I saw a lovely watercolor painting of small fuzzy creature in four different scenes.  In the first scene, she was sitting quietly as sun streamed through a window; in the second scene she was hugging friends; in the third scene she was standing with vegetables spread out all around; in the fourth scene she lie in a field watching the clouds change shapes in the sky.  The caption at the top of each scene was the same, “I’M RICH!” – and indeed, I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.  Our Grow Appalachia Family shares a wealth far more precious than money – the richness of connection with each other, with the land, and with Self. As Spring settles in the hills, the air is rich with the fragrance of flowers and trees, the hills are a rich golden green as countless tiny leaves unfurl, and the rich soil begins to warm beneath our feet.  We are rich and surrounded by richness!  I love to think about abundance and wealth in different ways – as knowledge, as potential, as biscuits!  I was teaching a cooking class to a group of teenagers and one of the young men said, “If nothing else, at least I know how to make biscuits now.  I’ll be able to feed myself.”  And there it is…the wealth of self-sufficiency!

Our Grow Appalachia participants enjoyed a shower of wealth on April 29th!  We had our second plant pick up for this season!  We had a variety of tomatoes, peppers, and squash, along with an assortment of herbs!  Participants have been overjoyed with the plants from Rudolph’s Greenhouse in Knott County.  Connie Rudolph is the best mountain fairy out there!  Connie Sizemore with NRCS has been kind enough to provide a space for folks to pick-up fertilizer.  As we move into our May workshop, everyone will have access to canning equipment from our equipment library – also available at the soil conservation office.  Our program has been blessed with several integral partners including Leslie County Extension, Perry County Extension, Leslie County Soil Conservation Office, Leslie County Community Garden, and FoodCorps.  Surrounded by an abundance of support, showered with an abundance of rain, and enjoying an abundance of food growing around us – WE ARE RICH!