Tag Archives: Altadena

Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon

30 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Altadena, Off Topic, Weekly Photo Challenge

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While poking around WordPress a few weeks ago I stumbled upon the “Weekly Photo Challenge,” and it peaked my interest. Then, all of a sudden, a few of the bloggers I follow started doing Weekly Photo Challenge posts, and I took it as a sign. I cannot promise that I will do them every week, but I am going to try. I miss writing, and need some inspiration. These posts may be off topic, but I hope you enjoy.

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Mountains are my favorite horizon. These are my mountains, the ones I can see from my front porch, as I drive up the road to my home, the ones I get peeks of from my backyard. Continue reading →

Muir Ranch: A Vibrant School Farm

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Altadena, Food Politics, Garden

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Muir Ranch Chard

I arrived at Muir Ranch, just after 9:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. Their indoor space was already stacked with boxes and crates full of fruit and vegetables waiting to be split up into that day’s CSA shares. Students trickled in and began bagging peas, lettuce, and broccoli. A couple of women were there parsing the 10 half shares they would be taking back to their school. Before 10:00 a teacher from a local elementary charter school arrived with her students to harvest kale and then put together the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares that would be distributed on their campus.

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Stretching Out

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Altadena, Garden

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E at the Community Garden

Backyards, while glorious in so many ways, have their limits. They often have fences to separate us from our neighbors. They have trees (also glorious) and other structures like garages and patio coverings. These things create a lot of shade, especially in the winter. In my backyard, in the winter, these things create too much shade.

All winter I have watched my garden creep along, eking out an existence with very little sunlight. I just harvested the first bunch of kale, which I sowed in September! I fantasize about tearing up the lawn, taking a swipe at the neighbor’s hedges, anything to gain another hour or two of sunlight.

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Shuttle Viewing Leads to Off Topic Blog Post

22 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Altadena, Off Topic

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If you had asked me when I woke up this morning if I would be writing about the Space Shuttle Endeavour on my gardening blog, I would have told you, “No way.”

But, that was this morning, before Endeavour made its way over my neighborhood. Yesterday I asked my daughter if she was interested in seeing the shuttle flying attached to the back of a “really big plane.” She was interested until I told her she would have to miss school. Upon that realization she replied, “No, I can just see it at the Museum (The California Science Center) later and be a lot closer to it.” That was all I needed. I wasn’t going to make it a big deal. I try not to get sucked into hype.

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Neighborhood Jam

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Altadena, Garden

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The tree from which my apricots came.

I pull up to the house where my daughter is taking swim lessons for the summer. It is the first day. One of the first things I notice is a spectacularly large apricot tree in the front yard, and it is loaded with ripening fruit. At the end of that first lesson, I find myself asking her teacher (whom I just met that day) if I can pick fruit when they are ripe. I come back the following week, fruit picker in hand, and pick enough apricots for two batches of jam. I have so many left over, I offer them up to my fellow RIPE members.

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