Howdy ya’ll.
I do not know how to start this but I am just going to start. I have always enjoyed writing from a young age. I also enjoyed reading a lot. I have been away from writing for almost a year now. I figured I might as well start again. I know this does not really count as writing because I am typing, LOL. I think what counts is the flow of thoughts that we transcribe onto any form of medium. I know most people say that nothing beats pen to paper. That is true. I love that feeling of writing with my Bic. Putting my thoughts onto a piece of paper, watching them slowly come to life letter by letter, word by word and line by line.
Creating life is a special gift on this planet we live. Taking care of the life we create is even more special. I grew up in a weird time and an even weirder place. Well, I think the transition was the weird part not the actual time or place. I grew up in Northeast Arizona. We lived about 25 miles off of highway 264, I can still visualize the bumpy trails that we would take on Friday evening when a family member, mainly my sister would pick me up from boarding school. Those rides man, they will stick with you and the open vastness of the land that was so wild because there were no human beings there. Just Nature. My first memory of herding sheep is when I was about 4. My uncle and I would herd sheep all day and we would have so much fun. I cannot believe how we went all day with no water and not even a snack. That is crazy thinking back on these moments.
Fast forward to now, 2019. WOW!!! Time seems to go by so quickly when you are thinking back on the fondness of memories that are instilled in the times of your youth. I have vague memories of my parents planting food, veggies or fruits. I feel like they had moved away from the homestead life that our ancestors had built to survive. Given that many of the knowledge was not ever passed down to our parents, my parents specifically. They were not given the knowledge of the land that we grew up on. There was some knowledge given but, very limited. My ancestors were hunters, gatherers, sheep/goat herders, horse people and farmers. I ask my mother about how folks had lived back before there any settlers in our area and even before the Spanish missionaries came through. My hunger for knowledge has took me to many places and has allowed me to converse with many people. I came home to Sanders, Arizona 5 years ago, May 2014. I needed something to do and a visit to my aunt’s home inspired me to become a farmer. As I delve into this lifestyle I became more passionate about the lifestyle. Not just farming but to actually live off the land, to create a homestead. To grow the fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meat that we will eat. That is a goal of mine, to be able to grow at a minimum of 90% of what I consume. these first 4 years have been tough because I live in Northeastern Arizona. We get about 6 inches of precipitation a year, that is if it is a good year. This past winter has been a great winter. We received our first couple foot of snow in about 3 decades. I have gained knowledge though. How to work with Mother Nature and to observe, listen and to always expect the unexpected.
My name is Jarvisson King, I am the owner/operator of Laughing Goat Gardens. I am one of the few people in this world that want to make a change in what we eat. It starts with where we get our food and how that food was raised or grown. My family has a history of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. I feel that our diet is the biggest constituent to our health. With this notion I started to grow my own food.