A garden is a microcosm of a world, with all the problems of the outside world,” says my mother, Ruth.

Their are some exceptions. Vegetable gardens offer a source of food that is not influenced by fluctuating markets nor are they dependent on foreign oil. With the American economy teetering on the brink of a recession, acts of self-reliance are revolutionary.

In a yard not much larger than two eighteen wheel trucks parked next to one another there is a world that yields an extraordinary amount of food. A marvelous cooperation of fertile top soil, rain, sun and human intervention has made this a prolific summer.

Beyond harvesting Brussels sprouts, kale, squash, string beans, cabbage, potatoes, beets and a variety of herbs, the yard is home to a few angora rabbits, chickens, a roaming black cat and a golden retriever.

Ruth will spin the fleece from the rabbits. With the yarn, she knits some pretty wild things.

And fresh eggs…