15.12.07

feels kinda free

kinda, yeah. mike is working with silver, and i am about to look up some books to see if they are perhaps selling for too cheap. i think i'll look up mycelium running, companion plants (the old one), culture and horticulture, and maybe some food not lawns for christmas gifts if for some reason there is a crazy outlet store for chelsea green online.

i'm nursing a sore taste bud, so i have been taking it easy on the tangerines, but it is hard. that is the toughest thing i'm working with right now. they are so orange! o, this is what i've been doing the last few days- there is a famous local pizza place in gainesville called satchel's pizza, and satchel lived on this grove for years in his treehouse. the remains of his home are still on the back of the property (or the side), along with another house built back there. mike and i have been battling vines first to find the tiny citrus tree in front of the supposed pile of rubbish that was the tree house. when we found that tree, two large piles of vines later, we continued pulling vines from the pile, which cannot be left out as it was like unearthing an archaeological site. mike continued pulling vines from the actual pile when we got to it, and i pulled apart some roofing tin from old boards and pulled vines and yanked out refuse and old boards from the pile, also continuing to cut paths back into the pile through young palms, spiders and mosquitoes. our concept is to uncover everything, get it finished pulled apart, salvage what is salvageable, not get bit by tarantulas, sweep off the porch that is down there, and build a platform with mosquito net and a slanted tin roof that utilizes some of the easier sustainable technology like catching the rainwater off the roof filtered through a sand filter, using a cool box that hangs in a tree, rocket stoves in an outdoor kitchen situation, and the basics like composting (organic matter/poop) and re-using our water (graywater). we got the hands, the motivation and the support for this project, so i'm pretty excited about it.

yet again we are tied to pizza.

we've also planted up the newly reclaimed part of the garden in chinese cabbage, beets, kohlrabi, purslane, cilantro, mizuna, arugula, lettuces, indian lettuce, and sugar snap peas, and there are still kale, turnips and flax to be planted! also the market was this wednesday, and we went with craig's friend, robin, and robin's son, heartbaby, to sell the tangerines we picked earlier in the day. robin and his wife used to live here on the grove before craig, with oliver. we sold out in two hours! everyone was like, "let me get 6," then trying the tangerines on the table and asking for more. they were confused which were the tangelos and which were the tangerines. these tangs is so super sweet! after the market, we went to a potluck with lots of happy, healthy, kind people, generally interested in the same sort of things as far as sustainability (we saw at least half of them at the market). we had raw wedding cake to celebrate a new couple, a drum/guitar/singing circle around the fire, the kids were swinging and throwing snowballs (from an ice maker) at pictures of santa and frosty the snowman. and, as always, plenty of good conversation (including the topic of loving poop).

things are good in our tent. it's still pretty warm. the papaya are great, so are the bananas. hope to see and hear from everyone soon. there's plenty of room down south for happy visitors!

2 comments:

D. Lollard said...

Hey, can we borrow your car?

Anonymous said...

I don't even know what some of those foods are that you've listed. Sad. But, happy that you're educated. Eventually, I'll get to tap into your knowledge. Wish I could venture down to Florida to visit, but I don't see it happening.

Considering the recent changes in my life, if I do get a vacation, it's likely to be spent in Vermont. Justin is still here in Springfield until Friday, and he's absolutely wonderful. I think you'd love him. But, then again, you ARE a lover, so....

Glad to hear all is well. Love the blogs, keep 'em coming.

Look forward to seeing you two again.

HUGS AND LOVE!!!