Part 1 of 3. You've been asking for it (or maybe I made that up); a tour of my office on wheels and a bit about the view. Join me for a quick tour of the office, the chicken house, one of the gardens, and a few surprise stars!

I have been staring at this empty block for almost a half hour now. My only company the sound of the overhead fan in my 5th-wheel office. I don't like to write depressing things. I don't like to add too much of the world's reality into my own life or writing. But today I can't seem to help it.

I turn to food for comfort. These past two months I have gained probably 10-12 pounds. What could I possibly be stressed about? Beyond the transition of a new job, a growing homestead, Pan and I trying to start a family, and the influx of media I am forced to swallow each day, I guess nothing. But each day I wake up, down a cup of coffee and a little pick-me-up (usually fruit or a bowl of mueslix) and flip on the news. I am not specific in which channel or news team. Delivery is delivery no matter how much Splenda you might put in it. BP. Wall Street. A failing presidential office. War. Sex Trafficking. Terrorism. Obesity. Obsession. It is all a bit much over what should be "the best part of waking up." After about 15 minutes though I cut it off and join the sun as it rises into the sky.

My first stop is at the herb boxes. I love to smell them and wonder just what recipe they will end up "completing" or how Pan will dry them for tea or shaker spices. I then ramble on towards the corn. We try to water it every other day, and when I say water I mean for a few hours. Because of the position of the field it gets pummeled with afternoon sun and needs every drop of liquid it can get. It is usually at this point that I can't help but checking on the chickens. I can hear them so they are pretty hard to ignore. And now with the new chicks ... well, who doesn't want to see new chicks fumble around and play what looks like a game of poultry rugby?

And then it is on to the main garden. I can't step into it without being washed over by its miracle. At the risk of sounding emotionally drippy, this garden is so much more to me than probably to most. It represents new life in its most raw form. It is my church. It is where I was baptized a second time, changing from the consumptive person I thought I deserved to be in life to the humbled man I am now. I typically reach down and poke my finger in the dirt. Most mornings it is moist with dew; a reminder that each day is a new one and everyone deserves to be cleaned and refreshed. And then? Well, then I park it. I sit on a bench made of old granite curbing that we recycled from a downtown renovation project. I stare at the plants thinking about how Pan and I have poured hours into it hoping for a harvest that will last us well into fall and early winter. I think about how we tithe the first of the harvest and give thanks to God for what he has blessed us with on Odom's Idle Acres. I think about how a tiny seed turns into a huge plant that bears food. Think about that for a moment.

What starts out as a seed ... well, perhaps Robert Schuller (yes, the televangelist ... so sue me) said it best, "Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." How amazing is that. And as I stare at that garden – what it once was, what it is now, and what it will be in a month – I find my hunger being satiated. No, I am not talking about a twinkie I hid amongst the okra but rather a satisfying bite of relief; freedom from the very stresses that one hour ago gripped me tight like a boa constrictor on his prey. And it is at that moment the world makes sense again. It began in a garden. A garden shall sustain us. And if I have my druthers, it will all end in a garden.

Fox and his Friends can say what they want, but when the world gets extra hairy and Uncle Sam reaches out his hand one last time, I am headed to the garden. And there I will find new life, new hope, and a new understanding of what we are here for.

Image of the garden on March 25, 2010, and then again on May 27, 2010.

Drew takes you on a trip to one of the largest farmers' markets on the East Coast: the Georgia State Farmers' Market and encourages you to support agriculture in your neck of the woods.

This past week I was in Dayton, Ohio for my "day job." After I landed at the airport I had to drive about 13 miles to the center of Dayton where my company's office is.

As I was driving I past what seemed to be about a 60-year old farm in less than perfect condition. It seemed so odd to me sitting there on its own – one house, one large barn, two silos, a chicken house, and some fencing – less than a mile off of I-75. There were no cars in the driveway, and no real sign of life there. It is a miracle I didn't run off the highway staring at the potential of such a homestead. I immediately began to wonder, "Who owns that? Do they still live there? What did they used to farm? Is the soil still good? How did the Interstate get here so close to them?" And then it hit me.

Guilt.

I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach as I pondered how we had allowed places like this all over America to be overrun by "progress." How long would it be before that farm became an exit ramp or a TravelStop or some form of strip mall?

I guess I have reached a new place in my relationship with the land. I can no longer pass by such a home – an institution, if you will – without silently mourning the loss of our agrarian society. And for what? Progress?

What about you? Have you had these feelings recently? Where do your thoughts take you?

I have been wanting a water feature for some time. Our front yard (which is seen by passing traffic) has three different levels, so to speak, separated by gradually descending berms. We have planted some wonderful willow trees, bermuda grass, and a host of azaleas and such along the perimeter, largely ignoring the middle ground. I just knew that it was this area that would be perfect for a water feature or as we call it in middle Georgia – a pond.

Very few people have electricity running randomly to their yards. We are not those people either. So we had our first problem. How would we keep a pump running and keep our water from becoming stagnant and breeding mosquitos in the summer? That is when I thought about using solar energy. I was uncertain how I would do so though as I was unaware of the smaller sizes of solar panels available on the market.

After a bit of research on the 'net and a few Google ads I came across Silicon Solar Inc. It seemed they had just what I was looking for – a night/day solar pond pump kit featuring two small solar panels and the power house. I did a little more research and found what I would call horrible online reviews. People complained about everything from the time of delivery to broken products to poor customer service. I decided that my order would be different and I got out the debit card! When I first ordered I received a notice rather quickly saying the product was on backorder. For three weeks I hear nothing. I got worried as the charge had gone through on my debit card.

I kept thinking back to the reviews I read and I figured I had been taken; just another victim of Internet sales. After 4 weeks I called them and spoke with Corey Belden, Director of Customer Relations. She helped me as best she could and promised she would keep me posted. After another week (we are now past a month) I had heard nothing and got downright agitated. I found a number for Matt Farrell, the Managing Director for Silicon Solar. I called him and told him how I had been treated and how I felt I should be regarded. He immediately emailed me, Corey, and Pete Bauerle, General Manager. I quickly received an email back and through another phone call was promised the product would be delivered in a week. There was an issue getting it from the manufacturer as they had been involved with the World Expo and had shut down their warehouse during that time.

Finally on Monday, May 10, I got an email from Corey saying the product was coming in that day and would be shipped immediately. Tuesday morning brought an email with the shipping/tracking number, and Thursday the package arrived!

Now, granted I had some issues. I believe now though that that is par for the course when ordering anything online. I had to get a bit nasty a couple of times, but I was always able to speak to someone, express my thoughts, and see some action. Yesterday, I was so pleased. I felt like they had delivered a quality product and one that would augment our front yard.

This morning it is still going strong. It is beautiful and my family simply loves it; the sound, the look, the ambiance.

Tonight we had a wonderful homegrown meal. Steak sourced to my sister's farm in Honey Creek, Iowa. Potatoes grown right here in Georgia. And a large, beautiful, salad harvested right here at Odom's Idle Acres. As I stared at my bowl (roughly 10 seconds before I dug in) I remembered (in paraphrase, of course) a quote by Hayakawa, U.S. Senator and prolific member of the Bohemian Club.

Ever since man began to till the soil and learned not to eat the seed grain but to plant it and wait for the harvest, the postponement of gratification has been the basis of a higher standard of living and civilization.
--S. I. Hayakawa

Here's to a higher standard for us all!

By definition marmalade is a fruit preserve, made from the peel of citrus fruits, sugar, and water. Many of us (including myself) are familiar with the English treat primarily because of Paddington Bear, the illustrated cartoon bear who with his old hat, battered suitcase, and duffle coat displayed a remarkable love of marmalade sandwiches. Prior to this past weekend though I had never so much as held a jar of marmalade. But when my cousin brought over a grocery sack of Florida's finest, I couldn't help but to take a peeler to them, give 'em a mashing, and start a new epicurious experience!

Here's the marmalade recipe I used. To get started you will need the following:

• 8 whole oranges, thinly sliced (4 cups cut)
• 3 whole lemons, thinly sliced (1 ½ cups cut)
• Orange juice or Water – 4 cups of either.
• Sugar – about 4 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar
• Pectin (it's a natural product, made from apples and available at grocery stores)
• At least 1 large pot
• Large spoons and ladles
• Ball jars

The first thing to do is essentially select your fruit (including the lemons) and place them all on a towel or in a bowl. With a Tupperware brand peeler you then need to peel them all and cut out any seeds and/or bad spots. What you are left with is a bowl of naked oranges that are almost ready. First though, remove the remaining rind using your fingers, by peeling off the remaining white portion of the rind. Discard this – it is tasteless and spongy. Then slice the oranges and lemons in half. Next, slice the two halves into thin slices and then chop the slices up a bit! Remove and discard any seeds or tough parts of the orange that you find in the process. Continue to save any juice that leaks out!

You'll want to measure out the sugar at this point and combine your dry ingredients. Please follow the directions that come with the pectin, but generally, the lower sugar pectin recipes call for about 4 cups of sugar per box, and the regular pectin calls for 7 cups of sugar. Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. Note: you can also add some spice at this point, if you like! I added a full tablespoon of cinnamon. Add the pectin to the fruit at this point.

Now place the chopped fruit and 4 cups of water or orange juice in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and return to a boil. Stir the mix and bring it to a full boil, hard, for one minute. Now fill the jars and put the lid and rings on Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

Process the jars for about 10 minutes then allow them to sit at room temperature for up to 48 hours. I haven't had much more than a spoonful or two of the marmalade, and while it makes me feel no more proper than the man in the moon, it has a great flavor and will make a fantastic housewarming gift or just small guest gift.