What hast thou to do with me, Jacob?

We planted a type of bean called Jacob's Cattle this year. That's them at the the top of the post. The bean is a beautiful purple and white speckled heirloom variety. I don't know what it tastes like yet, but it sure is pretty. There is also a kind of sheep called Jacob's Sheep.

www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/jacob/index.htm

What does this have to do with anything you may ask. A more appropriate question is who is Jacob? Jacob is a biblical trickster character who tricked his twin brother out of his birthright and blessing; and then managed to get rich off of his father-in-law. Not exactly a paragon of virtue, but he is one of the patriarchs of the Bible. In fact his twelve sons begat the twelve tribes of Israel. {insertion by way of request from the campesino's wife: if you actually want to know why it is called Jacobs Cattle bean go to Genesis 30} Again, you might ask: So? I am in fact a somewhat religious person, but regardless of the meaning I take from biblical stories, I believe that in order to really understand western literature (or something as random as why a bean is called what it is) the Bible is required reading. I took a course in college called "Reading the Bible as Literature" and frankly it opened my eyes. I had read the entire book several times already, but only as a religious text. Frankly, you can not read Shakespeare or any number of authors from Augustine (maybe not the best example) to Margaret Atwood, and really understand what they are talking about, without a basic knowledge of biblical stories. So, if I was going to suggest anything I would say read the Old Testament (you can probably exclude Numbers). The New Testament has all kinds of interesting stuff, but the Old Testament has the best stories. You can't beat Eglon getting struck down by a left-handed man in his "cool private chamber." A simple story like that leads one to ask "Why the big deal over the left-hand?" and "would the fat really swallow up a knife?" Or, is the take home lesson from the story for the modern reader "Don't be an evil oppressive king" or "Don't talk to left-handed strangers while sitting on The Pot." These may not be literary questions, but I have wondered about them for many years.

Also, if you are reading Psalms, Proverbs, or really any book you need to use the King James Version. Not the most accurate but it reads like literature. The other versions make it easy to read (i.e. boring). Well, that last is not entirely true, but if you are reading it for literature, it needs to read like literature.

"I thought this was a gardening blog" you might say. So I leave you with Isaiah 5:8 "Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!" So there you have it, a biblical injunction against hogging all the land. Not because you will hurt others, but because you will need friends and helpers. Gardening alone is peaceful (and enjoy it), but we are made to be in community. So, though I dream of moving off to 100 acres in the middle of nowhere I know that I will probably stay in the area I am. However, in the American Dream kids are supposed to be better off than their parents. So I am aiming for least ten acres anyways, because my dad has seven.

(I will try and get the guest blogger back, she is actually better at this stuff.)

-A Campesino