Savage Victory Garden

It's early July and my vegetable garden has already become pretty wild...almost feral (despite our somewhat gloomy and overcast summer thus far). Every year I tell myself that I will weed better and not plant so close (they look so tiny when I put them in the ground)...and every year it becomes something past my control. None-the-less, I've already begun eating from it...a couple more weeks for tomatoes (my favorite) and at least a month for corn. Plenty of teeny peppers already, and Swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, and herbs...cucumbers and beans are on their way. Anyhow, here's a few pictures of my front yard garden...and believe-it-or-not, there is some order to that chaos.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#42)

A big cardboard box full of hardwood scraps.

Someone must have put in a new hardwood floor (oak, I think) and put the scraps in a box at the curb...perfect kindling for later this year. And yes, I realize that it is in the middle of summer, but this was just too good to pass up...and when you live in a region where the cold season can sometimes last for 7 months, heating your house is never far from your mind.

Living Simply and Simply Living

The act of living simply in an urban environment is trying at times to say the least. There are so many distractions. Like faith, it takes work. I find that reading what others have to say inspires me. As the author of this book points out, living simply does not necessarily mean that you have to live in a cabin in the woods (though some people choose to do this)...it means living simply where you are (I'm paraphrasing)...inwardly and outwardly, harmonizing your life. With that thought in mind, I bought a used copy of this book last week at The Strand Bookstore. I read most of it on the train ride home. Like most simple living books, a lot of it is common sense, but there are many good and inspiring tidbits in here as well. I particularly like the way she weaves testimonies of other people's experiences throughout the book. At any rate, it's a good book and I recommend it. If you'd like to order it from Amazon, click here; If you'd like to order a used copy from The Strand, click here; if you happen to be in the NYC area you should find more copies in the basement...in either the religion section, philosophy, or self-help...can't remember (there were a half-dozen when I was there a few days ago). If you want to read a Wikipedia post regarding The Strand, click here.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#41)

11 boards of varying widths, measuring 6 feet in length each.
A wooden box containing, among other things, spare tools, 2 pints of water, 3 pounds of screws, and an extra shirt.

The Story of Stuff

I came across this video at the Story of Stuff website. It's a 20 minute video of--as the title suggests--the story of (our) stuff...how it gets to us from the very beginning...and how it affects things on a global scale...a little scary, and a little eye opening. If you've got a spare 20 minutes it's worth the time to watch it.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#40)

3 liters of red wine.
$48.26 worth of groceries.

New York City Bike Culture

I just returned from a trip to NYC with my son. I try to make it to this beautiful city at least once a year and am always impressed with the bicyclists in America's largest city. And over the past few years the city has become much more bicycle friendly...the city has made great efforts to do this, and they continue to do so. It only makes sense...besides the subway, walking and bicycling are the best way to get around this metropolis. At one point my son and I were in a taxi cab and it was moving so slow that we got out and walked and made it to our destination faster. Anyhow, to read more about bicycle-friendly New York, click here and here. To view detailed maps of the city's bicycle routes, click here.

Here's a few photo's of the clearly marked routes...the first two are along Eight Avenue, and the third is adjacent to Washington Square Park in the Village.



One of the things you'll notice straight away about many of the bicycles in NYC is that many are cargo bikes, makeshift or not...delivering small loads (food, especially) by bike seems to make the most sense. Bikes fitted with racks and baskets are everywhere...many of the baskets are altered to make them able to carry larger loads.



It seems also that there are more bike racks than ever before as well (I may be imagining this)...there were plenty of places to lock up a bike. The first is of a Flying Pigeon locked up just off Union Square, the second is one of David Byrne's bike racks.


Lastly, walking back to our hotel one evening we came across this frame in the trash...it of course stopped me in my tracks. Sad, I thought. I've posted many times in the past how I am not immune to picking good things from other people's trash, and as I stood there looking at it my son, who had a somewhat horrified look on his face says, "don't take it dad...how will you get it home on the train?" Don't worry, I told him...it's only a Huffy. (But seriously, I'm surprised nobody has taken it...maybe they did...if it were in Buffalo I would have plucked it and donated it to Buffalo Blue Bike.)