Bounty

Somehow I managed to get my garden planted on time this year. I started seeds indoors in March and was pretty much determined to get early spring vegetables planted in April. I planted some from seed outdoors in June. I will admit that I likely risked the whole endeavor by planting some seeds and seedlings when there was potential for frost. I also wallowed in the rain and mud and planted some seeds in a garden that resembled a swamp. I will confess to planting pea seeds in early April and poking them back down into the dirt repeatedly after they floated out of the ground.

After that long disclaimer about all of the things I did wrong, what I did right was get stuff planted before June so I can have a 3-season garden. Here's the update:

Cucumbers are fruiting. I started these inside in April and planted them outside in early June.

Kohlrabi is getting there. I started inside from seed in March and transplanted outside mid April

Butterhead Lettuce-- started inside in early March. Transplanted outside in mid April

Other Kind of Lettuce-- I've been saving these seeds myself and can't remember the variety. Same timing as the other lettuce.

Herb Spiral-- I started most of the herbs inside, but some wintered in the house/outside: sage, oregano, marjoram, lemon balm, basil, cilantro, chives, dill, stevia, tarragon, rosemary.

Tomatos are starting to blossom. I'm experimenting with pruning this year to yield more fruit and reduce risk of damp-loving diseases. I've planted brandywine, paste, cherry and numerous volunteer hybrid tomatoes.

Strawberry patch is doing ok and radishes were puny, but delicious

Not pictured: Cabbage, beans, asparagus, squash, kale, beets, radish, garlic and chard. The community garden plot has burdock, parsnip, carrots and shallots.

Nothing can be Something

Zero from Zealous Creative on Vimeo.

"Further In"

further in, grandmother; grandfather, hold my hand
as I go on through this life and try to understand
the beauty of your faces I will never see again
but I know you're with me now leading me further in

further in, you friends of mine, they led me further in
I know I've hurt you many times and I've helped you and I will again
you to me and me to you, and us to all of them
the circle that will ever grow as we go further in

further in, O my love, take me further in
past the place where love hides its face and down to where we begin
so deep in this mystery, my tears on yours depend
and they like some wild river flow as we go further in

-Greg Brown

Rest in Peace Pop Pop

Don't be a "fake ass green yuppie"

Tango Till You're Sore's Sustainable Living post calls some folks out for being lazy and living a green-washed lifestyle. Avoid being a "fake ass green yuppie" and recycle the packaging and products you have invited into your life by choosing to buy them. Here are all of the recycling drop off locations in Cleveland. (click the image to see the full picture or to zoom in)

More information about recycling services.

I take my recyclables with me in my shopping bags on the way to the grocery store. When the bags are empty, then I can fill them with groceries. My friend calls it "reverse shopping".

A blog I like

100 Days in Cleveland

Global Cleveland

Today in a downtown drugstore an elderly Indian man with jet black hair--white at the roots-- was buying a box of hair dye and other sundries. The check-out clerk rings him up and then leans over to the clerk who was ringing me out and asks, "you have his coupons?". My clerk glances at his purchases and then ruffles through a stack of coupons and hands over two.

His clerk announces in a loud voice apparently reserved for those who don't speak English well, "you saved ten dollars". The Indian man raises his eyebrows, smiles, and starts fumbling with the gum at the counter. He hurriedly grabs 3 packs of orange Trident and adds it to his purchases.

He pays and gives a pack of gum to each clerk in gratitude. "For you, for you, for me," he says.

My clerk looks at me and explains, "I always keep his coupons for him. He never remembers to bring them. He's been coming here for years. He doesn't understand much English, but he understands ten dollars."