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.

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

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?

Swimming Pools, Movie Stars

What is the bid deal? I think these are really pretty. They just haven't seen in the proper context yet. Have a look.

The plants appear so comfortable and healthy.

We could go rustic. Look at the lovely patina the weather has given the bowl.

So versatile, the one above looks like a djembe!

Or we could go with a durable design that we could grow old with!

Because You're Mine, I Draw the Line

How big is your garden? I am often asked that question and I find it odd. It is a perfectly normal question, I guess I just don't know how to answer it. Who knows?

I live in Philadelphia, and have a tiny yard. I call it my garden, or my farm if I'm feeling wacky. It is a concrete pad, so I garden (or farm) in a variety of containers, like pots, plastic and clay, tires, a claw-footed tub, a couple of twelve-quart buckets, a couple of metal tubs, Scoops Away buckets, homemade flower boxes, a couple of store-bought flower boxes, a couple of store-bought flower boxes I found on the curb on trash day and a couple of sizable wooden beds I made and a big plastic planter-that looks like fake terra cotta- that David from the George B. gave to us. I guess you'd call me a container gardener, a container farmer, sometimes a woe farmer. I lament.

I'd love to have a toilet in the garden to go with the tub. It would be so fun to grow in-two compartments-business in the front, party in the back. Sarah told me "No, I draw the line at toilets baby." I still throw my worn out boxers in the compost though.

Here is a schematic of the garden. Ignore the shapes, those are from last year when I was suffering from a need to appear to have a plan. The dimensions are still the same though, I checked-27 times.

We Got Department Stores and Toilet Paper

Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you. - Deuteronomy 16:20
Help me to always be aware of the privilege that I enjoy, as well as humble and compassionate.

French Fry Mountain

Here are some seed potatoes that I am planting in the backyard. They look like freaky space alien babies or something. I can't wait to make my nationally famous potato salad; sorry, no mayonnaise.

Here is where the freaky space alien babies are going to live until they are harvested. There is soil in them there tires, in which the seed potatoes are planted. As the plants grows, I will continue to add soil and tires until it is about four tires high. Then two or three weeks after the plant is finished flowering, BAM, potato salad. I still need to paint the tires white though, as they will get too hot and cook my babies if left black.

And a Cat Named Sprout

Beautiful! Our beans finally came up yesterday. I was getting a little worried-getting, I weep. They look so pretty. I tried a few in the ground at first, to no avail; then I did the old wet paper towel on the plate thing to sprout them inside. I bet everyone did that in elementary school. What were we supposed to learn? I think we pinned our beans to cardboard in four different directions and kept them wet. The idea was that no matter which way the bean was positioned, the sprout would grow up, toward the sun. Sure enough, that's what happened in my backyard. Nice. Below is a picture of the bean tee pee around which the beans will live. Sprout for life!

Turn It Up! Bring the Noise!

So, here is a picture of the "Coastline Large" mentioned in a previous post and sure to be mentioned again. As you can see, it came with its name:

We rescued it from a dumpster in the swanky Rittenhouse Square neighblrhood in Center City. Actually Sarah's Former boss David pointed it out. We've used it to transport art, as well as booty as seen in the pictures below. This is the wood I harvested on trash day last week. We use the Coastline Large most regularly for our runs up to the Produce Junction up at the K & A.

Above, the wood is piled in our backyard, as gleaned from the curb; below, it is sorted in our kitchen, awaiting a ride to the basement. It is a bunch of old junky fence that has been cut down to twelve ot eighteen inch sections just waiting to be used. It is beautifully weathered to a nice silvery-grey color. If I were high-brow, I'd call it "barnwood." I just might anyway.

Stay tuned for later posts. I will share with you what uses I find for it. Be well, and keep your eyes open.

Trash Day in Kensington

I am excited. Tomorrow is trash day in Kensington. I rolled the Coastline Large down Cumberland tonight to scoop two bundles of wood I spotted way back last Saturday. I had to make two trips. It was dark, I received some looks, but no unsolicited comments. Rolling the loads home on my cart made me think of that guy on the cover of Led Zeppelin 4. It made me think of a lot of things. I like to pick up stuff on the curb or on the street, useful stuff, useless stuff. Most of it lives in the basement for a spell, but usually ends our yard. We have a back yard of concrete that is full of containers for growing food. Below is a picture of the garden from late last year. It is probably taken in September or early October. It is hard to say, not knowing.