So I packed my cart (an old bike trailer reconfigured to be a walking trailer) with the gardening stuff... a hoe, a rake, a spading fork, some organic fertilizer and coarse lime, some seeds I've had soaking for two days, a hammer and some stakes, some string... and headed off to the community garden where I maintain a plot. The garden is basically a wetland, but I've been working with the soil in my plot for 4 years (this will be the fifth), so it's getting to the 'recovered' stage. An incredible sight to stick the fork into the soil and flip it over... wet and absolutely packed with earthworms. I couldn't resist... I picked apart one forkfull of the wet dirt, and I found 43 worms! Don't forget... those worms have been working all winter, usually a bit deeper because of the cold, but all the time I was soaking up the rays on the beach in Los Ayala, those worms were doing the work that allows me to grow such happy healthy stuff! An organic garden is my favorite 'living art'... a mosaic of moving parts, each contributing to my welfare, with virtually no effort on my part. The recipe is simple... wind, sun, rain and snow, clouds, bluebirds, worms, lots of organic material, some lime, a little bit of work. Anyway, I worked the soil just enough to get the weeds out, planted the soaked peas and favas, and put up a bit of a fence around the perimeter to hold the cloche. I'll construct a mini-greenhouse tomorrow... the soil will warm and in a week we'll have 4 rows of happy plants. Fun! (I got some pretty weird looks from passersby... all wondering what this old fart was doing messing around in the swamp in the rain. Little did they know: He was having fun! Getting dirty! Counting worms!
The best part of this story: When I finished, I sat down at the picnic table next to the garden to recover from my labors. I was halfway through my banana snack when... holy mackeral!... there on the fence I'd constructed for the cloche were two of my favorite creatures! The Bluebirds! Mama and Papa, dressed in their spring finest, sitting on the stakes at opposite corners of the fence. They looked at me for a minute, then began their feast... the worms that I had turned over (apparently for them?) were fair game. I spoke gently to them... "Hi Mama, hi Papa... how was your winter? You're looking very prosperous and fine today". At this point, and I kid you not... the sun came out. A break in the clouds! The drizzle stopped, the sun shone on these two magnificent friends of mine (their nesting box has been in the corner of my plot every year I've gardened there). Their soft blues, perfect! I walked gently toward them, keeping up a gentle but constant chatter... they know me, I think. They trust me. I've held Mama... I tried two years ago to get the band off her leg, but failed. Some arrogant scientist decided he/she could improve these perfect creatures with what looks like a wedding band on her left leg. Oh, such arrogance! What is it that makes scientists think they have the right to change perfection? Anyway, she no longer has the band, and I don't know why. It's possible, I suppose, that Mama is actually the daughter of my friend. If so, they sure look alike. Anyway, it was the high point of a great day for me. An organic garden without bluebirds is doomed to troubles.
There were 4 super recipes for vegetarian soups in the Times last weekend. Mark Bittman. You can't go wrong with Mark's advice. The soups are veg, and mostly vegan. Yum!
On that note... I harvested greens at the community garden this morning... 4 kinds of kale, some broccoli raab, some mibuna, some collards, one small purple cabbage... we ate all this for our supper, along with a batch of grains (brown rice, wheat, barley, green lentils) and some green beans and broccoli from the freezer. Yum! This climate (warmed or not) is gentle enough that many basic greens will survive a normal winter like we just had. Aided by a cloche or cold frame, the growth is amazing... we have vigorous growth of the kales and spinaches and collards on March 9. What better way to combat the climate-change plague?
I think our city council and mayor should tell us how much money they make, and where it comes from. There is huge potential for conflicts of interest, and yet we know little of their personal situations.
A Corvallis-type town... Vallejo, CA... featured in the Times. See: Broke Town, USA. They've declared bankruptcy. Could be Corvallis later this year? We sure have enough unfunded promises to join Vallejo in the same boat. "The city manager couldn't make their budget... he begged the public-employee unions for pay cuts... no dice, so they declared bankruptcy."
New subject: Should Susan and I buy a Kindle? They're under $200. And it does seem the idea of the public library we've known and loved is a dinosaur. Wonder what the carbon footprint of the Kindle is?
Is our system of public schools sustainable? I think not. More later.
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