My final manuscript has gone off to the publisher. High Up in the Rolling Hills, A Living on the Land, is a book in its final stages of design that will be in print shortly.
This
personal journey explores my own independent travels, migration to a new land, organic
farming, farmers markets, country living and the vital role of nature,
creativity and healthy food in our lives.
Tracking
the experiences and adventures leading up to our mid-life shift to country
living, High Up in the Rolling Hills, A
Living on the Land charts the discoveries of an independent couple as we set
down roots in the hills.
As my artist wife Gundi creates stacked glass sculptures, I, farmer Peter, sink hands and tools into
pure glacial-till soils, sow seeds, plant seedlings and grow culinary and
medicinal herbs, heirloom vegetables and leafy greens to take to farmers markets
and restaurants in the city. Along the way, we experience the
pleasures and health benefits of growing, selling and eating fresh organic
food, all close to our artful home in the hills. In a frantic age, we tap
into a simple, deliberate, highly rewarding lifestyle and make a healthy living.
The
practice of farming makes me delve into age-old methods of growing food as I seek out natural ways to work the soil, nurture nutritious vegetables and
herbs. A romantic at heart, I have become a passionate advocate of organic
farming and a burgeoning alternative local food movement based on farmers
markets and innovative providers, purveyors and consumers linked by common
aspirations and values. In a world in which nature is fast being closed out and
regulated, this is one of countless instances around the world of farmers
taking charge by reclaiming food, land and health in harmony with their natural
surroundings.
