jmcquown wrote:

> My dad used to wring chickens' necks in the back yard and sit on the porch
> and pluck off the feathers before his mom put the bird in a pot with water
> for soup or in a roasting pan. He picked and washed dandylion greens to
> eat. Potatoes straight out of the ground, washed but probably still a bit
> grubby. Pole beans rinsed in a bucket and snapped on the porch. Hmmm.
> Growing up during the American Depression, and listening to those who did,
> sure does teach one something

My parent's generation all grew up during the depression. My father was a farm
boy of sorts. He grew up on a rabbit ranch. They called it a "ranch" but it was
just a large property on the edge of a small town. They always grew their own
vegetables and canned their own stuff. They also raised enough chickens for
eggs and meat.

When I was a kid we always had a large vegetable garden. It was a lot of work,
but my parents had four boys to do the work. During the summer we would be
sent out to the garden just before dinner to pick whatever was in season. I
always appreciated the great taste of freshly picked fruit and vegetables. We
used to grow enough beans in that garden to keep up going for the winter. My
mother would blanch them and freeze them within an hour of picking, and they
were way better than the frozen beans you can buy even now. It is rare for me
to find "fresh" beans at the supermarket that even come close to what we used
to grow. Having all that fresh produce was a bonus for the ever present pet
rabbit.