St Fiacre's Acre

a voice from the future...

2011-11-25T16:21:00.004-05:00

So, it's been three years since our last post. For good or bad, we've done very little gardening and set aside entirely any thoughts of serious urban homesteading. Instead, M has refied her expertise in the field of labor and delivery, has made it about half-way through a master's program in public health, and seems to be on the verge of significant professional breakthroughs. I've completed a second masters degree (in religious studies) and entered the doctoral program in American religious cultures at Emory University. I'm currently about 2/5 of the way through, figuring out my dissertation topic and preparing for comprehensive exams while completing coursework. Since our last post, our wonderful dog Helen has passed away. Arjuna (the cat) is older and larger but well. And we have a new dog, Jackpot, adopted from a lovely family nearby.

Today, in the beautiful afternoon sun, I took down much of the garden assembled back in 2007. Over the last two years, as our gardening efforts gradually faded, the garden became severely overgrown, the untreated-bentwood fencing falling down, etc. At least for this winter, we'll have no more than a very modest herb garden, a 5'X15' bricked-in section that was within the formerly fenced-in garden. Perhaps in Spring 2012 we'll plant additional herbs and who knows, maybe something more ambitious as well.

With all the tearing down today, I'm wondering aboyt the place of serious homesteading and even modest gardening in the lives of ordinary people. When it was our sole focus, I loved it, could get or do enough regarding it. But when something else became our sole focus, that which was of ultimate concern, my interest and energy was impossible to maintain. To be this kind of person has serious advantages and disadvantages.

"Locavores?"

2009-03-30T17:32:00.007-04:00

Well, it's been over a year since we've done anything with St. Fiacre's, but we're considering a rather bold plan: one year eating only locally grown/produced food, i.e., becoming "locavores." Since largely abandoning our urban homesteading principles (which seemed necessary with M working fulltime and my returning to the university as both instructor and postgraduate student), we've noticed a tendency toward unchecked, undisciplined, self-distructive, headonism in our diet and lifestyle. Not that we have become crack-addicts, but that, without an "organizing principle" that says otherwise, we find ourselves all too frequently sitting in front of the TV eating pizza and candy and drinking soda!

We need a much better organizing principle, and badly. Of course, we've kept up our garden, eaten many of M's great home-cooked meals, and been shopping at local farmer's markets from May - October. But we need something with a sharper edge, so to speak. We need, in academic-speak, a mythology capable of truly informing our beliefs and actions around something intensely intimate, our food.

Check out "Path to Freedom"

2008-01-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

1. We're not only looking for ways to bring homesteading to our next home, whether that home resides in Santa Barbara, Nashville, Princeton, Boston or Chicago, but also looking for greater balance and harmony in our lives in general. For several months, for instance, we worked very hard at homesteading, perhaps too hard and perhaps somewhat self-righteously, researching and practicing every aspect of homesteading we could reasonably attempt. While helpful in some ways, this ultimately lead to an unbalanced and unsustainable approach, one we could not successfully integrate into the larger matrix of our lives. When I needed to dedicate long hours each day to the phd application process, for example, I found it impossible to reconcile this new work-load with the highly ambitious homesteading plans we'd made (e.g., maintaining a very large garden and blueberry bush grove, building an extensive garden fence from bentwood, planning and building a tool shed, learning to make our own soap, brew our own beer and wine, ordering and using a hand-washer for laundry, researching and planning an underground home, and so on). As a result, when the new work-load appeared, we cold not sustain them both and largely fell away from our homesteading activities, save harvesting from the garden through the Fall months. This was a very sad turn of events, though I suspect that we are not alone in this sort of experience.

2. Towards a far more gradual, incremental, balanced and fully integrated approach to homesteading, we're going back to study carefully those who have been more successful, for example, the Dervaes family from southern California. Their website, pathtofreedom.com, is spectacular! Not only are they highly successful homesteaders in a highly urban environment, harvesting some 5,700 lbs. of organic vegetables from 1/10 of an acre, but they have come to this point via a slow, gradual set of sustainable practices. Many people are talking about ecologically sustainable practices, but it's also worth thinking about psychologically sustainable practices, that is, practices that we can successfully integrate into the larger matrices of our lives, with all of our responsibilities, commitments, goals, and so on.

Looking forward to Lettuce

2008-01-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Weather.
Morning temp: 30 F
Afternoon high: 46 F
Tonight's low: 31 F
Clear, NE Wind at 5 mph
Humidity: 64%

1. With 8 beds of Lettuce planted early in the first days of a new moon and a cold night last night bringing a gentle freeze, we're hoping to have lots of fresh organic greens by the end of February! In fact, if our present beds produce at anything like the one bed we had last year, we'll have a great deal of greens to share with our family members and friends!!! This is an inspiring thought! Of course, prior to distributing the seed, we turned the top 12" of soil with a D-handled fork, and added-in a small amount of worm castings and peat moss left over from last Spring. Given the very thorough "double-digging" work we've done in the past year, turning the soil was soooooooooooooooooooo easy! After spreading the seed by hand across the rows, we very lightly watered each bed, to keep each seed gently anchored in the beds (and thus protected from the wind and from blowing away).

Looking to the future

2008-01-15T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today's Weather.
Today's high: 50 F
Tonight's low: 27 F
Clear, NW Wind 6 mph
Humidity: 52%

1. Well, M is back at work full-time, mostly healed from her injury. I am through the application process, and we're waiting more or less patiently until March/April, when we should hear from the five phd programs to which I've applied. To make money for living expenses, I've gone back to construction work I have done off and on for many years now. By mid-Summer, we should be relocated to one of five metropolitan areas: Santa Barbara (CA), Nashville (TN), Boston (MA), Princeton (NJ), Chicago (IL), depending of course on the offers of acceptance and funding we get from these superb universities. We're slowly looking at real estate in each area, and the possibility of continuing our homesteading efforts in these places.

2. Meanwhile, we've recommitted ourselves to a Winter/Spring Garden. This past weekend, M had four consecutive days off, and after she had recovered from her 17+ hour shift last Thursday night, we put in 8 rows of Lettuce seed. Each row is about 1.5 feet wide and 5 feet in length. We're experimenting with raised rows, as our earlier beds (which were 5' or more in width) were simply too difficult for M to get to for weeding and harvesting. We're also experimenting with our planting time: M has observed that Lettuce seed may need to freeze (lightly) in order to grow well, and may not at all benefit from a prolonged period of warm days and nights. Given the climate change here, we're thinking that Lettuce and greens may need to be planted quite late into the "cold" weather.

3. We've also re-instituted some of our other homesteading practices, such as composting and hanging our clothing out to dry on a line, at least a few sunny days each week. While we have certainly fallen short of some of our earliest homesteading dreams and goals, we are more knowledgeable, and live differently, than we would had we not explored this path so thoroughly over the past year.

Back, finally

2007-11-20T19:24:00.000-05:00

Morning temp: 45F
Afternoon high: 72F
Tonight's projected low: 52F
Wind: S at 5 mph
Humidity: 72%
Moon: Waxing, 82%

Well, it's been five months, and it's fair to say that our lives have been significantly overhauled since our last entry. To sum up: M is very slowly still healing her work-sustained broken foot, and has also transitioned to a day-shift position (7am - 7pm, rather than 7pm - 7am); after a ten month hiatus from university teaching, I have decided on a teaching career in mainstream academia, and, accordingly, have spent the past months studying for the Graduate Records Exam, filling out online and paper applications, gathering letters of recommendations, reading and researching various programs across the country, revising an article for publication, and generally winding my way through the byzantine world of applying to PhD programs; our Summer Garden was astoundingly generous, forgiving, and patient, while we harvested continually but otherwise neglected it; we have no Fall/Winter Garden in place this year, since the above projects consumed all of our time and energy, and next Spring we will be moving to one major city or another. How does Homesteading philosophy & practice fit in with these changes, especially when we are clearly not moving to "The Land" in upper-state New York? That's a good question, one we're currently working out.

2007-06-29T16:53:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 72F
Afternoon high: 90F
Tonight's projected low: 69F
Wind: NE at 6 mph
Humidity: 52%
Moon: Waxing, 99% Full

1. It's been extraordinarily hot here, so hot that working outside beyond 11am is a bit insane by my standards. Raised in New England, I've never really gotten used to the heat here in the South, even after 25+ years.

2. We're harvesting some wonderful vegetables from the Garden on a daily basis, Sungold and Black Cherry Tomatoes, Squash and Cucumbers just to start.

3. As M indicated in her post, we've also been visiting a Saturday morning market where local farmers come to sell their food. There seem to be two sorts of folks who attend. The first kind are specifically seeking local produce, either out of some ethical impulse (shipping food across the country is fantastically unwise in about a hundred major ways), or because they realize that food grown locally is not just fresh, they're better food. If you're running Money Mart Empire, and you want to ship California Tomatoes to Virginia, what kinds of Tomatoes will you want? The kind that taste great but don't tolerate shipping very well? Or the kind that tolerate shipping but are washed out and tasteless? At real markets with real farmers, the kinds of tomatoes available are themselves superior to those at Money Mart.

The other sort of patron seems to be the curiosity seeker, perhaps expecting that food grown locally would be far less expensive - after all, what kind of truly successful person would grow food for a living? I believe we were beset by such patrons this last Saturday. While M was picking her way carefully through the crowds of shoppers eagerly buying up the last of Spring Onions, Strawberries and Turnips, one fellow in front of me looked down at the baskets of produce, at the signs posted here and there, at his wife, and burst out in disbelief, "I can't believe you're going to pay this much for some food!", and stalked off to wait in the car. Well, there's always Money Mart, where tasteless veggies sit waiting, after a 2,000 mile, gasoline sucking, climate-warming truck ride!

4. 51% of all gasoline used in America is used to transport food across the country. In 80% or more of these instances, this food could easily be grown locally.

I Can Has Locally Grown Grass-fed Cheezburger?

2007-06-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

K and I have started visiting a Saturday morning farmers' market in our county. We've been able to purchase leeks, onions, garlic (for a taste test at home against our own) sweet little Japanese turnips, strawberries, eggplant, eggs, and grass-fed beef. Next week, one of the farmers will have free-range chicken available.

The farmers' market is satisfying on so many levels. First, there is David, the "garlic guy." He has lots of other veggies and eggs -- but the first time we met him he treated us to such an eloquent, intelligent, informative lecture on the various varieties of garlic, when they should be harvested, how long they need to cure before being eaten...that he will always be "the garlic guy." Last week we bought some turnips from him. K was under the impression that he hates turnips. So David grabbed one, peeled it with his pocket knife and sliced us each a little sweet sliver of turnip. K started filling a bag with turnips so fast that he actually started a run on the turnips.

And then there were the strawberries. They were red all the way through. They brought back sense memories from when I was a little girl eating strawberries. These strawberries had a complexity of flavor that isn't available from a strawberry grown 2000 miles away. Kenny was eating them so fast that his hands were a blur.

The beef has been the big prize. I had almost no experience cooking grass-fed beef. It is leaner than grain fed beef, so it can get tough, or dry, or rapidly overdone. The first week we bought ground beef. The second, T-bones. Last week we bought a London broil and a sirloin tip roast.

Here is my recipe for grass-fed cheezburgers.

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
3 bulbs of garlic (no, I don't mean cloves)
1 small onion
1/8 cup + 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of water
1 free range egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the unpeeled onion with the unpeeled bulbs of garlic (yes, really, the whole damned head!) in a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with the tablespoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of water. Fold the aluminum foil around the onion and garlic, making a sealed packet. Place in preheated oven for one hour. (This step can be done a day or so in advance -- roasted garlic and onion are actually really nice things to have in your fridge to add flavor to all sorts of recipes.) Remove packet, open it and let the garlic and onion cool. Once cool, squeeze the creamy roasted garlic out of it's skin and peel the onion. Run a knife through these ingredients, making sure that there aren't any too big pieces.

Place ground beef in a medium mixing bowl. Add the egg, the remaining olive oil and the roasted, minced garlic and onion plus a bit of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your freshly washed bare hands. Form four patties. Salt and pepper the outside of the patties.

Cook in a non-stick pan over medium heat with a smear of olive oil. Place slices of your favorite cheese on the patties after you flip them, letting it melt as the burgers cook. I prefer a nice cheddar.

For the safest burger, you should use a meat thermometer and cook your burger to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. As a nurse, I recommend this -- especially if you are using grain-fed beef. I believe grass-fed beef to be less dangerous and I enjoy it at medium rare, 130-140 degrees. However you like your beef, I think using a meat thermometer the first few times you cook with grass-fed ground beef is probably a good idea. It just cooks faster.

Serve on a good bun!

Michael Pollan, in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, does a really good job of explaining why grass-fed beef is safer (microbially speaking) than grain fed.

The Past Two Weeks.

2007-06-11T11:13:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 75F
Afternoon High: 87F
Tonight's projected low: 65F
Wind: E at 6 mph
Humidity: 94%
Overall; So far, it's been cloudy, misty and raining all morning. Let's see it raining today and every day this week!

1. As you might imagine, M's injury (a broken foot from a fall in a very dark parking lot at work) has really slowed us both down considerably. Still, and perhaps miraculously, we have made progress on a number of fronts.

2. Mr. Garden's Pattypan eyes, Zucchini nose and mustache, and Eggplant mouth signal a new phase in Spring/Summer harvests!

3. After the Deer Attack a few weeks back, and the ever-slower pace of bentwood fence building, we decided to use welded wire fencing. 100' was plenty, costing about $130.00, and the posts already laid in worked perfectly. No more bunnies and deer munching on our Polebeans, Sweet Potatoes and Beets! The first shot below shows the Eastern side of the fence stretching away from the Sugar Maple in the back yard. The second shows the South side of the fence, already finished in bentwood. We still plan on constructing one bentwood wood gate for the Eastern side.

4. M discovered a spray mixture that seems to have detered the bugs who were formerly chewing big holes in our Collards and Eggplants: Cayene Pepper, Dish Soap, Garlic and Onion.

5. We harvested the remaining Garlic, and let it dry (or "cure") on our the back porch for two weeks. We tried to provide lots of room for air to circulate over and underneath to avoid rotting.

6. Once dry, we brought the Garlic into the kitchen, laid them out on two old towels, clipped their stalks, tied them up with string into bundles of 10, and hung them up for storage over the fireplace. We gave one bundle to my folks upstairs, and we're sending one bundle to M's folks. That leaves us 8 bundles for us.

7. We count the Garlic a success, an experiment that shows us not only that we can grow our own Garlic, but the quantity we can expect out of a 5 x 5 Bed. In the future, we'll need probably 10 Beds of this size for a year's supply.

8. While pulling up some wayward volunteer Potato stalks growing in the Cucumber Bed, I discoverd a number of wonderful Ukon Golds! What's amazing about this is that we did nothing to assist these Potatoes, just let them be.

2007-06-03T14:40:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 81F
Tonight's projected low: 61F
Wind: NW at 13 mph
Humidity: 61%
Moon: Waning, 85%
Overall: we've had rows of dark clouds, and sprinkles of rain. We're grateful, and likewise hoping for as much rain as the rain kami would like to give us, gently though!

Getting Caught Up.
1. A few nights past, M tripped over a cement block in a pitch-black parking lot leaving work. As a result, she fractured a bone in her foot, which will take 6 - 8 weeks to heal. We're not certain yet as to whether she'll need surgery. So, I'm somewhat behind on my blogging.

2. Meanwhile, the Potatoes have grow like crazy, and we're late in mulching them. No, this is not a viking burial mound.

3. The Corn, however, has certainly not grown out of control. Last year we double-planted (i.e., planted pairs of seeds side by side, to better the odds of getting full rows), but in each case both seeds germinated, and we had corn stalk pairs everywhere. This year, we single-planted, and only a few seeds germinated, giving us a modest corn patch thus far : (

4. The Bread making, however, continues to develop nicely. Our next Bread Day, probably tomorrow unless a doctor's appointment gets in the way, we'll post the steps of our current recipee, with photos for each.

Let-us give thanks for a great season!

2007-06-01T11:19:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 86F
Tonight's projected low: 62F
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 69%
Moon: 100% full O

This Morning.

1. With the Lettuce bolting (we just noticed that all of the freshly cut plants grew back quick and straight and narrow), we're marking May 31st as the official end of our Lettuce season. Thank you Spirits of the Lettuce Bed for a wonderful and prolonged harvest, blessing us with too many meals to count (though in the future I would like to see just how many we get from year to year)! I'll soon dig-in the remaining plants, and prepare the soil for a planting of something new.

2. I'm off to purchase two additional soaker hoses, lay them out in one of the officially sanctioned Potato Beds, and mulch the Bed with straw. I'm healing a strain in my right upper back/shoulder, so we'll see how far this work goes.

3. The new, lighter, baguette-style Bread recipe we've derived is wonderful. I'm considering a entry soon that documents each step, for anyone out there who's just a few steps behind us in Breadmaking.

This Afternoon.

1. With rain coming tomorrow (Thank Goodness & welcome rain Spirits! We need you badly!), we're planning to harvest all remaining Garlic this afternoon. I'll dig this Bed and prepare it for something new as well.

Another Garlic Harvest!

2007-05-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 75F
Afternoon high: 88F
Tonight's projected low: 60F
Humidity: 53%
Wind: NE at 5 mph
Moon: Waxing still, almost 100%

This Morning.

1. It's beena hot day, and with a slight upper back strain, I've done little other than basic household chores & lay some cardboard out in and around the garden to keep down the grass.

This Afternoon.

1. M and I brought in a bit more Garlic. I'd say that Bed is about 40% harvested.

Summer's coming

2007-05-29T11:43:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Humidity: 69%
Wind: E at 6 mph
Moon: nearly 100% Full (a good time for transplanting!)

This Morning.

1. It's a beautiful, sunshiny day! We can see the days getting warmer, with day-time highs creeping into the mid-80s, and night-time lows creeping into the 60s. We think we'll be able to keep the Lettuce going so long as the night-time temps remain below 70F. That's what we've heard, so we'll see.

2. I'm spending my morning doing dishes, laundry, sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, cleaning the bathroom, and learning to make Bread a different way. Thus far, we've learned to make quite hearty, whole wheat loaves using recipes from the Tsajara Bread Book- an excellent book for beginners, as detailed instructions and illustrations are provided for each step of the process. But we'd also like to make lighter, baguette-style loaves, and we're in the early stages of our first attempt right now. I've turned to a different cookbook, How to Cook Everything, for some new ideas.

This Afternoon.

1. Well, the new Bread recipe (from the book How to Cook Everything), as it turns out, is seriously flawed, calling for just 1 teaspoon of rapid-rising yeast for four loaves. That's a minuscule amount; twice that would be parsimonious. As a result, my baguettes are hardly rising at all, though they've sat up for several hours already. Projections for baking these dense little loaves are less than favorable, unless you like to eat rocks! : (

The funny thing is, even with my tiny amount of Bread making experience, I knew that more yeast was called for, though I was reluctant to disobey the "official" instructions. Is this experience a metaphor for life, or what?

Conversations with open minds, how refreshing!

2007-05-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 59F
Afternoon high: 84F
Tonight's projected low: 60F
Humidity: 88%
Wind: E at 5mph
Moon: Waxing, close to 100%

This Morning.

1. As the month of May nears its end, we celebrate a minor success here: we have not used our clothes drier since April, nearly one month! Hanging wash out to dry on the nylon line strung across the yard has actually become a rather meditative exercise in the sunshine and wind, one to which I look forward. Before long, we hope to purchase a hand washer & ringer, which will cut electricity entirely out of the equation (though our water still comes from a centralized municple source). Moroever, the grey-water from our wash, with the help of biodegradable laundry soap, can be used to safely water the Blueberry Grove!

2. Last night we met up with one of M's sons, J., who is home visiting from his college home in Chicago. Luckily, I managed to talk not only with him but with several others we met during the evening about our Homesteading endeavors, and about the movement in general. Everyone's interest seemed peaked when I used words like, "self-reliance", "simplifying our lives", "doing more for ourselves", and even "Homesteading". As is often the case when I get to talk with bright, thoughtful folk, so doing helped me to think through my own understanding further and more clearly than I had previously. This is one reason I loved teaching.

One important dynamic that emerged in these conversations was that Homesteading is a continuum, rather than a set of absolutes. That is, one may engage Homesteading at different levels of intensity and still be a welcomed member of the movement. Some notable Homesteaders have mastered the art of self-sufficiency to such an extent that they have gone several months without spending any money whatsoever, even in the harsh Australian outback-http://www.lintrezza.com/. Others have learned to integrate lush, bountiful gardens, solar-panel energy production, and making their own bio-fuel in their garage into a typical suburban neighborhood, without infuriating their neighbors-http://www.pathtofreedom.com/. We respect and admire these advanced approaches, and would also like to suggest a gradual, incremental approach that can be made to fit any lifestyle whatsoever -http://www.urban-homesteading.com/. Basically, anything we do to increase our self-reliance, use fewer resources, save money and increase our "at home time" may start us down the Homesteading path! Each of these points is of import, and deserves a bit more detail.

i. While the Universe contains an infinite supply of wealth, riches and resources, our current civilization is not doing a very good job of making them equally and reliably available to everyone, nor are we making good decisions as to which resources to use. Clearly, 6 billion Earthlings hooked on oil as a primary power source is not avery good idea, and has created an unfortunate ecological, economic and political reality - one that we will solve, but that may take some serious discipline on everyone's part. Fortunately, some brilliant and disciplined minds are already hard at work on our behalf - http://www.cheniere.org/

Also, right now (in 2007), the money we Americans make is at an all-time low in its purchasing power. While wages have risen in terms of dollars over the past sixty years, what those dollars are capable of purchasing has plummeted. My grandfather (who had a 5th grade education), for instance, worked as a truck-driver and then as meat-slicing machine salesman and made enough money to provide for his family: a nice house in New England, two cars, a lake-side cottage for weekend get-a-ways, a college education for his daughter, and ample retirement savings on his income alone. His experience was typical in 1950, when the middle class was growing at an amazing rate. Two generations later, however, the number of families able to achieve this level of prosperity on two incomes is exceedingly rare. I do not want to paint an apocalyptic or hopeless picture here. Like our ecological difficulties, these economic circumstances simply represent a problem, which we will solve. Fortunately, brilliant thinkers are also hard at work in this arena doing just that - http://www.nesara.us/pages/home.html.

Until new, cleaner and saner realities are embraced, the benefits of using fewer resources and saving money are obvious. I think the following basic realization lies at the heart of the Homesteading movement: "I'll happily learn to cut back where I can do so with a reasonable amount of effort, for instance, purchasing as much of my food as I can from local farmer's (perhaps at real farmer's markets), since the food available at traditional grocery stores is shipped across the country (or even from other countries) and uses a tremendous amount of gasoline (nearly 60% of American gasoline consumption is used to transport food that could be - and used to be in decades past - grown locally!) and thus contributes mightily to greenhouse gases, global climate instability and all of the political amd military disasters that result from our dependence upon oil".

ii. Given these weighty considerations, it's often overlooked that the farther we go down a Homesteading path, the more calm, peaceful, "at home time" we'll get. One of the primary reasons Helen and Scott Nearing (early 20th century Homesteaders who have inspired millions around the world with their most excellent books, chiefly Living the Good Life) was to increase the amount of leisure time in their lives. They time and energy to play music, paint, write, rest, read and enjoy one another's compant and the natural world around them, and they were weary of what they called "the work treadmill": we go to work so that we can purchase things that in many cases we don't need but have been trained by advertisers to desire. But we never seem to get to the point where we have enough money and things to get off the treadmill. Sound familiar?

Once they learn to discard the "work-a-holic" tendencies learned in mainstream culture, Homesteaders are amazed at how learning to do more for themselves allows them to gradually disengage from the "work treadmill", spending greater amount of time at home, at peace. It's exciting to think what will result as Homesteading (on any level) continues to spread as a system of values, philosophy and lifestyle. Our consumption of harmful things will diminish, as our consumption of truly worthwhile things - peace, rest, health producing food, time and energy for creative endeavors and relationships - will grow!

If you can't Beet it...do something different

2007-05-27T10:59:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 58F
Afternoon high: 86F
Tonight's projected low: 59F
Humidity: 73%
Wind: N at 0mph
Moon: Waxing, 90%+

Corrections.

On yesterday's post, I have a photo of the Cucumber Patch where a photo of the Beet Patch should be. When I attempt to correct it, a cascade of coding errors ensues. So, here are the correct shots.

1. A Beet Leaf close-up...

2. A thriving Beet Patch!

This Morning.

1. It's a warm Sunday morning, about 70F, though there's a cool breeze blowing through every now and again. After a long session on the Betar (a table using resonant sound for deep relaxation and healing that I use with clients regularly but, for some reason, often forget to use on myself; you can read more about it in my earlier posts or at http://www.kellyresearchtech.com/) last night, I'm finally able to slow down, enjoy my coffee on the back porch overlooking the Garden. I've been thinking about how "busy" I've felt lately, how for a week or more now I've been fighting back a hurriedness, which of course entails an impatience and frustration at "not getting enough done". Sadly, I've felt this way even when I'm getting things done!

At the same time, I've been drawn back to Benjamin Hoff's charming book, The Tao of Pooh. This book was inspired by the overlap Hoff thought he saw in the American classic "Winnie the Pooh" stories and one of the Three Teachings that make up the complex web of indigenous Chinese religion some Western scholars conveniently label "Taoism" (the other two being Buddhism & Confucianism). "Taoist" teachings and practices - as Hoff points out - are themselves quite diverse, encompassing a wide range of philosophical, monastic and folk traditions. Put differently, there are many different ways one might live and still consider oneself a "Taoist", e.g.., practicing Tai Chi, reading sections from the Tao Te Ching each day, studying acupuncture, using Chinese herbs, and so forth. This morning it's the highly practical teachings of both Pooh and many of the Taoist philosophical traditions I'm concerned with. In the Tao of Pooh, Huff includes the venerable parable, "The Gorge of Lu", which will start us off in the right direction, I think. It goes as such:

"At the Gorge of Lu, the great waterfall plunges for thousands of feet, its spray visible for miles. In the churning waters below, no living creature can be seen. One day, Confucius was standing at a distance from the pool's edge, when he saw an old man being tossed about in the turbulent water. He called to his disciples, and together they ran to rescue the victim. But by the time they reached the water, the old man had climbed out onto the bank and was walking alone, singing to himself. Confucius hurried up to him. 'You would have to be a ghost to survive that;, Confucius said, 'but you seem to be a man, instead. What secret power do you possess?' 'Nothing special,' the old man replied. 'I began to learn while very young, and grew up practicing it. Now I am certain of success. I go down with the water and come up with the water. I follow it and forget myself. I survive because I don't struggle against the water's superior power. That's all'.

How does the old man survive the raging currents of the pool ("in which no living thing can - ordinarily - be seen")? He doesn't fight against the powerful tides and forces he feels pulling him this way and that, but flows with them. He practices what is called Wu Wei, literally "not-striving" against the natural (and sometimes the social) world. How does he accomplish this, when his natural instincts upon being plunged into deep water and strong currents would surely be to gain control of the situation by swimming to the top? Of course, striving against the pool's fierce current would have quickly worn him out and ended his life. Clearly, the old man had achieved a profound level letting go of the need to control. It's interesting that the story implies that both (i) the old man did not fall into the pool accidentally, but chose to extend his practice of Wu Wei (pronounced "Wu Way") to this ultimate level (ii) Confucius did not understand anything the old man was about, suggesting of course a significant difference in philosophy and practice between these two schools, "Taoist" and "Confucian". What's the point of the story? No doubt that living well in the world requires Wu Wei, learning to let of of our deep-seated need to control the forces around us, and to develop the corresponding ability to flow harmoniously with the way the world is. This does not mean, necessarily, that we can't work and hope to change things for the better, but that in so doing we should not find ourselves in the position of "striving", pushing, forcing, fighting and so on. The best tailor, the Tao Te Ching teaches, does little cutting.

So, we have the parable, some sense of what it means, now we must apply it to our 21st century lives. I've no plans for leaping into dangerous tidal pools. It would be both arrogant and foolhardy to think I could accomplish in one day what Taoist sages took years, even decades, to achieve. In our "I must have everything I desire immediately (and I don't want to know about the toll it places on the environment or on other human beings who worked to bring it to me)" culture, this is a point forgotten and, when pointed out, resisted or even resented in many communities: some aspects of spiritual growth take decades of discipline and practice and there's no way around this, so we may have to "put in dollars and get back nickles" for considerable time. My friend E represents a refreshing counter-example to this trend. Her elegant and inspiring book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, took her twenty years of teaching and practice to write, and it was worth the wait!

So, can I apply these teachings to simpler, more mundane matters? Perhaps my persistent worries that "I'm not getting enough done" represent my own attempt to control the flow of work each day. To live more healthily and more happily, I'll need to practice setting this habit aside. It's quite well established in me, this urge to achieve the maximum amount of work each day. But every day can't be a mid-summer harvest. If so, the Earth would all too quickly wear out.

When I first went to college I studied classical guitar with a brilliant and internationally known teacher, John Sutherland. I was fortunate to be accepted into the program, as John was considered a Master Teacher by the world's best players, and was regularly sent the best students by them. I had only begun to study the guitar some six months prior to applying for entrance into the program. Many days I practiced 8 hours or more and just barely was admitted (or so it seemed to me). One day in a private lesson, I said to John, "I'm worried that I'm falling behind in my playing." "Behind what?", John asked. "Behind where I should be," I answered. "That's ridiculous," he laughed, "you are where you are. There's no ahead or behind." I'm not sure how, but this story seems to be connected to the above discussion. Perhaps it's another example of needing to control the flow of work. I think I have a great many of such stories, and that it's time to take seriously the Gorge of Lu.

This is a point that I think sometimes gets lost in academic discussion of comparative religion. Whether or not "all religions are paths to the same destination," and whether or not the claims various religions make are true or false, our religious and spiritual traditions can be, at times, "wisdom traditions", that is, repositories for insights that are fantastically useful in living life well, rather than less well.

Signs of the future

2007-05-26T12:09:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 56F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 60F
Humidity: 54%
Wind: Wind: N at 0 mph
Moon: Waxing, 80%!

1. M and I were talking last night, and we came to the realization that our current Garden, while some 1,200 square feet (30' X 40') in size, represents just a fraction of what we want to grow. Increasingly, our planning for the future is drawn toward our likely migration northward, to the "The Land," the 120 acres in upstate New York that awaits us, and for so many reasons. For instance, The Land is replete with fresh water springs, far more than enough for all of our Homesteading needs. Conversely, with the ongoing droughts here in the suburbs of Zone 8, we've already been limited to one day a week watering. This clearly limits our self-reliance on a very basic level: no water, no Garden, no food, save the taste & nutrient-free varieties that have been trucked across the country and are for sale at our local grocery.

Some Good Signs.

1. Winter Garlic is nearly ready for harvest... Arjuna certanly thinks so.

2. Cucumbers growing, blooming!

3. Unauthorized & unruly volunteer Potato patches abound!

4. Beets are very healthy...

...and the Beet Patch is thriving! Until now, we'd never grown Beets successfully.

5. Basil is standing tall!

6. Butcrunch Lettuce, looking good!

7. Sweet Potatoes are spreading out.

8. Baby Tomatoes have appeared!

9. More Squash blossoms!

Busy busy busy...

2007-05-25T08:19:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 55F
Afternoon high: 81F
Tonight's projected low: 58F
Humidity: 94%
Wind: N at 0 mph
Moon: Waxing 70%
Overall: Much more cloudy today, and less sunshine probably means it will remain cool, barely exceeding 80F!

This Morning.

1. Helen's waiting - somewhat impatiently - in the hallway for me to decide which room I'm going to work in.

2. And finally I've decided, and she can get down to some serious lying down.

3. Helen... sad after having read Hamlet several timesd over.

Looking to the weekend.

1. M has several days off coming up, and so we're thinking through the Garden work that needs doing that we can best do together. Laying down more soaker hoses and mulch? Weeding? Fertilizing? I'm unsure just now.

2. For myself, I've remained busy keeping the Garden watered, the house clean, the laundry washed and hung out, Helen walked and happy, and the bread made. These past two loaves we made yesterday are by far our best yet.

3. On our two most current and intensive projects - the Garden Fence and Shed - I've made not an inch of progress. This points out, I believe, an irony implicit within a Homesteading lifestyle: as the number of things we do for ourselves each day increases - e.g., growing more of of own food, baking our own bread, cutting our own wood for our the Garden Fence, and so forth - the amount of time and energy we have for each particular project is reduced. This means that our days need to become more efficient and perhaps longer. The danger, of course, lies in creating a stressful environment, which is precisely what Homesteading is meant to avoid. The alternative is to really learn to go slowly, do the best job you can with everything you do, and let it all take time. This is probably why it took Helen and Scott Nearing (the founders of 20th century Homesteading) 17 years to build a stone wall around their Garden! I find it comforting to note how different this approach feels when compared to the ethics of the dominant culture, evident in a recent Home Depot commercial, in which two neighbors are mowing their lawns, one on a rider-mower the other behind a push-mower, each competing with the other to see who can complete their work in the least amount of time. The assumption, of course, is that "yard work" sucks, and that the "really successful" folks in our subdivision are those who can afford the most expensive rider-mowers, race back and forth across their lawns while not getting off their asses, and complete their outside work in minutes. I do not fully understand why this commercial bothers me so much. Perhaps it is because simple, outdoor work has a nobility that has all but been forgotten. No doubt that in a culture of massively over-worked, stressed out, over-weight, malnourished folks, such an attitude towards "yard work" is inevitable. Truly, a major re-alignment of our values, priorities, actions and daily lives will require, not a great catastrophe as some apocalyptic thinkers like to believe, but a Great Blessing that allows us all to get plenty sleep, eat very good food, take long walks by the fields, woods & streams, have heart-to-heart talks about what we really want to do with our lives in a context in which such choices represent realistic options.

Ambititous but also worn out

2007-05-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 61°F
Afternoon high: 82F
Tonight's projected low: 58F
Humidity: 77%
Moon: Waxing, 52%
Wind: S at 4 mph

This Morning.

1. With a relatively temperate day spread out before me (a high of only 82F), there's a great deal I'd like to get done, e.g., cutting wood for the next fencing section. Still, I'm a bit worn out from all the moving yesterday, and we do have a new book that looks quite good, Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, an account of her family's attempt at growing their own food & eating locally.

A few quick shots.

2007-05-22T17:10:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 55F
Afternoon high: 86F
Tonight's projected low: 56F
Humidity: 37%
Wind: SE at 8 mph
Moon: Waxing, 40%

Gateway.

Goddess & God in fading sunlight.

"Butcrunch" Lettuce & Cauliflower

Winter Garlic

Another Squash Emerging

This Afternoon, as of 5:30pm.

1. My friend KP and I have spent the day helping my family move their business office across town, and now, with one of our autos in the shop, I'm getting ready to drive M to work (she works the night to morning shift). So, I won't get into the Garden until dusk probably. There will at least be time for some watering. I'll also be getting up early, to go and get M at 7:00am (she works very hard), and so no doubt I'll have a good many hours for.... something important outside.

This Evening, as of 7:30pm.

1. I think these "busy day" entries are important because they suggest that, even during those times when we are unable to give our Suburban Homestead our full attention, the Garden continues to grow and the Homestead is always here upon our return. We'll be putting this to a greater test in June, while KP and I are off to Key West, Florida to do a two week long construction & renovation project, and again in September while M and I are in India and Nepal. Somehow, this helps me get my mind around our upcoming Big Move to Upstate New York, which might be as early as next April. With all the work M and I have put into our Suburban Homestead, we are reluctant to leave. But just as our current Homestead will be here when we return from one trip or another, we can built an entirely new one in New York when we go. 120 acres in the Allegheny Mountains! Forests, fields, plenty of spring water & no mortgage. The pull is indeed strong.

Haven't been in the Garden yet, but...

2007-05-21T16:53:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 52F
Afternoon high: 84F
Tonight's projected low: 50F
Humidity: 28%
Wind: N at 0 mph
Overall: definitely much warmer, hot in the sun even

This Afternoon, as of 4:00pm.

1. Well, it's been a day of a million chores, including Bread making, replacing a broken sliding glass window, & taking one of our cars to a body repair shop - J's tractor rolled off of a retaining wall and hit the front right corner : ( So, I'm yet to get out to the Garden. M, though, went out earlier to mulch the Pole Bean Bed & cut Lettuce and other Greens for dinner salads. Here are two shots of the Winter Lettuce up close, and then one of entire Winter Lettuce Bed and brick walkway.

2. Our Garden tools washed and coated with oil.

3. Our Potato Bed that M mulched with straw.

4. Our Pole Bean Bed that M mulched with straw. The Pole Bean Tipee is made of 50" fencing pieces.

5. We're off to water the Garden, weed perhaps a little bit, take some photos, and play! : )

This Evening, as of 7:30pm.

1. We've finished hand-watering the few Beds that remain without soaker hoses and mulching. At most, we string two soaker hoses together - more than that and the pressure really drops and thus little watering gets done. So, we'll be returning to the Garden several times to switch the hose to different hook-ups.

2. Helen, of course, always comes with. Here's our girl unhappily waiting behind the fence.

2. Her spirits improve once we head back toward the house.

2. Basil that M grew from seed. Because the Herb Beds were only single-dug and not supplemented with much in the way of compost (we were out at the time), I'm giving them worm-tea several times a week and lots of water. They seem to be responding.

3. M's Beets are likewise doing well. Two nights past, she pulled up a handful of baby Beets, mixed them with a garlic, parsely, oregano and served them with whole-wheat pasta in olive oil.

4. The Summer and Panty Pan Squash are also flowering!

5. We've got the South side of the fence built. Yayyyy!

Southern face.

Eastern Post Wall.

Northern Post Wall .

Western Post Wall.

6. Helen crashed out after a long day.

Getting some things done : )

2007-05-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 58F
Afternoon high: 81F
Tonight's projected low: 45F
Humidity: 38%
Moon: Waxing, 20%
Wind: N at 0 mph
Overall: sunny, clear skies, cool so far, though getting warmer as June approaches. We've had a very mild May

This Morning.

1. I'm off to water the Garden & photograph the BBG Netting, among other things.

2. Helen enjoying both sun & shade lounging.

The BlueBerry Grove (BBG).

1. Three different views of the BBG "screen house", as M calls it.

2. Prior to hanging the netting, we connected each of the 4 X 4 posts with white-painted, spruce stripping (roughly 1/4" X 1" X 9' pieces). Because of the distances between posts, in places we had to bridge multiple sections together (evident in the photo on the lower right). We also criss-crossed inexpensive cotten line between posts, giving the netting something to hang upon out in the middle of the BBG (see photo on lower left).

3. We made sure to leave an extra foot of netting at the bottom, making it difficult for tenacious Robbins to scratch their way in by going beneath the netting

4. We finished by tying a sprung strip to the end of the netting, making a "door" for easier access. If the netting is able to get caught up in your feet or arms or legs or clothing or hat, it will.

5. One of the larger bushes a bit closer up. It's grown considerably with regular worm-tea and water!

The Garden Fence.

1. Two fence sections in the making.

2. The larger section up and secured. I hope to get the smaller up this afternoon. I've run off to get more nails, both 2" and 3" varities. Also, if you do this, purchase a really well-made hammer, the kind with criss-crossing groves on the head, which makes nail bending much less likely. Also, seriously consider pre-drilling your nail holes.

3. My next cuttings for fence materials will come from way back in the yard, where a thick patch of privet has grown up around a brick pile. As you can see, the pile is nearly completely overgrown (it's amazing what 25 years of growing will accomplish).

A Hope-Full Morning.

2007-05-19T10:05:00.001-04:00

Morning temp: 55F
Afternoon high: 76F
Tonight's projected low: 46F
Humidity: 63%
Moon: Growing, 15%
Wind: NE at 5 mph
Overall: another wonderful day!

This Morning.
1. We've a lot planned for this weekend: J & I are setting up the BlueBerry Grove (BBG) netting; M and I will mulch all remaining Garden beds, laying down soaker hoses where necessary; I'm cutting a dense thicket of trees that have grown up around our brick pile back behind the Garden, and then will use this wood as fencing material; I'll also assemble and attached two additional fencing sections; of course, all of this will be photographed and documented here!

This Afternoon & Evening.
1. Jim & I finally got the BBG Netting up! Yayyyy! I'll post photos tomorrow. M and I spent the day eating out and book shopping - also yayyy! - so that's all the work we've got done so far. A great night to all : )

Photographs, Part 3

2007-05-18T13:59:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 46F
Afternoon high: 76F
Tonight's projected low: 44F
Humidity: 46%
Moon: Returning, 6%
Wind: N at 0 mph

This Morning.
1. I've been busy running errands thus far, though I'll be back outdoors shortly.

Looking to the future.
1. About 25 years back, J (my step-dad) built this storage shed near the house. It's about 15 X 20 and, while weather-worn outside, remains bone-dry within; a well built structure indeed.

2. We have something smaller in mind for a Garden Shed, probably about 10 X 10 and built from pallets and scrap wood. We've already built our Compost Bin in this manner, and we've gathered nearly enough pallets to begin building.

Photograhphic Tour, Part 2

2007-05-17T08:37:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 55F
Afternoon high: 75F
Tonight's projected low: 49F
Humidity: 88%
Moon: Returning, 1%
Wind: N at 6 mph
Overall: It looks to be an amazing day, very cool, sunny and with a lovely breeze no less! : )

This Morning.

1. So far, we've been cutting saplings from the edge of the Pipeline, and hauling them up to more level ground where we can remove any leaves and branches and cut them up into fencing pieces.

The Pipeline.

Trunks and limbs cut and brought up from the Pipeline.

M's flowers are coming up everywhere.

Once smaller branches and leaves are removed, we have "Bentwood" ready to be made into fencing pieces.

Helen's always watching. "One never knows when a treat might be had..."

Fencing pieces 40" - 50" in length.

Fencing with Garden beyond.

This Afternoon.

1. We've been watering the BlueBerry Grove (BBG) for about an hour now. With the soaker hoses laid in beneath the pine straw mulch, watering is easy and fairly efficient, as the mulch keeps the soil cool and wet. Here are two looks at the BBG, from opposite perspectives.

2. Here's our two million feet of netting intended for the BBG. The Plan states that this netting will be hung from the 4' X 4' posts surrounding the BBG. Hmmmm. I'm concerned that the poles are STILL too far apart, and will need to be moved for a third time. So far, this is the worst-planned projected I've attempted.

3. Here, in a little while, and with considerable good fortune, you'll see the BBG covered in netting.

Did not happen.. so sorry : (

This Evening.

1. Helen is a star that rises and sets with us each day, so...

A Brief Photographic Tour, Part 1

2007-05-16T19:04:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 75F
Tonight's projected low: 53F
Humidity: 94%
Moon: None.... it's resting for a while
Wind: W at 6 mph

Our Animal Friends...

1. Helen, Queen of the Doggies, lounging in the Sun.

2. Helen & Arjuna, looking rather suspicious, don't you think?

3. Guido, "House Bouncer", currently sought after for a cameo in upcomming Soprano's episode.

4. Arjuna stalking Guido.

5. Arjuna looking for her dinner.

6. Terra (a.k.a., "NO!" or, alternately, "Git upstairs!")

St. Fiacre's Acre...

1. Our "Bentwood" Fence thus far, with Garden beyond.

2. Potatoes, with Basil & Rosemary beyond.

3. Some M's new Flowers, planted in-between Tomato Cages : )

4. Winter Garlic, should be ready to harvest by Mid-Summer.

5. Tomatoes & Cages

6. Fence posts and waiting...

7. "Butcrunch" Lettuce, Cauliflower and Volunteer Peruvian Purple Potatoes

8. Squash

9. More Tomatoes

10. Peppers & Tomatios

11. Stacked Winter Poplar

12. Blue Berry Bush. A very late freeze killed many berries, but our bushes have instead used their berry-making powers to grow much taller and wider!

13. Another of M's Flowers!

Bye Bye Moon

2007-05-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 76F
Tonight's projected low: 51F
Humidity: 77%
Moon: Waning, 7%
Wind: E at 13 mph
Overall: Orgasmically beautiful day : o

1. It's the end of another Lunar cycle, and a good time to consider what things (if any) we desire to bring to a close. This would make an interesting experiment, linking our thinking to Lunar cycles. As our Moon slips away to nothing, what do we wish to let go, and as it returns fresh and new, what do we wish to grow, build, develop? In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillian, the creation of the Moon brought the first Light to the Elves living in Middle Earth. This in turn caused Morgoth (an immensely evil and powerful being who created Orcs, Goblins, Trolls and all sinister creatures, and who taught Sauron most of what he knew) and his minions to quake in fear and hide from the faint, silvery Moonlight. I'm not certain what this mythology teaches us, but it certainly feels like a powerful tale to me.

2. Well, there's much to do today both inside and out. Fortunately, I feel very good. In fact, I'm approaching 210lbs., and fitting into clothing I haven't worn in years. Thank you Dr. Day (http://www.drday.com/) for your dietary and lifestyle teachings!!! I hope to get down to 200lbs. by the end of May (with 175lbs. my ideal weight). Please feel free to picture me this way - the energy of your efforts will help - and I'll certainly return the favor for anyone who wishes it!

Zazen, Again

2007-05-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 83F
Tonight's projected low: 55F (Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy, we LOVE cool evenings for sleeping!)
Humidity: 85%
Moon: Waning, 15%
Wind: N at 4 mph
Overall: It's been clear, hot in the sunshine, cool in the shade! Another day in the Shire.

1. Well, I got to feeling quite run-down yesterday afternoon, and so only a smaller amount of work was done on the fence, and afternoon thunderstorms ruled out any photos. I did, however, build and attach a second fence section about 5' in length. This morning I reinforced the newer posts by driving smaller wedge-shaped pieces of hardwood in beside them, and by wrapping the newly attached sections to the reinforced posts with 20 gauge wire and 1" carpentry nails (so much easier to work with than 3" finishing nails). This afternoon, I sunk five additional fence posts. They'll bear three new fence sections (each about 9' in length - I'm going back to longer sections) and two gates. It also occured to me today that when we move - which might be as early as April, 2008 - I can take the fence sections down and take them with us! That will give us a fence of our own making fairly quickly.

2. I started out today with a different plan in mind. I'm still learning the flow of full-time Homesteading, much like a new job or relationship has its own "flow" that you have to learn to fit into. I've noticed that I still tend to sink into a hurried, stressful state of mind when I'm working, even in the Garden. Spiritual practices of any kind certainly help, e.g., asking St. Fiacre for assistance, talking with spirits of earth, air, wind and sun. But I'm also making a concerted effort to begin each day with a form of meditation I learned years ago while studying Zen Buddhism.

Like Huston Smith (one of the founders of the modern field of Religious Studies), it's always seemed obvious to me that understanding a religious or spiritual tradition is greatly aided by spending time with teachers and lay-persons within that community, learning its religious stories and teachings - especially those that do not appear in World Religions textbooks - seeing how ordinary people make that religion work for them in their daily lives, and engaging in their forms of spiritual practice. I like to see how a certain religious orientation feels, much like trying on a new suit. So, with years of study of a wide range of religious traditions, I've "tried on" and been impressed with a great many spiritual disciplines. One of my favorites comes from the Zen Buddhist tradition, zazen meditation. While all classical forms of Buddhism emphasize meditation of some kind, in most schools of Zen zazen, i.e., learning to sit quietly while the rational mind slows down, grows calm and peaceful and eventually comes to a complete and utter halt, is considered the "essence" of Buddhism itself. After just a few sessions of zazen, I was shocked at how different the world looked and felt after just 10 or 20 minutes of sitting meditation. It's really quite simple: sit quietly in a private place, gently focus your attention upon your breathing, when your attention drifts away to something else gently bring it back to your breathing. That's it. It helps to pre-determine a period of time, say 10 minutes or more, and stick to it, otherwise "little mind" will quickly summon up all sorts of reasons why you should end your meditation after just a few minutes. The result is a calm, peaceful and far more intuitive state of mind, one in which it's all of sudden easy to do the work you have in front of you with much better concentrations and enjoyment, similar to what professional athletes call "the Zone".

Over the past ten years or so, I've begun this practice and then gradually drifted away from it many times. Presently, I'm considering a trip to Green Gulch Farm, where organic farming and meditation are synthesized into a consistent way of life. They have a superb website, at http://sfzc.org/ggfindex.htm. I've been doing brief periods of zazen (e.g., 10 minutes) throughout the day (between various tasks) and as a result I've accomplished a good deal of work, do not feel stressed out but actually quite calm and energized.

3. We now have 11 Tomatoes and 1 Squash in wire cages. Each cage is 28" in diameter and 50" in height. I've staked them down with long pieces of bamboo and string. I've also cut 5" X 10" "flaps" in each cage for easier access when we need to fertilize and harvest. I cut the bottom and both sides loose, and folded the flaps up (without creasing the wire tightly, which would cause it to snap off before long), and then hooked the flap back with an S-hook.

4. Well, we're off to meet D (one of M's son, who's a sophomore at GA Tech) and his girl MG for dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant! : 0 Happy Mother's Day to all!!!

Fencing & Photos at St. Fiacre's

2007-05-12T06:04:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 68F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 62F
Humidity: 92%
Moon: Waning, 24%
Wind: N at 0 mph

1. A beautiful morning! But as the night time temps continue to approach 70F, we're wondering how long we can keep our Lettuce growing but not bolting. We'd LOVE to keep it all Summer long. It's planted in a corner of the garden that gets morning sunshine, but by 11:00am it's back in shade for the remainder of the day. Here in Zone 8, however, with our Mediterranean coastline climate, the days are long and hot Mid-May through Mid-October. We're grateful for this long, abundant growing season. We just want to keep our Lettuce from bolting. Please assist us by picturing our Lettuce Bed growing and stable all Summer long. All the positive mental/emotional energy you can send along our way will be mightily appreciated! : )

2. Here's a basic layout of our current Spring/Summer Garden. I've included the approximate dimensions and crops found in each Bed. I'll include photos asap. We're still working on this process... please forgive the delay... If you'd like to visualize our layout, well... it's too difficult, wait for the pictures.

Bed#1 (5 X 9) Garlic
Bed#2 (5 X 9) Potatoes
Bed#3 (5 X 9) Winter Lettuce, Beets, early Spring Lettuce
Bed#4 (5 X 9) Tomatoes (6), caged and staked, Onions
Bed#5 (5 X 9) "Butcrunch" Lettuce, Purple Cauliflower, "volunteer" Potatoes from last year (Peruvian Purple and Golden)
Bed#6 (5 X 9) Corn
Bed#7 (5 X 9) Sweet Potatoes, Pole Beans
Bed#8 (5 X 9) Watermelon (3), Peppers, Squash
Bed#9 (4 X 12) Peppers, Tomatios
Bed#10 (4 X 4) Squash (3)
Bed#11 (4 X 15) Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Oregano, Lavender, Thyme, Fennel
Bed#12 (4 X 4) Basil, Onions
Bed#13 (3.5 X 30) Tomatoes (5), caged and yet to be staked down

We're letting "volunteer" Potatoes grow in most places where they sprout up. Also, M is planting a wide range of Flowers throughout the Garden.

3. M and I went out to the Garden this morning shortly after she returned home from work (she works nights as a Labor & Delivery nurse), and she made a great point regarding yesterday's wilted Tomatoes. Due in part to my week out of town, they were not "hardened-off" prior to being planted outdoors. That is, they went directly from the highly controlled environment of the A-Frame & grow lights to the completely uncontrolled environment of the Garden, without a period of gradual introduction to sunlight, wind, hot afternoons and cooler evenings. Hence, she said, they experienced a profound "shock". No doubt this was exacerbated by a missed morning watering. Still, the wilting was likely even if the watering had not been missed.

Back Home & Catching Up

2007-05-11T13:37:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 70F
Afternoon high: 81F
Tonight's projected low: 60F
Humidity: 58%
Moon: Waning, 33%
Wind: E at 4 mph

1. Well, the Workshop was a marked success! The Firewalk went especially well. Many people walked; no one was burned. Most importantly, everyone followed their inner guidance, such as it was. It's particularly important to recognize that the people who did not walk were perhaps the most courageous of all. It was clear to everyone that Firewalking is a miraculous event, one in which the everyday laws of nature are over-come or transcended: flesh burns when placed up against 1,100F coals. In fact, iron melts when exposed to such temperatures! So, this was something everyone wanted to do, to demonstrate to themselves that they had this tremendous power within.

Now, we know we can trust every one of our Workshop attendees to follow their guidance, especially those who did not walk. For they followed their guidance even when everyone else was going in some other direction. Wow! Numerous psychological and sociological experiments have shown that this is very difficult for human beings to do, to go against what the group hopes for, expects and does. While they may not have walked themselves, they did witness other people do what seemed impossible, walk on very hot coals and not get burned.

There was also, I believe, a tremendous amount of emotional healing that went on this past weekend. So many of my clients were ready and willing to explore, experience, integrate and let go old emotional memories and wounds, whether from childhood, past relationships or frustrated attempts to discern and live "who they are". In my experience, this can be far more difficult, and require greater courage, than even Firewalking.

What we know is that everyone present at this past Workshop will go home lighter, clearer and more deeply empowered than before, so that as they continue to envision the next portion of their lives as they wish it to be, they'll also see and take the steps necessary to make that a reality! What's amazing is that all of the folks who attended the Workshop were already very successful in one or more aspects of their lives, all were quite powerful, spiritually aware, independent thinkers. So, it's exciting to think what they'll achieve after so much personal growth work!

2. M did a superb job of looking after our growing Suburban Homestead while I was away. That's also impressive, as she worked some 40+ hours and delivered a dozen babies in those 5 days. Wow, again! We've done a good bit of planting and talking since I've returned home, so I'll need to post an updated Garden Layout asap, hopefully this evening.

3. It may rain later this afternoon and into this evening. The forecast calls for brief, heavy showers but only here and there. I learned what might be a bitter lesson this afternoon. Yesterday evening, M and I planted 5 Tomato plants in the newly dug, 3.5' X 30' Bed. We buried a banana peel and a scoop of potting soil + bone meal and dried blood under each plant, and then watered each with worm tea and plain fresh water. Then, it rained intensely late last night. So, this morning I figured that the new plants would be okay, and did not need a morning watering - I have a tendency to over-water plants, as my failed attempt to start seedlings this Winter sadly demonstrated. When I went out to water this afternoon, I found all 5 plants badly wilted!! I watered them immediately, and plan on giving them more worm tea/water shortly. Still, I should have checked on them first thing this morning, and given them plenty of water to make it through the hot daytime sun. Speaking of which, the we have just been upgraded from National growing Zone 7b to Zone 8, due to a steady and consistent increase in our yearly temperature (i.e., global warming). To give you a sense of the difference, imagine moving from Chattanooga, TN to Panama Beach, FL, or from Boston, MA to Norfolk, VA! In any event, we sorely hope our 5 new plants recover. : (

4. I checked the new Tomatoes again just before dark, and all of them had bounced back! : ) I havn't made an ounce of progress of the fence in the three days I've been back. So, if it isn't raining too much or too hard tomorrow, Saturday will be Fence Day.

St. Fiacre's & Prosperity

2007-05-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 72°F
Afternoon high: 77F
Tonight's projected low: 53F
Humidity: 44%
Moon: Waning, 66%
Wind: Southwest at 7 mph

1. I was so busy with Betar sessions yesterday morning and afternoon, and then the Firewalk last night, that I had no time for Blogging. I did some 20 sessions in two days, all of which were very successful. I've decided to write a brief article about the history of Firewalking and the reasons people still seek it out, though it will be later this week before this writing gets done. I have a number of sessions remaining today, and then the drive home late this evening.

These Workshops are a great deal of fun, and it's a real honor to work so closely with participants in their own healing. Have you ever had a reiki energy work? Well, it can be a very intimate experience, one in which the boundaries between your own heart, mind and personal energies go out and merge with those of your client. So, you're literally right there with your clients as they move through old, worn out thoughts and emotions and let them go, bringing in more peaceful and connected states of mind. Like I said, it's an honor to be able to do this work.

2. The Workshop I've been at is called the Master Prosperity Teacher Training (MPTT). It's given by Edwene Gaines. She's been teaching (and living) Prosperity Principles for the past three decades, with marked success. I strongly recommend her book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity. She also has a swell website at http://www.prosperityproducts.com/. Edwene is amazingly adept at helping others discover and embrace their calling in life, their own power, and provides very clear, usable methods for manifesting the resources and opportunities necessary for making a calling a lived reality. It seems that our approaches work quite well together. She, for example, helps clients re-think economic prosperity from a spiritual perspective, unearthing and healing the ways we've all been trained to understand - or misunderstand, really - financial wealth and resources. Betar and reiki, on the other hand, help in transforming the energies that lie beneath what we think and feel. When we make changes in one of these areas, the other begins to change also, and what we experience in the world begins to change.

Well, I've more sessions in just a bit... tomorrow I'll be back at St. Fiacre's Acre!

St. Fiacre's Walks on Fire, Pt.3

2007-05-06T10:48:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 59F
Afternoon high: 72F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Waning, 83%
Wind: from the North at 0 mph.

There's a chance of rain again later this afternoon, which the earth could surely use. This sounds like a great day to be outside, one worthy of the Shire in mid-Summer! I must confess that, while I adore the early Springs in the Southeast, the long and often very hot Summers wear me down at times. Speaking of which, here on Lookout Mountain it's warmer than back home, with a high of 83F as opposed to a cool 72F, and it seems that the rain moved through completely last night. There was Thunder and Lightning north and south of the mountain late into the morning hours.

1. It's a busy day, with a great many Betar sessions, and a good deal of emotional healing going on. I'd like to provide a more detailed response to the very good question, "Why do people seek out Firewalking?". We'll see if I have the time and energy to get to this today. It may need to wait until tomorrow morning.

St. Fiacre Walks on Fire. Pt.2

2007-05-05T10:40:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 54F
Afternoon high: 72F
Tonight's projected low: 59F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Waning 85%
East wind at 6 mph

1. I arrived on Lookout Mountain safe and sound last night, where it's warmer and stormier than back home. Yes, the Workshop really does culminate in a Firewalk. We'll build and tend a large fire, until the logs have burned down to the point where we can rake out the embers into a bed approximately 5' wide X 10' long, and once our Firewalking students have been instructed in the "Secrets of Firewalking," we'll come out as a group and anyone who chooses to do so may walk on the Fire. The coals frequently range between 1,100F - 2,400F. By comparison, the steel of your car's engine-block was probably poured at 800F. Nevertheless, in 20 years, no one has ever been burned on our Firewalks. Folks have been burned on other Firewalks, to be sure. Several years ago, Burger King and KFC held a Firewalk as part of a joint team-building seminar for their corporate executives. Regrettably, everyone that walked on the very hot Fire was terribly burned, needing immediate attention at a nearby hospital.

What's the difference? The Secret of Firewalking. What's the Secret? We ask for inner guidance. If we didn't do this, we'd be asking for really big trouble. I believe that this is where the BK and KFC Firewalk went amiss. They forgot about higher guidance, and relied entirely upon the powers and judgments of the rational mind. There's a reason why many spiritual traditions refer to this part of our being as "Little Mind", and the deeper realms of consciousness beneath as "Big Mind". So, we ask, "Can I walk on Fire and not get burned?". If the answer's "no", then we have no business walking across the Fire. If the answer's "yes" and we want to walk, we do so, provided that we've listened carefully. Clearly, this is an intensive course in learning to trust your inner guidance, and if you want to learn to Firewalk, I urgently recommend that you begin by studying under a Master Firewalking Teacher (please don't rush off and do this by yourself, without the benefit of an experienced teacher) such as Tolly Burkan, the Father of American Firewalking, or any of the teachers he recommends. He has an excellent website, at http://www.firewalking.com/. The pictures he's collected are amazing!

2. The Workshop also has lots of opportunities for very deep emotional healing. From Friday to Tuesday, I offer a number of sessions on the Betar. Pronounced "Bay -tar", this is a cutting edge technology that uses music, sound and vibration for de-stressing, deep relaxation and - the thousand or so clients I've worked with and I have come to believe - profound levels of healing on emotional, mental and even sometimes physical levels. Basically, while you're lying on the padded Betar table, high amplitude and deeply resonant waves of music (such an Enya, Clannad, Loreena McKennitt, Cowboy Junkies, or whatever) flow up into your body, turning you into a standing pool of continuous vibration. More so, this standing pool of energy that's in you searches, discovers and releases old, worn-out mental and emotional patterns. Meanwhile, I use a number of energy-based healing approaches (such as reiki, Qi gong and spirit releasement) to assist my clients in all of this. The end results is that clients feel both highly energized and deeply relaxed. If you're interested in learning more about the Betar, they have a swell website at http://www.kellyresearchtech.com/.

St. Fiacre Walks on Fire, Pt.1

2007-05-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 57F
Afternoon high: 74F
Tonight's projected low: 59F
Humidity: 100%
Northeast wind at 6 mph
Moon: Waning, 98% (still good for transplanting I bet)

This Morning.
1. Thankfully, it rained a bit last night, and so the Garden is already watered quite nicely. For about an hour, the Thunder was rather pronounced, but the kami of rain, wind and storm were very gentle here, and brought in some beautiful cool air all night long. Excellent sleeping weather last night, I thought. It is supposed to rain again today and tomorrow, and I'm asking for similar treatment. I hope that all of you were safe and sound as well. Did anyone else attempt communicating with the kami? If so, I'd like to hear about your experiences. In the future, we'll be coordinating a large-scale communication with the spirits of these storms, especially when large, powerful, potentially disruptive ones come across the Southeast. Everyone will be invite to participate. Perhaps we can ease these situations somewhat.

2. For the most part, I'm getting myself and the house ready for a road trip. I was excused from Jury Duty again today, yayyyy! and so by noon (hopefully) I'll be out the door for a five day stay on Lookout Mountain, Alabama. I'm assisting in the teaching of an intensive Prosperity Workshop there, which culminates in a Firewalk Monday night. My part will be three-fold: a small bit of teaching, a lot of hands-on energy work, and fire-tending. I'm very grateful to be free of Jury Duty. Interestingly, when I first discovered I'd have JD beginning this past Monday, my first intuition was very strong, almost like I was being told, "only two days." Of course, it turned out exactly this way. I was called in Monday and a small part Tuesday, and then no more. This happens a lot when M's on-call. Once she's up and about (she works the late night to early morning shift), I'll think, "Is she getting called in tonight?," or, "Is she going to get to stay home tonight?," and the very first response I feel or sense is always correct. A friend of ours, B, is a brilliant and successful psychotherapist, and uses this method every day. When her receptionist calls and tells her that her client has arrived, B looks within herself and asks, "what is my client feeling right now?,". Whatever B senses at that moment is always, 100% of the time, precisely what her client is feeling. Hence, B knows exactly where and how to begin the next session. I've tried B's technique many times, and it's always worked, and not just for finding out what's going on inside other people. I've noticed that it works across any geographic distance, and also across time. Perhaps the biggest challenge in using this method is that sometimes we don't like the answers we get and so we keep asking and hoping for different results, and we also find it difficult to trust our own inner experiences.

Rain Spirits, Welcome!

2007-05-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 72F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 61F
Humidity: 44%
Moon: Waning 99%
Southwest wind at 7 mph

This Morning.
1. At 8:20am, the Sun is yet to come out fully, so it's cool and breezy. The forecast calls for rain later this evening and into tomorrow. Rain Spirits are welcome. With the days getting sunnier and warmer we'll take all the rain we can get whenever we can get it. I do hope, though, that the storms are calm and peaceful. So let's ask the kami for this in our local areas!

2. As it turns out, yesterday the laundry got done, the bread got baked, and my article "You've Been Wonderful Neighbors" got re-written and sent off for possible publication with Nova Religio. Yayyy, at least it's done. We'll see if they're interested. In its re-worked form, the article is only 4,200 words, about half the length NR is looking for (about 8,000 words). Basically, I've paired it down to just those sections that focus upon the House of Oak Spring and its relationship to the Glen Haven neighborhood and the Baptist church next door. Still, this study implicitly challenges a reigning assumption in the academic study of religion, namely, that the best (or perhaps only) path to tolerance is pluralism. Ironically, while I am perhaps the ultimate pluralist (it seems plausible to me that the various religions represent different, but equally valuable, spiritual paths), I understand quite well why other thinkerss reject this view. Thus, it's a relief to discover that there are other paths to tolerance and friendhship between religious communities. Imagine if we all had to become pluralists in order to get along - if we all had to believe that everyone else's faith is just as good as our own. We'd be in real trouble. My study suggests that religious minorities, even those who are often heatedly reviled such as Wiccans (i.e., Witches), may be accepted within a potentially hostile community, if they can find ways of making a significant and positive impact upon the community they're entering. The Glen Haven Wiccans (and the Potsville Hasidim for that matter) are excellent examples of how this is done. Of course, the article I've posted below, "You've Been Wonderful Neighbors," discusses all of this in far more detail. Please assist me by picturing this article eagerly accepted and quickly published! I do believe it has something to offer.

3. I've been excused from Jury Duty again today, and I've been taking advantage of the cool morning air. So far (it's 10:00am), it looks like today will be a lawn day. I've put off mowing so long all the lawn's grown back. It's a great aerobic workout, even going slowly, and even in the cool air. I'm mowing in sizable chunks, giving me and our venerable mower plenty of breaks in between. I'm using my breaks to digest more of ee cummings... "my girl's got hard long eyes"...

This Afternoon.
1. Finally, the lawn's mowed. The Garden also received a late afternoon watering, after the sun had gone in behind the thick line of clouds moving in. Apparently, if water droplets are still on the leaves when the sun is out full strength, this can actually burn them. So far, we have three beds watered by soaker hoses, and the rest we're still spray-watering. Hopefully we'll have the remaining beds switched over to soaker hoses before the end of May.

2. I've also cut enough wood to build a second, smaller portion of fence, this time only 4.5' in length (though still 4.5' in height, or so). The shorter span between posts will be stronger, and it's also easier to find fairly straight pieces of "bentwood" 4.5' than 9.0'. I hope to have this up before I come in for the evening. It's nearly 6:00pm now, so I hope to have enough daylight, and energy, remaining.

Excused for the day, sort of

2007-05-02T09:55:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 69F
Afternoon high: 87F
Tonight's projected low: 60F
Humidity: 61%
Moon: 100% Full (time to transplant!)
West wind at 4 mph

This Morning.
1. I have no Jury Duty today, but my goodness is there a lot to do around here. The Garden and BBG need a morning watering; there are two loads of laundry to be washed and hung out to dry; two loaves of Bread to be baked; the kitchen floor is filthy, and needs to be swept and mopped; the lawn continues to grow; the article I posted a few days back needs to be rewritten and submitted to Nova Religio; and I hope to work on the fence at least a bit, perhaps cutting enough pieces for the second section of fencing and setting at least two more posts. Last night I worked until dusk, but I did complete the first section. M loved it! Oh, I'm also several weeks late on article on Firewalking I agreed to write for an on-line journal (with, thankfully, a very patient editor).

Up too early.

2007-05-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 55F
Afternoon high: 85F
Tonight's projected low: 59F
Humidity: 82%
Moon: 99% Full (Still a good time for transplanting!)
It's supposed to be a bit cloudy, with a North wind at 0 mph.

This Morning.
1. It's 3:50am, too early really to be up, but here I am. I do not report for Jury Duty until 1:00pm, so I have a little while to get some work done. When the sun is up, I'll perhaps try once more to cut the back lawn. As I was on my way out to do so yesterday evening, M caught me with dinner nearly made. Afterwards, both the Blueberry Grove and the Garden will need a morning watering. There may also be some laundry to hang out to dry.

2. For the time being, I'll give the article posted below, "You've Been Wonderful Neighbors", a more careful proof reading.

3. I've got several things done (it's now 10:30am), though not the lawn - I suppose this is the least interesting of my chores. Before the sun came up, I read a good bit of the Bentwood book. It's amazingly simple, and elegant. I went outside about 8:00am, covered two of the Blueberry Bushes with a small portion of netting that J found in the back corner of the shed, and then moved two of the Posts in closer to the Blueberry Grove (BBG). J and are (finally) ordering a 14' X 100' section of bird netting from a vendor he found on-line ($52, the best deal yet by far), and we need to cover as much of the BBG as is possible with this.

4. I sunk two posts about 18' apart in front of the Garden. The first post was a 4' X 4' section of untreated Cedar, the second was a trunk-portion of similar dimensions from the Pipeline (I'm not certain what kind of wood it is, but it's heavy). I also dug a third post-hole half-way between these first two, giving me about 9' spacing between fence posts. This third post-hole remains unfilled, as I was not happy with anything I'd found thus far. I'll look around again this evening after I return home from Jury Duty. There's a Sweetgum Tree out past the Garden (and out past the lone BB) with three separate trunks, each of which is fairly thin, and one of which seems dead. I may cut this off and use it for fence posts. We'll see. This time I'm sinking my fence posts first, letting them settle in for a week or so, and meanwhile building the 9' sections of fencing (basically, a top and bottom beam parallel with the ground, with as many vertical members fastened into them as I'd like) separately and then attaching the pre-built fence sections to the fence posts. We're already seeing signs of Rabbits munch on our Basil, so the sooner this project is completed the better.

5. I hung out some laundry to dry, and left for the Courthouse by 12:00pm, stopping to meet my friend KP for a brief cup of ice coffee along the way.

This Afternoon.
1. I was not selected for JD, and thus was home by 3:15pm! Since then, I've been cutting and assembling bentwood pieces into the first section of fencing (the horizontal rails I'm cutting at 122", and the vertical pieces at 50"). I've already learned some lessons, e.g., make the vertical pieces that "fill in" between the top and bottom horizontal rails thin enough so that your nails go well through them and fully into the rails. Otherwise, you need to wrap these pieces with wire (12 gauge or so), which in turns seems to require a second nail, with the head left 1/4 of the way backed out, to wrap the wire around around. It's much neater to use vertical pieces that aren't too thick for the nails you're using. I hope to have one 9' section of fencing assembled this evening. We'll see how long my energy lasts.

Jury Duty

2007-04-30T06:30:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 52F
Afternoon high: 83F (it was actually hotter, like 86F)
Tonight's projected low: 52F
Humidity: 76%
Moon: 96% Full!!! (Good for transplanting!!!)

Today was clear and very sunny, with a North wind at 4 mph.

This Morning & Afternoon.
1. Well, I'm officially behind with respect to the work here that needs doing, and I may become more so as the week progresses. I have Jury Duty this week, and have to report at 8:00am this morning, and then I have a 5 day trip to Alabama beginning this Friday. Still, I count this a good thing. While I'm busy with these things, I'll have lots of interesting Homesteading work to look forward to.

2. The article I posted yesterday, "You've Been Wonderful Neighbors," remains in need of proof reading. A number of important things, e.g., quotation marks indicating when I'm quoting a source directly, did not come through when I cut and pasted this document from my MS Word file, making portions of the article somewhat unclear. I apologize for this sloppiness, and will get to this asap.

Late This Afternoon.
1. I was out of JD and home by 4:00pm. Yayyyy! So, I had time to dig the remaining10' of the 3.5' X 30' Bed. Truthfully, and for several reasons, I only single-dug it (i.e., removed and aerated the first 12+ inches of top soil). All of the dense, red clay beneath the top soil would take a very long time to dig out, and we needed the Bed dug fairly quickly. Also, a single-dig (with organic Mushroom Compost and Peat Moss worked in) will still produce a wonderful growing environment. As the plants grow and develop through the Spring and Summer, their root systems will help to loosen the hard clay beneath. Lastly, I'll dig these Beds at least once a year, and so I'll have a chance to go deeper next time.

2. M laid out soaker-hoses in the Pepper and Squash Beds, and then mulched these Beds with hay straw. These plants were already beginning to wilt in the late afternoon Sun, and the mulch will keep the soil around them wet, and thus prevent wilting. Apparently it's not the heat that wilts them, but the dehydration.

Looking to the Future: "Making Bentwood Trellises, Arbors, Gates and Fences," by Jim Long, just arrived! I'll give this a careful read tomorrow while I'm sitting in the Jury Duty waiting room - thankfully, I do not need to report until 1:30pm tomorrow. I'm hoping to get started on the Garden Fence by the middle of next week, or perhaps even sooner. : )

This Evening.
1. Made made completely vegan (no animal products) Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce. Oh my gods! It was orgasmically good.

2. I had to back on the Advair this morning, as my breathing was especially tight and congested. My diet has been quite clean, and I'm down 114lbs (from 125lbs+) , though I have been eating Whole Wheat Bread. In the past, I saw the remission of all asthma symptoms when I was really 100% on Dr. Day's diet. For now, I'm happy to see the weight loss, which is bringing about an increase in energy, so it's okay if I need the Advair for a bit longer.

3. In the last hour of sunshine I'm off to mow the back sections of lawn.

Beltane

2007-04-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 68F
Afternoon high: 80F
Tonight's projected low: 49F
Humidity: 49%
Moon: 93% Full

It's a clear day with a Northwest wind at 9 mph.

Yesterday & Today.
1. I've been completing some research that I began at the University back in the Summer of 2003. Quite happily, this involved attending a Beltane celebration last night (more on that later). My research involves a Wiccan community living in the suburbs here in the Southeast, and their attempt to gain the tolerance and acceptance of the larger neighborhood. To make matters more interesting still, this large, successful Wiccan Covenstead sits right next to a Baptist Church, from the steps of which the ritual space and altar are quite visible. I'll post an early version of the article that this research has generated asap. I should have the research complete by the end of the day, and the final version of the article out for publication by the end of May, at the very latest. Yayyyy! Four years of work are bearing completion!

2. We've had time for little else other than watering the Garden and hanging laundry out to dry. This afternoon, however, I hope to be back at work here at St. Fiacre's, as there's a good bit of work waiting on me, and thank gods there is! It's so vital to have a purpose and work to do.

Back Outdoors! : )

2007-04-27T22:38:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 61F
Afternoon high: 74F
Tonight's projected low: 50F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Nearly Full, at 81%

The rain was gone by midnight last night, and since then the sky has been crystal clear! It's a lovely day, warm sun, cool air and a nice West wind at 8 mph.

This Morning.

1. With the rain continually coming and going, and the bread kneading (ha ha) my frequent attention, I got nothing done outdoors yesterday. In the future, I'll need to integrate the several different stages of bread-making into other Homesteading chores. Yesterday though, I was afraid to leave the kitchen unattended. They say you get more relaxed after you've had your first loaf. It came out very nicely, BTW. I'm off to work outside...

This Afternoon.

1. So far (it's 2:45pm), I've dug about half of the 3.5 X 30' Bed. I love the short width, which makes it much easier to work. With 4' Beds and larger, I always find myself reaching too far too often. About every 5' or so I go back and rake the top soil flat, accept for the sides and ends of Bed, which I rake up into small mounds; they end up looking like raised borders. Then I add layers of Mushroom Compost and Peat Moss into the flat "depression" I've created atop the Bed. Since Tomato Cages 28" in diameter are going in here, the flat surface (~42" in width) will provide stable (and quite fertile) ground. When we put in our first set of cages last week, we really struggled to set them down square on a rounded Bed. Imagine that! "What if I'm not happy with, 'we'll make it fit'," I can still hear M saying! Also, I've been watering the soil just prior to each stage of digging. This seems to loosen and soften the soil considerably. Finally, I'm really learning to slow down, taking long breaks in-between 10' sections. I've brought a book of ee cumings' poems with me, and during each break I'm memorizing one stanza (or more) before I return to work.

Looking to the Future.

1. We've been talking more and more about the kinds of home-based businesses we'd like to develop and grow. In the next few years, we want M to shift to part-time nursing, leaving her many more hours for Homesteading. I am no longer teaching, but I do share a small construction company (commercial drapery installation) with my close friend KP (the guy from the Great Tepee Debacle of 2002). By working together, we are able to take on large-scale jobs (e.g., 600 room hotels) and still keep our work schedule to 2 - 4 days per/week. Moreover, we are able to take one or more months off from work when we desire to do so. This is good for my Homesteading and KP's schooling (he's currently completing a degree in Computer Science). So, what's the home-based-business (HBB) going to be?

This Evening.

Well, what a busy day!

1. The Tree Fellows came today and took down two very large Pines out in front of the house. With my Haddon Lumbermaker on the way, J had them cut the trunks up into large sections and leave them. We helped them roll the very large, enormously heavy trunk-sections over to one side of the yard! With four of us pushing, we could barely move them. Cutting them into lumber will be quite a challenge!

2. I dug about 20' of the 30' Bed, then I developed some pain in my right hand. M loves the long, narrow Bed, and also the raised borders on all sides! I hope to complete the digging Sunday morning.

3. M has been on-call this evening, so while I watered the Beds, she thoroughly weeded and fertilized (with Bone Meal and Dried Blood) the Lettuce, and then broadcast new Lettuce seed where ever there was a gap between plants. We so want to eat fresh Lettuce from the Garden all Summer. We're hoping the Bed it's in will be sufficiently shaded to protect it from the Summer heat.

4. Finally, I mowed the front portion of lawn, which seemed to be up-hill in both directions, because I'm a bit worn out.

Where do you get all this time?

2007-04-26T05:50:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 59F
Afternoon high: 77F
Tonight's projected low: 56F
Humidity: 94%
Moon: Waxing, 64%

It was quite cloudy this morning, and then a drizzling rain set in about 9:00am. There's also a slight South wind (they say it's 4 mph, but I doubt it).

This Morning.

1. I'm early at 4:0am this morning, so I've started two loaves of whole wheat bread. This will be my first time going through the process without M's guidance. Eee gads. Once it's light outside, I'll give the Garden a morning watering and dig the 3.5' X 30' Bed I staked out late yesterday afternoon. At that point, we'll see what the weather looks like.

2. A few readers have emailed, asking how it is that we are able to spend long hours nearly every day engaged in some aspect of Homesteading work. "Don't you have jobs?" "Where do you get all this time?" Very good questions indeed. M, of course, works full-time as a Labor and Delivery nurse. So, three and sometimes four days a week she is working 12-13+ hour shifts, and then sleeping as much as possible, trying to recover. On work days, this leaves her maybe half an hour to visit the Garden, cut salad Greens, if she has the energy, a few minutes of weeding. On her off days she is a Gardening dynamo, watering, transplanting, starting seeds, surveying the successes (or failures) of individual plants, planning out our gardening future. The wealth of knowledge and experience she has built is impressive.

I, on the other hand, have been in a very different kind of situation for the past eight months. From 1999 to 2006, I worked as a Visiting Instructor of Religious Studies and Philosophy at a large research University here in the Southeast. I taught number of courses, such as World Religions, New Religious Movements, and Philosophy of Religion. I enjoyed this work a great deal, but found it thoroughly exhausting and depleting. Doing the best possible job in the classroom, plus research, writing and community service (e.g., lecturing for local groups on hot topics such as, "What is Islam?" when asked to do so) required, at least from me, literally all of my energies and 60+ hours a week, for a very, very, very small amount of money (about $27,500 per/yr.) and absolutely no job security whatsoever.

In academia, there's a wide gap between Professor and Instructor. Professors have undergone the most thorough academic training in the world, possess a profound level of expertise in their fields, and accordingly possess doctorate degrees (PhDs). Instructors may have this level of training (and may simply be waiting for a better position to open up somewhere). Or, like myself, they may have less training (e.g., a Master's degree), though they may also turn out to be apt (or even gifted) teachers. There are also differences in how long you are able to remain at your job. Professors, of course, have long-term jobs just like every other professional occupation (e.g., lawyers, doctors, etc.). In my case, the University offered Instructors one-year contracts, at the end of which you could re-apply for the following year. Of course, you'd have to compete against everyone and anyone nation-wide who might want your job, so there was no guarantee you'd be re-hired and have a job the following Fall semester. Obviously, this is a very difficult way to live.

About two years into my stay, the University Administration instituted a policy limiting Instructors to three consecutive years. So, after Summer semester 2002, I took a year off - it was during this time, and to some degree for this reason, that M and I briefly emigrated to Lookout Mountain, Alabama for a year. Fall 2003, I returned and taught for the next three years, until Summer 2006 when my appointment ended once more. By this time, however, given what we'd learned about the possibility of a Homesteading lifestyle, I began to seriously re-think my goal of earning a PhD (in Religion) and moving on to a long-term University teaching career. Frankly, Homesteading may be the better choice. It certainly promotes a far more healthy lifestyle. Moreover, it sets an extraordinarily helpful example for other Americans (e.g., of gradually reclaiming one's self-reliance), an example that may well be sorely needed in the years to come, given the ecological and resource challenges we face. So, the past eight months have been a time of research, self-education and experiment, specifically to see whether we can, in fact, begin to master the skills necessary for a full-time Homesteading existence. In essence. I'm making the best possible use out of my present unemployment.

This Afternoon.

1. The bread seems to be coming along okay. Just now (12 noon) it's about half way through a 50 minute rising period. So, with the rain merely drizzling, I'm headed outdoors to see what can be done. Oh, M loved the brick walkway, and wants to plant Spinach beside it.

Getting hotter, the temperature, that is

2007-04-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 58F
Afternoon high: 82F
Tonight's projected low: 61F
Humidity: 73%
Moon: Waxing, 63%
Clear, with a North wind 0 mph

This morning.

1. When I got out of bed, I had a small amount of tightness in my chest, and my first inclination was towards the Advair. But I drank a large glass of Water, and used a breathing technique I'd learned years ago while studying Breathwork. "When you are feeling something you wish to let go of," my Breathwork teacher told me, "just do the following:"

i. Breathing only through the nose
ii. Take quick inhalations in
iii. Let each exhalation out without any force behind it
iv. Be certain NOT to push the exhalations out, just let them go
v. Continue this pattern - quick inhalation, relaxed exhalation - until you feel more at ease

This technique, she said, will help to release repetitive thoughts, unpleasant emotions and even physical symptoms. Over the years, I've found it to be remarkably effective and easy to use. Accordingly, the tightness disappeared quickly.

2. I've also found that on Dr. Day's "new way of eating," I'm eating far less than before, but I've quickly gotten past that first day of hunger and discomfort. Drinking lots of water, making sure to eat a large portions at mealtimes (e.g., organic Greens and Potatoes), and having plenty of organic Apples and Bananas around to snack on have helped. Most helpful of all, however, are the Barley Green drinks she recommends (http://www.drday.com/). This Barley Green stuff comes in the form of a powder that I mix with Apple Juice and drink for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. It's not very expensive, about $40 (includes shipping) for a 7 once container that lasts me two weeks. It raises my energy immediately, and most of all helps to fill me up so that I'm not walking around hungry. Truly, I do not resist cravings well at all, and so I've really needed to assemble as many forms of assistance as possible. I don't think I could do this new way of eating without the Barley Green drinks! Also, I'm still drinking a small amount of coffee in the mornings. I know Dr. Day would disapprove (and probably for good reason), but for the time being the coffee really helps to raise my energy level and trim my appetites. The day will come to let this go too, but it's not this day - it's vital to know your limitations.

This Afternoon.

1. The Garden received both morning and late afternoon waterings, especially the Corn Bed, which must remain moist until the seeds have sprouted. Watering remains one of my favorite activities!

2. Two additional sections of lawn were cut today, and all remaining wood was carried up from the Pipeline. The rotted wood we'll dry and burn in an outdoor fireplace, probably at MidSummer. The good wood I'll save for our Bentwood Garden Fence, Gate, Arbor and Trellis - research continues in these areas.

3. I staked-out another Garden Bed with four old-timey Tomato stakes and white cotton line. This one measures 3.5' wide by 30' in length, running the entire back width of the Garden. I watered it fairly well (Jeavons says this will help loosen the soil), and will double-dig it in the cool of the morning. M can plant all the Tomatoes she likes out there.

4. In Garden Bed #2 (beside the Lettuce) I dug-in a red brick walkway 2-bricks wide. I also double dug (for the second time) the far left third of this Bed, in which M wants to plant.... something, but I'll be darned if I recall what.

This Evening.

It's time for a shower, a meal, and some baseball!!!

I'm free, I hope

2007-04-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 61F
Afternoon high: 76F
Tonight's projected low: 56F
Humidity: 88%
Moon: Waxing, 56%
Cloudy this morning but already clearing-up; they say they'll be a West wind at 5 mph, though I haven't seen it yet.

This Morning.

1. So, I've been on Dr. Day's diet for a week now (I think she would prefer the phrase, "new way of eating," as the term "diet" implies a temporary change, and the plan she offers is meant to be permanent), and so far so good. I have been hungry several times, and I've certainly craved foods that are out of bounds. But I've also found solutions to these problems. When I'm really feeling uncomfortable with hunger and/or cravings, I use a method that M taught me - in addition to being a (really hot) Chef and Labor & Delivery Nurse, M is also a yogini, that is, a female yogi; she acquired this training over many years, primarily at a wonderful place called Yogaville, about a hour outside Charlottesville, Virginia (http://www.yogaville.org/) - I stop and say to myself, "This is me hungry, This is me craving X." Whenever I do this, the craving diminishes. I think what happens is that this method pulls me out of the craving in which I've become "lost", and allows me to view it from outside, with some perspective, and make a more rational choice about whether to follow it or not. Of course, I also address the hunger/craving on a physical level. I make sure to drink all the water and do as much of the juicing Dr. Day recommends as is possible. I also have a supply of organic apples on hand.

The results so far are promising. I've lost 10 lbs., down to 215. 175 is my target weight. I'm also on my 2nd day off of all asthma med. For me, this is huge, and real proof that Dr. Day's "new way of eating" is special. Even with our insurance co-pays, we're spending $1,000 or more each year on doctor visits and monthly meds. We've also grown increasingly concerned about the long-term, deleterious effects of steroids such as Advair. While I'm grateful for these meds - they've literally saved my life, and also made the past 25 years worth living (sever asthma symptoms totally suck) - it's time to let them go for good. So, I'm praying and hoping and praying some more that I'll make this transition! Please feel free to picture me in your mind as utterly healthy, and it will assist me along. There's a tsunami of evidence to suggest that consciousness is capable of such non-local effects, but that story's for another day.

2. I'm trying something new today. Several of you have emailed, pointing out that some days we post rather late at night, and you prefer as early a post as is possible. I agree, and apologize for the delays, on most days our work runs right up until sundown. As a solution, I'll be posting Morning, Afternoon and Evening segments whenever possible. We'll see how this works out.

This Afternoon.

1. I mowed a small portion of the lawn. Normally, this is not difficult, though now the pollen and dust stirred up while cutting raise pose a potential challenge. In years past, I simply could not do this work without meds. Today, so far so good. When I came in after about half and hour of work, I drank a large glass of water with lemon and a pinch of cayene pepper, and then a cup of ginger tea, both of which head off and release any inflammation.

2. M and I made a late afternoon visit to Home Depot's Garden Center. Within certain limits, we like to visit these centers at Lowe's and HD. We like the wide range of young vegetable plants, flowers and herbs we can purchase their. While we grow most everything from seed, there remain a few things we like to purchase as young plants, such as Fennel if possible. What we don't care for is the obnoxiously loud music at HD. It's tolerable inside the store, but outdoors it's pumped through cheap loudspeakers, ricochets off of concrete in seemingly every direction, and was blaring so loud it gave M nausea!

This Evening.

1. M and I went out to the Garden about 6:15, when the Sun had gone down into the Pine and Poplar Trees on the West side of the yard. While M planted Cucumbers, Onions, more Peppers and some of the things we purchased at HD, I watered our 9 planted Beds. We have not yet laid down our soaker hoses, so for the moment we're still watering by hand. Once the night time temps stabilize at 60F+, we'll lay down the hoses and mulch the Beds with Straw, this will help to conserve water, diminish the number of weeds that emerge, and help feed our growing plants.

A nicely varied day : }

2007-04-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 58F
Afternoon high: 78F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Humidity: 77%
Moon: Waxing, 43%
Clear, with a SouthWest wind at 8 mph

1. M made some amazing Whole-Wheat Bread yesterday, and we're making more today! It's entirely Vegan (i.e., contains no animal products), and so lies within my dietary practices. The recipe comes from The Tassajara Bread Book ("Tassajara Yeasted Bread I," pp. 36, 37). M is quite an accomplished cook (I call her a chef, but she doesn't care for this title), and she's walking me through the various stages - kneading, rolling, kneading, pounding, kneading, rolling, rising, baking - so that I can take on the responsibility for the Bread making. Until now, I've only been good at the final stage, eating. She also made some equally amazing Bean Soup, and as we ate it up last night and tonight with Bread and fresh Garden Greens, M pointed out that before too long everything in that meal we would be growing ourselves, even the Wheat, which apparently can be grown in small quantities - in my mind I pictured only vast fields. She also pointed out that while our 1/3 of a Bed of Lettuce cost us about .50 cents in Lettuce seed, we have probably cut about $100-worth of organic Lettuce thus far!

2. I cut a small portion of the lawn, and I'll do a bit more tomorrow. I've noticed that on days that I'm pushing our mower around, I do not need to go to the gym and climb on the elliptical cross-county machine or jog on the treadmill. I've also noticed that our push-mower only runs for about 45 minutes, and then conks out and needs to rest for at least a few hours, if not for the remainder of the day. This of course forces me to take a break from mowing. I find this situation both ironic and helpful because, in the past, my tendency has been to take one piece of work and obsess over it, ignoring other important tasks and wearing myself out in the process. While working on my Master's Thesis, for instance, I would frequently sit at my PC for 12 or more hours a day, for days at a time. Obviously, this is a most unbalanced way of being.

3. The Sweet Potatoes arrived this afternoon, so M planted them! Interestingly, they arrived looking extremely wilted and weak. Apparently, however, they're hardy plants, and can be shipped that way, then replanted and thrive! She also planted basil(Thai, Genovese, Lime), Busho Puerto Rico Sweet Potatoes, "That's Delicious" Corn, Red Seeded Thai Longbeans, PurplePodded Pole Beans, Mexican Gerkin Cucumbers, and Celeriac. All but one of our 10 Beds is now planted!

Looking to the Future: Later this week, J is having two large pine trees taken down. While J himself is very good at felling trees (he grew up in a family of New Hampshire lumberjacks), given the considerable size and proximity to our house of these pines, he's having a professional, fully insured, tree service do the work. No doubt an excellent idea. While self-reliance is virtue, knowing your limitations, and when you need professional assistance, is vital! J suggested that the tree-service-fellows could cut the pines into 8' long sections, leaving me some excellent wood for making posts, beams, shelving and such. I've been waiting for this opportunity for quite a while! In my Homesteading research last Autumn, I discovered a kind of chainsaw attachment that allows you to cut felled trees into lumber! I looked at several models, varying greatly in price from dirt-cheap to thousands of dollars (these are basically portable saw-mills), and have settled on the Haddon Lumbermaker. It costs about $100.00, carries a 30 money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty (http://www.haddontools.com/). This is an important aspect of our long-term Homesteading plans, so I'm grateful to have an opportunity to what challenges and difficulties are involved.

A quick look at our Spring/Summer Garden

2007-04-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 53F
Afternoon high: 76F
Tonight's projected low: 48F
Humidity: 67%
Moon: Waxing: 33%
Another amazing day here in Zone 7b, clear, sunny, 76 degrees with a gentle North wind at 0 mph!

1. After two days of fairly intense planting, here's where our Garden stands so far.

Bed #1
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Gold Potatoes

Bed #2
Garlic

Bed #3
Arkansas Traveller Tomatoes
Brandywine Tomatoes
Black Cherry Tomatoes
Sun Gold Tomatoes
Black Pineapple Tomatoes

Bed #4
Mustard Greens
Lettuce

Bed #5
Pattypan Squash
Raven Zucchini Squash
Tondoscuro Squash

Bed #6
Rosabianca Eggplant
Hillybilly Red Okra
Clemson Spineless Okra

Bed#7
Ace Bell Peppers
Golden Marconi Peppers
Poblano Peppers
Tomatios

Herb Bed
Rosemary
Lavender
Oregano
Thyme
Parsley
Dill
Fennel

The Garlic, Greens and Lettuce were Winter crops, but the rest we put in over the past two days. We still have three large Beds in which to plant vegetables and one for different kinds of Basil. Because M wants to grow as many tomatoes as possible, specifically White Tomesol, Tappy's Heritage and Dr. Wyche's, we've decided to put in another Bio-intensive, double-dub Bed, this time 3' wide by 20' long along the entire South side of the Garden, build six additional Tomato cages and plant as many tomatoes as possible. Three foot withs should be easier to dig.... ooohps Sopranos are on, more tomorrow. : )

Gettin' n tune

2007-04-21T11:45:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 60F
Afternoon high: 74F
Tonight's projected low: 47F
Humidity: 56%
Moon: Waxing, 14%
Sunny, with a North wind at 0 mph.

1. We'll be moving a great many plants out to the Garden this afternoon! More about this when we're done.

2. Tired of being overweight, easily tired out and "addicted" to asthma medication, I've decided to re-apply homesteading principles to my body. I've been about 40 - 50 pounds over weight for three years now. As a result, my blood pressure has risen a little bit, I feel like I'm carrying around a backpack filled with encyclopedias all day long, and I've needed to be on Advair and Proventil one to two times a day. I'm dissatisfied with this state of affairs because I know from my own experience that it's entirely optional. In Stage One of our homesteading experiment (while living on Lookout Mountain), I came across the work of Dr. Lorraine Day, a well established, mainstream surgeon who healed herself of a very aggressive cancer (that had her within weeks of death) by setting aside everything mainstream medicine and culture demanded that she do to treat her condition. Before long, she discovered that this same approach produced complete, miraculous cures 100% of the time with absolutely no side-effects when applied to a great many medical and psychiatric conditions, so she began to teach others how to heal their illnesses. I was struck by the simplicity of her approach, which starts with eating only organic fruits and vegetables, period! Of course, her entire approach is comprised of some 10 steps, such as making sure to drink at least one gallon of fresh, clean water each day, and juicing fresh, organic fruits and vegetables several times each day, and can be read about at her website, http://www.drday.com/. I began her method in earnest, and within one week I was able to stop taking all asthma meds whatsoever - it's important to note that I had severe asthma for 30 years, had been on daily asthma medication for about 20 years, and had nearly died twice due asthma-related complications, so it was no minor problem that was cured. Within two months, I had returned to a perfect weight for my height, 175 lbs., and people around me noticed how my clear my skin was, and how high and steady my energy level was.

However (there's always a "however" in any good story), as I was drawn away from our homesteading experiment, needing to return to University teaching and construction work, my dietary practices quickly spiraled back down to eating anything and everything I desired. This bottomed-out last Summer, when I herniated my small intestine in several places merely carrying a small TV set out to the trash, and needed fairly extensive surgery. When I asked my surgeon why this happened she answered, "You're obese! When men become too large it stretches their 'plumbing' out of shape, which allows part of the small intestine to rupture out when put under stress, such as lifting." Wow! 50 lbs overweight is clinically obese, and I was there and growing still! I had always been the tall skinny kid who could eat pizza and drink beer every day and still loose weight, even into my middle 30s.

Well, it's time for me to re-apply these homesteading principles - simplify, cut-down to what's necessary, do what you can for yourself - on the most intimate levels. I'm tired of being a sick, exhausted fatboy!

3. We'd like to mention two additional points about working with the cycles of the Moon. In an earlier post, we mentioned that seeds started at the New Moon tended to sprout and grow quickly. We forgot to ad that this applies to seeds started within the first seven days of a New Moon! So sorry. Secondly, several of you have pointed out that although we recommended transplanting on the Full Moon, we in fact did our last transplanting of seedlings to the Garden on the New Moon. You're quite correct. As M stated in our first post, we're studying, experimenting and learning as we go. Also, we wanted to get some plants in the Garden and couldn't wait another two weeks! Today's planting, however, is closer to the Full Moon, so we count that as a success.

Frankly, I find it remarkable how challenging such a simple task - starting seeds on the New Moon and transplanting on the Full Moon - has turned out to be. Of course, there are other factors to be worked in, such as the "last frost date" for our part of the country (which was supposed to 4/15), what's actually happening with the weather (4/15 saw Winter's brief return), and our work schedules. Still, in this we're working to recover something our larger culture has lost, and in so doing we're attempting to harmonize ourselves with something utterly foreign to the way M and I have lived all of our lives thus far. For 40 years, we paid no attention whatsoever to lunar cycles, save perhaps noticing a beautiful Full Moon now and again.

We have the resources!!!

2007-04-20T11:52:00.001-04:00

Morning temp: 51F
Afternoon high: 70F
Tonight's projected low: 45F
Humidity:67%
Moon: Waxing, 14%
Mostly cloudy with an East wind at 12 mph.

1. I'm still up on Lookout Mountain visiting family, though I'll be home late tonight. M says that our golden and sweet potatoes arrived yesterday afternoon. We'll plant them first thing this weekend. They're going in somewhat late this year, since we forgot to order them and then two weeks ago began to wonder why they hadn't arrived. Oops. Of course, the lawn's growing again, and we have a great many plantlings indoors awaiting a garden transplanting. So, it will be a weekend of activity!

2. On my drive up here, I took the back roads as opposed to the highway, and I noticed how much potential garden space many homes have available, whether in the form of modest front lawns, back yards, or side plots. This means that, if we really wanted to do it, a great many of us could grow enough food to feed our families and share with others. But don't you need a lot of land to grow enough food to live on? No. Bio-intensive gardening, which utilizes raised beds about 4' wide and 5' in length, allows plants of all kinds to be planted very closely together. Experts tell us that a family of four can eat full-time out of four of these beds, or 100 square feet. But won't a sustained mass-gardening movement deplete our soils and use up our water supply? That depends on how we garden. Composting our grass cuttings, leaves and left over fruits, vegetables and eggshells from our kitchens would produce, for each homestead every year, several hundred pounds of humus (i.e., a completely organic, top-shelf soil additive) that could be immediately and continually added to our soils. Hence, we would be radically and consistently improving our soils. Have you ever noticed how many eggshells a Waffle House or IHOP uses in just a single morning? If we mulch our Bio-intensive beds them with leaves, straw, or even cardboard, and water the soil directly, we would use less water than is typically expended on watering lawns. But what about the winter time, how will we eat then? As with all things, there are safe, sound, reliable solutions, such as building a small greenhouse or small wooden "hot houses" around the base of garden beds.

On a far larger but logically parallel level, the most recent bi-partisan Congressional estimates of the war in Iraq set the total price at $2.2 trillion, all said and done. Interestingly, similar estimates suggest that an investment of this same magnitude would be more than enough to switch the entire American infrastructure over to solar and wind-based power! Like the potential garden space I see everywhere, I find this highly optimistic because, while $2.2 trillion seems an unimaginable number to me personally, clearly we as a nation have access to this kind of money (after all, it's funding the war as we speak). So, when the day finally comes and we're serious about funding safe, sustainable, democratic forms of power production, we have the resources and technology to do so, immediately. I suspect similar arguments could be made about education, health care, and who knows what else.

Time Travelling

2007-04-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 46F
Afternoon high: 72F
Tonight's projected low: 45F
Humidity: 93%
Moon: Waxing, 10%
Wind: from the North at 1mph or less

I'm posting early today because I'm driving up to Lookout Mountain, Alabama to visit some family I'm very close to for a day or so. In 2002 and 2003, M and I made our first sustained attempts at Homesteading here. M's mom, who lived on the Mountain, invited us to try out our grand experiment on her 30 acres of land. We did, with neither jobs, money, nor any of the skills and knowledge we should have had under our belts, only a vague, romantic notion of "getting back to the land." Almost daily our Homesteading vision changed as we read and researched and discovered what did and did not work through trial and error (mostly error). Trying to live in a twenty-eight foot tall tepee, for instance, is a very bad idea. Great praise must go to my close friend KP, who helped me set-up and take-down that fantastically heavy monstrosity at least 20 times. We invested nearly 60% of our savings into it, but could never get it right, or keep the rainwater from soaking the ground, or prevent hornets, wasps and yellow jackets from taking up residence.

Our greatest success during this time was in gardening. M had small and productive gardens when we lived in the city, and so we had some knowledge here. We also had several thousand square feet of rich valley floor to cultivate, if we so chose. We decided on a "modest" 1,000 square foot Garden. Tilling, raking out and planting the long, straight, raised rows gave us the best days we have had together as a couple, and ultimately lead us to marry. By early May, we easily produced enough food to eat two superb meals a day out of our Garden. During this time I shed some 40 pounds of excess weight, lost all symptoms of asthma (which I had since childhood) and felt better than I have before or since.

Eventually, we moved back to the city, where I returned to University teaching and M earned a degree in nursing. We needed a reliable economic base to fund the many aspects of a Homesteading life. M felt that nursing, particularly working in women's health, would allow her to serve whatever community we choose to live in, even while we pursued a Homesteading lifestyle significantly removed from the dominant cultural patterns. Despite our failure to make it our permanent home, our time on Lookout Mountain was very well spent.

By the wake of the Moon

2007-04-18T13:40:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 51F
Afternoon high: 73F
Tonight's projected low: 45F
Humidity: 48%
Moon: Waxing, 2%
Wind: from the East, at 5 mph

Spring - when ecstasy seems the natural way to be, and any other out of tune with the season of soul growth. Birdsong, airy silence, a lively conversation between plants.... Spring is not so much a metaphor for a state of attunement as it IS that attunement.
-Rumi

1. We've begun to take seriously and experiment with the relationship between the cycles of the moon and our garden work. We already know that lunar cycles have an impact in what happens here, on earth. They create, for instance, tides in large bodies of water, and when the moon is full labor and delivery nurses see an increased number of births. Going back into ancient times, farmers have noted that seeds planted during the new moon germinate more quickly than those planted at other times. Perhaps this is due to gravitational forces, as horticulturist John Jeavons explains, "If you place seeds in the ground 2 days before the lunar forces are greatest [i.e., as the moon begins to wax] the seed has time to absorb water. The gravitational force exerted on the water in the seed helps create a 'tide' that helps burst the seed coat in conjunction with the seed's swelling." Jeavons also recommends that all transplanting (whether to garden plots or larger containers) be done during the Full Moon (about 14 days after the New Moon). He writes, "plants are transplanted at the full moon so they may begin their life in the growing bed during a time of stimulated root growth to compensate for the root shock that occurs during transplanting."

Of course, the most ancient spiritual traditions on the planet have a complementary explanation. According to the Old Religions, while all things and beings come from one infinite source, the divine reality tends to manifest itself to us in complementary pairs of male and female. Not opposite forms, but different forms that, when healthy, work well together. Hence, in the ancient religions we see both Gods and Goddesses. It's important to remember that ancient peoples didn't just make up their deities. Rather, ancient mystics experienced, first hand, the divine reality as two-fold: as a Great Goddess who herself appeared in myriad forms, as a young and playful woman, a warrior and protector, a queen, a priestess, a mother giving birth to the cosmos, an old crone full of wisdom and guidance for human beings; and as a God, who also manifested in many different ways, as a young and playful male, a hunter and warrior, a father, a priest, a venerable sage and teacher. This is why ancient cultures have so many different deities, both male and female, playing many different roles. You might think of it as many different paths back to the divine source. If there was really only one path, that would leave out a great many people, and an infinite intelligence would never construct such a narrow-minded universe.

Within the Old Religions, the Goddess gave birth to all things and beings, and hence we are all made up of Her, the earth, plants, animals, human beings, even the God himself is birthed into existence by the Goddess. The God, on the other hand, is the cosmic grapevine, and we are the branches. Hence, we are both made up of the Goddess just as an infant is made up of the stuff of her mother, and we have within us the living God, who flows through us like a river. Does some of this sound familiar? It should, as history unfolded and male-centered, patriarchal religions grew in dominance, one-half of the divine reality was lost, forgotten, and repressed (at least here in the West), and the other half was raised up and held to be a complete description of what the divine reality is like. This, in turn, seriously limited the kinds of spiritual experiences people could have. Fortunately, some of the fastest growing spiritual movements (or religions, if you like) in the world are those that attempt to bring the Goddess back into our understanding of, and our experience of, the divine reality and the physical world.

So what does this have to do with gardening? For us, a great deal. For if all the world is made up of the Goddess and has the God running through it, this explains how and why the trees, plants, wind, sun, rain and all elements of nature are conscious, aware, divine beings. It also explains why St. Fiacre, who is in truth just another manifestation of the God, so quickly, easily and reliably responds to our invitations. Whenever I'm working in the Garden or on any aspect of our Homesteading experiment, when I remember to stop and invite the Goddess and God within me and ask for their presence and assistance in my work, I immediately feel more peaceful, connected and aware, and the work goes smoothly and easily, and I enjoy it. Conversely, when I fail to do so, I am likely to fall into a hurried, unconscious, quickly frustrated state of mind, which I don't particularly enjoy. Indeed, I'm likely to remember old arguments and conjure up new ones in my mind, getting and reaming angry while I'm working. Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that such states of mind have become common place, that often we walk around "like ghosts", our bodies are performing various tasks (e.g., driving) but our minds are miles away, often caught in unpleasant feedback loops. Communing with the Goddess and St. Fiacre seems to rectify this situation immediately, uniting mind and body.

Planting and transplanting on the lunar cycles is, we hope, not just another way to make use of the cold, unthinking, mechanical forces that operate within the universe. Rather, like communing with St. Fiacre, the angels he brings with him, the Garden Kami, and the Goddess, planting with the lunar cycles is one way to harmonize ourselves with these divine presence in nature. I'm thinking that "powering down," reducing our consumption, increasing our self-sufficiency, and enjoying the ordinary things in life are similar in this way.

Butcrunch lettuce, anyone?

2007-04-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 49F
Afternoon high: 74F
Tonight's projected low: 46F
Humidity: 33%
Moon: New Moon!

We had a clear day with a mild West wind at 5mph.

1. Hoping that the cold weather is gone for good, we transferred a number of plants from the inside A-Frame to the Garden, along with several new ones we purchased yesterday evening at Lowe's. While I re-planted Purple Impatiens in St. Fiacre's Flower Bed (the frost took those planted earlier), M put Lavender, Parsley, Oregano and Thyme into the Herb Bed. Then, together we planted Squash, Peppers, Tomatoes and Buttercrunch (mistakenly labelled "Butcrunch") Lettuce. Everyone got a scoop of organic mushroom compost and dried blood and bone meal, followed by a long draught of worm tea and water. The Tomatoes each got banana peels at their base and a Tomato Cage (28" wide, 70" tall) staked down by 8' tall bamboo poles buried a foot or more in the soil. Finally, at least some of the plantlings have made it to the Garden. Tonight's temperature is supposed to go no lower than 46F, which all of these plants can tolerate. Please assist us by holding in your mind an image of our new Garden residents growing tall and strong!

When we were done with our planting, we ate a salad of freshly cut Garden Lettuce & Mustard Greens, fish J caught this past weekend, and organic Potatoes with Rosemary from the Garden. M's Rosemary potatoes are quite fetching, and if you email her, she'll probably share the recipe. She is, by the way, an AMAZING chef!

Looking to the future: Well, M and I have decided to "power down" as much as possible, that is, to reduce our energy bills and the electricity we use. So, we've begun switching-out our incandescent light bulbs for CFLs (Compact Fluorescent light bulbs). CFLs last for literally 1000's of burning hours, and provide the same levels of lighting at a markedly reduced cost (e.g., imagine a bulb that provides 100W lights of light at 8W in cost). We're already hang-drying about 90% of our wet laundry, and we're seriously contemplating the purchase of a hand laundry washer and ringer. This, of course, costs nothing to use, save the cost of the water. Moreover, if we use biodegradable laundry detergent (e.g., Oasis brand), we can water our plants with the used laundry water with no harm to the plants or to us. The hand washer/ringer costs nearly $500.00, and we hope to be able to purchase one soon. Homesteading seems to be about making these sorts of gradual, incremental changes.

From Gardening to Homesteading, Part 2

2007-04-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 41F
Afternoon high:66%
Tonight's projected low: 43F
Humidity: 36%
Moon: Waning, 1%

Windy windy windy. In between our 12 Garden Beds, we've run long strips of cardboard. Provided that the cardboard is free of colored or excessive amount of black ink, it will biodegrade into the soil. Meanwhile, it provides a mud-free walking surface, while also keeping weeds and grass from sprouting up. In a sense, it's a kind of mulch for the Garden walkways. Well, the West wind, which gusted up to 40mph, had its way with the cardboard. Otherwise, the wind spirits were very kind and gentle during their visit. In truth, we found the wind exhilarating, cleansing and fun, and we hope that everyone visited by these spirits was kept safe. Perhaps with time we can learn to live more harmoniously with them.

1. M and I went to Lowes for two bags of mushroom compost, a tray of 36 purple Impatients for St. Fiacre's Flowerbed beside the Garden, two hanging pots of Impatients for our back porch, and a number of young plants we have marked for our two, red-bricked, Garden Herb Beds (#11, 12). Last year, we had a great experience with the Impatients on the back porch. We fed them worm-tea and water regularly, and they grew and grew and flowered into early November, after we had moved them indoors up on the fireplace mantle. They seem to be quite hardy plants that can bounce back from excessive heat and a lack of watering. They also seem to have a wonderfully peaceful energy about them, or so we felt.

2. We also transplanted a number of seedlings and plantlings to peat-pots and to larger plastic containers (we recycle our yogurt containers in this way). Our weather forecast for this week has improved (now they're saying the days will reach 70F+ and the nights no less than the mid-40s), so we're leaning towards moving all of our mature plants into the Garden tomorrow! We'll see how M feels; she's really the Garden Boss. I just do what she says, or at least what she approves of.

3. Throughout our work together, we talked a good bit about the kinds of home-based businesses we're interested in the starting, particularly after the move to up-state New York, which is looking ever more likely. Currently, our logic is as follows. As Homesteaders, we're interested in self-sufficiency, which entails learning a very wide range of skills, everything from growing your own food and making your own household items to building your own home. As part of this process, we're interested in making our own essential oils, herbal water mixtures (e.g., rose and lavender water) and herbal soaps. Indeed, we've begun to research these things, and M already makes her own herbal skin-cream. One thing we noticed with M's lavender skin-cream is that when people found out about it, they wanted to purchase some for themselves. So, perhaps these other endeavors could lead to a range of marketable products. As you may have guessed, this is why we've put in the two Herb Beds, to experiment with growing a number of herbal plants so that we can take this knowledge with us. Thankfully, other Homesteaders farther along than we are have also shown that such home-based businesses are possible, so we feel that we've got something reasonable to base our hopes upon.

Looking to the future: Pictures are coming! Of the Garden, of the various things we've built here so far, of Arjuna (our cat) and most especially of Helen, queen of the doggies! Ever so slowly, my technical skills are increasing, and before too long we'll see improvements to the blog. : )

The ideal relationship

2007-04-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 52F
Afternoon high: 58F
Tonight's projected low: 40F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Waning, 4%

Today looks to be both cloudy and windy. Thus far, there's been a fairly steady and quite cool breeze out of the West at 14mph, though there's some concern that gusts could become considerably stronger. In fact, we're under a "wind advisory" until later this evening.

1. So, if you've got kami in your Garden, what does this mean? What are you supposed to do about it? Another superb question, one we could answer a number of different ways! To begin, let's recall that kami are spirits or divine beings found throughout nature, especially in those places that inspire awe (or dread) within us. The storms that have been sweeping across the eastern half of the country certainly qualify. Very early this morning, after the front line of thunderstorms departed, I stepped outside and felt that they had done some very important work for us. We know that they clear the air of the pollutants we've put into it, but perhaps they've cleared something else as well. We've all noticed how it feels after a thunderstorm, how much more calm and peaceful it seems. Perhaps these storms are clearing out the anger and frustration that we have been putting out there. Moreover, perhaps storms will continue to grow in intensity and frequency until we learn to cultivate different thoughts and emotions, such as patience, peace and forgiveness. This accords nicely with traditional Shinto understandings of what it means to live in harmony with the kami. On Shinto teachings, when human beings get stuck in negative inner thoughts and emotions, particularly those that give rise to unkind and inconsiderate actions, this creates an intolerable atmosphere for both earthly and heavenly kami. You might think of it as a kind of "emotional pollution." As a result, the so-called "negative kami" become activated, the first stage of which is frequent and angry storms that both cleanse the atmosphere of unhealthy energies, and (hopefully) wake us human beings up, so that we may once again begin to cultivate the thoughts and emotions that give rise to kind and considerate behavior and actions, and thus harmonize ourselves not only with the kami, but with each other.

Much like our stories of calling upon and feeling the presence and assistance of St. Fiacre and his angels while we work in the Garden, whatever we make of Shinto mythology - whether we see it as literal truth or existential metaphor - we believe that insofar as it helps us to adopt a calm and patient attitude toward one another, and to live in harmony with nature and our neighbors, it points the way toward learning to live well.

2. It's a very cool, windy day here in Zone 7b, and we're grateful that the line of storms that passed through were very gentle with us. We received lots of steady, soaking rain and the clean, crisp air that comes in behind. We're hoping that the "strong winds" said to be moving through today will be similarly mild. In fact, I'm considering asking them to be as careful as possible in keeping our home, Garden and community safe and well-protected, asking that any negative emotional energies they may be attempting to clear-out be released easily and effortlessly, without so much tumultuous thunder, lighting and such. In truth, I did this yesterday afternoon with the storms headed our way, and I felt that they responded with awareness and understanding. I'm also considering putting the plantlings out on the front porch, to harden them off to even chillier and windier weather. I think, also, that it will be a another good day for inside chores.

Looking to the future: Today (4/15) is our "last frost date," and so we're moving as many plantlings as possible out to the Garden tomorrow. The lows this week are supposed to be in the mid-30s on Monday and low-40s Tuesday and beyond, so we'll probably transplant only the hardier varieties, and wait on the tomatoes and other more sensitive plants.

Garden Kami?

2007-04-14T17:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 50F
Afternoon high: 69F
Tonight's projected low: 54F
Humidity: 76%
Moon: Waning, just 12%

It's been a cloudy morning, with little breeze to speak of. We're supposed to see thunderstorms this evening and into the night, followed by a return to cooler weather tomorrow.

1. I went to Pike's Nursery for one more bag of peat moss for Beds #8 & #9. I also weeded and fertilized the Garlic, Lettuce and Mustard Greens with organic bone meal and dried blood. With rain due in this evening, though, I'm holding off on watering. So far, I've been carrying our plantlings out to the front porch for hardening off. Today I put them out in yard beyond the fence (to keep them safe from the dogs), as they require exposure to greater levels of wind, sunlight and temperature variation. We want them to be well prepared for full-time residence in the Garden, which should begin this coming Monday, provided it's not too cold. I also brought the remaining wood up from the Pipeline. I still have a mind to build a Garden fence and trellis from these thick, twisting branches. This time, I plan to sink 4' posts along the entire perimeter of the Garden (each to about 1' in depth), and let the earth settle in around them, providing a more firm and stable foundation, waiting a while before putting on the top rail. Also, I think I'll limit myself to one horizontal railing running atop the posts. Clearly, this structure is meant only for discouraging deer and for M's flowers to grow up and along.

2. Just a few weeks past, I drove to St. Louis to visit an old friend and his family. From where we live in Zone 7b, this ride takes about 7 hours, so I started off quite early in the morning. My pre-dawn departure found me in the rolling, jagged hills and mountains just north of Chattanooga, TN. (on Hwy. 24) at the first break of day. With the roads wide open before me (I was virtually alone at this early hour), I think I understood, or I think I experienced, a taste of the feelings and sensations that led ancient peoples the world over to built Temples and Shrines to honor the divinity found within nature. There really aren't any words for it; let's just say the power of this landscape was remarkable. It certainly felt as if I was not alone during my solitary drive.

That the divine should be encountered in nature is nothing new. It is not difficult, for instance, to find a Christian mystic who, after considerable time in prayer, sees and feels God radiating out of every blade of grass. In other modern day traditions, indigenous Japanese religion (commonly known as Shinto, or "way of the divine beings"), for instance, the elements of nature are themselves held to be home to powerful spirits, or kami. Earthly kami, this tradition teaches, can be found virtually anywhere, in mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, rain, wind, trees, any earthly place marked by power and beauty. Heavenly kami, who dwell above us, appear as the Sun (a great Goddess figure around whom all things revolve, or circle), Moon, stars and sky. Of course, there are also the kami we would rather not have to deal with, who manifest as tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, disease and tornadoes. Essentially, the kami reside in those aspects of nature that inspire awe, or dread, or both.

Well, if I'm in a calm and peaceful frame of mind, and if I look carefully, it's immediately obvious to me that there's divinity within and around our Garden. Perhaps this is why St. Fiacre and his angels respond so quickly and easily when invited. In recent years, it's seemed to me that this reality is more readily felt on an emotional level, more easily harmonized with than understood in a purely rational way, the way we understand geometry, or algebra, for instance. As a scholar of religion, I was drawn to the commonalities and especially to the differences found among the world's religions. As an aspiring Homesteader, I'm intrigued to perhaps be plugging into some of the realities these traditions describe from first-hand experience.

Low-brow gardening

2007-04-13T12:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 48F
Afternoon high: 68F
Tonight's projected low: 51F
Humidity: 58%
Moon: Waning, 21%

A clear, sunny, cool day, with a West wind at 8 mph!

1. After a month of rigorous double-digging, it seems I've hit a temporary lull in Garden work. For today, I'll be watering, weeding the mostly empty beds (save for two beds of winter crops) and adding a bit to the compost pile. Oh yes, and sitting out by the peach trees listening to the bluebirds. Frankly, I'll take this brief respite, knowing that we'll soon be moving several dozen plantlings from the A-Frame indoors to the Garden. We've been putting these plantlings outside on the reasonably warm afternoons for the past three weeks in an effort to "harden them off", that is, get them used to the changing conditions that wind, sun and clouds bring (as opposed to the staid conditions underneath grow-lights in our living room). I hope we can get them into the Garden by Monday or Tuesday. They've grown so well indoors that they're becoming root-bound, so they need to be out in the wide open soil of freshly turned and fertilized Garden Beds!

2. In France, some 50% of the population gardens regularly, either on land of their own, or on rented plots. Even in major cities some 20% have gardens. Here in the U.S., we haven't seen that level of interest since the mid-1940s, when Victory Gardens appeared in every neighborhood across the nation. In those days, our national logic held that each family should grow as much of its own food as was possible, and thus conserve our resources, as they would be needed for the war effort. Note how this varies from our own times, when we are urged to purchase and use up as much as possible to keep the economy growing, and thus "do our part". In the old days, we made sacrifices by only eating the lettuce, tomatoes and peppers we could grow ourselves, and seriously cutting back on our consumption of meat, diary and a wide range of other luxuries and necessities; today we sacrifice by charging HD plasma TVs to our already burgeoning credit cards. And our attitudes toward gardening have grown similarly odd. Here in the Southeast, for instance, we've noticed that a great many subdivisions have strict rules forbidding gardening. We've met folks who were warned that if they dug-up their lawn for a vegetable garden, the Neighborhood Association (NA) had the power to foreclose on their mortgage, and would do so without hesitation. Apparently, in the eyes of a great many NAs, putting in a vegetable garden is likened to heaving your old, rusted-out pick-up truck up on cement blocks and letting it sit for a year or two, or leaving engine-blocks and transmissions strewn about one's front yard. M and I have often wondered about this perception of gardening as low-brow.

From Gardening to Homesteading, Part 1

2007-04-12T19:21:00.001-04:00

Morning temp: 50F
Afternoon high: 71F
Tonight's projected high: 40F
Humidity: 24%
Moon: Waning, 27%

Today was utterly clear with a strong West wind at 17 mph. Sunny, cool and entirely ordinary, I hope some of you decided to stick around for it. Regrettably, I was unable to visit the Garden today whatsoever, as M was scheduled for dental surgery, which went very well, and she's comfortably resting and happy to have it over with.

1. Home Depot has been running a charming little commercial in which somewhat drab, unremarkable backyards (rendered in black and white) are magically transformed into colorful, flowering affairs through the happy introduction of various plants, shrubs and trees. The commercial sings the praises of the casual, weekend gardener, and so do we. Working cooperatively with nature is no doubt an inherently good thing, both for us and for our back yards! For M and I, however, our attempt at gardening - from digging our beds, building our compost and starting seedlings - represents far more than a casual pastime (in truth, neither M nor I do casual pastimes particularly well, we're either into something deeply or not at all). For us, these things represent our attempt to utterly rethink and reconstruct our lives.

It all began with a book, The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living, which M had read many years ago as a teenager, and which she got me to read on a fateful Summer camping trip nearly seven years past. This trip was "fateful" because, not only did we meet our dog Helen (yes, named after Helen Nearing), but we also decided that we would pursue a Nearing-like, Homesteading-based life as vigorously as possible, even if it took us many years to fully untangle ourselves from our contemporary cultural pattern, which seemed to demand, in exchange for what it called "the good life", a number of concessions, for instance, that we exhaust ourselves working in highly specialized professions paying off tremendous financial debt incurred so that we could enjoy a handful of comforts, including new cars, a big house, hired help to mow our lawn, clean our house, vacations abroad and so forth. Like the Nearings, we felt uncomfortable making these concessions, and suspicious of the assumption that the good life was in fact to be found in this way.

The Nearings tell us, "we moved away from New York City to a farm in the Green Mountains of Vermont. At the outset we thought of the venture as a personal search for a simple, satisfying life on the land, to be devoted to mutual aid and harmlessness, with an ample margin of leisure in which to do personally constructive and creative work." We feel similarly, hopeful that, if thought-out and executed with care and discipline, we could live a simple, self-reliant lifestyle. Indeed, the Nearings encouraged us to think so, insisting that, "a couple, of any age from twenty to fifty, with a minimum of health, intelligence and capital, can adapt themselves to country living, learn its crafts, overcome its difficulties and build up a life pattern rich in simple values and productive of personal and social good." Of course, we are far from alone. Many have successfully walked the path the Nearings laid out, and many others are adapting this path to urban contexts, forging a kind of "urban homesteading" (see, for instance, http://www.pathtofreedom.com/). This past year, M and I have talked many times about suburban homesteading, that is, purchasing my family's home here about 30 miles outside our major city in Zone 7b. But this is not proving economically feasible - once J and C decide to sell the family propoerty, probably in one or more years, we'll leave the suburbs for far more rural, and far less expensive, surroundings, where keeping our expenses low is an attainable goal.

So, what specifically do Homesteaders, whether urban, suburban or rural, do? To start with, Homesteaders grow as much of their own food as is possible, and all of it organically. What they are unable to grow, they purchase from local growers and producers found among Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), food cooperatives and farmer's markets. They are also likely to build and make as many of their own things as their current skill levels allow, for instance, clothing, furniture, tools, and what they cannot build or make themselves, they are likely to seek in barter from others, or seek to purchase used. In a sense, Homesteaders are highly conservative, in that they want to conserve as many resources as possible, including their own time, energy, money and of course natural resources such as wood, metals, fuels and so forth. Hence, they tend to be very interested in alternative construction methods (such as earth-sheltered homes, cordwood masonry, composting toilets, grey-water systems) and energy sources (solar and wind-based power). Homesteaders not only want to have these things, but they want to learn to do the hands-on work necessary to create and maintain these more ecologically and economically sustainable practices. Indeed, Homesteaders see their "chores" as part of their vocation, and hope that such a lifestyle will provide them with greater opportunities for avocational pursuits (such as reading, writing, music, arts) then is currently offered by the dominant culture.

We are definitely on a Homesteading trajectory. We see our current work in and around the Garden as necessary preparation for the "next stage" of our experiment, most likely to be carried out way up in Zone 4 (not far from the Finger Lakes, in upstate New York), where, by the way, it's still snowing. Yes, we've been tracking the weather there for the past nine months, which may be best described by a simple.... Burrrrrrrrrrrrr, though they say that the Summers are glorious!

Escape to the old & ordinary : )

2007-04-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 48°F
Afternoon high: 64F
Tonight's projected low: 44F
Humidity: 93%
Moon: Waning, 41%

It's looks to be a rainy day, with a steady east wind at 10 mph. So, it's a good day for indoor tasks such as sweeping & moping floors, cleaning bathrooms and restocking the fireplace.

1. My wife (M) and I live in a large, two-family home that we share with my parents (J and C). We live downstairs, J and C upstairs. For nearly 25 years, my grandparents lived in the downstairs, and when they passed-away we just happened to be looking to move from Lookout Mountain, Alabama back to Atlanta (M had just been accepted into an accelerated nursing program at a nearby University, and I had had been offered a three-year teaching contract at that same University). Understandably, my mom has been slow to let go of my grandparents' things. So, even now, some four years later, M and I live our daily lives in a home filled with my grandparents' antiquated, and (I think) quite charming things. Just now, for instance, I'm listening to a baseball game on an AM-only Panasonic radio (I discovered it just this afternoon), sipping organic espresso from a bright red, tin, camping-coffee cup in a bedroom (now my office) crowded with circa-1950s bedroom furniture. M is eager to have our own place, and fill it with furniture of our own choosing, which I can surely understand (and I feel this way too). But these old things make me think about what life might have been like in past decades, what we've gained since then, and what we've lost.

2. With the steady mist and rain, I did little in the Garden today, save cut some lettuce for dinner and empty a nearly-full, 5-gallon bucket of kitchen scraps into the compost bin. One more bucket (probably by next week) and I'll have a nice, two-inch layer of green material on top. Then I'll add a shovel of top soil, a bag of composting leaves, and a handful of straw, until we've saved up more kitchen scraps.

3. I went to the tire store this afternoon. As I was waiting for new front tires to be put on, I noticed a photograph of beautifully restored, 1969 Mustang GT. Above the bright-yellow 1960s sportscar it said, "Escape the Ordinary!". After initial, knee-jerk agreement, I began to wonder whether this was really the way to live well, which was clearly the point of the poster, and which is also a value evident in many places within our current cultural pattern. Indeed, we continually bombard ourselves (and each other) with this same message, "Be extra-ordinary!". But, is this realistic, and aren't the things and people I truly value entirely ordinary?

I looked at the tall, old oak and pecan trees out beyond the tire-store parking lot, at the mist that hung everywhere in the air and watched the cool Spring breeze stir the young leaves. I thought about our Garden, about the bluebirds and blackbirds that sing day and night, and the deep, dark and rich soil of all ten Garden Beds I'd recently dug, and the pictures M took of last year's Garden at mid-Summer. I thought about the family and friends I'm close to, about my very excellent wife, and about the young fellows changing my tires. All of these people and things are thoroughly ordinary. I can depend on them precisely because of this fact. And, if I've got my head on straight, that's all I'll ever really need. The "escape to the extraordinary", I believe, is in large part an illusion, most likely unattainable and, if attained, unsatisfying.

Who is St. Fiacre, anyway?

2007-04-10T10:25:00.000-04:00

Moring temp: 34°F
Afternoon high: 60F
Tonight's projected low: 47F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Waning, 50%

There were clouds early this morning, but this afternoon has been sunny, warm, with a slight East Wind at 7mph, and absolutely beautiful! Much more like Spring. I'll not complain about warm days again for at least a week or so.

1. As scholars of Christian history are well aware, St. Fiacre was an Irish Catholic priest who lived in the early 7th century. Because of his great love for nature and things that grow, most especially a well-cultivated the garden, St. Fiacre eventually became the patron saint of gardening. As the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us, "He lived a life of great prayer, fasting and the manual labour of the garden. Disciples flocked to him, but, desirous of greater solitude, he left his native land and arrived, in 628, at Meaux, France." Upon his arrival, the stories continue, he was told by the powers that be that he could have only as much land as he himself was able to clear between sunrise and sunset on a single day. Miraculously, St. Fiacre cleared a vast area of forested land, and soon built a chapel for prayer and bountiful flower, fruit and vegetable gardens! Those who visited St. Fiacre's garden found inner peace and serenity as well as miraculous physical recoveries. The Encyclopedia recalls, "He cured all manner of diseases by laying on his hands; blindness, polyps, fevers, and especially tumours." We find these stories to be quite inspirational, and feel a kinship with St. Fiacre, as we as well desire to create a place of peace, serenity and healing. So, what better name for our Homestead than, "St. Fiacre's Acre"? Indeed, when we begin our outdoor work for the day, we try to remember to invite and request St. Fiacre's presence and assistance, and any angels he wishes to bring along. When we do, he graciously shows up, and so do the angels, and the work goes more smoothly, more easily and more peacefully.

2. I double-dug the 10th Garden Bed. Finally, the entire Garden's been double-dug, thank goodness! I worked-in three bags of composting leaves, as usual, but again I'll have to wait on the peat moss until later this week.

Looking to the future: All six perimeter posts are up around the Blueberry Grove (BBG). We now need our bird netting. But the only netting we've found so far is available at Home Depot, and costs nearly $26.00 for each 5' X 45' strip. We'll probably need six of these, and this is currently beyond our economic means. So, I need to find a less expensive solution, soon.

Several things on a somewhat rainy day

2007-04-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 40°F
Afternoon high: 51F
Tonight's projected low: 35F
Humidity: 49%
Moon: Waning, 60 %

It was cloudy all day, and cool, with sprinkles of rain now and again, and a light, occasional West wind at 5mph. For a very brief time we saw the afternoon sun. The weather is beginning to warm again.

1. Incidentally, M has informed me that we're not in Zone 8, but rather Zone 7b. My apologies. I'm fairly certain, though, that where we live is, in fact, in the Southeastern U.S. (ha ha).

2. I double-dug Garden Bed #9 this afternoon (one more to go!!), working-in a bag of composting leaves. I'm out of peat moss for the moment, so that will have to wait. Last Fall, I composted some 50+ bags of fallen leaves (watering them thoroughly and mixing in a shovel of composted manure). M and I both laughed at so many, thinking it far in excess of what we'd need. Actually, though, we could use another 20 bags or so. In addition to working them into Gardebn Beds, I've been adding them to my compost piles, usually ontop of 2" of kitchen scraps and an inch of topsoil and/or composted manure (and then a handful of straw). Presently, we're down to 10 bags of leaves, with 6 months before I'm gathering fallen leves. : (

3. I gave the Blueberry Bushes (BBs) and the plantlings inside on the A-Frame a drink of worm tea. They all look good, though we are concerned about the dearth of honey bees this Spring. The BBs require cross-pollenation - that's why we've planted several differents kinds of BBs together in our BB Grove (BBG). Honey bees do this cross-pollenating work especially well, but we've seen only a small number of them this Spring. Lots of carpenter bees, though. Perhaps there are ways to help replenish their numbers?

4. M and I continue to cut and eat Lettice, Mustard Greens and Kale for both lunch and dinner salads from the garden every day! : )

Looking to the future: M has decided that she wants chickens, and a goat. I'm uncertain of how good an ideas this is, but I'm open minded about anything M says she really wants... and I'd rather she want chickens than diamonds. We're also going to inherit a rather wayward cat (from M's dad) sometime in the next few months, and of course we both want a puppy as soon as possible. Finally, we're very seriously considering a move to up-state New York, a significant retreat from the every-encroaching suburbs, near the Finger Lakes. Yes, that's Zone 4, quite different from our long, languid zone 7b Summers.

Seedlings make difficult house guests

2007-04-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 32°F
Afternoon high: 53F
Tonight's projected low: 30F
Humidity: 64%
Moon: Waning, 72%
NW wind at 5mph

1. As M mentioned in earlier posts, we start about 95% of our Garden crop from seed. Since our Garden has grown in size (to about 900 sq.ft.), and our methods have increased in efficiency (we're now using John Jeavons' Bio-Organic methods, see his How to Grow More Vegetables), we have a great many young, maturing plants waiting inside the house for the "last frost date" of April 15th, when they'll be transplanted to the Garden. That's why I built the A-Frame Seedling Shelving Unit (AFSSU), which allows us to keep seedlings and plantlings together, with easy access for watering and for taking them outside during the day (part of the hardening off process), and under grow-lights for as many as 16 hours a day (freeing up our kitchen counters, where they resided in the past). So far, by mutual agreement, I'm not allowed to work with the inside plants unless sanctioned to do so (by M). They're finicky things, and my proclivity for daily watering and weekly worm-tea fertilizing seems too.... intense for house-bound plantlings. My approach works well with the plants outside in the Garden, but these young ones indoors need to be watered but not wet, dry but not dried out, nurtured but not gorged on nutrients. Hence, while M's minimal approach yields strong, vibrant youngsters, mine creates sickly, strung-out teenagers.

2. I Double-dug Garden Bed #8 and the expanded Herb Bed, working in two bags of composting leaves and covering each bed with two inches of peat moss. But isn't peat moss a somewhat rare and nonrenewable resource? Yes, peat moss comes from just a few places in the world, such as the moors of Scotland, and takes hundreds of thousands of years to be replenished by natural processes. My thinking here, however, is that I'm not using this stuff excessively or frivolously; I'm using small amounts of this rare, highly valuable stuff to radically improve my Garden topsoil. By next Spring (2008), we'll have sufficient amounts of compost to forgo using peat moss. We'll emend and improve our Garden Beds with compost that has transformed itself into humus.

Looking to the future: Thus far, we've become somewhat dependent on the plastic, seed-starter-trays that we purchase from Pike's Nursery each year, and we'd like to kick the habit. They're expensive, at $12 each, and we use a dozen or more every year. They also represent yet one more thing we are not yet doing for ourselves, but could easily do with a bit more knowledge and effort. So, I'm researching how to build our own wooden seed-starting-flats. As it turns out, not just any wood will do (apparently the chemicals in many kinds of wood create inhospitable conditions for seedlings), and not just any old top soil will do. Imagine that. More on this as my research continues.

The Pipeline

2007-04-07T17:43:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 30F
Afternoon "high": 48F
Tonight's projected low: 25F
Humidity: 34%
Moon: Waning, 77%

OK, even my Canadian grandfather would agree it was damned cold today! With a West wind blowing steadily at 16 mph, it felt a good deal cooler than 48F, more like 38F.

1. Last Fall (in September, I believe), the county government sent a crew out to our land to cut back the tress, bushes and grass that had overgrown a section of our land underneath of which lies a natural gas pipeline, "The Pipeline," we call it. Thoughtfully, they asked whether we wanted the wood for ourselves (otherwise they would have dragged it away to the chipper), and when we said that we did they cut the branches and trunks into 10' - 20' segments and left them in piles on the ground. Now, the Pipeline runs several hundred feet away from our house, at a sharp downward angle, and so hauling anything up from the Pipeline isn't easy. The ground is rocky and uneven, so wheelbarrows and motorized vehicles are out. If this wood is going to make it up to the house, it's going to be carried by hand, and not just once but three times. Let me explain. As it runs away from the house, the Pipeline is crossed by a fence and two fairly wide streams. So, the wood has to be hauled to the first stream and tossed over (one large heavy piece at a time), hauled to the second stream and tossed over, hauled to the fence and (you guessed it) tossed over, at which point it can be loaded into a wheelbarrow and carried up to the house. I think so far I've spent about three days on this project, with probably two or three more to go before all of burnable wood is retrieved and stacked neatly beside the back porch. Of course, then it needs to be split and stacked.

But is the relatively small amount of firewood worth all of that work? Wouldn't it be more efficient to spend that time working for wages, and then spend your money buying firewood? A very good question, and one I'm asked fairly often. The only response I can give is that gathering, splitting and stacking my own firewood contiually teaches me something about myself. It teaches me to go slow and pace myself. It reveals to me where I have allowed work to become hurried, stressful and irritating, when work is supposed get my blood moving, expand my lungs and chest, and use and exert my own energy and agency in ways that working for wages from others never could. This, of course, is not to say that I should never work for wages, but rather that I should not always make economic efficiency my primary concern.

Am I too sexy for cutting grass?

2007-04-06T11:09:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 39°F
Afternoon high: 55F
Tonight's projected low: 25F
Humidity: 26%
Moon: Waning, but still 85%

The morning sky was thick with clouds, though by 10:30 the sun had broken through and the day warmed. A gentle wind blew in now and again from the Northwest at 14 mph.

1. I spent the larger portion of day cutting back our lawn. We live on nearly 5 acres of property, with probably 3 acres of grass, which grows thick and tall and fast here in Zone 8's alternating days of sunshine and rain. For the past few years, we've hired someone to cut the grass for us. He would show up at all hours of the morning, afternoon or evening when the lawn was nearly overgrown, race back and forth on his enormous, tank-like, riding-mower while nameless helpers weed-whipped seemingly everywhere at once, and we paid him about $200.00 a month. This year, after stumbling upon our forgotten but once proud push-mower, I decided to take these duties upon myself. So, I mow a small portion of the 3 acres every-other day (though given today's cool temperatures I decided to mow much more). This provides me with an excellent aerobic workout, and I believe I've dropped a waist-size already (don't worry, I have plenty left over). We also have an old rider-mower, but one tire seems to be always flat no matter how many times we have it repaired. More importantly, to ride around my lawn in much the same way as I ride around town (sitting on my ass) seems markedly unsatisfying. For one thing, my ass gets plenty of sit-down time already. And mowing the lawn is supposed to be work, I'm supposed to raise my heart rate, breathe more deeply, sweat a little bit (or a lotta bit), and drink cold icy water when I've mowed my bit for the day, and then do the same again another day soon. How have I come to believe that getting out of physical work and getting someone else to do my work for me is a good thing? Certainly, getting out of meaningless work is a good thing, but taking care of my things myself, saving the $200.00 a month and getting some needed exercise is quite meaningful.

2. I've put up the third post around the Blueberry Grove. In fact, after further consideration we decided to put additional posts at half-way points in beteewn the first three, making six in all.
Next, I'll run some kind of pole or connector atop and between the posts, upon which we'll hang the bird netting.

Looking to the future: The Blueberry bushes have flowered, so I'll need to have the netting up soon.

"Winter's Brutal Cold Grips South", ha ha ha

2007-04-05T09:01:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 39°F (Burrrrrrrrrrrrrr)
Afternoon high: Maybe 57F (Still burrrrrrrrrrrrrr)
Tonight's projected low: 35F (Again, burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)
Humidity: 75%
Moon: Waning, but still 93% full

Today was cold and windy, with a gusty Northwest wind blowing in at 14mph. Now, I grew up in New England, and I realize that 59F should not feel cold - how my grandfather from Nova Scotia would laugh at my wearing a coat and hat on a day like this - but we've had several weeks in the mid-80s, and I suppose we've gotten used to it. This happens very quickly living in Zone 8; the Summer months are long and hot, so as soon as they arrive (sometimes very early in the season) we consciously and unconsciously acclimate to them. On the other side of the season, say by the third week in September, after 4 months of 90F+ days we'll get a day when suddenly, shockingly, the temperature drops into the 60's, and everyone seems to suddenly wake-up and perk-up, filled with early-Spring-like-energy, happy, more peaceful and friendly, unexpectedly invigorated by the chill in the air.... and then it's hot as hell again for three weeks before Autumn finally cools things down for good.... in October.

1. Unexpectedly, I double-dug Garden Bed #7 today, coat and all (perhaps tomorrow I'll put a space-heater out there in the garden with me; may my grandfather's spirit be mightily amused!). Perhaps the cool wintery air reinvigorated me, b/c directly afterwards I single-dug and laid bricks around a 4 X 4 bed at the front of the Garden that M has marked for an assortment of Herbs. There are already two robust Rosemary bushes and a young, culinary Sage adjacent to the Herb Bed I dug today, so we might expand this Herb Bed to 4 X 10, or even 4 X 15 dimensions.

But why did you only single-dig the Herb Bed, Kenny? A fair question. I've learned to apply John Jeavons' advice (author of How To Grow Grow More Vegetables and chief proponent of double-digging) here rather strictly: "dig down only as far as is possible with a reasonble amount of effort". The first twelve inches of soil in the soon-to-be Herb Bed was delightful: dark, rich and digable. Anything below that level could pass for asphalt: hard and densely-packed red clay. I've double-dug into red clay before, but this stuff was something special. I could have dug it, I say to myself, I could have broken and turned that soil, if I were willing to break out my pick-axe and maul, sweat and strain and probably swear like a lunatic, but so doing is a far cry from "a reasonable effort". Also, planting the bed this year, with roots growing down into it and regular waterings loosening the tough-to-dig clay, next year I'll be able to dig that bed deeper, assuming we're living in this place, but that's another story.

A Look to the Future: Just 10 days until April 15th, our "last frost date", and our date for moving our young, strong and growing seedlings to the Garden. For the past two months I've been suggesting (and sometimes insisting) that we plant early, given the long streak of very warm temps, while M has maintained that we abide by the April 15th "line in the sand". Well, she was correct. By Sunday (4/8), the morning temps will drop in the 20s! Had we done as I suggested it's likely we would have lost all of of young plants to the cold, good grief.

A rainy day, thank goodness!

2007-04-04T02:47:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 59F
Afternoon high: 69F
Tonight's projected low: 40F
Humidity: 100% (they say, though it feels wonderful outside and in)
Moon: O (97% Full)

Lots of very cool, clean air came in early this morning behind the thunderstorms, which woke me up when they arrived at 2:30am. This morning was cloudy and rainy, but by noon the sun had come out. There was a SW wind of ~ 8 mph; a cool and sunny and beautiful day! : ]

1. I'm a bit exhausted from the past few days of work, particularly the double-digging and post-setting. So, in order to rest productively I spent my time on inside-the-house-chores, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, a few windows and a porch.

2. I'll make just two trips to the garden. At 1:30pm I cut lettice, mustard greens and kale for a lunch salad. It was insanely good! Later this afternoon I'll go out to the compost bin. Everyone here at St. Fiacre's Acre sends (nearly) all their fruit and vegetable s left-overs and waste (no meat, dairy, grains or processed foods) to compost; this daily practice has quickly and effortlessly become a household ethic, which I find quite hopeful. We did not, however, begin this process in ernest until just last Fall (2006), and so by Spring (2007) we had only one pile of cured compost (or humus) ready to be worked into the garden beds. But next Spring will be quite different. We will have had a full year to build, water and turn the piles regularly, thus we should have several hundred pounds of organic humus by Spring 2008.

3. But why don't all fruit and vegetable scraps go to the compost bin? The worms need to eat as well. Several years ago, M (in her usual brilliance) discovered the secret of keeping earthworms. As pets, at least compared to dogs and cats, they're somewhat lacking; they do not cuddle especially well, and they're terrible watch-dogs, or watch-worms, as it were (at the same time, they neither bark, hiss nor jump up on house guests, unless the guests move very slowly). They do, however, take fruit and vegetable remains and turn them into worm-tea and worm-castings, both of which are absolutely amazing 100% organic support foods for growing plants, trees and bushes. I LOVE feeding this stuff to our plants; just one "drink" of worm-tea (I mix a half-cup of tea with a gallon of water) and our plants respond the very next day with new growth, dark green color and an aura of health and vitality about them! We keep our earthworms in a round, black plastic bin about 1' diameter and 3' tall. In the Winter, we keep this bin in our kitchen, and it does not smell at all. In the warmer months, we keep the bin out on the back porch, which is covered and fully shaded. It's crucial to keep the worms out of the sun and out of very cold, or very hot, temperatures.

Going 'round the blueberry grove

2007-04-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Morning temp: 63F
Afternoon high: 77F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Mostly Cloudy, with a North Wind 1 mph
Humidity: 100%
Moon: O (99% Full)

1. In addition to the garden, M and I have developed a strong interest in fruit-bearing bushes and trees, probably because they grow very well here, they're beautiful, and we can eat what they give us! Also, our home is a two-family, which we share with my parents, J and C. Three years ago, J put in seven blueberry bushes just off the back porch of the house. He tended, trimmed and watered them dutifully, and in their second year they produced many gallons of heavenly blueberries - to think we used to pay $4 for a miniscule-sized container of perhaps fifty berries, good grief : ( ... and now we have thousands, virtually for free : ) This Spring, it seems, M and I have informally assumed the care of the blueberry grove (the bbg, as we call it). So early this morning I laid down 100' of soaker-hose, halled 15 bags of composting leaves up from behind the garden, and mulched the bbg. I also gave the bbs long draughts of magical worm-tea, fertilized the soil with organic bone meal and dried blood, and then gave the entire bbg a good soaking. M discovered the soaker-hoses last Spring, and we've used them ever since; because they water the soil directly (as opposed to broadcasting water through the air and onto plant leaves, as do sprinklers), they use far less water and do a far better job of watering. Of course, the mulch will shield the soil from the hot Summer sun and thus also conserve water. The iron from the decaying leaves will help feed the bbs.

2. Since we're anticipating a large bb harvest, we've also been thinking through some measures to protect the bbg from neighboring birds. We considered simply draping bird-netting over the tops of the plants, but this could easily develop into a royal pain in the ass come picking time. So, I've devised the following plan: the bbg is laid out in a triangular shape, 3 large plants on the back row, 2 medium plants in the middle row, and two new and smaller plants up front. Accordingly, I'm setting three 4' X 4' X 10' posts (which I found simply lying around and thus were free) in the ground around the perimeter of the bbg, one at each point of the triangle. Each post is set at 1' depth, and held in place by gravel heaped in around its base - concrete seemed a bit over-the-top. Next, I'm thinking of running long bamboo poles (J planted bamboo 20 years ago where the back yard meets the woods and it's grown steadily) between the posts, and then draping the bird-netting down the sides and over the top. In theory, this should keep out the birds while allowing the human easy access. We'll see. So far, I've put in two of the three posts - there's a pipeline running underneath a section of our yard, and I need to be certain I won't hit it before I begin digging in its proximity - so it may be a few days before this project is completed. We're not, by the way, anti-bird: we'll left one bb bush unprotected out by the garden. Bon appetite!

3. The sixth garden bed is double-dug, with two two bags of composting leaves worked-into the soil and a two inches of peat moss layered on top. Two thirds of this bed was fairly easy digging; we've been watering the undug beds regularly through the Fall and Winter in order to soften and loosen the soil. The final third, though, was slow and difficult; the bottom twelve inches was dense, heavy red clay. In fact, I could only turn 6 - 9 inches here. I'm worn out.

Gathering wooden pallets is easier than double digging, so let's do that : )

2007-04-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

Morning low: 59F
Afternoon high: 75F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Alternating cloudy (mostly) & sunny (a little), with a West Wind at 8 mph
Humidity: 88%
Moon: O (100% Full)

1. I spent the morning riding around town looking for recycleable wooden pallets that I could take home with impunity. I found and loaded several in the van, and stacked them vertically against the compost bin (also made of recycled wooden pallets) by the garden. Earlier this year, I discoverd a website by a fellow who built himself a shed for his tractor out of these things (http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletShed/) . It's a helpful site, as he's got photos and commentary documenting each phase of the building process. I hope to design the shed this evening, and begin building later this week, after the rain goes through.

2. This afternoon, under very cool and cloudy skies, I began to double dig the sixth garden bed. I start by loosening the first twelve inches of topsoil with a D-handled fork (it has roughly 12" prongs), and then shovel this topsoil out and into a wheelbarrow. I do this for the full width of the bed, giving me a trench four feet in length, one foot wide (basically the width of the shovel), and one foot deep. Next, down in the trench, I loosen and turn over the soil, again using the D-handled fork. I try for twelve inches, but I'll only go as deep as the soil will reasonably allow. When I dig these beds again in the Fall, the soil will be easier to work, and I'll go much deeper more easily ... I apologize if this is sounding rather pornographic... Then, I fill the first trench with topsoil - NOT from the wheelbarrow (I save this until the last trench) - but from loosening and shoveling out the next 4 X 1 X1 trench. I repeat this process until the entire bed (4 X 5) is double dug. All this work seems to give the plants lots of air, space and freedom to really stretch their roots, as it were, and grooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Last Winter's Work

2007-04-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

From October 2006 through March 2007, we made of number of important changes.

1. John Jeavons' book, How to Grow More Vegetables, absolutely rocked our gardening world. Following his advice, we've replaced our six 30' rows with twelve beds, each to be double-dug and heavily composted. "Double-digging" means removing the first twelve inches of top-soil, and then turning over the next twelve inches (yes, you're digging 24 inches down, if possible) while also working in a healthy serving of compost. The first time through, this is slow and challenging work, especially if, in your rampant enthusiaism, your beds end up nearly twice as long as Jeavons recommends (5 X 10 vs. 5 X 4). So, thus far we've only double-dug five of our twelve beds. I'll be digging the remainning seven beds this month.

2. For six weeks in October and November we raked and composted fallen leaves. Some we spread out on fallow garden beds; most were soaked and bagged with a shovel of composted manure. We've been adding them to our compost bin and digging them into our beds.

3. From old, abandoned wooden pallets we built a three-bin composting storage area. This keeps our composting material together nicely, while also allowing movement of air and water. The three bin structure makes it easy to turn the compost every 90 days; we use a fork and shovel to transfer the compost from one bin to another, and then begin a new pile in the first bin. Our composting ratio? An approximation of Jeavons' teachings: two inches of kitchen scraps; an inch of manure and/or top soil; an inch of hay straw; two inches of leaves. Repeat. We've been watering the compost piles about once a week to keep them moist, and like our garden giving the bins and piles loving attention; after all, this is the magical healing stuff that will greatly fortify our beds!!!

4. For the first time, we experimented with a Winter garden. Some things worked well, others less so. Our results thus far?

Garlic : )
Lettuce : )
Parsnips : (
Broccoli : (
Mustard Greens : )
Collards : )

5. Lastly, we've begun to build some of our own things, with absolutely no carpentry skill or training whatsoever, from discarded and scrap wood. Sound like a prescription for disaster? Well, it's turned out better than that, mostly. We began with an outdoor garden table - shellacked with dark green floor sealant to protect it from the rain (so it actually looks pretty good). Then a "hot house" or "cold frame" (I've heard it described both ways) for keeping plants warm in the Winter. Then an "A Frame" or three-tiered shelving unit with hanging grow-lights, for starting seeds and nurturing seedlings indoors. Then a rustic garden fence and arbor. So far, we're 3 for 4. The table, cold-frame and A-Frame are highly functional, and thus by our standards a success. The rustic-fence-and-arbor thing kicked my ass. It was so bad that I took it down after an entire afternoon's work. I've decided that some instruction may be necessary.

After Building Tomato Cages, Let-Us-Eat!

2007-04-01T17:54:00.000-04:00

This morning's low: 58F
Afternoon high: 66F
Tonight's projected low: 57F
Cloudy nearly all day, with one heavy downpour about 1:00pm, and a south wind ~ 5 mph
Humidity: 88%

1. I Assembled six tomato cages (each 28" in diameter and ~ 5' in height) from one roll of welded-wire 5' X 30' (purchased at Walmart for ~$35). M wants to sink each cage 1 foot down into the garden beds, and then I'm thinking we'll also stake them down with plastic store-bought stakes and rope. Last year, we used store-bought tomato cages and did not stake them down. This worked okay until June thunderstorms blew them over, which seriously diminished our overall tomato harvest, and basically was a real bummer. We want these cages to stand up strong all Spring/Summer/Fall. We'll put tomato plants, cages and stakes in the ground together on or shorly after April 15th.

2. Just before sunset, M and I went out to the garden, took several photos of our progress thus far, and cut lettice for tonight's dinner. We learned our lesson with the potatoes, and are eating up and relishing our fresh, organic garden lettice each day in large, delicious lunch and dinner salads! I've also been giving the plants we cut lots of attention and fresh water and worm tea two or three times a week. Mirculously, they have grown back 100% or more. We've broadcast a new round of seeds to a well-shaded bed of peat moss in the hopes of harvesting lettice throughout the Spring and Summer months. This bed gets morning sun, but is shaded for the remainder of the day, and we're hoping that, even with the hot Summer days ahead, the shade will keep the young lettuce plants cool enough to thrive.

More Seeds Started

2007-03-22T17:50:00.000-04:00

Early this morning I started Viroflay spinach, May Queen lettuce, dill, lime genovese and thai basil. I also started purple sprouting broccoli and arrowhead cabbage. Some of these should have probably been started earlier. All tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and friends have been transplanted to larger containers with some worm compost.

The A-frame grow light contraption is finally upstairs and boy, is it big! Pictures coming soon.

We are still eating daily salads from our bed of baby greens (Rocky Top mix from Baker's Creek).

Learning from Mistakes

2007-03-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

Last fall, K and I planted a bed of garlic. We also planted salad greens, radishes and beets from seed. We bought a few plants -- broccoli, mustard, and collards and stuck them in. We knew that, except for the garlic, we were planting too late, but we felt like mucking around in the dirt, so we thought we'd give it a try. I pretty much ignored everything all winter. I weeded the garlic bed a couple times. K religiously watered all the plants with worm tea all winter.

The beets and radishes sprouted, but never, ever developed into anything worth even talking about. The salad mix came up, but then seemed to just kind of hold its breath all winter. The collards, broccoli and mustard did nothing all winter. They neither grew nor died. Until we started having some warm February days. By the end of February, we had a lush 3 X 4 ft bed of baby salad greens (and reds) and strong, healthy looking collards and mustard. The broccoli budded in early March -- nothing spectacular, but we had omelets with broccoli one night.

Now, every day, I walk out to the garden and cut a salad. But, you know what? It's hard. Something in my nature makes me want to conserve, to be careful with this bed of greens. Last summer's garden produced a moderate amount of potatoes: Peruvian purple fingerlings and Yukon Golds. We ate sparingly all late summer and fall. However, we don't have a root cellar here. We had no way of storing those potatoes for winter, yet we tried. The result was a big mess in the potato bin. We missed out on the glory of our summer potatoes. We should have been reveling in those potatoes all summer and fall.

I read once that in France, when asparagus begins to be in season, they have festivals celebrating it and eat very little besides asparagus at every meal. I'm trying to celebrate my salad with that spirit.

Transplanting update:

Tomatoes, artichokes and tomatillos have been transplanted into larger pots with a mixture of coir, worm compost and potting soil. K has finished the A frame growing light contraption, but has yet to bring it up from the basement.

I ordered Yukon Gold potatoes and a red potato from Seeds of Change. Also, I ordered sweet potato slips from Henry Field (Bush Porto Rico) and That's Delicious corn. Usually I grow mostly heirlooms, but I thought a super sweet corn would be fun.

Starting Seeds in the Kitchen

2007-02-22T19:10:00.000-05:00

Tonight I started some seeds in the kitchen. Eggplant, tomato, tomatillo, sweet and hot peppers, artichokes and some purple cauliflower.

I have two shop lights (about $8 each) hanging from the bottom of one of my kitchen cabinets. These lights are on for 16 hours a day. K is building an A-frame structure that will have 2 or 3 levels of shop lights to accommodate larger plants. I'll post a picture of it when he finishes it. I'm using seed starting trays with expandable peat pellets. These are expensive, and peat is non-renewable, but these trays are super convenient.

I'm starting seeds a bit earlier than usual because I want to have bigger, stronger plants than I did last year. Also I think I'll put some out early and use a wall o' water or two.

We are in USDA zone 7b. Our average last frost date is in mid April.

I've never tried to grow artichokes before. And I've never successfully grown eggplant.

Weeding and Seeding

2007-02-08T00:47:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to pulling up a few weeds in the garlic bed today. It isn't a huge bed. I planted 110 cloves of Inchelium Red, some other variety whose name I forgot (this is why I need a garden journal), and a few cloves from the Publix to fill out the bed. The bed was double-dug by K and enriched with compost, manure, and worm poop from our kitchen worm farm. Then I put what I thought was a pretty heavy mulch of wheat straw down. The garlic started pushing up in December, but all the literature I read said that was ok. However, what with working nights, being a new nurse, winter, and just general laziness, I haven't been out to the garlic patch much since. Garlic doesn't like to compete. I've not only read this, but I've lost an entire bed of garlic in the past because of winter-laziness-lack-of-weeding.

Even more exciting than weeding: I ordered seeds today from Baker's Creek.

Tomatoes:

Tappy's Heritage
Black Cherry
Dr. Wyche's Orange
Ananas Noir

Hill Country Red Okra

Tomatillo

Golden Midget Watermelon

Flat Egyptian Beets

Rosa Bianca (or is it Blanca?) Eggplant

Helios Radish

Purple Artichoke

Some butterhead lettuce whose name I can't recall

I'm recreating this list from memory because I'm in bed in a dark room with The Real Housewives of Orange County on the television -- I'm on call -- and yes, I do feel dirty. Although Baker Creek is my favorite seed source, sometimes I wonder if it isn't also written (or at least edited) in bed in a darkened room by someone also secretly watching some really trashy television. It has typos (but not too many) and sometimes will call a particular variety by one name on one page and a slightly different one on another page. But it is still my all time favorite lie-in-a-hot-bath-in-January-and-look-at-pictures-of-exotic-veggies-I-could-plant-in-the-spring-catalog.

Welcome!

2007-02-06T02:09:00.001-05:00

Welcome to K and M's garden diary. Here are some things you should know about us before you make the decision to continue reading:

1. We aren't really sure that we know what we're doing.

2. We used to call ourselves organic gardeners; now we aren't sure what that means (many thanks to the USDA.)

3. We like to grow stuff we can eat.

4. We do grow some flowers, but only if "SUPER EASY-ANYONE CAN GROW" is printed somewhere on the seed packet.

5. We have a small (30ft x 45ft) garden.

6. We aren't vegetarians but we sometimes think we should be.

7. We sometimes get behind on the weeding.

8. K is a composting MANIAC!

9. M has no self-control when it comes to buying tomato seeds.