tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36622112592689841772024-02-18T20:27:34.670-08:00Urban Homestead DiariesApril Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-63191892491601985742011-08-23T16:29:00.000-07:002011-08-23T16:31:20.714-07:00Eggs, Eggs and More Eggs!The girls are all finally laying now, so we have eggs coming out our ears, but we seem to have no problem eating them all at this point. They're laying 4-5 per day now and many of them are double yolkers. The two on the far right, both top and bottom, in the picture below are double yolks. I wonder if they hurt a bit coming out?! The Cocoo Marans lay the most beautiful dark chocolate eggs. One chicken in particular lays a darker speckled brown beauties, so pretty. <br />
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We had issues with the chickens eating their eggs at first, yikes! I asked folks over on TBUH and decided to take the advice of putting fake eggs in the nesting boxes, and it worked thank goodness. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Nice family shot I took the other day of the girls. Rarely are they all facing the same direction! They're hanging out on the cool little outdoor roost Ron built them. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Today for the first time our Ameraucana laid this green beauty! </div><br />
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How are the eggs going over on your homestead? <br />
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April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-35906254464077495862011-08-10T11:32:00.000-07:002011-08-10T11:36:43.913-07:00The "I Am An Urban Homesteader" t-shirts have arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Months ago some of the urban homesteaders asked me for an urban homesteader t-shirt, and I finally got around to doing it! I created this cute design and the American Apparel shirts are made in the USA by a small California company called <a href="http://www.fibers.com/shop/design/i-am-an-urban-homesteader.D44999">Fibers.com</a>. They come in 100% cotton and organic and many styles and colors. I make a small profit off of each t-shirt sold and will be donating a percentage of my sales to urban homesteading causes as the need arises. The back of the shirt has the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page address on it. So show your urban homesteading pride and buy an urban homesteading t-shirt! I'll be adding designs as time goes on, so keep checking back and feel free to add suggestions for designs. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-60780390603513827272011-08-07T18:45:00.000-07:002011-08-07T18:45:03.604-07:00Cooked Zucchini BlossomsI decided to be adventurous today and cook up some zucchini blossoms. I've been hearing how delicious and gourmet they are for a long time, and now I know firsthand. Thanks to all of the kind folks on Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page for the advice on how to cook these. They're very easy to make: <br />
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First, pick male zucchini blossoms. These will be the blossoms growing highest on the plant on the longer stems. Be sure to leave one or two near a female blossom so they will continue to pollinate and produce zucchini. Remove the stamen from the blossom, (it's bitter), and rinse.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Next brush egg on blossoms and roll in corn meal. The first time I did this I brushed a bit too much egg on the blossoms and it drowned out the flavor, so be sure not to over do it with the egg.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Add a dash of salt, pepper and fresh garlic. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Fry them with olive oil on medium heat for around five minutes, turning when one side is crispy brown.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">The finished product! The blossoms have a very delicate spicy taste and are so good! I hear they can also be stuffed and fried which is my next cooking experiment. </div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-61485304664208108522011-08-01T13:44:00.000-07:002011-08-01T13:44:17.142-07:00Summer HarvestIt seems like we're finally harvesting most of the summer crops we planted months ago! I'm enjoying my daily lunch garden salad and dinners with fresh veggies from the garden. There are still a few crops we're waiting on: tomatoes, brussels sprouts, crooked neck squash and broccoli. Other than that our little garden is producing loads of fresh veggies! <br />
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Thanks to the greenhouse we have cucumbers this year!! So far we've harvested five, and I see more growing. Cukes are my all time favorite veggie, and I noticed that home grown ones are much sweeter than store bought. Ron explained to me that the sugars begin to break down once they're cut from the vine, so if you buy them at the store the sugar is minimal by the time you get it. Another great reason for growing your own veggies!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the first zucchini we harvested and promptly gave to one of our garden visitors. More are coming and it looks like we have a great crop this year! The crooked neck squash are well on their way as well. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">We put green bell peppers in the greenhouse and were elated when we saw them pop up. They're just about ready to harvest now, yum!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">We got quite the crop of red and white bulb onions this year. We're letting them dry out, and when the top bits are brown we'll cut off the excess and store them in our root cellar, aka outside shed. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Our proudest harvest by far is our garlic. We harvested 25 of these sweet lovelies, but have given 5 away because our garden guests rave about them. I think I need to tuck this basket away so we will actually get to eat some!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-uzFavz-A2D-fdkSBxsPRs_mJ6I_bcvTYYqUIHPFF3tI_3SPrCepbIlSqeTaEZyLo45Sv_mqRq5wvizsN5b7bRRSGutfD3joIxsAkHhnAIPmztK7e7JyOO_PQb1fJZPaXF8n0XGH5wo/s1600/271686_10150700583580062_811255061_19152144_5717197_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-uzFavz-A2D-fdkSBxsPRs_mJ6I_bcvTYYqUIHPFF3tI_3SPrCepbIlSqeTaEZyLo45Sv_mqRq5wvizsN5b7bRRSGutfD3joIxsAkHhnAIPmztK7e7JyOO_PQb1fJZPaXF8n0XGH5wo/s400/271686_10150700583580062_811255061_19152144_5717197_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My favorite besides the cucumbers is my sugar snap peas. We've been harvesting these daily now for about two months and they're just about done for the season. I put them in salads or dip them in ranch dressing, so good!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOxWdKASJ5_YvoSPAYc46GdstEpWYVzx7okx_DKhRoz9JBqgJ2FtzqLvYKMBjkGN96_AiAuF1a4B9_OkCRMFVHMpixvnchpwIaH_RO8q6ZOk2EYkZ2UEQW4XWncxivdtlYzeY_iTOE5U/s1600/263069_10150633879945062_811255061_18665117_3855722_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOxWdKASJ5_YvoSPAYc46GdstEpWYVzx7okx_DKhRoz9JBqgJ2FtzqLvYKMBjkGN96_AiAuF1a4B9_OkCRMFVHMpixvnchpwIaH_RO8q6ZOk2EYkZ2UEQW4XWncxivdtlYzeY_iTOE5U/s400/263069_10150633879945062_811255061_18665117_3855722_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">We planted twice the amount of carrots as last year because we love carrots and eat them on a daily basis. They're great in soups, salads, or just plain. So far the potato harvest seems to have done well. These purple potatoes are so yummy! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7eUfE0xRPwEhzLH9_ExH0GBfhDYoV3LGzq2r2r7rkyye9AJ8Jj-QjhIF459K659HIs9hAG66qp_TAAvDFJF0XZ8I4x6ZcLGM709UbLmaF82IbZK4VMp7O6fDzN4jHwwun71GqcYd8Fc/s1600/P1030425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7eUfE0xRPwEhzLH9_ExH0GBfhDYoV3LGzq2r2r7rkyye9AJ8Jj-QjhIF459K659HIs9hAG66qp_TAAvDFJF0XZ8I4x6ZcLGM709UbLmaF82IbZK4VMp7O6fDzN4jHwwun71GqcYd8Fc/s400/P1030425.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">My typical lunch salad: lettuce, carrots, peas, green onions, basil, cilantro, and cucumber.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiEVc9AbbntEQgRSCZzZjhrczzo1yR6uJFdloGPg_7A26xtJfcln4XhZB8Nh1vhjy_a1gl8QD7uOHuAhx9aWXTQmY4OKU5v-_3SLTGP9S2XxiKVyM4neRPn8nZaHqTrjgt9cm-LbAd5U/s1600/261852_10150695429100062_811255061_19107724_8252755_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiEVc9AbbntEQgRSCZzZjhrczzo1yR6uJFdloGPg_7A26xtJfcln4XhZB8Nh1vhjy_a1gl8QD7uOHuAhx9aWXTQmY4OKU5v-_3SLTGP9S2XxiKVyM4neRPn8nZaHqTrjgt9cm-LbAd5U/s400/261852_10150695429100062_811255061_19107724_8252755_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our cilantro is doing quite well this summer. We use it almost daily for salads, tacos, Thai dishes and more.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyv04H1yNVjj_TwDkWmaWstqVTJNEebzjOnNwO3PhSxk3a6ecdqtKyR0tgPR1x_SdgM2M5lbj2Of5IQDe2PlxWclqqon5r3WFgwoZYDSWbBu-aup4VCexVdlbp8idZmmV7j1RPeOokKw/s1600/263919_10150695428005062_811255061_19107703_2929634_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyv04H1yNVjj_TwDkWmaWstqVTJNEebzjOnNwO3PhSxk3a6ecdqtKyR0tgPR1x_SdgM2M5lbj2Of5IQDe2PlxWclqqon5r3WFgwoZYDSWbBu-aup4VCexVdlbp8idZmmV7j1RPeOokKw/s320/263919_10150695428005062_811255061_19107703_2929634_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We planted two huge bins of basil in the greenhouse and both were destroyed by an evil worm. This pot was left alone for some reason. You can't ever have enough basil!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jbBYWKgouT_ehl_gBvjqjI7uxks4wgWu9GaemCdUWoRSpKAmGEy0PzrG88Pw6jHKlJkAslQ97eEIgTNRaqZdcX0DwJqXfjedNDFirrRjCXeZn_x0W2Ic675VxseA642W2zNPRBk7OGk/s1600/P1030442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jbBYWKgouT_ehl_gBvjqjI7uxks4wgWu9GaemCdUWoRSpKAmGEy0PzrG88Pw6jHKlJkAslQ97eEIgTNRaqZdcX0DwJqXfjedNDFirrRjCXeZn_x0W2Ic675VxseA642W2zNPRBk7OGk/s400/P1030442.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our five blueberry bushes are actually producing berries in their first year. We got these plants small to cut costs and didn't expect for them to start producing this quickly, so it's been a pleasant surprise. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78i8b6MFedEoGwEYqWdPrNON8JsZBrSiZZqQOMOLUdV5DDgRCWuNTsx-fsl-xiwxOeKP-8mPy36u4_2GCPe0C-LXbH36g5XoCkrWOBn8NqyCdnoYn1HVA8ysB38RcKB2qYptsw1ah178/s1600/P1030487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78i8b6MFedEoGwEYqWdPrNON8JsZBrSiZZqQOMOLUdV5DDgRCWuNTsx-fsl-xiwxOeKP-8mPy36u4_2GCPe0C-LXbH36g5XoCkrWOBn8NqyCdnoYn1HVA8ysB38RcKB2qYptsw1ah178/s400/P1030487.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The only edible we have growing in our front yard is strawberries. These never make it into the house, and our little guy generally gets all of them. Next year we hope to devote a raised bed to them. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBe7eafS-ee4Q0LsoqQhpntihadD7MRKSyLeRFk4FYKDEW66J-m1Xcgk1ktyhjIm5SNTRoSrnUJjSU3CmtzBQrmr2HrlLx5d-qicvcaHFe_iK8pdcyNL1lQU9T-0FzxaNnxLLRv1RKzzg/s1600/P1030469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBe7eafS-ee4Q0LsoqQhpntihadD7MRKSyLeRFk4FYKDEW66J-m1Xcgk1ktyhjIm5SNTRoSrnUJjSU3CmtzBQrmr2HrlLx5d-qicvcaHFe_iK8pdcyNL1lQU9T-0FzxaNnxLLRv1RKzzg/s400/P1030469.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The green onions are doing well this season. I love the pretty little seed pods. We're also growing shallots which I didn't get a pic of, but they are so good, especially cooked. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrarWwM3u_6TyObHly8fFdr2_EQVCRwnMgvIsSBxMeSghaJFy4CCjjDyGjQk9nl0qOBee8On00Y32xZIiSugJL7CNwpLAwchTQkTLQoRETD2h5S-SuQeAjrZE554e30zQYe4fo5_2MnM/s1600/P1030459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrarWwM3u_6TyObHly8fFdr2_EQVCRwnMgvIsSBxMeSghaJFy4CCjjDyGjQk9nl0qOBee8On00Y32xZIiSugJL7CNwpLAwchTQkTLQoRETD2h5S-SuQeAjrZE554e30zQYe4fo5_2MnM/s400/P1030459.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The tomatoes are growing like weeds in our greenhouse and are just about ready to harvest. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFsID7OJUv2w1cJp16w3fX5HHGVa417jV0jmh49_jATmHneycU7f86ojDBiinGMT4wJhJFFGsxYAVkEzGngZcHHPtLD16Ya5_soJJlY2dDhplyc63KG65y-j_T7lt0WW02BAz2F2vJLw/s1600/P1030463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFsID7OJUv2w1cJp16w3fX5HHGVa417jV0jmh49_jATmHneycU7f86ojDBiinGMT4wJhJFFGsxYAVkEzGngZcHHPtLD16Ya5_soJJlY2dDhplyc63KG65y-j_T7lt0WW02BAz2F2vJLw/s400/P1030463.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">See what I mean? </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So what are you harvesting how?</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-23303280508000385722011-07-19T17:36:00.000-07:002011-07-19T17:36:37.520-07:00The New Sustainable LifestyleI've been pondering this urban homesteading lifestyle lately and have come to the conclusion that once you plant veggies in your yard you begin re-thinking different aspects of your life. Well, that's been my experience anyway! I think I came to some sort of a cathartic moment the other day when I was doing planning for the fall when the kids go back to school. I had been working out at a gym in the spring before the kids got out of school and during the three hours or so while my little guy was in pre-school I would dash off to my gym, get my work out in, eat lunch and pick him up. So I was pondering which gym I should join this fall, since I wasn't super happy with the last one I had a membership with honestly. Then it hit me - why should I be paying a company for my work out? I mean seriously, how ridiculous is it that I should have to pay someone for exercise? Yeah, I know it's convenient and makes the work out fun, but why spend fifty bucks per month, (at least), to work out? I mean there are plenty of other ways I can exercise this body than working out at a gym. I have a Wii fit, I can walk, I can get some weights and use them at home, I can get a work out video, and the list goes on. <br />
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Then that train of thought led me to thinking further about this consumerism society and all of the "must haves" we have been brainwashed into. Society tells us what to eat: processed foods, junk food, and sugar. Society tells us what we should buy: that new car, the dream home, the gym membership, designer clothing and the list goes on. I'm not saying that all of these things are bad; I'm simply making the point that this lifestyle we're being sold, this "American Dream" is making us sick, burning us out, and making us broke in the process. Drying clothes on the line until recently would have been considered "back woods", at least in California anyway. But now, there is a huge growing movement that is working hard to lower energy and live a sustainable lifestyle. <br />
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I've been scrutinizing my own lifestyle and have come up with some big changes recently. I have a long ways to go to reach what I feel is a fully sustainable green lifestyle, but each small change will get me closer to my goal. I'm not going to become a hippy living up in the hills off the grid, but I am going to do my best to live a sustainable lifestyle and respect the planet and my body. I'm amazed how many activities in my life cost, and how I can save money by doing them myself, or coming up with creative solutions. Here are some of the changes I'm making in my life and the reasons I've made these decisions:<br />
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Growing a garden: Sustainable living, cheap pesticide free veggies, health reasons<br />
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Cutting out sugars and processed foods: They make me sick, they will shorten my life span, they will ultimately kill me. <br />
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Cooking from scratch: I can control the ingredients that go into my food, it's easier on the budget, it's healthier.<br />
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Working out on my own: It saves money, it saves gas because I'll be working out at home.<br />
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Buying clothing and goods second hand: It's cheaper, I don't want to put my money toward companies that aren't fair trade, it's recycling at its best. This can be challenging with kids, since they always want the new name brand clothes. I'm still trying to figure out the balance on this one.<br />
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Buying Fair Trade: Chocolate companies are mostly non fair trade and many of the cocoa plantations use children as slaves. This is a fact, and the only way you can be sure your chocolate is fair trade is to buy chocolate with the fair trade label. There are many other goods such as clothing that aren't fair trade. I plan to do a post on this issue, so be keeping an eye out for it.<br />
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Recycling: We recycle all plastics, glass, and paper products. I'm trying to reduce the amount of plastics we use, since they are full of toxins that cause diseases. <br />
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Car Pooling & Taking Public Transit: We're reducing the amount of gas we use by taking the bus and car pooling. Our gas bill a few months back was $500 per month, now it's down to about $200. <br />
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Trading services or getting recycled items free: You would be amazed how many people are willing to trade services. We've gotten our cars fixed in trade for garden advise and work, I've traded my art for art or other services, and most of the structures on our homestead, (i.e. greenhouse, chicken coop, etc.) were re-purposed from friends. <br />
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Limiting TV and computer time: This is by far our biggest challenge. I have the good excuse of researching how to live a sustainable life via the computer, but eventually I hope to limit my time once I have this whole thing a bit more figured out! I'm working on keeping the kids active outside and in the garden instead of watching TV and playing computer games. I have them involved in sports which helps a lot, but I've had to set limits for screen time. The American Society of Pediatrics says no more than 2 hours per day, which I feel is still too much! (Again, I'm questioning everything the medical system tells me.)<br />
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Natural Cleaners and Make-Up Products: I just recently realized that we aren't as green in this department as we should be. I switched over to natural cleaning products and detergents a while back which surprisingly aren't more expensive than the conventional kind. <br />
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Cloth napkins and towels: We used to use a boat load of paper towels and napkins. I did some second hand shopping and found some cute vintage napkins, and we requested kitchen towels for Christmas one year so we've got a great supply. <br />
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Energy conservation: We had the PG&E folks come out for an energy audit of our home and we scored high, so there's not much more we can do to cut back on our energy bill. We use the compact fluorescent bulbs and restrict our furnace use in the winter. We'd love to get a wood burning stove eventually. This summer one of our projects is to put in a clothes line. <br />
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So what are you doing to live a more sustainable affordable eco friendly lifestyle? If you have more to add to my list I'd appreciate the tips!April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-63403924410428078602011-07-16T13:46:00.000-07:002011-07-16T13:46:10.561-07:00Julie Bass aka "Veggie Criminal" now "Bad Dog Owner"In case you haven't heard the story, a woman named Julie Bass was given a misdemeanor for growing vegetables in her front yard in Oak Park Michigan. Yes, you heard that right - growing vegetables in this town is a crime. It's a long story, and Julie tells it quite well here in her blog <a href="http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/">Oak Park Hates Veggies</a>. Her story went viral on the internet and she was on MSN, CNN, and other news stations across the country. She was also written up in Treehugger, Grist, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and her article was front page on the Drudge Report. My Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page did a massive letter writing campaign to the city of Oak Park, and spread the word around fb about Oak Park's actions. I honestly believe we made a difference in this case, and I'm proud of us as a community for taking action and effecting change.<br />
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A day or so ago Oak Park dropped the charges against her, which is good news, but her battle isn't over officially yet. The city can pick up the charges against her at any time because the case wasn't legally settled. So, they have her on a string still and they aren't letting the poor woman rest which is just wrong on so many levels. The word tyrannical comes to mind, among others not suited for a polite audience. The city didn't officially inform her that they had dropped the charges about the veggie garden by the way, which is very weird. She found out in a round about way, and then they brought up an old issue - licencing her dogs. Apparently the licenses had lapsed, so she had to go in and pay for them for her two dogs, plus the late fee which she did a while ago. She thought the issue had been settled, and even double checked about it, but no. Now she's being asked to appear in court for dog licences, (on the same day she would have showed up for the veggie charges),which she ALREADY PAID. I don't usually use caps, but this is outrageous!!! I feel the city is now harassing her because of the bad press they got over the veggie issue. I sure as heck hope she brings her lawyer with her to court because I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the city tries to pull something. Luckily the mayoral elections are coming up soon, and the person running against the current mayor is totally in support of Julie, and I SO hope she wins!!<br />
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So, that's the update on Julie Bass. I spoke to her on the phone this past week and I was so very impressed with the woman. She is just down to earth and real as I mentioned in my last post. The woman wants to live her life in peace with her husband and 6 kids, 2 dogs and front yard veggie garden. Aren't there real criminals out there the city should be spending their time on? Seriously!!! <br />
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It appears Julie isn't the only one out there being harassed by the city for vegetables. The same week her story came out another one from Canada emerged. Dirk Becker of Lantzville B.C. is facing 6 months in jail for guess what? You got it, growing veggies! He turned a gravel pit into a veggie farm and sells his produce at a local farmer's market, but laws in this town don't allow for veggie growing, no siree. A <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/save-compassion-farm-2">petition</a> has been started for him, and people are spreading the word on fb and the net about his plight. I fear more stories like Julie and Dirk's are going to be emerging in the future, and I'm working on several fronts lately to raise awareness and make the government aware of this issue. I have a feeling it's going to be a long term fight, with no short term solutions unfortunately.April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-67436341330095111792011-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:002011-07-14T14:24:18.405-07:00I have 200 followers!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I just had to do a celebratory post because I now have 200 blog followers! Thanks so much to all of my faithful readers. I'm working on a cool crafty garden item handmade by yours truly I can post here for a free drawing. So be looking for it, and until then happy urban homesteading!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Image from Treehugger.com)</span>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-36991180795429183332011-07-13T20:19:00.000-07:002011-07-13T20:49:34.470-07:00Vision, Identity, and FaithOnce upon a time there was a stay at home urban homesteading mom of two who dreamed of living an idealistic life on her .15 acre in the city. She envisioned raising chickens and harvesting fresh veggies from her garden daily, then she would blog about it via her cool eco-groovy mama urban homesteading blog:<br />
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One day she heard about the trademarking of the terms "urban homestead"and "urban homesteading", and her dream was interrupted. The rest is history my friends. My idealistic image of being like <a href="http://www.soulemama.com/">Amanda Soule</a>, crafty super mama hero of all crafters, disappeared into a fog of legal speak and a rapidly growing, and very wonderful <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518">urban homesteading facebook page.</a> Things took a turn shall we say, a major shift in direction, and I became the leader of a fast moving grassroots urban homesteading community almost over night. It's been an exceptional ride, and I wouldn't change a moment of it, but lately I've become introspective and have been questioning who I am in all of this. <br />
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The questioning started when an interviewer asked me, "What is your life plan?" Ummm.....life plan, what is that anyway? That got me thinking about what my "plan" is, and truth be told I have none. My vision up until this point has been to continue being a stay at home mom, growing my sewing and designing business, which I'm still doing slowly but surely when I'm not on facebook fighting the latest battle. Honestly though, I'm just taking life as it comes and living in the present, following my heart, and trying to take the community I'm leading in the right direction in the mean time. I'm sorting through the multitude of directions that are opening up to me, and that others are presenting me with. Everyone has ideas, really great ideas, but if I were to implement every single idea presented to me I would lose vision, lose focus, and ultimately not get a darned thing done. I get phone calls, e-mails, requests, etc. and for the first time in my life I have to sit back and evaluate each possible direction carefully before taking action. There have been times when the direction I've gone has back fired, (and I've got the hate mail and letters to the editor to prove it!) But, I've learned to get back up, shake the dust off, and continue on without dwelling on the past. <br />
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Lately I've been asking myself another question, "Who am I in the midst of all of this anyway?" Writer? Activist? Leader? At first I tried to fit into the mold of blogger as my main identity. I tried, and there were days where I almost believed I could be an amazing one post a day urban homesteader blogger who would wow the crowds like Erica Strauss of <a href="http://www.nwedible.com/">Northwest Edible Life</a>. That woman can write like no other urban homesteading mama I've seen out there, seriously. Just read one post and you'll see what I mean! Then there's Deanna Duke of <a href="http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/">Crunchy Chicken</a>. She's another one I just can't hold a candle to, sigh. Eco groovy chicken lovin' writer extraordinaire, that's what she is! There are others out there who get all down into the psychology of homesteading and house holding and house this and that...I've lost track of all of the terms, I just can't keep up anymore. <a href="http://www.portlandpreserve.com/">Harriet Fasenfest</a>, (amazing writer and woman in general), is one of them, as is <a href="http://apronstringz.wordpress.com/">Calamity Jane</a> of Apron Stringz. Just reading what that woman does on a daily basis makes my head spin. Really? She does all of that, really? Wow, just wow. Talk about giving someone an inferiority complex! Then there are the super hero gardening sorts like Rachel Hoff of <a href="http://www.dogislandfarm.com/">Dog Island Farm</a>. She's doing the "year without groceries challenge" and I just stand in awe of that kind of commitment. There's lots more of the super hero gardener types, so please forgive me if I skipped over you! But I love them all, they are truly wonderful and talented women....just not me. <br />
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Enter Julie Bass, of <a href="http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/">Oakparkhatesveggies</a> - the gardening hero who has been all over the media for the audacious crime of growing veggies, (NO!), <i>in her front yard in raised beds </i>in Oak Park Michigan! <i> </i>I first heard about her veggie "crime" via the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) page. Within a day of posting her story on the main TBUH feed Treehugger and Grist had articles up about her, and within a few more days her story had gone viral. Then I checked her blog out, and I was sold. This was a woman I could relate to, a woman I could hang my hat on. Her tone resonated with me and I get her, or at least I think I do. She's totally down to earth and human, but don't let that sweet voice deceive you - she's got got an iron fist under the velvet glove. There will be no backing down until she gets what is rightfully hers let me tell you. I guess I see a bit of myself in her and the more I think about it the more I see that I'm an activist at heart. I sit down to write a blog, and I have a hard time finishing it because I'm too busy looking through news feeds, or blog posts to see what's happening. I look for people to help, causes to fight, and although I wasn't initially looking for a cause when the urban homesteaders united, I do now. I know the power of a unified voice, of people standing up in unison and refusing to accept the status quo. <br />
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I have faith that I can make a difference in this world somehow. I believe that my position in the urban homesteading community was more than simply fate. I don't speak much about my personal faith beliefs publicly, because honestly I hate the idea of anyone feeling I'm shoving my <strike>religion</strike> faith down their throats. Deep breath...I quit church a few years back because I was done with other people telling me what God's plan for my life was, so <i>very</i> done. I'm still sorting through all of that and trying to figure out what my faith means, how to implement it, and where to go from here. (Did you hear that God?) The past few months I've come to realize that the planet and nature itself are more important to God, (yes, I believe He (they) exist), than I ever knew before. I don't think any of my life happens by accident, and I think God puts people in places at specific times for specific reasons. (Disclaimer: I'm not saying you must believe this. I'm not saying if you don't believe this you will go to hell. I'm not accusing or judging you in any way.) This is what I believe at my core, and if I'm going to stay true to myself I need to follow my own path, and this is it. <br />
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So, to conclude, thank you Julie Bass, Erica Strauss, Harriet Fasenfest, and the rest of you wonderful, talented and intelligent women for helping me figure out who I am in all of this. We're in this together, so keep writing, blogging, house holding, and I'll be right beside you fighting the fight.April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-50727252416292196812011-07-11T21:32:00.000-07:002011-07-11T21:32:51.920-07:00Monday's View of the GardenWe've been cleaning and sprucing up the garden for a few months now, and it's finally looking really good I'm proud to say! Harvest time is here and what isn't ripe is getting very close. My big project this past weekend was painting the shed which was in desperate need of a paint job. Remember this old grey thing from the photo garden tour? Much improved don't ya think?! I used left over interior paint which just happens to be very close to the house color, and we hung this vintage wooden red window on the side of the shed we got off Craig's List a while back. It just happens to be reddish like our house trim color. The red couch cushions and pillows were bought on sale at Target. I love it when everything ends up color coordinated without much effort. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWt1kKM791lnJYu349gkZ3rggs8hp3BOplpNeve1OtIcy11oUKqH89W762DTQz4bH53Zzsi_ICNOYZhY-lQKEutfBkfUHtYH7OHFx8mdvNSufhayddUl5av4eaX7Uy9OSaG3H6bRBKGc/s1600/P1030289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWt1kKM791lnJYu349gkZ3rggs8hp3BOplpNeve1OtIcy11oUKqH89W762DTQz4bH53Zzsi_ICNOYZhY-lQKEutfBkfUHtYH7OHFx8mdvNSufhayddUl5av4eaX7Uy9OSaG3H6bRBKGc/s400/P1030289.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The tomatoes are exploding with blooms in the greenhouse!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">We'll have red tomatoes this year! Greenhouses are a must where we live on the North California Coast if you want a large tomato crop. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Head enjoying the afternoon view.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Garlic harvest. To preserve these yummies we'll soak them in olive oil and freeze. Home grown garlic for months!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">We took down the cat nip plant for the kitties and they ate a LOT. First they get wild, then they get tired, then last, they get feisty. Last I saw Derby, (above), he was passed out on the lawn. Good times.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">What's been going on in your urban homestead lately? What's growing? What projects are you working on?</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-72099518383363290582011-07-08T19:20:00.000-07:002011-07-08T19:22:33.618-07:00Vegetable Growing Criminal?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I took a break outside and enjoyed my beautiful backyard for a moment on a lovely Northcoast day a few hours ago. I can sit out there for hours and enjoy the many fruits of our labors: Overflowing veggie beds, trees we planted with our own hands, a beautiful greenhouse and more. If I had this on my front yard in Oak Park Michigan I could go to jail...seriously. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh01Ydym_miWOyySsqsubQnWvrh4NLnxS8gxZLfiNsCl-1rYuQedZlMYanKKZa63uzYAt1rYV25mBdvb88NSy5jfS326CyNvT1-traCf5yZ4MWqbukFWfvuzmDHdsntqJWNxJbHlSq1Q/s1600/P1030247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh01Ydym_miWOyySsqsubQnWvrh4NLnxS8gxZLfiNsCl-1rYuQedZlMYanKKZa63uzYAt1rYV25mBdvb88NSy5jfS326CyNvT1-traCf5yZ4MWqbukFWfvuzmDHdsntqJWNxJbHlSq1Q/s640/P1030247.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few years ago we didn't have all of this to enjoy because we rented and our only real yard was our front yard which was off limits for gardening for the most part. We wanted to plant a garden in the yard, but our landlords forbid us from doing so. Their reason? It wouldn't look good, in their opinion. So we planted things around the entire perimeter of the yard, some things grew in pots, and when we moved we uprooted the entire garden, moved it here, and then re-seeded the yard with grass. Now we have people asking us to give them garden tours, asking us how to make raised beds and grow veggies, and I am the admin for a large growing <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518">urban homesteading page</a> that has turned into a powerful grassroots movement. Take that "don't plant a garden on your front lawn" land lords!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few days ago I heard about a woman named <a href="http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/">Julie Bass</a> who lives in Oak Park Michigan. She was cited and eventually charged with a misdemeanor for growing vegetables on her front lawn. Her story struck a cord in me because the reason she was given for not being allowed to have a front yard garden was much the same as the reason we were given a few years back. She was told that her vegetation was not "suitable" by the city planner, who went on to say that suitable meant "common" from Webster's Dictionary. I looked up the definitions for myself, and found that his definition is inaccurate. The definition for suitable has 3 meanings: 1.) similar, 2.) proper 3.) satisfying<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> propriety. Now the city planner is claiming he used the legal definition for suitable, which is completely different from the Webster's definition. But he was recorded saying he used Webster's on camera, so there is no way he can back out of that one. Julie's story is all over the internet and was picked up this week by <a href="http://www.grist.org/list/2011-07-08-michigan-woman-could-face-jail-time-for-growing-a-garden">Grist</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/julie-bass-may-face-jail-time-for-planting-vegetables/2011/07/08/gIQAZZOv3">Washington Post</a>, <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/michigan_woman_faces_jail_planting_veggie_garden.php">Treehugger</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/woman-jailed-for-vegetable-garden_n_893516.html">Huffington Post</a>, and then the big hitter <a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/">Drudge Report</a> where the story was sandwiched between a picture of the space shuttle launch and Prince William and Kate for much of the day. How's that for press coverage?! The petition for Julie is now up to <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oak-park-hates-veggies/">4,400</a> signatures in just a few days, and the urban homesteading activists have only just begun. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">As I sat out on my garden bench the famous quote by Thomas Jefferson came to mind, "If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." Is this what it's come to America: The government dictating what foods we eat? Honestly, I doubt that the Bass family of 8 could even afford organic vegetables, I know that my family of 4 certainly can't! So the city of Oak Park is dictating that Julie and her family won't be able to eat organic vegetables ultimately, is it not? Julie asked specifically if the city codes prohibited growing vegetables. The city planner's response? "I don't know." He never gave a definitive answer either way, and now he's attempting to manipulate language and definitions to suit his purposes. What has this country come to if a family isn't allowed to grow their own vegetables, seriously? Just because her yard doesn't look exactly like the other yards in her neighborhood she was given and misdemeanor and could spend 93 days in prison. I've read that the city of Oak Park is having financial issues, and honestly it sounds to me like they're trying to make a buck off of Julie. It's a sorry situation in more ways that one, and I feel at this point they should throw in the trowel, I mean towel and let Julie feed her family in these tough economic times. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">So what do you think? Should Julie be allowed to grow veggies in her front yard? </span></span><br />
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</h1>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-20338274340710947042011-07-07T18:02:00.000-07:002011-07-07T18:16:51.886-07:00In Oak Park Michigan it is Illegal to Grow Veggies in your Front Yard, Seriously<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">You read that right, it is apparently illegal to grow veggies in raised beds in the town of Oak Park Michigan. Julie Bass, mother of 6 and upstanding citizen has been given several citations from the city because she is growing veggies (gasp!), on her front lawn. Apparently she is high on the list because she received her citation early in the day, and the city official claimed to be busy, wow. I honestly thought I'd never see the day! Vegetables, such violent creatures by nature don't you know?! You would think that this city would have better things to do than fighting "vegetable crime!" </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">So, as usual the Take Back page is jumping on the band wagon and writing letters, blogging and letting the world know all about this story. I posted a letter writing action day and we have almost 140 people writing letters to the city planner and city council members. I posted a petition for Julie and saw it climb from 22 to almost 500 today! I feel like we're making a difference as a community and I'm very proud! </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Here is the letter I e-mailed to the city of Oak Park:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Dear Sirs,</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Recently I heard about a woman in your town named Julie Bass</span><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"> who has been given several court summons by your city over the "crime" of growing vegetables in her front yard. I am the creator and admin for the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) facebook page, which consists of nearly eight thousand urban homesteaders, most of which grow and harvest vegetables in their own yards. </span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Urban homesteading is becoming increasingly common during these difficult times when families like myself are struggling to make ends meet. Many are hanging on by a string financially and having access to their own free produce on their land makes a huge difference both nutritionally and financially. My family lives on .15 of an acre in Eureka, Northern California. We have 10 raised beds full of veggies on our property which we eat from daily. We are a family of 4, with only one working parent, living in a very expensive area of California. The prices of gas, food, and goods have all increased exponentially in the past few years, and families like ours are finding it increasingly difficult to support ourselves. Fresh produce is very expensive, and organic pesticide free produce is even more expensive and completely out of our budget at this point. Growing our own vegetables gives us the opportunity to eat healthy nutritious greens, whereas we wouldn't be able to have access to them otherwise.</span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">I have researched Julie Bass' story extensively, and it appears that she was cited for not having "suitable" vegetation in her front yard. The statement made by you, Mr. Rolkowsky was as follows, </span><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">"If you look at the definition of what suitable i</span><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">s in Webster's dictionary, it will say common. So, if you look around and you look in any other community, what's common to a front yard is a nice, grass yard with beautiful trees and bushes </span></span></span><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">and flowers." I researched the definition of "suitable" in Webster's dictionary and found the following definitions: 1.) similar, matching, 2.) proper 3.) satisfying propriety, 4.) able, qualified. Nowhere in these definitions do I see the word "common." Ask any horticulturist and they will tell you that kale and ornamental kale are very similar, however one is edible and the other is not. Is it not true that all vegetation is related genetically? It is obvious that you are splitting hairs in regards to your definition of suitable in this instance in order to drive your point home. Just because Julie's garden doesn't satisfy propriety in your eyes doesn't mean it is in any way an eye sore to her neighborhood. </span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">Julie and her family of <strike>6</strike> 8 are law abiding citizens who are simply attempting to grow their own food in a creative and innovative way as are thousands of people across the nation. She doesn't have unsightly garbage, un-registered cars, an unattractive unkempt home, or anything unattractive or illegal on her property. Her front yard raised veggie beds are some of the most attractive I personally have seen. Yes, this is an exception to your norm, but it doesn't make it unattractive, just different and foreign to you. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">Myself and the community at Take Back Urban-Homesteading fully support Julie's actions. Our group consists of hundreds of bloggers, writers and urban homesteading activists who are writing, blogging, and spreading her story on the internet and the media at large. We won't refrain from actively supporting and educating the public about your actions until she is allowed to grow vegetables in her front yard. As a fellow urban homesteader and mother I ask you to please reconsider your position. Please put yourself in her shoes and ask yourself the question: If I were a mother of <strike>4</strike> 6 living on a tight budget would I put a raised bed garden on my front lawn to help feed my family? </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">Regards, </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">April Alexander</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;">creator and admin of Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518" style="color: #0068cf; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518</a><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="ecxtext_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 17px;"> </span></span></span></div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-91089728091316128682011-07-05T01:14:00.000-07:002011-08-01T12:37:25.049-07:00Urban Homestead Photo Tour - Part 3, Back Yard, Veggie Garden and GreenhouseLast but not least, here is the very back part of our .15 of an acre dedicated to the raised veggie beds and greenhouse. It is also home to our bunny, Charcoal, and a few other fruit trees. This is the most usable space we have on the property and we're planning to add more raised beds and another smaller greenhouse in time. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO0W2n-iNqqMhC37jJ9Z9SVq75Wn5I9U2Xl_0ZY-ZOy26DR-W4Ic0zsZI-CSKjTou4jjzxhFO649O0eSQgj9VYtXMsyAui5EiyM0Ec5NYhpAP8UMFsbWqAj9hR-0PAWrjmppAOnKyTJ8/s1600/P1030103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO0W2n-iNqqMhC37jJ9Z9SVq75Wn5I9U2Xl_0ZY-ZOy26DR-W4Ic0zsZI-CSKjTou4jjzxhFO649O0eSQgj9VYtXMsyAui5EiyM0Ec5NYhpAP8UMFsbWqAj9hR-0PAWrjmppAOnKyTJ8/s400/P1030103.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our arbor leading into this part of the garden was made by Ron from Willow branches. I got the cute animal garden flags at our local Co-Op, and if you're interested in where to buy them I can post the website for the company.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzol4XNytSMIqhthspfdT3ljorS8v5-jZA3odfdbSB3WlyXOwTtBQNEUIDB7XIzf9a4EbTL9eO8-L73l7m8iNrUJurLqLWyWWRc_Y3voaUpcGts7NBWT2_hSuAx54EAS70Jiyp9erlhw/s1600/P1030105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzol4XNytSMIqhthspfdT3ljorS8v5-jZA3odfdbSB3WlyXOwTtBQNEUIDB7XIzf9a4EbTL9eO8-L73l7m8iNrUJurLqLWyWWRc_Y3voaUpcGts7NBWT2_hSuAx54EAS70Jiyp9erlhw/s400/P1030105.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">View from the arbor looking toward the greenhouse and raised beds. My next creative garden project is going to be painting and doing a mosaic on the garden shed you can see on the back right of the picture. Ron plants and builds and I paint and create!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpIFPhvY9zj9KWtuqrMnny4Ka32EOEBNlFh9CPC3q4H4lOfXvXyAj99-69el9-f8qyBAL7H43ofcJAZ2AX9RZN6wwOpdq49Ma2gvutCm9WvhB_M5ODolKJsNQjYTHkySj1v3OhhQ4D08/s1600/253725_10150636924245062_811255061_18707190_5342158_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpIFPhvY9zj9KWtuqrMnny4Ka32EOEBNlFh9CPC3q4H4lOfXvXyAj99-69el9-f8qyBAL7H43ofcJAZ2AX9RZN6wwOpdq49Ma2gvutCm9WvhB_M5ODolKJsNQjYTHkySj1v3OhhQ4D08/s400/253725_10150636924245062_811255061_18707190_5342158_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We currently have about 10 active raised beds. We added two large beds for raspberries for next year and another for grapes. Once the garden was cleaned up this year we realized we have room to add two more large raised beds in the front to maximize space.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiD2P1Y5QGnjCs1WLD7svSD1kDUCEg3yWMzh-AGbihevwiljI0Mm9y1l511OlANyYpJMr3WZjPlU6KDckZV9WSslzs8Ot2PipMviMEnSsgE2rrPsdjfKGwInCuCQ4w-VnvywZRqpxcUA/s1600/254389_10150636908875062_811255061_18706934_1083920_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiD2P1Y5QGnjCs1WLD7svSD1kDUCEg3yWMzh-AGbihevwiljI0Mm9y1l511OlANyYpJMr3WZjPlU6KDckZV9WSslzs8Ot2PipMviMEnSsgE2rrPsdjfKGwInCuCQ4w-VnvywZRqpxcUA/s400/254389_10150636908875062_811255061_18706934_1083920_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
View from the back of the garden.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZxXRRBENRFDym1iXQOKS19razi71XC0hR6pU1KxjRzGJRdOepLhN4boPTfMTP-UARZ8bn4BtzsSoRNBXYGBJi5TfQPfma29T4AcYFbcn-ELy0ABDoJueMirUfadKMr0yJeVqKgXHFI4/s1600/263053_10150673619030062_811255061_18808950_554714_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZxXRRBENRFDym1iXQOKS19razi71XC0hR6pU1KxjRzGJRdOepLhN4boPTfMTP-UARZ8bn4BtzsSoRNBXYGBJi5TfQPfma29T4AcYFbcn-ELy0ABDoJueMirUfadKMr0yJeVqKgXHFI4/s400/263053_10150673619030062_811255061_18808950_554714_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
View from the left side of the garden facing the greenhouse.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdKHwlrqf8siq9R3QQyjNgQHJJ5AnyXG9gXeS-CgVx_4WV6ksy8P3ZuV9MCOX1z-Ac4jPT-O3Cv9skB4YAFaDNr6nB3pfZZBhmZbXcpfZ7vuattwSI8cTGVC-bfpJzF24g16fXDFWSX4/s1600/P1030106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdKHwlrqf8siq9R3QQyjNgQHJJ5AnyXG9gXeS-CgVx_4WV6ksy8P3ZuV9MCOX1z-Ac4jPT-O3Cv9skB4YAFaDNr6nB3pfZZBhmZbXcpfZ7vuattwSI8cTGVC-bfpJzF24g16fXDFWSX4/s400/P1030106.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">To the left we have a Santa Rosa Plum and beds we're prepping for Raspberry plants. Charcoal the bunny's cage is in the background. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxPHkoXAtQMJvcbcObc1g0-v8M8WTGZ_2_BSjpfGPabK_0pbCw4sTUuEcuOuGxQ-uFRSY7yVvy3P_JwPyHrbHy8hrDyPeNQsGQiVlqNsAo_U0NbsTY2PvjmD1k92bzLwP9I5LAt-6NCU/s1600/P1030107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxPHkoXAtQMJvcbcObc1g0-v8M8WTGZ_2_BSjpfGPabK_0pbCw4sTUuEcuOuGxQ-uFRSY7yVvy3P_JwPyHrbHy8hrDyPeNQsGQiVlqNsAo_U0NbsTY2PvjmD1k92bzLwP9I5LAt-6NCU/s400/P1030107.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is our squash raised bed with Zucchini, Cucumbers and Crookneck Squash. The tepee climbing pole is made from bamboo. Ron is going to do a demo guest post for me on these soon - can't wait!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPuH3uv6r-lbdg6Bvk3IMro9U91mLVNEv8wFuWgGJU9MXyq4hxHzkhIV5VX1PzPr64b9XJ6zexzZ8fnjEEJRzJhcfkU3T4x0VlX6MVvUBiyhKdAZbmEXvV8Tiw5JHEOfFwI4omZ4r3tg/s1600/P1030108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPuH3uv6r-lbdg6Bvk3IMro9U91mLVNEv8wFuWgGJU9MXyq4hxHzkhIV5VX1PzPr64b9XJ6zexzZ8fnjEEJRzJhcfkU3T4x0VlX6MVvUBiyhKdAZbmEXvV8Tiw5JHEOfFwI4omZ4r3tg/s400/P1030108.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Trellis Ron just made out of re-purposed redwood. We plan to grow native grapes on it next season. The raised beds to the left is where the grapes will be planted. Our fresh garlic harvest is drying over there currently. Does that shed need a face lift or what? Oy vey!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt6l39Cc44ts-ThugyQDhgKu9JzaBplcVEsTK47BJivorlyH3za0MiCr2ap_aUDH2p4KeS6jAFQAZkIWe2AMJ630oeeQafoZ4pjb-jQCWCdmq3Muxafv_eHa4U4Zq_f9sMo5hyThpeFQ/s1600/P1030150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt6l39Cc44ts-ThugyQDhgKu9JzaBplcVEsTK47BJivorlyH3za0MiCr2ap_aUDH2p4KeS6jAFQAZkIWe2AMJ630oeeQafoZ4pjb-jQCWCdmq3Muxafv_eHa4U4Zq_f9sMo5hyThpeFQ/s400/P1030150.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The garlic harvest! After much research we found out that the best way to preserve garlic is to freeze it. So, we'll be having a garlic freezing party soon.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-U2e_dV-CHL9sZK9g2k91YztVq5jrx6idkIvN-8PMcZGiBwzPqrby_GOeq7CJaHg58BSvCGW2rx2qqDoE-ouxA4BuHAUv3RByO-962KV-C3sLBxoOllEclsOBP15X32j-Gr3zUi0PBA/s1600/P1030133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-U2e_dV-CHL9sZK9g2k91YztVq5jrx6idkIvN-8PMcZGiBwzPqrby_GOeq7CJaHg58BSvCGW2rx2qqDoE-ouxA4BuHAUv3RByO-962KV-C3sLBxoOllEclsOBP15X32j-Gr3zUi0PBA/s400/P1030133.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our one and only fig tree, a Desert King. It produced some fruit last year, but they didn't mature. Hopefully we'll get some kind of harvest from this tree someday soon!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwxr4URkHrjiZgiVdaJ_QZyT1c7GFnbuAEiP7ljJraQuRoosfdoqRGmNQXrpVPHcbqb7Ct3rHillvLvDkSzPlObxCrxNlsa0xhw_MTMu4uhcZu0WdPssFKacVmWr4ovtmAti4vi1WaFY/s1600/P1030111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwxr4URkHrjiZgiVdaJ_QZyT1c7GFnbuAEiP7ljJraQuRoosfdoqRGmNQXrpVPHcbqb7Ct3rHillvLvDkSzPlObxCrxNlsa0xhw_MTMu4uhcZu0WdPssFKacVmWr4ovtmAti4vi1WaFY/s400/P1030111.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our berry bushes - 5 Blueberry bushes and 2 Raspberries, and more to come. The Raspberries are still in pots because their raised bed isn't finished. We also have ornamental kale planted in this bed. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYI_kguUiFFEoLwXXHcki3o1gqVeXEOgFg4pqOaf6hn4xODLknxJgg5hTpxXHPs8uNQv7A9Ncu2TeyI-SrXU5DR2vqWstOP86ib-kfXrv8wKHL7RMUUEqi7qRSyaPv95FB0m-zB3Q7D_M/s1600/P1030112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYI_kguUiFFEoLwXXHcki3o1gqVeXEOgFg4pqOaf6hn4xODLknxJgg5hTpxXHPs8uNQv7A9Ncu2TeyI-SrXU5DR2vqWstOP86ib-kfXrv8wKHL7RMUUEqi7qRSyaPv95FB0m-zB3Q7D_M/s400/P1030112.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We get a few ripe berries every day, yummy!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYLjWh4Sw5ICrmJLb_MQTulXITtIh1iCOT730YJAV6CdRIAJBK_abq7gI5V7LbK5CITTkSvEMmTNWw1gzA8asQNzFAxTs1Y4XkCcsjSFNL5KQKA0bNaRAXdYgvXR5-5lR0NP7Baj26io/s1600/P1030113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYLjWh4Sw5ICrmJLb_MQTulXITtIh1iCOT730YJAV6CdRIAJBK_abq7gI5V7LbK5CITTkSvEMmTNWw1gzA8asQNzFAxTs1Y4XkCcsjSFNL5KQKA0bNaRAXdYgvXR5-5lR0NP7Baj26io/s400/P1030113.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sugar Snap Peas' raised bed. My favorite thing grown in the garden! There is nothing like eating these sweet peas right off the vine.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E99ofeDlCupHIq_0VdBIh1Dto0MlolaLoa93UrsZZ5_r6lKiMUWrJefLaTtM1MOG6Kb1miDhKjlNiXCscT6vANL5yXdQwEN1ujoPJ2jUqiKUlDrBLYD4u5ryrCmVTTCkp9BLrLrIEAU/s1600/P1030114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3E99ofeDlCupHIq_0VdBIh1Dto0MlolaLoa93UrsZZ5_r6lKiMUWrJefLaTtM1MOG6Kb1miDhKjlNiXCscT6vANL5yXdQwEN1ujoPJ2jUqiKUlDrBLYD4u5ryrCmVTTCkp9BLrLrIEAU/s400/P1030114.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Carrots and Kale. We have some other Kale starts that are just coming up in another bed. I put Kale into my green smoothies, so I can never have enough of it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtecn6yRLatXw5w8-xPxyY00W3aN_gAlDrJ7twqQsFCWcN3aQM_3kPlwPKPhxFSz_Ll9wo53oFId8YpcxibgYlFF6Nfswgar5o4yccgD8HK-K3zC4vc_RvjN7nMzOLx8OFnldjHLd4Njo/s1600/P1030115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtecn6yRLatXw5w8-xPxyY00W3aN_gAlDrJ7twqQsFCWcN3aQM_3kPlwPKPhxFSz_Ll9wo53oFId8YpcxibgYlFF6Nfswgar5o4yccgD8HK-K3zC4vc_RvjN7nMzOLx8OFnldjHLd4Njo/s400/P1030115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">More carrots and poppies in between raised beds and my cute butterfly. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKUerIaJBEc82fZ5v60aap-28rB1bJvMeE8rEjpww6C_uHACeurKgbHtKJsnOb7-czGtQSOQYxloX936G63ekl1Z-poKWGkPDM3jLeWyiObBdlmp2ztATPGEPKvkrbFMJbgMQ66ODNuU/s1600/P1030116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKUerIaJBEc82fZ5v60aap-28rB1bJvMeE8rEjpww6C_uHACeurKgbHtKJsnOb7-czGtQSOQYxloX936G63ekl1Z-poKWGkPDM3jLeWyiObBdlmp2ztATPGEPKvkrbFMJbgMQ66ODNuU/s400/P1030116.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Brussel Sprout greens. This is our first try at Brussel Sprouts and they are doing really well. I can't wait until it's time to harvest them! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKGlyCi_XEaXXMm0HVIFQzkLtAoANzF9epP9yujJ9vaa86w_OqfzdlKZ5GISplyXLAJeSxDip_zFPO_hC-ryrxrw0w1RzEHtPKp1UGCQlSdcROzy2XlMHG2EElyLST5J7fh_m9gBmH3o/s1600/P1030117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKGlyCi_XEaXXMm0HVIFQzkLtAoANzF9epP9yujJ9vaa86w_OqfzdlKZ5GISplyXLAJeSxDip_zFPO_hC-ryrxrw0w1RzEHtPKp1UGCQlSdcROzy2XlMHG2EElyLST5J7fh_m9gBmH3o/s400/P1030117.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Green Onions, Shallots and Carrots.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3WO6zV5B9LNJ5zUPJ41ld9LkORvniLtCcp1pKV34OfjEm9LVm_Dh2vv90kuODDBR7pkg8i4faggtf7LqDudaisWvDgrBHro7kO9xmAiMgCZvCizlDXhQTyetXAm4HQFEneTk1njv3EM/s1600/P1030118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3WO6zV5B9LNJ5zUPJ41ld9LkORvniLtCcp1pKV34OfjEm9LVm_Dh2vv90kuODDBR7pkg8i4faggtf7LqDudaisWvDgrBHro7kO9xmAiMgCZvCizlDXhQTyetXAm4HQFEneTk1njv3EM/s400/P1030118.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomatoes</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDtjh_gZmFa7HoZ-wSCpmc8U7t8ozffA-3sdf9o1SYHI158igminGiwkY6Df2h5vjkLeeyREDdP0ifnzR5Nis2C0OS5Rj4c7kviAnkB6AGzAvWA39nkQtuurVubjQOYFWohrppyBZHAs/s1600/P1030119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDtjh_gZmFa7HoZ-wSCpmc8U7t8ozffA-3sdf9o1SYHI158igminGiwkY6Df2h5vjkLeeyREDdP0ifnzR5Nis2C0OS5Rj4c7kviAnkB6AGzAvWA39nkQtuurVubjQOYFWohrppyBZHAs/s400/P1030119.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Potatoes, not sure of the varieties, but we have purple, red and yellow colored ones. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFk7zgSgABXmDFvwRfcN1FyfBkABN32_1nCj2XO3IPM6IUr5hIE4kEfsRCbSQIyw0pUYttvmdmmGDGCsIhSecJCY91eFNa6T6pn6NsFkcbXwEDSGm8yZGabjzqa2M0LBZoMlVvMo0X0vI/s1600/P1030122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFk7zgSgABXmDFvwRfcN1FyfBkABN32_1nCj2XO3IPM6IUr5hIE4kEfsRCbSQIyw0pUYttvmdmmGDGCsIhSecJCY91eFNa6T6pn6NsFkcbXwEDSGm8yZGabjzqa2M0LBZoMlVvMo0X0vI/s400/P1030122.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lettuce bed</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFG3lZs5KZmLni0h5eKoOXsRE0yLPPhkzHYp1oHDgTHXqsov0F2xXnqCaWsH10k9Sqz_vQcaaV9-j18_pzCnh8elO-Obg1PIjU0rDHXZvc_CPucVfv6rIOos4A9PQDRHNVSt0qY70GloE/s1600/P1030121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFG3lZs5KZmLni0h5eKoOXsRE0yLPPhkzHYp1oHDgTHXqsov0F2xXnqCaWsH10k9Sqz_vQcaaV9-j18_pzCnh8elO-Obg1PIjU0rDHXZvc_CPucVfv6rIOos4A9PQDRHNVSt0qY70GloE/s400/P1030121.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Red and white Bulb Onions and Broccoli</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIo1ITIgFjxAMcSQk41HgiejT_UXk2yXrmsSD88NI_369FkOe3dY4V4WgRLd5Rq4B0krh8dTX4QzR5uMmv_9mTRhrduF-JyrGaIMFl7OQOP1x3mxoHlQbAT8ujqQycQ-j3gkrsFobXf8/s1600/P1030120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIo1ITIgFjxAMcSQk41HgiejT_UXk2yXrmsSD88NI_369FkOe3dY4V4WgRLd5Rq4B0krh8dTX4QzR5uMmv_9mTRhrduF-JyrGaIMFl7OQOP1x3mxoHlQbAT8ujqQycQ-j3gkrsFobXf8/s400/P1030120.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Potting table off the back of the shed. Thanks to Harriet we now use the sink with a hose and bucket underneath for rinsing. Ron got both the sink and the table from work for free. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9i3kvIRhvNXbcBIXpD1vaAbUSCQfE5ENtu7O3EwJqoAiejWhwYnSC4khR2_tIm-kl8Uw3KGAfVrWtphX9bfGKKldqqiE8OtvuKvqz1tT9hzpb21V-W6scoqUjYjtgo5Kl2pjW7YTrpGo/s1600/P1030167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9i3kvIRhvNXbcBIXpD1vaAbUSCQfE5ENtu7O3EwJqoAiejWhwYnSC4khR2_tIm-kl8Uw3KGAfVrWtphX9bfGKKldqqiE8OtvuKvqz1tT9hzpb21V-W6scoqUjYjtgo5Kl2pjW7YTrpGo/s400/P1030167.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our longest project yet, the greenhouse took one full year to complete from start to finish. We took a lot of breaks, but it was still a very big task. The framing is made from re-claimed lumber taken from a nunnery, and the large windows were from our remodel. The other vintage wooden windows we've collected for our "someday greenhouse" over the years. The door was actually our old front door from the house remodel. The only new material on the greenhouse was the roofing, and it was given to us. So, just goes to show you that with some patience and building skills you can have a free greenhouse! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4PSBI53-i6uXQBrfmtjqwwFrXL94jyLCLiwz1fXue0sFrd5e8fKApCjmfnRI8mmqqYClj4X1cH_meNMdcCZRZVIEokk6V9NH8oU2ZGijeBfjXn87R3JUk_UicPT4nFEzfwHb6S704i4/s1600/P1030125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4PSBI53-i6uXQBrfmtjqwwFrXL94jyLCLiwz1fXue0sFrd5e8fKApCjmfnRI8mmqqYClj4X1cH_meNMdcCZRZVIEokk6V9NH8oU2ZGijeBfjXn87R3JUk_UicPT4nFEzfwHb6S704i4/s400/P1030125.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The main produce we're growing inside of the greenhouse is tomatoes. We live on the Northern coast of California and most of our tomato crop last year grown in the raised beds were green, very, very sad. This year we vowed to have a decent tomato crop and it looks hopeful so far. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxQZ9_y8Jtfqojm9RpcDYujCgkLqBtjN_32GVQmSlnJwbLpDq46hm0MnPSDysIyo1XwWWoWw31V_PQO8BnUGfo5tk_lgyoIKfzDvlGO9-9US2dsDSWtvanAlqFtwqsrcdaMTm8ioN9uo/s1600/P1030126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxQZ9_y8Jtfqojm9RpcDYujCgkLqBtjN_32GVQmSlnJwbLpDq46hm0MnPSDysIyo1XwWWoWw31V_PQO8BnUGfo5tk_lgyoIKfzDvlGO9-9US2dsDSWtvanAlqFtwqsrcdaMTm8ioN9uo/s400/P1030126.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We're trying our hand at peppers and watermelons. These are a total experiment, so we'll see how it goes! There is no way either of these would grow in our climate without a greenhouse. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqcofVi3EJG7i3VI0bg2leZBRdgC7cwOvP1PX0ySnSD8yJcYKBqcQgeNaGvlJ3Yqk6Lrhmu6eC1MvlyFHJZmhuyZetXPvDBdtDwgvmI6kHW2oSQmFvSDY7b4zsThxMIoR4WCmSmJTvRI/s1600/P1030128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqcofVi3EJG7i3VI0bg2leZBRdgC7cwOvP1PX0ySnSD8yJcYKBqcQgeNaGvlJ3Yqk6Lrhmu6eC1MvlyFHJZmhuyZetXPvDBdtDwgvmI6kHW2oSQmFvSDY7b4zsThxMIoR4WCmSmJTvRI/s400/P1030128.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Cilantro and Basil</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3oaPdhZW8Fn7ZkoVbbX_g8CyfHY-dEo_RZIFix8QcSRCMxYQzg_wV_1iDRiRDqFT3MJJsd4UAaQGYhKZVlbjed0ooniEXvTogdhyphenhyphenG8ShZnz_MEhI5FWLHc8iKwWmhmP7P9XmntBEoYI/s1600/P1030129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3oaPdhZW8Fn7ZkoVbbX_g8CyfHY-dEo_RZIFix8QcSRCMxYQzg_wV_1iDRiRDqFT3MJJsd4UAaQGYhKZVlbjed0ooniEXvTogdhyphenhyphenG8ShZnz_MEhI5FWLHc8iKwWmhmP7P9XmntBEoYI/s400/P1030129.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Loads of blossoms and hopefully nice red tomatoes soon!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHoV5s0vXJKB-_VMtLbiP2SI6C052s02aVM-8DcXqstk8-VypFH7pRfSvzx_trzy7fVYEiK5BmgHcbVJW0pOqVPXb9M6ib72-8QGES7G3IIyZEWUWhpj938AtnGoqu-b6HaWsABR4Osc/s1600/P1030134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHoV5s0vXJKB-_VMtLbiP2SI6C052s02aVM-8DcXqstk8-VypFH7pRfSvzx_trzy7fVYEiK5BmgHcbVJW0pOqVPXb9M6ib72-8QGES7G3IIyZEWUWhpj938AtnGoqu-b6HaWsABR4Osc/s400/P1030134.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Charcoal the bunny: He was in a very hoppy mood, so this was the best pic I could get of him at the moment. He's very friendly and produces lots of fertilizer for the garden. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPIeSPPMg2LakFaV5s7lE6u00qcVfWriimFsNA-cgBMW6Czk4YJUjXJMQ8opcyglvEMeziq0sNDP1xLzYRL5o4HgIUtv9nFjTWHC_oLaBRLehzPIXGuNdtwa9iKai1CVAOpYtwLD0vXQ/s1600/P1030156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPIeSPPMg2LakFaV5s7lE6u00qcVfWriimFsNA-cgBMW6Czk4YJUjXJMQ8opcyglvEMeziq0sNDP1xLzYRL5o4HgIUtv9nFjTWHC_oLaBRLehzPIXGuNdtwa9iKai1CVAOpYtwLD0vXQ/s400/P1030156.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our garden kitty Derby with Justin. He's sitting directly under the Cat Nip plant, which is up in a milk carton high on one of our trellises out of kitty reach. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlskCQkBss6pjfFMJOa6AnAZ6FoJ4hV-3x81lwAwV7_KHKLGEUrQGq6d1BW6Y3bMd4lunJ3eJAjbnDs5mpleBhiyupayFa_9LFqvmtWS7bOzbwfXuE-31jM-nmpJmDW8ZO3evdXbQo3us/s1600/P1030158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlskCQkBss6pjfFMJOa6AnAZ6FoJ4hV-3x81lwAwV7_KHKLGEUrQGq6d1BW6Y3bMd4lunJ3eJAjbnDs5mpleBhiyupayFa_9LFqvmtWS7bOzbwfXuE-31jM-nmpJmDW8ZO3evdXbQo3us/s400/P1030158.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">He's hard to see, but that's garden kitty #2, Head, pronounced "Heed" with Sarah. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iJd3WANviG8ZKDKw5mLBy1Q7ApDiAyJ8XNIIBWQyZ7s8pjYp7WAG9S7-5oMk0sCilJygdW41HUuMgjfds8aJtvwTSmRu5KyWDur6J3FnrkRZ7zfqyfKolMaPEStA5uJ1HLOoqS6tG-g/s1600/P1030166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iJd3WANviG8ZKDKw5mLBy1Q7ApDiAyJ8XNIIBWQyZ7s8pjYp7WAG9S7-5oMk0sCilJygdW41HUuMgjfds8aJtvwTSmRu5KyWDur6J3FnrkRZ7zfqyfKolMaPEStA5uJ1HLOoqS6tG-g/s400/P1030166.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Last but not least: The compost! We have three compost bins all made from pallets which are made from untreated wood. For our compost we use horse manure, garden clippings, kitchen compost, and soil. We also make compost tea composed of manure, clippings, and water which we let sit for a few days to a week before fertilizing the soil with it. I cannot tell you how big of a difference that compost tea makes in the garden. As Ron says, "We're not growing produce, we're growing soil!" 'Tis very true, I would say the soil is the biggest investment you will ever make in your garden.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I hope you enjoyed my three part urban homestead photo tour! If you have any questions about methods or materials please feel free to ask. Until next time, happy urban homesteading!</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-1343096149879822002011-07-04T20:51:00.000-07:002011-07-04T23:02:20.024-07:00Urban Homestead Photo Tour - Part 2 Back Yard, Chickens, Apple Trees and HerbsWhen we bought our house the back yard was bare except for a gigantic holly tree, a flowering plum tree that was on its way out, and a few more flowering cherry trees and rose bushes. The very back part of the yard where the raised beds are now was completely bare, in fact when we first looked at the property we weren't sure it was part of the property because it was separated by a fence. When we found out it was indeed part of the land we really wanted it because we knew we would grow veggies, and that's exactly what we did. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIj87rPbNFPH7SumDG_PNO5aPVaTsHBx8CpmzUJXM7nmnROfYGpQ7FY_C71l9Qu2nfMvYsVyXAG5KzP51vcWwC0DbHKxZizsDEbLEa-_npR4y4-oUg3vJcXemYi0xbuRZFcKIS6PeUT2c/s1600/P1030099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIj87rPbNFPH7SumDG_PNO5aPVaTsHBx8CpmzUJXM7nmnROfYGpQ7FY_C71l9Qu2nfMvYsVyXAG5KzP51vcWwC0DbHKxZizsDEbLEa-_npR4y4-oUg3vJcXemYi0xbuRZFcKIS6PeUT2c/s400/P1030099.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">This is the side back yard with the chicken coop, (at the left), apple trees and some flowers and herbs scattered here and there.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClNI-_JXA2KWGV3smF3U6alu4y-jvoyH8zYu3rWQAntYobunm0v1xmQxDVRJcwQW2rDN96A8gS2M9WDarBmsKw18TOormGgENvLj0eFiznaRQDFaTR7Wd5_cz00QzgN4N66HwGBF6w00/s1600/P1030090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClNI-_JXA2KWGV3smF3U6alu4y-jvoyH8zYu3rWQAntYobunm0v1xmQxDVRJcwQW2rDN96A8gS2M9WDarBmsKw18TOormGgENvLj0eFiznaRQDFaTR7Wd5_cz00QzgN4N66HwGBF6w00/s400/P1030090.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Here is the coop Ron made. The run was constructed from re-purposed materials, as was the structure of the coop. I painted it! I know I've posted this pic a lot of times, my apologies but I just love this angle. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LudvauqQZNSrAZN6YYZzrr4JQfvOv2X5e7C6wfsSOwbndwrYxZ-4SdK_Jebw87isd_wHZ9VXgV0aWZCSlkakPgSR7eTZ8JQJ1xtKd69tqVIW9X7GkduWKy-R3BiGgPjHHXuIfqoQ-vg/s1600/P1030139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LudvauqQZNSrAZN6YYZzrr4JQfvOv2X5e7C6wfsSOwbndwrYxZ-4SdK_Jebw87isd_wHZ9VXgV0aWZCSlkakPgSR7eTZ8JQJ1xtKd69tqVIW9X7GkduWKy-R3BiGgPjHHXuIfqoQ-vg/s400/P1030139.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Meet the girls: The 3 Co Coo Marans are: Peepers, Snowflake and Jacqueline, (hidden in the back.) They will lay chocolate colored eggs, can't wait! The Buff Orpington is Penelope, "Penny."</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAaVA0Wsd4tJKtThtuVIYmGg1ObzKd8YcN6J4-5sZJgnilOZPS3f5P6jdt8lLgGOk2MIMw92u_7oVHjsulCJUHcza4qnYGWPLYLCNMzIyWQWMHTFCcgFe8ZlLdAanypHujO-hV95lsVY/s1600/P1030142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAaVA0Wsd4tJKtThtuVIYmGg1ObzKd8YcN6J4-5sZJgnilOZPS3f5P6jdt8lLgGOk2MIMw92u_7oVHjsulCJUHcza4qnYGWPLYLCNMzIyWQWMHTFCcgFe8ZlLdAanypHujO-hV95lsVY/s400/P1030142.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the ruler of the roost "Ophelia" the Buff Orpington. It has remained to be seen whether "she" is actually a she. She may just be a very aggressive girl who developed early, only time will tell!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LEwm0-rpPhOI6ILD1kLynr-EXN1lHrefIN_bPYaDxOtwCqcAbqD6ha6oCVpWcctDyoi-9-22Eqzs7bTWUmmKe8vZZMTFkmrnAOdoDR_cNOfEaP5JrySnK4_qPs9nEMck3E4xk0LOtaE/s1600/P1030162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LEwm0-rpPhOI6ILD1kLynr-EXN1lHrefIN_bPYaDxOtwCqcAbqD6ha6oCVpWcctDyoi-9-22Eqzs7bTWUmmKe8vZZMTFkmrnAOdoDR_cNOfEaP5JrySnK4_qPs9nEMck3E4xk0LOtaE/s400/P1030162.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is Henrietta our sole Ameraucana. She likes to be up high, as you can see she is perched up on the back of the gate. Her eggs will be greenish tinted. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6doWL8JD_6woSR_4qXlh8LkmNvkh-tzM2M87At2i_CxCk9O0MOwNajAF8aWPo38ppCNUlA6nUUOPIg4nrbs_RKCY8mfekx9rBx0iArM7FLIltz6T723OUa7dE4XN13cKpZv4YUB7ZwI/s1600/P1030089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6doWL8JD_6woSR_4qXlh8LkmNvkh-tzM2M87At2i_CxCk9O0MOwNajAF8aWPo38ppCNUlA6nUUOPIg4nrbs_RKCY8mfekx9rBx0iArM7FLIltz6T723OUa7dE4XN13cKpZv4YUB7ZwI/s400/P1030089.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Another bird we have frequently in our backyard is the finch. Our neighbor told us that before we moved in and grew flowers there weren't any finches or small birds on the property. We have two feeders for them, and I see birds here daily. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIBrNgTNDIxd2mkE5eUupW4wQ1VQ6OmVVR2eBP4mEeEBYHtNQ4LsSymwyU2O4RkL63EmLu1S4RvZF2Tely6SLs78m3_pNXYBwWrxIb0uzh7slJfmgaqa-YqRa_MGzSU6n2ZWdd7tFXUo/s1600/P1030095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIBrNgTNDIxd2mkE5eUupW4wQ1VQ6OmVVR2eBP4mEeEBYHtNQ4LsSymwyU2O4RkL63EmLu1S4RvZF2Tely6SLs78m3_pNXYBwWrxIb0uzh7slJfmgaqa-YqRa_MGzSU6n2ZWdd7tFXUo/s400/P1030095.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is our biggest apple tree, a Semi Dwarf Fuji, planted 2 years ago. It's doing quite well due to lots of manure and good compost at the base. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_iEVD10J0jwA5p_RVZBBsGWUrgr1etz2hsTkd0AEx3lZVxVPJM8tjtt79CFEQci-kRvHjWl2-4eJhfvlYUdQ3qjw_Du3wzjLAtmE0kZjkEUtILWVGf2Utik9DaCyvJNSexfL3Sw2Gwo/s1600/P1030148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_iEVD10J0jwA5p_RVZBBsGWUrgr1etz2hsTkd0AEx3lZVxVPJM8tjtt79CFEQci-kRvHjWl2-4eJhfvlYUdQ3qjw_Du3wzjLAtmE0kZjkEUtILWVGf2Utik9DaCyvJNSexfL3Sw2Gwo/s400/P1030148.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">September is harvest time for these apples, and I can't wait. Hopefully no worms will get to them before then!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSblIssZIEXS-N_WwD-w8huSyg9BULs3cAmZhD7h0guY2BiDiKIXp6rUY6saTa-dmzURum77IMz-K9v4llRGYZXP2ha3YDjrcPqqyWB_3fENSb3T354R3QDgiYkR02KNxpbAZgaQKLtsc/s1600/P1030100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSblIssZIEXS-N_WwD-w8huSyg9BULs3cAmZhD7h0guY2BiDiKIXp6rUY6saTa-dmzURum77IMz-K9v4llRGYZXP2ha3YDjrcPqqyWB_3fENSb3T354R3QDgiYkR02KNxpbAZgaQKLtsc/s400/P1030100.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Semi Dwarf Courtland Apple </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVOw6Se1WGW1t-6M3SuU6glPP8i7WMIG27h2uEfDOG1T3EFohFuBdr29r0yTUgzoj1Poo6IzOPtzgXvvY2-TRuV6Dq1ObTtxDJ3O4aibn8Q6o4q18msXuwPu1CS0w2rcb781JpHUKWVg/s1600/P1030101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVOw6Se1WGW1t-6M3SuU6glPP8i7WMIG27h2uEfDOG1T3EFohFuBdr29r0yTUgzoj1Poo6IzOPtzgXvvY2-TRuV6Dq1ObTtxDJ3O4aibn8Q6o4q18msXuwPu1CS0w2rcb781JpHUKWVg/s400/P1030101.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Semi Dwarf Banana Apple </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1_wxeemYIjVVr22UfSXLToae2pUhyphenhyphen1GWXEpgQrO_WrsUpr-5Xl6dPXF4GIOrjZG3hT4MohnH0tvhyphenhyphenq4pIlnnD7pbgG-W95FzjMOdQpyecxM8fLzKTw4lUBwrmr7HW2wDF_rkxJ-var8/s1600/P1030102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1_wxeemYIjVVr22UfSXLToae2pUhyphenhyphen1GWXEpgQrO_WrsUpr-5Xl6dPXF4GIOrjZG3hT4MohnH0tvhyphenhyphenq4pIlnnD7pbgG-W95FzjMOdQpyecxM8fLzKTw4lUBwrmr7HW2wDF_rkxJ-var8/s400/P1030102.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Semi Dwarf Gala Apple</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTu4ovsuH5OA3MBNFjwwcCVeUQJvfa7kzuIKMA-DqC48XGRsc7b59BlD5a0GYfn99rIuHM2MuArv3pf6clxzQlESZB6R2Gbq3eEdfD0L4xLz05cYc0ii2P1o6GnnhlT5ITHO_zueBvHY/s1600/P1030098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTu4ovsuH5OA3MBNFjwwcCVeUQJvfa7kzuIKMA-DqC48XGRsc7b59BlD5a0GYfn99rIuHM2MuArv3pf6clxzQlESZB6R2Gbq3eEdfD0L4xLz05cYc0ii2P1o6GnnhlT5ITHO_zueBvHY/s400/P1030098.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Herbs - Rosemary bush on the right, and in the wine barrel we're growing: Cilantro, Dill, Oregano, Chives and Thyme. We want to dedicate an entire raised bed for herbs next season. One wine barrel is not enough! The bamboo fence behind the herbs was built by Ron.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAxDNCHc3Jmq25TUtVyYZkJTEGucqNfwtOIJXWcxQqaUik9L9tzc0DfqWuRI-cLTavrU79-UUOoDu1ROAoXDnwF3WESnA96HhtacFY74g9oInwtVIdRCTzX6Qhyphenhyphenk-0lt8-ETsYG8745U/s1600/P1030096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAxDNCHc3Jmq25TUtVyYZkJTEGucqNfwtOIJXWcxQqaUik9L9tzc0DfqWuRI-cLTavrU79-UUOoDu1ROAoXDnwF3WESnA96HhtacFY74g9oInwtVIdRCTzX6Qhyphenhyphenk-0lt8-ETsYG8745U/s400/P1030096.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My prized Lavender bush. I generally dry my Lavender, but this year I hope to make my own bath salts and add it to the mixtures. I'll let you know how that goes!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yIMT2PGlcAURuLl3O492TiMMjkzfveeG6nFF50B74dTK7zB7-rY2OAABpwZQl3ShqldcpLu5YLQt065DizO59e0fyekAoey3IG-D6XrCwn_n_nyVUOJjh9bAskf5p9PhsJ9zfVtbAi8/s1600/P1030104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yIMT2PGlcAURuLl3O492TiMMjkzfveeG6nFF50B74dTK7zB7-rY2OAABpwZQl3ShqldcpLu5YLQt065DizO59e0fyekAoey3IG-D6XrCwn_n_nyVUOJjh9bAskf5p9PhsJ9zfVtbAi8/s400/P1030104.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This was one of Ron's latest creations, a lattice made from copper piping we found on the property and bamboo. He plans to grow climbing vines of some sort on it to provide a screen. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibylaHFlLgu8lOZ-Mm1f6pRer3UEfLwYdIcrtorx6HcIDi1C49bIVF-tG7w8tLzvfx_JwQxUaxoH4gxhv6_3q0eHqEv9YIqUCGEi8lZ6Lytvxl-MCXLy-p9E_89fUB9CHfGupWoZMD29M/s1600/P1030092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibylaHFlLgu8lOZ-Mm1f6pRer3UEfLwYdIcrtorx6HcIDi1C49bIVF-tG7w8tLzvfx_JwQxUaxoH4gxhv6_3q0eHqEv9YIqUCGEi8lZ6Lytvxl-MCXLy-p9E_89fUB9CHfGupWoZMD29M/s400/P1030092.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Back porch - We have several roses growing along the side of the porch as well as some Japanese Maples.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYmxlasmIXzhvwKTA8-nz4NUCbZ9H2WS3EF2ryrfDlgdGD9EVjDihglh72UF9dJbio52RG_Pz3CezIPhdvpO8WPI5DbFR41FBzebflibABaN9DaU-xNzijOT0xZThmNb6Ap7kLVH9yiY/s1600/P1030094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYmxlasmIXzhvwKTA8-nz4NUCbZ9H2WS3EF2ryrfDlgdGD9EVjDihglh72UF9dJbio52RG_Pz3CezIPhdvpO8WPI5DbFR41FBzebflibABaN9DaU-xNzijOT0xZThmNb6Ap7kLVH9yiY/s400/P1030094.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My little mosaic rock garden. There are a bunch of wildflowers about to bloom behind it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our prettiest rose growing along the back porch. Not sure of the name because my dad gave it to us. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Back porch flowers</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-33237237652669179022011-07-04T18:08:00.000-07:002011-08-01T17:06:37.109-07:00Urban Homestead Photo Tour - Part 1 Front Yard, Non Edibles (Part 1 of 3)You got the video version, now it's time for the photo version of our homestead! This is mainly for Ron, who has requested more pics, and I'm quite happy to post them. I took all of these pics today on the 4th of July. I'm so grateful we can keep chickens and grow veggies in our back yard here in Humboldt County, California. We're blessed, unlike others in other states who have to fight ordinances. So, to celebrate our freedom, here is a photo tour of our urban homestead. I'll start in the front and work to the back. The front yard is our non edible area of the yard and we have bamboo trees, maple trees, flowering cherry and plum trees, and many perennials planted in it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygqAZRVEMC7q50CkKeMitE67Mwf7BzcboFUoMmWm5t0qPkgK06gDXwn9UjuX9UlfDCvdiHlTiOjHGkn3TVr9_Vrj4Icr8dSDDO-3ymW0qpkzE0N1-lp4ifxEOpg89uZDfj8dXz5wQrSo/s1600/P1030085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygqAZRVEMC7q50CkKeMitE67Mwf7BzcboFUoMmWm5t0qPkgK06gDXwn9UjuX9UlfDCvdiHlTiOjHGkn3TVr9_Vrj4Icr8dSDDO-3ymW0qpkzE0N1-lp4ifxEOpg89uZDfj8dXz5wQrSo/s400/P1030085.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Here is our 1875 house. We bought it 2 years ago, and when we arrived there were about 5 trees and a few rose bushes on the property. We painted the house, added a new roof, some windows and a new front door, and also did a lot of restoration on the interior.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzFZq_epWp6QDrdhFWB2K0Ip-IOaafHbmp0Ari1_qWxcgYAHyVc0ldwtcUgOWP3_N1NehfK6D8KmtfX8DPEsPYRoguv0kjOsPMV9nBQpOUxW7Yyz9nkkehxnW2M-QLoAxi-AbkzJ-uy8/s1600/P1030071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzFZq_epWp6QDrdhFWB2K0Ip-IOaafHbmp0Ari1_qWxcgYAHyVc0ldwtcUgOWP3_N1NehfK6D8KmtfX8DPEsPYRoguv0kjOsPMV9nBQpOUxW7Yyz9nkkehxnW2M-QLoAxi-AbkzJ-uy8/s400/P1030071.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Left side of the front yard. We put up this fence so the kids could have a safe private play area in the back. I just painted the gate a nice shade of purple the other week. To the right you can see one of the flowering plum trees that was here when we bought the place. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpaG7KoWiw6UVoWFTnanmrM5NKQqa-Q3h3KtaFvfIgpV4-5Zye3fPKl08lUh4wxHUhDKETFp9D31woNxuJcNxoKkwivGB6PBeStncSJznYMTUni-GrASVAt35u300o2wR7rbPY96Ac0o/s1600/P1030072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpaG7KoWiw6UVoWFTnanmrM5NKQqa-Q3h3KtaFvfIgpV4-5Zye3fPKl08lUh4wxHUhDKETFp9D31woNxuJcNxoKkwivGB6PBeStncSJznYMTUni-GrASVAt35u300o2wR7rbPY96Ac0o/s400/P1030072.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">One of our beautiful lilies blooming in the front yard. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPJ7yIak0ZY5nZX_KhmvPj36XrBuqzZYPZyf4Hu3UbyqD-bb9u_hhQqblapVoCERipV-edBeDBldWa1EDYnfFxDsC8W6nug4s_H2negWnI8HWZ3mWX7kxTSR3lak-7AySb0kTqQ6Cu9s/s1600/P1030073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPJ7yIak0ZY5nZX_KhmvPj36XrBuqzZYPZyf4Hu3UbyqD-bb9u_hhQqblapVoCERipV-edBeDBldWa1EDYnfFxDsC8W6nug4s_H2negWnI8HWZ3mWX7kxTSR3lak-7AySb0kTqQ6Cu9s/s400/P1030073.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The one edible plant we have in the front yard, strawberries!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJC5gZwhE8FspypIG1_6DeN7n3N_jzAk4pSxzSFgrEWYKgih-doT5eE0IvefWA5gWnfqqjjpdxoYKxUIQEHnNSBGB1VRaZ4E7eyefALsJpGFky4w-xzHuU8pBo3hx8CcgBy2qT1Q0EL8/s1600/P1030083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJC5gZwhE8FspypIG1_6DeN7n3N_jzAk4pSxzSFgrEWYKgih-doT5eE0IvefWA5gWnfqqjjpdxoYKxUIQEHnNSBGB1VRaZ4E7eyefALsJpGFky4w-xzHuU8pBo3hx8CcgBy2qT1Q0EL8/s400/P1030083.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Angel's Trumpet</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">The bath tub Ron re-purposed into a cool garden pond/bench. All of the wood he used was re-purposed as well. Those are baby Japanese Maple trees in the pots, and bamboo in the background. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH18fIdVNlhN9BE2kxKxhhyphenhyphenOpQIv3DwTeoGdiifN7Z1sPUrQS4OrPpF8-CmxFChe9GXPCdm0_gHFRZKSkhAJmQrpfzih9XQHqROQ7DZ58880RJYkufbpMk_f61-4TLMbknCZXKqkIvEM/s1600/P1030077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH18fIdVNlhN9BE2kxKxhhyphenhyphenOpQIv3DwTeoGdiifN7Z1sPUrQS4OrPpF8-CmxFChe9GXPCdm0_gHFRZKSkhAJmQrpfzih9XQHqROQ7DZ58880RJYkufbpMk_f61-4TLMbknCZXKqkIvEM/s400/P1030077.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Butterfly Bush that is blooming now along with some of our roses. One of Ron's co-workers gave us a bunch of roses. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPN6tlX271irqCmgUwdaL1K8hba0kqRgVVW9OYOE6dj-mKZekBlgK218fVAgl6gISo9RPKL_QpKFJ1AUO8YdSTRFleEqWBIpMyamiZfXjvtAt7-DtmsuDjTeHd4Wf7h3Hymr31O3g9DI/s1600/P1030079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPN6tlX271irqCmgUwdaL1K8hba0kqRgVVW9OYOE6dj-mKZekBlgK218fVAgl6gISo9RPKL_QpKFJ1AUO8YdSTRFleEqWBIpMyamiZfXjvtAt7-DtmsuDjTeHd4Wf7h3Hymr31O3g9DI/s400/P1030079.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lobelia, Lamb's Ear, Lilies and a cool recycled glass Fire and Light bowl. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbe7MMv9BCRHbgxjX6sAnDQ0PW_iUvBbioYeqV5oE17gAgtbYEyQO_2UB_eBXGcu43TdEklumujBiy9G5E_uarlsJxmE_hrO7oZrNvXRmw1tjRdIxrGZovFVJ6btyXW-wLmjRYtCLkGo/s1600/P1030080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbe7MMv9BCRHbgxjX6sAnDQ0PW_iUvBbioYeqV5oE17gAgtbYEyQO_2UB_eBXGcu43TdEklumujBiy9G5E_uarlsJxmE_hrO7oZrNvXRmw1tjRdIxrGZovFVJ6btyXW-wLmjRYtCLkGo/s400/P1030080.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Big Leaf Maple and more Bamboo, in pots so it doesn't take over the yard of course!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Right side of the front yard. Ron built this little safety gate for our then 3 year old out of re-purposed redwood lumber. It's a little hard to see in this pic, but we put in a brick walk way from the sidewalk to the porch. The bricks were recycled from a nunnery on the hospital campus Ron works at. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhBZV4l2ilT-BNeQxF_Q0Y0mqv46SuX2wPsJ5N4h1GkjVBdBAYpkwOmHMx2XpmQjAvLFI6IM-yFlI0sPu6RNMK9MubPgdAW2tN7Jv2nZIqp6oEbFFYEJ2zidzPWyvqzN1FuG8Qhq0WVA/s1600/P1030082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhBZV4l2ilT-BNeQxF_Q0Y0mqv46SuX2wPsJ5N4h1GkjVBdBAYpkwOmHMx2XpmQjAvLFI6IM-yFlI0sPu6RNMK9MubPgdAW2tN7Jv2nZIqp6oEbFFYEJ2zidzPWyvqzN1FuG8Qhq0WVA/s400/P1030082.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Our front yard pond Ron put in. The liner was given to us, the deck and retaining wall was all made from re-purposed wood. We found the rocks on the side of the road for free, score! We've been carrying the Hydrangea on the left around in a pot for about 15 years. It felt really good to get that plant into the ground finally.<br />
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Continue on to Part 2 and 3 which you will see in the right margin. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-60921512993281228392011-07-03T14:18:00.000-07:002011-07-03T18:51:51.931-07:00Urban Homestead Video and Photo Tour Action Day Round UpWe did another action day over at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518">Take Back Urban Home-Steading(s)</a> this past weekend. This time our action day was a video and photo tour of our urban homesteads. It's so amazing to see all of the beautiful gardens and homesteads from around the country! We had front yard veggie gardens, balcony gardens, back yard gardens and more! Thanks to everyone who participated! I got some great ideas from some of your gardens and thoroughly enjoyed every tour. Here is the round up, enjoy!<br />
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<u>Photo Tours</u>:<br />
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<a href="http://alifeinbalance.net/july-2011-tour-of-my-urban-homestead-part-2/">A Life In Balance</a> - Urban Homestead Tour<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150217227877550.330352.593482549">Caitlin Harvey</a> - My Balcony Farm<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2147704061048.2124544.1499721865">Terry Corum</a> - Backyard Garden<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=242923275720183&set=o.129901003758578&type=1&theater">Sarah Spitz</a> - Apartment/Condo Urban Homestead<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2202841955913.131546.1393282544">Mary Larsen</a> - Urban Homestead Tour<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/9thavehouse?feature=mhee">Amy Patricia Kraemer Hawks</a> - Urban Homestead Tour<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HymLEJEpid0">Liz Carter</a> - 5 Gallon Container Potato Plant<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2102787416608&set=o.129901003758578&type=1&theater">Steve Denton</a> - Potato Harvest<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122341624521082&set=o.129901003758578&type=1&theater">Rosey Jean</a> - Edible Landscape Herb Garden<br />
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<a href="http://tuliptreehomestead.blogspot.com/">Victoria Finkenstadt</a> - Tulip Tree Homestead<br />
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<u>Video Tours</u>:<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150681384515062&oid=167527713295518&comments">Ron & April Alexander</a> - Alexander Urban Homestead<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebIlmjIGVgU">Kristen Wheatley</a> - Urban Homesteading in Auburn Maine<br />
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<a href="http://adventuresofathriftymama.blogspot.com/2011/07/video-tour-of-trailer-park-homestead.html">Chris Keith</a> - A Video Tour of the Trailer Park Homestead<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/25917884">Robert van de Walle</a> - Building a Floating Island<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWA9-ivmBfA">Rodney Collins</a> - Outfox Farm's Urban Homestead Tour<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150168476417395&oid=129901003758578&comments">Linda Ring</a> - Gators and Garters<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2021215723444&oid=167527713295518&comments">Mireille Halley</a> - Evolution of an Urban CA Homesteader<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=227779413919629&oid=167527713295518&comments">Dan Fountain</a> - Urban Homestead Tour<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1860715680377&oid=129901003758578&comments">Tami French Logan</a> - (Disclaimer - this video shows a chicken being killed.) Our first chicken processing adventure.April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-43362937632125200412011-07-03T13:57:00.000-07:002011-07-03T13:57:17.957-07:00Urban Homesteader's Action Day VideoWe did another action day over at Take Back Urban Home-steading(s), which has now reached nearly 8000 likes. Now that it's growing season in much of the country we got a chance to see what people are growing, from Maine to California. We did our own little video tour of the homestead around 7 p.m. on a very windy North Coast day. As usual it took two takes for us to get it right, and by then the battery was dying so we had to speed up the last part of the video. I'm determined to do a really good, dare I say professional, video the next time I do this! But, you will get the basic idea of our homestead layout and what goes on here. (We forgot to mention that all of our garden and homestead structures are recycled, re-purposed or given to us except for the garden shed.) Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150681384515062&oid=167527713295518&comments">Here is the Alexander urban homestead tour!</a><br />
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April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-55285966726655269142011-06-24T16:22:00.000-07:002011-07-03T12:47:54.544-07:00Mother Earth News Editor in Chief Issues a Response<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Yes, 'tis true, I received an e-mail from the Editor in Chief of Mother Earth News. That's the good part. The not so good part is that the response was pretty much what I had expected, a big fat disappointment. I had to put on some pretty large hip waders to get through the content. I knew that there was no way what she said was completely true, and upon further investigation my feelings were confirmed. I wrote her back, and also issued a call to action on the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page. We're going to have an action day letter writing campaign weekend. We're a small voice in the wilderness, but I feel it's our responsibility to stand up and make our voice known. </span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" />Dear April,<br style="line-height: 17px;" /> <br style="line-height: 17px;" />If you search our website for “urban homesteading” and “modern homesteading”, you will find that we have used both of these terms for many years, and that we continue to use both terms.</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">Cheryl Long</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">Editor in Chief</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">Mother Earth News</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 17px;">My response: </span></span></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">Dear Cheryl,</span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;">Thank you for your response. I did a more in depth search for the terms "urban homestead", "urban homesteading" on your site and could not find article titles with the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading" in them since 2010. As you can see there are multiple articles with the titles using these terms in the years 2009 and 2010. <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/search.aspx?search=urban%20+%20homesteading" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px !important;" target="_blank">http://www.motherearthnews.com/search.aspx?search=urban%20+%20homesteading</a> I could not search prior to these dates because I kept getting error messages. I found 2 instances of "urban homesteading" in 2011: A work shop: <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/fair/ws-sr-homestead-kaplan.aspx" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.motherearthnews.com/fair/ws-sr-homestead-kaplan.aspx</a> and this small blog post which uses the term once: <a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/happy-homesteader/homesteading-alphabet-zb0z11zkon.aspx" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.motherearthnews.com/happy-homesteader/homesteading-alphabet-zb0z11zkon.aspx</a>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">It is obvious that since the Dervaes Institute has trademarked these terms Mother Earth News has quit using the terms in articles. The use of the terms is negligible otherwise, and it appears that you are choosing to legally comply with the Dervaes Institute's trademark demands. You continue to advertise the Dervaes Institute's blog "Path to Freedom" under your "What We're Reading" section. Although you have used the term "modern homesteading" for years it is now the most prevalent homesteading term on your site, which creates the appearance of further compliance with the Dervaes Institute's demands. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">The Dervaes Institute has destroyed their reputation among much of the urban homesteading community at large. They sent out 16 cease and desist letters to bloggers, writers, publishers and libraries demanding that they refrain from using these terms in print or otherwise. They then demanded that facebook disable the Denver Urban Homesteading FB page, which has caused great financial loss to this farmer's market cooperative. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">The community of thousands of urban homesteaders on the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page are very disappointed in these actions, as I stated earlier. Many of us have looked up to and respected your magazine for years. After all, you were one of the first publications which pioneered the urban homesteading concepts in the early 1970's long before Jules Dervaes began his urban homesteading blogs, websites, and now attempt to own an urban homesteading empire. You spear headed our movement, and seeing you bow to commercialism in this way is a huge let down for our community. It seems that your current actions are going to cause you to continue to lose popularity with the urban homesteading community.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">We're asking you to partner with us firstly by removing the Dervaes Institute's "Path to Freedom" site from your website. As I mentioned prior, since 2011 you haven't used the trademarked terms in articles or article titles. We're asking you to begin using these terms with frequency as you did prior to the trademarking of the terms. Please keep in mind that our community consists of many writers, bloggers, business owners, and urban homesteading activists who are working together to fight the trademarks on the terms which belong to all of us. Thanks for your consideration.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Sincerely,</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">April Alexander</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; line-height: normal;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; line-height: normal;">Creator and Admin of Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) FB page</span></span></div><br />
UPDATE: Since my last letter, and e-mail to the Happy Homesteader blog writer, her link to the Dervaes' blog has been removed. Partial victory, and it remains to be seen if Mother Earth News will continue to use the terms urban homestead and urban homesteading in print. I will keep you updated!<br />
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</span></span></div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-12928936324665146592011-06-23T13:43:00.000-07:002011-06-23T17:57:19.410-07:00Dear Mother Earth News...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">oday it came to my attention that Mother Earth News, (MEN), is now using the term "modern homesteading" in place of "urban homesteading" on their website. In fact, one of the main sections on their web page is called </span><a href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading.aspx" style="font-family: Tahoma;">Modern Homesteading</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">. As a quick refresher, Jules Dervaes of the Dervaes Institute demanded that urban homesteaders use the term "modern homesteader" in place of urban homesteader in the 16 cease and desist letters he sent to authors, publishers, bloggers, etc. So when I saw this term up front and center on the MEN website I took a close second look. Upon further investigation I saw that the words "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading" are non existent on the site's current articles, links, etc. Instead the terms "modern homesteading" and simply "homesteading" are the current lingo. To add insult to injury the Path to Freedom is on the page's "What We're Reading" list. Seriously MEN?? I feel like I just walked into a manure mine field, or maybe a modern homesteading manure field. If MEN thinks they can re-create the terms that define the urban homesteading grass roots movement they have another thing coming. As usual, when I'm mad I write, and generally the quality of writing increases exponentially per anger factor. So of course I fired off a piece of my mind to MEN this afternoon, and I honestly hope they give me a decent response. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">Dear Mother Earth News, </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">I am writing to you concerning the "Modern Homesteading" section on your web page. As the creator of the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) page I am both disturbed and concerned regarding your choice of terminology on this page. Equally as concerning is the obvious exclusion of the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading" which as I'm sure you are aware have been recently trademarked by the Dervaes Institute of Pasadena, CA, (and who's websites "Path to Freedom" is listed under your "What We're Reading" section.) Earlier this year the Dervaes Institute sent out 16 cease and desist letters to publishers, libraries, bloggers and writers demanding that they cease using the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading" to describe sustainable living for educational, commercial and other uses. The Dervaes Institute's actions caused an out cry in the urban homesteading community and TBUH, (which has grown to 8000), was created as a grass roots protest against their actions. Currently the EFF, (Electronic Freedom Foundation) along with Winston and Strom are representing Process Media, publishers of "The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self Sufficiency in the Heart of the City" in a petition to cancel the trademarks on the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading." Attorney James Bertini of Denver Urban Homesteading, (who's facebook page was removed without notice per the Dervaes Institute's request resulting in substantial loss of business), is also part of the petition. The trademark battle has run the gamut in the media, urban homesteading and otherwise, and the general consensus in our community is that these terms are generic and should be available for use by everyone in blogs, books, and all written format. The Dervaes Institute demanded that the term "modern homesteading" be used in lieu of "urban homesteading", so it is very disappointing to see these terms in one of the headings on your web page. (I don't remember seeing this term used this way on your site prior to the trademark issue.) It is even more disturbing to see the Dervaes Institute's blog listed on your site considering the actions they have taken against the urban homesteading community. Your decision to support and publicize the Dervaes Institute isn't working in your favor with many in the TBUH community, which consists of hundreds of urban homesteading bloggers, writers, and activists. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">Regards, </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;">April Alexander </span>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-20767612333454366442011-06-16T17:14:00.000-07:002011-06-16T17:15:59.567-07:00Mud Room OrganizationSchool is out finally, and I've been recuperating from the last few weeks of school insanity. I'm finally getting around to de-cluttering and organizing rooms in my house that have been driving me insane for months now. I know you can relate! We have a very small mud room/laundry room/back porch area. It has been one of the biggest organization challenges. It houses garden boots, 4 kinds of animal feed, seeds, bulbs, jackets and coats, and the list goes on. I think I have finally figured out a way to keep it all organized....let's just hope it stays that way! Ron brought home this awesome metal rack from work. It is perfect for storing boots and shoes on the bottom rack. I cleared the top shelf and added a cute tray with seeds and pots, and a basket for bulbs. It's a small space, so I had to get rid of a lot of clutter! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDMjpARCrIpKjt9MeUWsc4iCrgVepbCDJikDecqxutyvskHB-uw3eaGtT4ZHNewneIdS2nGxtwh_swotJJEncUWzEQYBz7FfJN77kQQY9U5TKaDEIdw9wDTEl0G8r6jAiDdfu1NwgukQ/s1600/P1020735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDMjpARCrIpKjt9MeUWsc4iCrgVepbCDJikDecqxutyvskHB-uw3eaGtT4ZHNewneIdS2nGxtwh_swotJJEncUWzEQYBz7FfJN77kQQY9U5TKaDEIdw9wDTEl0G8r6jAiDdfu1NwgukQ/s400/P1020735.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">An organized mud room is an urban homesteader's dream! I hope to have a cabinet installed where the rack is eventually, but this works for now.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZfoMa_HF8heVkc9tXh2y7M-T7WvpqXEk6rt_3WrG4Ziamkh0LgTleEkwqOXkKLwkFnrQY7K1n8QVwN_nu6GfGq9sPW1uEdwj3bosu36ochsnPaEtKhinUwMlj7aumnk9flucnNxO9kg/s1600/P1020777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZfoMa_HF8heVkc9tXh2y7M-T7WvpqXEk6rt_3WrG4Ziamkh0LgTleEkwqOXkKLwkFnrQY7K1n8QVwN_nu6GfGq9sPW1uEdwj3bosu36ochsnPaEtKhinUwMlj7aumnk9flucnNxO9kg/s400/P1020777.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">A few seeds left over from planting season. I expect this tray to be full in the pre-planting seasons.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8HbI1dA1GWPYBvE5e9rfJizHFXFq7BVPsrEPTQA3zTO3f6hRPApXtHWC3_IcxnTAdS96OpiDh_3q9sxX6kYOwKaT2FHybSUYY_K8bYMf1nVl4amLBXlpyNLC65HcaoAp_tPqatbL3yk/s1600/P1020778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8HbI1dA1GWPYBvE5e9rfJizHFXFq7BVPsrEPTQA3zTO3f6hRPApXtHWC3_IcxnTAdS96OpiDh_3q9sxX6kYOwKaT2FHybSUYY_K8bYMf1nVl4amLBXlpyNLC65HcaoAp_tPqatbL3yk/s400/P1020778.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I hung a cute vintage sheet to close off the hot water heater area. This is the animal feed/jacket/hat area. Believe me, it looks much better than before! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">What organizing have you been up to on your urban homestead lately? Tips? </div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-40142667170559668682011-05-31T11:41:00.000-07:002011-05-31T11:41:40.843-07:00Hen or Rooster?Lately our "hen" Ophelia has been exhibiting some suspiciously rooster like qualities. I noticed the past few weeks that "she" has been becoming more and more aggressive. She's always been the dominant chicken of the bunch, but it seems that she is now becoming a major bully chicken! She charges the other chickens, has to be the one in charge, and pecks like there is no tomorrow. I have noticed for weeks now that her comb is getting larger and darker than our other Buff Orpington, Penelope, but this morning I noticed that her wattles are getting enormous. Penelope has no wattles and her comb is non existent. She is super sweet and mellow unlike her "sister." So I posted this pic on the Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) fb page. I figured that out of 7500 urban homesteaders I should be able to get a good consensus as to what "it" truly is. But, I got very mixed opinions, some saying, "That's a hen, no doubt!" to, "I can bet money it's a rooster." Apparently the determining factors for figuring out if a chicken is a rooster in Buff Orpingtons are: A large comb that shows up early, (even at just a few weeks), large wattle, saddle and hackle feathers, (they're longer and more spear shaped on the rear if it's a rooster), larger sized legs, and the ultimate test - the crow. <br />
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If "she" is indeed a he, then he will have to go, sadly. We don't want a rooster due to the crow, (believe me, the neighbors will complain), and the fact that we want egg layers, period, so no fertilized eggs for this flock. But I'm not going to worry about that until we know for sure. <br />
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So what is your vote: Hen or Rooster? I'll keep you posted. Apparently Buff Orpingtons crow at around 20 weeks old, so we have a while to go.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNl9Pf8pgVgoC4C-po8wLVVstGJnOhJSW0q5RxT032Bc_S5WJhREy_47jpCbynkAE1VdBvujZF2h65a-_NuSH9JcBInvreStwR3bdGqPtvyfRsf2fKv7u6rKrEVmeSzMI1SmDYnaPBADY/s1600/P1010725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNl9Pf8pgVgoC4C-po8wLVVstGJnOhJSW0q5RxT032Bc_S5WJhREy_47jpCbynkAE1VdBvujZF2h65a-_NuSH9JcBInvreStwR3bdGqPtvyfRsf2fKv7u6rKrEVmeSzMI1SmDYnaPBADY/s400/P1010725.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ophelia at 12 weeks, (left.)</div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-73299280038553002632011-05-23T22:12:00.000-07:002011-05-23T22:14:27.264-07:00I Done Got Published!Well, I never thought I would see the day I would have an interview in a magazine, but it's happened. I was interviewed for an article in <a href="http://ecosalon.com/bad-blood-on-the-homesteading-front/">EcoSalon</a>, a "Conscious Culture and Fashion" magazine about the whole urban homestead trademark controversy. The article is titled "Bad Blood on the Home(Steading) Front" and also includes an interview from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Rebecca Jeschke, Media Relations Director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Dervaes were contacted via e-mail and phone twice, and haven't responded - big surprise. I think the writer did an excellent job of articulating the trademark controversy and my favorite part of the interview is this bit, * " </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">On team TBUH, in the meantime, it looks like the damage done to the family’s reputation – generous, neo-hippy and inclusive – is irreparable.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Nevertheless, April adds, “The urban homesteading community is very giving and I really believe that if they would be willing to mend fences and be more neighborly” all could be forgiven." After all, the Dervaes tout being neighborly as one of their main tenants. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCh6XG0RGkK30onxIMuPJUA0DAMtLwTE7_7AOkF7G6oIybezWwP13FxW3VzWIjKhRYeETnXvFByGiHy-w7bmlRUvn5srXsDPARvY_eMznHuI5eqPVsLVkANsXcLbNUeJ7f1t1ySe9Q1o/s1600/ECO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCh6XG0RGkK30onxIMuPJUA0DAMtLwTE7_7AOkF7G6oIybezWwP13FxW3VzWIjKhRYeETnXvFByGiHy-w7bmlRUvn5srXsDPARvY_eMznHuI5eqPVsLVkANsXcLbNUeJ7f1t1ySe9Q1o/s400/ECO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">*Quotes and photo via Eco Salon: <a href="http://ecosalon.com/bad-blood-on-the-homesteading-front/">http://ecosalon.com/bad-blood-on-the-homesteading-front/</a></span></div>April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-83443965091136732752011-05-13T21:46:00.000-07:002011-05-13T21:46:30.200-07:00May Homestead UpdateHello Friends! I've been MIA for about three weeks as life has been keeping me busy. My two kids have both been sick off and on for about a month, I did my first radio interview ever!, the weather has actually been decent for the first time in months and I've been working in the garden finally, and as usual I've been busy as ever with my urban homesteading activism and Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) facebook page. Phew! We completed our greenhouse and chicken coop, so you could say we've been busy bees around here. To get you up to speed here is a quick re-cap of what's been going on around the Alexander homestead:<br />
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The greenhouse is officially DONE! Ron started construction on it about a year ago so it's been a long process, but we're finally finished. The greenhouse is constructed of recycled windows, door and lumber. The only new materials are the roofing material which was given to us by a family member. The starts and seeds have been planted, and she's ready to rock and roll! So far we are growing tomatoes and basil and have planted some watermelon seeds...we'll see how those do. I'm so looking forward to nice beautiful red tomatoes this summer since last summer's tomato crop was pitiful. Ron is going to install a drip irrigation system soon with the free side of the road irrigation pipe he scavenged some time ago. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQBJEGqdYTge6yuMUY5ywooPZJ4cu03Z9f_lQ_l7renNxGPnDaJN-hHpp60j-FjHeEVgWt3PQHj6Rdr1JWe-o5pKdKbqKwosl284YkkgM0vplZuu3-XawZhdgXbvTvpKr2oHNk8QTT5k/s1600/P1010430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQBJEGqdYTge6yuMUY5ywooPZJ4cu03Z9f_lQ_l7renNxGPnDaJN-hHpp60j-FjHeEVgWt3PQHj6Rdr1JWe-o5pKdKbqKwosl284YkkgM0vplZuu3-XawZhdgXbvTvpKr2oHNk8QTT5k/s400/P1010430.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Isn't she a beauty? Ron got the blue tubs free from work and most of the pots were free from Craig's List. It is possible to make a greenhouse on a budget! (The yellow house on the right is our 1875 house, back view.)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi608evhwgwjHYWvxl6sk7Gun1AYdyDP6ElaKobrmKYLEMf25cA1vgdmsXKIWB-7spcwt2vSZM-_o9x6q-W05SPDtWk8PxBwzePzw6QgTLq-ABujABRUOcMSpKwz_0xu1EjR6hWyKruonc/s1600/P1010427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi608evhwgwjHYWvxl6sk7Gun1AYdyDP6ElaKobrmKYLEMf25cA1vgdmsXKIWB-7spcwt2vSZM-_o9x6q-W05SPDtWk8PxBwzePzw6QgTLq-ABujABRUOcMSpKwz_0xu1EjR6hWyKruonc/s400/P1010427.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The chicken coop, (or as one of our friends called it, the "chicken Taj Mahal" is finished! Be looking for a big ol blog post about the entire construction process coming soon!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zu1VmDlP4NK4ILtlNx5cgi214VK4_T3zwFYIRGyeeqMvvAPuc1sfXO-cP4RBUa_0Lm-cCEaevpqyjj7Bhh9LBlM_v0CirWeldLSqNjpoS5EcXB2xbPVYINIV2cEUdcILcV9xoleKZpk/s1600/P1010127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zu1VmDlP4NK4ILtlNx5cgi214VK4_T3zwFYIRGyeeqMvvAPuc1sfXO-cP4RBUa_0Lm-cCEaevpqyjj7Bhh9LBlM_v0CirWeldLSqNjpoS5EcXB2xbPVYINIV2cEUdcILcV9xoleKZpk/s400/P1010127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The peas are growing like mad as are the lettuce and kale. We harvested our first salad lettuce last week! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPywmNEXjXYzvLYZvzPFXDcMAHTvVdcXBPtM5gKANd7HoCatfz9LEGu8oNyKE5LRaJQo6dfJwIT7Bz9YMT3PmFtTCcfolI66S0kZSqn7yD4cpARkcZ4QoxkCEzok1ZxjkmUm8aHUCItA/s1600/P1010426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPywmNEXjXYzvLYZvzPFXDcMAHTvVdcXBPtM5gKANd7HoCatfz9LEGu8oNyKE5LRaJQo6dfJwIT7Bz9YMT3PmFtTCcfolI66S0kZSqn7yD4cpARkcZ4QoxkCEzok1ZxjkmUm8aHUCItA/s400/P1010426.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Here is a shot of the garden from the back to front; I'm standing in the raised bed area. The trees in the foreground were planted by us, and the bamboo fence and gate was constructed by Ron. The entire back yard was bare except for a few ornamental trees. We've come a long way! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5D3TzOghKWHmXWO-FVI11kHDZPLwsdyJ3K2N45bxwF_IYxIszy-vBVTTLLrwXnuGP3M0a_eXF7PDtguCdkhNRqxsFhSuO2Prt9VC1w74wT7lVLYyzLKSsoUMl2kFSgoqbYDDpdq_oFA/s1600/P1010433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5D3TzOghKWHmXWO-FVI11kHDZPLwsdyJ3K2N45bxwF_IYxIszy-vBVTTLLrwXnuGP3M0a_eXF7PDtguCdkhNRqxsFhSuO2Prt9VC1w74wT7lVLYyzLKSsoUMl2kFSgoqbYDDpdq_oFA/s400/P1010433.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">We put in three new raised beds! This one below is for our raspberry bushes, and another is going to be for grapes. Who would have thought you could grow grapes in the North West? Well, it can be done apparently!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwDcpxN0YIxgHYS4Tzg3ck54tZcTtYzMUOcu5FLRuD18pFoGyfS4vUBOUEOdvcEbbxCSlBkqR7C8QFUIwm9vawI1H7Ek7ZlUCN0JQZkUPMpuntyZj9A_ibdomU6W_MF7lvK7fk6gN3PE/s1600/P1010076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwDcpxN0YIxgHYS4Tzg3ck54tZcTtYzMUOcu5FLRuD18pFoGyfS4vUBOUEOdvcEbbxCSlBkqR7C8QFUIwm9vawI1H7Ek7ZlUCN0JQZkUPMpuntyZj9A_ibdomU6W_MF7lvK7fk6gN3PE/s400/P1010076.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
What's growing on your homestead now? Until next time, Happy Homesteading!April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-87555915722676066422011-04-20T15:03:00.000-07:002011-04-20T15:06:30.090-07:00How to Get Huge Savings With a Creative BudgetWith gas prices getting only higher it seems like everyone is tightening up their financial belts in a big way. We thought things were tough before, and then the gas prices go up even higher! Currently my family spends $400 on gas per month, yikes. We have only one bread winner in the family at the moment, so we are becoming frugal experts, (or so I like to think!), these days. Growing our own food on the homestead is definitely helping us in saving costs on groceries, but we're being forced to come up with very creative solutions for cutting our costs down lately. I'm really glad I was raised by parents and grandparents who knew how to stretch a dollar right about now. Here are a few creative solutions we have come up with for ways to cut down on costs, many of which also lesson our energy foot print, interestingly enough.<br />
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Ron is going to take the bus to and from work. His ride will be extended by 1/2 hour each way, but it will save us around $100 per month. It's also easier on the planet, great side effect.<br />
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We're going to be brown bagging it for school and work. We're guesstimating that will save us around $100 a month as well. Now we're up to a surplus of $200. <br />
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I'm planning on making snacks for the kids and I'm not exactly sure what the savings will be, but I'm estimating around $50 per month. We're also planning on making a lot more meals from scratch. I would guess we're talking around $100 in savings total. This will be better for our wallets and our health!<br />
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When the car breaks down we trade services with friends. Recently a friend offered to trade fixing our car for some truck loads of horse manure for his garden. Instead of buying new wood from the lumber store we often are given re-purposed wood from friends for building on the homestead. You would be amazed how many people are willing to trade, or give away used materials if you just ask!<br />
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We just switched from a cable company to a dish, which is saving us around $50 per month.<br />
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Growing our own veggies is probably saving us around $50 per month, at least, in produce costs. When we start canning the savings will only go up. <br />
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Generally we shop at a local discount grocery outlet quite a bit, and avoid the Safeway stores and the like. I estimate this saves us around 1-200 per month. <br />
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We used to spend probably around $100 per month on entertainment. Now instead of going to a movie we rent one and have movie night at home, have friends over for dinner, or enjoy nature. <br />
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We're focusing more on using less energy - both electrical and otherwise. We actually saw our PG&E bill go down by about $50 when we were more aware of turning off lights, using less water, etc. <br />
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The total savings here is about $500 per month! It's amazing how easy it is to save when you take the energy and effort to make it happen. At first the sacrifice can be tough, but once you're used to it you actually enjoy consuming less. Life has so much to offer apart from material things, and you enjoy the important things more when you have less. I think you actually gain a whole lot more by streamlining your life, and many of the choices you make help the earth.<br />
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So what about you? What are your creative budget secrets?April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-15188461169728554062011-04-20T12:41:00.000-07:002011-04-20T16:41:56.315-07:00Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) Two Month Re-CapThe <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Take-Back-Urban-Home-steadings/167527713295518">Take-Back-Urban-Home-steading(s) facebook page</a> that I started just had it's two month anniversary last week. We're now 7000 strong, growing daily, and the momentum of the movement we created is continuing to gain speed. I still wonder sometimes how little old me, a housewife of two, ended up starting such an amazing place for urban homesteaders to gather, share information, network, and fight injustice. I feel like this thing literally fell into my lap; things like this don't come along often, and I've been around long enough to know that when it happens there is a good reason. The universe, God, or whatever you want to call it, has smiled down on me and I'm enjoying the ride this page has presented for me. I've met so many amazing, interesting and fantastic people, from well known authors and writers to home grown folks such as myself; it's pretty cool. There are also great challenges that go along with the page and at times I feel like it's a demanding two year old, but as with children the pain is worth the pleasure. I've never volunteered for a more worthy cause, so I wouldn't change the way I've gone about any of this even though at times I've questioned and second guessed myself.<br />
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The page has become a two pronged focus: We started out as a protest to the Dervaes family trademarking the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading", but somewhere along the way we realized we were a community of urban homesteaders. When this happened I'm not exactly sure, but before I knew it people were sharing their tips on vermi-composting, chickens, good urban homesteading reads, zoning laws, and the list goes on. There came a point when I thought this kind of community would have been better organized on a web page; facebook just seemed an odd place. But then I saw people networking, sharing information and blogs, connecting with other relevant fb pages, and the web of information was spreading; There was no doubt about it, facebook was the perfect venue for this community. <br />
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In the background of all of the garden tip sharing looms the legal battle we as urban homesteaders are up against. It's always there, like a bad rash, and as much as many of us would like for it to be a non issue, it is. In the mist of it the urban homesteading community has been beyond supportive, and after seeing the positive force we have become I have no doubt in my mind that we will win. <br />
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We're not quitters, and from what I can see we have actually brought more public attention to urban homesteading than those who are attempting to trademark our community. Recent articles about urban homesteading were published in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/dining/23goats.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=urban+homesteader&st=nyt">New York Times</a> and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-urban-farming-20110310,0,7425170.story">LA Times</a>. Deanna Duke of <a href="http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2011/04/treehuggers-green-lifestyle-experts.html">Crunchy Chicken</a>, was just listed as one of Tree Hugger's Green Lifestyle Experts. She was one of the instigators of our page, and in her bio for Earth Day she discusses her plans for her urban homestead. Go Deanna! I think we've created a buzz around urban homesteading, and I predict we will be seeing more in the media about it in the future. If that isn't a huge accomplishment I don't know what is!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"></span>Hre is a re-cap of what we've accomplished in the short two months the page has been in existence. Get ready, the list is long!<br />
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1. We've grown to 7000 in just 2 months, crazy.<br />
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2. We've been in many on line publications including: <a href="http://www.grist.org/list/2011-03-23-jerks-trademark-the-idea-of-urban-homesteading-gl">Grist</a>, <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/17/pasadena-family-enfo.html">Boing Boing</a> (twice), <a href="http://www.blogher.com/familys-trademark-urban-homesteading-sparks-debate-food-blogosphere">BlogHer</a>, <a href="http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/03/trademark-controversy-spurs-outrage-emboldens-urban-homesteaders/">Triple Pundit</a>,<br />
<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/02/riding-fences-urban-homestead-trademark-complaints">EFF</a>, <a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/02/urban_homestead_drama.php">LA Weekly</a>, <a href="http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2011/04/dervaes_electronic_freedom.php">OC Weekly</a>, <a href="http://www.sfbg.com/pixel_vision/2011/04/05/urban-homesteaders-forge-ahead-despite-lack-%C2%AE">SF Bay Guardian</a>, and many others.<br />
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3. We've raised funds to help the <a href="http://www.denverurbanhomesteading.com/">Denver Urban Homesteading</a>, (A Denver based farmer's market cooperative who had their facebook page pulled due to the Dervaes' actions, resulting in thousands of dollars in financial losses to their vendors), file a petition to cancel the supplemental trademarked term "urban homesteading."<br />
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4. We've helped advertise and spread the word through action days to support Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen's book <a href="http://processmediainc.com/store/latest/urban_homestead_the.php">"The Urban Homestead: Self Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City"</a>, and Rachel Kaplan and Ruby Blume's book: <a href="http://urban-homesteading.org/">"Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living</a>." The publishers of "The Urban Homestead", Process Media, along with the EFF has formally petitioned to cancel the trademarks on both terms.<br />
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5. We had a massive blogging action day, in which over 200 bloggers spread the word about urban homesteading.<br />
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6. We did an urban homesteading action <a href="http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=167527713295518&topic=155">You Tube Day</a>, where around 50 urban homesteaders took videos of themselves on their urban homesteads.<br />
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7. We've raised nearly 2400 signatures on our <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/cancel-trademarks-on-urban-homestead-and-urban-homesteading">petition</a> to the Dervaes to remove the trademarks.<br />
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8. We've become a community of urban homesteaders who share information, network, raise public awareness about urban homesteading, and fight the Dervaes' attempts to trademark the terms that define our movement.<br />
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9. We've raised awareness about the Dervaes' family's actions: Trademarking the terms urban homestead and urban homesteading, sending out 16 cease and desist letter to libraries, publishers and authors using the terms in print, having facebook pull pages with the terms in them without notice, and now putting up new web pages and blogs with different titles than they previously had, (if you don't dig a bit you wouldn't know they are their pages.)<br />
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10. We continue to spread the word about our movement through the media and facebook, and won't give up until we get back what is rightfully ours. WE ARE URBAN HOMESTEADERS!!April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3662211259268984177.post-15490251643358988652011-04-19T12:01:00.000-07:002011-04-19T17:34:40.253-07:00Homestead UpdateIt's high time for a homestead update! We finally finished the chicken coop and run last weekend, but still have details such as trim and paint to finish up. Our chickens had out grown their indoor box, so we had to get them moved into their permanent residence asap. The coop project took much longer than anticipated, mainly due to all of the rain we've been having, so if you're planning to build a substantial coop/run be sure you give yourself a good two months of time! But, I must say it's totally worth it in the end! We love the almost finished result, and the chickens are clucking with delight out there. Here is a re-cap of what's going and happening around here:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEifYzp20k872EuH2I8z0NMCg_vLmkcogKl7T-fJMiU5KY2_-N-Y3BjMW4lYZ6TrDUksCtTqQw-udjVTz6edeI-eLDJgky6kdpi9lMe1Ysn5UQteizvo6QZNBz9nq3UnfbtNUzLs4JP7A/s1600/P1000926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEifYzp20k872EuH2I8z0NMCg_vLmkcogKl7T-fJMiU5KY2_-N-Y3BjMW4lYZ6TrDUksCtTqQw-udjVTz6edeI-eLDJgky6kdpi9lMe1Ysn5UQteizvo6QZNBz9nq3UnfbtNUzLs4JP7A/s400/P1000926.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Here she is, pretty much done! The chicken's door is pulled by a string from the outside of the coop, and closed shut by a board. When they finally figure out that going inside of the coop at night is a good idea we won't have to go into the coop every night. Just a push of the board and they're shut in for the night!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">All six ladies: Henrietta, (Ameraucana), Ophelia, Penelope, (Buff Orpingtons), Jacquelin, Peepers and Snowflake (Coo Coo Marans.)</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">The starts are coming up like crazy! I just took pics of a few of them, but there are lots more coming up including spinach, chard, onions, kale, broccoli, bush beans, and carrots. Thanks to the advice on Take Back Urban Home-steading(s) page we've put screens over them so the cats aren't using the beds for a litter box.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Lettuce (Above), Peas (Below)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">One of our apple trees, (the Dwarf Gala), is putting out gorgeous little blooms. This is the first year we've had apple blossoms!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">We have four ornamental trees and they're full of beautiful pink blooms this time of year. This one is the flowering cherry. We have another one of these and two flowering plums. Sure wish whoever put these in had put in fruit trees instead...ah well! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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What's going on over at your homestead? What's growing, both animal and plant life?April Alexanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14284816070903462748noreply@blogger.com4