tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76298472686189486512024-03-20T05:22:20.601-04:00Poor Backyard Beddie's Almanactales of a permaculture journeymanShuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-56862838053597103082014-01-29T21:05:00.000-05:002014-01-29T21:05:03.334-05:00on feeding the winterfire...<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9f4; color: #222222; font-size: 14.399999618530273px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"Man takes root at his feet, and at best he is no more than a potted plant in his house or carriage till he has established communication with the soil by the loving and magnetic touch of his soles to it. Then the tie of association is born; then spring those invisible fibres and rootlets through which character comes to smack of the soil, and which make a man kindred to the spot of earth he inhabits."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">-John Burroughs, from <i>The Exhilarations of the Road</i>, 1875<i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">a lot of thought, a lot of intention, a lot of action & a lot of iteration-- all go in to the simple expressions of life. each moment affords us opportunity to stop,think,act,review--to be present, alert, responsive. sheesh.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB-h4ybynDxqUCVfk3DS-umGLbMQlNvEBdEemiMEhm59YF5WKEA9wwI3SP1oNs2BC91rb_nZ1xXnY9svrch2e9QT6_f9idiMjAXafaLoue0qxX-lmXwNKn7ohQeLQnGWjNquu4Zj9cT8/s1600/IMG_3329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB-h4ybynDxqUCVfk3DS-umGLbMQlNvEBdEemiMEhm59YF5WKEA9wwI3SP1oNs2BC91rb_nZ1xXnY9svrch2e9QT6_f9idiMjAXafaLoue0qxX-lmXwNKn7ohQeLQnGWjNquu4Zj9cT8/s1600/IMG_3329.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">life is clearly an adventure, an epic quest, a heartbreaking & inspiring tragicomedy-- a complex web of experience and emotion where it's somehow possible to simultaneously feel incredible excitement, love, & hope and crushing loss-- the despair that marks an age of social alienation, destruction of </span>our wild habitat <span style="font-family: inherit;">& depletion of our resource base. it's kind of just smirking while observing the never-ending dance of entropy & life - the bubbling joy of establishing connections and the crippling ripples of unraveling webs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">maybe it's just the gemini in me, but that dichotomous mental state has set the stage for a year of powerful experiences. fingers crossed. wood thoroughly knocked.</span><br />
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i'd like to offer up to you, dear reader, a snapshot in the development of my relationship with life, the universe and everything. i've spent many years cultivating skills, information and passion... developing a steadily growing drive to actively face the facts of our collective experience on this hurtling ball of space rock. at times i've been overwhelmed, paralyzed alternately with fear or freedom. there is an immense task laid before conscientious citizens of Big Mama. all the evidence points to a fundamental shift in the way we operate-- a descent back to sanity... a drift homewards... an anchoring of self to place through community cooperation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgM4IBhsIuMJaKQLr551w88phXHEP-M4H-IRr7rBkDigkzKnsTJKKnu3KAbliBtJpwJAgXbeng5rMX461ZQxGPI4Qbn7yKm2zvGVXbXUy4KF_caDMz62iW1inmdoiOvCYd1jReHjgOeM/s1600/DSC03464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgM4IBhsIuMJaKQLr551w88phXHEP-M4H-IRr7rBkDigkzKnsTJKKnu3KAbliBtJpwJAgXbeng5rMX461ZQxGPI4Qbn7yKm2zvGVXbXUy4KF_caDMz62iW1inmdoiOvCYd1jReHjgOeM/s1600/DSC03464.JPG" height="250" width="400" /></a>to go ahead and cut the bullshit: the climate is shifting, who cares why? we must adapt. the petrol giants are already scrambling to produce liquid fuels with an ever diminishing return on the energy extended to extract and process. finite resources can be useful ... for a limited time. let's not behave too much like junkies, yea?<br />
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i look forward to a cultural shift towards enduring, regenerative, local, scalable solutions. and i'm heartened by the fact that it's happening already in so many places.<br />
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so once again i'm gassing up the truck (and, trust me, i'm smirkin about it), loaded up this time with books'n'broadfork, cloth'n'clutter, and i'm a-gonna be flyin up that highway, kipple ripplin in the wind, on my way back to Taproot Farm --for a job, ostensibly, in a place where work kinda just feels like living well--- to further develop and implement a permaculture patch, generally help out farm-wise, learn to be kind to myself when i try to sit still (maybe it's meditation, but who can tell? certainly not me), find & foster friends & family, and participate in Sustainable Potomac Highlands, a local Transition initiative i had the privilege of learning more about on my last trip to the farm. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZ0nExt9xoSMNSVQphJhPgvtlowlLjMOH_4Lj34Dr5xEgzytMo-ZZGUQW7085rbJHLqCbtAOsadDu6eiwDwHYHpeoFo_ehFpYNiQtq9BCjBFzRq-9G6TzBLx-WcV4t9hWf9HYbqWSm18/s1600/DSC03475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZ0nExt9xoSMNSVQphJhPgvtlowlLjMOH_4Lj34Dr5xEgzytMo-ZZGUQW7085rbJHLqCbtAOsadDu6eiwDwHYHpeoFo_ehFpYNiQtq9BCjBFzRq-9G6TzBLx-WcV4t9hWf9HYbqWSm18/s1600/DSC03475.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a>so with that, i'll leave you for a time. But i'll check in, and perhaps shift this lil bloggy-poo back towards more practical matters: hows & whys, food production, natural building, permaculture, etc. maybe even a lil alternative economics once i learn s'more about it.</div>
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till then, i'll be around, tweaking a design for a juglone polyculture and studying Yeoman's keyline plan and this topographic map here. if you're interested in some cyber-idea-bouncing send me a msg, e-mail, or leave a comment.</div>
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get dirty this year.</div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-89816706514681917082013-12-30T11:49:00.000-05:002013-12-30T11:49:54.116-05:00ramblins from zone 00you know that feeling when you fully believe you've misplaced something essential. <br />
Just a bit panicky.<br />
Just a bit. <br />
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But you calm yourself down.<br />
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You remember your breath. </div>
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You recall with faith the beauty of letting go.</div>
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then, once you've come to terms with your plot in this world, you realize that the reason you couldn't find that <i>one essential something</i> is because you put it back last time you used it.</div>
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it's been right here all along.<br />
right where it belongs.<br />
you just couldn't see it.</div>
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it's <i>that</i> profoundly human, paradoxical feeling:</div>
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the one that pats us on the back </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">while simultaneously smacking us in the forehead.</span></div>
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this wasn't intended to become a journal of my mental health, but hell's bells, here goes nothin:</div>
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this year the holidays hit pretty hard.... while i didn't grow up celebrating christmas or hanukkah or the birth of mithras or kwanzaa or winter short-day or nimrod's rebirth or whatever, i've grown attached to the custom of gathering with family and loved-ones: reconnecting, sharing space, breaking bread, fartin' around in lampin' pants...the whole shebang. </div>
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(please don't misunderstand: i had an awesome chrimmus with my folks)</div>
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i spent a lot of time in my head this week though; it gets a tad rollercoaster-y in there these days.<br />
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but you gotta shake the shit out of a soil sample to see what it's made of. </div>
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and it takes time for that clay to settle, mmm-hmmm. </div>
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<i>claro</i> it's clarity i'm looking for (and hopefully the level of clarity increases with the amount of jostling involved). so what's a human to do? prompted by my good friend John, Combat Jester extraordinaire, i've been mulling over what a list of my <b>true priorities</b> would look like... thinking about what helps me feel healthy happy 'n' whole & which environments are most conducive to facilitating my personal well-being.</div>
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my list starts with <b>starlight</b>.</div>
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and <b>trees</b>.</div>
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then there needs to be <b>creative space</b>. a home-base.</div>
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a workshop.</div>
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an experiment in creative living.</div>
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preferably with a warm bath, and a porch...</div>
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and a garden & a library.</div>
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though by nature i'm somewhat private and highly value quiet time & personal space, <b>community</b> also made it onto the list.</div>
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In <u>Small is Beatiful</u>, ol' Fritz talked about the value of <b>right livelihood</b>: the sense of satisfaction we get when we feel engaged in meaningful work...</div>
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which for me means a lot.</div>
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it means not just growing food, but active engagement in local food production & trying to understand the root cause of "world hunger," namely inequitable distribution.</div>
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it means not just making enough cash to scrape by in the current economic paradigm, but exploring alternative economic systems with friends, family & neighbors while simultaneously learning to navigate the murky waters of the commodity economy.</div>
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it means working with my hands,</div>
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building dwellings&soil,</div>
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smelling like sawdust&manure,</div>
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finding a need & filling it...</div>
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niche-ing out with fellow humans.</div>
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i'm not sure if my list is complete, but that's what i got so far.</div>
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<b>starlight</b></div>
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<b>trees</b></div>
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<b>creative space</b></div>
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<b>community</b></div>
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<b>right livelihood</b></div>
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and i return to a question i seem to be asking myself a lot these days: what's a human to do?</div>
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first i think i need to accept that my reluctance to commit to a place stems from the hard lesson that nothing lasts forever, and a fear of the pain involved in endings. in my heart of hearts i recognize it as a natural backlash resulting from basically failing at the one thing in this world i tried to fully commit to...the crumbling of the only lifelong decision i've ever made. but my heart of hearts isn't always as involved in my daily decision-making as i'd like it to be.</div>
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i think the trick, for me, is to accept my reluctance/fears, but not allow them to govern how i interact with this world... to allow myself to engage fully, without reservation, regardless of the ultimate outcome - to not hope to find my place once my head 'n' heart are right again, but to work towards making my place...with faith that <i>making</i> provides the necessary conditions for the healing i long for.</div>
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so what's a human to do? </div>
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good question.</div>
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i only know that i don't know, but i have some ideas. </div>
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so for now i'm on the road again... </div>
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but maybe not for too much longer.</div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-71621017327876303082013-12-12T16:45:00.000-05:002013-12-12T16:45:21.347-05:00pues vamos ya.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gvG7YcCHVt6hkXwWvUOheC2qSIcrwgMzdTvRszCkYrrUrMfmnoirzFV-AutB4k35ZUSngl1e2Hp3IJx6K0mO8tHvQMG1ZaoFb9RGBfcDqF-rQDFcE2Z18ZUlExmp3HEjipQf3kZoNJw/s1600/SAM_3180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gvG7YcCHVt6hkXwWvUOheC2qSIcrwgMzdTvRszCkYrrUrMfmnoirzFV-AutB4k35ZUSngl1e2Hp3IJx6K0mO8tHvQMG1ZaoFb9RGBfcDqF-rQDFcE2Z18ZUlExmp3HEjipQf3kZoNJw/s400/SAM_3180.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
it's hard to know where to begin.<br />
it makes a body wonder how so much living gets crammed into a life...<br />
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when last i connected with you, o vast interwebs, i'd been in mexico for a moment, but the experience had truly just begun.<br />
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& now i'm back stateside, where its easier to get a hold of something called a bacon buffalo ranch chicken McSandwich than it is to get an actual chicken. merr.<br />
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i've got to admit i've been a bit spoiled: woken by roosters and the sun, privy to in-season citrus fruits i'd never seen, papaya con limon, walking through a fairyland of wild flowers, made pliant by the dual action of mezcal and manual labor, in the midst of a vibrant food culture, passing time with wonderful humans, graciously fed amazing meals by the wonderful Madame Flowers, cups full of amazing coffee, basking in the glow of a life free from cell phones and superfluous social media.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNI_5fTbVRHYozS-iOfkDRy6XjeF4Hbn8D43_XQGGZvCQ0zgMI-q0WEfooLXIavHOyztWNONvcVlR_PIRrZbZablSrXquYdBHRxTH-Bd5JxKgS54ulPvcNIflase2sbMebq8tfY19B9Q/s1600/SAM_3300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuNI_5fTbVRHYozS-iOfkDRy6XjeF4Hbn8D43_XQGGZvCQ0zgMI-q0WEfooLXIavHOyztWNONvcVlR_PIRrZbZablSrXquYdBHRxTH-Bd5JxKgS54ulPvcNIflase2sbMebq8tfY19B9Q/s400/SAM_3300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Mexico is magical. & i hope to get back there to explore more, visit the beautiful souls i was privileged to meet & get closer to, and hopefully improve my fledgeling spanish skills. <br />
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among the many lessons learned on this adventure, though, is the fact that i want all my travels to have purpose: to work on a project, to learn, to teach. i don't want to be a tourist, i want to actively contribute to collective endeavors.<br />
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And that's exactly what i got to do during my stay in Santa Rosa. </div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOaHNWIzYBAZBtqOMmSJ_tIpbTu8VOBGqIb8Enn0QNm-gFsJymJMimFrJ3fX5sUgZ-cVca60sKQmkokuMVrLblJI9RCaW8V0fSBGzNanZ_7tYUOOc5bbpC4x6D-aPkYW1dHyuw9ckNBA/s1600/SAM_3148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOaHNWIzYBAZBtqOMmSJ_tIpbTu8VOBGqIb8Enn0QNm-gFsJymJMimFrJ3fX5sUgZ-cVca60sKQmkokuMVrLblJI9RCaW8V0fSBGzNanZ_7tYUOOc5bbpC4x6D-aPkYW1dHyuw9ckNBA/s320/SAM_3148.JPG" width="320" /></a>before i get ahead of myself (as i'm prone to do) babbling about the wonders of creation, let me attempt to convey a sense of place.</div>
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i spent many days in the city: Guanajuato, Guanajuato (like New York, New York....) and it was cool as far as cities go. it was built during the colonial period and is nestled in a narrow valley, so the architecture is gorgeous and the streets are easier to navigate on foot than in a vehicle, plus when you're ambling about you can stop for a mo' and eat some amazing street food.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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but the city ain't really my scene. the hustle and bustle, constant sensory overload, and swarming masses of humanity tend to trigger alternating bouts of anxiety and zombification in my increasingly delicate psyche.</div>
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despite or because of growing up in heavier population areas, i guess i'm a country boy at heart. <i>en verdad</i>, i'm in love with <i>el campo</i>.</div>
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lucky for my mental health, i spent the majority of my days in Santa Rosa, an 11 peso bus ride up the mountain from the city and a world away.</div>
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<div>
Nicole lives in what is essentially a compound of concrete <i>casitas</i>, so though she has housemates, each has a tiny house of their own and a separate shared kitchen and bathroom. She, Flor (the illustrious Madame Flowers: an infuser of mezcals and a french-trained cook), and formerly an itinerant chocolate-maker called Ivan (that's ee-Ban, gringos) dwell on the northern slope of a primary ridge that juts from the main ridge of the mountain. The property is rife with apple, pear and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus_mexicana" target="_blank">tejocote</a> </i>trees, naturalized arugula and fennel, calendula and <i>cinco llagas </i>flowers, and sports a terraced garden the three of them installed last year.</div>
<div>
From the patio or the roof, if you're so inclined, you can gaze at a massive mountain in the northwesterly distance or check out the activities of the neighbors across the valley, in their colorful casas, looking like a scene out of a Wes Anderson movie. I did a lot of both, sippin coffee in the sun or being still remembering that i am the mountain.</div>
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<div>
We worked on a lot of projects down there. Nicole's got lists of lists of the lists of things to do, bless her <i>gringa</i> soul, and it seems these days that my most valuable possessions are time and my hoary hands. A day without using them well is worse than a waste; it's damn close to sacrilege. So our confederation has been mutually beneficial.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiwgQYm_e9fdTXT3v4jw0-llg7TR612O2m-dID2vP6aVKHw26SQm_WTCNArPOHVo10-EpwZlk4q6i2VwxvXuQPScQj9Hi5iCC0JYzQw7WxyNBCyBKJHEKDB27euvrnGutUxvbPRTEcrU/s1600/coopbefore.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiwgQYm_e9fdTXT3v4jw0-llg7TR612O2m-dID2vP6aVKHw26SQm_WTCNArPOHVo10-EpwZlk4q6i2VwxvXuQPScQj9Hi5iCC0JYzQw7WxyNBCyBKJHEKDB27euvrnGutUxvbPRTEcrU/s400/coopbefore.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COOP BEFORE (i took down the gate before i thought to take a photo)</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i>EL GALLINERO</i></h3>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
(OR REMODELING A COOP ON A BROKEN SHOESTRING BUDGET)</h2>
<div>
i started this blog, as some of y'all might remember, as a way to document my experiments in low-cost suburban micro-farming. homesteading and it's numerous opportunities for creative solution-sharing hold particular appeal for thisguy, and i've been building things on the cheap in true Janky Rustico fashion since before i made up that ridiculous moniker. But in Mexico, my Janky Rustico skills soared to new heights.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISNJSbQXF70fD54uSrML5ZgbOjvO-4yvXkA-UCGZdheLokWoFVBEWYw0KtMhU9K8D0eJSPSa6vejgXEuXFEIYQXaVqAHX371fOphdQSbMkLW0FqTfC3SIa1sTVjXAJuw0JEgGMtQ5wGs/s1600/coopb42.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISNJSbQXF70fD54uSrML5ZgbOjvO-4yvXkA-UCGZdheLokWoFVBEWYw0KtMhU9K8D0eJSPSa6vejgXEuXFEIYQXaVqAHX371fOphdQSbMkLW0FqTfC3SIa1sTVjXAJuw0JEgGMtQ5wGs/s320/coopb42.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the eggs were somewhat difficult to collect from in there</td></tr>
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it's somewhat disconcerting to realize how many and which things you take for granted...</div>
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like salvaged building materials, gravel quarries, and bags of organic matter that neighbors conveniently leave on the curb for you to steal for your garden.</div>
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i've heavily relied on first-world waste to do what i do with what i considered to be an extremely modest income. turns out i'm rich, apparently. who knew?</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfCu-ykZhMtxEgilr6xhn4DeAm2zGC16wTtwwtsQpoA8RWAMRX_iQySdfA-ESPox1DG9EvLvz3U8NniN2NdMTgOzZ8SCHpjPdVE7uW4CkvRy8K0vD2uj3-4IAwY-3y5IwBPqGKU1CAEI/s1600/deconstruct.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfCu-ykZhMtxEgilr6xhn4DeAm2zGC16wTtwwtsQpoA8RWAMRX_iQySdfA-ESPox1DG9EvLvz3U8NniN2NdMTgOzZ8SCHpjPdVE7uW4CkvRy8K0vD2uj3-4IAwY-3y5IwBPqGKU1CAEI/s320/deconstruct.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DEMO DONE, WITH DRAINAGE/FOUNDATION <br />TRENCH DUG</td></tr>
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<div>
in Mexico, at least where i was, Janky Rustico is the norm and useful things like wood, metal roofing, buckets, etc. are used and re-used until they virtually disintegrate. if you dumpster dive for building materials down there, you're likely to end up building with styrofoam and doritos bags.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
basically the only cheap building material to come by were the <i>huacales</i>, small wooden crate-like boxes for transporting fruits and vegetables that you can buy from the <i>fruterias</i> for 5 pesos a pop. We picked up three of those, a 10 peso bag of small nails and a 30 peso tube of contact cement to build the nesting boxes, equivalent to about $4.25 USD.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkckTGsZhTVO4aScn-YBsXUXWg7XS6pQoQJX62pEr1msbk-oQtmEEnLdiTP_s6dyZMmSras_rXIAuKi8icP1kgJn2xxBSui-yyZbwDEInJubdYvRChTklufbiyIbHLxN1Ua97f8IlXY60/s1600/nestingbox.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkckTGsZhTVO4aScn-YBsXUXWg7XS6pQoQJX62pEr1msbk-oQtmEEnLdiTP_s6dyZMmSras_rXIAuKi8icP1kgJn2xxBSui-yyZbwDEInJubdYvRChTklufbiyIbHLxN1Ua97f8IlXY60/s400/nestingbox.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">huacale nesting box, with salvaged hinges and plywood scraps</td></tr>
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a little creative finagling allowed us to rebuild the run with the original materials using about half the chicken wire, which we were then able to reuse to build compost bins for the house in the mountains and the rooftop garden in the city.</div>
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i'm always amazed at what can be accomplished when humans put their heads&hearts&hands together. we are truly capable of great things when we're not busy screwing things up for the grandkids. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-MY-Hp6j3ElyAGYCVog-Lu7BJDAiM5P1r10BRoxIHN7BlWKFCm4z7yM-APWuL0ZW2ZsXnM6MBDs65riuZE17ZscwgKR9wzDL1Gt3mkiG3_LE-j2OoFj40k1ipVZwVZf7bd5vK216NDM/s1600/tagteam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-MY-Hp6j3ElyAGYCVog-Lu7BJDAiM5P1r10BRoxIHN7BlWKFCm4z7yM-APWuL0ZW2ZsXnM6MBDs65riuZE17ZscwgKR9wzDL1Gt3mkiG3_LE-j2OoFj40k1ipVZwVZf7bd5vK216NDM/s400/tagteam.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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i'm pretty sure there's a lesson in there somewhere.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoWXq_HSO7V_JKxl4D_AgI5xXK93BB_YshhkOmvDXkUupFLipdCKbxvWs-Iysz8Ie0SCLTnKV40Iay75ecbO6Epw1J77PJJLwFwOvFZ9jek_sqbWNv-TUdDYq6xZdoDbahBZ9Sg5WWkU/s1600/finito.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoWXq_HSO7V_JKxl4D_AgI5xXK93BB_YshhkOmvDXkUupFLipdCKbxvWs-Iysz8Ie0SCLTnKV40Iay75ecbO6Epw1J77PJJLwFwOvFZ9jek_sqbWNv-TUdDYq6xZdoDbahBZ9Sg5WWkU/s640/finito.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finito. the door used to be part of the roof...? </td></tr>
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that's all i got for now, folks... stay tuned and i'll let you know what i'm up to as soon as i figure it out.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
peace, love & mineral rights.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
shua out.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2b3yNROTq7ibpTN6xXNo3gNZjEAZaRr46od4IuJB67hz9D6pOhrlIZIbF7mDDw2L1BU-r0KQn4QtWxjvt2RIYqI5WjYviKstF1mZxVFdBHMNic0EqkZnWn3pPkBO_R20YXAnC37sDS8/s1600/SAM_3451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2b3yNROTq7ibpTN6xXNo3gNZjEAZaRr46od4IuJB67hz9D6pOhrlIZIbF7mDDw2L1BU-r0KQn4QtWxjvt2RIYqI5WjYviKstF1mZxVFdBHMNic0EqkZnWn3pPkBO_R20YXAnC37sDS8/s640/SAM_3451.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we celebrated the coop completion in the traditional fashion.<br />with a puppy dance party.</td></tr>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-32529311964019165652013-11-08T16:08:00.000-05:002013-11-08T16:08:34.538-05:00Una Aventura Analógico en MéxicoSitting in a cafe in San Miguel de Allende, alternately sippin fresh-squeezed orange juice & an americano con leche... trying to crystallize a synopsis of the whirlwind of events that brought me to this place in this moment...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>inhalamos...</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
robots abandoned in Gringolandia, save a cell phone with a camera but no service, glancing out a tiny window as rows upon rows of fluffy lil clouds seemingly marked the topographic contours of the heavens. The old iron eagle (or in this case, maybe juvenile falcon would more aptly describe the contraption) skirted the Gulf and headed inland over the Sierra Madre Oriental range, bound for the geographic center of our neighbor to the south.</div>
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There's all manner of bits of me that contradict each other. For example: my current walkabout vs. my intention to minimize my environmental impact. As a human, i've gotten pretty good at justifying the ridiculous things i do, & surely this is no different. We've each of us inherited a world quaking from the impact of our forebears, & sure, we all have a duty to regenerate the systems that we, as a species, have helped to deplete.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It seems we're nearing the end of the Age of Cheap Oil (allah akbar, wahe guru, ojala, etc., etc., y blahblahblah), and, while i know we should mindfully utilize this diminishing resource, the sad fact is that the planes, trains & automobiles will most likely keep putting along until the last drop of petrol is wrung from the belly of mama earth.<br />
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& there's a lot to explore: a whole world full of places to go, to see, to feel, to touch, to taste, to smell, to learn. So f-word the b.s., i'm gonna hop on a few of them planes that're raining contrails on my head before this life is done. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>exhalamos</i>...</div>
<h2>
Permaculture & the Pen & Ink Discoball</h2>
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<u><b>Day 1 in Guanjuato</b></u>: i met my friend/guide/host/strange wood nymph Nicole as i sat on a bench gawking at a giant statue of Don Quixote y Sancho Panza. After dropping off my pack at the little organic grocery shop she runs, we went on a lightning tour of the callejones and plazas of the city. <br />
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That day i was fortunate to meet an artist, a true maestro of line, by the name of Rodrigo Rojas as he prepared for his exposition, Narco Pop, set to open on the night of Dia de los Muertes at the Museo Dieguino in the heart of Guanajuato. The show is a mixture of pen&ink (&blood applied during the opening!) drawings, music & dance dealing with the societal implications of cartel violence. With my background in fine art, my love of ink drawing & my enchantment with this intelligent, well-spoken, compassionate human being all compelling me, i volunteered to assist Rodrigo in his preparations.<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Fast-Forward a couple days</u>: in the museum that feels a bit like a crypt, staring at a JPEG of a discoball, attempting to capture the image in ink with less than a day until the opening, I began to feel frustrated and get lost in the details...<br />
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there must be some evolutionary advantage to the adoption of belief systems. choosing a lens through which to view the world surely must aid in the navigation of reality, provided, of course, that one doesn't get caught in a loop of fanaticism.<br />
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As much as permaculture is a design science, it also holds within its vast umbrella the hallmarks of a belief system: a central core of ethics surrounded by principles capable of guiding us through our tasks and duties. No wonder so many folks get a bit dogmatic. Be kind.<br />
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As my frustration nearly boiled over, i remembered that one of my primary goals on this adventure is to practice permaculture, & it is a <i>practice</i>, a sadhana: more a way of life than a profession. <i>Claro, </i>the most difficult permaculture principle to assimilate for me has been this:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Design from Patterns to Details</i></b></span></div>
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it's annoyingly easy for me to zoom in on some tiny detail that turns me on and accidentally neglect the bigger picture, but by stepping back & observing, then designing, overall patterns, details fall into place. in this way all the tiny elements of a design or a drawing or a life fit into the context of the whole. consider the spider constructing it's web: she doesn't start in the center because it's the most interesting bit when it reflects the morning sun off myriad droplets of dew, she begins with the overall structure and meticulously follows the pattern she's established until the whole web is a series of interconnected strands: an incredible display of functional beauty. <i>A huevo</i>, don't forget to remember.</div>
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<h2>
Temazcal y la Luna Nueva</h2>
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so, off the soapbox & back to the narrative... discoball done, the museum began to fill with folks decorating for the Dia de los Muertos festivities the following day. Pens packed and pesos pocketed, i made my way back to the store (hereafter referred to by its proper name, Natura) to meet up with Nicole.<br />
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As night fell on the city, she led me up the callejones to a nondescript door.<br />
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It's humbling to be a stranger in a strange land --not fully understanding what the people around me are saying & unsure of the customs & social norms.<br />
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After ascending the cave-like path through the old wooden doors --up into a garden filled with medicinal herbs, a raging fire filled with las abuelas (the grandmothers: volcanic rocks for the sweatlodge), & a cloth-covered low dome-- i was directed behind a curtain in the corner of the garden to disrobe.<br />
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Carolina, the medicine woman (?), purified us before we crawled through the door of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal" target="_blank">temazcal</a>. As we smeared our bodies in a mixture of clay & chocolate, a young man began transferring las abuelas from the fire outside to the pit in the center of the dome. <i>Bienvenidas Abuelitas</i>. Despite my lack of spanish comprehension & with some help from Nicole, i was able to understand that we had passed into a symbolic womb of mother Earth and we were to pass through three more elemental doors: water to air to fire, before passing back out of the Womb and back into Life. <br />
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The heat, the heat. water and fragrant herbs strewn on the red hot rocks. sweat pouring rivers. in the warm wet dark, Carolina's voice rapid y melodic. tapping the beast within. fire consuming the detritus of my derelict heart.<br />
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How is it that Life provides all the necessary experiences to become whole, to heal, to grow?<br />
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<i>No se, no se. </i></div>
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Must be one of those miracles i've heard so much about.</div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-28386609692043773662013-10-25T00:02:00.000-04:002013-10-25T00:02:06.540-04:00this is real life
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“It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.”<br /><div style="text-align: right;">
-Wendell Berry</div>
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I have been privileged here at Taproot Farm to invest my days in a manner congruent with my mindset, cycling naturally with the rhythms of the sun & moon. While oftentimes my mind and heart churn & boil, my head and hands engage in meaningful collective effort.</div>
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In crisp autumn moonlight, washed in a sea of stars, I stepped into the labyrinth. The path to the center seems convoluted because it is. It must be. Each step, each moment in the maze, lends clarity to the whole...</div>
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maybe sometimes it's necessary to lay awake nights, staring into the darkness, allowing all the uncertainties of being to bubble up from the secret depths. hearing & seeing - listening & believing to-- the raucous chorus of emotion, feeling each one deeply.... it must be... must be.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Dxf4CPy_tpU0xlMJBsUrh5DjxFdMQeHbLwTUk_LX3yMyfBDnnHFGxxYpS-F7rTNZNG0bFMC0Tfako80hH2vDnUtLrhF6gigGS3BPIpMBV4aASY3Ea9OQ_I81SOmsST0qXhVdRy60jYc/s1600/100_1541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Dxf4CPy_tpU0xlMJBsUrh5DjxFdMQeHbLwTUk_LX3yMyfBDnnHFGxxYpS-F7rTNZNG0bFMC0Tfako80hH2vDnUtLrhF6gigGS3BPIpMBV4aASY3Ea9OQ_I81SOmsST0qXhVdRy60jYc/s320/100_1541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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but, just as you could classify me as a visual/kinetic/impulse-driven/mistake-based learner, you might consider me a kinetic healer. it's easy for me to get lost in the stories my mind tells my me. i tend to get caught in loops. somehow, though, it's mostly when my hands get dirty interacting with life on earth (i guess you can call it 'working,' if'n ye must) that the torrent swirls into manageable eddies. </div>
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Undoubtedly, there are bits of me that are broken. All I can do for now is embrace that & hope that the hugging helps to heal it. Eso si que es.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6Q5I-lP4695wRntAqN9kJHiB3vl3vutHW4bEH7tFwLF807KFYmL2dh7qMDgeCVMbAxSRJeXoUAMMMKbiJEOsC2KlAh6ASDoE6p5wP9h-hmt7dTdH_QWkXq8-LeIwvdF-YK_dAtdr9PY/s1600/DSC03413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6Q5I-lP4695wRntAqN9kJHiB3vl3vutHW4bEH7tFwLF807KFYmL2dh7qMDgeCVMbAxSRJeXoUAMMMKbiJEOsC2KlAh6ASDoE6p5wP9h-hmt7dTdH_QWkXq8-LeIwvdF-YK_dAtdr9PY/s320/DSC03413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When we were rooted in Querencia, swimming silently in the vast ocean of our bodies, Beth's voice purred through the void:</div>
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Remember that you are the Mountain.</div>
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yes.</div>
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please.</div>
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this place, this place! saddled between the Alleghany and Appalachian mountains, birthed of devonian rock, shedding its waters into the Cacapon river as it flows into the Potomac and out Chesapeake Bay to commingle with the deep birthplace of us all: the salty seas.</div>
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There's a kind of wild magic on this farm that Beth, Tim & Alexor have found a way to cultivate. If life is located at the intersection of here & now, then Taproot is there too, at the nexus of plants, animals & spirit that you can see when you finally realize you've arrived. </div>
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thank you.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnWym7J4Rw4WtTJ1bWxMgJ9rOGCIErI9cJOFEJGKIP-xeLDFEsbCcNRU3Mdd2a7BUSj7ye_baTQtJmsnsn7cp2LcHHgrfItJeXNQwyklhbGJn0N_zsKNq3CE1cYR58DHiNzhbXbTCc9Q/s1600/DSC03389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnWym7J4Rw4WtTJ1bWxMgJ9rOGCIErI9cJOFEJGKIP-xeLDFEsbCcNRU3Mdd2a7BUSj7ye_baTQtJmsnsn7cp2LcHHgrfItJeXNQwyklhbGJn0N_zsKNq3CE1cYR58DHiNzhbXbTCc9Q/s400/DSC03389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thanks for the photos Lex!</td></tr>
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These 3 weeks seem to have flown by, and the longer i stay the less i want to leave. It's rare in this world to find places to feel completely accepted, where humans interact reciprocally with each other and their environment. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon it and grateful to have been welcomed back time and again. And i'm happy that i can say "see ya next time" and know that it's going to thrive in the care of these stewards, and that i've had some small hand in the process. </div>
Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-59024353718684461662013-10-14T22:16:00.000-04:002013-10-14T22:16:00.135-04:00bluegrass in the barn<br />
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apparently I blog to process previous experience, so i'd like to habituate the practice and hopefully stay up-to-date with what's happening, when it's all happening all the time, at the intersection of here & now. Sheesh.</div>
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Blowing in before the storm that hit a nor'easter and caused a misty sog-loop, I have arrived.</div>
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I am home. Arrived. Home.</div>
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a little over a week on the farm has come and gone.</div>
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The cabin is growing into a cozy lil home, nestled on a wooded south-facing slope. It's footprint is only around 700 square feet, with about 550 interior square feet. The straw-bale walls, recycled cotton batting insulation and passive solar orientation already help the inside feel warmer, and that's with doors and windows open during the day to aid the drying process. Plus working with the cotton insulation is like playing with teddy bear guts—so soft. I can't imagine wanting to deal with fiberglass ever again.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-n9iau6bjlCPvr7e2m4uuh82q03la0lHoDpSNwgi4OCE-Dk6QEg540EKzhI-BrAXKiSazQDdrd9fcG4GnA_giB7GvQQxF3XW-o_cUeTP4E5dUAcCSNgGOPArYApLgoWIucccXnrEQCM/s1600/100_1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-n9iau6bjlCPvr7e2m4uuh82q03la0lHoDpSNwgi4OCE-Dk6QEg540EKzhI-BrAXKiSazQDdrd9fcG4GnA_giB7GvQQxF3XW-o_cUeTP4E5dUAcCSNgGOPArYApLgoWIucccXnrEQCM/s400/100_1709.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Learning the art and knack of earthen plaster plucks the strings of ancestral memories running deep in my bones. There's something about natural building, especially working with Earth, that feels right. It makes total sense when you consider that anatomically modern humans have been building in this fashion at least as far back as the Indus Valley civilization, and likely far longer on smaller, more rapidly biodegradable scales.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxatVnB0WAp7yi9dyg79HE3n_alpySgKbZUJ4k7kyGVvU9m__Vk5PO2pzWUNAk1-q8OGI_wZs8kS-q8mKOF27pPaV2EJz5YGoDugelduXytxeVS3UDvgCdvenOpw-fvFdrBP93GnveJ5U/s1600/100_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxatVnB0WAp7yi9dyg79HE3n_alpySgKbZUJ4k7kyGVvU9m__Vk5PO2pzWUNAk1-q8OGI_wZs8kS-q8mKOF27pPaV2EJz5YGoDugelduXytxeVS3UDvgCdvenOpw-fvFdrBP93GnveJ5U/s400/100_1712.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Lessons so far:</b></div>
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<li style="text-align: center;">There's no such thing as a straight line in curved space.</li>
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<li style="text-align: center;">Perfection is an Ideal, not a Reality.</li>
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<li style="text-align: center;">When in doubt, trust your hands. They usually know what they're doing when yer brain isn't distracting them.</li>
<li style="text-align: center;">Timing is everything. Find a sustainable pace and the building basically builds itself.</li>
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In Querencia on wednesdays, the strawbale and cob cottage on the farm, a meditation circle gathers for an evening of collective mindfulness. </div>
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How amazing it feels to be still. </div>
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Beth guided us on an open-awareness meditation that helped focus the scattershot nature of my quest, my goal, my desire to learn, re-skill, grow and share, my whatever'n'ever, amen. I know that at times it's hard for me to lock in and enunciate my primum movens because, although my interests are all related and interconnected, they are varied and diverse. And life on earth is short. </div>
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Like most things in life, there's a trick to it. In stillness,we can find our center and hear our heart. Don't forget to remember.</div>
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What's really wild is how all these seemingly unconnected practices ultimately seem to point the same direction. Slow down, breathe, observe without judgment or interpretation, root your action in a core of foundational ethics and interactions with the great web of life can be seamless. </div>
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We wrapped up the "work"week with a foot-stompin good time. <a href="http://www.budscollective.com/" target="_blank">Bud's Collective</a> rocked the barn at Capon Crossing Farm. Good music, good food, good people. This place has certainly captured a bit of my heart.<br />
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I'm not sure exactly where these feet are taking me, but if i can remember with each inhale that i have arrived, and with each exhale that i am home, then i'm pretty sure i'll be present for the trip.</div>
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& sometimes that's all it takes.</div>
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the good life is all around, just waiting to be noticed.</div>
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<br />Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-51476564586989929242013-10-08T07:44:00.000-04:002013-10-08T07:44:19.285-04:00the day the garden diedi woke up in a haze.<br />
recall: the bonfire raged and all that was bottled up -bottled in-- floated like ash in the updraft.<br />
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
Wake up. Stoke the flame. Carry on.</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">or</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: center;">
the reason we call now the present</div>
</span></h3>
<div class="p1">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I seem to learn lessons cyclicly & one of them is that i'm bad at moving. If it wasn't for the help of some wonderful humans i'd no doubt be mired in a pit of my own <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kipple"><span class="s1">kipple</span></a>. Thanks folks, from the bottom of my heart. Some days are spastic, others are mindful, and still others tend towards spectrumy statuses.es.es. On moving day, I was downright spastic.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycVAysKBSKc3K6dCKknDKsgKiQ_1f-R-VzEvJTTp09CoRo7w2WarPPKoOXcf_xY4R9t-5P71jZFr95cxh6IPcLPfi6GjFbERTtgJN3K1js8wmjJq5oJtqe1HXd0i8JD-bokbLGf_-2wc/s1600/100_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycVAysKBSKc3K6dCKknDKsgKiQ_1f-R-VzEvJTTp09CoRo7w2WarPPKoOXcf_xY4R9t-5P71jZFr95cxh6IPcLPfi6GjFbERTtgJN3K1js8wmjJq5oJtqe1HXd0i8JD-bokbLGf_-2wc/s320/100_1584.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">loads of nodes on some cowpeas!<br />
N-fixin bacteria root colonies!<br />
Nature in Action.action.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">action</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> There's something gut-wrenching about seeing a fluffy patch of fertile soil being raked smooth, spread throughout the grass'n'weeds.</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">But a solid crew came through to help dig up & save a load of useful plants. And every act is educational.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It's important to me to treat every place as if i were gonna live there forever. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> It's important to leave fertile footprints, even if those footprints are just an annoyingly fast-growing patch of grass in the middle of a suburban front yard.</span></div>
</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">And yes, i have a strong desire-impulse--drive to root, but as a human i might not root in like a tree. i might just root in through the base of my spine, wherever my barefeet are grounded with the earth.</span></div>
</span><br />
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Or it could be that i just need to migrate for awhile until i find the right spot, who knows? But so far a bunch of spots have sung the song of my heart and bones</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">, so I feel it would be wise to keep exploring...drink in the magic of each place...share knowledge, tips, tricks and techniques,</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">build, grow, eat & shit & breathe. I think that is a natural urge of mine, and has more to do with an explorer imprint -with being a neophile, as Robert Anton Wilson puts it- than an escapists' need to gogogo.</span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV8T5habQ5OrTklkb3R66dpFUY6UQA96-I_EB30vlwoiz0KGUkktVTRJ_3egXCAxY8j2YZ-Q2m5TYg8yegRs-e2VJDC5pJCf6ZWxVE3tB1n_ezWo2W7aOjzs4rZWoAk5Fo4a_OXcO5bQ/s1600/100_1594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOV8T5habQ5OrTklkb3R66dpFUY6UQA96-I_EB30vlwoiz0KGUkktVTRJ_3egXCAxY8j2YZ-Q2m5TYg8yegRs-e2VJDC5pJCf6ZWxVE3tB1n_ezWo2W7aOjzs4rZWoAk5Fo4a_OXcO5bQ/s320/100_1594.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chicken coop on wheels on wheels.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Thankfully, the portable coop ended up being remarkably portable. Using a borrowed truck ramp from the neighbors we wheeled it and the ladies into the back of one pickup and slid the chicken run into a second truck. The ladies seemed a lil ruffled after their 20-or-so minute excursion into the paved part of reality, but no worse for the wear.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Although i lament the loss of my garden out in the burbs, a good friend pointed out that the garden didn't so much die as sporulate. Plants found their way to new homes, to feed good friends and family, to thrive outside my narrow sphere of influence. And that is good.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
I've shucked off a fair bit of stuff'n'things'n'baggage'n'sedentary debris. There's certainly more to sort and process, but for now i've made it to Taproot: the place where I first learned to build with the earth, where I was first exposed to the works of Helen & Scott Nearing, the place that's always been welcoming, where good friends and good food meld together into a helluva good time. Everytime i've come here i've left feeling more than rejuvenated, i've felt a little more complete. And here i'll be for 3 weeks helping get the new farm intern cabin live-in-able and working on a permaculture patch design... but more on that next time.<br />Meanwhile... back in time... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF9Y96Dh1eVaZ96IS8c3cXGILloweDB3YRUoZ5uXcMYEKBsqsC4P2GY_TyZiAFcaCrf_E6SB6Ix7rKLTf-kr6fsALQkL-uekUXpH8Fwe7ikvYnpRibbmSmHuGZ6BqA-UpNWblo7SrbLs/s1600/100_1624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF9Y96Dh1eVaZ96IS8c3cXGILloweDB3YRUoZ5uXcMYEKBsqsC4P2GY_TyZiAFcaCrf_E6SB6Ix7rKLTf-kr6fsALQkL-uekUXpH8Fwe7ikvYnpRibbmSmHuGZ6BqA-UpNWblo7SrbLs/s640/100_1624.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />As I walked the house and the yard one final time, shell-shocked by the sudden lack of biodiversity and the quick erasure of the signs of a life that wasn't meant to be, I happened to spot a perfect little chicken feather, one of kodo or podo's, resting lightly against the fence. Carefully picking it up, I thought it to be a memento or a fond farewell. And as I drove away from that house for the last time, that feather on my dashboard caught the wind,<br /> that feather soared out the window<br /> and shot upwards<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
as if caught in the updraft.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
for a moment i was struck by a profound sadness</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
then I laughed</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
& laughed.</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpewU5hNwpDP8ajzV5cTh4Eyz04Vo4RBfhke_48-l1y-md8WI0VmH9H5V1l8zEXVMJS6m323r4JQIyw-fEWlF8L4WAZbkIs491VNkxy7HO9JCunATls1XEvknJTFvUAqC-ncVsYutPOJ4/s1600/100_1622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpewU5hNwpDP8ajzV5cTh4Eyz04Vo4RBfhke_48-l1y-md8WI0VmH9H5V1l8zEXVMJS6m323r4JQIyw-fEWlF8L4WAZbkIs491VNkxy7HO9JCunATls1XEvknJTFvUAqC-ncVsYutPOJ4/s320/100_1622.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-47027879128340847002013-09-20T00:40:00.000-04:002013-09-20T00:40:32.476-04:00transitions...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNaII4HWY0R_0sHg4wa8LOa00wKFadrz1hjwzGgLYadX0DX7ju8goEQbJCuU3jK1fI0zN02LHGzzsLfE03bVxihYxWNwjxj2avWLg8TliyZ-CoxoVXswaQppGvZr_ejyvNwquoBUCuwU/s1600/Img_130916144931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNaII4HWY0R_0sHg4wa8LOa00wKFadrz1hjwzGgLYadX0DX7ju8goEQbJCuU3jK1fI0zN02LHGzzsLfE03bVxihYxWNwjxj2avWLg8TliyZ-CoxoVXswaQppGvZr_ejyvNwquoBUCuwU/s1600/Img_130916144931.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fermented pepper sauce is the jam. <br />
with enough friends & garden beds, <br />
generating a glut of peppers is fun n easy <br />
(thanks ms. Allison!).<br />
this year's sauce is a blend of cayenne, <br />
red jalapeno, red serrano, habanero, and <br />
one green pepper thats either a pasio or corno di toro rosso. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All things cycle and pulse.<br />
<div class="p1">
Each year of our lives breathes in & out, slumbers & wakes, dies & is reborn.</div>
<div class="p1">
That's why my heart clings to the transition times... the spring & especially the autumn. The Fall.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I feel I owe you an explanation, o vast interwebs, as summer bleeds out and the winter winds warm up (ha!) for the onslaught of what looks to be a cold little death.</div>
<div class="p1">
The equinox approaches and, with it's coming, heralds changes not only in the weather but in the path unfolding before me.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Life, relationships and change are all interconnected & weird. Those of you who know me personally probably already know about my sticky mess of a disintegrating marriage. If you didn't then it's probably due to my tendency to wrap my problems in enigmatic words and avoid conflict. So sorry.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmqW_Yv7ZwiHwIGNBk6qTyQ2xoh2iNadN8rkHP-Z1SNwjWn8CiawmTfwytOkxDeQLCvj0oX6L6w9Dlti_n-_HUeVGq5nea7IgGTVrOGy63QZVjLgNWnnSwmWZjQlm72gWq9LzrOMiYlQ/s1600/Img_130916151645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmqW_Yv7ZwiHwIGNBk6qTyQ2xoh2iNadN8rkHP-Z1SNwjWn8CiawmTfwytOkxDeQLCvj0oX6L6w9Dlti_n-_HUeVGq5nea7IgGTVrOGy63QZVjLgNWnnSwmWZjQlm72gWq9LzrOMiYlQ/s1600/Img_130916151645.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chop off the stems.<br />
i deseeded the habaneros but nothing else<br />
cuz fermentation takes out a lot of spice apparently<br />
& deseeding a bunch of peppers<br />
takes too long.<br />
we'll see how spicy this batch is next solstice-time.<br />
weigh them suckas.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
So I left this summer to study permaculture design, fulfilling a long-time dream, with the intention of returning home and helping spread the knowledge out here, in the dreary burbs. But my homecoming has been marked primarily by emotional turmoil, inner struggles and learning how to adapt to a less-than-desirable situation.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
The 3 foundational ethics of permaculture are “Earth Care, People Care & Fair Share,” and an important aspect of the second ethic, People Care, is self-care, right? So my focus has been working on myself, figuring out how to move forward from here in a positive way...how to move on, process these often-harsh realities I helped create, deal with the defects of my personality that contributed to this shit-storm, and maintain the ability to interact from a place of compassion, forgiveness, healing & peace. No small order, that. And I stumble. And I falter. And I skin my metaphorical knees. But, shit man, I'm trying.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9g8pNeR6qUG1z_YgdXcypdaw_ZtNl9mQSZ8SBpxcm-bCno2UWC8bpJ03iiSvWMwuoeES-zvqwnJmBqTyMbKqMNbOnMSg3TDwALI5fj04r-I3bKwBX6RlunIQZn1QfoWPHDX5NJphr0mc/s1600/Img_130916152320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9g8pNeR6qUG1z_YgdXcypdaw_ZtNl9mQSZ8SBpxcm-bCno2UWC8bpJ03iiSvWMwuoeES-zvqwnJmBqTyMbKqMNbOnMSg3TDwALI5fj04r-I3bKwBX6RlunIQZn1QfoWPHDX5NJphr0mc/s1600/Img_130916152320.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">do some maths.<br />
you're gonna want a pile of salt<br />
somewhere between<br />
12 & 17% of the pepper weight.<br />
show your work.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzNKb4YFFwWOwqi9qMvYpAt9KnhnkESSKmwQzQCzHIYJ2Af-Ucj5eiLsFI64I2j8769xuWPI4LT030kRgJGp_38Yt6ia8VGNnFGtBkQCeo-xYVI1wtJC-gNe2U7qxueviJ8pVhjp11OA4/s1600/Img_130916152604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzNKb4YFFwWOwqi9qMvYpAt9KnhnkESSKmwQzQCzHIYJ2Af-Ucj5eiLsFI64I2j8769xuWPI4LT030kRgJGp_38Yt6ia8VGNnFGtBkQCeo-xYVI1wtJC-gNe2U7qxueviJ8pVhjp11OA4/s1600/Img_130916152604.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>All this has led me to an intense reevaluation of my goals and to an open acceptance of diverging paths. I can't stay where I am. I love my yard & gardens. I love my neighbors. I love the friends i've made here. But this is not <i>my</i> place. Maybe it's weakness, but I can't stay in this area. Not now. And i'm okay with admitting that weakness while simultaneously understanding that the ultimate weakness would be to let the funk & depression lull me into complacency... to allow myself to sleepwalk through this life, going to work, going to the saloon, going home, going to bed boxed in by walls insulated with emotional baggage, dragging myself out of bed to do it all over again, day after day, month after month, year after year, until i'm just another husk of a human, disspirited and broken. <br />
<br />
nah. that ain't the way.<br />
<br />
So...sitting here like Linus over the keyboard,<br />
<div class="p1">
no idea where “my” place might be,</div>
<div class="p1">
contemplating Right Livelihood,</div>
<div class="p1">
looking through a lens that encourages us</div>
<div class="p1">
to see that the problem is the solution...</div>
<div class="p1">
I know that I must make the most of</div>
<div class="p1">
an unfettered situation.</div>
<div class="p2">
::(knowledge can creep through a variety of media)::</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It's time to strap on them journeyman boots</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
& get down with OPP:</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: center;">
other people's permaculture.</div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4eAXWHKneuwI7vjJXb7DrvDfreBNdN0wfCgqphXDBvbNiNDjxbV-KYmri-qJj-AZKCJs9fkFnE3tL5_8NLjEYh-RoOW3R5667mt5PGyHuyQEh4oakmDSS0v0OKslh37VYebqvOLik3w/s1600/Img_130916155704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4eAXWHKneuwI7vjJXb7DrvDfreBNdN0wfCgqphXDBvbNiNDjxbV-KYmri-qJj-AZKCJs9fkFnE3tL5_8NLjEYh-RoOW3R5667mt5PGyHuyQEh4oakmDSS0v0OKslh37VYebqvOLik3w/s1600/Img_130916155704.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">process it up, chopping salt & peppers all together.<br />
use a food processor while energy's still cheapish.<br />
mix all the batches together<br />
to ensure more uniform salt distribution</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
There's a path glowing in the starlight</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
and it leads to adventures...</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
where, with open eyes & hearts,</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
lessons of the good life abound</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
& creativity blossoms</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
to turn problem-solving</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
into solution-sharing...</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
if only we believe.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
Yes.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
&</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
Please.</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
&</div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<div style="text-align: right;">
Thank you.</div>
</div>
<div class="p2">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlk66qMmASCmvnx_TR2F27bMxb77tjJLOox8gS8UMfUKuWnpFkaHVih4SGHWkGM0qKPGSdnSEgj-KWu4jyuKC1qw9QX46fyCX3Mnp0j6bNKnPWWNtdtAnr7xNnz_i6uLzEmdHH_Y-Od8/s1600/Img_130916160952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlk66qMmASCmvnx_TR2F27bMxb77tjJLOox8gS8UMfUKuWnpFkaHVih4SGHWkGM0qKPGSdnSEgj-KWu4jyuKC1qw9QX46fyCX3Mnp0j6bNKnPWWNtdtAnr7xNnz_i6uLzEmdHH_Y-Od8/s1600/Img_130916160952.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pack that mash into yer fermentin vessel.<br />
the goal is to remove all the airpockets<br />
so's to facilitate the anaerobic lactic process,<br />
but who's perfect?</td></tr>
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backyard beddie's is going walkabout in a couple weeks, dropping off a garden or two on the way to Taproot Farm...more on that later. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
If you signed up for an indiegogo fall plant package, there's arugula & chard growing now, to be planted in the fall rains in the next few weeks, some comfrey cuttings, topsetting multiplier onions, some baby strawberries and some homegrown seeds in the mix, very well suited to the local climate, all comin atcha next week. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kind of adapting an old technique to suit my needs,<br />
i'm using a layer of olive oil to keep oxygen out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
until then i'll be shedding the detritus i tend to accumulate: art, plants, nursery pots, some furniture, non-essential kitchenwares, kipple & the like.<br />
<br />
if you live close by, this sunday is the equinox and there'll be a good karma giveaway at the house. come by and pick up a piece of art and a treasure. stay till dark-thirty for a ceremonial burn, which in my world means lighting a fire and staring into it and dropping sentimental combustibles into it and letting go. bring stuff to burn.<br />
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it's always hard to say good-bye,</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsye5QbbjK3L5ExyE0lzER-wYUBSFK5_-x74uphyVAXIpAsv8JdN4EanjWpqpX5hRKlmUfSpIz1aogYvUZ_SIi0M8eZ6z3N4Lq1zwJ6sjr_o_xa50U-0CmqT9APkVFxgbU_1RtxDM_wrI/s1600/Img_130916161708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsye5QbbjK3L5ExyE0lzER-wYUBSFK5_-x74uphyVAXIpAsv8JdN4EanjWpqpX5hRKlmUfSpIz1aogYvUZ_SIi0M8eZ6z3N4Lq1zwJ6sjr_o_xa50U-0CmqT9APkVFxgbU_1RtxDM_wrI/s1600/Img_130916161708.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">coffee filters are classy<br />
and keep out dust & other uninvited guests.<br />
put the mash someplace out of direct sun<br />
with a relatively stable temperature.<br />
wait a while.<br />
i usually sneak a taste after a month or so<br />
three months is better<br />
haven't had the patience to try 6mos yet.<br />
but who knows?<br />
this could be my year. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
to friends & family,<br />
<br />
to a kitty,<br />
<br />
to a lil flock of hens that saved my sanity,<br />
<br />
to remarkably fertile garden beds that will most likely turn back to lawn,<br />
<br />
to a life that surely exists now in some parallel dimension,<br />
<br />
to all, to all,<br />
<br />
<br />
but Brother David taught me long ago that it ain't as hard to say, "See ya next time."<br />
<br />
<br />
i think i'll be saying that a lot<br />
<br />
learning to let go.</div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-88522758371812053982013-08-20T13:05:00.000-04:002013-08-20T13:14:04.295-04:00decompression & reintegration<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
waking up from a nap that lasted a solid 15 hours.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
a smoke & a coffee.</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
sounds of the city supplanting birdsong & the rustling breeze.</div>
</h3>
<h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
glimpses of reality</div>
</h2>
<div>
<div>
it's been a week of slippery days since we left Cayuta Sun, the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, the beauty of the swamp and the white pines, new family & friends, shooting stars, camp coffee & stretch breaks...</div>
<div>
and already i want to go back. so let me take you back with me.</div>
<div>
allow this semi-domesticated monkey to reminisce awhile</div>
<div>
& ease my weary way back into a world</div>
<div>
that consistently forgets the simple joy of being.</div>
</div>
<h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
bottled swamp magic</div>
</h3>
<div>
bear with me as i dive into the murky waters of memory in hopes of re-entering society with my heart full of hope, my mind full of heart, and my blood full of swamp muck;</div>
<div>
& beware that the memory of this mind operates, as does much in this world, in discordant pulses.</div>
<div>
so if it's a chronological narrative yer after, create the connections in your mind based on your own imagination & experience, as i have in my own.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
i remember late nights starting at dark-thirty and ending around a hundred o'clock...</div>
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where the time of day was only as significant as how many hands of light we had left...</div>
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and a horn would blow to warn that the time to collectively gather was at hand....</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
a community formed beneath the protruding lower extremities of the white pines which would, depending on the relative location of the water table and humidity, droop or engorge with water and stand erect at a jaunty eye-poking angle. </div>
<div>
i remember staring at the roof of the cocoon of a tent, feeling all the indicators of human habitation: the crunching of forest detritus, the murmur of conversation, rhythmic snoring strategically placed throughout the trees, the alien sounds of zippers thoroughly zipped.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
the experience of outdoor living taps a primal aspect of the bipedal primate mind. it's as if we recall the mores and customs ground deep within our bones by countless generations of our migratory ancestors. masks tend to drop quickly, fomenting genuine experiences. it seems almost ridiculous how fast a self-selected group in relative isolation could bond, but bond we did. with a quickness.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
the purple-footed tarp people (love that tribe) call it 'exponential friend growth.'</div>
<div>
"Turns out we're all connected......which is weird." -senor sass</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
this rapid micro-community development was possible in no small part due to the existence of a mycelial network of talented, capable folks who are developing a community of their own up there in the Finger Lakes. we were all privileged to stumble into it. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The days were packed to bustling with intensive information transference and tactile activities.</div>
<div>
Always moving from patterns to details the curriculum led us through a history of life to the present and begged the question: "What is life here to do? And what is our role in it?"; helped us further develop the foundational ethics required of conscious beings bent on the restoration, regeneration and sustenance of life on earth; outlined the core principles of permaculture, or the "thinking tools that when used together allow us to redesign our landscapes and communities in a world with fewer resources"; and brought us to interconnected specificity, tackling topics from whole systems design, (community) ecology, reading the landscape, natural patterns, site assessment, liberation ecology, economics, soil, compost, water & landform, climate & change, appropriate technology, waste, permie plants, polycultures & guilds, design strategies, (agro)forestry, mushrooms, animals, renewable energy, and eventually, intentionally or not, to social permaculture & small group dynamics.</div>
<div>
sheesh. i'll upload some notes if i don't abandon my robots.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
the mornings began with a member of the group sharing something: a stretch, a song, a chant, a breath, a poem, a meditation, a moment. and each morning was precious...each pulsed with connections...and i let go of many things...and i finally hugged my uncle jonny and let him slip back into the web of life...and i gathered energy...and i saw beauty in the world...and i laughed at the joke of reality...and it was like drinking life through a straw everyday. and hell's bells that smoothie was pure.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
how many new sets of eyes were collected there!</div>
<div>
the owl eyes that unfocus to catch motion and take in the whole scene<br />
the green eyes capable of discerning the forest from the trees...of differentiating the </div>
<div>
herbaceous layer of the land<br />
the blue eyes that can see the sheets of water sloughing over land and the vapor in the skies<br />
the fung-eyes that notice networks of life below the duff</div>
<div>
the dark eyes that find paths glowing in the starlight.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
everyone should feel gooey swamp mud squishing through their toes</div>
<div>
& the smoothness of a beaver's toothmarks</div>
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& the exhilaration of running barefoot through the trees,</div>
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& scratching a hog till it squeals in pleasure</div>
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while, feeling guilty about not feeling guilty, you lick your chops.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
with televisions abandoned, we found more entertainment in the pig channel, the sunset channel, the campfire channel, the same-bat-time-same-bat-channel channel, and the shooting star & satellite shows on the nightsky channel. Commercial-free, we could see that the only thing this media wanted us to buy was into life: to look & see & say, "yes" & "please" & "thank you."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
this media taught that the planet will provide food & fuel & all things we need to build homes & communities & beneficial interactions between we humans and the web of life...</div>
<div>
& reinforced that "we are nature, working." (-penny livingston) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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dreams were shared and tended to grow intricately patterned. selves were exposed & accepted.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
o ye gawrds! the walls of stone! glacially-gorged and worn smooth by water for millenia... steep paths held erect by the sheer will of the trees, leading to secret glens & pools below the falls... and standing in the roaring rush of water shooting down a narrow channel & feeling all the bullshit and baggage sloughing off yer spirit to be diluted and worn to infinitesimal grains downstream.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
i remember the fire-red salamanders and i recall a certain undine bathing in a stone pool.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
i'm getting lost now. i think i could spend a lifetime reliving the experiences i was fortunate enough to have gathered this summer. but now it's almost lunchtime, and, in the interest of making a long story slightly less long, i'll try to wrap this thing up and savor it later.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Time seemed to stretch out during the first week of the course. Each minute contained an hour's worth of experience. Each sliver of the crashing moon going dark marked another week's worth of life seamlessly stuffed into a day.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Then as we entered the Practicum and the second week, cause & effect kicked in. Time is a slingshot, apparently, so if you stretch it, it'll shoot. with a quickness. </div>
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but you're still living the same amount whether time is moving fast or slow. it just takes a little longer for everything to sink in when time flies fast&true.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We had 3 days to clear up the site we had spent 2 weeks preparing and we finished too fast. A day and a half was all it took before we were packing up our moldy pillows, soggy shoes, loose gear & memories.</div>
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howling a fond farewell, Kevin&Kyle&I piled into kyle's pickup while the breath of the trees commingled with the clouds & unleashed an o-so-appropriate torrent. </div>
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we began our reintegration into the paved part of reality slowly, in fits & starts. sleeping under the stars, moseying on down the Susquehanna, connecting with friends & fellow stewards, staring into fires, sharing food, savoring the water from each place...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
and as we've all drifted back homeward, we've passed into the embrace of families...who cushion our landing. rest assured: we'll ripple...we'll take the understanding we've found with us back into the pool of society... we'll plant seeds and continue collecting and sharing knowledge, food, medicine, water & life.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
because we must.</div>
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because life begets life.</div>
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because we are here, now,</div>
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surrounded by insurmountable opportunities,</div>
<div>
(because we are human)</div>
<div>
we will begin climbing</div>
<div>
by observing, interacting with</div>
<div>
& optimizing natural cycles.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
functional interactions will multiply</div>
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and that shit will creep. <br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
yes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
please.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
thank you.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05418963002680934164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-21161738820832483042013-07-23T20:24:00.000-04:002013-07-23T20:24:05.125-04:00Coarse Woody Debris<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<h2>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<i>walking the unmowed path</i></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></i></div>
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</div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">::(begin transmission):::</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">composing this post, swinging in a gentle forest breeze, nestled in my hammock snug between the white pines, I struggle to condense and organize my thoughts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">This trip started a lil less than 2 weeks ago, yet it feels as though a warped bubble of spacetime has surrounded me. Time moves slower here. Like when we were young.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">The glens, hollows & swamps up here near the Finger Lakes resonate with something deep within my bones. These are, after all, the stomping grounds of my Cree forebears, but there's more to it than that. There's a sense of community budding all around... of neighbors helping neighbors... of progressive thought processes... of regenerative stewardship of the land we rely on to sustain us. And it is invigorating.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">Our first week of the work-trade kept us busybusybusy. As a group we've inoculated shitake mushroom logs, roofed a teacher-space, cleaned and patched the yurt, helped out with animal and garden chores, cleaned out the composting outhouse, dug a french drain around the Octagon (our outdoor classroom), rigged up the outdoor kitchen, built scrapwood trash/recycling receptacles, repainted signs, engineered ventilation for the top of the yurt, cooked, ate, drank & laughed together.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">The camp is oddly quiet now,with half the group still off somewhere recuperating from the Grassroots Music Festival, but tomorrow morning we'll be bustling again. The Permaculture Design Certification Course starts next saturday and we have a lot to do before the other 26 students start showing up friday afternoon...</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">Here's one of the best bits, though: the course hasn't even started but the learning process is already in full swing. Each of us offers unique insights and information and we've collected in this shared space off the swamp road. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">We make. We sweat. We share. We live.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">And the coyotes hoot and howl like drunken hooligans in the night.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">And the ancient grandparents of the white pines in these woods keep silent vigil over the camp.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">And the stinging nettles nourish us.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">And raspberries have never tasted so sweet.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">“All true wealth derives from biological processes.”</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">:::(end transmission)::</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
</h2>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05418963002680934164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-13996997153864129172013-06-14T01:49:00.000-04:002013-06-14T01:49:38.924-04:00an ionised nocturne.the homestead weathered the quick'n'dirty storm that just rolled across most of the country no worse for the wear.<br />
came home to find the chicks snuggled safely in their coop and a smattering of natural debris scattered amidst the prolific detritus of multiple projects in various states of disrepair. all is chaos in the wake of a shua-storm.<br />
<br />
things happen so fast these days. a year is only 1 / 31st of the time i've been gravity-glued to this living rock; a week 1/1612th; a day one / eleven-thousand-three-hundred-twenty second...th....counting 7 leap years...no wonder times a-flyin.<br />
<br />
big changes are blowin in with the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/544866/silver-iodide" target="_blank">silver iodide</a>-laden superstorms. it's less than a month now...barely 1/1612th of my perception-filter (read: <span style="font-size: x-small;">TIME</span>)...and i'll be on my way to the <a href="http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org/" target="_blank">Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute</a> for their 11th Permaculture Design Certificate Course...<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
my longshot application yielded a spot in their Work-Trade program...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
my mind races ahead of itself these days,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
existing in a magic fairyland of permaculture, building&creating, honest labor, good folk & good food ...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
exactly as my days should be structured...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
but first, a trip north with my brother, through durham and it's reportedly vibrant urban ag movement; capon bridge, WV to visit folks i'm blessed to've met at <a href="http://taprootfarm.info/" target="_blank">Taproot</a>; and on to Ithica to check out the <a href="http://veteranssanctuary.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Veteran's Sanctuary</a> before checking in and making camp for the 9 day pre-course preparations, 2 wk course, & camp clean-up... </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
so there's the pitch. you're welcome. to the right is a link to my <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/send-shua-to-the-finger-lakes-permaculture-institute" target="_blank">indiegogo campaign</a>. i'm trying out this crowdfunding doo-dad. i earn so little money you would probably pity me, but i assure you, i eat like a king...an old-timey third-world country kind of king (that cooks), but a king nonetheless....!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
i did a little math though, and if 293 people on the planet, with the interwebs, could slip me a 5-spot, before June 28th, i could afford the round-trip, the tuition, and have some funds to help out with the rent when i return from an income-free month&a-halfish.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
think about that: 293 people we know out of at least a couple billion possible humans, doesn't seem too difficult...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
imagine if every person online with an interest in spreading permaculture, sustainable living, community-sufficiency or yard farming in its many incarnations contributed $5!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
i'd be a millionaire!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
i'd buy up your mineral rights & give em back to you in perpetuity just to snub the mother-frakkers!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
seriously though, can you help me get the word out?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
click the link & share it with your peoples.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
all the little buttons are there.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
they make it easy.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
let's make life a little easier...</div>
Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-15417093109228993012013-06-04T00:24:00.000-04:002013-06-04T00:28:58.436-04:00perturbance in paradise<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgok1JeAITpfEkdD0l5UKQWsKUTUknxAl_KV2SGZeYuqq-0o8ntlHELp7xkMzEjtwRCQFLx7p-EU1L-6rV5V_T2-TXjyDdYXcJZxsJ3cy8k9J1ysulD5emdCPmlFvgjz-YJM8TWihJkDpk/s1600/100_1458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgok1JeAITpfEkdD0l5UKQWsKUTUknxAl_KV2SGZeYuqq-0o8ntlHELp7xkMzEjtwRCQFLx7p-EU1L-6rV5V_T2-TXjyDdYXcJZxsJ3cy8k9J1ysulD5emdCPmlFvgjz-YJM8TWihJkDpk/s320/100_1458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">when it looks like it's been blasted with a shotgun...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
feast & famine</h2>
<div>
my posts have become increasingly cerebral & cryptic, i fear. that's generally how i cope with hard life-stuff...by flipping that weird mystic-switch that enables me to observe my participation in reality while remaining emotionally detached. sheesh.</div>
<div>
recognizing that, i tend to actually deal with the big-picture problems best by dealing with small, practical tasks. </div>
<div>
& dealing with bugs:the good, the bad, the beautiful, is one of those recurring tasks this time of year.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ov4NIX7I0uMx_JuzHuMcQIjlFhBBB3AvswmPbvf83sO3lKh8EYYGzjvZp50439o4tg_NSZUCq7DdIe7gpxJk-Z0iiRJmpqQb_1CG4JK0u1_cOPLEDf3R9KifzFo_rincujp1FGX3zxU/s1600/flea+beetles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Ov4NIX7I0uMx_JuzHuMcQIjlFhBBB3AvswmPbvf83sO3lKh8EYYGzjvZp50439o4tg_NSZUCq7DdIe7gpxJk-Z0iiRJmpqQb_1CG4JK0u1_cOPLEDf3R9KifzFo_rincujp1FGX3zxU/s640/flea+beetles.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look for flea beetles. they hop like fleas. and are small like fleas.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
i steer clear of the term 'pest control' for the same basic reasons whatwhy the term "systems of control" bothers me: i'm a strange human with odd beliefs....but i suppose we could just call that a person.<br />
the goal is for us to graduate from Pest Control to Integrated Pest Management and eventually to Stewards of Balanced Ecosystems Capable of Self-Regulation...<br />
That said, you'll never catch me sprinklin 7dust or even Bt in my garden. Homemade natural products are more my style: they take a lil time but they cost less & tend to smell much better.<br />
I need to slow the flea beetles down so they don't decimate my eggplants before the plants are big enough to handle them or predators find the feast.<br />
Creating Pest-Deterring Concoctions, like Potions, is a subtle science and an exact art, and all you need are a few basic ingredients:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYn33OUXknbMx8w9CtjhyaYKdyTC1sCAbKmJAlRknPQeWA_Nm1YCMTn9RPpCCqUe6Xu7WiLe9FapBBAJyCO3PtoHGhHXmaoINI0-4LlP4eSAJcdK_pFb_327jRD4XDcW5TIsFEAXy9Jbw/s1600/100_1455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYn33OUXknbMx8w9CtjhyaYKdyTC1sCAbKmJAlRknPQeWA_Nm1YCMTn9RPpCCqUe6Xu7WiLe9FapBBAJyCO3PtoHGhHXmaoINI0-4LlP4eSAJcdK_pFb_327jRD4XDcW5TIsFEAXy9Jbw/s320/100_1455.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>hot peppers: i save pepper seeds&scraps in a big freezer bag as i process them through the summer&fall so i have a solid stash for spring. you could probably use dried peppers in a pinch.</li>
<li>garlic: is magic</li>
<li>liquid castile soap: i like peppermint from the All-One-or-None! man's kids</li>
<li>water: also magic</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcEpcFlU1edRuc_xhfaZS3Vid05VKJeX-MBwuQZ8KKvT2JLDoCYpdrqyU5KU1HnZ_1MlZtI44yp-Wpp12uREZb_Um8aJ3wWAnmDwKrpXEfUaM12op1hdhnjxJEwoxoZ8Z9DMYDDY1yO4/s1600/100_1456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcEpcFlU1edRuc_xhfaZS3Vid05VKJeX-MBwuQZ8KKvT2JLDoCYpdrqyU5KU1HnZ_1MlZtI44yp-Wpp12uREZb_Um8aJ3wWAnmDwKrpXEfUaM12op1hdhnjxJEwoxoZ8Z9DMYDDY1yO4/s200/100_1456.JPG" width="200" /></a>All you do is make a "tea" out of the peppers and garlic. You can steep it in a bucket of rainwater for a day or two or do it on the stove in a couple hours (about 30mins of work over the course of a couple hours).</div>
<div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DOimMSdyIK_w9FeZt_cx4P6wtOrSR4e5j9TIsSgh2aDm_O51R8nlcea75zg-vBj9M6oojaK6qVC3Fe3dCUyPj0xTXp64PaE9BL476pSpUEMwEbZx7UgyPBkIm09LcT2vPqJtxbKlVBM/s1600/100_1457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DOimMSdyIK_w9FeZt_cx4P6wtOrSR4e5j9TIsSgh2aDm_O51R8nlcea75zg-vBj9M6oojaK6qVC3Fe3dCUyPj0xTXp64PaE9BL476pSpUEMwEbZx7UgyPBkIm09LcT2vPqJtxbKlVBM/s200/100_1457.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
I have a 1/2 gallon sprayer so I started by putting 2qts of water in a pot and turning on the heat. You can make your batch to fill your sprayer or make extra &store it in the fridge, you'll need enough for at least a coupla days.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then chop, smash, slice, chew up & spit out or otherwise release the essential oils of the garlic (small bulb for a half gallon, big bulb for a full gallon; tops & roots if ya got em) & drop it in the water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IVzyx5zBpVhY2EHBF6h64XUYRW05UhK4YaCxjwzTvMFpfEiyQP6TbnIlvcqHUdGtXWvRza6Q1jHdKBOFKLatxsc8I_kqzamTbzi6BPWFPfGbtwUfgRqRJMxmR959Zam5e8KDth3Kqtg/s1600/100_1461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IVzyx5zBpVhY2EHBF6h64XUYRW05UhK4YaCxjwzTvMFpfEiyQP6TbnIlvcqHUdGtXWvRza6Q1jHdKBOFKLatxsc8I_kqzamTbzi6BPWFPfGbtwUfgRqRJMxmR959Zam5e8KDth3Kqtg/s200/100_1461.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Eyeball or measure the spicy peppers. You're shooting for about 1-2 cups per gallon of water. Drop em in the water. Invoke something, say abracadabra, pray, meditate or medicate as the water begins to simmer.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjyiUa3HnekFZXMGOOjx0ZUDaFu-tgfIBe70C-yOisI0YCP-AcFcmkBk1_cSalJ8eKOv1Bf8uW57_Tu1ufuBS7TzZ8seZnClzuclGXGlAGXZmMtbnqAV8bNV_oUDttm3k9rfr0DI8q1s/s1600/100_1462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjyiUa3HnekFZXMGOOjx0ZUDaFu-tgfIBe70C-yOisI0YCP-AcFcmkBk1_cSalJ8eKOv1Bf8uW57_Tu1ufuBS7TzZ8seZnClzuclGXGlAGXZmMtbnqAV8bNV_oUDttm3k9rfr0DI8q1s/s200/100_1462.JPG" width="200" /></a>i took off the lid for the photo, but seriously kids, put a lid on a pot when you're trying to get liquid hot, it's way faster and uses less fuel. thanks. stepping off the soapbox. boil it for about 10 minutes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
now shut off the heat, cover the pot, and let it steep for another couple hours. you can pretend you're soaking beans, lay in a hammock, go get your feet dirty or otherwise occupy yourself as the concoction gets spicier.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEino3OlATXiQ2mCsgyRJxN_uLLDOZOtGcyXtXXVbO4uBXNEqCMnJeoQPKPP40NwV0qcrurapH5eoJGmshwgcvBmXocWgdhgxuozoFYAuw7JDpsAg0Jo5x92iu5w5eyTRaeYPoq9qAmLJP4/s1600/100_1468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEino3OlATXiQ2mCsgyRJxN_uLLDOZOtGcyXtXXVbO4uBXNEqCMnJeoQPKPP40NwV0qcrurapH5eoJGmshwgcvBmXocWgdhgxuozoFYAuw7JDpsAg0Jo5x92iu5w5eyTRaeYPoq9qAmLJP4/s200/100_1468.JPG" width="150" /></a>a point comes in the steeping/cooling off period when i inevitably want to taste it. so i do & i recommend it. i probably wouldn't take a shot of the stuff unless i was coming down with something, but i like to dip a finger in and touch the tip of my tongue a few times. when my tongue tingles in a fashion that i imagine would be torturous to a tiny creature, i know i'm ready for the next step.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
strain the spicy liquid & go toss the solids in the compost, your worms won't like it and neither will your chickens...you might be able to train a dog to fear you if you're evil, i s'pose. i recommend compost.</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTxDGdVEE__5vP7bheQGq9Lb6VLTg5DFBSbMvH1RF5BRgOREqbUavwYGXfRuxyHELEs3PFWIDDg3MI8TcelOB_3Y8eSfg5K1iWnQxQPZBVX7MoGIU7anM__zovKKqwKmowHF4Js2JtyM/s1600/100_1469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTxDGdVEE__5vP7bheQGq9Lb6VLTg5DFBSbMvH1RF5BRgOREqbUavwYGXfRuxyHELEs3PFWIDDg3MI8TcelOB_3Y8eSfg5K1iWnQxQPZBVX7MoGIU7anM__zovKKqwKmowHF4Js2JtyM/s200/100_1469.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div>
now we're ready for our decoction to become a concoction. add your castile soap ::(<span style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;">sidenote:</span> i like the bronner's cuz i keep it around for all kinds of stuff, other oil-based soaps would most likely work just as well, e.g., horticultural oil or even murphy's oil soap in case of desperation)::</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The general rule is to add 1-2Tbsp per gallon of water.</div>
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<div>
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<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17UUvnlL6JzXwRhBQZqYQtFMq4tn7j5rqwsbVHmSXZiOmJTHnTfY0RTbG6avF01JXsUgxc-AxAPQ3x6T_gEk9y4eybYbU2DPG44IFQS6-cTIYJaxsm-FiAXxWeHWNRYEXWwIJHz3yPfg/s1600/100_1475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17UUvnlL6JzXwRhBQZqYQtFMq4tn7j5rqwsbVHmSXZiOmJTHnTfY0RTbG6avF01JXsUgxc-AxAPQ3x6T_gEk9y4eybYbU2DPG44IFQS6-cTIYJaxsm-FiAXxWeHWNRYEXWwIJHz3yPfg/s320/100_1475.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
Give it a stir & presto-chango! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CkVVrx-KvdePSTHzcXrBc01Bb-U3q9UKz9OH5DOOsQ2oWv8DWtmpSroWzcFZXhcN2_USoorLSSQhIM_H4BKAbSkRxBeBg86o9deEwLsTSXFDFBMscvlXY9xcme7ulb5nXqbas4qMBbw/s1600/100_1476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CkVVrx-KvdePSTHzcXrBc01Bb-U3q9UKz9OH5DOOsQ2oWv8DWtmpSroWzcFZXhcN2_USoorLSSQhIM_H4BKAbSkRxBeBg86o9deEwLsTSXFDFBMscvlXY9xcme7ulb5nXqbas4qMBbw/s200/100_1476.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div>
If you're particularly sensitive to the spicy substance <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin" target="_blank">Capsaicin</a> you might want to put on some gloves now.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fashion a funnel & fill up your sprayer. Head outside armed to the teeth with your pepper spray & start misting them lil buggers! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At this point i pretend i'm in an unpublished prequel to Ender's Game as i rain burning oils onto the world of the buggers. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdtCSW6sFQLWHM2iwadcswp5BlAbWHC_v3w5bVfYpCeTVEemrRs_p7GNTYBNy63Ni6RqW4_kjnAnF2JHs-FQnVU74xisHHA97ZnVntDvGBavM4Es4r8Z8HLTgnUiNHkma6cdYZ4hdtpE/s1600/100_1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdtCSW6sFQLWHM2iwadcswp5BlAbWHC_v3w5bVfYpCeTVEemrRs_p7GNTYBNy63Ni6RqW4_kjnAnF2JHs-FQnVU74xisHHA97ZnVntDvGBavM4Es4r8Z8HLTgnUiNHkma6cdYZ4hdtpE/s320/100_1477.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
make sure you hit the underside of the leaves too.<br />
<br />
watch them buggers drop. even slugs wilt from the stem. a thousand tiny voices scream every moment...all life is suffering.<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
necessary&beautiful.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
quickly cultivate shallowly around the plants before &/or after you spray to expose the eggs and larva that the mature beetles drop into the soil below their favorite foods. keep spraying until they move on, their life cycle is disrupted for the season, or a predator population emerges... and let the most resilient survive to feast another day...<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
to feed a mouth other than ours.</h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-87364674869772382092013-05-06T00:03:00.000-04:002013-05-06T00:03:50.937-04:00zero grow thirty.last night at the behest of <a href="http://www.bfleischmann.com/">b. fleischmann</a>'s sendestrabe i was visited by a strange dream:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
nighttime porching, just chilling in my chair with company, eyes forward,</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
and an infrequently recurring character whom i call the dream director, a slight long-haired egyptian fellow (i presume), appears with an egg on the porch. wielding the egg as a wand, his eyes compel me to pay close attention & the egg glows&shudders.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
it's hatching now. reds crackling into orange&yellow hues and a tiny ball of flesh emerges, glowing too. she darts flying to bounce around the space of the porch as if we were surrounded by a twilit force field only to land by the door transforming into a 3-4 year old blonde-haired little girl asking "how did i get here, da?"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
to which i reply chuckling, "why, i've known you since you were just a little chick!"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
then the dream director leans in close to murmur mysterious things about transitive states as i am waking up.</blockquote>
<br />
sometimes life throws curveballs, or the house stacks the deck, or our karma runs deeeeeep, or whatever.<br />
just one more way that gardening mimics life, or further evidence that nothing in the universe is <br />
connected. ha.<br />
<br />
the garden and life teach patience many ways & one of those is the proclivity towards failure. sometimes experiments don't work. but there is no waste in nature so there is no failure in our future:<br />
<br />
only opportunities for learning. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
time is room to make mistakes. </div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
time is room to become better.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
so what can the gardener do?<br />
<ul>
<li>plan for loss: attrition occurs even in balanced ecosystems</li>
<li>recognize each unsuccessful experiment as an impetus to growth, adapation & evolution</li>
<li>never stop trying... in fact, try harder: increasing the amount of attempts can only enhance the eventual amount of optimal outcomes</li>
</ul>
the weather here has been behaving as if climate change was a theory, not a hypothesis, and local weather patterns were influenced by shifting patterns of global climate...or further evidence that nothing in the universe is connected. ha. <div>
</div>
<div>
how about out where you are?<div>
</div>
<div>
as i sit in the midst of what i hope to be the last cold storm front of the season, i'm beginning to see the wisdom in falling far behind this year. with temperatures still dropping into the 40s at night, i'm suddenly proud of myself for only planting out a dozen or so tomatoes in the gardens that i frequent. i'm sure as shit glad i haven't planted peppers or eggplants.<ul>
</ul>
<div>
but the southerly winds of change are blowing in, and zero grow thirty is fast approaching... </div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05418963002680934164noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-28196862788525819142013-03-25T12:57:00.000-04:002013-03-25T12:57:22.212-04:00Confessions of a Pizza Cook<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
My Garden is Bolting</h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
lady kaos & her disciples come home to roost.</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
ok interwebs, here it is:</div>
<div>
what happens when you are over a transitive verb?</div>
<div>
a <b>whelm </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(hwelm, welm), <i>v.t.</i> <b>1. </b>to submerge; engulf. <b>2.</b> to overcome utterly; overwhelm: </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">whelmed by misfortune.</span>, </i>if you were.</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
are you like me? </div>
<div>
do you shut down entirely?.</div>
<div>
how do each of us deal with the confluence of our individual realities?</div>
<div>
how do we adapt&grow within confining stictures?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
there's a story that i wish to tell & it has to do with lessons learned...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
with mysteries of the present.....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and the future of the Shua & all his Industries,<span style="font-size: xx-small;">ICC</span>*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Consciousness is a whiffletree, & we're all at bat.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>BEGIN: if April Showers bring May Flowers, do March Showers bring February Flowers? OR The Presence of the Present. OR The "M" is for Motivation</b></span><b style="font-size: x-small;">:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3JCIcJYNjffJWT-ERkSs1WxzxnTlRwQ7AC_YThk-X9_fPwThRatTHNHWFSP3JcyAWu02Cg1W6sJOGh-JVTIhw_Y9mn9tiTCC1Au3_oo0BvS5-3qgosi5AraEpKoeQ6AVvSiRe2KFWiU/s1600/100_1321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3JCIcJYNjffJWT-ERkSs1WxzxnTlRwQ7AC_YThk-X9_fPwThRatTHNHWFSP3JcyAWu02Cg1W6sJOGh-JVTIhw_Y9mn9tiTCC1Au3_oo0BvS5-3qgosi5AraEpKoeQ6AVvSiRe2KFWiU/s320/100_1321.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experimental Propagation requires 3 Ingredients:<br /><ol>
<li>mushrooms with mycelial "stems"</li>
<li>cardboard</li>
<li>pasteurizing water (about 170degrees F for 1hr)</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gelJOtKmRaS7l2ZM5qgFnX3tplNoUQwm3tKSE3OP8neOsoe-YrPBkZuA3Uar39cFXsYlsyqeCO_SdM4-AbmyE4-bpDo_j9HqgrYl3sagVAVuAm4wsSGSUqzEFZoFgDEoLU4n9JXGwDI/s1600/100_1323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gelJOtKmRaS7l2ZM5qgFnX3tplNoUQwm3tKSE3OP8neOsoe-YrPBkZuA3Uar39cFXsYlsyqeCO_SdM4-AbmyE4-bpDo_j9HqgrYl3sagVAVuAm4wsSGSUqzEFZoFgDEoLU4n9JXGwDI/s320/100_1323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Cardboard Pasteurizes:<br /><ol>
<li>separate layers</li>
<li>slice mycelial mass from the part yer gonna eat</li>
<li>place thin slices between cardboard layers</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QWQPQ15anxhBUt9ua0gFM-Y8AIPRx39JL66Q-_CFJTRcExYMtw7GZo9jW07FxGtf2mIoLmSqO5CwDasmLNNJF_1GspOjjPwEBB3CrzcVEJRY8_XNLSHr125vZkQaDM36cPl45AWtJdc/s1600/100_1325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QWQPQ15anxhBUt9ua0gFM-Y8AIPRx39JL66Q-_CFJTRcExYMtw7GZo9jW07FxGtf2mIoLmSqO5CwDasmLNNJF_1GspOjjPwEBB3CrzcVEJRY8_XNLSHr125vZkQaDM36cPl45AWtJdc/s320/100_1325.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><ol>
<li>roll into a burrito</li>
<li>place in an airy ziploc bag, like this old green bean freezer bag.</li>
<li>wait. watch, aerate every once in awhile.</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
sometimes life appears as a cyclical, vacillating series of funks.... of ups & downs, strikes & gutters, Dude. & i'm sure it is.<br />
it is.<br />
but how can we wake up every moment?<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe from the love of family....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe from the love of plants.....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe from the love animals......</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe from the love of fungi...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
maybe from the love of All that wasisbeing. right now. all the time.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
but sometimes it feels like everything i've done is the hardest thing i've ever done.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
even though i know the truth is that life gets easier & easier</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
the more i know, the more i grow...</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
etc.,etc., et cetera.</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
& sometimes i feel that motivation is impossible without community.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>CONTINUE: A Boy's Gotta Eat, OR Lessons in Sustainable Economics:</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Z6vtHhBOmbrLB50DRq2pEZcRYHZMO7E3GonVFIy7CECvvcQtLTo71GbLxrlGOiD75zBqfWANCjc8sKZ_lyXvWNTpIjr79-K5MWyuf64RJo7qLlewWN5CwUqEaozCTxe02JPzLE9ab6o/s1600/100_1326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Z6vtHhBOmbrLB50DRq2pEZcRYHZMO7E3GonVFIy7CECvvcQtLTo71GbLxrlGOiD75zBqfWANCjc8sKZ_lyXvWNTpIjr79-K5MWyuf64RJo7qLlewWN5CwUqEaozCTxe02JPzLE9ab6o/s320/100_1326.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><ol>
<li>If you're like us you have some old carrots, celery & onion in the fridge. </li>
<li>Maybe add some garlic when you call it mire poix (<span style="font-size: xx-small;">meer pwah</span>) & sautee it</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There's a general delusion that independence & self-sufficiency are hallmarks of our particular brand of freedom, but if you learn from the vast majority of human experience inevitably you see that the most just egalitarian societies considered community inter-dependence vital to each individuals relation to the natural world & each other.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So here we are somewhere between Babylon & the Promised Land, struggling to wiggle our way to freedom in a sea of seemingly oblivious consumption & rampant ego-politik. The prospects are daunting, but that's just because opportunity abounds. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwvALtcOfDrk6rRvxrCiIQM_rcY6nQcJzA1jfDMTvE8ZiUu1u00VFVrM1xTTdzBd8W1m5wVS55se-lAm_4BjAL-wfCLzzyAaeGoc0d598S4nQQU5GeGbBOLqLx2A5Fz1e-RfeU7bMX5w/s1600/100_1327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwvALtcOfDrk6rRvxrCiIQM_rcY6nQcJzA1jfDMTvE8ZiUu1u00VFVrM1xTTdzBd8W1m5wVS55se-lAm_4BjAL-wfCLzzyAaeGoc0d598S4nQQU5GeGbBOLqLx2A5Fz1e-RfeU7bMX5w/s320/100_1327.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><ol>
<li>drop some OG ground beef, love, Joe Mama.</li>
<li>Pour some tomato paste in there, if you've got it.</li>
<li>Boom: Bolognese Sauce; Beef&Veggies</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> A permaculturalist sees problems as solutions, yeah?</div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> And said permaculturalist is part & parcel of the economic system that's evolved in the wake of the cold cold war.</div>
<div class="p1">
</div>
<div class="p1">
At this point on the thought train, an angel of some sort should whisper that Bucky Fuller quote in your ear:</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">We exist in a reality that requires money, real or imaginary, proper or improper.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">I'd pee my pants in public for the opportunity, sometime in the future, to be an integral component in a communtiy so coordinated that no cash was ever required, but here and now thisguy has rent, utilities, student loans, vehicular woes... you know: the whole torrential burden of 'earning a living' on a planet capable of supporting life. . . for free.</span></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
My brother has engrained the concept of Congruence into my psyche (thanks, Esau :) ). And I think my brain-soil conditions are finally conducive the germination of such a meta-seed. Which leads here:</div>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h4>
When I grow up, I want to be good & do good things. <br /> Then I grew up & wondered what 'good' was.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
After some significant mental fermentation I concluded that the most undeniable good stems from the dis-/re-appearing knack of optimizing ecosystems to sustain human life: gardening for biodiversity.... Realizing that the Garden is spaceship Earth & we were never driven out, just blinded by self-deception & self-interest.....</div>
But the Glory of the gossamer web of life's interactions still pulses<br />through microbes&mycelia<br />ladybugs' lil aphid lions<br />teeny little wasps&caterpillar carcasses<br />migrating birds<br />voles&snakes<br />pollinators & pollutants<br />a wobbly axis<br />starlight<br />&<br />water<br />all flowing into our food.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">All life depends on varying states of decay & that is good. </span></h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedrDZ8XfpgiV0N7m7EWuBEKmwGvQyApK_G6RaluA_qAxgkefxv6mSBe_mr_jAlvuUyGoYjDbIwG7O9qFmtlu2Bpomegpn59UBQZYGl6VsceCjHEYGBOivN2Ajk8tPywMcY9NILquFnm4/s1600/100_1328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedrDZ8XfpgiV0N7m7EWuBEKmwGvQyApK_G6RaluA_qAxgkefxv6mSBe_mr_jAlvuUyGoYjDbIwG7O9qFmtlu2Bpomegpn59UBQZYGl6VsceCjHEYGBOivN2Ajk8tPywMcY9NILquFnm4/s320/100_1328.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sautee/carmelize/burn:<br /><ol>
<li>garlics</li>
<li>onions</li>
<li>sliced oyster mushrooms.</li>
</ol>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">How can you monetize that? Seems almost blasphemous, right? </span></div>
</div>
</h4>
<br />
<div class="p1">
That mysterious angel's appeared again, just out of eyeshot, whispering stuff that Bucky pointed out 43 years ago:</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian-Darwinian theory, he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.</blockquote>
<div class="p4">
<br /></div>
<div class="p5">
Here's the crux: how does a body earn a living by simply living inside our current capitalist framework? </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPxprCy330rZs6xBV6H2ofEu6PDb10INNMsMPOcGTS-Wwy6rjouE3l2_3ZrKwPmft_Rm1JWoZxY6NhVi6tw4IV5qHc6wR8OpBDwT_AvYn4d2iGtW37IdHldPuGYacMvL24i43BrPNCgo/s1600/100_1329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPxprCy330rZs6xBV6H2ofEu6PDb10INNMsMPOcGTS-Wwy6rjouE3l2_3ZrKwPmft_Rm1JWoZxY6NhVi6tw4IV5qHc6wR8OpBDwT_AvYn4d2iGtW37IdHldPuGYacMvL24i43BrPNCgo/s320/100_1329.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">put it all on a pizza & bake it. yum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
How can we align our requirement for capital with ideals of mutualism & free association?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>“It's a sticky wicket,” so the lady says, and it's understandable to be overwhelmed. I forgive me.</div>
<div class="p1">
But like Will Allen, that giant scion of urban agriculture said,</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
“When you start a project everything's not gonna be perfect,</div>
<b><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>but get something started.”</i></b></div>
</b></blockquote>
<div class="p3">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
The time has come for a better brand of business; for local entrepreneurs working to humanize the economy; for micro-enterprises banding together to subvert big boxes; for growth, adaption & evolution.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> It's been a year since I started trying to earn income in the field of suburban micro-farming. I installed a few gardens, talked to lots of folks at market, raised & sold heirloom plants & produce, dug swales, hauled tons of mulch & compost, sweat & bled, lashed together bamboo structures, battled cutworms & cabbage butterflies, prayed for rain, wallowed in the dirt & just barely scraped by. </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="Apple-tab-span"></span> I felt guilty charging money for doing what I want to do anyways, which resulted in me working much more: slinging pizzas at night to ensure all the bills got paid and picking up remodeling work where&when I could to cover operating expenses. I must have a case of ridiculitis; I'm still doing that. </div>
<div class="p1">
Maybe there is in fact some buried imprint coded into my personality that causes me to cringe at the thought of capitalism founded on usury, and to fear what i'd become with wealth & power.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
And that's probably healthy, what with Mammon masquerading as “free trade” and all, but it's certainly unhealthy to allow that fear to paralyze you.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
I'm hypothesizing that it's possible to make money without guilt by focusing on:</div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: center;">
Transparency, Education & Coordination. </div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: left;">
I have one more revolution around the daystar in this place, and as long as i have these feet i want to leave fertile footprints in my wake. So I have one year to improve the land where i stand, to optimize growing conditions in my garden, to pass on this practical knowledge to neighbors, and to connect with others who share similar goals. </div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: left;">
I'd better get crackin.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* an I<span style="font-size: x-small;">maginary</span> C<span style="font-size: x-small;">ompany </span>C<span style="font-size: x-small;">orporation</span> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05418963002680934164noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-39882247664442709582012-09-12T01:45:00.002-04:002012-09-12T02:28:54.149-04:00summer wind-down.<br />
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
... the average rate of consumption per person per day in the US is 575litres :that's: 151.899gallons. <<a href="http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=757&transpose=row">http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=757&transpose=row</a>></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Our Household of 3 robust, adult american specimens consumes an average of say 21-42 gallons/person/day (not counting rainwater and occasional water reuse or water we consume at work or drink-products we purchase), mainly depending on whether the rain barrels gone empty, i presume. Containers can be thirsty buggers.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
in mozambique, the average person would be consuming 4 litres::1.05669 gallons of agua . . . total: cleaning, bathing, drinking, cooking. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
so add the highest and lowest</div>
<div class="p1">
151.93 :: 152.95569::152.94 = dumb on the abacus :: calculator :: calculator using the 2 decimal places i counted on the abacus = i'm dang dumb on the abacus...forgot to carry the one.</div>
<div class="p2" style="text-align: center;">
and divide by two</div>
<div class="p1">
458.83569 /3= 152.94523 average of my first three stabs at addition without paper and pencil /2 = </div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
to get</div>
<div class="p1">
76.472615. . .the crazily rough average of the water consumption of the most average person on the planet... that's slightly less than China on the graph.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
So at the house we're consuming on the level of, say, wealthy urbanites in Bangladesh or Kenya. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
With the leak in the water line at the rate of flow measured by Kenny from the county, our house will wash 16,000 gallons of water into the stormwater system that pools up on occasion due to organic debris accumulations on a neighbor's back fence.</div>
<div class="p1">
16,000 gallons per month /30 days = 533.3repeating gallons per day /3 people = 177.77repeating gallons per person per day.</div>
<div class="p1">
25.88 gallons more than the average american.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXekwdArpVM8occQZq0dOIM_9LfMhE1dM4JQM_WNsXx6cr5pGGKQQ0ENtTqujUHbeE3B5s8RnmwrHm5CTpZozX2u6F0uA4J2HrdYvBxLrfIHFozm8P0DH-99J1NV1n67dd5zLXpJTSH9o/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXekwdArpVM8occQZq0dOIM_9LfMhE1dM4JQM_WNsXx6cr5pGGKQQ0ENtTqujUHbeE3B5s8RnmwrHm5CTpZozX2u6F0uA4J2HrdYvBxLrfIHFozm8P0DH-99J1NV1n67dd5zLXpJTSH9o/s320/IMG_1716.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvYaXpgArVpoIu9bXOoMmMx0UBsrxM8aV24c7z3_XSfk79UOV5VIZ1bUo2iQg-ZB8W911buLNbdDlzf35ryPnCAV9pKnFGyP2F2MFSiirVTne72uJ_HBR_rGJRlSS54lN2qm_IBpAqiU/s1600/IMG_1718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvYaXpgArVpoIu9bXOoMmMx0UBsrxM8aV24c7z3_XSfk79UOV5VIZ1bUo2iQg-ZB8W911buLNbdDlzf35ryPnCAV9pKnFGyP2F2MFSiirVTne72uJ_HBR_rGJRlSS54lN2qm_IBpAqiU/s400/IMG_1718.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
our main city supply pipe is corroded and water was shooting into the sky (though now it has a patch on that particular leak which has slowed the flow considerably), and that's just a lil more than what the average american is consuming everyday?</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
it's like everybody here has leaky pipes and hasn't recognized it yet....</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
water. it's so important to think about that They made it an element.</div>
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it's so nice out i wanna go dig some swales...utilize the filtering function of the intricate web of life that exists right beneath our feet: plants and fungi absorbing, purifying and releasing </div>
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water </div>
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that literally falls from the sky(!) and bask in the glow of the changing of seasons....</div>
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summer seem(s/ed) short and powerful hot but there were many merciful relief storms that washed over us. i've just now almost drained the 275gallon rain tote plus 20 gallons i had stored from the winter to start the wine cap mushroom bed. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIlKofCltHMmIVRCBdOKH96oB2g6LelepEHfY61l3DGrkOQSJrc2e11anGizblPr1Tqg7SASOmjpIcKv3lwmxlf7jrRCcGwmMQ9B0BvzaCnnpUjwhyevOyd48757nQK1fljsckRQZM_8/s1600/IMG_1720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIlKofCltHMmIVRCBdOKH96oB2g6LelepEHfY61l3DGrkOQSJrc2e11anGizblPr1Tqg7SASOmjpIcKv3lwmxlf7jrRCcGwmMQ9B0BvzaCnnpUjwhyevOyd48757nQK1fljsckRQZM_8/s320/IMG_1720.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">under my neighbors oak tree, as per the master plan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgcoVWrM6mg4vpxICPrHTVs5LSoYDz_jXzWxuq3aklcc5UdCRZAeDayc1Sr0xrbt9sfeDpYhR8hDJwaTMpIpN2vf649mVFPQIKIKWdALnl9po8-9AIuoj4QWO7A_pKs2k7DJbNk2JhDs/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgcoVWrM6mg4vpxICPrHTVs5LSoYDz_jXzWxuq3aklcc5UdCRZAeDayc1Sr0xrbt9sfeDpYhR8hDJwaTMpIpN2vf649mVFPQIKIKWdALnl9po8-9AIuoj4QWO7A_pKs2k7DJbNk2JhDs/s320/IMG_1721.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cardboard, of course.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9__M6kpvnb34G697h9WcSLHldFqX8fxnfsFseu4f1_fXUFLKe9ipzMav19mjMkZoJ04gHUsoq-yr6s0rZK_ZOv6dTe_nekl2pdzAzMm0-IimRZpUIH5HTGyp1BVZYlqkTwIR7mzuVHY8/s1600/IMG_1726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9__M6kpvnb34G697h9WcSLHldFqX8fxnfsFseu4f1_fXUFLKe9ipzMav19mjMkZoJ04gHUsoq-yr6s0rZK_ZOv6dTe_nekl2pdzAzMm0-IimRZpUIH5HTGyp1BVZYlqkTwIR7mzuVHY8/s400/IMG_1726.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fieldforest.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_15_10" target="_blank">spawn</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4AXTSotUoBMnc65Nhx6ykep30RQaIfr85xwq-XL3HCrSS4EAIJc4mnKfzbmvfpa0LEL82G499Ntms0-zG5u_7GRUjRHImXVQPnVBCWx9urrzMywrlbeKtAQYEaaREoAHjb5vmOevddo/s1600/IMG_1725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4AXTSotUoBMnc65Nhx6ykep30RQaIfr85xwq-XL3HCrSS4EAIJc4mnKfzbmvfpa0LEL82G499Ntms0-zG5u_7GRUjRHImXVQPnVBCWx9urrzMywrlbeKtAQYEaaREoAHjb5vmOevddo/s320/IMG_1725.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">prettying up the joint with what's on-site</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtsVFikBMtIYI9KHxBYnpawxgc1YxKo5Kp13vDhco9cdk_7ILK3YJHzfOEtOKt9XTVXPzkHnclbqYgV0g6ifZZKmjp5VfYwhsDrHS3RPN7oF5Pk05hQ1_I8wyUCuijUZtrWUVsMELq_g/s1600/IMG_1727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtsVFikBMtIYI9KHxBYnpawxgc1YxKo5Kp13vDhco9cdk_7ILK3YJHzfOEtOKt9XTVXPzkHnclbqYgV0g6ifZZKmjp5VfYwhsDrHS3RPN7oF5Pk05hQ1_I8wyUCuijUZtrWUVsMELq_g/s320/IMG_1727.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waterwater every layer of mycological lasagna</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uPqQbJCKJhWuJcFfSszCuE39kTFWo1pdjF0tv_mJ7DpWeb3XuNg6fuqwQkhdNP8Ubk5IRaYlaS0XfKv5NSBJ6AEeLVMMdxPnuyEnzl6lIpzPzdmZ6nY7QVKyCIgfYREyNSaofAjkaFw/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2uPqQbJCKJhWuJcFfSszCuE39kTFWo1pdjF0tv_mJ7DpWeb3XuNg6fuqwQkhdNP8Ubk5IRaYlaS0XfKv5NSBJ6AEeLVMMdxPnuyEnzl6lIpzPzdmZ6nY7QVKyCIgfYREyNSaofAjkaFw/s320/IMG_1728.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mound o' mushrooms experiment begun.</td></tr>
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tomorrow i suppose i'll probably drain the last 30 gallons of rainwater to keep the spawn 'n' seedlings and their poor potted brethren happy&healthy.</div>
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hopefully one day i'll figure out how to facilitate a low-maintenance okra&eggplant patch in the woods that i can leisurely pick only in the mornings come summer, and the hotter parts of the day spend desking or hammocking under a canopy of trees... </div>
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good thing we live in this ideal world: we can help that happen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-KZIeiJSq78tVXVl4Clb3eEGcdaKwUWKy-ylg1A56H0OII_9Dyae-kacRlh6oChGxOM3qgFxOw0xVOQV_3w0A1URJR8QKGUzhOFxkwhhxCfy-dj_VmbvwmH-CjwFAexDtFwDFPmaC7A/s1600/fuzzybuttmoth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-KZIeiJSq78tVXVl4Clb3eEGcdaKwUWKy-ylg1A56H0OII_9Dyae-kacRlh6oChGxOM3qgFxOw0xVOQV_3w0A1URJR8QKGUzhOFxkwhhxCfy-dj_VmbvwmH-CjwFAexDtFwDFPmaC7A/s640/fuzzybuttmoth.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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this i believe:</div>
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it is our duty as conscious creatures to</div>
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breathe in & observe our habitat</div>
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to learn the way of life</div>
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that we may facilitate growth and evolution.</div>
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and sometimes we stumble, and kill a tree or ooze vast quantities of toxic chemicals into the ocean or douse our lawns in pesticides or fail to check our consumption,</div>
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but remember that nature tends to be cyclically catastrophic, and maybe the reason our histories only reach back very little in the span of our time here on earth is because we are part of that cycle.</div>
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perhaps we're a perpetually perishing people,</div>
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instigators of evolutionary bottlenecks,</div>
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civilizations consuming & collapsing</div>
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and forgetting (in the time it takes us to stop looting and/or re-learning how to survive)</div>
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what got us here in the first place.</div>
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still, i can't shake the feeling we're better than that; that we can break sisyphean cycles and harmonize with the hum of creation.</div>
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we shall see, ho hum, ho hum.</div>
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Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-76265249611753057132012-03-20T08:41:00.001-04:002012-03-20T08:43:12.993-04:00here comes the sun (spring is sproinging pt.3)alright internet-machine, it's just me & you.<br />
and morning edition.<br />
and a huge pot of lima beans that i woke up early to cook since it feels like summer already.<br />
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The odd absence of winter this year compelled me to ramp up my garden plans. It's hard to focus on just 3 rectangular vegetable beds when it's 70degrees most of the winter.<br />
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I was having some problems keeping my janky bamboo/plastic/duct tape coldframe warm at night when a friend reminded me of <i>hugelkultur</i>. Remembering hearing that hugelkultur beds slowly released heat somewhere, i figured i'd put a couple beds in around the coldframe...<br />
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What the heck is <i>hugelkultur</i>? you ask. <a href="http://kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Hugelkultur-Using-Woody-Waste-in-Composting" target="_blank">Click this link for a how-to</a>, or googlewhack it. Basically, hugelkultur uses the water retention properties of rotting wood to create raised beds that require very little watering. here's the process picture-show:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IPox9Oyj9_u9_AEuc-HX8s0O8JDwqZcV3J_iQAeN3gf3LP-50By6AqyJhLOp2Y2H5RQTLezD0XcG5hUulhqlRDzpCo40iXtF6s5ETbxF3YRprhrX-PH-snCXfzduUrTd8QlPBMHOoVY/s1600/IMG_0680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IPox9Oyj9_u9_AEuc-HX8s0O8JDwqZcV3J_iQAeN3gf3LP-50By6AqyJhLOp2Y2H5RQTLezD0XcG5hUulhqlRDzpCo40iXtF6s5ETbxF3YRprhrX-PH-snCXfzduUrTd8QlPBMHOoVY/s320/IMG_0680.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe-knee & I started by trenching out a drain around our "cold-frame"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlQUCRIYanHSya-vVXykiuxZqFSSiFUP4VHVttYyre9QsnrJLza6QKgFL-CtHiODlIANZN21eVyQpfhebKnx9QFJbqFrNkWRXYytzaD6bzEtnHjnIDl5Qex-Eo1KeSvX3UBVUGNfRxLg/s1600/0203120807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlQUCRIYanHSya-vVXykiuxZqFSSiFUP4VHVttYyre9QsnrJLza6QKgFL-CtHiODlIANZN21eVyQpfhebKnx9QFJbqFrNkWRXYytzaD6bzEtnHjnIDl5Qex-Eo1KeSvX3UBVUGNfRxLg/s320/0203120807.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I fished some really rotten wood out of my ma's backyard and made a stack on either side of the frame</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHL254zfLAfY9prBXCFBnHX6osuhL1JlJ68w5cEEjROcNfr8ad4oFr9FTaJlnsbFENt29mP2VYzmAATdvFuCmHZiFQs4xrd5fJgduK4n_R_-LG3yChY9OUfAZH6JZiIccSBXuAnWNJXgo/s1600/0203120816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHL254zfLAfY9prBXCFBnHX6osuhL1JlJ68w5cEEjROcNfr8ad4oFr9FTaJlnsbFENt29mP2VYzmAATdvFuCmHZiFQs4xrd5fJgduK4n_R_-LG3yChY9OUfAZH6JZiIccSBXuAnWNJXgo/s320/0203120816.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tree company clearing out trees around the power lines dropped off a huge load of mulch, so i chucked some of it on too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLmeeN6MfFawH30V2uU-nsOyTaIau7MkCxEBqYYdX87bTZQzIZ-v3_u_oZWKsmkp_mu-8hFmDgmPvGsunixxD8gNIliLRkRAfLgNzi6pTZfu5-SgsxYeg0jkrNKpdvYOYrb19wUXfYc4/s1600/0203120825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLmeeN6MfFawH30V2uU-nsOyTaIau7MkCxEBqYYdX87bTZQzIZ-v3_u_oZWKsmkp_mu-8hFmDgmPvGsunixxD8gNIliLRkRAfLgNzi6pTZfu5-SgsxYeg0jkrNKpdvYOYrb19wUXfYc4/s320/0203120825.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then i started piling on the clay we'd dug for the drainage ditch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupsGkKtxYIESWTD2GnTuzsQ8lOV4KIMuXqxCcISRBrlySjAPvtrdi6BmB3DAHQUdLKIwFmDAySDq25m8TDS_Bmtul_j0yjWvNLQBY5tA9KygUUFSfOXgK3rBdwchutCEn8Mnh8dfo2Cw/s1600/0314121500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupsGkKtxYIESWTD2GnTuzsQ8lOV4KIMuXqxCcISRBrlySjAPvtrdi6BmB3DAHQUdLKIwFmDAySDq25m8TDS_Bmtul_j0yjWvNLQBY5tA9KygUUFSfOXgK3rBdwchutCEn8Mnh8dfo2Cw/s320/0314121500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sprinkled a little compost on it and stuck some plants in.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>I planted black-seeded simpson lettuce, a few extra strawberries, cherry belle radish and a smattering of onions and leeks in each hugelkultur bed. One side got early jersey wakefield cabbage and the other got a couple waltham broccoli and a few fennel. Both sides are also sprouting a healthy amount of weeds, which i think were lying dormant in the clay. Everything's growing better than i thought it would, as i didn't sheet compost or build up a particularly deep layer of soil over the wood. We still will probably not get maximum yields from these two food piles until next season, but food is food and food is good.<br />
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Because we live in the dirty, dirty south, as the man says, our growing season really never ends, unless the grower decides to take a break anyways. It's just a matter of knowing what to plant when and praying that our notoriously schizoid weather doesn't do anything too ... notoriously schizoid. So around the end of February i started digging in.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFY7-5nC1kMSGH_ILh6VmHGu2oKB7zFyWPw2x-jI4bcn6l0dreE7qEi2bnrCwFmtHKwelFZXr9mtAnDe9uskoWt6yM-I5g3uKzs6HBtRuaH2F9Gbs1xdGPFBlRWBsQ-qxvvn_uUei8OQ/s1600/0320120809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFY7-5nC1kMSGH_ILh6VmHGu2oKB7zFyWPw2x-jI4bcn6l0dreE7qEi2bnrCwFmtHKwelFZXr9mtAnDe9uskoWt6yM-I5g3uKzs6HBtRuaH2F9Gbs1xdGPFBlRWBsQ-qxvvn_uUei8OQ/s320/0320120809.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I started direct-seeding sugar snap peas (nomnomnom) through the wood chip mulch. This is the first garden experiment using wood chips for sheet mulching, and while it's great for water retention and attracting the small farmer's first livestock (worms), it's a pain in the tookus when it comes to direct seeding an intensive planting. It could be good for row plantings but there's not much room for that kind of thing out here in the burbs, at least not if you want to grow a lot of your own food. In the future i may use the woodchip beds where only seedlings will be transplanted, but probably will sheet compost where I'll be direct-seeding. Nonetheless, the peas are up and the succession planting is just starting to pop up too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tkWqroeYvpiqUcofzzjVDBdD6BX6a42-NBAy8N7qc_PrGE39KBVpjS-v4yR9QP760G-kGKI-GaPaETBuSIqvqmAf3njLcXiCYorUSeGQ35i1j430RSy4vG2Jxs1n7Zn_G6xgxus7V2s/s1600/0320120809a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tkWqroeYvpiqUcofzzjVDBdD6BX6a42-NBAy8N7qc_PrGE39KBVpjS-v4yR9QP760G-kGKI-GaPaETBuSIqvqmAf3njLcXiCYorUSeGQ35i1j430RSy4vG2Jxs1n7Zn_G6xgxus7V2s/s320/0320120809a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> I've also tranplanted red russian kale and perfection fennel, which seem to be doing well. The lettuce and spinach transplants seem to be struggling, and the broccoli seems to be in some kind of stasis.<br />
After helping a friend's dad take down his shed, I was given a couple gardener's supply co. potato bins. I planted both of these at the end of February as well and am just starting to see the Kennebec and Pontiac Reds poke through the compost straw mix they're growing in.<br />
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So sorry, internet machine, that this supposedly quick recap of what's been happening here at Backyard Beddie's Suburban Microfarm has turned into several somewhat rambly posts... and also that it's going to turn into at least one or two more, but i find it difficult to spend more than an hour sitting in front of the computer and the lima beans are now tender enough for me to abandon my post here at the breakfast table to check on what's happening outside.... in the amazing yellow haze of record pollen counts, buzzing bumble bees, butterflies, sunshine, bugs & life. As much as i love you, o faceless interwebs, i must follow my heart and my cup of coffee out of doors.Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-9474848521159172172012-03-14T12:47:00.000-04:002012-03-14T12:47:07.862-04:00spring is sproinging part 2Alright, back to the computer to play catch-up. Picking up where i left off:<br />
Onward to Plow Forward:<br />
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Georgia Organics was awesome enough to award Backyard Beddie's a scholarship to their 2012 conference in Columbus, for which i am extremely grateful. Here's a quick recap of what I learned and it's relevance:<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li>at the Urban Agriculture workshop we learned some of the basics of growing in the city, which easily transfers to growing in the 'burbs, including working with local government, growing food over concrete, and making sure your soil is safe.</li>
<li><i>Successful CSA Strategies, </i>taught by Joe Reynolds of Love is Love Farm & Paige Witherington of Serenbe Farms, was amazingly informative. If you're not familiar with CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) it's basically a system where community members purchase shares of the harvest in advance and get a variety of produce each week from the farm. While this will be my first season growing for market, I plan to employ several of these strategies throughout the year so I'm versed enough to start a small CSA next spring</li>
<li>In <i>Post-Harvest Handling and Packaging </i>Alex Rilko from Whole Foods explained the practices of getting wholesale produce to market, which doesn't apply to me that much right now, but then Eric Wagoner from Athens Locally Grown described his tactics for small-scale growers. He had lots of low-cost, low-tech tips for getting produce to market. If any of you are interested in this, e-mail me and i'll explain further.</li>
<li>I dipped out of the Grower 1 Educational track to attend <i>Grow Your Own Small Fruits</i> taught by Jerry Larson ( a living legend, come to find out). This session was so packed they had to move it into the main hall where all the meals were served, so sadly he didn't have time to get into blueberry production, but my brain was full to bursting with information about figs, muscadines, strawberries and blackberries.</li>
<li>My last education session was <i>Making the Most Out of Small Spaces </i>with Brennan Washington from Phoenix Gardens. They've grossed $30k/yr with 3000 square feet of growing space. Holy Moley. He was full of ideas about small-scale market gardening, including container gardening which is very exciting.</li>
</ul> It truly was a blast. In addition to the workshop & education sessions, I also got to take a tour Bemastan Worm Farm which was pretty awesome. I met some great people and got to reconnect with some of the folks who were in my Organic Growing Class @ Cane Creek Farm. Will Allen, one of the keynote speakers and one of the fountainheads of the urban agriculture movement, helped fuel my fire to pin my livelihood to the production of good, chemical-free food with this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">"When you start a project, everything's not gonna be perfect. But get something started."</blockquote>I came back all revved up to plant plant plant. And I got started planting and working and potting up tomato and pepper seedlings and not sleeping, knowing i had to get it all done in a few days because we were on our way to TAPROOT FARMMMMMM!<br />
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3 days of peace & quiet in West Virginia, tending the sheep, chickens and dogs while Beth & Tim attended the W.VA Small Farms Conference. Super-fantastic. Want some photos? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100202595489043.2401143.23205009&type=3&l=36542fc313" target="_blank">click here</a>. So nice to unwind on the farm.<br />
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Anyhoo, my lunch break is about over...so next time it's onto hugelkultur beds, making straw from strawberries, first-wave plantings, itsy-bitsy cover cropping, and business time....Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-18828882938870952282012-03-11T08:56:00.000-04:002012-03-11T08:56:31.225-04:00spring is sproinginga full moon has passed since i sat with you last. many days of moving, dreaming, growing, planting.<br />
also driving, eating, pooping & sleeping.<br />
this may be a long post. Lemme hit the high points first, then allow me to ramble:<br />
<ul><li>disaster strikes slowly. be vigilant. </li>
<li>P is for <i>polyculture</i></li>
<li>Plow Forward. . . but only once: they call it <i>conservation tillage</i></li>
<li><i>hugelkultur </i>beds<i> </i></li>
<li>unfurling @Taproot</li>
<li>how to make straw from strawberries</li>
<li>first wave plantings</li>
<li>alfalfa: teeny-tiny cover cropping for compost/soil building</li>
<li>going in to business<a name='more'></a> </li>
</ul>i have to admit that winter-spring tricked me. And the space heater. A "cold-snap" hit and I left the heater on in the seed-starting station too long. i am ashamed: a thousand apologies. It was well after dark with ice winds blowing when, at joe-knee's behest, we peeked in on the wee seedlings. the power had fried, ye gawds yegads. The temperature had dropped about 20degrees... we rushed our solanaceae seedlings indoors and turned up the heat --(normally set to around 50 in winter as too much cold can stunt the fruiting ability of our nightshade friends)--- we lost around a dozen tomato plants, but set up my summer room to facilitate the growth of the hardier individuals.<br />
<br />
hang on while i create a narrative by attempting to chronicle in chronological order...<br />
crisis narrowly averted, i turned mine eyes unto the earth, into the dirt and all that lives and grows throughout it.<br />
doesn't it seem strange that most gardens mimic the organization of industrial agriculture? <span style="font-size: x-small;">but that's a whole other rant...</span> me madre always lets me play in the dirt satisfying my pythogenic paradigm(:))<br />
the <b>P</b> is for <b>P</b>olyculture<br />
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the goal with this polyculture bed is ease of install. shallow-depth seeds will be broadcast, covered with soil and rained on. inoculated wando shelling peas are going in the middle, surrounded by dustings of daikon radish, black-seeded simpson lettuce, danvers half-long carrots, tall top earl wonder beets, golden self-blanching celery, cilantro & i think some perfection fennel and maybe some swiss chard.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i started by cutting down a cover of volunteer straw & inoculated dutch white clover </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then i cracked open ma's compost bin, forked off the top and started sifting out compost</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5s4Kwmitp42P55DyyP95hj-YEhymAxWmI-6nuL7HhvneDIs18jVsdoYbq-6LquiH2vUIhYISIhko0Ns-D2rHcnzfGjn2afjwDwwS-7l2I9IPvntNIZCQKCb2qisT3KKdQjcCGPdmUk80/s1600/0210121157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5s4Kwmitp42P55DyyP95hj-YEhymAxWmI-6nuL7HhvneDIs18jVsdoYbq-6LquiH2vUIhYISIhko0Ns-D2rHcnzfGjn2afjwDwwS-7l2I9IPvntNIZCQKCb2qisT3KKdQjcCGPdmUk80/s400/0210121157.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there was a few inches of black gold down there</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TsDsyje2YtQLX1qN9oO1v_P9ERLH6bjWpslHsq61yoxADocdtJb8rC1k0TG5f-RCEjwACY7e2rbHaOB4kJ-VoprJ0o502vIFSbLJ44MEwLp780ishtY4cP-XVJ2gOXIqBxmCy9nJXw0/s1600/0210121159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TsDsyje2YtQLX1qN9oO1v_P9ERLH6bjWpslHsq61yoxADocdtJb8rC1k0TG5f-RCEjwACY7e2rbHaOB4kJ-VoprJ0o502vIFSbLJ44MEwLp780ishtY4cP-XVJ2gOXIqBxmCy9nJXw0/s320/0210121159.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i sifted till i got about 1/3 of my tote full</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Gdg3suRUusXZqFu2zBSaYlYHMGdEn-XZwPBYQAdxRLTVWWK7cZedZ4lkERvx58rpqBH80xKjkvu54exHtVMZ0CaNlbBmfQtpd0S64fb-2vi3CmkyLI2mRjuxrIs0zX2rA5m5SYr0nck/s1600/0210121202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Gdg3suRUusXZqFu2zBSaYlYHMGdEn-XZwPBYQAdxRLTVWWK7cZedZ4lkERvx58rpqBH80xKjkvu54exHtVMZ0CaNlbBmfQtpd0S64fb-2vi3CmkyLI2mRjuxrIs0zX2rA5m5SYr0nck/s400/0210121202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then i moved to the clay pile. folks are always disparaging our clay soil...sure it clumps but it's rich in trace minerals and surprisingly fertile.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd0wlyLkRS1Q6jRZxa9fUKjFTah69Ba8fIGgbwiOq66-WOKuWYaJ4th9QB7kv9gykqgr15_gw94VMjDriYtZ2rXMKoCipaiRykRhixKlUkbjr2iDTf1yVkiyNmUGGM2PJYE_6d0n4fUs/s1600/0210121205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd0wlyLkRS1Q6jRZxa9fUKjFTah69Ba8fIGgbwiOq66-WOKuWYaJ4th9QB7kv9gykqgr15_gw94VMjDriYtZ2rXMKoCipaiRykRhixKlUkbjr2iDTf1yVkiyNmUGGM2PJYE_6d0n4fUs/s320/0210121205.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">got about another third</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFP_nvgETe2KfpLRN9QC8Itq0ULjdkj3j4YIHROrdvTss7CmaU6is2T-7l-xai66viaQlxxr8MDAqymwMunIre7-3Y54fD3WRwgi9BZ0u4zrJ8k1Fi3TV8x6Ov5ihfNQu2Nmss12eDQg/s1600/0210121209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFP_nvgETe2KfpLRN9QC8Itq0ULjdkj3j4YIHROrdvTss7CmaU6is2T-7l-xai66viaQlxxr8MDAqymwMunIre7-3Y54fD3WRwgi9BZ0u4zrJ8k1Fi3TV8x6Ov5ihfNQu2Nmss12eDQg/s320/0210121209.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on to the mulch pile!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgGz47ZkYQ0hH-WzGRp2aPeYc3ZaYuahhEY8DJhpMLti-YAARLMsBVsYm-ikiOAWVxm-DufKrRs3xvA35Uvw5RoRECn0uUpApLIjxLdJGbIFisK8IKhojOqED7-Mp7ehfM5DP5l2HGrw/s1600/0210121227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgGz47ZkYQ0hH-WzGRp2aPeYc3ZaYuahhEY8DJhpMLti-YAARLMsBVsYm-ikiOAWVxm-DufKrRs3xvA35Uvw5RoRECn0uUpApLIjxLdJGbIFisK8IKhojOqED7-Mp7ehfM5DP5l2HGrw/s320/0210121227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">full. now i have nearly enough to spread 1/8in over the whole bed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ERyxxWmdxSNwO25hAeAAnp1jVOgoEYCweEcduB0ZTKqCg6JZgrWDbp-1-_xW2i9JB9e9UJjqeBYDQGTCP0j5j7xbNVZU1Pu7dEFPbPm5WEGahLrrthqIvyDAfoP5wzH5BBir4elToIc/s1600/0210121229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ERyxxWmdxSNwO25hAeAAnp1jVOgoEYCweEcduB0ZTKqCg6JZgrWDbp-1-_xW2i9JB9e9UJjqeBYDQGTCP0j5j7xbNVZU1Pu7dEFPbPm5WEGahLrrthqIvyDAfoP5wzH5BBir4elToIc/s320/0210121229.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and this is how i improvise a seed-starting soil</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vZGkzIHvrG5sTadFWns9xg_EcECcU37CELRaMywMCXthBE-0s_D0PNuvaezTOPDxnNhoqflg70X7txY0z7OTjbHJK5LHYFhmlewxJwAfnAlqAnQ_PAMqekHzAjc9s4PD3y1-uDSurv8/s1600/0210121229b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vZGkzIHvrG5sTadFWns9xg_EcECcU37CELRaMywMCXthBE-0s_D0PNuvaezTOPDxnNhoqflg70X7txY0z7OTjbHJK5LHYFhmlewxJwAfnAlqAnQ_PAMqekHzAjc9s4PD3y1-uDSurv8/s320/0210121229b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mix it up like cob</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXuAl32pNXo0rsleTXmdjoivK_dLgcRmzcoB2RJql3YzNLkpowaqLYhqYzAEf1EFfb-4v-enHaL2mXZ5uykl7zwrZ5bSxI4vllMeFWrLgsr5GKFyGtpSGwo2ztRIrF-wujhIlfAyeKKE/s1600/0210121233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXuAl32pNXo0rsleTXmdjoivK_dLgcRmzcoB2RJql3YzNLkpowaqLYhqYzAEf1EFfb-4v-enHaL2mXZ5uykl7zwrZ5bSxI4vllMeFWrLgsr5GKFyGtpSGwo2ztRIrF-wujhIlfAyeKKE/s320/0210121233.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">like some kind of crazy mulch-soil</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Nfv8qbf2PBS4kFta3UmhBjQ7qSpHjPyTcz1-BiQ3GKHbmYb8leq0emSSOHyFxNmfVW_RsjPPY0Er_ZGPXtOgzZEc7Gb4-d3KDhJNGTnqc2tViYse-c2SaDk7sM3lNChoUwno6FxCnE/s1600/0210121247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Nfv8qbf2PBS4kFta3UmhBjQ7qSpHjPyTcz1-BiQ3GKHbmYb8leq0emSSOHyFxNmfVW_RsjPPY0Er_ZGPXtOgzZEc7Gb4-d3KDhJNGTnqc2tViYse-c2SaDk7sM3lNChoUwno6FxCnE/s320/0210121247.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after some hand cultivation, i forked the cover crop residue off to the side.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_K9j6eu5PmWHfelIdTwprXH-oU3fQbzC6zq9XkCMDFjK2sd84rFwY0XO9n-Rjv4m-EKmI7hLNoGIsPOwFIHXReBbB2pVs8ZCTxUkQf0zAw8tV9DYZCGlmauV_xXhAXI8gdNOEwwwNcs/s1600/0210121257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_K9j6eu5PmWHfelIdTwprXH-oU3fQbzC6zq9XkCMDFjK2sd84rFwY0XO9n-Rjv4m-EKmI7hLNoGIsPOwFIHXReBbB2pVs8ZCTxUkQf0zAw8tV9DYZCGlmauV_xXhAXI8gdNOEwwwNcs/s320/0210121257.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">while loosening the soil with my cultivator i found a rock to kill a tiller</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcqxZPCQtPW5dtWKiln6s7J3d2VZVzEyH881BzGxZ4IrE1r-refIbOVA_fzBvOuj09okzujBz4skFzKmaW-tuugwIxDrA7SDNvjAYorrSXkvUabX1k0bPJsH6VUnl-xtwjH8W_rSnwXw/s1600/0210121304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcqxZPCQtPW5dtWKiln6s7J3d2VZVzEyH881BzGxZ4IrE1r-refIbOVA_fzBvOuj09okzujBz4skFzKmaW-tuugwIxDrA7SDNvjAYorrSXkvUabX1k0bPJsH6VUnl-xtwjH8W_rSnwXw/s320/0210121304.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hey baby, nice dirt. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm1RXmMbSoDhb33-eyrb77VjekhtXD8AzT1JWiidYosT8geXoa6xQbYkOfH8vQ7ldx0kOEQ8oA8nqM0x9M5omQ14U8x9msaRP0pbq9fS14SWuWam29rT0_I-GzuY6Ixb_DgrCcjY5bbg/s1600/0210121322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibm1RXmMbSoDhb33-eyrb77VjekhtXD8AzT1JWiidYosT8geXoa6xQbYkOfH8vQ7ldx0kOEQ8oA8nqM0x9M5omQ14U8x9msaRP0pbq9fS14SWuWam29rT0_I-GzuY6Ixb_DgrCcjY5bbg/s320/0210121322.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i snagged some sticks from the burn pile to make a trellis for the shelling peas. after stripping the branches, i poked 5 holes within the hexagon to open up holes, then pounded the branches in</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xgffEwKOprBJj_ywGEIhCj8QKDq100jFFA4gVODc5BCMQcH2_5ainSbp2McbZ3kxRVDvSst2SS8i9B3_ZV4YvQ6pZTEVB2LdGrlOspgu41IGlQd6a-Xa7Y7mDKepN9CPs6khnMpLzXQ/s1600/0210121343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xgffEwKOprBJj_ywGEIhCj8QKDq100jFFA4gVODc5BCMQcH2_5ainSbp2McbZ3kxRVDvSst2SS8i9B3_ZV4YvQ6pZTEVB2LdGrlOspgu41IGlQd6a-Xa7Y7mDKepN9CPs6khnMpLzXQ/s320/0210121343.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with a lil string </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMSoGSqRXkumzH793vxl-4LaFXcIXtIrm9gNiSIo4CR-tH86C_Ga2izwXDE3j438oVr2uVoRj0gwCq91EHWJPUa9rx-A2NHF_bXC6CDR0srZ7-13jcK8bz_jCjeDLP39ShecIX-3PxeM/s1600/0210121411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMSoGSqRXkumzH793vxl-4LaFXcIXtIrm9gNiSIo4CR-tH86C_Ga2izwXDE3j438oVr2uVoRj0gwCq91EHWJPUa9rx-A2NHF_bXC6CDR0srZ7-13jcK8bz_jCjeDLP39ShecIX-3PxeM/s320/0210121411.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inoculating the peas. legumes are considered nitrogen fixers because they develop symbiotic relationships with specific bacteria that take up residence in the legumes roots. these bacteria are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen and release it as plant food in exchange for a bit of sugar water from the plant. basically that's bacteria in a bag.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QfPr6HJOzoQzTNSOy18NQbpjHKzitBbbgCi8EKXrIIoGNY9II3IrcdLsU7mTozY8vqQ6lsJP5tuFhV6c7ZRtkj75mcQXBKpvwJjzWLP9U8ofsgDeogbJyOPyPF3o673b4S3kt3y7JFQ/s1600/0210121414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QfPr6HJOzoQzTNSOy18NQbpjHKzitBbbgCi8EKXrIIoGNY9II3IrcdLsU7mTozY8vqQ6lsJP5tuFhV6c7ZRtkj75mcQXBKpvwJjzWLP9U8ofsgDeogbJyOPyPF3o673b4S3kt3y7JFQ/s320/0210121414.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this time i made a sludge and tossed the peas in it. now i just wet the seeds and sprinkle it on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPERO6QHMJnGksXg78H5Gq_QeKFlcFe1mnoC8cad_BZhuRo0xJPnsVPygp9vfJs7kGecm7znNn23_7v2M5krQOyfnaeWog30Vl7c6uiK6HcQVCGiDZd2KyBp9AnAFtN3_2tqgaChHhfE/s1600/0210121507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPERO6QHMJnGksXg78H5Gq_QeKFlcFe1mnoC8cad_BZhuRo0xJPnsVPygp9vfJs7kGecm7znNn23_7v2M5krQOyfnaeWog30Vl7c6uiK6HcQVCGiDZd2KyBp9AnAFtN3_2tqgaChHhfE/s320/0210121507.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">scattered the seeds, planted the peas, spread and tamped the soil.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyy3UF9ksp5DldNQVqUcu0bNfIJckzFyXCDp0Qd5Mf7Ejhtujm6ADUzvrh9XApiEf0cJjuy3nYNshraGZe7QIwzRv5rATLatQufU91YzKIpASwRteWzti1NyPUXe4Lhx4yeGpkaj0sCA/s1600/0210121531a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyy3UF9ksp5DldNQVqUcu0bNfIJckzFyXCDp0Qd5Mf7Ejhtujm6ADUzvrh9XApiEf0cJjuy3nYNshraGZe7QIwzRv5rATLatQufU91YzKIpASwRteWzti1NyPUXe4Lhx4yeGpkaj0sCA/s320/0210121531a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">re-spread the cover crop residue as a thin mulch layer</td></tr>
</tbody></table> so far, this bed seems to be doing alright. i'm pretty sure the daikon radish popped up first, then the lettuce and either the cilantro, fennel or carrots, then most of the peas. well, some of the clover re-sprouted and the dandelions and some weeds i've not yet learned the magic of. the clover i'm happy with, it's another nitrogen fixer and if clover filled all the gaps between my food plants i'd be a happy panda. i ate a couple dandelion blossoms because they taste good but i don't want dandelions everywhere. the other weeds i pull as the spirit strikes me.<br />
<br />
sheesh. too much computer time, so i'll end this post here. we'll re-board this train of thought shortly.Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-38148027952255161562012-02-10T02:28:00.000-05:002012-02-10T02:28:44.827-05:00The VisionI've asked myself this question a lot: given complete freedom, how would i spend my time? How would I fill my time if there were no bills to pay, errands to run, student loans to dread or the necessary "work" it takes to take care of those "necessities?"<br />
What would I do if I were truly free?<br />
<br />
I'd grow food. And eat it... and tinker & toy with the numerous projects that entails.<br />
<br />
There have always been hurdles barring the path to such freedom. And like most humans, I'm prone to use hurdles as excuses. But I'm ready to jump, wanna jump with me?<br />
<br />
I'm not going to wait until we own land. <br />
I'm not going to wait until there's enough start-up capital. <br />
I'm not going to wait until someday in the future, because if I do I'll find myself hoping to retire into the life I wanted when I was young.<br />
I'm not even going to wait until I'm out of the suburbs. <br />
I'm ready to grow, wanna grow with me?<br />
<br />
I want Backyard Beddie's to foster a network of local folks growing food in their yards, on their patios, in their kitchens. I need us to come together, so we can show each other that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I believe a coordinated network of avid micro-growers can produce enough food to provide for their community and earn a living.<br />
<br />
I'm ready to plant, wanna plant with me?Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-72507284829756708712012-02-04T08:02:00.001-05:002012-02-04T08:49:53.375-05:00i heart winter-spring.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Sometimes i almost wish that google put a chip in my head so i could keep yous guys updated on things as i'm doing them. As i stands, i mostly just wanna play in the dirt so i find myself with a swarm of projects to update after a few weeks.<br />
Let's start with our impulse-ordered strawberries and see how far we get from there (the sun's coming up and i can feel the yard calling me...beckoning me.....). If you recall, we were shipped 50 bare-root strawberry plants the first wk in january, and i was caught entirely unprepared. A minimal amount of research later, i decided i would heel in the plants in a container and keep them in the shed to try and maintain dormancy.<br />
Let's talk about stacking functions, real quick, which is fundamental to finding the good life. Function stacking is a permaculture principle that allows you to maximize output from any given task or object. To me, it's a way of thinking about projects that helps me avoid unnecessary labor.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So... i needed a container to store the berries in, and we want to grow carrots this year but have a hard time with our heavy clay soil, so i designed and built a carrot planter out of scrap cedar decking to keep the plants in till i had a bed prepared. check it out:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nTiIjY9FiwI29d7lozk67KbXPJOW4e4l61x6aNiMvKk5O_Tsa_et9xbMyl3-HegtFPduBhoa0nOOhvqIidG8g8ZBgRBihaA0p511gB1GA6IS4QpxqtLG8OFtCqs-4KdYpubJRaM0eK4/s1600/0113121508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-nTiIjY9FiwI29d7lozk67KbXPJOW4e4l61x6aNiMvKk5O_Tsa_et9xbMyl3-HegtFPduBhoa0nOOhvqIidG8g8ZBgRBihaA0p511gB1GA6IS4QpxqtLG8OFtCqs-4KdYpubJRaM0eK4/s320/0113121508.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">made the box long enough to have a succession of carrots from summer thru fall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM5EHkViknkI9POcZhiBHfDNHFJ66MxVC9YFIYqg3Mx2ggcuJXw1VrDVwfa6FUk7fhBr4inNZn6H9g1qRHicmNQk3av__502ScEw484UJNcVJHDcBTff4bHgwEt3A7zL_I5mBdEFEaHI/s1600/0113121508a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM5EHkViknkI9POcZhiBHfDNHFJ66MxVC9YFIYqg3Mx2ggcuJXw1VrDVwfa6FUk7fhBr4inNZn6H9g1qRHicmNQk3av__502ScEw484UJNcVJHDcBTff4bHgwEt3A7zL_I5mBdEFEaHI/s320/0113121508a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the bottom of the box is angled toward center to facilitate drainage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OleV1BI2jHv98jjY7errXGw37US_JaSGhV7z3s5PN_3ALVsu-892UDsTtsppbLjr9h2xqOexPBxMR1PgwWjw5wk0prerZmDeMpgicvW-TcnBFM7zmNmyslR60KwtUREBwt8MDjGFXJQ/s1600/0113121538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OleV1BI2jHv98jjY7errXGw37US_JaSGhV7z3s5PN_3ALVsu-892UDsTtsppbLjr9h2xqOexPBxMR1PgwWjw5wk0prerZmDeMpgicvW-TcnBFM7zmNmyslR60KwtUREBwt8MDjGFXJQ/s320/0113121538.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stapled some scraps of chicken wire over the drainage slots.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzvqwSot9BSvgDyOTXbLapP27Y42G15rtaZWUM-bW2QfIAe_HP6K6XqSRQlok3ckYMLG50uHAagmxmO6imyH8eeGQFWcjQsTXn6p12QjVu6XBrZvx05PLb3FiBU0CaOmH7LV2ItswoWg/s1600/0113121546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzvqwSot9BSvgDyOTXbLapP27Y42G15rtaZWUM-bW2QfIAe_HP6K6XqSRQlok3ckYMLG50uHAagmxmO6imyH8eeGQFWcjQsTXn6p12QjVu6XBrZvx05PLb3FiBU0CaOmH7LV2ItswoWg/s320/0113121546.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">next i draped a scrap of old t-shirt over the chicken wire, to prevent soil from filtering out the bottom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia22NNp7ziAynEDHOQZq4Duwb3xpvBiAREScTyEk-W9IR5zDNqDDtToE0MZ_i1hdAg3MtvCuuK6gJ7J1T1_fNU3Idmtn26lFqj_I94g3RStEm3aac6l44luzb9WS08-R50sEEkOtVDKd0/s1600/0113121554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia22NNp7ziAynEDHOQZq4Duwb3xpvBiAREScTyEk-W9IR5zDNqDDtToE0MZ_i1hdAg3MtvCuuK6gJ7J1T1_fNU3Idmtn26lFqj_I94g3RStEm3aac6l44luzb9WS08-R50sEEkOtVDKd0/s320/0113121554.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and i'm poor, so i added some filler at the bottom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGDeIyaDp379ZcsMdim9EUPOiPLzBKDS0HmPZAYD4ILGin_CksvgNRcsXfZbnVXU84ifdMZouD7ItBkAiriwi5kWc5ltVtDRUZ3egNmIQK8sTh42QlIRQp-LZe7QQJnBQcgfhtlVP6Hw/s1600/0113121607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGDeIyaDp379ZcsMdim9EUPOiPLzBKDS0HmPZAYD4ILGin_CksvgNRcsXfZbnVXU84ifdMZouD7ItBkAiriwi5kWc5ltVtDRUZ3egNmIQK8sTh42QlIRQp-LZe7QQJnBQcgfhtlVP6Hw/s320/0113121607.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then potting mix</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4dObsE97QuiNYoP2RerrsbisLscxhaMqwc_HbPlZ6uxewGRK0zMLoRB5tANYl7tqE7ayPeDHZE_zCuXQZhvSpR-UUc0zGH3MwTKpqsI5RPMSaROtHXNQZ0jwB_vr0FA4Y34LD3IZjy8/s1600/0113121610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4dObsE97QuiNYoP2RerrsbisLscxhaMqwc_HbPlZ6uxewGRK0zMLoRB5tANYl7tqE7ayPeDHZE_zCuXQZhvSpR-UUc0zGH3MwTKpqsI5RPMSaROtHXNQZ0jwB_vr0FA4Y34LD3IZjy8/s320/0113121610.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's hard to see, but i lay the plants in on a 45degree or so slope</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4s0Kmkv9wNo1eIwrMLiVQDYZwJuiyNxjpiOpxXtovon8tVzkXMs2bVnhfHByuyS0DuhtGBEN397b99RTgpzHTDZ43X1ZM6W4eN9eu2fCIPXf88OFl6RhX2LsABb669JL5tggSwDff1s/s1600/0113121615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4s0Kmkv9wNo1eIwrMLiVQDYZwJuiyNxjpiOpxXtovon8tVzkXMs2bVnhfHByuyS0DuhtGBEN397b99RTgpzHTDZ43X1ZM6W4eN9eu2fCIPXf88OFl6RhX2LsABb669JL5tggSwDff1s/s320/0113121615.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then covered the roots, gently tamped down the potting mix, and watered enough to keep roots moist.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Man, i was so proud. But i somehow forgot that our winter's been so mild it's basically been spring. Within a week most of the plants broke dormancy and Joani and i had to bust our humps to create a premie strawberry patch before a line of storms came through. We decided on another keyhole bed, and aren't too worried about not working any soil amendments into the bed for 2 reasons:<br />
<ol><li>Our yard has really nice topsoil and vibrant soil life.</li>
<li>This bed is all June-bearing strawberries, so this summer will be all pinching flowers and letting runners and roots get established. We should be able to start slowly adding compost this season and let our wriggly worms work it in for us.</li>
</ol>bam:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw6a710VrgTrLwLKtMzNNo6_ToLrfCLD6M8vDmbbsZqmWHGrA8BHFbG_0jPgmu3BPyPef_iQQKdSJOFI4wUOEgJaTdHV7_lZqHjXjd_2a6_3Iz8ACk5hZwFMRwvI8yaIQUdbDX0SpiaA/s1600/IMG_0671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw6a710VrgTrLwLKtMzNNo6_ToLrfCLD6M8vDmbbsZqmWHGrA8BHFbG_0jPgmu3BPyPef_iQQKdSJOFI4wUOEgJaTdHV7_lZqHjXjd_2a6_3Iz8ACk5hZwFMRwvI8yaIQUdbDX0SpiaA/s320/IMG_0671.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">marked it, covered up the turf</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kTPIRwLQf_Wozes78LogUJVgNXd8ZDhxOl3YOJ970cjPr6men3HRtlznt1RCxtQcnXd1EFXaR5wcn0dZduJfElRz0REiYIL-UGNIro6Oyq4m7u7vb8fF66dmSyilm21IgY3m4x4IA84/s1600/IMG_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kTPIRwLQf_Wozes78LogUJVgNXd8ZDhxOl3YOJ970cjPr6men3HRtlznt1RCxtQcnXd1EFXaR5wcn0dZduJfElRz0REiYIL-UGNIro6Oyq4m7u7vb8fF66dmSyilm21IgY3m4x4IA84/s320/IMG_0677.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we took turns cutting X's in the cardboard, digging holes, and placing plants.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We mulched the bed with...<i>straw</i>...and they seem to be doing alright....<br />
<br />
Well I had more to say, but the sun's up and i need to check on the seedlings (the amish paste tomatoes have sprouted, as has the black-seeded simpson lettuce. still waiting on mortgage lifter, beefsteak & brandywine tomatoes, bibb lettuce, celery & fennel).<br />
Shua out....Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-31432897975875240642012-01-15T11:23:00.001-05:002012-02-04T08:50:45.450-05:00Low-Cost Raised Beds... Buenos Morning, Internet.<br />
I've found it's generally more productive to set up new growing beds over the fall and winter for spring plantings. For one thing, it allows any soil amendments to filter their way into the dirt, and the alternating freeze & thaw seems to help open up the soil - a great way to utilize natural cycles to minimize human labor. For another thing, it helps to keep me focused on my production goals through the winter, with the added benefit of keeping the winter blues at bay.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So starting at the end of November I began prepping the three beds in the front yard that will be devoted entirely to annual vegetable production. A huge part of low-cost micro-farming is reclaiming or sourcing materials locally. That this coincides with my (a)political, economic & social belief systems is a nice bonus. It took about 2 months of working at it every other weekend for a few hours or so, not including gathering materials (cardboard, newspapers, salvaging bricks from the house they tore down up the street) in advance. My only monetary cost was masonry sand from a local supply company and wood chips from the county vegetative waste recovery site (i tried to get some free chips from a tree service, but had heard nothing back by the time i was ready to use them).<br />
The sand serves two purposes, it helped to level out the brick borders and will gradually work down into the soil. While we are blessed at this house with really nice topsoil, living where we live i can come quite close to certain that there's a clay hardpan below it somewhere. I'm hoping that as the worms come up to get at the compost beneath the woodchip mulch, they'll help work the sand i sprinkled underneath all of it throughout their earthy worm heaven. <br />
My planting style for annual vegetables is an amalgam of techniques I've picked up over the years, including Mel Batholomew's square foot spacing technique (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Lu-7FIj_g" target="_blank">short video</a>) & Paul Gauchi's (or God's, if you prefer) Back to Eden no-till, heavy mulch process (<a href="http://backtoedenfilm.com/" target="_blank">long film, worth a watch</a>).<br />
<ul><li>Thanks to an influential elementary school teacher for pointing the way Back to Eden, you can see what he's up to @ <a href="http://cedar-ridge-farm.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://cedar-ridge-farm.blogspot.com/</a>. </li>
</ul> So, because I can't ever follow rules exactly, I've made my 3 4ftx12ft beds for the cost of 2 truckloads of sand (about $35) and one truckload of mulch ($15). $50 for the amount of food we'll be able to grow doesn't seem too bad. Anyhoo, on to step-by-step pictures:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHN5V6xW6bxW8hS-EpDK0PPX6FSzKmDJYMbIjoEDk8CYQjrko34x_REmvXodHTvPbtAY_bTtgXKsm2pO6_Y-5ck49jdsrO8d89e0XQ91r2WoqB_9NpMys0bkEz4wULtRHGArlccdt4bs/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHN5V6xW6bxW8hS-EpDK0PPX6FSzKmDJYMbIjoEDk8CYQjrko34x_REmvXodHTvPbtAY_bTtgXKsm2pO6_Y-5ck49jdsrO8d89e0XQ91r2WoqB_9NpMys0bkEz4wULtRHGArlccdt4bs/s320/IMG_0382.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First, I marked the beds with bamboo stakes & twine. Next I removed (&saved for compost) sod from the paths.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_0MXyjH0MFmL1HOPcO1oTKh4Dv3ty8sQs4XW-vJnxN_QwNj1a-1-bH3DG8fXiY_mKGlSrckHqELN5QXMEWM3yJit0zuExzdvdZLUk5rjCVKXW_SvfF2VMjHzQKrydNkgq_l2TXGhLPM/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_0MXyjH0MFmL1HOPcO1oTKh4Dv3ty8sQs4XW-vJnxN_QwNj1a-1-bH3DG8fXiY_mKGlSrckHqELN5QXMEWM3yJit0zuExzdvdZLUk5rjCVKXW_SvfF2VMjHzQKrydNkgq_l2TXGhLPM/s320/IMG_0383.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Blocking the grasses with cardboard. After I did the first bed I realized i needed to level the bricks with sand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJupaRoDTxyimBOFss7NyvikUT0B1ABfvL8cEO2TY44zyfnPFZHjwGy0dSeKVcoTLEjl4g3G2ibaQ11HQsRO8ax3S4cTLIC7u4IZGzl_oE3JW1bd96oOmBUHrvN_XUKcp2Gq9Xod8AOj8/s1600/IMG_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJupaRoDTxyimBOFss7NyvikUT0B1ABfvL8cEO2TY44zyfnPFZHjwGy0dSeKVcoTLEjl4g3G2ibaQ11HQsRO8ax3S4cTLIC7u4IZGzl_oE3JW1bd96oOmBUHrvN_XUKcp2Gq9Xod8AOj8/s320/IMG_0417.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I got some and started laying partly-finished compost (I'd have used totally finished compost, but partly finished was what I had) on top of the cardboard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Vy5aeGcQg-N7rowYJY4VWw1bVl_dnA8lilNwCNQz6yUMd9u6ErXj-D2ZjPVYBMh8QibZcvOSH9XAo5ga1ejyLvsPz1XauSh8BsHBxStlKxvQmG05YSXGremxvaEBSHlpqZ7h0aBvfY/s1600/IMG_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6Vy5aeGcQg-N7rowYJY4VWw1bVl_dnA8lilNwCNQz6yUMd9u6ErXj-D2ZjPVYBMh8QibZcvOSH9XAo5ga1ejyLvsPz1XauSh8BsHBxStlKxvQmG05YSXGremxvaEBSHlpqZ7h0aBvfY/s320/IMG_0418.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sprinkle of sand in the bed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-gPp0dKtWremhGqm6YPlg8IDOX0W73jcLIIfgr1Q65i6uAeuvJCefNYEGCUvF8PYbpC755Kzchp34arDpvTF6z9ESWJnT0WNQv_XLhufrdwB-UPGlsq3FIaVYKgZ6tKnINcG0j4i_N4/s1600/IMG_0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-gPp0dKtWremhGqm6YPlg8IDOX0W73jcLIIfgr1Q65i6uAeuvJCefNYEGCUvF8PYbpC755Kzchp34arDpvTF6z9ESWJnT0WNQv_XLhufrdwB-UPGlsq3FIaVYKgZ6tKnINcG0j4i_N4/s320/IMG_0419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More compost</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwE5rnrADmxPmeXcblwn5OkZIKaNhSzsEjwwDniZIuRBnmzo-gh_IO1EguB_SQrTIP9plCaXjpN6koYK9-sITjlbZzPfgJxBn3PxzMpUGpDs2I3F1jbID_eB1cpiS5oTULIQCqY9HoOm4/s1600/IMG_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwE5rnrADmxPmeXcblwn5OkZIKaNhSzsEjwwDniZIuRBnmzo-gh_IO1EguB_SQrTIP9plCaXjpN6koYK9-sITjlbZzPfgJxBn3PxzMpUGpDs2I3F1jbID_eB1cpiS5oTULIQCqY9HoOm4/s320/IMG_0423.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the last bed. I ran out of compost at my house, other than some horse manure i need to compost to perform a bioassay test on (more on that later), so I had to truck some in from me madre's.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcYplXAlUMuCvgqHXKEtWf88_XWLx0J5NuDecgwamOdaDDRqD8lhiNP7gQ95fAPECy7k3-LlQblkHQ7VaxoRJitYgJimZ0Vb_b7l8Sk5nv5W4cXaTDN9i1Euxa3pPRaMEKp5wUMyCJas/s1600/IMG_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxcYplXAlUMuCvgqHXKEtWf88_XWLx0J5NuDecgwamOdaDDRqD8lhiNP7gQ95fAPECy7k3-LlQblkHQ7VaxoRJitYgJimZ0Vb_b7l8Sk5nv5W4cXaTDN9i1Euxa3pPRaMEKp5wUMyCJas/s320/IMG_0468.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last step was adding 3-6inches of woodchips to the bed, I think I averaged about 4in, then I spread a thin layer of the mulch over the sand surrounding and between the beds.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That's fifty bones, if you'll recall a previous post, for growing space to accomodate:<br />
<ul><li>12 cucumbers</li>
<li>a plethora of mustard greens</li>
<li>4 squash plants</li>
<li>6 broccoli</li>
<li>48 pole beans</li>
<li>92 bush beans</li>
<li>46 soybean plants</li>
<li>27 leeks</li>
<li>12 celery</li>
<li>96 storage onions</li>
<li>48 sweet onions</li>
<li>108 scallions</li>
<li>24 garlic bulbs</li>
<li>12 tomatoes</li>
<li>12 pepper plants</li>
<li>54 shell peas</li>
<li>54 snap peas</li>
</ul>Not a bad deal.Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-54602617064127894162012-01-11T21:50:00.002-05:002012-01-13T13:40:57.749-05:00signs of life My little babies are breaking through the dirt...<br />
I sowed some seed Saturday, eager to test my lil Seed Starting Station & hoping to get a jump on the fast approaching cool/cole crop season. Resisting a chronic compulsion to plant everything at my fingertips was difficult, but i managed to start with 3 flats:<br />
<ul><li>Flat #1: American Flag Leek & Red Torpedo Onion: this is my first year really breaking into alliums (this fall i planted German White and California Early garlic at me madre's, and perennial <a href="http://www.egyptianwalkingonion.com/" target="_blank">Egyptian Walking Onions</a>[cool pictures through that link] in the keyhole bed). As such, i've never grown them from seed, but shoots came up today from the leeks and the onions. Really hoping these work out, cuz i think the joe-knee and i consume at least a pound of onions and a clove of garlic a week.</li>
<li>Flat #2: Waltham Broccoli: i planted the whole flat and within 3 days nearly all the seeds had sprouted. Which is good, cuz we love broccoli. All of it: stems, shoots & leaves. It's probably good for you, our tastebuds declare. Barring some kind of cataclysm, i should have some extras for trade or sale by the time you wanna put em in the ground (around the 3rd wk of February)</li>
<li>Flat #3: Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage & Red Russian Kale: these guys have yet to emerge, but they've got some time left. We're overwintering a couple of each variety in our neighbor Randy's bed, so if for some reason they don't want to sprout, we'll still have some to CHOMPCHOMPCHOMP.</li>
</ul>The next step is to build some kind of ramshackle cold-frame, to harden off the seedlings & free up more room to germinate my little seedlings. I'll need plenty in the next few weeks to start sprouting my celery, lettuce & tons of tomatoes...<br />
the plan is to start lots of transplant tomatoes: <a href="http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=05-P13-00038&segmentID=8" target="_blank">Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter</a> (click link for radio story), Amish Paste, Brandywine & Beefsteak. These should be ready by the end o' March for trade, sale, and baiting potential gardeners... :)<br />
<br />
<b>in other news: </b>i made the ... <i>correct decision?</i> ... and impulse bought 50 strawberry plants when i ordered my heating coil. My logic was that if i spent $6 more dollars @ <a href="http://www.groworganic.com/" target="_blank">www.groworganic.com</a> i'd get two free seed packets (i picked Kentucky Wonder green beans & Southern Giant Curled mustard), saving myself around $5. what i failed to factor in was the cost of shipping dormant strawberries across the country (nearly twice as much as the plants) and the fact that since they're shipped from the golden valleys of California, the berries would arrive on my door in January. Sheesh. They're in the fridge until I can figure out what to do with them. All cuz Joani said she wanted some strawberries, not because i am a berry glutton. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">So stay tuned to find out:</div><ul style="text-align: center;"><li>if the shua keep his strawberries alive until their preferred pea-synched planting date</li>
<li>which plants thrive in this suburban microclimate & which wilt like cabbage in the dog days surrounded by all this noise & all these people</li>
<li>if catastrophic climate collapse affects our growing season in a good way or just a wierd one</li>
<li>if shua will go crazy and live in a teepee in the backyard, scaring neighborhood children & neglecting to properly launder his loincloth</li>
<li>or something else...</li>
</ul>Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-27027075398920039752012-01-06T15:46:00.000-05:002012-01-06T15:46:29.545-05:00shakin off them winter blues.it's easy to get caught up in the hodge-podge of suburban life, but i'm committed to maintaining at least some semblance of focus. most folks sit through the winter dreamily leafing through their seed catalogs, wishing for warmer days. admittedly, i've been doing more than my fair share of that recently. never one to sit on my laurels for too long a stretch, i've gotten proactive and set up a seed starting station out back.<br />
<br />
it's weirdly nice out today and i don't feel like sitting here nose to the keyboard, so i'll just show you:<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA16s1BJQVMzQvvaAH_XZHCMUYYP83j6uOIYzLQBESv_1PDYKWjYuv4lNa8yS_8QAwsVHrXtl3ap3fDBLPV93lhucVilPv3VDhQWvzCv1XOHR0gQgbjLXjQOjnjt0ds2gvt26P7VSN6I/s1600/IMG_0435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA16s1BJQVMzQvvaAH_XZHCMUYYP83j6uOIYzLQBESv_1PDYKWjYuv4lNa8yS_8QAwsVHrXtl3ap3fDBLPV93lhucVilPv3VDhQWvzCv1XOHR0gQgbjLXjQOjnjt0ds2gvt26P7VSN6I/s320/IMG_0435.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">space to work with</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhG2cNUpMRUArv3VFGqCpnp7tCPx2JQRgGvYzkiqhbPGzQ5Hvueeto6pBqyPSMA072wVhLF8QTUor_j9hyUVI2pnT7m9tFLUAOueO4GgYkQPbKa7V1g_V-EPcVdg9Dx__PdNGK9FgcIE/s1600/IMG_0436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhG2cNUpMRUArv3VFGqCpnp7tCPx2JQRgGvYzkiqhbPGzQ5Hvueeto6pBqyPSMA072wVhLF8QTUor_j9hyUVI2pnT7m9tFLUAOueO4GgYkQPbKa7V1g_V-EPcVdg9Dx__PdNGK9FgcIE/s320/IMG_0436.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">joe-knee sealed up the plexiglass windows and the roof</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM_FGbuo7L-D7kG4ZxCpv2u6BpncvOLCG1KLDJFexfAFbTRZHNkKWpWF_UQCia9Sqf9yZSjMDqB2VFtPnUe4QXKl4NfF3FZrQEr3Puh_1PcsSVhQJbInRZkFfUxpuaxhhOt2iune7PLk/s1600/IMG_0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKM_FGbuo7L-D7kG4ZxCpv2u6BpncvOLCG1KLDJFexfAFbTRZHNkKWpWF_UQCia9Sqf9yZSjMDqB2VFtPnUe4QXKl4NfF3FZrQEr3Puh_1PcsSVhQJbInRZkFfUxpuaxhhOt2iune7PLk/s320/IMG_0443.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside a 2x4box i laid a 1/2in of sand, and my heating coil attached to some chicken wire i bought for some other purpose</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdyEZ9xP-no9d7FLvlk8-tbChaSVlItblie-_FziB3r2WaOQ8X0tYmtCeoKPpcxgCVWdrIlL3lZZPvWEn_32LWi0ounnN2Mvx5S3urKEWqZ2QPTqNHASpdykCycy7OpHAM88NysiYOCM/s1600/IMG_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdyEZ9xP-no9d7FLvlk8-tbChaSVlItblie-_FziB3r2WaOQ8X0tYmtCeoKPpcxgCVWdrIlL3lZZPvWEn_32LWi0ounnN2Mvx5S3urKEWqZ2QPTqNHASpdykCycy7OpHAM88NysiYOCM/s320/IMG_0444.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">using a scrap 2by, i flattened the heating element and covered with more sand </td></tr>
</tbody></table>and then...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pKPIhTAj0ZA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>...apparently our camera and i only see certain colors. ah well.Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-23863251674837956412011-11-05T08:10:00.001-04:002011-11-05T08:14:10.084-04:00dinner from dirt<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKgo9aedqpzbdfcnW4oIJefV3tiddx3TWvx8sbn1O-YPFwc_hYGucVRLtAbNW0jak2CiyKVMUA3TQDolOWfvbDReapy3h8zimTCf6LqB9LDBt4b4gUMqJxM6R2zOlu9w1-sP6qaf-3Vo/s1600/IMG_0282.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKgo9aedqpzbdfcnW4oIJefV3tiddx3TWvx8sbn1O-YPFwc_hYGucVRLtAbNW0jak2CiyKVMUA3TQDolOWfvbDReapy3h8zimTCf6LqB9LDBt4b4gUMqJxM6R2zOlu9w1-sP6qaf-3Vo/s400/IMG_0282.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mesclun mix, baby brassica greens, cilantro and radish</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span id="goog_1710279481"></span><span id="goog_1710279482"></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Much is being touted these days about locavorism, farm-to-table, etc., etc... Numerous studies have confirmed that the nutritional content of our food has an inverse relationship to the amount of time and travel it takes for said food to reach our swollen gullets. And of course, there's the evidence of our tongues: fresh-picked just tastes better. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> There's a growing market in the publishing sector for cookbooks designed to help us remember the lost art of enjoying our garden harvest. Before you rush out to buy one, dear reader, take the time to consider my favorite recipe and a few time-tested tips...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a name='more'></a> </span><b> </b><span style="font-size: small;">Nature's best garden recipe: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Pick it & Eat it.</span></b></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Raw is best. Salads aren't boring unless you're trapped in a One-Lettuce Nightmare. </span></span></span></span></li>
</ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eat more of each plant; often times the stems and roots contain more nutrients than the leaf or fruit. I wouldn't necessarily munch on a tomato stem, but chopped cilantro, brassica and radish stems add pleasing flavor and crunch to a raw salad, and radish root fibers are fun to eat (if you're like me and enjoy pretending to eat worms)</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've heard it told that there was a time in Japan, not so long ago, when customers in the market preferred produce with evidence of bug-munching. The logic was that if the bugs were enjoying the crop, it was safe to eat. Eat hole-y leaves, they're not gonna hurt ya. Eat bugs, too. And eat a little dirt as well. The minerals will let you get rid of you're cancer-linked dietary supplements. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">kidding: don't eat bugs or dirt. except on accident. or if it's a delicacy.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe-Knee demonstrates how classy folk nibble salad. Pinky out.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7629847268618948651.post-67897556383411280262011-10-21T00:41:00.000-04:002011-10-21T00:41:08.263-04:00a case for overseeding, stoopid....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVYQAyv-whd2qTv3NvH_PRQW6RR857x0xlOzei593s1PLyaIyoTVrjKHDKI8ruGUd6vW_h2IYsYbvcac1Jk8-_YGMSf06fBHs-ccvg_GAWo30XCD6zvwXflAqCz5aAtEcybi288cFhdo/s1600/fall+thinningsalad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVYQAyv-whd2qTv3NvH_PRQW6RR857x0xlOzei593s1PLyaIyoTVrjKHDKI8ruGUd6vW_h2IYsYbvcac1Jk8-_YGMSf06fBHs-ccvg_GAWo30XCD6zvwXflAqCz5aAtEcybi288cFhdo/s400/fall+thinningsalad.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we got swiss chard, broccoli raab, baby collards, baby cabbage, baby kale, arugula, baby broccoli, salad mix thinnins, baby dill, parsley, french tarragon, baby cilantro, parlsey and thinly sliced radish. bag salad's got nothing on this.</td></tr>
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it's fancy, but it'll work. we may all be but blips in history, so let's celebrate that. food production is in all ways beautiful and wonderful and good. "what's so asinine about food production is that such a small amount of people do it, and such a large amount of people expect it." So sayeth the Joe Knee. wanna talk about art? the act of creation? how about growing and consuming vital energies? say what you will about thinning, babies are delicious ~ especially vegetative ones ~ and i spent an hour peacefully examining, caressing and culling the herd. <br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">joani's going off on qwerty now . . . as a sexist tool. she hates us, sticks and holes.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">it's cool tho, cuz when she says "they," she means "wii."</span></li>
</ul> call yer thinnings "microgreens" and you can even exploit the heirs.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">shua & joe-knee out; to live the good life</div>Shuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087508011147165282noreply@blogger.com0