Theme: farm family

March Birthdays

My Grandpa Bond was born well over a hundred years ago, on March 20 1902, a Spring baby.  I often think of him as one of the people who introduced me to growing vegetables.  He became an avid gardener during World War II because he lived in the industrial town of Birmingham England, and the war had disrupted the supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables.  To address the shortage, my grandfather threw himself into his vegetable garden — he had access to an allotment (the English term for a plot of land rented out for growing gardens). In fact, my grandfather eventually took over several allotments with his fruit trees and vegetables and never gave them up, even when the bombs stopped falling.  When he visited us in California, he and I worked together in a small garden in rocky soil, that while not producing a great harvest of vegetables, resulted in my life-long gratitude and fond memories of precious times together.

There have been many other happy birthdays to enjoy in March —  the popping up of flowers, both horticultural and wild all around us, and of course the Spring Equinox which we will observe on Monday March 20th.  Neighbors, friends and relatives, so many seem to have been born in March!  One very special, ‘round’ birthday, the 60th, should be mentioned, that of our beloved Dru Rivers, one of Full Belly’s founders and owners, who generously shared her March birthday with her daughter Hallie, 31 years ago.  This year, our goat Sweet Pea, was even inspired by the birthday energy.  Our lunch on March 15th was interrupted with the momentous news that Sweet Pea had just given birth to quadruplets.  Within minutes they were trying to get up onto their long legs, sniffing around their mom for milk.

–Judith Redmond