Summer's first bounty.

We have a small garden, nothing ambitious, just two Seymore-like squash, heirloom tomatoes bent on producing tiny yellow flowers and little else, a lackadaisical cucumber, green pepper and a smattering of herbs.

We've used no pesticides or fertilizer, except for some dry "organic" stuff purchased at Timberline. Obviously our plot is not USDA-certified.

Does that mean it's organic or not?

A lot of small farmers and ranchers choose to forgo USDA certification to avoid the expense and hassles of the process. The same is true for fiber growers. They may raise vegetables and livestock without the benefit of extra chemicals but don't seek the imprimatur of the Federal government.

The beauty of buying from an individual is you can ask questions. How do you raise your animals? How do you process their fiber? What does it mean that you're using natural dyes?

Likely as not, you'll get the truth. No process is perfect. No matter how lightly we tread on the earth, we are still treading. But let's take off the jackboots.