A chance for a new post!

Finally- something interesting to relate.

I just wrote a small piece for my employer's newsletter which connects today's local food movement with similar efforts 100+ years ago. Food and agriculture issues were a major component of the Garden City movement, which developed into regional planning.
Read at Today's Garden City.

Composting & Recycling Mass Products

My first 5k race- the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, Massachusetts.

I could go on ad nauseum as to why this race was awesome- I finished, the residents cheering from their yards, the competitors were so friendly afterward even when the hot chocolate was late in coming, it's the ultra-progressive "Happy Valley", etc., but one thing I really appreciated was that not only did they provide after race bananas and oranges, they also provided COMPOST BINS to toss your peels into. Someone smart realized that they'd have a lot of orange and banana peels, that could easily be collected and composted. At first I threw my banana peel in the trash, then saw the compost bin, and thought, "of course, this is Northampton, after all."

I read in Treehugger today that Coke has "developed" a compostable paper cup. Why, in a place like McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, that makes its own consistent profile of trash, can't they make sure the trash is compostable or recyclable and collect it out? Argh!

On another note, I realize that road race runs aren't the greenest activity- they create a lot of unnecessary travel for all those participants, especially to a race like Hot Chocolate which attracts people from all over. But at least Hot Chocolate, and the Greater Hartford Marathon (not sure why you can't just call it the Hartford Marathon) are taking obvious steps to "leave no trace."

Resurrection of the Blog

Hello the world,
After moving back to Connecticut from New Jersey, I decided it's time to restart a blog. I had fun with my other blog, Agropolis Now, which focused mainly on community gardening in central New Jersey. Alas, here in Fairfield County I don't have access to a garden, but I'm still seeing places and events that deserve coverage on the web. Most of my posts will have to do with sustainability, community planning, and the environment, so Big City Small Town is coming back.

Although I'm not new to Connecticut, I never spent time in the southwestern corner until I moved here recently. So, I get to experience the amenities of Stamford, New Canaan, Westport, etc., for the first time. Lots to explore!

Allotment Late October

I finally remembered to bring my camera to the community gardens today and got photos of what could be the last pre-frost day. It was a busy day as many of the gardeners were doing last minute harvesting and soil preparation. The marigolds were also being harvested for the Day of the Dead celebration coming this week.

My broccoli now has small florets. According to my neighbors, I need to fence these soon or the deer will eat them. They already got the red lettuce I had left open which is now growing back.
I harvested a 3rd head of green lettuce (Black-seeded simpson) grown from transplants planted my first week of gardening in September.

I also planted 3 heads of garlic in 2 3x3 plots and sowed winter rye in several fallow areas.
My neighbor gave my parsley and more strawberries to over-winter. It was pretty chilly today!

Chickens at Suydam Farms, East Brunswick, NJ

Here are poor camera phone pictures of a few of the chickens at Suydam- there are 2 coops this size attached to a large barn with in/out for the chickens. I've seen 4x as many as seen here outside at once, but don't know how many total they have. Very happy, funny chickens to which you can throw corn kernels from cobs in basket outside their coop.
Suydam also has some sheep, I found out, along with plenty of pumpkins, squash, and late summer vegetables, empire apples, and hayrides on October Saturdays. Not sure if the apples are sprayed, though he told me last week they use no pesticides on their crops.

Big E- New England's Great State Farmer's Market

We just got back from the Big E (Eastern States Exposition) which is paradise for local food seekers. I got some yummy cheese from Pineland Farms in Maine which, judging from the website, is quite a tourist attraction. I bought some cheese curd and onion & garlic monterey jack, and salsa jack. Their cows are (mostly) grass fed and entirely rGBH free, and live very near the dairy. Other finds- Lots of soap producers, including That Soap Guy, whose lotion we've used and like, and Vermont Soap, where we picked up about a year's supply of bars. We'll see if their Neem & Oatmeal soap will help keep the bugs away from me at the community garden.

Also viewed: the giant pumpkin judging contest. To get the little pumpkins on the scale, they shimmy a special tarp with handles under the pumpkin and a few men carry it to the scale. As the weight goes up, more men are needed. After the pumpkins get so big that 7 men aren't enough, they start using the forklift with a sling that fastens around the pumpkin. This process takes a long time so we didn't wait to see who won but it was probably the giant squash at 700 some pounds. Giant pumpkin raising is apparently quite the macho sport judging by the competitive camaraderie among the club members. We also saw a 10 year old boy's yearling heifer (young female cow) win best in show for all kinds of categories. It was a beautiful cow.

All in all, another excellent day at the Big E and I am glad this tradition has held up so well.
Little things have changed and improved, and with the exception of the silly cream puffs, eclairs, and mardigras, the organizers haven't tried to mess with tradition too much.

Flex Petz Pet Sharing Service

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/flexpetz.php

A somewhat-old post on Treehugger regarding Flex Petz, a "shared ownership" pet club in which members pay a monthly fee in exchange for spending time with club dogs. The fee pays for the medical bills and other costs.
Most treehugger commenters were horrified by this idea, but I've actually thought time-share pets would be a good idea for a while now. If you work full-time, you have 2 choices: No dog, and lonely person; or bored-and-lonely dog with person who has to come home right after work every single day. That second solution doesn't work for me, but I'd like to not forgo dog companionship altogether. Also, my experience as a once-a-week volunteer with the Animal Rescue League of Boston has taught me 1) you can form a meaningful relationship with a dog on a part-time basis and 2) the dog doesn't suffer "emotional distress" from a rotating schedule of caregivers.
So here's to spreading the love to dogs and people.