CONSUMPTION

CONSUMPTION

Do you remember back when people actually sat down and read books? How about way back in the days when there was something fit to watch on TV? If you can remember those days of the past; you will remember that a common cause of death for the pioneers of our country was listed as consumption. Yeah, that dreadful disease is now known by another name now. We all know what that is.

It has been a bountiful year and a pleasant summer; other than a couple of hot weeks early on. I look at the cellar and smile. Plenty is stored away for the upcoming months. The freezer soon will be filled with venison and we will not have to think about procuring any food until the ramps pop up in the spring. Yep, it will be good eating all winter long and we all know that winter is long. Too long.

I really enjoy the month of October. It is wind-down time and the crowds are gone. One can actually enjoy the streams and woods without tripping over others. It is just a nice period of time to be in the mountains as the colors dwindle and the leaves fall. The chores are done and it is time to relax and recharge. Yes, when the rye is sown and the garlic is in the ground it’s time to head to the woods and see what you can find. I tend to spend a lot more time looking at potential new deer hunting spots than I do actually hunting. It seems as if every time I find a productive spot; they either cut down all of the trees or decide to build a road in that spot. Therefore; I normally spend a good amount of October walking and thinking. Searching may be a better definition. I like to search. It is a good activity for a wandering mind.

Wandering, wondering and thinking just seem like the right things to do. I wonder why I see fewer gardens every year. I think back and try to remember the last time I actually saw anyone squirrel hunting. I guess it easier to drive through and get some chicken nuggets from something that once resembled a chicken. Just yesterday, I saw someone with tomatoes bought from Biggy Mart. I wonder why when I’m positive that person drove by a half dozen real produce stands. It’s just easier, I guess. Never better but less trouble.

Producers dwindle and consumers grow. We have become a nation of consumers obsessed with the easiest way to get something while expending the least amount of effort. Quality no longer seems to take priority. I do not understand the reasoning but that is the way it seems to be. I would take a quart of canned whole tomatoes over a bushel of rock hard flavorless ones any day. I just like to know where my food came from and know what it looked like. The same thing goes with meat. I like to cut up my own meat. I hear so many that say it is too much to trouble butcher their own deer. I would rather cut up deer than sit on a deer stand and wait on one to show up.

I’m afraid that consumption will eventually consume a nation.

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