Partly cloudy. High around 80F. Winds light and variable..

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.

As I sit here on the balcony overlooking my freshly-planted garden and sipping my coffee, I feel immense peace. You see, it’s the little things in life that truly mean the world to me. Like my 4-year-old son, Kaeson, telling me he loves my garden.

I feel incredibly proud of myself for hand tilling my garden spot this year. I had trouble getting anyone out to till it and my in-law’s tiller was broken, so one day I just decided to go for it. Two hours later, my spot was all ready to plant. My oldest son, Jesse, laughed and told me I could have asked him to help. It didn’t matter at that point. The satisfaction of a job well done was all I needed.

As a pagan, nature is extremely important to me. After all, without it we would not have many of the things people take for granted. Teaching my children the value of hard work and reaping the benefits of fresh produce is an added benefit. In my opinion, a little dirt under your nails, sweat running down your face and a job well done is basically the essence of life. My children see me work hard to achieve results and that is something they will carry with them for their entire lives.

About eight years ago, my mother-in-law, Dianna Hamilton, taught me all about gardening. She had a garden at my husband’s aunt’s house and they let me have a garden there, too. I remember how excited I was to plant so many different things. I was a stay-at-home mom and often felt like I didn’t contribute a lot to anything. It is a feeling I am sure a lot of stay-at-home moms face at some point. With the garden I contributed a lot of food that our family ate. Walking barefoot in the freshly-tilled dirt was exhilarating.

Needing to do something with all this produce I had been growing, I learned how to can and preserve my bounty. I made so many different things: dandelion jelly, homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade butter, canned green beans and peas. This year I will be preserving peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and herbs. I plan to make tomato juice, tomato sauce, salsa, relish, pickles, fried green tomatoes, cowboy candy (sweet and spicy jalapeno relish), pickled beets and so much more.

As a homeschooling mom, my children will be learning to can and preserve food this year. If you teach a person how to grow and preserve food, they no longer need to depend on a grocery store to feed themselves. As we have seen lately, trusting that a grocery store has what you need is not always easy.

I have always been one who hates depending on others for anything and that is something I hope to instill in my children. I think the reward of knowing where your food comes from, what is in it and how it was prepared is very important. I wish that there were more classes and opportunities in this area for people to learn how to be self-sufficient.

I have offered to teach a few of my friends how to can and preserve things. You can easily turn even a bottle of juice from the store into amazing homemade jelly. Those cheap veggies you find sitting at the store about to spoil can easily be canned or frozen and no longer thrown away. The weeds you find in your yard, such as dandelions, are often edible, healthy and extremely yummy when made into something such as jelly.

My first garden was huge. My current one, not so much. However, the joy and satisfaction I get from watching my plants grow is enough for me. My children often laugh because I have been known to talk to my plants and tell them how happy I am that they are growing. A deep respect for life, whether it is fur covered or leaf covered, is something I highly value.

We should be thankful for not only any meat we eat, but also for the plants that we eat. I am truly excited to see how this year’s harvest goes. It’s something I check on every day. Going out and tending the plants and making sure they have what they need to thrive ultimately ensures that we as a family do, too.

Caroline Hamilton and her husband, Deven, live in New Castle. The couple has eight children, two dogs and a rabbit. Besides homeschooling her own children, Caroline is attending college classes at IU East where she is double-majoring in psychology and criminology and minoring in neuroscience.

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