Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tree Identification

I walked by a group of trees on my way home from work today, and felt encouraged to go up and give some of them pep talks.

I think it would have gone something like this::



What that frost did to you was just so, so wrong! You deserve better. There you were - out in your best spring outfit - ready for picnics, and sunshine and it just snows all over you! ugh. I think you should move on.



But one of the great things about trees? They don't really need pep talks. They pretty much seem over it. Which is good since I think there's supposed to be another frost tonight.



Tuesday, March 29, 2011

oh, snap

Just read this quote that was part of a signature on someone's e-mail ::::




Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
-Benjamin Franklin

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Baby Bats are the New King Charles Spaniel

I mean, seriously :::



What sort of degree do I need to go out and earn so that my life might involve swaddling teeny, adorable bats in teeny, pastel blankets? The world is just alarmingly cute sometimes. More on these guys here.

PS - I can't remember what site I originally found this on. My b. Whoever you are, you're a star.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Survey (on Virginia's Food Systems) Says....

..whatever you want it to!



Share your thoughts with Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and the Virginia Food Council on how to strengthen Virginia's local, regional, and statewide food systems. The results of their research will inform a comprehensive Virginia Farm-to-Table plan, research development, extension education, policy, and funding recommendations and strategies. Link is here. Holllaaaa.

Friday, March 18, 2011

SPRING IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well la-la-la, and bring on the sunshine! So ready for it. I thought it might be fun to document my house's backyard garden, so here we go:::



We have 4 raised beds, and yesterday I was messing about in two of them. I direct-seeded some spinach, chioggia beets (ahem, the pretty ones with the swirly centers), arugula, two varieties of kale, arugula, and some lettuce. What variety of lettuce?



Drunken woman. Picked because of the name? No doubt.

And on a related note, I also got a little resourceful with row markers ::



It was a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale in case you were wondering. And it was delicious.

And finally, the addition to the garden I'm MOST excited about :::::



Our new compost bins! Installed by our team of housemates this past weekend. We're going to use the rapid composting method developed by Robert D. Raabe of UC Berkeley. Details here. I'll write more about how it goes, as it all (literally) breaks down.

Anyway, I know our garden isn't the biggest or baddest in town, but it definitely feels good to get it going. Sending everyone spring radish wishes and cherry tomato dreams!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lunch Line Screening in Charlottesville

Come one, come all!



Lunch Line
will be shown next Friday - March 25th, 7pm at the MLK Performing Arts Center @ Charlottesville High School. Here's the trailer :::

Lunch Line Trailer from uji films on Vimeo.



Hope to see you there/ hope to see tater tots & skim strawberry milk banned from schools!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

All Funding Considered

All the hub-bub about NPR's federal funding reminded me about this amazing video of Mr. Rogers going before the Senate in 1969 to defend funding for PBS. It blows me away, and hopefully Ira Glass is watching this for inspiration. It's well worth the full 7 minutes.



brilliant.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Salt Craving

Here's a lil' screen-grab taken just now of Vineyard Haven Harbor from the MV Times webcam



And some sound advice to accompany::

The cure for anything is salt - sweat, tears, or the sea
-Isak Dinesen

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Woody Guthrie's (old) New Year's Resolutions


Go on, Whitney. This was a really good re-post. I'll keep that trend going here. respect. one.

Unsurprisingly, Woody Guthrie’s new year’s resolutions are all great ones.


1. Work more and better
2. Work by a schedule
3. Wash teeth if any
4. Shave
5. Take bath
6. Eat good - fruit - vegetables - milk
7. Drink very scant if any
8. Write a song a day
9. Wear clean clothes - look good
10. Shine shoes
11. Change socks
12. Change bed clothes often
13. Read lots good books
14. Listen to radio a lot
15. Learn people better
16. Keep rancho clean
17. Don’t get lonesome
18. Stay glad
19. Keep hoping machine running
20. Dream good
21. Bank all extra money
22. Save dough
23. Have company but don’t waste time
24. Send Mary and kids money
25. Play and sing good
26. Dance better
27. Help win war - beat fascism
28. Love Mama
29. Love Papa
30. Love Pete
31. Love everybody
32. Make up your mind
33. Wake up and fight

originally via jasontheexploder

Monday, March 7, 2011

Ear Candy: Ivan & Alyosha

PJ from mvyradio keeps a great blog, and recently had Jesse from Right Arm Resource stand-in for him while he was on vacation.

Jesse had some great suggestions - my favorite being Fathers Be Kind by Ivan and Alyosha:::



and Easy to Love is also really great:::



Thanks, PJ & Jesse!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Gary Nabhan Speaking at UVA Tomorrow

Ready to go hear a lecture from an inspiring, seed-saving conservation biologist? Me, too.

Gary Paul Nabhan ... has been called “the father of the local food movement” by Mother Earth News. Gary is also an orchard-keeper, wild forager and Ecumenical Franciscan brother in his hometown of Patagonia, Arizona near the Mexican border. more.



Wondering what an "Ecumenical Franciscan" is? Funny you should ask: a body of Christians who maintain a devotion to Sts. Francis and Clare and their interpretation of the gospel life. source.

Nabhan is the author of 24 books, his most recent being Chasing Chiles - Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail::



I haven't read it yet, but this guy has:

A treasure trove of chile lore and a wake-up call to everyone who cares about real food, Chasing Chiles will amuse and alarm you. These three gastronauts carry a wealth of culinary and botanical knowledge, and their journeys in their Spice Ship uncover an incredibly diverse world of chiles that is changing with breathtaking speed. Stop worrying about the impact of climate change on future harvests; cross your fingers for this year’s instead.

-Rowan Jacobsen , author of American Terroir and Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis

And on that foreboding (and hopefully reversible) note, here are the details: his talk at UVA will be tomorrow, March 3rd at 5pm in Lecture Hall 160, Campbell Hall, School of Architecture (near Culbreth Theater, off Rugby Rd). Parking available at nearby Newcomb Hall. Poster for event here.

Hope to see you there!
ps-it's free.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Ear Candy: Ingrid Michaelson



Heard this for the first time today. Love it. Especially the break-down at the end. See ya in France.