Tend my garden

There have been a number of features about gardening on the local 6 o’clock news programs. After listening to a few of these, I've come to the conclusion that the average viewer knows little, or nothing about growing their own food. It’s not surprising, really. I think most Americans believe that their food originates in some big warehouse, and gets trucked to their local supermarket.

While my wife and I have been keeping a modest 30 X 20 plot the past six years, or so, growing a small variety of vegetables, we’ve regularly added new elements, and variety to our spring planting. In 2007, Mary added an herb garden, and also planted tomatoes on our hill, which I had discontinued mowing, and had let go wild. The sandy soil, and abundant sun on the northeastern side of our property, helped them do quite well.

[Prep the soil, and then gather your favorite seed packets]

Given the price of food this year, we’ve decided to double the garden plot, adding additional greens, like mesclun, some extra kale (which we fell in love with, last year}, a hearty root vegetable, like beets, as well as two varieties of beans, squash, zucchini, and another salad mix.

[Miss Mary's own personal herb garden]

While having a small garden requires some initial work, preparing the soil, and the actual sowing process, the effort is well worth the yield, and mid-summer bounty that will be forthcoming. Noted writer, economic and cultural critic, and first and foremost, a farmer, Wendell Berry wrote about this in his essay, “The Pleasures of Eating” (from What Are People For?), urging readers to get involved in their own food production. Berry advocated participating “in food production to the extent that you can. If you have a yard or even just a porch box or a pot in a sunny window, grow something to eat in it. Make a little compost of your kitchen scraps and use it for fertilizer, Only by growing some food for yourself can you become acquainted with the beautiful energy cycle that revolves from soil to seed to flower to fruit to food to offal to decay, and around again. You will he fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all its life.”

[Our borrowed 3 HP friend helps save our backs]

There is something magic that happens when you get your fingers in the soil, and get some of the earth under your nails. A closer connection to the natural world keeps us human, and that is always a good thing.

[The garden genie will keep watch over the crops]

Let's hear it for the little guys!

For most baseball fans, particularly those that only know the professional variety, chemically-enhanced, and overrun by WWF histrionics, this weekend's D3 College World Series, in Appleton, Wisconsin, is probably not on your "badar" (baseball radar).

[Fox Cities Stadium, host of the D3 WS, and home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers]

I got to experience this great community (along with Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss, and cheese curds), and my very own D3 World Series in person, in 2006, when my son Mark, a senior on Wheaton (MA) College's baseball team, was a participant. That was a magic spring, and one I won't soon forget. The Lyons secured their first ever trip to the World Series, by winning the Northeast Regional. I got to witness the one of the more dramatic home runs I've seen during my baseball life, courtesy of Pat O'Connor's bat, and Wheaton finished number two in the country, losing to Marietta, and 7th round Major League draft pick, Mike Eisenberg.

[The Fox Cities' playing surface is on par with any Major League park]

I'll be following the exploits of the Trinity Bantams over the weekend. This club, the Northeast representative in Appleton, beat Cortland State on Friday, 2-1, their 42nd consecutive win. It was fitting that the Bantams had an opportunity to avenge their last loss, which came a year ago, to Cortland State, when the Red Dragons eliminated Trinity, during the 2007 New York Regional, ending their season.

[The view from center field (put me in coach, I'm ready to play...)]

Just like their big brother, the Division I World Series, in Omaha, Nebraska, the D3 equivalent has plenty of compelling stories. Trinity's foe, this evening, will be Linfield College, from Oregon. The Wildcats are making their first D3 WS appearance, and are coached by none other than Scott Brosius, the former Yankee that Red Sox fans came to hate. Brosius, a Wildcat alumnist, led the team to a 34-11 season in his first year at the helm.

While there won't be live video until the last two days of the tourney, audio feeds, as well as live stats will keep fans updated.

Careful what you wish for

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague today. The topic was the escalation in the price of oil, and what that portends for the future.

It’s hard to argue that the continued parabolic rise in oil prices will have a chilling effect on any real economic growth, at least in the near term. While the wealthy among us aren’t affected by this exponential rise in price, at least initially, those of us in the middle class, and certainly, the working poor, already have had to start making some hard choices regarding household budgets.

The conversation I alluded to centered on transportation, logistics, and distribution (TDL)—basically that sector that ensures that everything we consume—food, gasoline, electricity, etc., gets delivered, intact, and on time. Medical services, entertainment, our technology, is all dependent on delivery, and oil affects everything we do. It is the literal lubricant that greases the gears of our civilization.

At some price indicator, we will reach a tipping point where our current way of doing things will no longer be sustainable. Then what?

Interestingly, since I started blogging here back in 2004, and prior to that on my first blog, a consistent theme of mine has been community, at least the kind that I remembered from my youth, growing up in Lisbon Falls. Even better, much of the past five months has found me writing about that time period, working on the topic of Moxie, for my upcoming book, but even beyond that, focusing on aspects of small town life that were meaningful to me that will be part of a full-length book, due late in the fall.

The person I spoke to happens to work in the TDL field. Her take on where we are headed is back to the 1940s, and 1950s. What? At that time, commerce, industry, and the focus of life, was on the local community, and then outward, to the region that you were part of. In the U.S., each region—the South, New England, the Midwest, the Southwest, etc.—all had unique characteristics; cuisine, dialect, heritage, and even politics.

If gas were to go to $10/gallon, then this might create a demand for a local grocery store, where people would drive five miles, rather than 25 miles to do their shopping. Local hardware stores, lumberyards, and other retailers might once again become central, rather than Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and others. Because everything we do revolves around transportation, particularly trucking, it may no longer make sense to truck food, manufactured goods, and other products thousands of miles. Rather, regional economies, such as northern New England, might forge partnerships to begin supplying the products being imported from overseas, or even, the west coast.

Many people that live in Maine don’t know that Aroostook County has the capacity to grow wheat, and in fact currently produces organic wheat for Borealis Breads. Facing a global shortage of wheat, Maine may once again find itself re-emerging as an agrarian center for particular crops, like wheat.

Here is an interesting article from 2006 that alludes to that potential.

The invisible hand always creates winners, as well as losers. That has always been the calling card of capitalism.

Blog-a-thon

I've been on a bit of a run of late, meeting fellow bloggers that I've watched from afar. The latest one being Mark LaFlamme, of Sun Journal crime beat notoriety, as well as the popular blog, The Screaming Room.

I actually met LaFlamme back in 1996, while working one of the worst gigs of my working life, up to that point. He was already creating a signature style of reporting that he's continued to hone over the subsequent years. I was just looking to get the hell out of my position. In all fairness, I met some great people at the paper, I just had a crappy job, overseeing delivery of the newspaper, which is a thankless job.

As a member of the Empower Lewiston board, I had been thinking of ways to engage residents of downtown Lewiston. Since I view blogging as a great way to get your writing, and ideas to an audience, without alot of outside control, I thought this might be a way to give voice to a group of people that often don't have one. Hence, the idea for a blog-a-thon was hatched.

The attendance was a bit disappointing, but all was not lost. LaFlamme and I got to chat about blogging, baseball (found out he's a KC Royals fan), and the role of newspapers in the digital age. I was pleased that he took the time to come out and help support our efforts.

Mayor Gilbert, of Lewiston, also was in the house, providing opening remarks. Gilbert also has a blog, and he informed us that his two daughters are behind the popular Rumor Girls podcasts.

Get your Jones on!

You ‘gotta love a soda company that has flavors like Blue Bubble Gum, and an energy drink called WhoopAss. They once had a flavor (now retired) they named Bug Juice.

Since I’ve been living in the alternative drink universe for several months, I continue to be on the lookout for interesting drink products in the vein of Moxie. I’m becoming aware that these products are everywhere, depending on where you live in the U.S., and probably in other countries. I remain partial to Moxie, however.

Not sure if you can find Jones products here in New England, although Shaws Supermarkets are listed as a location for Maine, as well as Panera Bread.