Two stories in the Compass about gardens in Bay View
May 29, 2009
The current issue of the fine local newspaper The Bay View Compass (which I write for) has two three stories about gardening in Bay View. The feature is about the rooftop garden at Future Green, which features a solar-powered automatic watering system. They also used some of my photos from the May 23 garden installation at our house, and mention that a rain garden will be installed at Humboldt Park Elementary School. You’d think that I would have paid more attention to that, as I told my editor that I noticed they’d torn out a lot of the pavement surrounding that school. Having moved and written a senior thesis and then done a huge amount of other stuff in the same short time frame, you’ll forgive me if I miss a bit, Jay.….
It must be noted that after the five raised beds were built that day (the 23rd), Stacie took it upon herself to build another raised bed and a circular herb garden in the front yard, all of which are in pictures elsewhere on this blog.
I have the nicest friends.
May 28, 2009
It’s really good to come home and find that a small pile of composted horse manure has been delivered to your garden. Thanks, Ken!
Bay View Plant Sale is this coming Saturday May 30
May 27, 2009
The upcoming Bay View Garden And Yard Society’s annual Plant Sale is a great event at which you can buy quality plants for your home, garden, or urban farm. While there’s a particular interest in food crops this year, the plant sale will have everything from tropical plants to indoor plants and all varieties in between.
The sale is on Saturday May 30 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at South Shore Park, 2900 S Shore Drive in Bay View. Here’s a map in case you need it.
Here are the posters, all neatly lined up together as WordPress just apparently would not do:
And here’s a PDF version of the tomato poster in case you need it.
All credit for these awesome designs goes to Bob Solem of BV GAYS. Thanks, bOB!
Warming my hands above the burning dumpster
May 10, 2009
Between the repeated rounds of quick’n'dirty-pack an’ load moving, the screeching raccoons and the burning dumpster in the back alley, it’s been an exciting week at our new house.
A new home, a new home garden
April 30, 2009
Some very good news: I will no longer have upstairs neighbors! They’re good people, but it’ll be nice not to have people coming in and out all hours of night and day.
The other good news: along with the new digs, we will have a huge garden! By city standards, having almost 1,000 square feet as a garden is huge. But such things are possible on the south side, and that’s exactly what we’ve got now.
Which leads me to my question… what should we call it? I’ve a few ideas, but you can add yours, too:
Second, because it’s going to be such a big space, I’m looking for some suckers GOOD PEOPLE, possibly you, who would be willing to lend some assistance in setting up and tending the beds. Plus, you’re entitled to plant and grow your own crops, and, naturally, take it harvest home with you when.
And if you’re interested in helping set up the yard-farm and grow some food, drop me a line: my email is haazah –> @ <– gmail.com. If you can figure out how to turn that into a usable email address (and not spam me), you’re a good candidate for the garden.
Thanks!
The headlines blared: “Public hearing on rezoning of We Energies and Cousins Center parcels at 7pm in city of St. Francis City Hall, 4235 S. Nicholson Ave.”
A public hearing! Who could stay away? Would affected City of Milwaukee residents be able to testify? What would happen when St. Francis was asked exactly what was being asked of their little city?
Well, apparently I was not the only one who had some questions about this. For tonight, myself and at least a hundred people, if not more, tried to fit into the same space at St. Francis City Hall to testify.
As the Bay View Compass said, “The public hearing is for the public to testify on the proposed rezoning to a planned unit development (PUD) as proposed by Cardinal Stritch University for the 129-acre parcels the school hopes to acquire. This area, including a prairie that would be replaced by parking lots and sports fields in the preliminary Stritch plan, includes the east portion of and area buffering the Seminary Woods.”
[Disclosure: I work and write for the Bay View Compass.]
So, what happens when a record crowd turns out to testify? The line wraps around city hall on the cold winter night, and crowded outside the small hearing room on the second floor of the fire house…
And the meeting was cancelled.
I have to say, from a safety standpoint, I supported the decision. From a meeting management standpoint, I supported the decision. On no other grounds did I support the decision, but it seems a smart move. The woman whom I believe was St. Francis City Attorney Michele Ford told me that she did it because the people standing in the hallway couldn’t hear what was going on, which she said “was illegal.”
Now, I’m not an attorney, but I don’t think that’s illegal. It was good that they did it, as this issue will ceratinly require a much bigger room, such as an auditorium, to get everyone’s testimony. I hope that they’ll let us non-St. Francis residents testify, as the construction of a four-story parking garage and the accompanying daytime traffic will certainly have an impact on my neighborhood. There’s the apparently unforseen impacts on the St. Francis taxpayers. For instance, they won’t make a dime on property taxes from Cardinal Stritch. And they’ll certainly need more police, more utilities, more road work, and so on.
This is to speak nothing of the increased traffic, or the negligable effect this will have on the St. Francis economy. Yay, low-paying part-time teaching jobs! Maybe I will have something to do with my history degree after all.
Though the temperature outside right now truly is frightful, as is the economy, we’ve still got reason to be grateful. And, dare I say, hopeful. It is just over a month until Barack Obama will be inaugurated — and our “End of an Error!” party to give the outgoing <<presidente>> a proper shoe-throwing goodbye!
(The above was considered “hateful rhetoric” by a thin-skinned right-winger. I ask you to judge it for yourself.)
But before that, we have another round of Drinking Liberally. I’ll be celebrating the end of the semester, and some liberal drinking may be just what is called for.
We meet, as always, on Wednesday at 7 PM over at that lovely smoke-free bar, Sugar Maple, which is 441 East Lincoln Avenue, just off KK in Bay View. I assure you it’ll be a little warmer then, so brave the weather and come on out! It’ll be worth it.
Fantastic Drinking Liberally debate-watching party!
October 16, 2008
I’m almost lacking in words to describe how astonishingly well tonight’s debate-watching party went. It just went that well. (And I’m kind of tired now.)
Tonight being the third Wednesday of the month means it was time for Drinking Liberally. As it perfectly coincided with the third presidential debate, we knew we had to make a party of it.
DL Debate Watchers (1 of 2)
First off, I can’t say enough good things about both Sugar Maple and Cafe Centraal. A big thinks to Bruno, Drew, Adrienne, and everyone at Sugar Maple, our elegant host bar. They kindly let us bring in food from Cafe Centraal, who deserve my second round of praise. Not only was their food outstanding, but they were able to take the big order without a hitch, and then brought it over for us and settled the bill there at Sugar Maple. Flawless all around.
And Stacie got us ice cream from Babe’s on KK! Thanks, uh, babe! ;->
Finally, thank you to everyone who came. I met dozens of great new folks, and heard nothing but positive comments from them. Thank you for putting up with the horrible TV reception (how accustomed many of us are to cable TV!), and thank you for helping everyone have a wonderful time. Drinking Liberally wouldn’t be nearly the success that it is without you all.
DL Debate Watchers (2 of 2)
(There are more pictures up on Flickr.)
Our next gathering will be Eating Liberally on the day after the election, Wednesday Nov. 5, at Bella’s Fat Cat, 2737 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in downtown Bay View. Let’s all get out there to get out the vote and make sure we have Victory Custard that night!
Aphid Assault III
August 7, 2008
Today came my third attack on the aphids at Village Roots Garden. The little buggers are, if nothing else, persistent. My soapy assault was somewhat restrained this time, as there were a few ladybugs on the plants. That’s significant, because while ladybugs do eat aphids, they also succumb to soapy water. I hope none of them were too sprayed, but I didn’t know how much the three ladybugs could do in the face of so many aphids. Plus I figured by the time the ladybugs could have made much of a difference, the aphids would have killed the plants. So I let ‘em have it.
It reminds me of something I told my daughter. When you have a superhero’s superpower, you need to know when to use it, as you can’t always use it. Just my mighty TDI is even mightier thanks to the RocketChip, I don’t drive insanely fast while in Bay View, as that would be dangerous. (Late at night on the Hoan Bridge is another matter.) Similarly, we need to know when to commit soapicide (sic.) upon aphids and when to try to spare the benevolent ladybugs. Hopefully that happened, but the aphids will soon be gone. I’ll check on it tomorrow and find out.
When Aphids Attack
August 5, 2008
“The flowers have withered and are unrecognizable. They look crispy and dead.”
This is what happens when aphids attack your plants. Within a matter of hours, even days, only a shriveled remain is left of your plants.
With word that aphids had infested a community garden plant, I sprang into action. By the next day, I had prepared all that I would need to face the alien bug invasion. Armed only with soapy water, a spray bottle, and a sense of community pride, I knew what I had to do.
Aphids!
With a thunderstorm lurking on the horizon, I set out. Rain began to fall as I approached the new garden at the triangular corner of Kinnickinnic, Lincoln and Howell Avenues. Looking left, then right, I saw plants. Lots of them. Many with flowers.
They looked all right.
[CUE SQUEALING BACKGROUND MUSIC]
I made a phone call. Just then, lightening flashed, and my cell phone FAILED. Determined, refusing to be put down by the Man or Mother Nature, I tried again.
The phone rang.
[CUE DIAL TONE, DIALING SOUNDS]
I learned that the red, life-sucking aphids were in fact not at the KK Triangle, but at the Village Roots Garden.
That meant the unthinkable: what had been a vacant lot and was now home to a robust community garden was now under attack — by aphids.
[CUE SQUEALING BACKGROUND MUSIC (AGAIN)]
Distracted by the rain and lightning, I searched in vain. No aphids on any of the plants so far. But then I remembered those haunting words:
“The flowers have withered and are unrecognizable. They look crispy and dead.”
Crispy. And dead.
Could it be? The treasured Rudbekias were under attack. They were on the eastern most planting bed, waiting out their last days beneath an unassuming plum tree — waiting for the aphids to suck the very life from them.
Without saying a word, I raised the spray bottle.
A soapy vengeance was delivered.
Update: The aphids have returned, hungrier than ever, striking at previously unmolested Rudbekias. Fortunately, they are still vulnerable to water and dish soap. We’ll see if this holds them back — or rids us of them for good.
