We ran into a wrinkle when we dug the hole for the center post: there was a large concrete footing about three inches under the surface. So we bolted the center post right to the footing.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
New Bike Rack
We ran into a wrinkle when we dug the hole for the center post: there was a large concrete footing about three inches under the surface. So we bolted the center post right to the footing.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Tranquility Tree
There's an olive tree at Sage Garden Ecovillas that I like to call Tranquility. There are no structures or other plants within a 10 foot radius of this tree, so it seems sort of obvious to create a walking labyrinth around it, and that's what we're doing right now. The first step was to design a path that would fit in the area. Then we cleared away the rock and dug up any grass in the area.
Then we marked exactly where the borders would go. The exterior border is low berm whose functions are to define the space and keep the medium that will cover the path from spreading into the yard. The interior borders of the labyrinth will be marked by plants that fit the themes of tranquility and meditation. We're digging trenches for the interior borders. Part of the soil from those trenches is used to create the berm around the outside, and part of it is mixed with compost, sand, and peat moss to create a planting soil that goes back into the trenches. We're laying down irrigation tubing under the outer berm, to supply water to the flexible drip tubing that will water the plants in the interior borders. Here are some pictures at various stages of development.
The layout is based on the classical seven-circuit labyrinth, but simplified to fit comfortably in a small area. The next steps are to finish digging and filling, install the drip tubing, mulch the border, spread the medium on the path (most likely sand), plant, and enjoy!
Then we marked exactly where the borders would go. The exterior border is low berm whose functions are to define the space and keep the medium that will cover the path from spreading into the yard. The interior borders of the labyrinth will be marked by plants that fit the themes of tranquility and meditation. We're digging trenches for the interior borders. Part of the soil from those trenches is used to create the berm around the outside, and part of it is mixed with compost, sand, and peat moss to create a planting soil that goes back into the trenches. We're laying down irrigation tubing under the outer berm, to supply water to the flexible drip tubing that will water the plants in the interior borders. Here are some pictures at various stages of development.
Friday, December 2, 2016
More Trees
Since I finished fall tree planting with some time to spare, and since I had a spot in mind to try a pear tree, I recently planted one. (And because, pears.)
What made me think of this location for a pear? 1) It's perhaps the coldest part of the yard in the winter. 2) It's a good location to get rainwater, and air conditioner condensate in the summer. 3) A tree here will help shade two north facing windows during summer mornings and afternoons.
A couple things you'll notice in these pictures: 1) A purslane is growing between the tree and the sidewalk. There are several places at Sage Garden Ecovillas where purslane likes to grow every year (as volunteers, or weeds). Mostly I see horse purslane (Trianthema portulacastrum), but this is one of the few locations where common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) grows. I'm hoping that by preparing this area for the pear, and giving it consistent water in summer, I'll encourage the purslane to spread out and act as an edible ground cover in the summer. 2) I dug quite a few rocks out of this area, so I used them to make a spillway toward the back of the well. This is the direction rain water will enter from.
I've also been thinking about tree planting for next spring. I'd like to plant Afghan pines as part of an arc around the north part of the yard. This arc is designed as sort of an outdoor passive solar arrangement, shading the yard during summer, and allowing the sun in during winter. Afghan pines (pinus eldarica, also called Eldar pines, Mondell pines, or desert pines) are perhaps the best-adapted pines for this climate. They use little water, grow fast, tolerate poor soil, stand up to strong winds, have a pleasant fragrance, and at a mature height of about 40 ft, offer a moderately high canopy for shade. These trees are often sold in the Phoenix area as live Christmas trees.
What made me think of this location for a pear? 1) It's perhaps the coldest part of the yard in the winter. 2) It's a good location to get rainwater, and air conditioner condensate in the summer. 3) A tree here will help shade two north facing windows during summer mornings and afternoons.
A couple things you'll notice in these pictures: 1) A purslane is growing between the tree and the sidewalk. There are several places at Sage Garden Ecovillas where purslane likes to grow every year (as volunteers, or weeds). Mostly I see horse purslane (Trianthema portulacastrum), but this is one of the few locations where common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) grows. I'm hoping that by preparing this area for the pear, and giving it consistent water in summer, I'll encourage the purslane to spread out and act as an edible ground cover in the summer. 2) I dug quite a few rocks out of this area, so I used them to make a spillway toward the back of the well. This is the direction rain water will enter from.
I've also been thinking about tree planting for next spring. I'd like to plant Afghan pines as part of an arc around the north part of the yard. This arc is designed as sort of an outdoor passive solar arrangement, shading the yard during summer, and allowing the sun in during winter. Afghan pines (pinus eldarica, also called Eldar pines, Mondell pines, or desert pines) are perhaps the best-adapted pines for this climate. They use little water, grow fast, tolerate poor soil, stand up to strong winds, have a pleasant fragrance, and at a mature height of about 40 ft, offer a moderately high canopy for shade. These trees are often sold in the Phoenix area as live Christmas trees.
Friday, November 25, 2016
My Way - Three Stories
“I did it my way” says the song. It's a song about individualism, and the protagonist believes the way he's singing about is his own, an inherent and absolute property of himself. But to ascribe the way in the song to the individual is to fall under an illusion, a trick of the mind's eye that accentuates the contrast of what is relative and mutes the absolute. The protagonist's perception of his own way is dependent on the norms of his context and how they differ from his way.
If there were no prevailing ways to serve as a backdrop, there would be no "my way" to sing about, and unless the "its" that "I did" were common enough things for people to do, there could be no prevailing ways to do them.
My point here is not to deconstruct a song (if instead of "I did it my way" the lyrics said "I did it a slightly peculiar way that seemed special, but only in contrast to the way other people were doing the same thing," even Frank Sinatra would have had a hard time selling it) but to remind myself of the derivative, contingent quality of my own ideas and opinions about how to do things, and to introduce a personal story that begins with an insightful question once mused by a giant:
Which way is my way?
Good question, Fezzik. The personal story I referred to is actually three simultaneous stories - a small one, a medium one, and a large one. The small one is a sketch of what I call the regenerative business philosophy I'm developing at Sage Garden Ecovillas. The medium one is my method for answering Fezzik's question. And the large one is about creation and the creative impulse. It starts like this.
Once upon a time (well, more than once, and all the time) the world of ways to do things is formless and void. And we say, "Let there be doing. Let us do." And then the world is no longer void; it is occupied by doing. But it's still formless. And sometimes the story ends there. But other times we gain skill, we learn HOW to do, and we separate right ways from wrong ways. And sometimes the story ends there. But other times, when we've seen the right ways and that they're good, we ask, "But which way is my way?"
When I moved into Sage Garden Ecovillas (here's the medium story), all I saw at first was the "right way" to do business, but as I continue doing, I see hints of ideas flaking away from the whole of business as usual. So I pull on those ideas to see what else comes with them, and that's how I find my way. Say the idea is a belief; it may bring with it some values, priorities, or practices. Or a practice might come with some attitudes, values, or other practices.
One of the first flakes I saw was the idea of valuing the well-being of people over the well-being of the organization. It's tempting to think that if an organization (such as a business) thrives, so do its members. This is not always true, and standard business practices nurture the business at the expense of the people. Another flake I saw early on was the idea of working cooperatively and not competitively with other businesses, clients, suppliers, and everyone. So I pulled on those flakes.
It's tempting at this point to criticize the standard way, but the standard way is perfectly valid. It's self-consistent. It yields long-lived organizations. It's a step in the right direction from no way. It's just not my way.
So I pulled on those two ideas, and some others started to peel away with them. One was the idea of inclusivity. The standard way is for organizations (such as businesses) to have discrete rosters and a clear division between members and nonmembers. That's fine, but the way I would prefer is to have a fuzzy boundary, where the level of participation can vary. Another idea was valuing the well-being of all, not just of the decision makers (or oneself, in the degenerate case). Yet another was to give more emphasis to motives and less to methods, or to subjugate the how to the why. In this case, it's easy to see the relative nature of "my way." Both how and why are important. What I observe in business as usual is a certain proportion of attention paid to tools and methods as compared to motives. It's not that NO attention is paid to motives (every successful business has a charter or mission or vision statement, even if it's stale and lifeless). And my way is not to ignore methods - it's just to devote a greater proportion of my attention to motives.
(To be continued - probably as long as I live)
If there were no prevailing ways to serve as a backdrop, there would be no "my way" to sing about, and unless the "its" that "I did" were common enough things for people to do, there could be no prevailing ways to do them.
My point here is not to deconstruct a song (if instead of "I did it my way" the lyrics said "I did it a slightly peculiar way that seemed special, but only in contrast to the way other people were doing the same thing," even Frank Sinatra would have had a hard time selling it) but to remind myself of the derivative, contingent quality of my own ideas and opinions about how to do things, and to introduce a personal story that begins with an insightful question once mused by a giant:
Good question, Fezzik. The personal story I referred to is actually three simultaneous stories - a small one, a medium one, and a large one. The small one is a sketch of what I call the regenerative business philosophy I'm developing at Sage Garden Ecovillas. The medium one is my method for answering Fezzik's question. And the large one is about creation and the creative impulse. It starts like this.
Once upon a time (well, more than once, and all the time) the world of ways to do things is formless and void. And we say, "Let there be doing. Let us do." And then the world is no longer void; it is occupied by doing. But it's still formless. And sometimes the story ends there. But other times we gain skill, we learn HOW to do, and we separate right ways from wrong ways. And sometimes the story ends there. But other times, when we've seen the right ways and that they're good, we ask, "But which way is my way?"
When I moved into Sage Garden Ecovillas (here's the medium story), all I saw at first was the "right way" to do business, but as I continue doing, I see hints of ideas flaking away from the whole of business as usual. So I pull on those ideas to see what else comes with them, and that's how I find my way. Say the idea is a belief; it may bring with it some values, priorities, or practices. Or a practice might come with some attitudes, values, or other practices.
One of the first flakes I saw was the idea of valuing the well-being of people over the well-being of the organization. It's tempting to think that if an organization (such as a business) thrives, so do its members. This is not always true, and standard business practices nurture the business at the expense of the people. Another flake I saw early on was the idea of working cooperatively and not competitively with other businesses, clients, suppliers, and everyone. So I pulled on those flakes.
It's tempting at this point to criticize the standard way, but the standard way is perfectly valid. It's self-consistent. It yields long-lived organizations. It's a step in the right direction from no way. It's just not my way.
So I pulled on those two ideas, and some others started to peel away with them. One was the idea of inclusivity. The standard way is for organizations (such as businesses) to have discrete rosters and a clear division between members and nonmembers. That's fine, but the way I would prefer is to have a fuzzy boundary, where the level of participation can vary. Another idea was valuing the well-being of all, not just of the decision makers (or oneself, in the degenerate case). Yet another was to give more emphasis to motives and less to methods, or to subjugate the how to the why. In this case, it's easy to see the relative nature of "my way." Both how and why are important. What I observe in business as usual is a certain proportion of attention paid to tools and methods as compared to motives. It's not that NO attention is paid to motives (every successful business has a charter or mission or vision statement, even if it's stale and lifeless). And my way is not to ignore methods - it's just to devote a greater proportion of my attention to motives.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Fall Tree Planting Part 2
We added six fruit trees to the eastern walkway this fall. First we designed the layout. In this picture, the proposed locations of the trees and benches are marked with yellow stakes.
Marking the locations like this made it easier to check the overhead clearance (both now and when that mesquite is fully grown) and to check the sun exposure (for all four seasons). The mulberry, curry leaf, and plum will get the full sun they like for three seasons, and the plum (a Burgundy, which may grow up to 30 ft tall) has plenty of headroom. The avocado and guava will get partial shade in summer, and we located the apple where cold air will sink in winter. By the time the picture above was taken, we had cleared away the rock and grass. The plan included a berm around the trees on north side of the sidewalk (in the foreground of the picture). The berm isn't for irrigation (all six trees will be drip-watered), but just to keep the mulch from scattering. The whole section of yard on the south side is already mulched, so no need for a berm on that side.
After clearing the rock and grass, the next step was to run irrigation tubing on the north side. Once that was in place, we dug the six holes.
Half of the dirt from the holes was used to build the berm (and this is
why we ran the tubing on the north side first, so it would lie under the
berm). The other half of the dirt was mixed with some compost that has
been aging since this spring.
Look at the beautiful black compost in that shovel. Kitchen scraps, fallen leaves, and shredded junk mail. This mixture is for backfilling around the trees once they're in place.
We dug the holes twice as wide as the pots and placed all six trees (pot and all) in their holes for a final visual check and some minor adjustments.
After running the irrigation tubing on the other side of
the sidewalk, we popped the trees out of their pots and filled the holes
with the dirt / compost mix.
Then we spread mulch and set up each of the trees with a set of drippers "tuned" for the size of its root zone. The tallest ones (the apple and the plum) have 3 drippers @ 4 gal/hr; the medium ones (the mulberry and avocado) have 3 drippers @ 2 gal/hr; and the small shrubby ones (the curry leaf and the guava) have 4 drippers @ 1/2 gal/hr.We left crucial parts of the drip system unburied until we were ready to test it out.
And that's all for today. Now these trees are ready to spread some roots and rest up for the spring.
Look at the beautiful black compost in that shovel. Kitchen scraps, fallen leaves, and shredded junk mail. This mixture is for backfilling around the trees once they're in place.
We dug the holes twice as wide as the pots and placed all six trees (pot and all) in their holes for a final visual check and some minor adjustments.
Then we spread mulch and set up each of the trees with a set of drippers "tuned" for the size of its root zone. The tallest ones (the apple and the plum) have 3 drippers @ 4 gal/hr; the medium ones (the mulberry and avocado) have 3 drippers @ 2 gal/hr; and the small shrubby ones (the curry leaf and the guava) have 4 drippers @ 1/2 gal/hr.We left crucial parts of the drip system unburied until we were ready to test it out.
And that's all for today. Now these trees are ready to spread some roots and rest up for the spring.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Fall Tree Planting
Seems like fall weather has taken its time coming to central Arizona, but it's finally time to plant deciduous trees. Our docket this fall includes an apple, a dwarf mulberry, a moringa, a dwarf avocado, a curry leaf, and a pineapple guava.
These trees will line the walkway to the mailbox, leaving room for two rocking benches, one on each side of the sidewalk. (One will go about where the chair is in the picture below.)
I have a sheltered location picked out for the avocado, where it will be shaded by a mesquite in summer and by an olive and an orange in winter.
I was pleasantly surprised this year to find desert hackberries at Boyce Thompson Arboretum's fall plant sale. These are native
bushy trees that produce a striking orange (and edible) berry in the fall. Yes, you can have fall colors in the desert. I've picked a location for one of these near the northeast corner of the house, where eventually it will give summer shade to that corner and part of the sidewalk.
Elsewhere in the yard, the luffa vines are sprinting up one of the olive trees. Today I found a flower 10 ft off the ground.
And the bananas and peanuts are still doing their thing in the chunky monkey patch.
Monday, September 19, 2016
September's Olive Harvest
The recent olive harvest event at sage garden ecovillas was a success on many fronts. I learned a lot from it, and really enjoyed the chance to meet and work shoulder-to-shoulder with some local gardeners and urban farmers. I think everyone had a good time, and hopefully took away a little deeper appreciation and feeling of connection with the olive trees and the ancient practices of harvesting and preparing olives.
There are some things I think we did well, that I'd like to do again next time, and some things I'd like to do different.
Things that went well:
1) I really like the basic idea of harvesting and curing olives as a group activity. Of course, this idea isn't new - it's a long-standing tradition in some families and cultures. And maybe it's something you have to experience firsthand to appreciate.
2) The popup canopy and card table worked well as a gathering point, a place for sign-in sheets and name tags, and a place to taste finished olives.
3) The comination sign-in sheet and waiver was a paper-saver.
4) Doing the processing (rinsing, cutting, pitting, curing) inside where it was cool was a good idea.
5) Food grade buckets worked well for processing.
6) The basic format worked well, starting with personal introductions and explanations, then start harvesting, then start processing, then tasting, and finally the sharing circle.
7) Finishing the olives with malt vinegar was a clear win.
6) Abe suggested several different flavorings, including Mediterranean style, using lemon juice and jalapenos. I did a little research, and I have some of the olives we picked finishing Mediterranean style right now. I'm also experimenting with just substituting lemon juice in place of vinegar in the finishing solution, and using crushed red pepper.
7) Take more pictures next time.
There are some things I think we did well, that I'd like to do again next time, and some things I'd like to do different.
1) I really like the basic idea of harvesting and curing olives as a group activity. Of course, this idea isn't new - it's a long-standing tradition in some families and cultures. And maybe it's something you have to experience firsthand to appreciate.
2) The popup canopy and card table worked well as a gathering point, a place for sign-in sheets and name tags, and a place to taste finished olives.
3) The comination sign-in sheet and waiver was a paper-saver.
4) Doing the processing (rinsing, cutting, pitting, curing) inside where it was cool was a good idea.
5) Food grade buckets worked well for processing.
6) The basic format worked well, starting with personal introductions and explanations, then start harvesting, then start processing, then tasting, and finally the sharing circle.
7) Finishing the olives with malt vinegar was a clear win.
Things to try or do different next time:
1) Use shoulder straps to hold the buckets while picking (thanks for that idea, Charles).
2) Leave the small olives on the tree (thanks for that suggestion, PJ).
3) Set up a number of finishing stations before the event.
4) Get more Westmark olive pitters. The Westmark was the universal favorite, hands down. And don't bother trying to use the Press2Pit cherry pitter to pit olives.
5) I learned that some olive afficionados really like eating their olives with the pit in (thanks, Jacqueline).
1) Use shoulder straps to hold the buckets while picking (thanks for that idea, Charles).
2) Leave the small olives on the tree (thanks for that suggestion, PJ).
3) Set up a number of finishing stations before the event.
4) Get more Westmark olive pitters. The Westmark was the universal favorite, hands down. And don't bother trying to use the Press2Pit cherry pitter to pit olives.
5) I learned that some olive afficionados really like eating their olives with the pit in (thanks, Jacqueline).
6) Abe suggested several different flavorings, including Mediterranean style, using lemon juice and jalapenos. I did a little research, and I have some of the olives we picked finishing Mediterranean style right now. I'm also experimenting with just substituting lemon juice in place of vinegar in the finishing solution, and using crushed red pepper.
7) Take more pictures next time.
Bottom line, this olive harvest event was a fun, enriching experience, for me, and I appreciate everyone who participated.
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