Complimentary Blueberry Juice

I set up this website with a simple goal: to write and publish one thing per week farming-related for one year. The first few months weren’t the easiest…often I scrambled to find something to write about, or felt like I wrote poorly. But I kept telling myself it was part of a process and that if I kept it up for a year and accomplished my goal, I could re-assess. The not-so-easy first few months went by and I managed to never miss a Wednesday publication date.

And here it is: the 52nd post on Complimentary Blueberry Juice.

I am grateful to everyone who has subscribed to this blog…it certainly went beyond my expectations! Your comments, emails, post likes and in-person remarks really mean a lot, and kept me going when I wasn’t feeling so great about this project. Thanks so much for all your support.

I’ve been writing for twenty years, but rarely about one of the subjects I love the most: nature. I’ve had a strong connection to nature as long as I can remember. I grew up in a beautiful place with nature in my backyard and a vernal creek system. I realize I have a unique perspective as most people don’t grow up playing in vernal pools, catching frogs and identifying insects or watching birds.

Loving nature comes with a price: watching it be destroyed and feeling powerless. Being a nature-loving farmer comes with a similar price: the same callous forces driving an economy based on environmental destruction and pollution are deeply embedded in our food production systems. With so many environmental issues facing our immediate future and my career as a farmer, I wanted to do something.I really just want to be more a part of the solution and wanted to offer what I could, and with writing, I could share what I know….even if it was all the amazing critters living in vernal pools in central Canada.

I think nature and plants are beautiful and there is nothing in the world that compares to how amazing these organisms are. I feel like if more people were aware of the incredible things living around us, we would collectively care a lot more about our surroundings. I feel that if we would realize that Nature will destroy us before we control Her, we could enter a collaborative relationship and benefit from the rewards, instead of an antagonistic one and face the consequences.

And so, I want to keep writing, at least for another year. A year ago I hoped to get sharper at articulating concepts in ecology, botany and agricultural issues, as outlined on my inaugural post/mission statement. I have been more inspired to read and study, and I have subscribed to a scientific journal. If I enjoyed anything about school, it was learning and reading research papers, not exams. I have very much come to enjoy the reading and research part of this weekly project, as well as practicing writing and sharing.

I would love to hear from you….if you had a favourite post over the past year, or if there is a subject that interests you or curious to know more about, or if there’s something you think I should cover, let me know in the comments or send me an email at graham at hey dot com.

I have now set up an archive of all the posts accessible from the navigation menu.

Lastly, if there’s anyone you think might enjoy this site or any post in particular, please consider sharing some blueberry juice with a friend or encouraging them to subscribe today on the one-year-anniversary. I am purposely not promoting this on social media (something that makes me feel very uncomfortable and anxious these days), and am choosing a slower method of communicating thoughts and ideas.

Thank you so much for reading Complimentary Blueberry Juice. It’s been a journey!

Here’s to another year and 52 more posts.

Graham

stay curious