29 November 06
Digestive Table
Those folks who have trouble getting their dinner leavings outside to the compost pile might want to consider building a digestive table. This project, designed by artist Amy Youngs, is a vermicomposting system built underneath a round dining table — she terms this a “ a convenient, personal waste processing system built into a table.” Construction plans are provided on her site.
(From World Changing)
18 November 06
A Really Stinking Compost
These days are full. I’ve been seeing dear friends, enjoying the wonders of Cold Canyon again with other dear friends, getting things done. But one of those is not, alas, my novel. I have felt discouraged since the demise of my pen and while that might seem to be just an excuse, I’ve written little since. I’m not giving up, but I can’t get 50,000 words written by the end of November…
Mary dragged over two months’ worth of kitchen scraps from across the street, fetid and rank. She kindly dumped them on my compost pile, where they have attracted so many flies that the black phoebe sitting on the edge needn’t even take wing to get her fill. For a compost maniac such as I’ve turned out to be, this was like winning the lottery.
I turned the compost this evening in the dark, a stinky job, pondering on pens (it’s my niece’s birthday and my present to her was her first fountain pen, a pink girlie job made by Kukuxumusu in Spain, along with purple cartridges and a purple Clairefontaine notebook) and on the World Bank (o evil institution) and on manzanita bark and on small falcons.
A stench like this gets you right in touch with what’s really going on. In your head and otherwise…
6 November 06
Eggplants-ho
In between writing a novel, entertaining a Paulist priest, taking the cat to the vet, and getting my new garden in, as well as making sure Numenius is doing his wound care fine on his own (yes, I’m happy to report), I’ve pulled out the summer garden. There are way more eggplants than I thought, lurking about their plants like elongated easter eggs.
I’ve frozen basil, chard, peppers, and chiles. But I hesitate to do the same to these eggplants. Anyone have any idea what I might do with them? There are about 10…
7 October 06
Native Plants and Gopher Cages
Today was all about finding California native plants to fill out my herb garden. I went to the Arboretum Plant Sale and got some great finds. We drove over to Grass Valley to the Peaceful Valley Organic Farm and Garden Supply Store, which was a bit like going to another universe. Gopher cages are for my herbs, but the California fuchsia, currants, and penstemons are on their own.
The Tigers beat the Yankees, we heard over the radio all day. The Cal Bears are beating Oregon. This is the backdrop of the day…
5 October 06
Frisbees for Turkeys
As I get ready to start putting plants into this herb garden, my thoughts turn to the visitors we have twice a day.
The extended turkey family (3 hens and multiple adolescents) passes through here morning and evening like a panzer division on patrol, eating everything in its path. They used to be shy. Now they stare me down as if they own the place. I fear for my salvias.
I don’t want to fence this garden in, so I’m hoping a) they don’t like oregano, b) they will be deterred by the five frisbees I found at work today, new and unused in a file cabinet. I’ll leave them outside as ready ammunition….
(Note: wild turkeys are NOT native to California and were introduced at great expense and effort by the California Department of Fish and Game for hunting. Now they are proliferating wildly, eating acorns and people’s gardens and terrifying rottweilers.)
1 October 06
Digging in October
Apologies to all my friends in northern climes, but I’m working at getting the winter vegetable garden in as well as planting a new herb garden. I had no idea gardening involved so much time with a fork and spade, or what good they did, but I’m getting the hang of this.
We took a break today to go on a little sketching outing to the Arboretum. Here’s some California fuchsia, which I’m hoping to plant with the herbs…
25 September 06
The Loser Democrats, or My New Wheelbarrow?
I can hardly bear to think about politics these days. I’m outraged in all kinds of ways about the administration, of course. But I’m so despondent about what is the only presented alternative.
I got a phone call from the Democratic party the other day. At work. I’m at work, I said. Oh, they said, well can you just send us some money to counteract all the negative publicity the Republicans are throwing our way, to the tune of millions of dollars?
For what? I said. I don’t know what the Democrats’ program is. I don’t know what they stand for. It seems to be a wimpy version of what the Repos are doing. That’s what they want you to think, said my telephone volunteer.
I felt blackmailed. I’m outraged at both of them. And, yes, the Repos are probably rubbing their hands about people like me. In a year when the war in Iraq is an obvious slam dunk for the Democrats, they’ve decided to run mid-term elections on the economy.
So I bought a new wheelbarrow, in which I plan to transport many hundreds of pounds of Republican manure from across the road onto next year’s summer garden.
19 September 06
Pulling up Freeway Daisies
I’ve been clearing the area in front of the house for a herb garden, suggested a while ago by Nicole and seconded by many. The Arboretum plant sale is on October 7; I have time to plan and ponder.
Meanwhile, the first of a series of scans from the Europe sketchbook have been posted here.
20 August 06
7 August 06
Sunflower Cheer
In addition to the smaller reddish-black ones, we have two bright yellow ones in the garden now, the taller one being about 9 feet tall.