10.27.2008
Watching nasty buzzards in the air and wondering why they are flying so low, trying to figure out what dead thing they must be hunting, but looking more intently as they rise and fall I realize they are just teenagers riding the best waves seen in Santa Cruz, Ca in 10 more than years.
10.22.2008
garden update
Well, the garden was planted almost a month ago and we have some moderate growth. Pole beans, otherwise known as the encouragers, are strong, bush beans are up, zucchini, cucumbers, squash, and radishes are also up. Struggling to make an appearance are eggplant, lettuce, onions, peppers, tomatoes and okra. No sign of the broccoli, leeks or shallots.
Of more profit than the eventual produce is the time I have enjoyed being out in the garden weeding, or just sitting. The shade begins to cover the garden around 4:30 and it is the most peaceful place to sit and think or write. I have carved out a little section of ground near the water and the garden is surrounded on all four sides by trees and high weeds, making it a very secluded secret garden.
Of more profit than the eventual produce is the time I have enjoyed being out in the garden weeding, or just sitting. The shade begins to cover the garden around 4:30 and it is the most peaceful place to sit and think or write. I have carved out a little section of ground near the water and the garden is surrounded on all four sides by trees and high weeds, making it a very secluded secret garden.
Labels: garden
10.03.2008
It's not the work which kills people, it's the worry. It's not the revolution that destroys machinery it's the friction.
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
9.25.2008
9.22.2008
My favorite time of year approaches
Honestly it is hard to get too excited about the seasons here in Florida. There are no snow angels, no dramatic springtime changes, and no red-yellow-gold leaf changes. Of summer, we have no shortage. Nevertheless, Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. I can feel it when it approaches. There is no dropping of temperature, or falling leaves, or any of the other wonderful things associated with fall that the rest of you enjoy. But the sun dips slightly, and that extra shadow is enough to make my anticipation grow. There is something about the color of the surroundings that changes, and it is refreshing to me. It is still 90 degrees outside, but my mind expects something new. We are always waiting for that <60 day right around the corner, but it doesn't come until January. Still, Autumn is the time for port drinking, pipe smoking, backyard fires, pumpkin patches, family walks, pie baking, and a great deal more wonderful things.
AUTUMN SONG
Let's go down the road together, you and I,
Let's go down the road together,
Through the vivid autumn weather;
Let's go down the road together when the red leaves fly.
Let's go searching, searching after
Joy and mirth and love and laughter --
Let's go down the road together, you and I.
Let's go hunting for adventure, you and I,
For the romance we are knowing
Waits for us, alive and glowing,
For the romance that has always passed us by.
Let's have done with tears and sighing,
What if summer-time IS dying?
Let's go hunting for adventure, you and I.
Let's go down the road together, you and I --
And if you are frightened lest you
Weary grow, my arms will rest you,
As we take the road together when the red leaves fly.
Springtime is the time for mating?
Ah, a deeper love is waiting
Down the autumn road that calls us, you and I!
Margaret E. Sangster
Honestly it is hard to get too excited about the seasons here in Florida. There are no snow angels, no dramatic springtime changes, and no red-yellow-gold leaf changes. Of summer, we have no shortage. Nevertheless, Autumn is by far my favorite time of year. I can feel it when it approaches. There is no dropping of temperature, or falling leaves, or any of the other wonderful things associated with fall that the rest of you enjoy. But the sun dips slightly, and that extra shadow is enough to make my anticipation grow. There is something about the color of the surroundings that changes, and it is refreshing to me. It is still 90 degrees outside, but my mind expects something new. We are always waiting for that <60 day right around the corner, but it doesn't come until January. Still, Autumn is the time for port drinking, pipe smoking, backyard fires, pumpkin patches, family walks, pie baking, and a great deal more wonderful things.
Labels: autumn, fall, florida, poetry
9.12.2008
Well, hopefully we will be able to get some seeds in the ground this weekend. I think our timing is about right. If it get done it will be fit around a noon time soccer game for my 4-yr old boy. I coach both my boys' soccer teams. Eight 3yr olds on one team and twelve 4-5yr olds on the other. I guess I am a little crazy, but soccer is one of my passions, and I bet you didn't know that about me. I love following Major League Soccer (American) as well as the English Premier League, and some of the other leagues.
One of my other passions (they are many and varied, if you haven't noticed) is old Volkswagen buses. My dream car growing up was a VW and I had planned on bumming around the country in one after high school (that was before I met the only woman who could keep me in one place). I got my first VW when I was 15, a 1971 VW microbus that I still dream about.
Long story short, I have also owned a 1975 "tin-top" westy, a 1971 westy (disassembled and in my garage) and a 1969 westy, that I got rid of this past weekend. The reason for getting rid of the 1969 was that I traded it for this:
A 1972 Microbus. If you think this looks rough, you should have seen the 1969. If you are interested in seeing some of my buses, or the work we have been doing on them, you can look at my photo album, or my VW blog that I don't update very often.
One of my other passions (they are many and varied, if you haven't noticed) is old Volkswagen buses. My dream car growing up was a VW and I had planned on bumming around the country in one after high school (that was before I met the only woman who could keep me in one place). I got my first VW when I was 15, a 1971 VW microbus that I still dream about.
Long story short, I have also owned a 1975 "tin-top" westy, a 1971 westy (disassembled and in my garage) and a 1969 westy, that I got rid of this past weekend. The reason for getting rid of the 1969 was that I traded it for this:
A 1972 Microbus. If you think this looks rough, you should have seen the 1969. If you are interested in seeing some of my buses, or the work we have been doing on them, you can look at my photo album, or my VW blog that I don't update very often.
Labels: garden, soccer, VW Buses
"Clean Coal" and the destruction of creation
How's that for an ominous title?
Check out this issue at Everybody Gets Prizes and Mama Goes Green.
Check out this issue at Everybody Gets Prizes and Mama Goes Green.
Labels: environmental, political activism
9.08.2008
A new entrant
My lovely wife has made an entrance into the blogosphere and has already eclipsed me.
Go and read: http://everybodygetsprizes.blogspot.com/
Go and read: http://everybodygetsprizes.blogspot.com/
8.30.2008
Tiller of the backyard garden
As I mentioned in a previous post, we have been working on a new garden in a woodland/wetland area of our backyard. Today I rented a roto tiller and tilled up the area. It looks like most of the blackberry bushes I transplanted have survived. Who knows whether or not they will still produce next season. Here are a few pictures, taken today. It was overcast all day, with two tropical storms to the east and west of us. I can't quite capture the full scale of the garden, but it is about 40' x 50'. The neighbors on either side of us mowed down all their wetlands.
This is the "domesticated" backyard. The garden is through the small gate.
I put down a layer of the grassy stuff and tilled it in as well.
It's hard to tell, but this is the row of blackberries.
A view of a few of the neighbors backyards. It used to be a vegetative buffer zone from pine trees (right) to the water (left).
Summit standing in garden.
Our previous garden from spring time.
This is the "domesticated" backyard. The garden is through the small gate.
I put down a layer of the grassy stuff and tilled it in as well.
It's hard to tell, but this is the row of blackberries.
A view of a few of the neighbors backyards. It used to be a vegetative buffer zone from pine trees (right) to the water (left).
Summit standing in garden.
Our previous garden from spring time.
Labels: florida, garden, organic
Finally...bookshelves
After 14 months in our new house, and about 12 months of my wife asking...we finally have some bookshelves for our books. My original plan was to build some floor to ceiling bookshelves similar to the ones we had at our old house. Instead, we chose something very un-agrarian, the center piece of modernity...IKEA. Let me just say that I was very impressed. I have put together plenty of pieces of "assembled furniture", but these bookshelves actually went together with no problems.
I found out that the key to getting a deal from Ikea is to buy the white furniture, as it is about 25% less than the other colors. It was nice to finally have all our old friends back out on the shelves, and it actually cleared up quite a bit of space in our garage. Here are some pics:
I found out that the key to getting a deal from Ikea is to buy the white furniture, as it is about 25% less than the other colors. It was nice to finally have all our old friends back out on the shelves, and it actually cleared up quite a bit of space in our garage. Here are some pics:
8.17.2008
A New Garden
Lindsay and I moved to a "planned community" a little over a year ago, after our planned move to VA fell through. It is sort of a suburban resort type place with cookie cutter homes and lots of fun things to do. "Conservation" lots are a big deal in our wilderness-themed neighborhood, and our house backs up to some "wetland". In reality it is an old drainage/overflow canal that used to encompass the orange grove that used to be where our house is (the orange tree that we bought at HD and planted is slightly ironic). When we moved in, the last 30-40 feet of our backyard was overgrown with native plants that filled in the area from our bahia grass to the water. As a bonus there was also a ton of wild blackberry bushes that had great fruit.
Our neighbors all ripped out the vegetation (including their blackberry bushes) behind their houses and extended their lawns to the water. So our yard has been left looking like a sore thumb, a patch of wilderness in the middle of everyone's suburban back yards (we're kind of weird like that any way). We had gardens for a few years back at our old house in which we grew mostly beans and lettuce. At the new house we planted our first garden this past spring in a raised bed. We had some carrots and a little lettuce that quickly bolted.
We have been on an organic kick lately and so we decided it was time to start an organic garden in earnest. And so our new garden has started. We are going to try an organic garden in the "wilderness" area in our backyard, between the row of windbreak pine trees and the stormwater canal.
We started by pulling up a whole lot of a grassy weed (don't know the name). I tried to leave as many of the blackberry bushed unharmed as I could while raking up all the grass. I heaped up a great pile of grassy straw, which makes a great mulch cover.
After I cleared the area, I dug a trench along one side of the garden and transplanted about 15 blackberry plants. I have no idea if they will live, much less produce again next season. Next, we are going to have to till up the area to try and get rid of all the grassy weed. I need to get the soil tested this week, and hopefully we are not too late to get our seeds for a fall garden.
Homeschooling has begun, and we are planning on having the garden being an important part of our Charlotte Mason styled school year. The boys have already been helping me a lot preparing, the garden, and Lindsay and the kids will be responsible for the bulk of tending the garden once it is planted.
Our neighbors all ripped out the vegetation (including their blackberry bushes) behind their houses and extended their lawns to the water. So our yard has been left looking like a sore thumb, a patch of wilderness in the middle of everyone's suburban back yards (we're kind of weird like that any way). We had gardens for a few years back at our old house in which we grew mostly beans and lettuce. At the new house we planted our first garden this past spring in a raised bed. We had some carrots and a little lettuce that quickly bolted.
We have been on an organic kick lately and so we decided it was time to start an organic garden in earnest. And so our new garden has started. We are going to try an organic garden in the "wilderness" area in our backyard, between the row of windbreak pine trees and the stormwater canal.
We started by pulling up a whole lot of a grassy weed (don't know the name). I tried to leave as many of the blackberry bushed unharmed as I could while raking up all the grass. I heaped up a great pile of grassy straw, which makes a great mulch cover.
After I cleared the area, I dug a trench along one side of the garden and transplanted about 15 blackberry plants. I have no idea if they will live, much less produce again next season. Next, we are going to have to till up the area to try and get rid of all the grassy weed. I need to get the soil tested this week, and hopefully we are not too late to get our seeds for a fall garden.
Homeschooling has begun, and we are planning on having the garden being an important part of our Charlotte Mason styled school year. The boys have already been helping me a lot preparing, the garden, and Lindsay and the kids will be responsible for the bulk of tending the garden once it is planted.
Labels: florida, garden, organic
8.01.2008
Comprehensive Guide to Gardening
My wife found this book in a bargain basket at a store the other day and I have started working my way through it. It seems very thorough so far, and not over my head. We are working on clearing an area behind our house for a new organic garden we hope to plant in the fall.
My wife found this book in a bargain basket at a store the other day and I have started working my way through it. It seems very thorough so far, and not over my head. We are working on clearing an area behind our house for a new organic garden we hope to plant in the fall.
