Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for keeping a great garden going all the years I lived with you because it has really shaped me into who I am today.  Last night I had the privlage to attend a potluck in West Philly for Phildadelphia's Urban Farm Network (pufn).  My farm boss Liv invited me and it was such an eye opener to me that there is a real movement happening in Urban Farming here in Philly and other cities in America.  The turn out was pretty huge and I am such a new-bee to the scene and all night I was just soaking up all of the information flying around the room and feeling so grateful that Liv has given me the chance to be a farmer.  Many things I felt about farming was confirmed like it being hard to make a living doing, but more than that I was introduced to the heart and soul of the community at large and everyone has projects big and small that mattered equally in the sence that farming is valuable work that is a chioce and privlage to work for and not just a job you get to pay the bills.  I meet some great people that have inspired me to think about farming more seriously and maybe even doing it in Austin, TX when we move. Who knows? but I defenatly related to everyone that I spoke to last night especially a girl named Amanda Staples who is about the same age as I am and lives with her husband in Philly and farms on a small plot in German Town area.  Amanda's husband is a web developer (and farmer) maybe that's the first thing that I related to her about, but it turns out she has been farming for a while now in different degree's  starting out here in the urban Kensington/Fishtown area and moving to rual area like Lancaster,PA. I enjoyed meeting her and making a new friend! Today I feel happy to be living in a city and am glad to not be living in the counry but the struggle continues.  I also felt humbled by the people around me having many skills and the abondance of knowlege to live sustainably, I got the feeling that if you droped last nights group off in the middle of the woods it would be capable of surviving because of the skill set that most everyone had for farming and living a homestead lifestyle despite them being city dwellers.

(image is complements of www.bigstoneswcd.org/.../Beautiful_Farmstead.htm)