Freedom Day, 2021 | The Survival Gardener

I didn’t know we’d end up here. We had a plan. We left the states for a tropical paradise, learned to grow a wide range of tropical plants, experienced a new culture, bought land and built ourselves a home.

Then came the pandemic and everything got weird fast.

So weird that we returned to the states, intending to live in Florida again. On August 24th I took a plane with 7 of my children from Grenada to San Juan and stayed overnight at a nice hotel near the airport. It was a ghost town. A big, beautiful place with very few people in it and a closed gym, closed swimming pool, and nervous people in masks. The lady at the front desk told me the occupancy was 10% of usual.

We ate pizza that night, then the next morning we got a van to the airport with a grandfatherly man with a limp. We tipped a baggage carrier to take us through all the security and lines, then got loaded up on a flight to Miami.

Later that day – August 25th, 2020 – we were picked up at the airport by family. We were home.

It was a shocking change. And it was to get more interesting, as we couldn’t secure a house to rent in Florida and ended up in Alabama instead through God’s Providence.

And here we are. Tonight we will grill pork chops on our $20 Walmart grill and drink cheap champagne from Piggly Wiggly. We had plans, but God had other plans. And He has prospered us. We have dirt to farm, healthy kids, a baby on the way and good friends. I used to call May 3rd “Freedom Day” as it was the day we left the states for fairer climes, but those climes turned stormy, so I shall now dub our return date “Freedom Day.” It’s not the level of freedom we’d like, but Alabama is a danged good place to ride out tough times.

This last year has seen some big changes and there are more to come. We managed to sell our land at a loss down in the tropics, but we also had a good year on YouTube with lots of new subscribers. We also started Good Books Publishing and finished the 2nd edition of Create Your Own Florida Food Forest. It should be out soon, once the final text and layout are completed. We also have new books coming from Steve Solomon and John Moody.

The gardens have been spectacular and have proven the efficacy of my methods across multiple climates.

Today I released Grocery Row Gardening in print and ebook because it seemed a fitting date to launch a book.

I can’t think of a better way to commemorate God’s good work. It’s been hard to get writing done with the uncertainty of the last couple of years, plus moving and being limited on time, but I am finally getting back in the groove.

And speaking of getting in the groove… it’s time to go fire up the grill.

Thank you all for sticking with us.

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