I Am A City Mouse - Enjoying Life In the Big City

As a child I recall reading the Aesop's Fable "The Country Mouse and The City Mouse!"  In the story after a visit to the city to see her cousin, the country mouse scurries back to the simplicity and safety of the country sacrificing the "plenty" of the city.  I always identified with the country mouse.  Kent, Ohio, where I spent my childhood was not what you would call country but rather a middle class university town that was surrounded by country. But it certainly was simpler than neighboring Cleveland, which in my mind was a "city!"

Since leaving Ohio, I have spent the remainder of my life in the suburbs of Los Angeles, first in Hawthorne located in the "South Bay" of Los Angeles and for the last 13 years in Playa del Rey, just 4 blocks from the ocean but technically the City of Los Angeles.  While we are not immersed in the urban area, on a clear day we can see the high-rise buildings that occupy "downtown."  We are surrounded by nature...the Pacific Ocean, the El Segundo Blue Butterfly protected habitat, the Ballona Creek Watershed, and even the LAX runway protected area...and again, on clear days, we can see the San Bernardino Mountains.

At times Jay and I fantasize about where we might like to live and the country often comes up...the rolling cypress studded hills of Tuscany, the coastline of Central California around Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo, the rolling hills and vineyards of Santa Barbara or Napa...someplace away from the noise, the pollution, the traffic, the crowds, the crime. Yet when we have a week like we have just experienced we realize that we probably would never leave the urban environment with the richness of opportunities always at our finger tips!  This past week we indulged to two events that were very rewarding and the best part...FREE! 

The first event was a free lecture provided by Zocalo Public Square, a non-profit organization under the auspices of the Los Angeles Public Library which "connects people to ideas and each other" by offering numerous free public lectures on a huge array of topics at various venues throughout the city.

Zocalo believes every city needs a welcoming neutral space for conversation and deliberation about the world today.  This week we attended a dialogue at the Goethe-Institute Los Angeles between radio host of Good Food, Evan Kleinman and author, Traci McMillan, discussing the topic of "The American Way of Eating: Is Eating Well Just for the Rich?"  This Friday we will hear Eric Topol discussing, "What Will Digital Medicine Look Like?" held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown.  A simple email gets us free reservations and the event provides an opportunity to go to a new and exciting venue in some part of the city and to become informed in the process.  They even serve free beverages afterwards...soda, beer, WINE!

Then yesterday we participated in another free event in celebration of Earth Day.  The LA Neighborhood of Mar Vista conducted a Green Garden Showcase of 50 gardens open for viewing.

They provided six area maps of their neighborhood with all the homes clearly marked making it easy to walk or ride bikes to all the gardens.  Their website identified the focus of the garden...floral, landscaping, edible vegetables, rainwater capturing, solar energy.  Here are some photos of what we saw:

This is actually the home of local Garden Blogger "The Gardenerd."   We had fun talking to her, Jay got to know their chickens, we saw some innovative trellising, and even considered the possibilities of Worm Composting!

 

The next house we visited was a huge property.  Jay took time to admire the bicycles parked in front.  If our house was not located in such a hilly neighborhood, we might consider this!

This house just had their front garden open but they were showcasing a rainwater capturing system.  The homeowner introduced me to Lemon Verbena...a wonderful herb for making Lemon Verbena Tea!

This property was great fun. We were greeted with a sign welcoming us to "paradise."  A young couple who has found a way to eek out a living doing the things they love. They contract out their gardening skills, do personal training, sell home-made jewelry, and recently began forming and selling cob construction. Here they live in paradise... on this large, eclectic property with an entertainment area, garden and even a wood-burning outdoor oven that they made...PIZZA Parties!

The last house we visited was very ambitious.  The EVO Farm where a young couple has developed an aquaponics system where their plants grow in water that is continually supplied with nutrients in the water from the fish...that are located in an adjacent tank.  It is considered a closed loop system and very ecologically friendly.  I was especially impressed with their tomatoes!  They have begun selling their produce at a Farmers' Market.  

You can see we chose to visit the vegetable gardens and we came home energized to work on our own little piece of the country in the midst of the city!  So, I guess Jay and I are city mice!  We will continue to live in the urban sprawl...keeping our eyes open for the numerous events and activities that add some spice to our life.  And we will remind ourselves of the reasons for this choice every time we are bottle-necked on the 405 freeway trying to inch our way to our next exploration.

I Am a Gardener - My Winter Orto (Vegetable Garden)

"Ouch"....when I literally rolled out of bed this morning, my aching hamstring muscles reminded me that I had spend a good part of yesterday squatting in the yard, preparing the soil and planting some winter vegetables.  One of the glories of living in southern California's Mediterranean climate is that I can garden year-round.  So, the autumn months feel somewhat like springtime...the beginning of a new growing season.

Winter vegetables mean green...swiss chard, peas, fava beans, lettuces, kale, spinach, leeks.  I grew up with a love of the activity of gardening but in the past five years I have learned much about the art of gardening.  Initially, I approached my garden like I approached cleaning my house.  Every weed that popped up was immediately plucked, a plant passed its prime and going to seed was immediately cut down and replaced with a new, vigorous one and any debris was immediately picked up so the garden looked neat and tidy.  In time, I have learned to relax a bit and to copy nature.  Jay reminds me that a weed is merely a plant I have not yet learned to love.  If I quickly pull any sprouting green that I have not planted I could be removing the gifts of nature...the volunteer plants that are sprouting from the previous plants I now let go to seed.  Yesterday as I worked some of our homemade compost into the soil I noticed some cilantro beginning to sprout, some signs of the red leaf lettuce that grew last season, some baby sweetpea seedlings from dropped seedpods and some slender leek shoots...all gifts from last year's plants.

Cilantro sprouting!

My friend reminds me that if you look at nature, fallen leaves carpet the ground providing a natural mulch that retains moisture and provides a friendly environment for the beneficial insects you want near your plants.  So now I leave them there and remind myself..."That is why they are called leaves!"

Both sets of my Italian immigrant grandparents had their own "orto" - vegetable garden.  Each of my cousins in Sicily has his orto on a plot of land outside the village. 

Salvatore and Gaetano at their orto - Ferla 2007

So gardening is in my genes and I garden because it gives me pleasure.  I also garden because raising our own vegetables is one of the ways that we move toward more self-sustainability, enjoy the seasonality of foods, and relish the natural flavors and nutritional benefits of the vegetables.  A gift of being retired is that you are liberated from the demands of a paying job and can invest your time in learning about subjects that draw your interest.  Growing foods draws my interest and reading wonderful books like Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" awakened in me the desire to get my hands dirty and live more sustainably.  Researching the energy crisis and peak oil draws Jay's interest and causes him to want to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.  Together we can see that being less dependent on store-provided, energy intensive food makes sense for us and for the environment.  Little by little all the soil around our home is becoming edible landscaping with vegetables interspersed with flowering plants.

Front Terrace - July 2010 - Chard, basil, tomato, leeks going to seed!

A side benefit is that as Jay sees me relaxing and respecting the life cycle of our plants, seeing beauty and purpose in them beyond their prime, he believes that may translate into my continuing to relish him in the autumn of our years. :-) 

I Am an Adventurer - Trying Out a Hybrid Car

We have scheduled all of this year's travel for the fall months and though the suitcase is still warm from our trip to Europe, we are packing to leave tomorrow morning for a road trip to Northern California.  As we mature, we have gained a greater appreciation for vintage items and our cars, both 1993 models, fall into that category and are not reliable enough for a long jaunt.  So seeing this as a great opportunity to try out some new technology, we have rented a hybrid, a Toyota Prius, for the trip.

Jay with rental Prius

Jay is a scholar, scientist, economist and has spent the last few years immersed in the study of the energy crisis; peak oil, sustainability, carbon-footprint are words that float around our house.  Here was a chance to put our money where his mouth is and see how we might like to drive a more energy-efficient automobile.  After a trip to the local Toyota dealer to test drive a model and find out how to turn on the windshield wipers, we picked up our rental car from Enterprise and have a day to become comfortable with it before we set out.

Remember the days when you simply took the key, slid it into the keyhole, turned gently to the right, placed your foot on the accelerator and then eased forward?  Well, no more.  We spent much of the day becoming acquainted with the Prius...first watching a carefully-crafted manufacturer's DVD, then sitting in the front seat, manual open in the lap, hunting for the bells and whistles.

Prius Dashboard

We are eager to experience this new car.  At the same time we are reminded of how quickly technology is developing and how easily it is to be left behind in the dust.  There is a sense of trepidation and disorientation as we take these first steps.  Is the car really on?  I don't hear anything! What was that double beep?  Why is that icon flashing? Is if off now?  We felt these same feelings when we bought our HD television, our little Netbook, our Kindles.  Yet each time we master a new skill or figure out a new piece of equipment we feel a bit smarter, a bit energized and yes, a bit "younger!"

I am reminded of something Eleanor Roosevelt said..."Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his (her) back on life."
Now about those smart phones...

I Am a Conscientious Carnivore

Once a quarter Santa Monica Farmer's Market hosts a discussion at the Santa Monica library featuring various Farmer vendors discussing a specific topic.  Last night Evan Kleinman (think KCRW "Good Food" and Angeli Caffe) moderated a panel with:

Chef Evan Funke of Rustic Canyon , 

Marcie Jimenez of Jimenez Family Farms (think rabbit, goat, veggies),

Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy (think certified raw milk products), and

Greg Nauta of Rocky Canyon Farms (think humanely raised beef and pork).

The purpose was not to discuss the pros and cons of being a meat-eater, but rather, for those who have chosen to be carnivores...what is the most sustainable and humane way to obtain your meat products?  And...what are the forces that make it so difficult for those products to be readily available to "conscientious carnivores?"

First of all, I just love "talking to the farmer...the hand...that feeds you!"  Up close and personal is the name of the game.  Each of these panelists, including Evan Funke, who represented the chefs who make conscious decisions to have a personal relationship with the providers of the food they prepare, were committed to their organic and sustainable process.  I would like to have each one for a friend.  There is a sense of mission in their message.

They say there is a ground swell of demand for their products and that is what will begin to turn the tide against the forces that now make it difficult for them to grow or deliver their product.  Some of the issues are the regulations that are in place, most from the FDA (which they point out is a drug regulating agency not an agricultural agency...who regulate and "protect pharmaceutical companies).  Another issue for the ranchers is the scarcity of slaughtering facilities, causing them to have only a few available slots for their animals and to have to travel distances to bring their animals in for slaughter and processing.  They credit books (thank you, Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver), movies (thank you "Fresh," and "Food Inc." and model farmers/ranchers (thank you Joel Salatin) for providing the impetus to the ground swell.

The remind us of the education that still remains to be done to bring people closer to the food they consume and related anecdotes where various adults made statements to the such as:

•    to dairy farmer, Mark McAfee, "Do you milk the bulls too?
•    to Evan Funke, "What tree does salad grow on?"

The wheels of government turn slowly and it on when legislators realize that their voting constituents are demanding change in the food systems that change will occur.  One local glimmer of hope is the work of the Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force, on which Evan Kleiman serves, which has developed a policy and a plan for a food hub for Los Angeles and presented their report, Good Food for All Agenda: Creating a New Regional Food System for Los Angeles to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in July.

For me, I am left with a renewed awareness that my responsibility is to vote with my fork...to let my food purchases support the move toward more sustainable, humane and healthy agriculture...to help put the "culture" back into agriculture!