This is an illustration of one of the creatures, among many, my brother and I observed in a water pocket during the monsoon season in southern Utah. A friend of mine helped me figure out that it was a Tadpole Shrimp.
Pictured here are some of those water pockets where tadpole shrimp life was teaming.
My understanding is that some organisms, like Tadpole Shrimp live out their whole life cycle between the time it rains and fills these water pockets until the time that the water evaporates. To live well in a post-carbon world is to live locally and seasonally just like these , miraculous creatures. Here's a link to a Zion National Park video about them if you are curious: Tadpoles Shrimps of Zion
Once again I feel lucky when I think of eating locally and seasonally. I live in the NW where fruits and veggies can grow easily and, if I were to choose to live on more endemic sources, there are mushrooms and edibles in the woods, fish in the waters, etc... Now, salt might be an issue, but the ocean is about 50 miles from me so that is probably possible to obtain as well. BUT, coffee, my morning companion, would be a serious loss, yikes!
My husband and I strive to eat as local as possible throughout the year and when we lived in Utah we ate strictly "locally" within 250 of Salt Lake City, for as much as a month at a time during the Eat Local Challenge. Back then my solution for coffee was drinking locally grown chocolate mint tea, it took a while to adjust because I was severely addicted to caffeine (as I might be now!), but it worked and I had a new morning friend, with slightly different characteristics.
I know that the future will require quite a bit more of these types of adjustments, and that is o.k., in fact August is a good time to begin thinking about making such to local food sources more permanent. Plus preserving will allow some of the season's bounty to be available for an extended amount of time. I am truly inspired by the Tadpole Shrimp and its inherent lifestyle of eating very local (water pockets!) and seasonal (monsoons)!
If you define local as 100 mile radius or even 250 mile, what local food sources do you have? Please share, I would love to learn from you!
My understanding is that some organisms, like Tadpole Shrimp live out their whole life cycle between the time it rains and fills these water pockets until the time that the water evaporates. To live well in a post-carbon world is to live locally and seasonally just like these , miraculous creatures. Here's a link to a Zion National Park video about them if you are curious: Tadpoles Shrimps of Zion
Once again I feel lucky when I think of eating locally and seasonally. I live in the NW where fruits and veggies can grow easily and, if I were to choose to live on more endemic sources, there are mushrooms and edibles in the woods, fish in the waters, etc... Now, salt might be an issue, but the ocean is about 50 miles from me so that is probably possible to obtain as well. BUT, coffee, my morning companion, would be a serious loss, yikes!
My husband and I strive to eat as local as possible throughout the year and when we lived in Utah we ate strictly "locally" within 250 of Salt Lake City, for as much as a month at a time during the Eat Local Challenge. Back then my solution for coffee was drinking locally grown chocolate mint tea, it took a while to adjust because I was severely addicted to caffeine (as I might be now!), but it worked and I had a new morning friend, with slightly different characteristics.
I know that the future will require quite a bit more of these types of adjustments, and that is o.k., in fact August is a good time to begin thinking about making such to local food sources more permanent. Plus preserving will allow some of the season's bounty to be available for an extended amount of time. I am truly inspired by the Tadpole Shrimp and its inherent lifestyle of eating very local (water pockets!) and seasonal (monsoons)!
If you define local as 100 mile radius or even 250 mile, what local food sources do you have? Please share, I would love to learn from you!
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