Getting Stoked For Spring

As I drove home from Shelby County yesterday evening, I could barely contain my excitement as my thermometer read 47 degrees. My chickens, who I had just picked up from the sitters, were excited too but expressed themselves in feces instead of my joyous yelping. I also would be meeting with the cinematographer, Stephen Kertis, who came with Steve Paradis to document some of the projects i had rolling on the property. The first Steve said he had the footage ready for me to take home and links to add to the blog.

On returning home, let my chickens back into their condo, gave them some treats and some new hay. Still in my school clothes I ran to the front yard and started pruning the blackberries by the sidewalk. It was a lot of guesswork, but I think they will produce on the second year canes that I left behind. The greenhouse is pumping, especially with the new solar collector I installed on the front which is pictured above. Soon it will be filled with seedlings to transplant.

The meeting with the first Steve was a enlightening conversation as we discussed the overlaps of sustainable urban agriculture and film. Robert, a veteran and part time organic farmer in the Philippines, joined us to add some IMO (Indigeonous Micro-Organism) talk to the conversation. Steve also passed on the movies which I will attach to this post.

Frozen Sprouts

I am not going to lie. Spending the day with 150 7th graders was about on par with hitting myself in the head with a tack hammer at 6:00 am this morning. After arriving back in Louisville on Saturday night, I was suffering from a holiday hangover. The intensity of visiting family, friends and places of my past left me feeling worn and longing upon my return to my cold house, especially since my chickens were at the sitters. As I searched the homestead in the dark on Saturday night, I sunk lower as I found each of my plants frozen stiff, even the Winterbor kale. It was not till the morning when I broke the ice on my greenhouse to see a temperature gauge reading 54.7 degrees and three flats of greens growing, slowly, but still growing, did that holiday hangover start to recede and the desire for a spring creep in.

The trip back to southeastern Pa took on a enlightening tone as the perspective cultivated through gardening and reading. Signs for local eggs, milk and meat jumped out from where they had blended in before. Each of the small farms developed distinct personalities as I recognized the different agricultural practices, green houses, poultry, livestock and cover crops I had studied. It was an explosion of thought and realization. On account of that I repeatedly kick myself in the butt for not recognizing the resources while I was younger.

I am fighting within myself to appreciate winter. The thought of the frost killing cabbage worms and slugs is about the only thing saving me from winter depression. I need to reflect on winter a little more to change my perspective. On changing perspectives, I am glad I choose 150 7th graders over the tack hammer. They were the factor that finally kicked my holiday hangover by being just as tired and worn-out as I was.