Thursday, June 21, 2007

Where the hell am I?

Oh, here I am. Many apologies to the faithful few—second quarter's been a busy one.

I'll try to answer the accumulated questions in order:

1. The Amsterdam is great, and my wife and I both love it. There haven't been any fights over it yet, but that time could come. I had a front wheel built with a Sturmey-Archer X-FDD drum brake dynohub. I'll write the review as soon as I get a light hooked up again (the stock light went away in favor of a basket) but for now we're enjoying the good life with brakes on both wheels.

2. Yes, I've been planting stuff, some of it sneezy but most of it not. I currently have 3 gardens, a yard full of perennials and a bunch of container plants. Oh, and I'm working on becoming a master gardener and master composter volunteer. And I'm volunteering at the community garden. More than my thumb has turned green.

Here's the community garden in mid-April:


From the same spot today:


And from another angle today:



This space is 20 feet square and contains 2 kinds of cabbage, broccoli, peas, garlic, 2 kinds of onions (red and yellow), swiss chard, beets, turnips, radishes, lettuce (which immediately went to seed when it got hot), corn, tomatoes, tomatillias, parsnips, carrots, edamame, 3 kinds of green beans, summer squash and spaghetti squash. I grow da herb too, mon: borage, dill fennel, lovage, parsley and cilantro. Plus a couple of daylillies, a hollyhock, poppies, lupines, sunflowers, coneflowers and vetch.

I have a garden at my folks' house in the country too, with more onions, beans and corn, plus black-eyed peas, acorn squash, watermelon, Noir des Carmes melons strawberries and buckwheat (mmmmmmm...pancakes.)

I'm growing some lettuce and a few tomatoes at home.

Here's my pickup bike in gardening action:


Cabbage plants seeded on January 15 (ready for planting back on April 15):


Hard to believe these are about 2 feet across now (in the foreground of the photo above):




3. Nope, no more snow. See?

Before:


After:


(Same street, different blocks.)

4. Therefore, it is no longer winter in 'Sconsin, it's our only other season—Road Construction:


Madison's West Beltline is being resurfaced. Makes me glad I ride. Taken from the Southwest bike path bridge at Hammersley Road.


Pacific Cycle's World Headquarters, background left. That's where all those Schwinns, GTs and Mongeese come from.

7 comments:

Frostbike said...

Don't forget the truck full of Leinies!

Michael Lemberger said...

I'd be a whole lot more interested in that than I would be in most any of Pacific's bikes. But where to park it?

Beo said...

Those are some GREAT looking gardens! And that bike is dynamite! I picked up a frankenstien Vision 'bent last year, but do not get out as much as I used to now that we have 2 kids under 6.

Tarik Saleh said...

Nice garden, are you planting on top of grave sites there?

Michael Lemberger said...

Gotta be careful not to dig too deep.

Doug said...

As much as I love snow, I have to admit I was getting a little tired of the April in 'sconsin picture. I also love Madidon. If I had to move away from Minnesota I might very well end up in Madison.

Jett said...

Good to see you back in the Blogosphere. You've persuaded me it wouldn't be a stretch for me to add my garden pictures.

BTW, what ratio of brown/green matter are you finding works best? I'm pretty sure I don't have enough green, but am not sure when to stop adding green.