List: '10 Great Blogs About Growing Food'

Today’s ‘List Friday’. I’ve never been much of a delegator. When something needs doing, and I can do it myself, I prefer to do it myself. Then at least I know it’s done well. Or if not, where the weaknesses and pitfalls lie. Segueing right along from yesterday’s Farmdoc’s Blog post, if you delegate the production of the food you eat, you don’t know under what conditions it’s grown or made, and what’s in it (and what’s not). Score one (or many more) for the agrobusiness bullies. Conversely, if you grow your own food you know just about everything about it. Self-sufficiency [1] in food is a continuum – ranging from 0% to 100%. Here in Mole Creek Sweetheart Vivienne and I aren’t anywhere near 100%. But wherever you are on the continuum, every step – however tiny – towards 100% helps. By rewarding you with healthier food and the satisfaction of producing it. By rewarding our planet. And by thwarting the agrobusiness bullies. If you wish to travel the path to 100% food self-sufficiency – and in many senses the journey’s more important and enjoyable than the destination – there’s no shortage of information and advice out there to help you. Today’s list, from planetgreen and titled '10 Great Blogs About Growing Food’ [2], is not a bad place to start. Or to use as a waystation if you’re already on the road. Whichever, I wish you happy and healthy travelling.

farmdoc's blog post number 694

Journeys. It’s usual to measure their length in terms of distance. However in terms of my life journey, I can but measure its length in years – 62½ years. So far. And on this journey I’m conscious of – if not fixated by – milestones. As the years pass, the milestones seem closer together. Increasingly so. Additional to fixed annual festivals and public holidays, there are certain annual events whose timing’s unique to me. I’ve previously written about vehicle registration stickers [1]. Today another one occurred: I took my papers and calculations (pictured) for the 2008-9 tax year to my accountant, Michelle, in Ballarat. A lovely person and a conservative accountant, she’ll use them to prepare our tax returns with care and diligence. But I feel apprehensive: Did I make errors? Have I obeyed the tax laws? How much tax will I need to pay? Will the Australian Taxation Office [ATO] audit my accounts? One by one these questions will be answered in the next few months. Ever since I first became a taxpayer 40 years ago, all’s gone well. Every year. So chances are they’ll go well again this year. Certainly my aim’s not to fly under the ATO’s radar; but rather to be seen on its radar in a way it views me as normal aviation traffic. Time will tell.