Somewhere Dad is laughing

Every Saturday we go to the University of Agriculture in Lima for classes at La Huerta (The Garden). This is a favorite class for almost all of us since it is very hands on for most of the morning. The teachers are great, I generally understand the much of the Spanish and our language teachers are with us when we need assistance. We´ve dug up small plots, turned in green manure, planted seeds, started seedlings, learned how to make compost for a kitchen garden and generally enjoyed being outdoors with our hands in the dirt. Every time I am there I think of Dad, in part because many of the methods we see and learn are similar to what was done on the farm when I was a kid in the 1950´s.

I often think I hear Dad laughing as I learn about farming all over again from a new perspective. This week we had lessons in raising cuy (guinea pigs) which are a regular food here that I have not yet tried but inevitably will. Then we had lessons in bee keeping and extracting honey. A week ago, we had a totally fascinating lecture on agriculture in Peru including tiny plots, the increase in organic farming and then on to agribusiness which is just as ugly and important to the economy here as at home in the states.

I expect to have a garden wherever I am so I appreciate learning how it is done here with minimal technology. Every Saturday, I think I´ve come full circle back to my childhood and as I listen to the chickens in the chicken barn, I think I hear Dad´s voice saying, "you´ve come a long way kid!"