on the edge

Yes, I am on the edge of the destruction that has visited the Southern Appalachian Mountains this week. We have escaped with very little damage but Damascus just a little to the north, Boone to the east, Newport to the west, and the whole Asheville area to the south. Oh, and Erwin, my lawd. I mean, you expect a landslide on I40 west of Asheville -- it happens like every other year -- but for an interstate bridge to collapse, both lanes, in Erwin? For a hospital to be evacuated from the roof? For a factory to have the workers told they can't leave until the water is to their waists? (the supervisors left) (some workers are now dead because of this criminal act)

I took some time out of time last week, and one of the things I realized was how much we've done. You know, eating grits with folks you didn't know yesterday and "We make our own grits" comes out. Yes, that's after we grow the corn. No small feat.

Circumstances changed radically and suddenly this year and yet to "not change priorities" becomes the challenge. More possibilities equals more thoughtfulness required.

Last year's new venture was pawpaw trees. I don't think I've written about that. The fall two years before I gathered pawpaws and processed them and saved the seeds through the winter (do NOT dry them out but put them in the fridge in acidified sawdust), planted them in cups, waited for them to sprout, was shocked at how many did sprout, kept them through the winter, and lo and behold they leafed back out. I sold some, I planted some out, I repotted some in bigger pots.

And I sprouted more seeds, despite thinking I'd ruined them. Not acidified enough and they molded. I tried presprouting some (maybe there's a name for that?) and let them dry out too much. I was sure I'd have zero germination. I found some previous year's seed in the fridge and forgot them on a shelf. When I found them, they were all sprouty. I planted them all, moldy dry and sprouty all. And again, way more than I expected grew. With the money from the seedlings I'd sold I bought a small hot house just to protect them from birds more than anything, an obviously it will be handy for starting all sorts of seeds.

And this year's new venture has been/is fermentation. There's more kraut, slightly better versions than before, in the fridge. There's beet kvass as a supplement for the girls. There's turnip kvass for us old folks. There's sour beets and sour turnips to experiment with. Garlic in honey. The idea of a ginger bug. Haven't gotten to the kimchi yet, or the larger fermenting vessels yet.

More to come. It's a pursuit.

Appalachia doesn't need your thoughts and prayers: we need infrastructure and good policy. Hundreds of miles inland, thousands of feet in elevation, destroyed by a hurricane. This is climate change and it will visit us again, and it will visit you too.