in this space. Today I read in a Pillar column:  

EB White wrote once that all that he hoped to say in books, all that he ever hoped to say, is that he loved the world — emphasis his own.

This reminds me of Pieper's writing on feasts and festivals that they (festivals) are at heart a celebration recognizing that all of creation is good.

Looking back at my reading of EB White's "One Man's Meat" I find the following quote which is very appropriate and I find to be very true.

I don't know whether I came to the country to live the simple life; but I am now engaged in a life vastly more complex than anything the city has to offer. -E.B. White

Oremus pro invicem!

The bounty

We eat a lot of green beans throughout the year and usually grow quite a few of them. This year the crop wasn't coming. So I went to a new source for seeds and planted a late crop where I had just harvested the corn. We started harvesting beans today. These are young and tender, high quality. Hopefully with a lot more to come.

We have finished with the Patty Pan squash - but we have quite a bit to still put up as you can see. Mrs. Curley has been using it to make breads; delicious.

Still getting quite a bit of good Okra now. AND we started picking the spaghetti squash. As you can see, we have a wheel barrow full with a lot more to come.

God is both good and great!

Oremus pro invicem!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

We are growing lots of pumpkins in every open space this year. The pigs will love them (I love pumpkin pie) and they came from seeds saved from last year of several varieties.

The structure in the background on the right is our chicken coop. It is getting hard to get in there and collect eggs!

Oremus pro invicem!

Now Reading: In Defense of Nature

by Dr. Benjamin Wiker of Steubenville (2017).

The premise is that both the Left and the Right only get it 1/2 right (and 1/2 wrong) on the environment and morality - and that they are intimately linked; not just that it is a sin to pollute - but that sins against (for example) temperance cause lapses in morality in more than one realm, which thus connects them. The left denies morality (God, sin, etc.). The Right denies the damage to the environment is real. Neither sees there is a connection between the reality and their denials.

For example, lack of temperance leads to gluttony. Gluttony leads to eating things that are bad for you, especially junk food. Food scientists make hyperpalatable food to feed the gluttony. The increase in bad food eating increases the consumption of junk food and drive thru food. This in turn increases the garbage in landfills and on the streets. Everyone loses but big business. 

I am probably poorly stating his thesis, but it is well worth the read. It is also easy to read. 90 pages in and that just being in a waiting room a couple times.

Oremus pro invicem!

Also... 3 days of rain with at least one more to come. All this rain destroyed the tomatoes but is great for the okra. My little pigs don't get sold in the pouring rain. We've been busy trying to keep them fairly dry. 

Breakfast

 Fabulous cinnamon roll from Mrs. Curley!

Oremus pro invicem!

Polarization

 

Our society is more polarized then every before with no seemingly way out. At the risk of stating the obvious, I believe one major contribution to the polarization is the politicization of sporting events.

It is not to say that sporting events have much importance in the grand scheme of life and salvation, but the most redeeming value was that it brought people together of different persuasions to stand together for at least a short period of time. If people can come together for one reason, they can talk reasonably about the things they disagree in other venues.

There was a time where local people of all religions and political persuasions would come and root for the “home team”. The differences weren’t discussed, the commonality was the team.

The Olympics brought together athletes from all nations, even enemy nations for a respite. (Of course there have been exceptions to this – recall the Olympic boycotts of recent memory.)

Now we have sport teams getting involved in pride days; we have Olympic opening ceremonies showcasing mockery of Christian beliefs.

It is hard to unify for anything if the mechanisms for unification are being used for division.

Oremus pro invicem!

My favorite thing

I like taking down trees and splitting wood with an axe. It is just one of my favorite things to do. I just can't explain it.

Being behind in putting together the wood we need for next winter, we have been taking trees down, couple a week, for a couple weeks now. Usually it is just Greg and I; recently Lori has been out there helping too. (It lets me show off for my love.) This morning I didn't hit the fall mark for the tree, but it was not a problem. 

Lori took some pictures; in the first (on the left), you can tell it is falling if you look at the notch, as the notch has closed. 

These trees are long overdue to come down as they are choking the Cedar trees which line the property. But it is convenient now as we can do our lumberjacking close to home.

I think we now have enough wood for the winter stacked up, but we not done clearing the edge of the property of unwanted trees and shrubs. I have a month left before I head back to school, so we trying to make the most of it.

We have been now getting a sort of regular rain/thunderstorms, so the garden is continuing to produce. This is probably the best crop of Roma tomatoes we have ever had. The green beans have been a disappointment, but I planted some in the best ground we have after we harvested the sweet corn out of it, so we still have a chance.

Oremus pro invicem!

Making Sense and Nonsense of the Trump assassination attempt

I have read Democrat leaning commentators try to blame Trump and followers for the attack ("They promote violence"). I have read Republican leaners blame liberals, (They have portrayed Trump as evil to be destroyed.) 

At this point I don't believe we know whether the attacker was politically motivated or mentally unbalanced (or both). I think the commentary is jumping the gun - but in any event, we do live in a violent and polarized society. I have heard Republican types refer to Biden, Pelosi, etc as evil. Are they promoting assassination attempts or is it political rhetoric?

Come on!

However, I did read one comment today I would like to address from Crisis Magazine

The attack on President Trump was an attack against those who believe in the sanctity of life, the gift of liberty, and the divinity of love. Leftwing politics and its votaries are taking up the final form of their mounting hatred: murder. And Catholics have a duty to seize this moment in solidarity against the influences and forces that would tear down—now, gun down—their political opponents.

Did I miss something? Hasn't President Trump been campaigning to make abortion legal and the law of the land for the first 16 weeks of pregnancy? Hasn't President Trump forced the marriage between one man and one woman plank out of the Republican party platform? I don't think his economic policies promote family and productivity in the home. (Biden is the same or worse on these issues.)

It seems ironic that we have to find new ways to justify supporting President Trump as he abandons conservative and Catholic values.

Oremus pro invicem!