Among the River Sallows – A novel, fifteen years in the writing
Before coffee roasting, there was traveling and writing. This is a novel I wrote over fifteen
Recently, we had a go at running an obscurely located farm shop in our small town of North Arm. It has since closed, yet from the point of view of meeting a wonderful group of local people, it was a huge success
But no, it was a success in other ways too. It really got us thinking about how we should be less wasteful and more conscious about where our produce comes from, from an environmental perspective as well as a health perspective. It brought me to thinking of our crop of zucchini we planted before summer and how much they flourished through permaculture principles. How we could go out and pluck from those lush, verdant patches a night’s serving of chemical free vegetables, saving the expense of a trip to the supermarket and the cost of plastic.
It got me thinking about the future tragedy that is likely to play out in the coffee industry, with the encroaching effects of climate change already taking a toll. To wrap oneself up so much in the making of money to pay bills we take our eye off the big elephant in the room. My once dream of having a coffee empire no longer seems so appealing. Rather I’d like to remain small, do things as least wastefully as possible, serve our creations (while they last) to a bunch of fine fellows, and just go through life appreciating the finer things, like yellow breasted robins that frequent our garden, a son’s morning laugh after he crawls over you, the deep satisfaction a customer feels from having a coffee that’s been a long time in the making, a product of observation, thoughtfulness and patience. I hope I can do this, for I know myself and the restlessness in me that draws me ever forward.
Well, now, with the summer heat having ravaged last year’s crop of zucchini, and with the extra time up our sleeve from not having to run the shop, we are fully excited about what the cooler season will bring!
Not just in the garden, but coffee too.
