Winter's end approaches
more rapidly then that of
the scarf I knit.
Designing your life
1 year ago
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Intro to the Garden (Part II)
Yesterday we had a serendipitously warm and sunny day, which felt like a promise of things to come and reminded me that spring isn't really that far off (though I try not to get my hopes up - as I am sure there will be plenty of additional rain and some cold spells). And with that memory of warmth, a second installment of the introduction to my garden, where I cover what worked last summer (before moving onto what didn't work, and what is currently going on).
When we first moved in, there was a noble fir, a cherry tree, and a photinia hedge in our west facing front yard which created a fair amount of shade. So it seemed like the best place for veggies was in the back - a narrow piece spot bordered by our house to the west and the detached garage to the east. The detached garage provides us with some privacy, but also casts shade. Fortunately our days are long here in the summer (~20 miles north of Seattle), and so we do get about 8 hours of sun in parts of the back garden at the height of summer. We tend to get this sun around mid-day and loose out on the hottest part of the day.
Fast forward 2 years - it became apparent that the noble fir, cherry tree, and photinia hedge were diseased and all needed to go (the noble fir outright died). For these plants, it was a classic case of trying to raise plants in a region not that well suited for them. Which brings me to what worked - biting the bullet and getting rid of established, though diseased plants, and taking advantage of the new opportunity to grow sun loving plants.
For a new hedge (we liked how it screened our chain-link fence) we planted semi-evergreen misty blueberries. We replaced the flowering cherry with a smaller apple plant. We also took advantage of the new sunny area (with hot, afternoon sun) by planting acorn (mesa queen) and butternut (early butternut hybrid) squash throughout the area and ended up with a great harvest (the only photo I seem to have is of very young plants):
In the back of the photo against the fence we have 2-year old red currents planted. Which brings me to the second thing I wanted to cover. For that spot we were looking for something that would fruit in partially sunny conditions. Red currents seemed to fit the bill, and so far, so good. We enjoy them fresh (though they are tart) and they are particularly good in muffins. They are also gorgeous when ripe, I only have a picture of green fruit, but it gives you an idea:
When we first moved in, there was a noble fir, a cherry tree, and a photinia hedge in our west facing front yard which created a fair amount of shade. So it seemed like the best place for veggies was in the back - a narrow piece spot bordered by our house to the west and the detached garage to the east. The detached garage provides us with some privacy, but also casts shade. Fortunately our days are long here in the summer (~20 miles north of Seattle), and so we do get about 8 hours of sun in parts of the back garden at the height of summer. We tend to get this sun around mid-day and loose out on the hottest part of the day.
Fast forward 2 years - it became apparent that the noble fir, cherry tree, and photinia hedge were diseased and all needed to go (the noble fir outright died). For these plants, it was a classic case of trying to raise plants in a region not that well suited for them. Which brings me to what worked - biting the bullet and getting rid of established, though diseased plants, and taking advantage of the new opportunity to grow sun loving plants.
For a new hedge (we liked how it screened our chain-link fence) we planted semi-evergreen misty blueberries. We replaced the flowering cherry with a smaller apple plant. We also took advantage of the new sunny area (with hot, afternoon sun) by planting acorn (mesa queen) and butternut (early butternut hybrid) squash throughout the area and ended up with a great harvest (the only photo I seem to have is of very young plants):
FYI- There is a calendar give away over at mixed greens (its looks like a beautiful calendar) where you provide one sustainable practice you would like to incorporate into your daily life in the comments section to enter the give away.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Haiti I Visted
Haiti/Ayiti has been on my mind, as I know it has been for a lot of people the last several days. As I struggle to get my head around what has happened - the earthquake that riveted the island and the people so severely impacted, memories of my trip there several years ago also dominate my mind.
In May, 2001 I spent 3 weeks in Ayiti and Miami's "little Haiti" as part of a intensive college course named Culture and Development in Haiti. While there we visited Port-au-Prince, Cape Haitian, and a small village called Latonelle (there was no road to Latonelle and the only way to access it was to hike it). I went to learn more about how people live in poor parts of the world, to try and understand how our politics in the U.S. shaped those realities, and what is being done, and could be done to improve life for Haitians. I also visited because the teaching assistant for the French class I took was Haitian, and I was struck by his patience and the ease I felt speaking French with him, and I was intrigued about his home.
Trying to gather my thoughts and memories into a coherent blog post is difficult. Really, I only had a glimpse Haiti. My memories include: soccer in Latonelle; drinking wonderful coffee made of coffee beans roasted with sugar; attending a club and dancing to Boukman Eksperyans; hiking up and swimming in a beautiful waterfall (and seeing some still forested and lush parts of the country); riding in tap taps; meeting funny, bright children in the guest house we stayed at in Port-au-Prince; drinking "liquid fire" moonshine that some of the Haitian men shared with us as we hiked up to see the citadel; seeing gravemarkers in the front yards of homes; that the residents of Latounelle hiked a stereo system into the village to throw a party.
As the proverb goes, Dye mon gen mon, there are mountains beyond mountains. Very much descriptive of the Haitian landscape and often used to describe Haiti's troubles (facing one challenge after another), right now I use it to convey the depths of a culture that exist beyond what I saw and experienced, and beyond what we are seeing as images and stories reach us through the media.
In May, 2001 I spent 3 weeks in Ayiti and Miami's "little Haiti" as part of a intensive college course named Culture and Development in Haiti. While there we visited Port-au-Prince, Cape Haitian, and a small village called Latonelle (there was no road to Latonelle and the only way to access it was to hike it). I went to learn more about how people live in poor parts of the world, to try and understand how our politics in the U.S. shaped those realities, and what is being done, and could be done to improve life for Haitians. I also visited because the teaching assistant for the French class I took was Haitian, and I was struck by his patience and the ease I felt speaking French with him, and I was intrigued about his home.
Trying to gather my thoughts and memories into a coherent blog post is difficult. Really, I only had a glimpse Haiti. My memories include: soccer in Latonelle; drinking wonderful coffee made of coffee beans roasted with sugar; attending a club and dancing to Boukman Eksperyans; hiking up and swimming in a beautiful waterfall (and seeing some still forested and lush parts of the country); riding in tap taps; meeting funny, bright children in the guest house we stayed at in Port-au-Prince; drinking "liquid fire" moonshine that some of the Haitian men shared with us as we hiked up to see the citadel; seeing gravemarkers in the front yards of homes; that the residents of Latounelle hiked a stereo system into the village to throw a party.
As the proverb goes, Dye mon gen mon, there are mountains beyond mountains. Very much descriptive of the Haitian landscape and often used to describe Haiti's troubles (facing one challenge after another), right now I use it to convey the depths of a culture that exist beyond what I saw and experienced, and beyond what we are seeing as images and stories reach us through the media.
It is true that Haiti so desperately needs our help right now and I am also hoping that Haiti doesn't fall too quickly off of our/my radar as the news cycle switches to the latest big story, and that people think of Haiti as much more than a place that needs help.
Mountains Beyond Mountain in Ayiti, photo credit:
Monday, January 11, 2010
Intro to the Garden (Part I)
The New Year brings seed catalogs and seed catalogs bring daydreams of warmer weather and the growing season. While summer garden planning is important and fun, there is still a bit going on in the winter garden. And the start of the year is a good time for reflection. So, before I jump ahead to spring, thoughts about worked (this post) and didn't work this summer, and what is happening right now.
The big summer project was to take advantage of the sun in our south facing, but itty-bitty narrow side yard. This area has all sorts of constraints. Since it is right next to our 1920s house I was worried about lead paint in the soil, and I was worried watering regularly right up against the house and problems moisture could create. While this side is south facing, it is narrow. Sun here is no problem at the height of summer, but as we move towards spring and fall, shade becomes an issue. Our solution - to collect large plastic containers and elevate them. We picked up a bunch of free concrete chunks that were listed on craigslist, and collected plastic tubs from the thrift store.
It took a lot of potting soil to fill those containers, and we already had a lot of compost on hand. So we made our own potting soil out of compost, coir, and perlite.
We were able to take full advantage of the particularly warm and sunny summer here in western Washington with this set-up and successfully grow tomatoes (hit or miss in any given year - this was by far our best summer ever), eggplant, and bell peppers. We also enjoyed looking out our windows of our house and into our beautiful tomato plants.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Joyful Solstice
Merry solstice.
I am drawn to earth-based holidays (such the solstice) and am just beginning to explore the rituals that help me celebrate it.
Even though it means increased energy consumption, we string up lights each year. I love the symbolism of bringing light into the world in this dark period, and on my evening walk home from work love to see the neighborhoods lit up.
This year we moved a small fir into our front yard, and it has been our Christmas tree (or solstice tree). We gathered snowberry and rose hips and strung them together as ornaments. The snowberry browned a bit after our spell of below-freezing weather, but I still enjoy seeing the ornaments and one of the squirrel's who visits our yard has done a bit of munching on them. Next year I think I will decorate with more ornaments/wildlife food.
I could go on for a long time about gifts. The short of it is that I don't like buying for the sake of buying, but that I do love coming across something that really suites someone. A few days ago I came across a prize that my partner would enjoy at the Menu for Hope raffle, where proceeds go to a new initiative called Purchase for Progress, which enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to the UN global food operations.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The art of making order
By way of introduction...
I have always loved plants and growing things. In part this was related to my broad interest in biology - wonder at either learning about the inner-workings of a cell or at observing a cherry tree over the course of a year. My interest in gardening (but not necessarily food gardening) took root early.
The other domestic arts (cooking, cleaning, preserving, sewing, finances), well, that is another story. In large part I think I was a child of my times. Growing up in the 80s/90s, there was a lot of emphasis on women's equality. I heard this message from my parents, and so I had the notion that the world was open to me, particularly in what my chosen profession would be. At the same time my parents modeled a fairly traditional (for lack of better word) gender roles. I observed that these gender roles at times caused strife between them. And I also received the message that the solution for women's liberation was to outsource the domestic work. Or to try to be super-woman.
A few things happened that made me question the outsourcing/super women model and to realize that the approach that worked the best for me was one where life balanced professional and domestic aspirations, and that the work was shared. One experience was going on a 3-week long wilderness course when I entered college - and seeing how central the need to feed and shelter one's self is, and how fufilling this work can be. I also started to cook with friends for social past-times, and through these experiences to learn about a wider world full of spices. I am coming to realize the important nexus of food - health - environment, and how we greatly impact these elements in our daily choices. And I am concerned about the impacts (both on the planet, and on ourselves) of a consumer-heavy life-style.
So I am starting this blog, not as a super-crafty super-woman (not even a crafty woman). But as a women exploring, as Ursula Le Guin writes, "living well, with skill, grace, energy - like carrying a basket of bread and smelling it and eating as you go." I am interested in sharing thoughts, and lessons learned about what Le Guin refers to as the low arts, "for instance, the art of making order where people live." For me this includes a wide range of topics such gardening, permaculture, marriage, cooking, preserving, personal finances, simple living, and also poetry, yoga and other things that bring beauty to our lives. Anything that helps us live well, with skill, grace and energy is fair game.
I have always loved plants and growing things. In part this was related to my broad interest in biology - wonder at either learning about the inner-workings of a cell or at observing a cherry tree over the course of a year. My interest in gardening (but not necessarily food gardening) took root early.
The other domestic arts (cooking, cleaning, preserving, sewing, finances), well, that is another story. In large part I think I was a child of my times. Growing up in the 80s/90s, there was a lot of emphasis on women's equality. I heard this message from my parents, and so I had the notion that the world was open to me, particularly in what my chosen profession would be. At the same time my parents modeled a fairly traditional (for lack of better word) gender roles. I observed that these gender roles at times caused strife between them. And I also received the message that the solution for women's liberation was to outsource the domestic work. Or to try to be super-woman.
A few things happened that made me question the outsourcing/super women model and to realize that the approach that worked the best for me was one where life balanced professional and domestic aspirations, and that the work was shared. One experience was going on a 3-week long wilderness course when I entered college - and seeing how central the need to feed and shelter one's self is, and how fufilling this work can be. I also started to cook with friends for social past-times, and through these experiences to learn about a wider world full of spices. I am coming to realize the important nexus of food - health - environment, and how we greatly impact these elements in our daily choices. And I am concerned about the impacts (both on the planet, and on ourselves) of a consumer-heavy life-style.
So I am starting this blog, not as a super-crafty super-woman (not even a crafty woman). But as a women exploring, as Ursula Le Guin writes, "living well, with skill, grace, energy - like carrying a basket of bread and smelling it and eating as you go." I am interested in sharing thoughts, and lessons learned about what Le Guin refers to as the low arts, "for instance, the art of making order where people live." For me this includes a wide range of topics such gardening, permaculture, marriage, cooking, preserving, personal finances, simple living, and also poetry, yoga and other things that bring beauty to our lives. Anything that helps us live well, with skill, grace and energy is fair game.
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