Hey! Beautiful Angle! Have you been peekin' in my head?

Went shopping locally today. The hubby says this one particular Beautiful Angle poster was calling my name. Bought something else. But perhaps someday. Someday soon. Unless ya'all beat me to the punch.





Why? (You might ask. Or you might not.)

Perhaps because of this rather "heated" Ode to Dandelions I wrote two years ago (April 13, 2006). It was my 7th blog item ever. On MySpace. My younger brothers ... then still freshly shocked that their sister was on MySpace .. didn't (and don't) understand my annoyance with dandelions. They think they're pretty. But we grew up on a farm, and I'm the only homeowner among us. They don't have to contend with grumpy neighbors. And while I don't mind walking on moss or clover or buttercups ... and while I'm all for shrinking my lawn-size in favor of more native or food-related plantings ... I just don't enjoy walking on dandelions. And while in small numbers I find them quaint, in large I find them vile. And I could go on and on ... and two years ago, I did.

Ode to Dandelions

My children love your fluffy tufts
They blow and wish for too much stuff
But that yellow hat that turns to white
Is not beautiful to me, just nasty blight

Oh woe is me, my aching back
Four days, many hours of dandelion attack
But, oh, so satisfying -- "I win, I win"
I say to the dandelions that fill my yard waste bin

Give up hope, give up now
If I have to, I'll rent a plow
One, two, three ... four dozen, a ton
I will keep at it until I've won

Buttercups, welcome -- daisies, you too
Clover, moss keep growing, please do
But oh, you dandelions, me feet don't like
Please, oh, please, just take a hike

My brother mocks me, calls you flowers
Says relax, enjoy those hours
Give in, give in, let Mother Nature in
I say, grow in my yard -- you go to the bin

You see, I know you're a weed
Transported from abroad with infectious seed
And while I refuse to poison plants
I will not let you run more rampant than ants

Please understand, while I sing my die-die song
You have your place, but in my yard -- you don't belong
You're great in chains and summer-made crowns
But I promise, take root in my yard and you're going down

-- AML (4/13/06 -- the day before the baby girl's first birthday)

P.S. And yes, I realize they did their poster first. But I can promise you, that was back when I had major "mama-brain" and was only about to learn of their existence.

Gardens grow, and so does this conversation ...

Too ... tired ... to .... write ... much. So instead, I point you in the direction of a little event I'm helping coordinate, the Growing Conversation II. This began as a conversation last spring among those interested in community gardens, and it continues along the same vein though incorporating the bigger picture. You don't have to be a community gardener, or any kind of gardener, to get something out of participating. Got questions? Just ask.

WHAT: Growing Conversation II
WHEN: 1-5 p.m. October 20, 2007
WHERE: University of Washington Tacoma, Carwein Auditorium

DETAILS: Hear from local scholars, community gardeners and organizers as we discover how community gardens fit into the bigger picture of sustainability, urban green spaces and local food.

Explore how community gardens play a role in so many conversations, including:

• the health and safety of our community's food supply
• the way we treat our environment
• making sure resources are shared and everyone has enough to eat
• creating spaces for neighborhoods to come together as communities
• making sure children have access to healthy nutritious food
• vibrant urban spaces that thrive economically and socially
• where your food comes from and who grows it

Snacks and beverages to be provided!

Questions? Plan to come?
info@tacomagardens.com
253-278-3609
www.tacomagardens.com

This growing conversation is a collaboration of the Pierce Conservation District, the City of Tacoma, TAGRO, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and Exit133. For more information, e-mail info@tacomagardens.com.

Living large on the cheap in T-town - yard edition

Being on a budget can really suck. But after a dear also-budget-grumpy friend commented today that she was secretly envious of how I'd been able to fix up my yard this year, I realized all the many ways I've been able to rehab my yard this year, locally and on the cheap. So, a few tips to share ...

Fixing your lawn is easy. I hate dandelions. I even wrote a poem about my hate for dandelions last year. I've learned that adding soil ammendment, overseeding, and mowing regularly can work WONDERS. Mega-wonders. Sod might be an easy fix, but it comes with its own clay-laden, raccoon attracting mega-problems, so I say, get yourself a load of TAGRO Mix, a big bag of lawn seed (region appropriate!) from GardenSphere, apply in fall and spring, and reap the rewards. Oh yeah, and TAGRO is dirt cheap. Get it? DIRT?! CHEAP!? Ok, it's not dirt, it's soil amendment, but it's still funny ...

Find a friendly fairy gardenmother (or father) in your neighborhood. I've been blessed with an outspoken neighbor who if she hadn't had kids would have been an extremely type A CEO and making millions, and probably she would have been dead of a stroke by now. But she has a kid. She has two. And she's taken to motivating the kids and the neighbors to be better, be better, be better. I say this with love, and gratefullness, and with the knowledge that she or one of her kids could easily be reading this blog ... she's found it before. And you know what: She's a great leader. She literally gives us the tools to make our backyard something more pleasant for her to look at. She can hone in on free things like nobody's business. She knows who's getting rid of what, and who else in the neighborhood just might be able to use that what. Our garden is full of cuttings from her bodacious dividing flower bed, our raised garden bed is fenced thanks to her salvaging, and our projects are done thanks to her prodding. And we're all the happier for it. I so owe her a bottle of wine ... good wine.

Save your seeds. Did you know you could do that? Has it ever occurred to you that the seeds in the center of whatever you're eating could grow you your own whole plant that you don't have to pay for? I'm a farm girl and I hadn't even taken the time to make the correlation. My husband this year, genius that he is, started saving seeds from melons and other foods and starting them for fun in the windowsill. And we might just reap the fruits of our labors ... if not this year, then quite possibly next when we kind of maybe know a little about what the heck we're doing. And if you have a garden, there are many, many more sources to save those seeds from. Apparently you don't have to buy new ones every year. Who knew? Carrie Little at Mother Earth Farms knows what she's talking about in this regard, and keep an eye out at www.tacomagardens.com for a possible seed saving workshop in the near future!

Need a cheap plant? Then you really should check out the local Native Plant Salvage project. For a bit of effort, you can do a good deed and get cheap or free plants. That's awesome. And you can usually find their events posted at www.tacomagardens.com as well.

I think that's enough for now ... but a quick disclaimer: I ain't a gardening guru, I'm a gardening idiot learning as she goes. Don't expect to see my yard in any magazine anytime soon ... but I'm having fun, and taking it one step at a time. And I'm enjoying the journey.

The LID of Love?

Wow.

When we signed the LID petition, now years ago, to pave the alley on our block, our intentions were to cut down on dust and get rid of the massive puddles of rain and mud that accumulated during the rainy seasons.

Well, apparently paved alley, especially ones with a bit of a hill on one side, equals instant neighborhood block party, and impromptu neighborhood skate park.

The kids and I were outside, beginning Project Lawn -- the first of many gardening projects I'm determined to begin this year now that the kids are all old enough to play while I dig, or dig in themselves.

They got out their trikes and other wheeled objects and began to increasingly scare the heck out of momma me as they sailed down the steep-ish slope, down the straight-a-way, almost end-to-end with just one "go!"

And before long, my three became five as the neighbor girls joined in. Then seven. Then 10. Then I think 13 -- possibly all the kids on the block not including the ones who are barely walking. Then a few other kids from nearby brought skateboards. Then parents and pals were out with the kids. One dad showing off that he still new how to handle a 'board. Another playing catch with this daughter and a couple other neighbor kids. Parents teaching kids to ride bikes. Chasing. Playing tag. Laughing. Sharing. Talking.

Everyone ready and willing to clear the way for a neighbor making his or her way out of a backyard driveway or garage to places unknown, or welcome them back in. And conversely, those same neighbors were cautious to drive slow and not squish any munchkins.

Which made me think, if this is what a bit o' pavement can do, just imagine what a bit o' paradise can do ...