Triathlons, Permaculture, Michael Pollan,

Hi folks,

Jeez, sorry to be so out of touch. Starting two businesses can be a tad consuming, turns out!

Welp, I was in a sprint triathlon yesterday. I had a good time except for the parts where I felt sick, I accidentally veered off the pavement on my bike but managed to get back on unscathed, and I almost got hit by a big red F150 pick-up truck. Mainly it was a good (and necessary) kick in the butt to start training in earnest for the olympic distance triathlon on August 2nd. No olympic medalist here--I like to think of these things as try-athlons. (there's a picture of me getting on my bike just before it started to rain)


So, needless to say, I'm a huge fan of permaculture and designing with nature. Michael Pollan talks about healing the planet through a kind of agriculture that is respectful of the entire biota. He brings up an exciting hopefulness--exciting partly because of its simplicity.


Will post on my exciting compost bin project soon! And stay tuned for a Compost Maven exclusive where I will compost my old birkenstocks on video...

Ciao!
-the compost maven

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Two Nice Girls, Alison's Morning Spin

Hi folks,

I just finished putting this little music video together. I recorded it while riding around town with Alison on a sunny Sunday morning during the Vermont City Marathon, which is a really wonderful race if you're into that sort of thing. I ran it in 2002. Anyway, when I saw the video footage I knew right away that the music it had to be set to was Two Nice Girls' "The Sweet Postcard" which is currently in my cd changer.



Enjoy!
-the compost maven

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Morels and Blue Circles

Hi folks,

Here's the painting I did last weekend...

Blue Circle (18"X24")

And check out this morel that Alison and I fortuitously stumbled across just before dinner a couple nights ago...





and my favorite part...

That's it for now.
Don't forget to turn your compost--your pile will thank you!

-the compost maven


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Ruby Kaplansky Love

Hi folks,

Check out this video I made this morning of a ruby throated hummingbird feeding on sugar water as viewed through Space Kaplansky!



There's been a pair of courting hummingbirds buzzing and zipping around this feeder lately. They're surprisingly tame in their shiny green coats, paying little attention to our presence or the salivating cat. Some cool trivia: their wings beat between 55 and 200 beats per second (I guess it all depends on how excited they are), they're the only birds that can fly upside down, sideways, and backwards, and finally, they are darn cute.

Ciao for niao!
-the compost maven

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Flo Rida and House Demolitions = FUN!

Okay, here's the thing: I really like this song and I was showing my friend, Susanna, how to upload YouTube videos onto her "house demo" blog. I used this video as an example and then decided to just leave it on, for your viewing pleasure.



Here's Susanna's video. It shows her house being creamed into oblivion by an awesome hunk of yellow iron. Check out the heavy machinery finesse and Camel's Hump Mountain in the background.




Enjoy!
-the compost maven

Back to the Basics

Hi folks,

Here's an update on my bread baking adventures. I showed you a picture of my sourdough starter a while back. I made a loaf of bread yesterday up at Alison's. It was so tasty. Here's a video of me kneading the dough...





Here's what it looked like after the first rising.


Sorry I didn't take a picture of the finished loaf. It was gorgeous.
Anyone have any suggestions for getting the crust to be good and crunchy?

Until next time,
-the compost maven

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Scarlet Runner Bean Love

Hi folks,

I'm sorry to have been so out of touch. I've been so busy working to get the Waste Free Living website off the ground, plus gardening and gallivanting, that I've hardly had a moments rest! How're your gardens doing? Got yer peas in yet?

As evidence of one of my recent gardening-related adventures I offer a video that Alison made of me yesterday out on her deck.





That's right folks, I don't go anywhere without my Led Zeppelin belt buckle!

ciao!
-the compost maven

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