2/22/08

peregrine falcon



I've seen this (or another) Peregrine Falcon in a tree by the Lake Street bridge, Minneapolis, for a couple of months.

2/19/08

770 radio k, grain elevator


As promised, I listened to grain elevator on Radio K. It was all that was promised, classic country, folk, bluegrass, eclectic oldies, and americana music. The songs reminded me of driving down country roads, slightly lost but not caring. It's about letting it all hang out and being free. It's silly and strange but it feels good to listen to in the midst of a midwinter funk. Shake it off baby.



2/15/08

barred owl

barred owl in the yard

The owl didn't have red eyes but it looks spooky. The red is a reflection from the flash.

In the two photos above I corrected the "red eye" and it looks a little more normal. This owl hung out for about an hour and a half. It was an incredible experience to watch this owl. Usually they are shy birds.

I was on the phone with badphairy when I noticed something large fly by. A barred owl landed in the jack pine. It was unbelievable. I've seen a barred owl once before in the daytime sleeping. But now, in my yard, the owl was hunting for something and could care less about my curious presence there.


2/12/08

why blog?

When asked why I blog, I quote Audre Lorde, "Your silence will not protect you." I write because I can. I feel I need to write my truth, and the truth of others who feel the same way. When I was in college I was asked to write a feminist column. I almost said no but a fellow student quoted Audre Lorde to me "Your silence will not protect you" and I knew I had to speak up. I've never been silent since then.

2/7/08

recycled skirt to bag


If you have a drawstring skirt you love but it's not the right size make it into a bag. It's really easy. You can do this without a sewing machine, although it will take a little longer.

Step one - Turn the skirt inside out. Pin the skirt bottom and side together.
Step two - Sew a 5/8 inch seam on side and bottom. (see picture)
Step three - trim long threads and turn right side out.

2/4/08

wishing for summer

Ben hiding in the garden, September 2007

The garden, late summer 2007

In the dark days of winter, I wish for summer to return. I've been looking over photos of the garden and making plans for next summer. We moved into our house a couple of years ago. and our yard was lacking everything but trees. We assessed the yard and got to work.

There were many tress in the yard; two American Elms, three maples, four Blue Spruce, three White Pines, one Mountain Ash, one White Cedar, two Red Pine, and my favorite a rare Jack Pine. Apparently we have one of a few Jack Pine trees in Minneapolis. The lawn looked spotty at best and everything was overgrown. The woman who lived there years before us had a thing for planting trees from her cabin up north. She was a bit of a recluse and liked to plant in the middle of the night.

We began with removing a diseased Norway Maple, which was the perfect spot for a flower garden. To save money we had Rainbow Tree cut the tree down. (This was no job for us amateurs) They removed all but the tree trunk. We gave the trunk to Xtian's dad Chuck to use. Chuck is a wood turner and used the wood to make a beautiful bowl for us. So I will always have a part of the tree. After the tree was cut down, the tree trimmers laid the trunk on a tree limb so as to not make an impression on the ground. I love trees and this was a sign of respect to me. I knelt down as thanked the tree for its life.

We couldn't afford to have the tree stump ground up so we decided to plant around it and let nature take its course. We plotted an area for a perennial garden. We discovered there were three stumps cut close to the ground. The cost for stump grinding was around $300 to $400 (ouch). We decided for the sweat equity solution and dig up the roots. We worked bit by bit and dug out a huge root ball. At the end of the struggle to dig out the root, it was like a loose tooth that was ready to come out. I stood on the stump, while talking to our neighbor Bob, and tried to get it loose. Bob volunteered to get the rest of the stump out with an ax. Success at last -- The root was freed from the land.

Root ball we dug out of the yard
(it's about a foot and a half across at the thickest part)

This was a small start on the way to building the garden. Next we hand tilled the land removing old dead roots along the way. We amended the soil with peat moss, compost, leaves, gypsum, and lime. We worked the soil to get it ready for planting and used what was available. Native vegetation stayed planted. We shopped at the Vagary at the St. Paul Farmer's Market for Minnesota native plants. We also added some interesting non-native non-invasive perennials. My goal was, and is still, to grow only Midwest (North American) native plants. But I accept that not all plants available or affordable are native plants. We planted White Sage, Echinacia, Cosmos, blanket flower, White Swan (white Echinacia), Big Blue Stem, Corral Bells, Spider Flower, Prairie Drop-seed, Giant Hyssop, Goldenrod, False Sunflower, Blue Gamma, and Black Eyed Susan.

planting the first native grasses and prairie flowers.

The beginning of the garden 2006

Native plants

We made a wood chip trail to cut down on weeds. I new that we needed some sort of edge for the garden. We used tree branches at first and then integrated rocks. I get a inspiration from nature. I thought of how rocks occur in nature and how they fit in with plant life. The picture below is from Wild River State Park in MN.


Wild River State Park, MN

We created a rock edge by using found rocks in the yard, from family land up north, large rocks from family in Colorado, liberated rocks from construction, and some were purchased.

Native grape vine

Sage and native grasses

Ben enjoying the garden, September 2007

Late summer 2007

The first year was really hard back breaking work. Tilling the soil, moving land, and lugging large rocks around is exhausting. It took two years to turn the land around to a beautiful perennial garden. This year I'm planning on growing more edible plants.