Sunday, July 29, 2012

My inner snob.....

I was raised a snob. I've struggled with it since childhood, but it still comes out in ways that don't even occur to me until later.

Dairy goats: was it enough to get any old crossbreeds with decent milk production and a nice personalities? Oh hell, no. No, they had to be classy, elegant looking creatures with sculpted heads, long bone structure, from historic bloodlines, registered with pedigrees studded with stars and "GCH" (grand champion)in every direction. Little faults like front feet that turned outwards a bit drove me crazy every time I looked at them, even if the udders were perfect. Coarse heads, same thing- those goats were sold even if they produced well.

Chickens: Has it ever occurred to me to get simple production birds? Nope. They have to be rare breeds with an interesting past, even if they are less productive, such as Dorkings. Dorkings are a good dual purpose bird, make no mistake, but they cost more, are much harder to find, and quit laying eggs in early summer so as to hatch and raise their eggs instead (I actually like that idea). Chanteclers have a less illustrious history and pedigree, but they also are a rare breed. It has not even occurred to me to get just any old kind of chicken, except possibly to learn on as a prelude to getting the rare breeds....

Vegetables: same sort of thing as above, except that flavor accompanies the rareness and aesthetics. I do not grow hybrids. Hybrids, in my mind, are for those other gardeners, the ones who don't know any better. :-/

Shoes: Not any old work boots, the $500 Whites. OK, so Whites boots last a lot longer and can be rebuilt, resoled and are more comfortable...they're an investment. Even if I buy shoes at a thrift store, there are only certain brands. Sneakers have to be Asics or New Balance. Hiking shoes, usually Merrels. Other shoes must be leather, not that awful vinyl stuff that pretends to be leather. Slogs garden shoes are acceptable (generally not in public though), those horrible Crocs (the name alone! Ugh!!) are not. It is OK by me if my Asics are a bit grubby, if the Whites have manure dried between the treads, that my favorite leather shoes have a hole in the sole (patched), etc. The important thing is that they are not the Walmart brand and that they are not made of plastic. All things considered, it's a bit silly, but since I generally get them at the same price as the others.....

Clothes: my clothing algorithm is more complicated and involves both brand, natural fibers (except for a narrow range such as certain sorts of sportwear), color (as a rule, no bright colors except for tie dyed clothing and even then, not TOO bright), texture, etc.

Home furnishings: nothing cutesy and again, natural materials and items are preferred. Never something like this (why do people feel the need to breed animals which look like they ran into a brick wall and nearly expelled their eyeballs as a result?), a piece of driftwood or a nice seashell would be better.

It doesn't end. You don't even want to know about the food pickiness. Generally, things which are artificial or which are made to mimic something else (things such as hand carved duck decoys would be an exception) are taboo. I don't know why I'm like this. The awful thing is, I also don't want to change it even though it seems pretty silly when written down like this. You see, no matter how far we travel from our roots, a part of them always remains.

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