200 Years of the Simple Life

Farm News

As far back as I can recall, our family has been celebrating the life and writings of Henry David Thoreau, born July 12, 1817. This year marks the bicentennial of his birth, and we celebrate his work as a young writer and a noble man who died at 44 of tuberculosis.

Thoreau published only two books in his lifetime, A Week On the Concord and Merrimack Rivers in 1849, written in memory of his brother and Walden; or Life in the Woods in 1854. Two hundred years later, we are embracing, now more than ever, his call to seek knowledge, beauty and virtue in the still, quiet environments of our everyday.

Swept up by the digital age, a simple walk in the woods seems almost impossible. When we are deep in the day planting and harvesting, the idea of satellites, drones and cell towers are very distant and the exquisiteness of growing organic vegetables is the closest path to live in Thoreau’s wisdom of a simple life.

“Eat less from a box and more from the earth” is one of our favorite sayings on the farm, and we hope to make this statement true for your kitchens as we head into our season of abundance.

The Pacific Northwest is in its glory time when most people are trying to capture the elements of Thoreau spending long hours of the day outside camping, swimming in the rivers, gathering at tables with family and friends without excessive heat or bugs.

We can delight in the sounds and smells of our local flora and fauna. We can eat in a noble, sustainable, and simple way and carry on Thoreau’s tradition, his mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s tradition, and the spirit of living in the natural universe where all things are connected.

Don’t forget to find us on Instagram (@fullcirclefarms).

– Wendy