Things we found in the dirt: a few mystery bones (cat?), a small doll, a hand mirror with the Puerto Rican flag printed on it, and a pair of panties.
Monday, April 20, 2009
The new farm.
We officially broke ground on the new community garden. It is a 50 x 100 ft lot, which by city standards is quite large. By country standards, it's tiny. Though standing on that rocky dirt full of garbage it seems like a giant job. It's hard to know quite where to begin. But we picked a spot and started digging. It took us about an hour to till a 4 x 10 ft section. Neighbors came by and talked to us which was good. No one threw any trash on us from the building next door, also a good thing.
Things we found in the dirt: a few mystery bones (cat?), a small doll, a hand mirror with the Puerto Rican flag printed on it, and a pair of panties.
Things we found in the dirt: a few mystery bones (cat?), a small doll, a hand mirror with the Puerto Rican flag printed on it, and a pair of panties.
Monday, April 13, 2009
More about goats
I just finished reading a book called, “Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology” by Eric Brende. Basically as a social experiment, Brende and his wife gave up modern technology for 18 months and moved into an Amish community, and the book is his recount of their experiences.
I am always fantasizing that I will one day go “off-grid” and move out into the country. In my dream, I become a goat farmer and make artisanal cheeses and spin wool. And sculpture in my nice big studio in the woods. The most important part of my fantasy is that we are able to sustain ourselves with limited reliance on the outside world. I don’t know if this a viable dream, or even one that I would actually want to do, but it is something that I keep in the back of my head to entertain myself, if for no other purpose.
I just returned from a visit to my brother in Santa Fe, NM. The beauty of the desert is so vast. It’s easy to imagine a Georgia O’Keefe lifestyle with my fantasy goats…
But I wonder if I would feel swallowed up by aloneness there. And I also wonder, given the great distances between things, if it would actually be any more sustainable than living in the city.
The not so surprising thing that Eric Brende discovers during his so-called “minimist” experience is that technology is not necessary for happiness. If anything, he and his wife have much more time to enjoy being together. They work together on the land, participate in the community, and barter or exchange most of what they need to live. What is surprising is that after their Amish experience they move out to a small town and try to live sustainably on their own. They succeed for a while, but find that their small town shifts from having a village center to having Walmarts and giant supermarkets on the edge of town. Without the built in support of the Amish community, their country life ends up being not so sustainable after all. In the end, they move back to the city (St. Louis). They buy a cheap old house to fix up in a neighborhood where they can walk to the post office, the farmer’s market; basically everything they need is within walking or biking distance. They grow food in their backyard, and barter and exchange products and ideas with their neighbors just as they did back in Amish country.
This is why I stay in the city. And while Staten Island may have its shortcomings, there is a terrific community of people on the North Shore in particular, that are trying to build a more liveable and sustainable community. While I do miss the stunning beauty of New Mexico, Staten Island has a vastness of people, ideas, and cultures that I think I would miss were I to move out to the middle of nowhere with my fantasy goats.
I am always fantasizing that I will one day go “off-grid” and move out into the country. In my dream, I become a goat farmer and make artisanal cheeses and spin wool. And sculpture in my nice big studio in the woods. The most important part of my fantasy is that we are able to sustain ourselves with limited reliance on the outside world. I don’t know if this a viable dream, or even one that I would actually want to do, but it is something that I keep in the back of my head to entertain myself, if for no other purpose.
I just returned from a visit to my brother in Santa Fe, NM. The beauty of the desert is so vast. It’s easy to imagine a Georgia O’Keefe lifestyle with my fantasy goats…
But I wonder if I would feel swallowed up by aloneness there. And I also wonder, given the great distances between things, if it would actually be any more sustainable than living in the city.
The not so surprising thing that Eric Brende discovers during his so-called “minimist” experience is that technology is not necessary for happiness. If anything, he and his wife have much more time to enjoy being together. They work together on the land, participate in the community, and barter or exchange most of what they need to live. What is surprising is that after their Amish experience they move out to a small town and try to live sustainably on their own. They succeed for a while, but find that their small town shifts from having a village center to having Walmarts and giant supermarkets on the edge of town. Without the built in support of the Amish community, their country life ends up being not so sustainable after all. In the end, they move back to the city (St. Louis). They buy a cheap old house to fix up in a neighborhood where they can walk to the post office, the farmer’s market; basically everything they need is within walking or biking distance. They grow food in their backyard, and barter and exchange products and ideas with their neighbors just as they did back in Amish country.
This is why I stay in the city. And while Staten Island may have its shortcomings, there is a terrific community of people on the North Shore in particular, that are trying to build a more liveable and sustainable community. While I do miss the stunning beauty of New Mexico, Staten Island has a vastness of people, ideas, and cultures that I think I would miss were I to move out to the middle of nowhere with my fantasy goats.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Things are sprouting around here!
Teeth!
and peas...
lots of seedlings coming- lettuces, cabbage, peppers, kale, broccoli, chard
The onion patch.
Pole beans near the water collector.
An overview of the whole garden. The beds are tilled and ready, peas are in, onions and potatoes are set, and seedlings are started. We spent the day putting up fencing around the beds to keep the critters (mostly dogs and cats and a possum or two) from tramping on the young plants. I'm trying my carrots and beets in containers this year, so we'll see how that works out.
Looking into Jeff's side of the yard. He's doing some veggies this year too. There's a pretty little onion patch under the tree behind Henry. And we're planning some big trellises for beans on that side too.
Coming soon- we are expanding our urban farming. We are starting a community garden in Stapleton, with one of NYC's master gardeners. The garden is an empty lot that is roughly 5000 square feet. Harry, our master gardener friend, says he envisions 400 ft of tomatoes. Yes!!
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