Archive for March 20th, 2009

I’ve found an interesting, if somewhat long, blog post courtesy of Kevin at www.Fortworthology.com. In this missive, Andres Duany writes in NewGeorgraphy, asking whether the “real” New Orleans can ever be restored, because apparently the historic city was largely built by hand and with materials that were assembled slowly. Mortgages were not used, and thus people in the Big Easy had time to develop their culture precisely because they did not rush around desperately trying to earn money.

He writes: “I think that it was possible to sustain the culture unique to New Orleans because housing costs were minimal. These houses liberated people from debt. One did not have to work a great deal to get by. There was the possibility of leisure.

There was time to create the fabulously complex Creole dishes that simmer forever; there was time to rehearse music, to play it live rather than from recordings, and time to listen to it. There was time to make costumes and to parade; there was time to party and to tell stories; there was time to spend all day marking the passing of friends. One way to leisure time lies in a light financial burden. With a little work, a little help from the government, and a little help from family and friends – life could be good! This is a typically Caribbean social contract: not one to be dismissed as laziness or poverty, but as a way of life.”

This, of course, is the antithesis of the modern American, who, he claims, and it doesn’t seem he’s far wrong, never stops working.

What would Fort Worth be like, I wonder, if everyone had to live on what they actually earned on a day to day and year to year basis? Of course, this brings us back to the stories of financial talk show host Dave Ramsey and his mantra: “Debt is normal. Be Weird!” I wonder if anyone else in this region is thinking that life would be better if we consumed less, not just to save the environment (though the environment would be a co-beneficiary of such thinking) but because we only have so long on this earth and working may not be the highest use of our hours.

There’s an Irish saying, “you’ll be a long time dead.” Which makes me wonder: should everyone be spending all their living days working?

Anyone want to answer that for me?

In addition to all the recreational digging that has been done, it’s time for an update on my gardening resolutions for 2009.  To revisit the 8:

1. I said I would build proper, 12-inch tall raised beds.  We now have two, one-foot-tall beds and will be filling them with dirt shortly.  However, I have to admit it was my mother’s husband David, not me, that built them. He also saw the wood, discarded on a curb waiting for someone to pick it up, and I went and got it for free. The result was I got my raised beds for almost nothing, and I didn’t have to do any work. I’m actually rather still in shock about this.  David says we can get free compost from the City of Fort Worth at the Botanic Garden, although he admits it’s not perfect. “What do you mean?” I ask.

“It’s not particularly fine and it’s got little pieces of stuff, like plastic, in it. But it grows stuff just fine.”

All I can say about that is I’m not a picky person when the price is right. Especially when the right price is free.

2. I said I would construct a quality irrigation system using drip irrigation with  a timer. We’ve got plans to do this.  Right after we dump the compost into the beds.

3. I will make a reasonable and well thought-out planting plan.  I guess I’d better get to work on that. The tomatos and peppers that I started growing a little over a month ago are almost ready to be put in, and I also managed to get three blackberry plants which I hope to put in this afternoon.  I’ve scoped out some nice 1×1 staves to put next to the tomatoes so they can be tied up as they grow. 

4. I will keep up with the weeding. We’ll see about that.

5. I will not start any other time consuming major projects or new hobbies between March and June.   So far so good, but I’m wavering … last week I lost another chicken, so baby chicks may be needed.

6. We will not go on any two week long vacations during the harvest season this year. We should have this one in the bag because we don’t have the money.

7. I will try to keep well-informed and inspired by reading blogs about gardens. Okay: truth to tell. I didn’t do it. But I’m going to start!

8. I will update this blog with my successes and failures.  So far so good.  There’s this one, then also “How to Prune Your Roses,”  ”How to Start Tomatos Inside” and “Gardening Saves the Day.”