Spring! Just saying the word brings smiles to our faces. We hope for so much in this season of rebirth. Gardeners hope their perennials will survive the blasts of winter. We hope for spring showers to replenish our ponds and lakes. We hope for sunshine and warm breezes to help us clean up the last dregs of winter from our gardens. We hope to start new and interesting projects. Spring and Hope seem to go hand in hand.
The Strategic Vision Planning Committee has been hard at work this past winter. They are Hoping for member ideas at the June meeting in Grand Rapids. President Elect, Julie Siefker has been Hoping for a record attendance to hear our special guest speaker, Elaine Weiss, present her wonderful book, Fruits of Victory, The History of the Woman’s Land Army in the U.S.A.
I Hope you will pick up a copy and read it before the meeting. It is an informative historical look at our organization, the need for feeding a nation and changing women’s roles in the early 20th Century. Even then, food was very much to the forefront. I Hope we all have plans for a vegetable garden, or plans to visit our local Farm Market this summer. Fresh, nutritious, local produce, meats and dairy products make everyone healthy and wise. It makes our farmers a bit wealthier, too.
Later this season, we will hope for beautiful peonies, irises and roses. Hope always includes a bit of doubt. If we are sure of an outcome, we have confidence. It is that bit of uncertainty that makes Hope a bit tantalizing. Let’s Hope that the weather will cooperate, our gardens will be fruitful, and our June meeting will be a resounding success. With our members, anything is possible. You are all wonderful additions to our organization.
Seasons have changed from the hot, lazy days of summer to the frenzied pace of autumn. Cooler days and nights allow us to work hard on our gardens and flower beds. We make jellies and jams from the fruits of the season, our tomato sauces and salsas have been sealed into jars and stored away. Simmering soups and stews are easy answers to those long days spent in the yard. This is a time of gathering, assessing, and replenishing. In southern climates, the warm sunshine still weaves the last magical growth from flowers and vegetables. In these areas, the time soon comes to replace summer annuals with winter colored beauties. Change is inevitable with Mother Nature. Welcomed or not, each of us undergoes a process of rest and regrouping of some kind.
We had a wonderful time at Grand Island, NY. Many friendships were renewed and new friends were formed. We toured, swam in the hotel pool, basked in the sun aboard a river boat and marveled at the Botanical Gardens. Of course, we ate our way through the four days, as Farm & Garden women always seem to need sustenance! The speakers were informative and interesting. Amanda Edmonds showed us the need of community gardens for food and social networking. Her power point presentation brought home the need for fresh, local produce at a time when small markets are closing with the current economy. Paul Lehman took the idea one step further by telling us how to set up a farm market, where to locate it and what to expect as consumers. As usual, there were many questions from our members. Fresh fruits and vegetables form the backbone of a healthy diet for everyone. We can search out our local Farmers’ offerings within the next few weeks.