Dahlia time

Every spring the pressure comes on. Our dahlia tubers are sprouting- coming up for air.

Our serious passion for dahlias this year has out grown us. From the 800 row ft of gopher wire protected nursery beds we planted last year, we have thousands, literally thousands of tubers. It's almost laughable. With no tractor in sight, we've been digging beds by hand (and- soil forgive our sins, a rototiller) for almost a month now. We're set to have somewhere around a quarter of an acre of dahlias. Lord have mercy on our souls. For anyone in the area between July and October- do come by and pick a bunch for your sweetheart.

No Pants

This blog post has nothing to do with politics or with ecological living. It's simply funny. It's a guide for the young ladies of the world who have grown up in an age of lycra- an age that has blended the concept of a pair of pants and a pair of tights so completely, it's difficult to distinguish what you can wear outside. It's also for the California yoginis out there- who think that's it's ok to rock yoga apparel at any time of the day in any situation. Ladies in question, please take note.
Click on the image for a larger jpeg.
(Reprinted from the Huffington Post)

B-town Food

This post finds me in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NYC. A California foodie girl amidst a sea of concrete, a barren pre-spring reality. I always find my reaction fascinating when I land in a city. The food system is so different here. Gone is my chicken and trees that bare, gone are the blackberries and collards that grow like weeds. Gone is the possibility of foraging. To tell you the truth, having lived near such abundance for so long, cities make me a tad nervous.

Fortunately, as featured earlier on this blog (http://alifeorganic.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html), Brooklyn has become a hotspot for all things local. My previous impression is that the food scene here is a tad on the precocious side, a lot of energy into the style of the offering, much less the substance. Not grounded literally in dirt like much of the West and Midwest.

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March 27, 2011

American Thought Police

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Recently William Cronon, a historian who teaches at the University of Wisconsin, decided to weigh in on his state’s political turmoil. He started a blog, “Scholar as Citizen,” devoting his first post to the role of the shadowy American Legislative Exchange Council in pushing hard-line conservative legislation at the state level. Then he published an opinion piece in The Times, suggesting that Wisconsin’s Republican governor has turned his back on the state’s long tradition of “neighborliness, decency and mutual respect.”
So what was the G.O.P.’s response? A demand for copies of all e-mails sent to or from Mr. Cronon’s university mail account containing any of a wide range of terms, including the word “Republican” and the names of a number of Republican politicians.
If this action strikes you as no big deal, you’re missing the point. The hard right — which these days is more or less synonymous with the Republican Party — has a modus operandi when it comes to scholars expressing views it dislikes: never mind the substance, go for the smear. And that demand for copies of e-mails is obviously motivated by no more than a hope that it will provide something, anything, that can be used to subject Mr. Cronon to the usual treatment.
The Cronon affair, then, is one more indicator of just how reflexively vindictive, how un-American, one of our two great political parties has become.

Republican War on Working Families

I haven't written about the Wisconsin rally's yet. But I saw a video today that moved me to do so. Finally, the Democrats and the labor movement have figured out to to frame an issue effectively! The video, aptly named, is called 'The Republican War on Working Families."

(To see the video click here.)

The labor movement, which has been gasping its last breath in the wake of 30 years of legislation that has stripped the movement of almost all support- is kicking. And kicking hard! There are hundreds of thousands of people in dozens of states that have come out in support of the Wisconsin workers, who have staged a sit-in to protest the Republican governors proposal to curtail collective bargaining, the life blood of unions.

By connecting the Republican party to the death of the middle class American dream- the union rank and file have created an effective message. Let us only hope that this Mainstreet Movement grows to be an effective counter weight to the Tea Party. I hope that the Mainstreet Movement will argue for the restoration of middle class benefits, social services, education, and the accountability of the individuals and corporations that caused the financial crisis at the nexus of this recession. Lastly, I hope that the Democratic party capitalizes on the momentum and rage heard across the nation over the last month. They need to continue to make the connection between Republican & Tea Party aspirations to cut all government benefits and services with the tax cuts for the wealthy that were extended just months ago. I'm pleading with the Democratic leadership to wake up and smell the coffee. Join the chorus calling for the end to the Rublicans War on Working Families!

Political Ecology of Story

I just joined a group of students at Berkeley- for wine, around a wooden table- at a French delicatessen named after one of my favorite animals- the chicken. Connecting over glasses of vino as academics have done for eons. En vino veritas- in wine there is truth. I felt seriousness, a connection that I miss at Davis- a criticality that they bring to what they are doing and where they are. It challenged me. 

We met with a professor with a big heart. A man who once wore the vesicle on his sleeve – but had it gnawed at by Berkeley. By vested interests. By moneyed interests. By forces larger than any of us around that wooden table have seen in battle.

It’s so important for students to understand what their mentors are going through- the hazing they’ve encurred to get where they are- and what their research threatens. I’ve only heard the story from my mentors, who are young, and yet unscathed. Without the shared knowledge we are all complicit in our own silos- captive- alone- isolated. Thinking that we are the only ones to feel this way or that.

But we are not alone. Somewhere in an office somewhere- there is someone very much like us- wishing they were telling their story around a wooden table of like minds with some cheap wine to loosen the tongue. 

Eco Farm, again

I'm here at ecofarm again. Every January, this conference serves as a yearly reflection on my life- a pause to look back at where I've been, and forward to the possibilities that I am creating for myself in the next year. Over the past six years I've gone from student to professional to student again. From attendee to presenter and back. I've been a farmer, a film maker, an organizer. Thinking about it now, it seems a perfectly even representation of my chaotic self- my ability to shape shift it seems with the seasons. A chameleon for all times. Though sometimes difficult, I try to appreciate the different hats I've worn- my ability to wear boots and heals, blue jeans and business suits. Which costume will befit my next post has yet to be seen. For now I'll just sit by the fire. Waiting for the moment to let the next possibility unfold.

US- China State Dinner Menu

When I first saw the menu for the State dinner to host China's president Hu Jintao in the Huffington Post, I immediately thought-- the Obamas are such foodies! Pretty much all seasonal veggies, and the few accouterments easily preservable from fall. Domestic meat and wine. Nice work White House chef team!

First

D'Anjou pear with Farmstead Goat Cheese Fennel, Black Walnuts, and White Balsamic


Second

Poached Maine Lobster
Orange Glaze Carrots and Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Wine: DuMol Chardonnay "Russian River" 2008 (California)

Lemon Sorbet

Main

Dry Aged Rib Eye with Buttermilk Crisp Onions
Double Stuffed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Wine: Quilceda Creek Cabernet "Columbia Valley" 2005 (Washington State)

Dessert

Old Fashioned Apple Pie
with Vanilla Ice Cream

Wine: Poet's Leap Riesling "Botrytis" 2008 (Washington State)

Community Development 101

After seventeen months pursuing an MSc in Community Development, I can boil most of what I'm taking away into two simple words:

Stay Home

My generation, generation Y that is, has been enculturated to believe that success is defined by how far you go in life. Go, meaning of course many things-- how much money you make, how much you travel and, quite frankly, how far away you make it from your home town. In the small town that I'm from, anyone that ended up staying home was immediately chastised- "What's wrong with them" we would all say, "I guess they can't make it in the real world."  Following this logic, most of my peers moved to the city. Metropolitan areas all over the county have played a large role in the depopulation of the rural and peri urban landscape. And who wouldn't blame youth for going? Cities boast exciting nightlife and professional opportunities.

But- after nigh on two years studying community development, I've decided the most powerful choice a young person who is interested in social change can make, is to Go Home.

Olive Oil Take 3

For the third year running Damian and I participated in the UC Davis Students for Sustainable Agriculture olivepick on the UC Davis campus. I took a greater leadership role in organizing it this year, with mixed results. For the last few years two dozen or so students and alumni have harvested a ton of olivesand taken them to a local farmer for pressing. This year, with the expectation that we would have a similar turn out, and with a therefore similar infrastructure to handle the pickings, we were completely blown away by the attendance and subsequent poundage the group harvested. Due to good publicity (ie the announcement going out on random Bay Area listserves) 130 people turned out and collectively picked 7300 lbs of olives. As the day wore on it began to rain and our infrastructure (folding table) proved inadequate, the boxes that people picked into melted, the olives spilled, and our pick overwhelmed the farmer we had contracted with to press. By the end of the day, everyone - particularly myself- was wet, anxious, and upset.

Though it felt like a disaster mid-flight, participants and onlookers were so excited about the turn out from event that we've formed a team to expand the event for next year, encompassing more on-campus programing, agricultural education, and the alumni network. And Damian and I, we went home happy, between the two of us we picked 5 gallons of oil in one day very full day.