"There are times when I cannot believe I am separate from this earth, when I could swear the wind blows through me as it does the woven needles of the pine tree by the creek, when I feel my feet planted deep in the earth with the roots of trees and wildflowers, drawing essence." - Cathy JohnsonA quote fitting our pine tree neighbor, Neil Krueger, from Krueger’s Christmas Tree Farm who tilled the garden for the first time this season.
This garden provides not only fresh produce for the food shelves, but the growth of fresh ideas - such as the lost art of bartering. Not only is it a way to trade resources, but it is a personalized way of doing business, encourages us to examine our values, we learn trust, and it enhances our relationships and develops friendships. In those friendships the take away is immeasurable.
This past early winter, in exchange for the Krueger's tilling, our staff unloaded semi-trucks of Christmas Trees. While Neil tilled our garden today, and we unloaded trucks last year... what was really tilled is a friendship between neighbors that will, like this garden, only grow.
Thank you Neil and Deb Krueger!
