Hello everyone,
I learned to garden and love nature from my grandfather, a man of many talents not least of which was his ability to hear morrells sprouting. Early morning mushroom hunts would yield bags full of the precious treats and my grandfather was welcomed as a hero by those anxious for a taste. I will never forget the power of a man willing to 'listen' to the strange almost alien like fungi pushing through the forest floors of southern Illinois.
This website accomplishes things I find very important but also endangered in our day and age. Sites like this promote sustainable living with a focus on individualism and self-sufficiency. I have joined this community because I think it preserves a tradition that values the free exchange of information and access to life sustaining plants, similarly I believe that the freedom to explore one's own consciousness is a fundamental right (if not religion then privacy, right?) shared by all and essential to a free people.
I recently made the conscious decision not to use avatars or pseudonyms on the web so my account name is my true given name. This has caused me to move away from some forums altogether (it is ok I learned that one my favorite sites was run my human trafficking devil worshipers anyway) and only lurk in others.
I am a southerner, lawyer, a soldier, a husband and father. My interests include urban farming, homemade peanut butter, economic freedom, and land use/planning, gaming with my family and friends and a re-discovered love of disc golf.
I look forward to sharing, learning and contributing here.
-Ian