Urban Burley

Got my tobacco crop from field to barn today. Such as that is in the big city. My thanks to the Bullitt County support team that made this urban tobacco operation functional. Next stop...2012 State Fair.

Vine Hidey Spot

Using drift wood from the Falls of the Ohio I made a vine structure for Ruby to hide out in. The top picture was back in March. The second picture is how it looks at the end of July. There are three different vines planted on it. Hyacinth bean, moonflower and lufa gourd. The lufa is definitely the most aggressive. I also have a few okra plants growing in the circles at the base and some peppers in pots. The bottom picture if a similar structure (and an older one) that Nathan and Otis made over at Aleve's house. This one is two years old now and it's beautiful.

Apples to Apples - Garden Over a Season

Here's two views of my new growing beds. The top picture in each pair was just after I put in the boxes at the end of February. The bottom picture in each pair was taken at the end of July. About five months apart. I've already had several crops out of the raised beds and have just planted cow peas and pole variety of red speckled lima. I'm hoping it climbs up the trellis I made from some salvaged wrought iron porch supports. Oh how I love scrounging in alleys.

Birthday Hideout

• Nine bales of straw
• Seven balloons
  
• Three bamboo poles
• Two bed spreads
• String
• One three year old girl
• One five year old friend
• Me
  

Morning Pool Party

This little puddle of a pool is a big splash with Ruby. This morning she brought her horses into the pool to clean them. Libby, Kiki, Pullman and Man-O-War. It's been a polite kind of summer and everything is growing lush.

A Fairy Moved Into the Mulberry Tree

A fairy recently moved into a cavity at the base of the mulberry tree. Just in time for Ruby's third birthday. She'll be excited to see that she has a playmate that is smaller than she is. She doesn't know this yet. We'll let her discover it for herself. I'll keep you posted. I can't tell for sure but it looks like the fairy constructed his/her abode from debris collected at the Falls of the Ohio. It looks like maybe that little donkey must have carried everything here from the falls. Poor little thing. It must be tired.

Chicken Coop Concert II - Musician Portraits

In the order they performed at the concert. All photos by Tim Furnish.

Top Photo: R Keenan Lawler
Lawler is a prodigiously talented raga guitarist who performs frequently on resonator guitar. Lawler has an encyclopedic knowledge of Carnatic music and has developed many idiosyncratic instrumental performance techniques to complement his ragas with percussive and drone elements. http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9590-music-for-the-bluegrass-states/

Middle Photo: William Tyler
The Nashville-based guitarist for Lambchop, Silver Jews, Will Oldham, and many more has recently released his first or third solo album, depending on how you count. A cd-r and LP under the name Paper Hats were released on his own Sebastian Speaks label , while the first album under his given name, entitled "Behold the Spirit" was released on the Tompkins Square label to widespread acclaim. http://www.tompkinssquare.com/william-tyler.html

Bottom Photo: Michael Chapman
A brilliant, if somewhat obscure British singer-songwriter recorded albums for Harvest, Decca and Deram among others; his second album, "Fully Qualified Survivor" produced by Gus Dudgeon (Shirley Collins/Davey Graham; Elton John; John Martyn; Fairport Convention; David Bowie) was recently reissued by Light in the Attic Records, introducing Chapman's classic recording to contemporary audiences. Chapman recently ...completed a UK tour with William Tyler who will join him on select US dates including the chicken coop concert. http://www.michaelchapman.co.uk/

Chicken Coop Concert Series - Dos

The second Chicken Coop Concert was held on Sunday, June 5th. Three guitar musicians played. R. Keenan Lawler - William Tyler - Michael Chapman. All were fine but Michael, visiting from England really mesmerized me. It was great kicking back listening to birds singing and watching chickens shuffling to his music. Not the bar scene where you would typically listen to him. He was a nice man to hang with for a spell. Loved our sweet tea.

Taking the Wide View

I added a new ap to my phone today that let's me take panoramic shots. I had no idea how they might look on a blog platform so... here's the answer. These shots were taken in the back yard on June 9. I'm hoping this yard looks amazing for Ruby's birthday. The zinnias should be popping about then and I'm hoping the vines will have started to climb up the teepee structure to make her a hidey spot.

Coop Concert Series - First Effort

On Sunday April 17th we hosted the first Chicken Coop Concert. It featured Jason Ajemian and the Highlife (acoustic bass, drums, guitar, trumpet, sax) followed by Aaron Rosenblum (banjo, fiddle) and a yard full of displaced chickens and fully placed listeners. Go ahead, throw that beer bottle at the band. They won't mind. (The lower picture was sent to me by Hillary Harrison.)

Cover Girl for Urban Homesteading

Miss Ruby is starting her career as a model for urban homesteading. I think this add is coming out in the next Louisville Green Guide. They didn't tell me not to use it so...here's a scoop on that issue. I figure few people see this anyway.

Level: Maximum Potential

Theoretically, these two new cedar raised beds (8'x3') could produce more food than any other 48 square feet. They have not yet suffered a failed crop, a drought, a low germination rate, insect infestation, or any other something that could lower their potential. They are, in essence, at the level of their maximum potential. But you can't eat maximum potential. So sooner or later these better start pumping out some food with some actualized potential. I'll load up more pictures then.

The History of Play

Tonight I asked the kids that gather in the back yard each evening if they wanted to play dodge ball. When one of them said "sure" but then started talking about rules I had no clue about I started describing the game as I knew it. Kris blurted out... "Oh yeah. I saw it played that way on history channel." Perfect. I guess that means I'm a geezer. But this geezer has good aim.

Child*Chicken*Compost

Ruby has taken to liking letting the chickens out. And since the chickens like the compost pile, Ruby too likes it. Tis a joy to see all three in communication and healthy. The child, the chicken, the compost.

The Discussion

These guys are our additional family on a regular basis which we love. But last Tuesday was hard. So today we had "the discussion". It resulted in the information in the top photo. These are the self-determined rules, consequences and priviliges they came up with. Then they decided to make three bucks between them. A buck fifty each for helping in the garden. Good boys today. The evening culminated in a walk up to the IceCream and Pie Kitchen where they both got rootbeer floats. Sounds pretty damn "Waltons" after seeing this typed out. But it didn't feel "Waltons" at the time.

Such Potential

There is such potential in spring. Things can go so many different ways. Warm spell. Wet spell. Late frost. I can't remember where I planted a few perennials last year that haven't popped out yet. Dig here? No here. Do I go with tomatoes in the same spot? What were my favorite annuals on the porch last year? But one by one the garden spaces fill with decisions and things start growing. Clay pots fill up. An object in the garden gets moved to a new home and it changes the way you think about it, look at it. This year the rules of engagement have changed. Now I think about the garden space from the perspective of a little person. A climbing, go anywhere, curious little person. Things sit further apart this year. Even the spacing on my plants is wider. This will be an interesting garden year.

Wash up Ruby. Time for Dinner.

Miss Ruby is learning to feed the chickens, weed the garden, shovel compost, gather the eggs and water the collards. But most fun of all is washing up. Thank you to the bunny that surprised us with a brand new pair of chicken shoes on Easter. Love em. I was getting tired of scrubbing the chicken shit off her shoes. Now I can just hose em off.

Domestique

These were shot on iPhone/CameraBag/Lolo setting.
Back yard at the Professional Porch Sitters Union Hall
July 26 2009

Guess Who Built a Hoop House

They did.