Community Garden Build: Day 1 (Photo Dump)

Obviously a great deal of attention went to the construction of the pergola. I'll have more detailed photos when the build is over.

Ground Breaking

On Thursday we broke ground for the school community garden. 

East 40 Update

Last week a colleague and I met with one of the academic deans to discuss our proposal to reclaim a piece of land owned by the school that is mowed and sprayed and nothing else. The feedback we received has us going in a very positive direction. One suggestion she gave us was to have a "phase one" plan to our proposal that asks for a small part of the property as a sort of test for the eventual large scale project. She said the administration would be more likely to try small before they go big.

The question now is what small piece would we want to ask for and what would we do with it. I'm thinking that the area north of the block of trees would be a good place to start. That little splotch that looks like a dirty thumbnail print is actually a giant puddle. I would like to dig the puddle out and convert it into a pond so we can attract more wildlife and also so we have access to water. Access to water is big.

Beyond that, I'm not quite sure where to go. I think it's one of those cases where there are so many possibilities that it's hard to pick just one. We do have a list of wants/wishes:

• a community garden
• berries
• flowers
• compost
• water
• bees
• bird sanctuary
  

The next step will be to draw a map of how the space would be used. I'll try to get an accurate measurement of the area and then turn the above photo into a grid. When I get that done I'll repost it and ask you all for some input. In the meantime, if you have any ideas of how to use one or two acres with the wish list in mind, I'm all ears.

Well Hello There

Let the catching up begin.

It's been a while so I figured that I would start with the most insane of projects and then let the rest of what we've been up to settle in from there.


This is a Google Earth shot of where I teach. To the left of the photo is a large portion of the school's buildings and the tract of land on the right is what I hope the school will let me garden. I'm not sure how many acres in all we're looking at, but I walked it the other day and I gotta say that it's pretty massive.

Currently the area is mowed on a regular basis and sprayed for god knows what. One of my colleagues told me that there is some kind of law against dandelions in our area, so maybe the chemicals are to keep them down (yeah, let's not go there).


This is the field on the lower right corner of the Google Map and...


this is the field on the upper right corner.



This (I know the photo quality is terrible) is a pond-sized puddle that you can actually see in the Google image. If there is enough clay content to the ground I will probably propose that we take a backhoe to this spot and turn it into an actual pond so we can attract some wildlife and keep the amount of water in the area consistent.

My goal is not to plant food from fence to fence, but to create an area focused on wildlife, permaculture, and community garden food production. I'm still trying to figure out what that last one means. The school is dedicated to working with the community (the administration is pretty amazing) but I feel we could do more to teach people about basic sustainability.

Some of the ideas that have been tossed around are:

• grow a meadow (the crosswinds might be conducive to this)
  
• establish a grove of fruit and nut trees
• try to increase the bird population
• try to increase the beneficial insect population
• dedicate a space for a community garden

There are a whole bunch of other ideas that we have floating around, but they really don't make enough sense to me now to put them in words. If this enormous dream takes legs I'll be sure to share the news.

It's good to be back. We missed you all.

One Step Closer

So I got the job. Thanks to all of you who had wished me luck and such. What this means for Meg and I is that we will be moving at some point this coming Summer. Future House is becoming very real. What we are hoping to accomplish in the next eight months or so is to save enough loot to put a down payment on a piece of land with any kind of livable shack. We'll probably start the hunt sometime in January or February. You can bet that we'll keep you posted.

Holy shit.

Little Brothers

I commute 170 miles a day. The students I teach and the experience I'm gaining are well worth it. If this turns into a steady gig, Meg and I will certainly move, but for now, I am one with the turnpike. (I go through a lot of audio books. Right now I'm listening to In Cold Blood.)

Meg and I own a Jeep. She needs it to get to the train station and I couldn't realistically drive it everyday and expect to make any money. I needed cheep, reliable, and temporary transportation.

Mid August my little brother Derrek reminded me once again (like I forgot) why I love him so damn much. He is the proud owner of a 94 honda civic that gets close to 45 miles to the gallon. He lives close enough to his job that he can walk and on the shitty days our Ma can give him a lift. The convenience of his location, plus the fact that he also owns a truck, meant that his little frankencar was available. I never really had to ask if I could borrow it before he selflessly offered it up. I'm very lucky.

I imagine that if Superman were going through a rough spell, he would drive this car.

Side note:
Meg also has a younger brother, John, who although I've only known a few years, is pretty kick-ass as well. He has a problem with stealing his sister's legos, but that's their quarrel.