Irish Acres Organic Farm and Apiary Agrarian Blog

In early August, after leaving Baghdad, I decided to unwind a bit by taking an “Oxen Basics Workshop” at Sanborn Mill Farm, near Concord, New Hampshire. Lasting three days, the workshop was not only a superb opportunity to learn about the basics of using oxen in farming and more about the whole approach to agriculture that draft animals require, but it was also an introduction to the “oxen users community,” a very diverse group of highly intelligent and dedicated agrarians who see the value in traditional methods for rescuing modern agriculture in the 21st century. As it turns out, that workshop also exposed me to a way of farming that may well prove to be the best approach to modern agriculture for the people of South Sudan. Oxen-powered farming today exists mostly in New England. The small farms, hilly terrain, and rocky land lend themselves to the use of oxen whereas in the rest of the country, most animal-powered agriculture is done with horses and mules. There is also a lon...

Andy Griffith, known to many of us as Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, passed away on July 3 at the age of 86.  As a boy growing up in Kentucky, every Monday night was a highlight of the week as that was when the “Andy Griffith Show” aired on TV. Starting October 3, 1960, shortly after I turned four years old, it continued to air until April 1, 1968, by which time I was almost twelve years old. Forty-four years later, I continue watch it whenever I can,whether in TV reruns, via the Internet, or by DVD.  I can honestly say that my childhood was in many ways defined by Sheriff Taylor and the good people of Mayberry, as I and my family gathered every Monday evening to watch the latest goings-on in a fellow southern community. Although I did not understand or appreciate it at the time, the values and lessons taught and lived in Mayberry strongly reinforced what my parents and Sunday School teachers tried to teach me. It is hard to say that today’s television programming does th...