Summer photo update...

Our neighbors testing out our new couch before we can...



A quick escape out of fton to get out into the country and see the stars...

camping...

Girls weekend!

Fourth of July girls weekend...

My darling...

First harvest of our onion greens and our sour cherries!

Birthday post

Today... I am 24.

We had a lovely cookout last night in our yard with our closest friends and it was everything I could have ever wanted.

We grilled up a bunch of veggie dogs, some marinated veggies, and corn. We made a bunch of dips and had margaritas. The weather was perfect and we had a really nice time chatting and sitting amongst our large garden.
Ahhh... friends and grills and summer weather.

I was awoken this morning with breakfast and coffee in bed by my sweet sweet boyfriend. He made up a little menu of everything in the kitchen that we could have and made check boxes for me to choose what I wanted to eat.

I chose toast and watermelon and we sat and drank coffee and chatted the morning away.

We took care of the chickens and worked in the garden a bit later on in the morning, tore out the bad lettuce and planted more peppers and tomatoes. We will have many many tomatoes and peppers, so we must learn to make salsa quick.

Then we went to peruse the arts festival in downtown Columbus and gawk at all the expensive art we will never own. It was nice. Its also nice knowing that we never HAVE to own that kind of shit.

Then we headed to the north market in search of some special watermelon. I am on a watermelon kick in case you couldn't tell. They didn't have it... but we got some more sweet corn and zucchini instead.

Once we got home we decided to "hit the f-in town" with Jy and Kelly. We had a late lunch at the Happy Greek in the short north then walked around there for awhile. We got chased by a nasty thunderstorm and we ran from the lightening. We found shelter in a coffee shop and read newspapers and played a competitive game of scrabble before heading home.

There is nothing better to do on a rainy day but lounge around so we did that for a bit before Greg and I took a little walk through the neighborhood and found a few sweet cherry trees and some mulberry trees to snack on.

All in all its been a lovely 24th birthday spent with those I love most.

We are now onto a glass of red wine and some harry potter...

How to build a community garden...

... according to us Franklinton folk that is...

Step # 1... find an empty lot you won't get kicked out of. Consider guerrilla gardening if you don't have access to land you won't get kicked out of.

Step # 2... find a group of dedicated friends.

Step # 2 1/2... chain saw down dead trees in the yard.

Step # 3... get dirt and lots of compost.

Step # 4... get lots of wood. Be sure it is not pressure treated wood. You don't want treated lumber leeching toxins into your soil and your food.

Step # 5... get a drill and a bucket of 2 inch wood screws and build raised beds. Our beds were 4 feet by 8 feet but you can make them whatever size you choose. Consider being able to reach in the middle of the bed to plant/ weed/ harvest.

Step # 6... Lay beds. Space them out so you can work in between each one. We spaced ours about 2 feet apart.Step # 7... Lay a liner in the bottom if you haven't turned over the sod so weeds can't get through. It is probably optimal to turn over the sod and cover with straw/ cardboard for a week before. But as you can see, we layed a garden liner. Don't forget to poke holes so your water will drain!

Step 7 1/2... level beds

Step # 8... find some awesome neighborhoods kids who are eager to hang out and climb heaps of soil to help you fill wheel barrels.

Step # 9... Fill beds with said soil/ compost. And borrow your equipment from Keep Columbus Beautiful for free!

This picture below shows a good shot of empty beds... lined beds... and filled beds... and hard workers.

Step # 10... spread out soil evenly in beds... fill to at least one inch below top of bed. The soil will settle and soil level will drop quite a bit.

Step # 11... Top off beds with soil and you are ready to plant!

Our chicken journey...

In mid April we got 10 chicks to raise up to egg laying hens!

It has been fun watching them grow and fun/ frustrating trying to build them a suitable and safe home in Franklinton.

This was them the week we got them. They lived inside for about 6 weeks under a heat lamp until they were old enough and it was warm enough for them to go outside. We spent that time building a coup outside and a protected run for them to run around in.

Here they are a little older and a little smarter and they are trying to see the world on the other side of their box.

More pictures to come of the coup and their new home outside...

Oysters and the South Pacific Ocean

I made it to New Zealand!

It took 24 hours of long traveling, combined with some wine and ambien, but made it nonetheless.

I ate some fresh from the oyster farm oysters white sitting above the south pacific ocean.

Shocking!

How much more incredible could this be?

Snowed in 2010

I love counting on yearly snow-ins.

Last year it was in March and we were stranded at the boys house in Franklinton. Now we are all living together here and stranded again. Funny how things evolve. This time last year we were dreaming of everything we are doing right now... and now we are dreaming of even greater things than this...

I am looking forward to a reflection a year from now to see how things have evolved.

I am sitting inside, cold, watching the rest of my housemates run around the median in snow gear playing winter tackle football and frisbee. Kelly, the only woman out there, is really holding her own.

I just watched her wildly fling herself into the snow... get half way up and then fling herself helplessly back into the snow. hahaha. Such freedom, such beauty.

The boys are out there ramming into each other and tossing one another into the snow.

Oh happy days.

What are we thinking of and dreaming of and working on these days?

Here is a quick list...

Coffee shop in Franklinton, for a place of community gathering, a place for artistic expression, a place to employ locals, a place to keep our homeless friends warm in the winter and serve them a hot cup of coffee.

Community garden move to the two plots of land on either side of our house for growing our own food and helping our neighbors grow their own food.

Bike shop grant, pretty self explanatory, for developing the already existing bike shop.

Food co op, to finally get a place that can sell decent food in this neighborhood.

Renters rights education for our neighbors to fight their slumlords.

Creatively trying to resist gentrification and the placement of a casino into the neighborhood.

Weekly services in our basement chapel, usually by candle light, observing advent and now Epiphany, in attempt to deepen our spirituality and continue in worship.

That sums it up for now... there are people to warm up and coffee to drink...

Peace and peace!

picture update...

Our house...

Warehouse next to the bike shop

The start of our new house band called Bears Did This... stay tuned.

Hay ride with our st johns family...

Dance party with Junior in our kitchen...