So...

So you might be wondering why I haven't posted anything here since September 7, when I wrote a stimulating piece about the wonderful nutritional benefits of Froot Loops. (Or, more likely, this post has just shown up in your email or feed reader and you're trying to remember what this blog is about.)

It's not that I didn't have anything to write about. (Not any less than normal!) I frequently thought of things to write about, but then I always thought, "yes, but first you need to explain why you haven't posted anything since September 7." And since that wasn't an explanation I particularly wanted to write... I didn't.

But now I will.

We officially started our locavore attempt on May 20. Things went quite well for the first few months. Through the end of July, I estimate that I was eating about 80% local food. In August and September, we got busy for some reason, or perhaps just disorganized, and I would guess that I had slipped to about 50% local food. I was also a bit disheartened when I computed how much food we needed to store to stay local through the winter (answer: lots). And I fell behind on posting here.

Then, in October, disaster struck -- Our septic system died.

Our first clue that there was a problem was when our toilets wouldn't flush. Not even the brand new, ultra-low-flow "rated best flush" one. I went outside, removed the lid from the septic tank, and found that it was filled nearly to ground-level.

If you cast your mind back to October of last year, you might remember it being a bit damp. Actually, very damp. Drenched. We had over 11 inches of rain that month.

We live within the Springfield city limits, but when our house was built in 1973, this was still the boonies and there was no sewer service. There was an opportunity several years ago to get the neighborhood tied into the city sewer, but for whatever reason it never happened.

Anyway, to make a long story short, our new septic system couldn't be installed until mid-December, due to all of the rain. That meant going for a full 2 months without a working septic system.

If your septic system doesn't work, then you must drastically reduce your water usage. For us, that meant doing laundry at the laundromat; taking showers only every few days (and even then keeping the water turned off until it was time to rinse); and flushing toilets according to the rule "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."

Most importantly from a locavore viewpoint, it meant that we had to avoid washing dishes or using water for cooking. The practical effect of that restriction was that we ate out nearly every day for 2 months! Doing so did very bad things to my attempts to lose weight, of course, but it also effectively killed our attempts to eat local food! It also meant that I didn't have much to blog about here. (I suppose that I could have posted "Ate out again" every day for 2 months.)

By the time we had a working septic system, winter was upon us. No more fresh veggies for us!

However, spring is almost here! I recently received an email from Garrick Veenstra about this year's CSA, and yesterday we began preparing our garden beds for this year's planting. In fact, the strawberry plants that we planted last year are already greening up, which is very exciting!

I'll try to write a "lessons learned" post here soon, discussing what we did well last year and what caused us problems. Stay tuned!

(You can see photos of the septic system installation on my other blog, Talking to Myself Again.)

Comments

[Victoria Rose]

Maybe post about any restaurants that you found that had a large local content? I'm still looking for that in my area...

[Frugalspringfield.blogspot.com]

I wondered why you had quit posting and glad to see you are back. I have started collecting resources for locally produced foods on my blog and found your website. Hope to read more about the local food movement from you and connecting with like minded individuals interested in healthy, locally grown foods.