errantember

From the Organic Consumer Association:

Several North Sea islands have signed up for a Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
-style plan to build sustainable, closed systems with 100% re-use and zero waste!

I'm very excited because smaller communities can make the transition faster than the rest of us, then show us all how to do it once they have the bugs worked out.

First I went Wednesday evening to H(o)abitat Suites, a local all-organic hotel that is generously loaning us space for our free permaculture classes, to see a presentation by Andy Erwin, formerly of Boggy Creek Farm. It was all about ways to succeed with small-scale farming in Austin. He mentioned countless plants, tips, website, and other information and was very driven and inspirational. I definitely plan to tap him as a resource regarding future home farming efforts.

So after including a lot of trellised walkways in the design for my yard, I decided I should return to Construction Site X around midnight to take advantage of the big-ass pile of ash juniper that had been massacred I saw on my last walkabout there. After getting lost for a while, I discovered the Big Fucking Pile where all the topsoil for, evidently, the entire development is being kept. I climbed a small mountain of dirt, rocks, roots and twigs in search of decent sized pieces of juniper to take home. The tree pile didn't show itself. In the meantime, I pulled and sawed a few pieces I found sticking out at random. I also collected a few interesting root clusters that could make lawn ornaments and good habitats for wildlife. I finally located what was left of the tree pile, and about doubled my juniper find there. More importantly, however, I discovered where the trees had gone. Next to the big mountain of dirt, there was small mountain of wood mulch. The timing is perfect, as I just returned a shitty $30 wood chipper to Goodwill largely because it was too noisy and dangerous for my lot. I've been meaning to find a way to utilize the entire bed of the CR-V for such cargo, and I think I've an idea that will work. I'm going to duct tape together a bunch of contractor bags to cover the entire bed as high as I can attach it. Then I can go forth with a wheelbarrow and a rake and, as they say in investing, "back up the truck." I heard from a local source that they often have to pay someone to take the mulch away, so the small amount I can nab will be doing them a proportionally small favor. I may also be sneaky and transport my trash lumber to their pile so they can mulch it for me.

Not that I'm routinely a sneaky individual.

In addition to the above booty, I also nabbed several limestone rocks with the holes in them. I may also pick up a few more next trip, as all the limestone I've gotten so far has been hole-less.