the garden october 2nd

today i ate 2 raspberries, Tulameens, and they were the sweetest ever.

the compost area is filled, largely with the mining of Cheryl's yard (next door neighbor who piles it up by the fence and i take it to the compost) and Mikes (ex neighbor who still trucks his yard waste to me and delivers to my compost...it's a total win win)

i spent a great deal of time working on the root flare of the cedar near the fence line....it wasn't too bad but still needed a fair amount of attention.

the tomatoes are still coming on up on the roof deck....very tasty.

the composting toilet and room that contains it in the shed/storage/food preservation/Sunnywood School house should be complete soon...if my son embraces adulthood a bit more than to dabble in it. i'm hopeful.

we await the OK from the county to begin the passive solar enclosed porch...should be green light in a week or two.

finally i am looking forward to the mutsu apple crop again...love that apple....the new one in front has one apple this year. i will be getting a tutoring on pruning from an expert, Walter, in january when he does it. i hope to get a good video series.

oh and finally finally...to note: the squirrels had pretty much finished off the filberts by mid sept so next year better hit it first of sept....

Ed and Tina's Fifth Annual

it was my first attendance and i thoroughly enjoyed myself...what a great place !! lots of good food, friends, music and good will. i was so taken with the Montana maple that was brought some forty years ago from Montana and planted where it has now grown into a big beautiful tree. WOW! and even more amazing was that i learned this information from Joy, who was sitting next to me, and was the one who brought the Montana maple to the property. WOW!

350.org

24 October 2009
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION



For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. About 200 years ago we started burning ancient sunlight (coal, oil, and gas) and began increasing this number until we are now looking at 400 parts per million. (we're at about 390 now) We need to get back to 350 part per million or under to have a chance of maintaining planet earth as a hospitable home. the science here......


With a day of action coming up october 24, (happy birthday mom) I will work on this post till then....

Here is the start of my action.... I get alot of air traffic taking off and landing from the local airport so I decided to put my message where all could see from the air.....

a g-zillionth wake up call from Kunstler

I always enjoy reading this righteous pessimist, with keen observational skills, a quest for knowledge and a very sharp intellect. He levels the g-zillionth wake up call, hoping we will be our best selves and go optimistically in search of a new way of living that offers future generations a home on planet earth. Oh, did I say quick wit!

Reality Receding
By James Howard Kunstler
on September 14, 2009 6:33 AM

........American perestroika really boils down to this: we have to rescale the activities of daily life to a level consistent with the mandates of the future, especially the ones having to do with available energy and capital. We have to dismantle things that have no future and rebuild things that will allow daily life to function. We have to say goodbye to big box shopping and rebuild Main Street. More people will be needed to work in farming and fewer in tourism, public relations, gambling, and party planning. We have to make some basic useful products in this country again. We have to systematically decommission suburbia and reactivate our small towns and small cities. We have to prepare for the contraction of our large cities. We have to let the sun set on Happy Motoring and rebuild our trains, transit systems, harbors, and inland waterways. We have to reorganize schooling at a much more modest level. We have to close down most of the overseas military bases we're operating and conclude our wars in Asia. Mostly, we have to recover a national sense of common purpose and common decency. There is obviously a lot of work to do in the list above, which could translate into paychecks and careers -- but not if we direct all our resources into propping up the failing structures of yesterday.

full article

well said Toni

i went to this town hall meeting pretty uninformed on the issue of the new police station and library and the debt, funding and all opinions and emotions surrounding. i admire members of my community who are charged with making decisions about Ferndale and the folks who are asking questions. Toni spoke for me. i do not believe we can make decisions based on what has happened before now. we must change how we are doing things and the growth model is obsolete. the resources of planet earth are being stripped at breakneck speed in barbaric ways and, if we don't change our ways, the planet will be lost as a home for humans. there is no planet B.

thanks Toni....

wasps, bees and sedum

i love this time of year...the bees are just getting started on the sedums. as they come into full bloom they are covered with bees.....looking forward.



and i got a good shot of the wasp (yellow jacket) nest just above my chair on the porch. when i first noticed it i thought i should get rid of it but it turns out we have coexisted nicely and i will just put the nest out in the weather for the winter although wiki says the rarely use them again.

and i have been noticing the dieoff, described in wiki piece, starting to happen.

seed saving with Celt

had the pleasure of visiting Celt's place in Fairhaven...WOW...so much going on and i learned so much. here is a playlist of videos covering tomatoes, lettuce, leeks, beets, kale, and processing to save. i came home with some lavender seeds and put them in next to a new trail out my back door.