I Know, I Know

Man, I have been a real bum lately on the blog scene. Oh well, here we are. I have been reading and gardening and also toiling with the djembe. The garden on Frankford Ave has been taking up some time, as Rachel has been out of town. I have also been reading some Bible stuff from Ched Myers about Sabbath Economics. Here is an article from Sojourners magazine about it if you have some time, if not, here is the wikipedia page. More about that later. I have also tried to abstain from doing this at work. It helps me not feel like a bum.

Be well

CSA week of July 23, 2009

Well, the csa continues to roll on. We are still really surprised and delighted every week that we see our bounty. It is so cool. The Ruby Swiss Chard is really beautiful. We also started to buy dairy and eggs through the csa.

1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bag Yukon gold potatoes – certified organic – Millwood Springs – 2.5 lbs
1 bag candy onions – transitional – Taste of Nature Farm – 2lbs
3 green slicing cucumbers – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
3 green zucchini – certified organic – Maple Valley Organics
1 bag yellow or green beans – certified organic – White Swan Acres – 1 lb
10 red slicing tomatoes– certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bunch red bor kale – certified organic - Life Enhancing Acres
1 bunch Swiss chard – certified organic – Little Brook Organics

Have fun

The Day He Saves

Sometimes I feel a little like Captain Linger. I wonder what his mild social disorder is.

Roxy and Elsewhere

Poor Roxie! Sarah and I went to meet Roxie at PAWS on Saturday afternoon. She looked so pretty and delicate, like a desert flower, but she was very mean. Sarah picked her up and got bitten! She was growling and hissing. We could pet her a little bit at first, but I accidentally touched a piece of matted fur and she swiped at me. Boo hoo. I reached down to pet her one more time and she unleashed on a cat that was sleeping in a cat bed nearby; crazy cat!

We asked the staff member if Roxie was just having a bad day, or if she was always so grumpy. Nope, no bad day, that's Roxie. I went back on Monday afternoon just to look around and Roxie was up on her hind legs batting at this poor cat that just came up to sniff her. She is real pretty, and has probably been through a whole lot, but she is just a looking cat, she really doesn't want anyone in (or near) her business.

She would not be a good fit at our house.

CSA week of July 16th 2009

You will find the following items in your share today:

1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 head cheddar cauliflower – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 bag red Norland potatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 Asian cucumber – certified organic – White Swan Acres
2 green slicing cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
3 candy onions – transitional – Taste of Nature Farm
4 pcs squash & zucchini mix – certified organic – Goshen View, Maple Lawn Organics
1 green zucchini – transitional – Organic Willow Acres
1 lb heirloom tomatoes – certified organic – Riverview Organics
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bunch Swiss chard – certified organic – Little Brook Organics

Here is a peak at our CSA this week. It is the largest haul yet. I feel like I say that every week. Pictures are a little goofy. I still do not know how to use my camera.

There is a whole lot of yellow in this haul. Check out the Cheddar Cauliflower.

More blurry yellow.


Here is the haul in its entirety. Time to eat!
In the previous post is a picture of Roxy, she is a little cat I am trying to get Sarah to adopt-no luck.

Feel well.

Roxie
PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society)Philadelphia, PA2152389901 info@phillypaws.org

Insults and Injuries

Live a little, laugh a lot.

I love you

On Through the Night

Here is a nice picture I took in Jo-ja back in June. This message was just spray painted on a piece of granite that was set in the ground. What does it mean? It kind of reminds me of a tombstone.

Nonetheless, what great advice! I guess it is all we are really expected to do. What else can we do? Well, there are other options, but they are seldom palatable to the general public.

Drive on.

CSA Week # ? 9 July 2009

Yes, I have lost count on the csa weeks. We got a rather nice haul this week. A little lighter on the greens this week. That's no sweat, a few times this summer we have been pressed a little to mow through all the greens we have. No complaints, it's just a fact; we do love greens. Check out the details below. Those li'l baby eggplants are beautiful, can't wait to slay them.

Alright ya'll stay great and stay tuned for a picture of the table with mates. Please continue to think of and pray for my sister Stephanie. She is now at home recovering, but finds herself in another neck of the woods.

Be well,

Stephan


You will receive the following items in your share:

1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Goshen View Organics

1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics

4 green zucchini – certified organic – Organic Willow Acres

2 cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics

1 bag red gold potatoes – certified organic – Millwood Springs – 2 lbs

2 candy onions – certified organic – Taste of Nature

1 bag specialty eggplant – certified organic – Taste of Nature

1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics

1 head butterhead lettuce – certified organic – Goshen View Organics

Street Farmer

Hey, check out this cool article my friend Greta sent me. This guy's got the compost!

NY Times Magazine
Street Farmer
By ELIZABETH ROYTE
Published: July 5, 2009
Can Will Allen make the inner city the next front in the good-food movement?

Fanga

We started learning a new rhythm last night in my West African drum class. I am excited, as I have been wanting to learn this one for some time-I guess since January or so when we had our Moribayassa recital at out Public Meeting. Jay, Meko and Jonny played djembe with the worship band. Jay seemed to be controlling the volume and tempo, and we all know wht he likes, loud and fast. I remember how impressed I was with DJ, thumpin' his bass, belting out the lyrics.

Anyway, here are some videos that demonstrate it (djembe 1, djembe 2, djembe 1 & 2). We only got as far as the djembe parts; we did not have time to start the dununs.

If you have five minutes, watch, or just listen to the fourth video below. It is by this kooky-cool storytelling, drumming and singing duo called "Alafia." They are funny and informative. Check out that background, where are they? Jay told us a real similar story last night about Fanga.

Feel good!

Table Mate

Remember this pile of wood I found laying out on trash day last May? I got it home on the Coastline Large-two trips.

I've used a little of it here and there, but today I got out front and made an end table out of some of the wood, check it out.

I was going to make a table to go out back to get some of the plants off the ground, make some more room, but I thought how can I make more room back here? I have to get rid of some of these plants, where will they go? I made this end table to put plants on. I guess I will call it a planter.

My neighbor Tom thought it was neat, says "People pay a hundred bucks at the flea market for something like that." I laughed and said "Ya, it's real barn wood!" He replied, "You laugh, people's crazy." I laughed, people are crazy, I'm people. I put some garden next to my stoop.

Wow! They Have Nick Cave Dolls Now...

I reconnected with a friend of mine named Greta via email today. It made me really happy to hear from her. She is a farmer in Fargo, North Dakota. We shared a work-shack for a bit back in Montana, pressing cookies for the kiddies to dunk in their milk while missing they mommas.

Thunderations!

Anyway, she was hootin' about my garden, so I got busy, harvested some food and took some pictures. Somehow it is all connected.

It is a little tight back here, I will admit.

The "polycultural" gardening hasn't really impressed me much.

It was kind of fun to watch, but it's such a mess and I feel like I am missing out on something. I must be.

I scooped Swiss Chard today. It's so savory I love it. I'm always out there chewing on my cud.

Here is some Lemon Thyme that Dan gave me from the garden on Frankford Avenue. I hope it takes root, the rosemary didn't. That's real ice tea ya'll, how it glows.

Seven stars basil equals seven stars pesto. This is the first real pull from the basil this year. What have I become, we usually roll in the stuff. Look at my tea!

This is our third yellow squash. It looks like a rocket!


I need to take better notes all in all. The polycultural thing is bust, I hacked off some beet greens thinking they were Swiss Chard. Fail to plan, plan to fail. I'm pushing the limits. I gotta have a code.