B e t r a y T h e A g e

EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. — Erica Zimmerman and her husband spent months pasture-raising pigs on their farm here, but when the time came to take them to slaughter, an overbooked facility canceled their appointment. With the herd in prime condition, and the couple lacking food and space to keep them, they frantically called slaughterhouses throughout the state. After several days they found an opening, but their experience highlights a growing problem for small farmers here and across the nation: too few slaughterhouses to meet the growing demand for locally raised meat.

It's been an interesting year. I have been completely distracted by my personal life during the past year or so. My partner of 32 years was unfaithful and we split in January of 2009. The first 6 months of 2009 were quite dark. The last 3 months of 2009 have been among the best of my life since meeting a new woman. The darkness pushed me into some interesting directions such as photography (I've become the house photographer for the local theatre) running,and some unintended adventures. Life can be quite the lesson. I have pretty much neglected this blog as I have stepped back from interests in such worldly affairs. One can only keep their head in the sand for so long. I can't say that I regret terminating the local newspaper, firing the cable company, discharging netflix, and saying goodbye to Vonage. I have not become a recluse, however, I have removed much of the media clutter I suppose. Yoga has been a good trade I would say. I started this blog in 2004; some things ha...

The gods must be furious. It's the only explanation that makes sense to Jia Son, a Tibetan farmer surveying the catastrophe unfolding above his village in China's mountainous Yunnan Province. "We've upset the natural order," the devout, 52-year-old Buddhist says. "And now the gods are punishing us."