The Rabbit Patch

Whew...

2008-04-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we got our lumber. Enough for one raised bed for now.

Today we spent about 3 hours there. Weeding, digging, wheelbarrowing, manuring and talking with the neighbors. We put down 3 wheelbarrows of 'cold' manure. Still not clear on the concept but I live to learn... Nancy put down chicken wire to do gopher discouragement duty.

So dig, chicken wire, manure today. Next weekend is dirt, more manure and let it age somehow. Then we build the raised bed and do the above all over again! Am I crazy? : )

Nancy and I left just before sunset. Good day. The garden is moving along. Note the sun sculpture. Nancy found it at a yard sale. I like it a lot.

Rain is amazing...

2008-03-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what 3 months of neglect and rain can do to a cleared plot. Here's the evidence.

Graphic.
In your face.
It was Wild.

I also had my first experience with stinging nettles. And wearing shorts too...Needless to say, won't do that again.

= O

That tall person in the hat is Nancy. The new partner in this bunny plot. I am so glad to have a partner as interested in growing bunny greens as I am. Looking forward to working with you, Nancy.

: )

And voila! 3 1/2 hours later...

And then, they rested. At least till Wednesday afternoon.

: )

In Memoriam -- December 5, 2007

2007-12-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Every moment of life has its risks. Certainly surgery and anesthesia sharply elevate the baseline. Thus we have lost our wonderful, precious Luciana bunny while doing our best to ensure a happy life for her. She was with us for three months never getting to the front of the S/N list until now because dwarf bunnies kept crowding in and and our beautiful Luci was a medium sized girl. She made herself at home in her enclosure on the third level. She was our diva and social butterfly. Luciana was right there making eye contact with every visitor. Her delicate lacy , patterned "eye makeup" so enhanced her beautiful dark eyes. Her ears had the same lacy pattern. She bounced around the x-pen. It was such a joy and pleasure to hold her and carry her to and fro. Even though Luci was the farthest bun from the refrigerator, she demanded her greens first by furiously boxing her enclosure door when greens came out. She chowed down with gusto, compliments to the greengrocer. There she was with her cute little face and tender pink lips, enjoying her cilantro to the last stem.

Unlike Luciana's original family, we didn't abandon her. Her body will be cremated just like that of any cherished, owned pet and her ashes scattered in our Bunny Garden.

~Lisa E.

Mailbox transformed...

2007-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

Painting the mailbox was important to me.

Before...and after.

The left pic above is the first day I took photos on 10/13. It's come a looooong way since then. Now, if I can only get some seeds in the ground...

Here are shots that equal a western panorama. Too much haze to see the ocean today, but it'll happen. Left to right. Southwest (Marina del Rey with several multi-story buildings). The center photo is straight west (just ocean out there) and the last is to the northwest (Santa Monica Bay and the Malibu bluffs way, way out there in the distance).

Seeds!

2007-11-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

All my ordered seeds have come. Here's the list:

These are the winter vegetable seed pack from Seeds of Change. Since I have no clue what I'm doing I thought getting what they recommend was good for now.

Peacevine Cherry Tomato

Red Drumhead Cabbage (heirloom red)
Purple Top White Globe Turnip (heirloom)
Dinosaur (Lacinato) Kale
Blue Ballet Squash (heirloom)
Butternut Squash
Rosa Di Milano Onion (rare)
Kirota Chantenay Carrot
Bellesque Endive
Early Palla Rosa Radicchio
Ancho/Poblano Chile
Long Island Brussel Sprouts
Moss Curled Parsley

And herbs from Johnny's Selected Seeds:

Dandelion, Italian Catalonia Special
Dandelion
White Sage
Leaf Parsley, Titan
Cilantro, Santo Monogram
Leaf Parsley, Giant of Italy

When I was a kid I swear I remember that vegetables all had only one name. Life was simple then.

I grew a friend today...

2007-11-04T21:01:00.001-08:00

Nut Grass. Indestructible. Immortal. Determined. Aggravating.

Looking southwest toward a neighbor's lush
garden paradise.

Looking south toward same paradise of same neighbor.

I spent most of my time weeding. Bermuda grass along the pathway and retaining wall to the east. As I trekked to the compost area to unload my Bermuda and nut grass (into a well-marked maw specifically designated for the rapacious nut grass), I met up with a woman of Japanese ancestory also headed that way pushing a loaded wheelbarrow. She showed me the other vilified weedie, False Garlic. I helped her dump her barrowful.

Her name is Vinnie. She's 76.

Vinnie took me on a tour of her paradise on earth. She grows flowers in one 15x15 plot and next to it another plot made up entirely of bitter melon vines. Who would think? She said the whole plant is usable and quite medicinal. Especially good for high cholesterol. Hmmmmm...

I brought home two. To 'slice up real fine' and stir fry. They look like lumpy medium-sized raw pickles. Hmmmmm...

Picture forthcoming.

I bought bright yellow paint for the mailbox on the way home.

More Whirled Peas

2007-11-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

no matter what...

End the War Now Rally - Los Angeles October 27, 2007

Invigoration and enervation...

2007-11-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I didn't post last Saturday. But we were there lifting, toting, bending, scooping, pushing and pulling. Art is turning over the whole dang thing about 12" down. He got through about 1/4 in 90 minutes of intensive grunting. I -- on the other hand -- did rake-out duty to separate weedies from earth and level things a bit before Art turns all that over...I'm sure it makes sense somehow.

I like this woman's sign.

Off home we ran to shower then head for our Downtown LA Peace March. Our first! We are generally quiet people (no laughing!) so we felt pretty out of our element. To alleviate our timidness at yelling our feelings about this atrocious [blood for oil] business, I drafted us into a drill team called the "Marching Waitresses." Although there wasn't a waitress that I could find it was silly enough to get attention. We wore red and white polk-a-dot aprons. Here was the first part our call out/call back:

We are marching waitresses
Serving our country and land
The best way we can fill our goal
Is bring our soldiers home!

Youngsters and oldsters were there, but no families -- no in-betweenies. It got me to thinking that we are as a country certainly upset by this war, but we aren't losing sons (and daughters) in a draft like we were in Viet Nam.

I remember my mom was a Goldwater Republican but declared she'd move my two younger brothers to Canada before she'd let them be drafted. Fortunately, she never had to face that choice. But many did.

Now with our all-volunteer army, we don't feel like we're losing 'personally'. We have to believe this war is personal somehow or there will never be the fervent outcry big enough and loud enough to stop it and then help Iraq some other, less ravaging, way out of the mess we've made for them.

Hmmmm...Gardening and whirled peas. You get it all right here.

I saw my first worm...

2007-10-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

Another great day in dirt land. I learned that the pernicious 'crabgrass' is bermuda grass; and there's a lot of it still to pull. However the two rose bushes are g-o-n-e thanks to my hefty hubby and I dug out most of the false garlic. I harvested one of the large amaranth bushes and the hubbs dug that out too. My guy. : )

Inventory: one small amaranth, trimmed; two small mint, trimmed as well; and all edged in bermuda grass.

Wishful thinking...

2007-10-18T08:43:00.001-07:00

This is my neighbor to the north...and the community orchard beyond.

Dare I dream? ; )

90 minutes later...

2007-10-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

...progress.

The wood step down into Rabbit Patch is now uncovered so I can see where it is. The two rosebushes have been pruned back with more to go. They were planted on either side of the step down that's only about 18" wide. I'm going to try to dig them out at some point. Roses are not my thing.

One amaranth and the morning glory vine are history. I dug out an old wood pallet and a dozen bricks. No telling what they were buried for. And the hole absent its dirt is now more level. And I whacked my mint plant into shape and took the trimmings home to my buns. "Gee, what is this, mom?"

I also discovered two bent wire tomato stakes.

It had rained the night before and when the sun started peaking through it was humid. I don't get along well with humid, so it was time to stop. I'd sweated for 90 minutes and felt wonderful. Slinging that shovel like a pro. : )

It's about 1/3 cleared at this point. You can't see the crabgrass field at the entrance but its' there waiting for me and then the whole thing has to be layered with manure and compost and turned under. I think every time I go toward this thing I'll be scared sh*tless again. But at this point I know I'll go back regardless.

Beginning...

2007-10-18T08:25:00.001-07:00

I showed up at 8am on Sunday, 10/7, to take the tour and decide just how much more I could fit into my life. Janet W. is the "Phaser" or Phase II Rep for our quadrant. There are 550 plots in this shindig. Amazing. I told her I was signing up and was scared sh*tless.

This is the view to the northwest of the 15 x 15 space "as is" on 10/13/07. The white chairs and the mailbox are in my neighbors' spaces. To the west is a 180* view of the Pacific Ocean and lots of treetops stretching toward the water. We're on a bluff about 2 miles inland. I'll take pics on a sunnier day.

So here's the inventory: two overgrown rosebushes, lots of crabgrass, a morning glory vine, some false garlic, two large amaranth, a 2 ft dia, 1 ft deep hole and one little mint plant over in the far corner; one 5 gal bucket, a buried wood pallet (!?), about a dozen buried bricks covered with a layer of rotting newspaper(!?), a mailbox that reads "heri Dawn," lots of earthy looking bugs, and more crabgrass.

I'm so excited!