Wolves have occupied the shadows of land and lore for thousands of years, and the battle over whether to hunt them or protect them has come to light in their few modern American habitats. Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Minnesota have become legal and political battlegrounds between advocates and adversaries of gray wolves. Many ranchers and hunters consider the wolf a blight upon livestock and game, and see wolf hunting as a solution. The environmentalists and the socially concerned who oppose this approach see the wolf as a natural, historical, and spiritual treasure. Wolves help shape our culture, balance the natural environment, and they can contribute directly and indirectly to the economy. Wolves have been successfully reintroduced to a few areas within the United States, but with their range and number still greatly diminished, allowing them to be hunted could erase them from all but memory. The United States gray wolf is beneficial to the environment, the economy, and the American psyche, so its small population should be protected rather than hunted.

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While I waited to pick my daugher up after an outing, it was the perfect chance to enjoy a quiet sunset in the park.

The work that is blocking off part of the park is supposed to be finished this month, but I wonder. My dog has been nudging the truck door every time we go for a walk around town, hinting that it’s time to take her back to Ramsey Park too! It’s a beautiful time of year.

In Minnesota, it’s helpful and sometimes necessary to start garden plants indoors. I’ve borrowed the cats’ window perch for this most years, and never have had room for enough peat pots.

This year’s solution is a greenhouse put together from an over-the-toilet set of shelves and a two dollar clear plastic dropcloth from the painting section at Wal-Mart. The shelves can be found now and again at garage sales and thrift stores, and can also be bought new for less than twenty dollars. Each of the three shelves on mine holds 18 3-inch peat pots. I’ll be putting drainage trays underneath them, not shown in the photo. There’s enough window room left that I may hang a fourth shelf of left-over plywood underneath. This will be very easy to move outside for a bit before putting the plants in the garden, and though it’s not a beautiful living room centerpiece, it doesn’t take up much room.

Today the Senate passed S510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. It has evolved somewhat from 2009′s HR875, but not enough to allay existing fears that it’s a grab for complete control over our food supply.

An accredited third-party auditor shall not be owned, managed, or controlled by any person that owns or operates an eligible entity to be certified by such auditor;

The above section is pointless. Unless, miraculously, large corporations and the government would be above influencing auditors who were not directly managed by them. Not only that, but such an auditor could actually do damage to a small, mom & pop operation in favor of a large company.

There should not be auditors under this bill because S510 should not be enacted at all. It does nothing to enhance the safety of our food supply, since it neglects to address certain aspects of food production. For instance, pesticide and hormone use, gene splicing, and steps not taken to avoid contamination on corporate farms. While corporate anything likely won’t feel too big of a sting from the reporting or inspections required by this act, small, local operations could be devastated.

Section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which S510 refers to, excludes “farms; restaurants; other retail food establishments; nonprofit food establishments in which food is prepared for or served directly to the consumer; or fishing vessels” from the definition of facilities required to register. This appears to let the homesteader or family farmer who sells at the local farmer’s market off the hook. But what if that homesteader actually makes something with the food he grows? Cider from apples, perhaps? Cheese that might be sold in a local grocery chain? Yes, there should be laws concerning food safety, but the regulations posed by this bill are too costly and intrusive, and are open to future changes that could clamp down on home or locally grown food while providing no new safety measures.

Foodborne illness outbreaks are limited to the population that consumes the tainted food. Mass producers sell nationwide and worldwide. Homesteaders and true family farms more often supply a much smaller, local population. The outbreak is only as big as the consumer base, making the homestead and the local farm an effortless way to provide food safety. Instead of encouraging the comeback of these farms, S510 penalizes them. In fact, it penalizes all of us through new regulations and the cost of implementing and maintaining them. In exchange, it offers a false sense of security.

The warm weather has brought a few surprise fall goodies from the gardens. Even the chili peppers are still growing. Normally, frost wouldn’t allow such a late crop. Tonight I grabbed a 16″ zucchini squash and some popcorn from the garden that’s now left to the pumpkins that continue to appear. There were also some small dried sunflowers and “mutt” squash that will be used for decorations. The popcorn husks might make a nice wreath. Following this with a walk with the dog will be the perfect ending for the day.

To buy a fat… pepper. And some salsa. And then home again to light a fire. ‘Cause brr! It was a brisk walk through Redwood Falls to the Farmer’s Market. Not too many tables were out when we were there. Of course my youngest and I couldn’t resist a jar of homemade hot salsa, and we brought home some nice looking banana peppers. The boys ought to be able to tolerate those. It’s only in the low 50′s today, and dreary, so we lit the first fire of the year in the wood stove. It smells nice outside. The fragrance of some of the burning wood reminds me of a tobacco shop, like a pipe. I’m rethinking the plan to visit the orchard tomorrow, since it isn’t supposed to be much nicer out.

Maybe we should head on out to the orchard while we still can. And stop at every homegrown produce stand left standing by government regulations. And put away as many garden seeds as we can, before we are all completely barred from growing our own food. If you think that sounds far-fetched, read up.

This evening I’ll be soaking up the fire’s warmth and contemplating all the dishes banana peppers taste good in and just how far the powers that be have to push before civil disobedience is called for in the eyes of the masses.