Steve is beet; time for a nap

Storing Produce w/out Plastic

The Berkley Farmers' Market offers some tips for storing fruits and vegetables without plastic.

Why avoid plastic? Here's one good reason.

Slughs

At night, by the light of a headlamp, you can see them in great crowds pulsating all over the compost bin. We've got slugs and they are eating and rotting out my radishes. I'm all for a healthy backyard ecosystem, but I think we're overrun.

Some Magic Hat #9 in a couple cat food tins did in about 8 of them. Perhaps it had too many hops for those slugs that prefer a domestic, macro-brewed pilsner. We'll try something a little more conventional and economical in the future.

I learned a new word today: iatrogenic.

Conventionally used to describe inadvertent, negative effects of medical treatment, author John McKnight uses the word to describe the consequences of professionalizing care--turning citizens into "clients" and care into "service".

It is now clear the economic pressure to professionalize requires an expanding universe of need and the magnification of deficiency.
The Careless Society: Community and its Counterfeits

I recently witnessed a well-intentioned person try to co-opt, professionalize, define and control a movement long-percolating among grassroots groups and volunteers citizens. This person believes "success" requires a leader who will focus efforts and "take it to the next level". Beholding work that has potential is inspiring, but the desire to co-opt a movement dis-empowers enthusiastic people, destroys creativity and stifles agility.

I'm grateful to my friend who gave me the book just before I started my new job. It is helping me to be aware that co-opting, professionalizing and serving can be harmful. I'll do my best to support positive efforts and leave power where it belongs--with citizens.

Bikes in the Motor City

Wishing Cleveland a happy Bicycle Week from here in the Motor City.







I'm attending the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Detroit this week. The photos are from the Henry Ford Museum.

Herban Spiral

We'll be refining the herb spiral this week. The herb seedlings and seeds are just about ready to join the great outdoors. The idea is to plant the herbs that thrive in arid climes at the top, getting progressively water-loving as they descend.





Here's the plan from top to bottom:
Rosemary, oregano, marjoram, sage, tarragon, thyme, dill, cilantro, parsley, chives, fenugreek, lemon balm, a pile of cheery marigolds spilling from the bottom.

Near West Community Gardens

I entered in the addresses of all of the community gardens I could find on the Near-West Side of Cleveland into a Google map. I thought I'd share. Let me know if I'm missing any.

You can click through to see them all or use your mouse to pan across the map.



View Near-West Community Gardens in a larger map

Being Scrappy

"I operate within the constraints of my life. Opportunities abound. " My friend Doug Lodge's statement in the recent Antaeus Dance program uses graceful prose to refer to what I call "being scrappy".

My job history is comically diverse, but the through line is that I am open to opportunities as they arise. So far it's been a real trip.

I've been a babysitter, lawn-mower, athletic club janitor, baton twirling teacher, journalist, drive thru cashier, waitress (from 3rd shift at Country Kitchen to fine dining), bartender, pizza maker, telemarketer, knitting store employee, modern dancer, choreographer, audio book quality assurance tester, dance educator, assistant to a city councilman, archival property researcher, passenger train advocate, after-school program designer, community researcher, Volunteer Coordinator, Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator and a Census Campaign Coordinator.

I'll be starting a new job soon. My first full-time, grown-up, benefits and retirement job. I know the constraints and opportunities will continue to keep life interesting. I am never bored.