I think I will put the same post here today that I wrote for my garden blog (not much to post about there this time of year). Over on Garden Records, however, every now and then I copy an excerpt from the 1874 diary of Charles Thruwood, a farmer from Fort Plain NY (just a handful of miles up the road) . Charlie was 21 that year and had a grand time voting for the first time, breaking horses and doing a lot of hunting, besides working real hard on the farm with his family. It is interesting and informative to compare what happened on a family farm in his day to what happens on one in our time.
Perhaps not surprisingly, although the machines may be bigger and the animal numbers larger, there is no question that the cycles of life, the seasons, and the land have not changed. (No matter what hype you may hear on the topic.) For example, last night our maple syrup guy, who taps our sugar bush woods, (and gives us wonderful maple syrup), stopped by to negotiate for this season's tapping arrangements. I am sure in a few short weeks I will be reading of Charlie Thurwood's families doing their sugaring off as well. We will see when the time comes if the beginning of the maple sap run in 2008 coincides with that in 1874. (We have owned this diary for a good many years and it often has before.) I generally spot the beginning of the run by icicles hanging from maple branches that get broken off along the road. These are formed by sap and are tantalizingly sweet. Alan and I often break off a couple and melt them for coffee water...just for the fun of it.
Here is the copied post.
"From the Charles Thurwood diary
A very foggy day and in the morning it rained a little and I done nothing but the chores and went hunting and Henry Meyers was here and at night Til and Charley Bouman and Dunckel and Ezra Dillenbeck was all to our house. 4 eggs
Here at Northview we are also experiencing a January thaw, which is much appreciated. Had a little rainy sleet Friday into Saturday, which finally made the paths fit for walking again. Interesting that 134 years have passed between these two farmer diary postings and yet the weather is nearly identical."
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7 comments:
I didn't know you had a garden blog! The Bossman keeps a diary and it always amazes me how often the same thing happens a different year on the same day.
How many blogs ya runnin?
Thanks for that look into the past.
Oh what a wonderful thing to read! Did Charles write in his diary every day? It would be so neat to read it along with you. May I request that you make his diary entry a daily blog event, like in the sidebar or a post for every day he wrote? :) You'd sure get rave reviews from me! I love old diaries.
Thanks for the insight. A real gem.
I didn't know about your garden blog also! Great for sure!
Linda, it isn't much really, just a place to keep track of what happens in my gardening world, but I have fun with it. I used to use a notebook and it often astonished me with the consistency of annual weather and animal events.
FC, three of 'em, but this one is the real deal
Mrs. M, I will try to do more of that. I love Charles' diary, as well as my great grandmother's which I also have and another family one, which is compiled online. I feel like I knew my great grandmother from hers, even though I never met her.
Mon@rch, Thanks.
OHHHHH, Great! We are putting in a garden for the forst time here in the spring. I can't wait to blog about it and read about yours. We are going to do raised beds and I have a great source for topsoil. I can't wait for spring. we are going to build the beds during the winter so we will be ready come spring.
Tim, raised beds are hard to beat. You can grow so much in so little space.
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