About

This blog started shortly after I discovered potatoes had plant parts. I was riding with my parents on our long trek from North Carolina to Kansas (and back) one summer, listening to Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kingsolver mentioned someone she knew who didn't realize potatoes could "come up."

This was when I had my moment.

Okay, I graduated from college. I believe that I am fairly intelligent (despite the trail of spelling errors I leave behind me. Sorry folks... and Jeff Gundy). However, I just had never given much thought to potatoes. I am sure if I would've sat down and thought about it, I would have reasonably come to the conclusions that, yes, potatoes plants have a part that shoot out of the ground.

I use this example a lot because it was just one moment (of many) that have motivated me to keep seeking ways to "return to the land."

This blog also started around the time the last part of my Grandpa Yoder's farm land was being sold off to strangers. I couldn't help but feel so disconnected from my ancestors who farmed in rural Pennsylvania and lived simply. How was it that in three generations the knowledge of potato plant parts was completely lost?

When I say "returning to the land" here, I don't mean in a literal sense. Turns out, I am terrible gardener in Kansas. Instead, I mean "returning" in the sense of regaining knowledge that has been pushed to the side or forgotten, (i,e. the joy of homemade bread baking in the oven or the best time to plant my tomatoes in the ground).

This blog also stems from my panic about global climate change. We live on a planet with limited resources, living a lifestyle that will not sustain us.

Thus, another point of this blog is to focus on the environment, to challenge myself to be a better steward of creation and to widen my imagination when it comes to what it means be a minimalist.

I also blog because I love to write, (despite my complicated relationship with it). I love to cook. I like the idea of gardening and love eating locally.  I do this because I want my niece and nephews' great-great grandchildren to have a fighting chance on a livable planet. I do this because I believe that caring about the environment is ultimately about caring for people. I love this earth, but I love the people who live here even more.

More importantly, this is a space for grace. I don't have a lot of things "figured out." But I am discovering that really isn't too important. Sometimes this blog will just be about what I am doing in this moment of life. And that's okay too. What is important is whether I am going to be the type of person who sits back and does nothing, or the person who has gumption and tries, even if it looks foolish.

I whole-heartily choose the latter. I hope you do too.

- Anna

(Photo by Amy Sharp Does Photography)