I wish we could find a local source for dairy. We are going to look into one that sells “cow shares” and supplies fresh raw milk. That would be good for our cheese and yogurt making if nothing else. We have local sources for eggs, beef and poultry.

We concentrate mostly on freezing and drying food, though we are going to try some “small batch” canning this year. I’ve done a lot of canning in the past, but sort of got into freezing instead. My wife is the chief dehydrator, and we use that method a lot for tomatoes, peppers and apples.

We’re still learning as we go!

I hear this happens to lots of first-time locavores. The growing season goes pretty well, and then you hit a wall. I’m getting more and more pissed off every time I visit a grocery store this winter. The prices are outrageous — and I feel sorry for the people I see paying $3 or more (!) for a bunch of horrid, cardboard-tasting “tomatoes” in line ahead of me.

So now we’re trying to learn about preservation. My generation pretty much didn’t get *any* instruction in the basics: canning, pickling, freezing, so it’s like starting from scratch. But still, it’s good for our characters and bodies and budgets, good for our real economy, good for the earth, good for future generations, so we figure we’re up to the challenge!