Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2008
Ann Cooper
Another fabulous video. In this 49 minute speech Ann Cooper explains why she decided to leave the prestige of being a hoity toity chef and go into a hoity toity school to be their lunch lady. After seeing the possibilities for changing the eating habits in this school for privileged children she felt she could do more. She packed her bags and went to work at a public school and was able to change those children their as well. She remarks on how she has to teach parents as well, and how the way we eat has gone off track.
Are you aware that Monsanto and Dupont control the majority (like 60/70-some percent) of the seeds in the world? She explains why this isn't a great idea and why, perhaps, it would be better if we got back to eating a tad more local, or even better, home gardens.
Ann also has websites (below in the left side bar under "Galley" Chef Ann Cooper and also Lunch Lessons) where she freely gives her ideas to those who want them. I found this video to be very informative and a bit motivating. I hope you do too!
what's wrong with what we eat?
I guess you can call this Part Two, after Ann. Mark Bittman gave this talk at TED a while back. He refers to Ann in his talk, which is why I posted her video. I think they say much of the same thing, but each adds things the other leaves out. Ann is a bit more laid back, Mark a touch more acerbic; but not so much that it turns you off, he's just passionate about his food.
Please take some time to watch them both. Enjoy.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
the front porch
I have to tell you that lately, just walking out onto the porch in the morning makes me very happy!
We live on a little half acre that is comprised of lousy soil. Hey, it's the desert and I don't expect too much. Our "top soil" is 1 1/2 inches deep of sand with the layer underneath being clay. Hard, solid clay. Lots of pebbles, small rocks and weird bugs, ants and cute bunnies that grown into jack rabbits.
The wind blows pretty much everyday, water is scarce, and unless you treat the soil (read: totally add new top soil with literally tons of new soil and fertilizers) not too much grows. Not even weeds on our little parcel.
Every year I sacrifice to the plant gods, throwing about $50.00 or so into the dirt and pray something pops up. I have treated tiny sections over the years, adding fertilizers, garden soil, all kinds of potions and homemade remedies from many different resources. My only success has been alyssum. I planted it the year we moved in and it flourished and reseeds itself and blooms all year. In the heat of the day the perfume is amazing and wafts into the house. yum.
There have been other successes on a strict on year time line - sunflowers, desert blooming succulents, marigolds, etc. but the only mainstay is my sweet alyssum.
Last year I took a chance and planted a wysteria up along side the post near the front door. It didn't die, but it didn't really take off either. #1 brought his puppy over during Thanksgiving and he ate the wysteria down to a nubbin. The nubbin grew pretty well over spring and now we have a "nice" little vine growing up the side of the post.
The week #5 graduated I also through some Morning glories into the ground near the other post on the porch. They took off and now cover the entire post on all sides and up to the roof. Every morning they bloom and it takes my breath away to see actual flowers growing right there on my sandy old dirt!
It may not look like much to you, but I just get a smile looking at it! If you look closely you can see the sand and river rocks. I have a few palms in pots that are getting new fronds (YES!) and mixed in with the alyssum is some mondo grass, one lonely little survivor from a pack of flowers I now forget the name of, and a few sprigs of rosemary. There a few more palms awaiting ground planting and the locust tree in the rear.
Poor mr. locust will be rooted out as he has a fondness for the septic system and needs to be relocated. Palms will take his place and then the rest of the property might have a chance to grab a few live plants. We are aiming to xeroscape because of the desert conditions, so there will be plenty of pathways, patios and only minimal plants that cannot thrive in drought conditions.
The desert environment and ecosystem has changed dramatically since we moved here 25 years ago. Now city folk have moved up, planted every imaginable plant and watered the hooie out of them. Putting in pools and water scapes also adds to the humidity and eventually will add to even more drought conditions as the air will push any and all clouds to the east and dump the water further out. This is happening already and it's sad.
I admit that if I were wealthy and had the wherewithal I too would have a pool, expansive lawns and lots of trees to try and keep the house shaded in this unbelievable heat. Inside though, I would still feel guilty, because I know better what the desert needs to remain healthy, and it ain't man made humidity and water. It does best on what Ma Nature provides.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Coit Tower, San Francisco
Lillie Hitchcock Coit was a little girl when she was playing with friends in an abandoned building. The building took fire and she was rescued by volunteer fire fighters. Later in her youth as she was walking home from school she saw the Knickerbocker Engine no.5 struggling to get up those infamous hills to yet another fire. Dropping her school books she ran to their aide and yelled at others standing in the street to help the volunteers. Lillie was hooked. She loved the firemen in their uniforms, but more so for their heroic efforts time and again.
Going to the links will give you plenty of history and more information on the tower itself, so much so that yesterday's blog went into cyber space never to be seen again! That said, there are stories of Lillie abandoning her hubby at the alter to run after Engine no.5 still dressed in her dress and veil! After hubby died at age 47 Lillie went to France and entertained the likes of Napoleon all the while her heart still with those Knickerbockers. When she died at age 86 she left one third of her vast fortune to San Francisco and asked that it "be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved." (The other two thirds of her fortune went to the Universities of California and Maryland - nice gal!)
Controversy and politics were the order of the day and after all the dust settled the city decided upon what we have currently up on Telegraph Hill. The tower itself rises some 212 feet giving the folks inside a 360 degree perspective of the city. After a $3.00 ticket purchase on the main floor, one rides the elevator. 20 or so more steps spiral you out into the open air.
This is one of the photos I took. So many structures! So much concrete, steel, and asphalt that finding any green is near to impossible. Like a Where's Waldo? game.
Find the green and you win! There are spots here and there, but it is always amazing to me how the buildings are on top of each other. There are actual places in this city that only get a few moments of direct sunlight each day because the buildings are so high and built so close. Until I spent time wandering around the neighborhoods, I didn't notice how most of the city homes are actually one huge building with connecting/shared walls; (Victorian Houses)
with facades that are painted and designed to resemble individual houses. It is a hard concept for a gal from SoCAL where in my (lower middle class) neighborhood everyone is required to have at least 1/2 acre per single residence. I look at my "tiny" back yard differently now. Across the street from our hotel we saw that most of the housing had a penthouse suite and that roof access was often used to provide an outdoor patio, sunroom, or even gardens. While standing perched atop Coit Tower it is interesting to see what the different neighborhoods use this space for. We saw the afore mentioned, but also solariums, shuffle board and tennis courts, and even a school playground!
From this vantage point one can see Alcatraz, Lombard Street, ChinaTown, Fisherman's Wharf, the TransAmerica Building, and both the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay Bridge, among other landmarks.
Here is a link to the Virtual Museum on line where you can click and point your way through many of the sights and history for yourself! This is a video documentary of events leading up to, during and shortly after the 1906 earthquake. Have fun, take a tour, enjoy!
Monday, June 27, 2005
The Palace of Fine Arts
One of my favorite places to visit in San Francisco is the Palace of Fine Arts. Built by Bernard Maybeck in 1915, it stands near the bay in a terrific neighborhood surrounded by elite homes and green gardens. Land obviously is at a premium in the Bay Area, and to see the green lawn and the reflection pools is a treat.
The pool is actually an ancient wet land used by Maybeck purposely to reflect the structures beauty. Unfortunately Maybeck could not or did not see the future and the the pool is has begun to sink into itself, taking the surrounding flora with it! There is danger of the entire grounds being destroyed and evidence that the structures themselves are already pressured and stressing.
The solution? A bake sale. Well, not exactly, but the city of San Francisco has designated a committee to oversee the reconstruction and repair of the entire park. The city has also approved and set aside $4.9 million for the project and asking for another $16 million in donations! The work has already begun with the tagging of trees and structural reinforcements. In the mean time it takes some of the beauty away from the park, but not much - it's still so peaceful and thought provoking to walk these grounds and listen to the birds and water while seeing a new piece of the monument you missed the time before.
This photo demonstrates how the trees' roots are unsupported and the weight of the plants, trees, and foliage pull into the lake. Trees all along the edge of the water have already been swallowed whole, exposing their root balls to the sky as if a giant reached down and plucked them out of the ground like an errant weed; tree tops under the water and limbs reaching out like a drowning victim. It is sad to witness and one hopes that it can be saved in time.
The walkways are also in danger; some have been blocked from use. The black asphalt border that surrounds the perimeter looks as if it has been melted and rolled under the surface. Chain link fencing has been put up as a safety precaution. One cannot walk near the water's edge as in years past. It it an enormous sink hole.
If you are interested in the history of this edifice or would like to contribute to it's restoration, please visit the link in the title of this post. (All private donations up to $500,00 will be doubled thanks to Maurice Kanbar.) There are so many facts, interesting tidbits, and many photos- that I would be here all day repeating what has already been written. Click here for a virtual tour, enjoy!
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