Almut Marino

As I was hiking through Lone Elk Park today I wondered if this is what silvopasture looks like - bison grazing in the forest.  It makes so much sense.  Wide open spaces are awesome in the desert, but not in south-eastern Missouri.  I think we all need to challenge our thinking about what traditional farming has come to mean to us.  I wonder if my friend, the cattle rancher back home in Germany, has ever considered adding trees to his pastures.  Another friend ranches in central Missouri and his herd has access to the woods, I thought that was unique to have cows in the forest, but now it makes sense.

Food is my area of strength so I thought I was doing great eating mostly plants, not too much.  We don't have food waste and trimmings go in the compost, which we use in our garden - it's never enough. We don't eat out except when we're traveling, like once or twice a year.  I learned about clean cookstoves and how much wood is needed for cooking in other parts of the world plus the pollution it creates.  I was already familiar with permaculture and enjoyed reading about multi-strata agroforestry and silvopasture. We grow a year-round garden but I really heard it for the first time, when Michael Pollan said, "Growing food is the original solar technology: calories produced by photosynthesis...The sun shines down on your yard, and photosynthesis still works so abundantly...that I can still produce a CO2 and $$-free lunch.

I read about net zero buildings, smart glass and bike share programs.  We just got a bike share program in St. Louis but it requires the use of a smart phone to locate and borrow a bike - I don't have a phone, though.  I wonder how much longer I can go phone-free in this society.

I am using up all the food in my refrigerator and pantry before buying any more.