Michael Levin's Blog – October 2008 Archive (17)

(photo by Michael Levin www.zoobird.com)



"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" ---Oscar Wilde



Living off-the-grid means living without public utilities like electricity. People who live off-the grid may not depend on municipal water, sewage, or natural gas. It also can mean you're self-sufficient in various ways. There are many third-world… Continue

Why bicycle commute? Save money on gas, relax both your sphincter and your environmental footprint, and just have fun in general. You might have reasons not to bicycle commute like “I can’t run around sweaty at work”, “It’s not feasible to ride the distance to work”, or “I’m in no shape to bicycle commute” if you don’t commute already.

With a little planning and ingenuity you too can join the ranks of the commuters or forge our own trail and be a code…

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Seeds of Self Reliance



Seeds of hope, through

fertile tilth of our imagination,

Join moist soil to

Promised Harvest.



Seeds of wonder, through

hard coat of innate knowledge,

Unfold the miracle to

Food and Fiber.



Seeds of life, through

herited labors of generations,

Nourish and bind ancestors to

Our Children.



Seeds of cooperation, through

shared work and common… Continue

The wings of Time are black and white,

Pied with morning and with night.

Mountain tall and ocean deep

Trembling balance duly keep.

In changing moon, in tidal wave,

Glows the feud of Want and Have.

Gauge of more and less through space

Electric star and pencil plays.

The lonely Earth amid the balls

That hurry through [...]

Ralph Waldo… Continue

I like the woods first. All that other stuff is a lot of fun and a living, but oxygen, Trees, self-sufficiency, rippling creeks, coffee in the morning while everything is wet with dew and you're not, a good lantern, having good things to eat in the wild, coming back to the campsite - your campsite, then moving to another campsite, looking up at all the stars and recognizing a constellation and seeing a shooting star, then writing something in a journal by candlelight,… Continue

(photo from the Villin website)

I was browsing craigslist for bikes and ran across a "locally made" Villin fixie for $1200 "originally $1700". "Hmmm," says I. "What is this shop called Villin?" So, I googled Villin and found http://www.villincycleworks.com/ I read Villin's philosophy: "Consider purpose. Since the industrial revolution, workers have…

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Ron gave me some inspiration for this simple, amazing breakfast. He said tarragon went great with eggs. In my case, egg, because I read that the RDA is 300mg cholesterol and one cage-free specimen has 215 mg.

Read the… Continue

(Photo of Zoobird Mycol Stevens by Mike Levin)



GRU offer energy incentive: Did you know that GRU currently offers a one-time rebate for installing solar panels. GRU also pays for excess… Continue

What a day at the garden!





I did some weeding. I'm planning to plant some of the heirloom daikon seeds that Sh'mal and I saved from his daikons. I also have some Mammoth Spineless Okra and Beauty Bell Sweet Pepper from Seeds of Change that I bought at local Ward's Grocery. Ron and I also talked about his work with Asian Elephants and the NGO he founded, The Conservation Initiative for the… Continue

The peppers from McRorie Garden are tasty, mild and addictive!

Ron Chandler gave me a handful of peppers the other day. I still have a few left. They are the ones you see on the left of the photo above. The 4 round ones are tangy and a little hot. Ron described the long one, the one you see with a little bit out of it, as hot. But, I think it's pretty mild.…

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Today, McRorie Community Gardeners talked about composting. Maura said "When I was bringing my compost to the garden yesterday, I noticed a rat (I think) in the compost heap. I don't want to be supplying rats with a food source (in consideration of the neighbors, among other reasons). I'm wondering if anyone has any…

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To tell the Truth but tell it slant -

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth's superb surprise

As lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind



Emily Dickenson





A controversial YouTube video about high fructose corn syrup prompted one viewer to comment that some tea is… Continue

Another great day at the garden! Ron Chandler explained how his circular gardening techniques worked. If you click the picture below, you'll see the album and some are annotated with details about circular gardening. Mary was all smiles because her seeds were sprouting.







Just last weekend,… Continue

Today was a beautiful day at the garden. Click the photo below to see the set I took.

Enjoy!





The photo below is of a luffa sponge goard. Both Bruce (pictured) and I were amazed at the size of it. Bruce said he planted a few plants because the small luffas taste like zucchini. The luffa plants propagated like weeds. There must be 50 huge luffas in Bruce's patch. Last night, I cooked a small one Bruce gave me. It tasted just like zucchini. Delicious!



By the way,… Continue

Morning conversations over coffee can be wake up calls. Let me reflect on what's in my head this fine morning.











Consider this scenario: A secretary with 2 kids making $22K/yr whose husband lost job drives into work and spends $100/wk on gas. That's 22K/yr and $5K goes to gas.



How about a medical patient who postpones a checkup because of transportation costs?… Continue

You are going to love this. The Lu Yuan Electric Bike is a bicycle with electric assist. It has a three-speed gear for normal cycling and will go up to 15-20MPH on electric power. And, it's a blast to ride.





The Lu Yuan Electric Bike is available here in Gainesville at...Swamp… Continue

Abundant Edible Landscapes, (now a member here at Zoobird!) hosted a fall planting festival on 10/4/08 at INDIGO with workshops, food from Reggae Shack Cafe, and a wide variety of perennial edibles, vegetable plugs and compost for sale. Workshops focused on organic soil building…

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