Expanding Horizons - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).

This week I thought we would start with something bold that grabs the eyes.  Shown above is an envelope that had a printed, decorative design on the front that reads "Humboldt."  The envelope is addressed to a Professor William Procter Jr of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and two cents of postage was paid by a brown two cent postage stamp applied at the top right of the envelope.

The postage stamp talks to us

Of course, it is the printed design that demands our attention first, which is exactly why I thought I'd talk about everything else first.

The two-cent postage stamp was part of a series of ten designs called (not terribly creatively) the 1869 Pictorial Issue.  Each design featured a different denomination (postage value in cents).  This particular design, for 2 cents in postage, was first used on March 20 of 1869.  This series of stamps was unpopular with the public and was replaced after a short period of time and a new 2-cent stamp featuring Andrew Jackson was put in use in July of 1870.

So - why is this bit of information important to us today?  Well, the only postmark on the front OR back of this envelope is the target cancellation that was used to deface the stamp so it couldn't be used a second time.  There is no marking with a date and there is no markings to show us where this envelope was mailed from.  But, because we know this particular stamp is going to appear primarily on mail from March of 1869 to July of 1870, we can make an solid educated guess that this letter was mailed then.

It's an unsealed circular - what's that mean?

The regular postage rate during that time period was 3 cents per 1/2 ounce of weight for letter mail in the United States, so this was clearly not a piece of letter mail.  There were cheaper rates for items that we often refer to as printed matter.  Newspapers and other periodicals are what often comes to mind.  However, there was a rate for printed circulars, such as promotional material for events or advertisements for products. This rate was 2 cents for a wrapper or envelope containing up to three copies of the same circular (effective July 1, 1863 until June 7, 1872).

To qualify for this rate, the contents had to be available for the postal clerk to check to make sure no personal correspondence was included.  That meant, to qualify, this envelope could not be sealed (hence the name unsealed circular).

And, sure enough, when we look at the flap of this envelope, the gum for the back flap has never been used.  So, this envelope contained up to three copies of the same printed circular.  Probably advertising a product or event that had something to do with.... Humboldt.

But, before we get to that, it is important that we take note.  The postage stamp's primary use period was 1869-1870.  The postage rate that makes sense was effective from 1863 to 1872.  This gives us a pretty good idea that this unsealed circular was mailed sometime from 1869 to the early 1870s.

Who was William Procter, Jr?

Well, ok.  I guess I kind of told you that we were going to do the "Humboldt" thing next.  I guess I was wrong.  We're going to talk about Procter first, because this helps builds the case for what the fancy design on the envelope is referencing.

The "Father of American Pharmacy" from a series by Robert Thom

Apparently Procter (1817-1874) was a respected pharmacist, graduating from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacology in 1837 and returning to teach in 1846.  He resigned in 1866, but returned in 1872 to take the place of another professor after their death.  Procter, himself, died soon after presenting a lecture to students at the college (the cause of death was listed as heart disease).

As is often the case for so many postal items that remain in good condition 150 years later, the recipient was an influential person who also did his fair share of writing.  Procter served as the editor for the American Journal of Pharmacy for 22 years and can be seen above in the office for that journal (look at the words on the window).

In the early 1800s, pharmacy in the US was unregulated and drugs were sold by most anyone with no required training.  The quality of these "medicines" could often be questionable, with some vendors adding "inert ingredients," such as sawdust as filler.  Drugs rejected in Europe could be exported to the US and sold without any review.

Procter's focus was on the assay of drugs, checking for the content, the amounts, and the functional activity of medicines.  He experimented with new methods and apparatus, wrote numerous scientific and practical articles and participated in the revision of the Pharmacopeia, which would eventually be adopted as part of the official standards for medications in the Food and Drug Act of 1906.

But, why do I bother to tell you all of this?  What does it have to do with Humboldt?

What matters at the moment is that we understand who Procter was at the time.  Procter was a person dedicated to learning and sharing that learning with others.  He was a prominent thinker in his area of specialty and was likely well known in Philadelphia as a prominent intellectual.  This is another piece of information that can help us to confirm what "Humboldt" means.

Finally - an educated guess

So, it is highly likely this item was mailed in 1869 or early 1870 based on the stamp and the postal rate.  The individual to whom it was mailed was a prominent "thinker" of the time in Philadelphia.  And, the name "Humboldt" is prominently displayed on the front of the envelope.

My conclusion is that this envelope held propaganda promoting the centennial anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Humboldt (1769 - 1859), which were held in mid-September of 1869.  You might notice that I actually do link the wikipedia page for Humboldt above.  What is written there is extremely thorough and very well cited.  It will give anyone reading this blog post more than enough to wrap their heads around who Humboldt was.

Shown at the left is a clipping from the Philadelphia Inquirer dated September 14, 1869 outlining the celebrations in that city to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Humboldt's birth.  Cities throughout the United States, but especially those with more prominent populations of persons with German origins, held one, two and even, three-day celebrations to honor this individual.  President U.S. Grant was in Pittsburgh at the celebration being held there and former president Millard Fillmore was in Buffalo.

The United States was not the only location for these celebrations.  Of course, there were many in Germany, but one can find evidence of them all over Europe, Australia and South America.

These celebrations were significant and grabbed the attention of many at the time.  New York's event was said to have resulted in a estimated 25,000 people participating in festivities.

If this seems odd to you, that people in the United States would make a good deal out of this German fellow who had died in Germany ten years prior, then you might need to consider a few realities of the time.  The United States Civil War had only been concluded four years prior and people were anxious to find good things to celebrate.  And, it just so happened that this is the moment in history when Prussia had succeeded in uniting Germany in Europe.  The German peoples, were feeling hopeful and empowered.  They had a strong presence in the United States, so it should not be a surprise that they might play a significant role in driving the thoughts (and celebrations) of the people there.

Maybe it makes more sense if you knew who Humboldt was?

1806 oil painting by Weitsch

Practically every description I have found online for Alexander von Humboldt was that he was a "polymath."  I am sure that's nice - except you have to know what a "polymath" is to appreciate it.  The basic idea is that Humboldt had knowledge in a wide range of subjects.  But, that might be underselling the individual more than a bit.  Not only did he have knowledge of a wide range of subjects, he was able to make connections between those subjects and was a person other great thinkers of his time from Thomas Jefferson to Darwin looked to on many areas of knowledge.

Later in life, Humboldt gave lectures in Germany on a wide range of subjects that were well-attended and well-received.  He then took it upon himself to write on those topics (he had already written and published much) and produced in the years up to his death a multi-volume work titled Kosmos.  Volume One is offered here by Project Gutenberg.

"In considering the study of physical phenomena ... we find its noblest and most important result to be a knowledge of the chain of connection, by which all natural forces are linked together, and made mutually dependent upon each other ..." p.23 of the introduction of Kosmos

This work (and the Humboldt's work throughout his lifetime) encompasses everything from the medical professions to the sciences, philosophy, ecology and anthropology.  Humboldt argues in this work that the Earth, and even the universe, is one interconnected whole.  Each of the sciences were dependent on each other, just as society was dependent on nature and vice versa.

This is where my partner Tammy should become very happy.  Humboldt made the claim that nothing happens in isolation.  Or, as Tammy (also a very wise person) says, "We do not live in a vacuum." 

botanical drawing by Humboldt from wikimedia

Alexander von Humboldt was a popular figure in the United States, even after his death, for many years - until the event of World War I when Germans in the US were no longer looked on with favor.  Hence, anything related to Germany was no longer given the attention it once was.  Additionally, we entered the age of "specialists," individuals who would focus on their subject area to the exclusion of others.  Biologists would study biology and ignore chemistry and society became disconnected (and often put in opposition of) nature.

It is interesting to note that Humboldt was one of the first to write about the influence of human development and actions on climate.  He was also adamant about the value of Indigenous cultures and was a strong opponent to slavery.  These are two of the topic areas that are currently driving people to rediscover Humboldt. 

And that brings me to the last piece of evidence that encourages me to believe that the envelope in question held materials for a Humboldt celebration.  Alexander von Humboldt was respected and, perhaps, revered by the "thinkers" in the 1800s.  A man, such as William Procter Jr most certainly knew who Humboldt was and likely had some of his own thoughts about at least some of Humboldt's work.  In short, Procter was exactly the sort of person that promoters for an event to celebrate Humboldt would target.

But, even without that evidence, Humboldt had name recognition in the United States that was on par with Napoleon.  The mere mention of the name was enough to convey meaning.  While that may still be true for Napoleon, it is not the case for Humboldt.  And I wonder if, perhaps, we got that wrong.

Expanding horizons

And now we get to climb back down from the heights of great minds that dig into the secrets of the Earth and the universe itself.  Instead, we get to look for a few minutes at my own motivations as I continue to offer up a weekly writing with Postal History Sunday.  You see, a bit of the "polymath" lives in me as well.  I am a person who likes to learn and understand things from many disciplines and many subject areas.

I just don't pretend that I am a "Humboldt."

Initially, I was primarily interested in postage stamps (philately) and as a young collector I did not meet a postage stamp I did not like.  While I had to work within limited resources, I did start by simply finding as much as I could find to look at.  By exposing myself to the diversity that existed in the subject area, I could begin to get an idea of what was there - and what I could do with it.  

I discovered beautiful designs like those shown above, and I also realized that if I wanted to make the most of my resources (time, energy, and money) I would have to focus on something.

One of my first efforts to concentrate on a specific sub-topic was the 1934 National Parks postage stamps issued by the United States.  It was a personal goal to eventually have each of the ten denominations of those stamps in my own collection.  But, while I was at it, I learned a little about each of the parks depicted.  And, I picked up interesting pieces of knowledge about how these stamps were made.  And I started to realize that the new knowledge I was collecting was pointing me to things that resided outside that area of interest.

I found that postal history was even more interesting to me than postage stamps alone.  I was attracted to the breadth of possibilities that I could see if I were to explore.

But, like all large topics, it can be difficult to find a purchase so you can get started with your learning.  So, once again, I opted to limit my focus so I could concentrate on creating a ledge to stand on that might allow to reach other things.  In my case, that ledge was to focus on one single stamp design - the 24 cent 1861 stamp issue.  The purpose was twofold (well probably more than that, but two will suffice):

1. to prevent me from dashing from item to item without making any connections - and eventually becoming discouraged by lack of progress
2. to find a way to focus my limited resources so I could enjoy the learning that followed

And that has been my pattern over the years.  I use the specific, or limited, topic to help me to appreciate the depth each such area has.  By exploring in depth, I prepare myself to be able to take a leap to new things. Then, I find connections with broader areas of knowledge in postal history.  And, by doing that, I end up understanding my earlier topics even better than I had when I had only focused on them. 

So, now, I enjoy finding all sorts of postal history from the 1850s, 60s and 70s - even if they do not include the United States as a destination or origin.  But, it gets even better than that.

I find myself appreciating topics that are not necessarily "postal history."  But, the postal history I enjoy introduces me to them so that I am able to explore and learn something new.  Which, in turn, encourages me to look for other connections that lead me to more new and exciting places.

Places like Philadelphia, where a respected pharmacist received a flyer in the mail about the upcoming celebration to honor a man who climbed mountains, sketched plants and animals, measured everything he could, and willingly shared his learning with any who would read or would listen.

Thanks for taking today's journey with me.  Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.

Additional resources

This essay by Laura Dassow Walls does a good job of introducing Humboldt's Kosmos, if you have interest.

I found this article by Timothy Rooks to be an engaging summary of Humboldt's life and his works - including his travels through South America. 

Do you have a little less time?  This article in the New Yorker by Elizabeth Kolbert might be a good introduction to Humboldt.

Andrea Wulf wrote the books “The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World” and “The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt.” The second is an illustrated biography documenting the explorer’s great journey through South America (1799 – 1804).  If you would like to learn more about these works, Wulf is interviewed here.

October Playlist

New month, new playlist on the Genuine Faux Farm blog.  As I've mentioned before, Saturdays seem like a good day to explore music or books or something else I enjoy.  Maybe you'll find something new that you could enjoy too?  

This time around, I thought I'd share music that features the cello.  Tammy and I both played the cello, so we have a natural affinity for music that has that instrument in it.  We were pleased when, several years ago, a bunch of cello groups and other innovative music featuring cellos (and strings) burst onto the scenes, adapted popular songs to strings and, even better, created lots of new tunes as well.

I put these songs out in no particular order, but felt it made sense to start with something featuring Yo Yo Ma. These run the gamut from fairly close to what you would typically expect from a cello to "are you sure there's a cello in there?"

Scarcely Cricket - Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Chris Thile

Path - Apocalyptica

Helix - Break of Reality

Infinity Rises - Cello Fury

Thunderstruck - 2Cellos

CeLLOOPa - Piano Guys 

Variations on a Theme - Julian Lloyd-Webber

Escape Artist - Zoe Keating

Dreams - Takenobu

Distant Green Valley - Silk Road Ensemble / Yo Yo Ma 

I Built Myself a Metal Bird - Thee Silver Mountain Zion Memorial Orchestra

Peacocks / Pink Monsters - Judgement Day

Harbor - Future of Forestry

Sarabande - Escala

Feet Down - Aaron Sprinkle

We Have Forgotten - Sixpence None the Richer

I hope you found one or two that fits your interest and style.  And even if I didn't, I hope you have a fine remainder of the day.

Musquee de Provence - Variety Show

It has been quite instructive for us to go through the process of cutting back on the crops and the varieties within those crops over the past couple of growing years.  Yes, I do recognize that it has been bittersweet.  It has been much easier to manage fewer crops and varieties (with all of their differing requirements) and I have to admit that this has rejuvenated some of my enjoyment for growing.  On the other hand, I do miss having the variety too.

But, getting back to the main theme.  Despite the wide range of vegetable varieties we have enjoyed growing in the past, we have forced ourselves to make choices.  For example, we allowed ourselves only ONE pie pumpkin variety this year (note: we do not grow ornamental pumpkins - though a pie pumpkin can serve as an ornamental if you want).  In the past we've grown as many eight varieties in one season and we've cycled through a few over the years.  So, I estimate we probably have grown about a dozen different kinds at the Genuine Faux Farm.

And, the one left standing in 2022 (and probably for years to come) is Musquee de Provence.

This heirloom variety has been an anchor for pumpkin production at the Genuine Faux Farm since 2015 and shows up on and off prior to that.  It actually made our top varieties list as early as 2012 (the year the photo shown above was taken).

Musquee de Provence starts off as a dark green color and turns to an orange-tan shade.  We like to pull in the fruit at the point when the "ground-side" of the squash show that orange-tan color.  However, if weather threatens, we have successfully pulled them in when they are green.  The fruit will turn increasingly tan during the curing process.

Full disclosure - our reason for pulling them in has had to do with many years of heavy Fall rains at our farm.  We did find that sitting in wet fields resulted in our losing many fruit - and since we did not want to tolerate that, we brought them in with good success.  The advertised days to maturity from seed is 110 to 120 days, which typically gives us a mid-September harvest around here.

I suppose you want a fun fact for our other French heirloom pie pumpkin?  This one supposedly comes from southern France and was named for its distinctive pumpkin odor.  Yes - it smells good!  The rough translation to Engish is that Musquee means musky.  But, I am not sure that is an entirely accurate description of the fragrance.

Musquee de Provence has also been marketed as "Fairy Tale" - though I am not entirely certain that the strains are completely interchangeable.  

These pumpkins are a c.moschata (solid stem) squash and their vines can get fairly long.  If you can manage to give them a longer growing season, they will reward you with multiple fruit sets.  In 2021, we had a long Fall and harvested two batches of full sized pumpkins from one set of vines.  Now, before you think they set NEW pumpkins after we harvested the first set, let me clarify.  Typically, there will be smaller fruit that were set later in the season that do not mature by the time cold weather sets in.  In this case, we had good pollinator presence through the whole year AND plenty of time for the healthy vines to keep on growing out fruit that were set late.

Pumpkin size can range from 8 to 35 pounds.  Our average tends to be around 12 pounds when you include the late set, smaller fruit.  The seed cavity is relatively small and the fruits are very dense.  The meat is a deep orange to red-orange color.  You can almost make a pie out of them without adding any other spices - they are that good.

If they have a downside, it was that they were too big for us to use with our CSA - so we typically sold the larger ones outside of the CSA.  On the other hand, they store well.  They look wonderful as a kitchen centerpiece and you can easily freeze the excess in freezer bags for later use.

We typically start Musquee de Provence plants in trays and transplant them into the field between May 20 and June 5 on our farm (depending on field conditions).  We like planting them 18 inches in row and five feet between rows.  Most years, we run drip irrigation early to get them started and later during very dry periods.  However, if you don't do much irrigation beyond what it takes to get plants started, you should do fine with this variety.

With all squash, we prefer to split squash rows up with flower rows, such as zinnia, borage, calendula and other flowers.  It doesn't hurt to have some shorter season squash (or cucumbers) nearby to get squash bees accustomed to being in the area by the time these vines are ready for pollinators.  We sometimes put nasturtiums in the row with Musquee, but we don't find this to be as necessary for solid stem squash (c.moschata). 

Like most solid stem squash, the biggest issues for us have been grassy or aggressive weeds near the root zone and wet conditions after fruit set.  We get an average of 0.85 marketable fruit per row foot planted.  

We like to let the fruit cure for a couple of months and we find their taste improves as they age.  Typically, the tan-orange coloration is a good indicator that the fruit has cured and is reaching its peak for taste.

It's All About Me

I do not particularly care much for spending time on Facebook or other social media sites.  But, it is part of my job with Pesticide Action Network to periodically post for the organization or create material that goes on social media.  And, it was one way to reach people who were (or still are) interested in our farm.

 

 

It's not that I don't understand why people might enjoy social media - and I can certainly identify some of the positive things that come with it.  For example, there aren't many folks who love postal history that live near me, and I can't often travel to where those people gather.  But, suddenly online gathering centers provide me with opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise.

 

But, in general, social media just isn't my thing.  I suppose a big part of it is the fact that I am a bit of an analytic.  I prefer to think on things a bit more and I don't like to flit around too much.  It feels to me like that's what's happening on social media sites all the time - lots of flitting.  And, I tire of the focus in social media sites on riling people up, over-simplifying things that are complex, and... well... outright untruths.

 

Oddly enough, that actually gives you a reason why I still participate - I hope to balance things out at least a little bit - even though I am aware that my influence is quite limited.

Sometimes, I see something that makes me think

 

I first saw the following in social media six years ago and I wrote about it then.  As I was looking around for Throwback candidate posts, I came across this one and felt it was worth revisiting and revising.
 

 

So you don't have to read the image, here is what it says:

"The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us to become the best version of ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. We become like our friends. No man becomes great on his own. No woman becomes great on her own. The people around them help to make them great.

We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the best version of ourselves." from the Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly

I am often bothered by the lack of citation given by many who put these things on Facebook, so I hunted the source down and provide it above.

The quote seems nice, but is there a dark side?

I don't necessarily disagree with the quote.  Evidence in my own life has shown me that others certainly have influence over what I do and how well I do it.  In fact, I readily give credit to many, MANY other people for giving me a boost when I needed it and/or provided me with a model to follow.  And, yes, it certainly is easier to reach goals with positive people around you to challenge you to do your best in everything you do.

But, I see these negative implications too:

1. You should exclude people from your life who will not be a benefit to you.  Unless, of course, you really want to be a failure.
2. It's all about ME.  
3. There is no reason to concern yourself with supporting someone else.  We should not concern ourselves with being an agent for change. 
4. The only change you should seek for yourself is to collect the proper friends and discard the improper ones. Clearly, you do not have to work to improve yourself.
   
5. You are too weak and you are unable to resist bad influences from people who are around you - so run away from bad influences as fast as you can.
   

I suspect Mr. Kelly doesn't intend for me to come to those conclusions.  After all, any time we try to boil wisdom down into a paragraph or two (or a sentence... or two words) we are encouraging conclusions that may not be consistent with what we were hoping to impart.  Perhaps if we read all of his book, we might find a balance - some sort of discussion about our role and responsibility in and for the lives of others.

But, we do not (and will not) get the whole story with a social media post that is intended to illicit response. Instead, we get a bunch of people getting the message that they should jettison those from their list of friends (on social media and real life) who fail to be an absolute positive influence.

I don't know about you, but I don't believe anyone is perfect - so, we'll all be friendless in short order if we follow that logic.

Why did I take it in this direction?

You knew I would take this back to social media, didn't you?  Well, I had observed how this particular image was being received and the comments it elicited.  For the most part, it was affirmation that there were "the right people" to surround yourself with and "the wrong people."  It was paired with the old saw that "if you want to be a millionaire, you surround yourself with millionaires."

It was, of course "me-centric."  How can I find people that will make me successful?

Well, a word of advice.  If the millionaires are living by the maxim that they need to be surrounded by the right people (other millionaires), what makes any of the rest of us think we could somehow surround ourselves with millionaires so we could join them?  Hint: we couldn't/can't.

Unless - some of them are willing to be agents of change in our lives.

Once again, the reality is more complex than a simple social media meme or a couple of paragraphs from a book that probably said much more than what was shared.  There is some truth here, but it is deeper than social media often lets us see.

The truth is that we each need to find our own strength to decide for ourselves what influence we are willing to accept and act on from others who are close to us.  The truth is that there might be times when someone close to us has become someone who needs to be moved further away.  The truth is that we can get energy from these people to do good, to do evil, or to do nothing.  And the truth is that we can give energy for the same.

And the truth is - it doesn't have to be all about me.

Maybe we can make it about those around us?

Help those around you to become the best version of themselves that they can be.  Help them to raise their standards.  Help them to remember their essential purposes in life.  Positively challenge them to do and be their best.  And, in so doing, you will achieve something wonderful.  And perhaps, so will they.

Seeds for a Bright Future

Most people are much less enamored with their gardens once we get to October in Iowa.  As a matter of fact, many vegetable gardens become lost causes by August and are typically mowed down or otherwise cleaned up on a sunny, dry, Fall day.

But, this is the time of year when some of next year's promises are made.  This year's plants are working hard to create seeds to start next year's seedlings.  Perennial plants are working hard to store up energy so they can wake up again once the soil warms and the Spring rains encourage their return.  The bees, wasps, toads, snakes and other creatures are putting the finishing touches on what they need for hibernation or to prepare the emergence of the next generation.

The seeds for a bright future are here, in front of our eyes - even if we don't recognize them.

Not every seed will reach its intended goal - to produce a new flowering plant.  Some will provide energy to birds and smaller mammals during the colder months.  Or perhaps they'll still be there in the early Spring for the critters that emerge earliest or return as they migrate back to the North.  

Perhaps still others will not have what it takes to germinate, or they will fall in a spot that does not nurture them enough to grow into the plant they could be.  These, too, will still have a purpose as microscopic life breaks them down so they can help to feed those seeds that find themselves in the right spot to emerge and grow.

 
Perhaps the humans at the Genuine Faux Farm will step in and circumvent the process a bit.  Collecting a few seeds and giving them a better chance of becoming next year's flowers.  Or maybe, they'll just let nature do its thing - making its selections as to which seeds will reach their fullest potential.

Every year, we get a few surprises on the farm.  It has been a few years since we planted any hollyhocks here.  Even so, a couple of volunteers popped up in the corner of the plot where we were growing Thelma Sanders squash and pumpkins.  We recognized the plants for what they were and found a way to cultivate around them.

The reward?  A couple of plants with some flowers.

Flowers a bumblebee visited.

Maybe.  Just maybe.  We'll have hollyhocks again next year - even if we don't plant them.

We can hope.  We can dream.  And we can select a few seeds for ourselves too.

Little Things Make a Difference

Throughout the years we have been stewards at the Genuine Faux Farm, we have provided opportunities for students to visit us and take guided tours of our farm.  Whenever we did this, it was interesting to get a glimpse of what the farm looked like through the eyes of others.  

No matter how many times I gave presentations or tour opportunities, I could still be presented with questions that made me pause and think a bit more.  One such question was a very simple one - "How do you know where each crop is?"  It's a great reminder to me that I take various landscape cues for granted and I don't always recognize that other people cannot see exactly what I do without a little guidance. 

Another person asked me what "small" changes we had made that worked out well for us.  I don't remember what I said then, but I have reflected more on it since that time.

Rather than quibble with defining what a "small change" might be, I thought I would dedicate a post to some of the "little things" we have done over the years that had more impact than you might think.

August, 2008 on the farm.

Running Rows the Long Way

It doesn't seem like a big deal, but we made a switch on the orientation of our rows in our Eastern plots several years ago.  The picture above shows our rows with a North-South orientation.  Our plots were oriented East-West, so the rows essentially went the "short-way" on our plots.  We changed our row orientation to go East-West with the "long-way" on the 60' by 200' plots and it led to improvements in mechanization that has helped us to continue with the farm.

Sure, the short rows made it easier for weeders to feel a sense of accomplishment.  You can certainly finish 60 foot rows faster than 200 foot rows.  The short rows also provided more natural breaks for crop successions and crop variety.  But, if you run any sort of equipment, you spent an awful lot of time just turning around.  In the end, the simple idea of changing the orientation of rows in our plots may have had as much impact on changing our farming strategies as any other thing we've done on the farm.

As a matter of fact, we changed the orientation AGAIN in 2020.  But, this time we turned our plots so that we now had 400 foot rows.  The idea there was that we knew we would have less human labor available to us, so we needed to optimize how the tools we had worked.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, the long rows can make intercropping more challenging AND it makes it difficult to have the broad range of diverse varieties and crops that we have favored over the years.  But, the reality is that we cannot operate that way anymore, so things had to change.  We simply look for other ways to implement the diversity we value in our fields.

July 2010, yep had rain then too.

These Are Not Show Gardens

The earlier versions of the Genuine Faux Farm leaned closer to obsessive gardening rather than horticultural farming.  We had visions of beautiful fields with easy to read signs so the flocks of people who would come to visit the modern marvel that was our farm would thoroughly enjoy the experience.  We even considered growing a 'show garden' that would highlight specific veggies in one plot.

I will grant you that there was nothing wrong with that plan if our goal was to provide more of an agri-tourism business versus what we actually ended up doing.  We also didn't have a good enough feel as to how much we could actually manage to do without unlimited labor.  

And... everything looks doable when you plan it out during the Winter months.  

But, when fields get too wet to work, or the delivery and market schedule eats up more of your time and energy than you thought it would...  Well, let's just say, you re-assess what your goals are.

Once we made the decision that we do not have the temperament to take the agri-tourism route (and our location probably wouldn't make that work anyway) we spent less time on things like cute little signs showing the pepper variety.  Oddly enough, we also learned that putting together a decent operating farm is actually interesting to people and it provides good learning opportunities in and of itself.  People didn't need us to create the pretty gardens with signs - they needed us to show what it means to grow good food and be the best stewards of the land we can be.

Once we got rid of the old attitude, we were able to figure out how to do what we do well - which usually resulted in some pretty good looking fields anyway.  We'll call that a win.  

Happy to get new chicken crates in 2011.

Sometimes Making Do Doesn't Make Sense

When we first started raising chickens for meat, we did not have our own cages for transporting birds to the "Park."  Initially, we would borrow a batch of old, patched wooden cages from a neighbor.  They hadn't been used for a while and they were in awful condition.  In some cases, the chicken wire was attached to chicken wire which was attached to the rotting wood of the remaining frame.  Usually, we would have to cobble together some additional repairs just to keep chickens in them.

We finally gave ourselves permission to look into and purchase new, uniformly sized crates for transporting.  Yes, it cost us some money to do this at a time when money was tight.  But, it really did not cost all that much in the grand scheme of things.  It is amazing how much savings in time and effort this simple acquisition has provided over the years.

Let's just use a quick example:  Each cage will hold thirteen to fifteen full-grown broiler chickens for a total of 100 to 120 pounds of weight.  It's dark, late and raining.  The two of you have to lift this crate up high enough on the truck to stack it on another crate.  If crates are uniform size, don't have various wires sticking out everywhere and do not threaten to fall apart when you lift them then life is good.  

If we were still trying to use crates that were in poor repair and various sizes and shapes, we wouldn't be using them.  Why?  Well, we wouldn't be raising chickens anymore.  It's just that simple.

Heirloom tomatoes at market in 2012

Not Returning Home With More Than Half

We are asked periodically if we are willing to return to farmers' market sales and our answer remains the same.  No.  Unless we ever decided to raise some plant starts for sale in the future.  Then, it would be for three weeks of the year only and we might be able to handle that.

This is not an indictment of farmers' markets in general, but it does highlight the limitations.  There is not enough of us to go around to spend the hours it takes to prepare, set up, staff the table, tear down and clean up for each market for the limited return we can get from the smaller farmers' markets in our area.

The table you see at left was our heirloom tomato offering September of 2012.  Frankly, the trays full of different types of heirloom tomatoes look pretty impressive to me (and there was more in the truck).  We even had lettuce and offered BLT specials.  

And, we DID have several fine customers who purchased from us that day.  But, we still went home with more than half of those tomatoes after the market was done.  And this was not the exception to the rule.  You had to have plentiful product to get people to come to you, but there wasn't a chance that you could go home with an empty truck.

Simply put, if we wanted to move more product we had to try something else.  We could have gone to another farmers' market that was located in a larger city, but that didn't address the time consideration and still didn't guarantee that we wouldn't come home with significant amounts of produce.  

There you have it, an explanation as to why we pursued the CSA farm share model.  We didn't want to keep lugging large amounts of produce from the farm and then back TO the farm.  If there is excess on the farm, it can stay there and get processed or fed to the poultry without the extra travels.  Or maybe we could explore bulk sales elsewhere without worrying about having that impressive market table.

Tyler finishes a gate at GFF in 2013

You Won't Believe the Good a Fence Can Do

Neither of us grew up on a farm and our backgrounds really didn't lend many opportunities to develop fence building and maintenance skills.  Thus, we were grateful to receive assistance from farmer friends when the hen pasture fence went up.  

We just can't quite list all of the things that become easier once you have a good, solid fence in place.  It's enough to make you think that we would find the energy to put up some other fences that could be equally as valuable on the farm.  But, while we're much more certain about what we would need to do to put up new fences, they always seem to reside just below the last item on the VAP that gets done. 

It really shouldn't come as a surprise.  After all, putting up some good fencing requires some capital as well as a decent investment of time.  Argue all you want that you will have a net savings of time once the new fence is up.  But, if you don't have the necessary chunk of time to put the fence up in the first place, the point is moot.

 Don't Be Stubborn - Stake and Weave is a Fine Solution

Stake and weave in Eden - 2014

Many years ago, we participated in a research trial involving multiple trellising techniques.  One of those is called the Florida stake and weave method.  We found that this technique tended to be troublesome for us in our fields because the plants kept getting blown out of the weave.  You could argue that it was because we weren't particularly good at stake and weave and that wouldn't be completely unfair.  But, we actually weren't stubborn about stake and weave either.  We trialed it in different situations over time and eventually opted for square collapsible cages in the field and... stake and weave in the high tunnels.

It might be more accurate to state that the 'little thing' we are highlighting here is a willingness to keep trying something that has promise until that promise is realized OR it becomes clear that this is just not the right solution for us and our farm.  We have seen so many people give up on something after experiencing failure on the first try and we don't want to be that way ourselves.  After all, what makes us think that we can pick up a skill without any practice? 

What's funny is how things come around.  As we scale back, we moved tomatoes out of the field and kept them in our high tunnels.  That meant we had all of these nice square cages that weren't being used.  So suddenly the cages are being used in the high tunnel.  

Why?  Well, they're faster with the limited work force we have available now - both with putting them up and taking them down.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's a matter of using the method that words best in your current situation.

Giving Flowers Their Due

We've always had flowers on the farm and we have always had a good idea as to all of the positive things flowers could do as a part of our farming system.  But, growing flowers because you like them and think they're good is one thing.  Being committed to growing them because they are a critical component for making the farm a successful farm is something different. 

A re commitment to flowers in 2015

The natural follow-up question we get after we make that statement has to do with whether we sell cut flowers or not.  While we could certainly try to do that, I think people are missing the point here.  The flowers do NOT need the extra justification for their existence on the farm that flower sales would bring.  They bring value all on their own without requiring us to turn them into an additional enterprise. 

Like any other crop we grow, we have successes and failures.  Sometimes the weeds win.  Sometimes the wet weather wins.  And sometimes... the butterflies win.  Win or lose, we're going to keep playing this game and include flowers in the line-up.  Besides, if the only reason we plant them is  because they make your farmers smile, that should be a good enough reason. 

And those are some of the "little things" that have made a difference at the Genuine Faux Farm.  There are many more, but I suspect you need to go and do some of the little things that make your world go too.  Have a great day everyone!

Different Kind of Hunting

 

Every so often, I find my work for Pesticide Action Network intersects with my farm job and with my own personal time.  I've taken a page out of Kip Ladage's book.  Kip likes to say that he does his hunting with a camera lens and finds that it fits his temperament and heart for the wild places in this world.  I appreciate that about Kip and the fact that he continues to share his efforts with photos, words and video on a daily basis.

While I am not much of a photographer and I do not take photos daily, I do periodically like to take the camera out and meander the farm or visit a wild place in northeast Iowa.  And, of course, when we go to other beautiful places on this Earth, the camera goes with us.  Lately, however, I've taken to actually hunting for pollinators on some of the flowers I see as I do chores and check things out on our farm.  I am sure that some folks who drive by our farm at the right (or wrong) time just shake their heads about the guy with a red hat and his odd habits - like standing next to a "weed patch" with a camera.

Half of the hunt is locating the pollinators at a time when they are active and foraging.  Then, there is the part where I often have to stand, squat, or sit patiently until they sit still long enough for me to TRY to take a clear photo of them.  You can guess how many of these digital images are immediately tossed when I view them on the computer screen.  The last step - the one I am guilty of often not finding the time to complete - is to identify what creature was captured in my hunt.

Usually, I know enough to say the insect on the sunflower is a bumblebee.  The trick is to learn how to identify WHICH KIND of bumblebee is on that sunflower.  

The insect on the goldenrod shown above is a hover fly of some sort. But, there just happens to be a whole host of different hoverflies in North America.  This one seems to be an Oblique Stripetail Hoverfly, if you can trust my attempt to identify it.  According to iNaturalist, their larva are an important predator of aphids - one of the pests that bother vegetable farms like ours if left unchecked.  

Well, given the number of these types of hoverflies I have observed this year, we've got some natural checks for the aphids!  I like that.

Since we have three hives of European Honeybees on our farm, you would be right to expect to see them on the flowering plants this time of year.  At present, the various types of asters are carrying the load as far as providing food for our pollinators.  This particular honeybee was a little bit shy and preferred to peak out from behind another flower while I was attempting to capture its presence.  

Hey!  Just because it is in a hive we help to maintain, it doesn't mean it is obligated to pose!

Just prior to the two nights of hard frost at the arm, we had many yellow, daisy-like flowers in our ditches.  I haven't taken the time to identify this particular flower, but I made sure to capture images so I can get to it in the future.  After all, the file drawers in my brain are a bit disorganized sometimes and I just can't keep all of this information in my head (no matter how hard I try).

This time around I captured two different pollinators.  At the top is another sort of hoverfly, probably the Common Flowerfly. In the flower towards the bottom is a type of bumblebee.  However, I sometimes hesitate when I read about the number of hoverflies that mimic insects that have stingers (like bees and wasps).  But, I am fairly certain this time around.

And, speaking of wasps (we were?), I was able to capture at least one in my most recent "hunt."  

What I find most pleasing about this sort of hunt is that it is not required that I do anything to disturb these creatures.  I remember feeling just a bit uncomfortable with the process of collecting insects for a 7th grade biology project.  We had to catch, kill and pin specimens and then do what we could to identify them.  I remember I also tried to catch butterflies for a time to put in my own "collection."  But, that did not last too long either.

With the event of digital cameras, I can now collect these critters to my heart's content and they get to go on their merry way.  Sounds like a positive development.

Here's to more successful hunts in the future!

You Owe Me One (or more) - Postal History Sunday

Welcome to Postal History Sunday, featured weekly on the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you take this link, you can view every edition of Postal History Sunday, starting with this one (the most recent always shows up at the top).

Postal History Sunday started in August of 2020 as a "pandemic project."  The intent of this project was to share something I enjoy with others, regardless of their level of knowledge regarding postal history.  I am hopeful that, by continuing to write these weekly posts, anyone who feels like stopping by will feel as if they belong and that this is a place where you can learn something new without pressure or judgement.  There is no test at the end - only best wishes as you go out and face the rest of the world in your day. 

So let's get started with this week's theme: You Owe Me One (or more)

If you were to send a letter or package today, you would typically be required to pay the postage required to get that item to its destination BEFORE it was mailed.  We usually show that payment with postage stamps or printed meter strips that illustrate the amount for the postal services to be rendered.  But, prepayment of letters and packages was not always the normal procedure - so I thought we could look at a few examples where the postage was not paid in full at the point it was mailed!

Completely unpaid mail

Let's start with a folded letter that was mailed in 1845 from Bruxelles (Brussels), Belgium, to Bordeaux, France.  For those who do not know, envelopes were not in common use in the 1840s.  Instead, people would designate one sheet to be the "outer sheet" of a correspondence.  The sheets would be folded in such a way that the outer sheet would enclose all other sheets and any other contents.  With careful folding and the application of a wax seal (or seals), things were secure enough to travel via the postal services of the time.

In the 1840s, the movement for cheap postage was beginning to gain steam with postal services around the world.  Reformers suggested that mandatory pre-payment, along with the use of postage stamps, could make the post more accessible to a larger portion of the population while also making postal systems more efficient (and cost effective).  So it is during the 1840s and following decades that we can really observe the transition to prepayment.

The letter shown above was treated as mail was typically handled prior to the movement for cheap postage and prepaid mail.  Each separate postal service would indicate how much was due for their services and the amount would be totaled up to be collected from the recipient.  It was understood that the postal service that collected the money would pass the proper amount back to every other postal system that participated in getting the letter from here to there.

This letter was sent unpaid from Bruxelles and 14 decimes (140 centimes) were due on delivery for the privilege of receiving this letter in Bordeaux, France.  The big, bold scrawl that shows up front and center on this letter is actually the number "14."  Yes, I know it looks like "1n," but use your imagination a bit and I think you can see how this would be a "14" written by a clerk who did a LOT of this type of writing and was trying not to lift the pen off the paper any more than necessary.

The postage was comprised of two parts:

Belgian postage: 4 decimes 

Belgium was separated into three rayons (regions) that represented the distance from the border with France.  Brussels was in the third (and furthest from the border) rayon, which required the highest rate of 4 decimes. 

Did you notice that "B.3.R" marking?  That stands for "Belgium, 3rd Rayon,"  this was a message that helped the postal people to determine how much needed to be charged of the recipient for Belgium's portion.

French postage: 10 decimes

French domestic rates were based on distance and weight.  The distance this letter traveled in France would be from the border with Belgium (Valenciennes) to Bordeaux (nearly 800 km).  

The internal French postage rate for each 7.5 grams of weight was established in January of 1828 was 1 franc (100 centimes) for internal mail that traveled 750 to 900 km.  

For those who have interest, you can learn a bit about the contents of this letter in this Postal History Sunday entry from October 2020.

Not enough postage - treated as unpaid

Let's fast forward to the 1860s for our next example.  This time around, we do have an envelope, but no contents.  This was a heavy piece of letter mail that was mailed from Champlain, New York to Dundee, Scotland.  This letter must have weighed more than two ounces and no more than three ounces.  So, the postage required to send the letter would have been $1.44.  

Unfortunately, the sender applied $1.20, which was not enough.  We'll talk about that more in a bit, but let's take a minute and explain how we know these things!

The first clue is the light, double struck postal marking just to the bottom left of the postage stamps that reads "Short Paid."  And the second clue is that the New York marking, which has been struck in black ink - an indicator that the postage was not considered to be paid.  The other hint is that the word "paid" is NOT part of that marking.

 The next clue is the squiggle at the bottom left that tells us that six shillings were due when the letter was delivered to the recipient.  Each shilling was equivalent to 24 cents, so six shillings would be equivalent to $1.44.  Can you imagine that?  The sender put $1.20 in postage on the envelop and NONE of that postage was applied towards the cost of the letter being mailed.  Instead, the recipient ended up paying the equivalent of $1.44 just to get the letter.

And, no, there weren't any refunds.  Two dollars and sixty-four cents were paid to send this letter - that was a lot of money in 1864.

So, why did this happen?

The letter probably weighed more than two ounces and no more than two and a half ounces.  The sender wrongly figured that the cost of postage between the United States and the United Kingdom was 24 cents PER half ounce.  Instead, the rates between the US and the UK followed the progression in the table below.

The first half ounce was 24 cents, but that was essentially a special discount for light letters.  The actual rate was 48 cents per ounce.  So, it is very clear that this person made a mistake and did not properly understand the rate structure.  The letter was underpaid by twenty-four cents.

So, why didn't they accept the $1.20 and ask for 24 cents (1 shilling)?  

Well, Article XXIII of the postal convention negotiated between these two nations stated that "...it shall not be permitted to pay less than the whole rate..." for a letter.  The rules by which mail was exchanged between these two postal services simply prevented partial payment.  And it didn't matter how close you were to paying it all, nor did it matter how much postage you wasted in the process.

If you would like to know more about how this postal agreement worked, you can go to this Postal History Sunday.

Wait!  Don't stop on this topic yet!

I can hear a couple of people's voices asking that I not move on from this particular cover just yet because they noticed this number just under the stamps on the right:

What does this number represent?  Any guesses?  Oh, right.  It's my blog and you're waiting for me to answer....

This "126" stands for $1.26 (or 126 cents), which is the amount of postage the United States expected BACK from the United Kingdom after the United Kingdom collected the postage.  The UK was allowed to keep only 18 cents (9 pence) of the six shillings they collected.  The rest was returned to the US to pay for their portion of the effort to carry this letter.

The clue is in that New York marking that reads "New York Jun 11 Am Pkt."  The "Am Pkt" part tells us that the US was responsible for paying for the cost of carrying the mail on a steamship across the Atlantic Ocean.  That cost would have been 32 cents per ounce, which was 96 cents for this particular letter.  The US was also entitled to 10 cents per ounce for their mail services to just get to that ship (another 30 cents).

If it helps, this number was not unlike a bill from the US to the UK, reminding them to pay for their agreed upon share of the postage.  And no, they still did not care that the sender put $1.20 in postage stamps on the envelope.  In the end, that money was essentially a donation to the US postal office - I hope they used it well.

The sender gets some credit for trying

Shown above is an 1868 folded letter from Marseille, France, to Madrid, Spain.  The postage stamp shows payment of 80 centimes worth of postage, but the other markings make it clear that that was NOT ENOUGH to get the letter to its destination without a little more coming from the recipient.

A red box with the words "Affranchissement Insuffisant" was applied to indicate that the postage was insufficient to pay for the letter to get to the destination without further payment.  The bold, red "30" indicated that 30 cuartos were due at delivery.

The process for short paid mail between France and Spain at the time was to determine the postage by using the rate for UNPAID mail, which was higher than the rate for mail that was prepaid.  Once that amount was calculated, credit was given for the amount of postage paid.

The French calculated the weight of postal items using grams and the Spanish by using a unit called adarmes.  The weight of this item was greater than 8 adarmes (roughly 14 grams) and was likely no more than 15 grams.  The French calculated their postage to Spain with the rate of 40 centimes for each 7.5 grams.  But, the Spanish figured their postage rates for each 4 adarmes, which was about 7 grams.  This explains why the person mailing this letter thought 80 centimes was enough.

This disparity in weight was bound to make some postal customers quite unhappy - but it sure does provide interest for a postal historian!

The Spanish postage rate for unpaid mail from France to Spain was 18 cuartos for every 4 adarmes in weight.

Triple rate due = 54 cuartos
Less amount paid = 24 cuartos   (80 centimes in France)
Total due = 30 cuartos

If you would like to learn more about mail that was partially paid and some credit was given for that payment, this Postal History Sunday from June of this year might be of interest to you.

Where the stamps are placed might matter

Shown above is folded letter that was sent from Macerata to Mogliano in 1858.  At that time, central Italy was controlled by the Catholic Church and I typically refer to them at the Papal States or Roman States.

This cover looks a lot like our first item.  There are no stamps visible on the front to show an attempt to prepay the postage.  There are no markings that tell us it is paid.  And, there is a BIG SQUIGGLE on the front.  That usually means the recipient was going to have to pay something if they wanted to read what was in this letter.  The big squiggle is actually a "4."  Once again, use your imagination and maybe you'll start to see it. 

This item required 4 bajocchi in postage to be paid by the recipient.  The amount was written on the front.  But, the Papal States actually took it one step further, the placed the equivalent amount of postage on the back.

In this case, two stamps, each denominated for 2 bajocchi each were affixed.

If you would like to take a crack at figuring out why this item cost 4 bajocchi, you could view this Postal History Sunday from June.  The information you need might be there!  Or, you can just be content with picking up this neat little tidbit that the postage stamps on the back corresponded to the amount due.  Your call!  Certainly no pressure from me.

Special postage due stamps show what you owe

The whole issue of mail that was not fully paid eventually led to the production of postage due stamps.  These stamps were placed on an envelope that required additional payment to make it clear how much was to be paid and/or to serve as a receipt or evidence of payment.  In the case of the Papal States cover before this one, the stamps were not specially made to indicate postage due.  They were simply the normal postage stamps issued at the time.

But, this time around, we have a 2 cent stamps that specifically tells us it is for "postage due."

This 1935 letter from Cape Town to Cincinnati, Ohio required an additional 2 cents (US) from the recipient.  You can see a New York marking at bottom left that also indicated the amount due.  One more marking, right next to the postage due stamp says "T 10 c," which stood for "Tax 10 centimes."  Ten French centimes were equivalent to 2 US cents at this time.

Some choices resulted in split payment

This letter was sent from Geneve, Switzerland to Rome in 1868.  The postage applied on this cover is 35 centimes and there is a marking that reads "P.P." This tells the Rome post office that postage was only paid to the Papal border.  The clerk in Rome scrawled a "20" to alert the carrier that they should collect 20 centesimi from the recipient at delivery to pay for postal services in the Papal territory.

This is a situation where the sender made a choice that had no option to prepay all of the postage.  That choice?

Voie de Florence

They opted to send this letter via Florence in the Kingdom of Italy.  The Pope refused to recognize the Kingdom of Italy, which meant the Papal postal system was not able to execute a postal convention for mail that went to, from, or through the rest of Italy.  Because the Swiss and the Italians had an agreement, a person could pay for that portion of the trip.  But, the Papal postal system was going to handle their own postage, thank you very much and they would collect from the recipient (so there!).

The person who mailed this item actually had other routes they could have selected and they could have prepaid the postage via those routes.  But, this route was faster, which might have made them and the recipients of this letter quite willing to split the postage.

If you would like to learn more about this, a July Postal History Sunday gives more details.

And some postal clerks went above and beyond

I am actually going to end this week's Postal History Sunday with a teaser by telling you that I will include the story of this envelope mailed from the United States to Switzerland in a future entry.  

I know, I know.  If I'm going to bother to show it, I should explain it.  And I will do so with only the abbreviated version so you can understand why this item is included here.  This is another example of an item that had some of the postage paid by the sender and some paid by the recipient.  However, this time, it was unintentional!

The sender thought they were paying for the 21 cent rate to Switzerland via France.  They placed a 24 cent stamp on the cover and assumed all was well.  Unfortunately, the letter was too heavy and would require 42 cents to get to Switzerland.  Most of the options for getting this letter to Switzerland would have treated this letter as unpaid because it did not pay enough for the entire amount due... except one.

The postal clerk realized this and they adjusted the letter so that it would go by the "open mail" option provided in the agreement with the British.  The letter could be paid as far as England (notice the words "Paid Only to England" at bottom right) and postage to get that letter from England to Switzerland could then be paid by the recipient.  

This particular piece of letter mail has enough complexity that it probably deserves its own Postal History Sunday.  At least I didn't leave you hanging completely!

There are certainly many other ways that unpaid or short paid has been handled.  For example, there are some instances where an additional fee was added to the amount due as a penalty for failure to pay enough.  But, what do you expect from a weekly blog?  If I manage to tell you everything today, you won't come back next Sunday.  Right?

Thank you for joining me this week for Postal History Sunday.  It was fun to put these items together and explore some of the ways unpaid and partially paid mail was handled.  I hope you learned something new and were entertained at least a little bit.

Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come!

To Read, Perchance to Enjoy

It's a Saturday, which seems like a good time to share music or maybe... share some books I have enjoyed.  Now, before I go to far with this, I am not sharing a batch of books with you to try and impress anybody.  I am not selecting books that I think people will think better of me for reading either.

All I am doing here is sharing some books that I have enjoyed reading, for whatever reason.  It's not unlike a tower of blocks.  I stacked them up because I was actually enjoying myself - but I had no reason to try to tell you or anyone else that this tower of blocks was better than your tower of blocks.  All that matters is I had a little fun doing it - and if it inspires you to build your own tower of blocks, so be it!

One recent read I really enjoyed

I finished Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and I have to confess that I started it a long while back and then stopped reading.  Part of the issue?  It was the dead of Winter on the farm and I didn't need to be reading about people dealing with the cold.  That, and I just didn't have the desire to read about people struggling - because there is certainly a strong component of that in most any book worth reading.  Instead, I had been opting to read less or re-read a book I already knew well.

I liked the fact that this book moves the narration between multiple characters, though I admit to have been initially annoyed when Novik added in new voices pretty late in the game.  But, it didn't take long for me to find I might like some of those voices just as much as the first few I was introduced to.  The story is a new telling based on some Eastern European fairy tales - most notably Rumpelstiltskin.  I was also interested to see a take on Baba Yaga's hut.

Most people have given favorable reviews of the book, including by Amal Al-Motar on NPR and James Nicoll.  On the other hand, Michael Weingrad was not terribly enamored with the unrealistic portrayal of Jews in what is supposedly a fictional, yet historically set, Eastern Europe/Poland.  Now, before you get the wrong impression, I don't typically read reviews before I select a book - I just figured some of you would appreciate a few opinions before you did.

As far as I am concerned, I very much enjoyed the book.  It gave me important things to think about.  It provided me with a story that was engaging and characters I appreciated.  It didn't let itself be too constrained by historical and cultural precision (which was part of Weingrad's issue with it), nor did it concern itself with adhering strictly to the original fairy tales.

One theme I took away from this story was the capacity of different people to be motivated to see beyond themselves and "do good" - for lack of a better way to say it.  In fact, I found it interesting that Novik seems to provide many of her characters with an "instinct" for what is right and what is not - even if their circumstances might imply that they would have a hard time acting on that instinct.

Frankly, I don't care whether the inherent goodness of these characters is realistic or not - just like I am willing to accept that the "other people" in the book seem to have trouble seeing beyond themselves.  I suspect, if  Novik decided to let each of these other people be the narrator for a while, that we would see reasons for hope with most of them too.

The author does show some struggle to make the decision to do what seems to be the right thing, even if it is not the easy thing.  And I tend to think we don't need all of our stories to be drowning in the realistic morass of struggle and failure.  Sometimes we need hope that people will see and strive for better. And sometimes, we don't need everything to be exactly replicated as it is in the real world.

And a re-read I also enjoyed

Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair is the first book in a fantasy trilogy.  From a structural standpoint, Williams follows what has become a typical three book, epic fantasy model where you start with an introduction to your main character in their younger days.  After you start to get comfortable with their personal struggles and doubts within the life they lead, a tragic event occurs that spins the main character and subset of other characters into a grand adventure.  Over the course of three books things typically get ever bleaker, with small glimmers of hope - usually in the form of the resilience of some of the main characters.  Then, we get to the big climax at the end where the survivors exit in the final chapters with hope for a better world.

I thought this review at Fazila Reads: Life of a Book Addict was well balanced and accurate.

Yes, the Dragonbone Chair and the rest of the trilogy is long.  Yes, the pacing of the book can feel slow.  And, yes, there are times when the situation seems so hopeless and so painful that you aren't sure you want to read on.  Once again - full disclosure - I have a difficult time reading Tad Williams' works without taking breaks in the middle of it, and I don't think I am alone in that.

That said, I have rarely found a writer where I enjoyed the beauty of the word selection than Williams.  And, there are times that the telling is so good at making you feel and see what is going on that you might decide to put it down or skip a section.  But, I find that I am even more willing to observe and enjoy these descriptions on a second reading because I don't have the added concern that I don't know how it is going to turn out.  

The big winner in these books is that I felt like I could really settle into getting to know the characters and their cultures.  I found that I could understand them and their motivations.  I could watch them grow, learn and change.  And, I really wanted them to make it through the difficulties they were facing - even if I knew some of them might not.

There were also two themes that stood out for me in this series.  First, the mythical story of a person or place rarely matches up with the actual story.  The main character discovers, over time, that the real story of a person revered by others was very different than the popular version.  And, that same character learns first hand how the mythical story builds and grows away from the actual story over time.

The second theme is one of perspectives.  The actions of one person, nation, or culture may seem inexplicable and even unforgivable from the outside.  But, when you have a chance to walk in their shoes there may be reasons for understanding, sympathy, and possibly, forgiveness.