Saturday, August 1, 2009

Saturday Bike Ride

Joined the 9:00 a.m. group from my local bike shop this morning for a 58-mile ride. I went on this ride because it averages a slower speed (17-18 mph) than the 7:00 a.m. group (20-22 mph). But, of course, there were a half dozen in our group of 20 that should have been in the 7:00 a.m. group -- very fast! I was among the last to finish, of course, but glad for the marginal success. Riding in a group is a different experience than riding alone which is why I'm venturing out and trying to learn the rules of the road: "Clear!" "Car back!" -- along with pointing out potholes, taking a turn pulling at the front of the line, etc. Fortunately, it's a "no drop" ride meaning everyone stops and regroups every 10-12 miles, providing a few minutes of rest each time. Very thankful for that.

This is Richard Moody, the leader of the weekly ride and a shorter Tuesday evening ride as well (didn't get the young lady's name -- she was parked near me so I told her to get in the pic):

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Richard's son, Mitch -- 15 years old, 115 pounds -- was on the ride. Looks like Alberto Contador (winner of this year's Tour de France) when he rides -- he led the fast group all day, just floated up the hills. Amazing kid who has his USA Cycling license and is beginning to race in his age group. Wouldn't be surprised to hear of him again some day.

After the ride Richard and I were talking -- related how I hadn't been able to finish my birthday ride earlier in the year (61 miles) due to a crash. Since we had done 58 today he rounded up his son, Mitch, and a couple other riders and made us go for a three-mile spin around downtown Matthews so I could have a 61-mile ride in the books for this year's birthday. Nice guy!

While recovering at home I sliced up my extra tomatoes to put in the dehydrator. I'll freeze the dehydrated slices and use them this winter in hummus, pasta sauce, and crumbled up in salads. The flavor is so intense when they're dried as the sugar in the slices gets concentrated in the absence of water/juice. I love the colors of these different slices. Can you believe the depth of the reds in these vine-ripe tomatoes compared to the anemic colors of the average "store bought" red tomato?

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The green slices on this tray aren't unripe tomatoes. They're fully ripe -- a green variety of tomato. There are so many varieties available to be grown but which never show up in "the store."

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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Do Not Be Deceived

The Bible cautions us about the possibility of being deceived in spiritual matters, but the same warning can be applied to other areas. For instance, I heard a report on NPR the other day about the way the Obama administration (but every administration has done this) has recast various aspects of policy to make them sound better to the public. In other words, wordsmithers (in all areas of life, especially government and advertising) labor long and hard to pick just the right words (e.g., less clear = less offensive) by which to elicit the response they are seeking.

Here are some examples I jotted down while listening to the report . . .
  • "special interest groups" are now called "stakeholders"
  • the "war on terror" is now an "overseas contingency operation"
  • a "mandate" is now "shared responsibility"
  • a "toxic financial asset" is now a "legacy asset"
Ah, I feel better already.

Be not deceived. When nothing changes but the words, nothing changes.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bees, Berries, Bikes, and Brandywines

The bees love the mint that is flowering and going to seed in a container on the front sidewalk:

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Okay, these aren't berries, but it was the only "B" word that would work in the title of the post. They are a colorful assortment of "cherry" tomatoes from this week's CSA share. Such beautiful colors and shapes. The large, round purple ones are the best-tasting cherry tomatoes I've ever eaten. (There were more of these but I'd already inhaled them before I took the picture.) It's such a delight to stand at the counter when I get home with my CSA box and sample all these different varieties, noting the subtle differences in texture and flavor:

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Did a 33+ mile ride this morning with Sammy Koenigsberg (my CSA farmer) and his friend, Scott. Scott is on the left and Sammy on the right:

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I know, I need a haircut. Note the Road ID bracelet on my right-hand wrist. It has my name and blood type for emergency use, then an 800 number and web site address where emergency responders can go to get complete information on me should I be, ahem, unresponsive after a crash.

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Some nice heirloom Brandywines that are looking strong. This is actually two plants that seeded right next to each other in the seeding tray and I didn't have the heart to thin them so planted them both in the same hole:

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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Back in the Compost Biz

Having closed down my rather involved compost-making operation a few years ago, I've been burying vegetable scraps in the flower beds since then (with good results -- pretty rich soil in the flower beds). But with all available space being taken up by summer veggie plants, I had resorted to just burying the scraps in the area where the compost bins used to sit -- not very productive, but I couldn't bear to throw them in the garbage.

So today I used a couple rolls of wire fencing a neighbor had given me and created four new compost bins. I'll have a good many spent plants that can go into the bins as I pull up tomatoes, etc., toward the end of the summer. I had a big container full of veggie scraps to start with, so I made the bins and then got a bale of hay from Home Depot and started the first bin this afternoon. (The hay is, I'm sure, replete with pesticide residue. Sammy Koenigsberg uses large quantities of hay to mulch his plants, and since he's certified organic the hay he uses has to be organic as well. So I'll try to find out his source and get some to use going forward.)

The new compost outpost: The bins are a bit hard to see, but they're almost four feet tall and about 3.5' wide. The tarp is covering the hay bale to keep it from getting soaked in the rain. (What rain?)

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Organic alfalfa to use as food for the bacteria that decompose the green and brown matter in the pile:

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Started with a layer of straw on bare earth, then a layer of household veggie scraps, then a layer of soil to add microorganisms to the mix, then a sprinkling of alfalfa meal, then another layer of straw, then a soaking of water. This won't come close to heating up until many more layers are added and the pile grows in mass. But it's a start:

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P.S. Here's today's juicing content. The red chard, beets, and curly green kale are from my beds. The beets were pulled previously, but the chard and kale I cut just minutes before juicing. Those long red chard stems are full of juice! Makes me feel like the juice is all the more nutritious when it is extracted just minutes after being cut:

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