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Michael Levin's Blog (512)

The House at 1540 E. Terrace Lane, by Bert Woodall

The house at 1540 E. Terrace Lane was just plain ugly. It was built in 1949 by a man named Robinson whose plumbing supply business grew prosperous in the post-war construction boom. Robinson was a simple man and his architectural standards began and ended with the word sturdy. It was a narrow house, and unlovely from the…

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Added by Michael Levin on September 18, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

HOME VAN PET CARE PROJECT NEWS

Photo of Sassy, the beautiful Irish Setter owned by Sandy Lack in Reno, taken by Michael Levin

From Elizabeth Howard, Coordinator

“. . . I live in the house near the corner, which I have named Gratitude.” Mary Oliver

Many times now I come home and there are bags of pet food on my… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 17, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Toxic Waters

NYTimes :: QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"How can we get digital cable and Internet in our homes, but not clean water?"

JENNIFER HALL-MASSEY, on the detection of chemicals like arsenic and lead in the water of her community near Charleston, W.Va.

===…

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Added by Michael Levin on September 13, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

Secrets to Living to an Old Age

Gertrude Baines was the world’s oldest person at 115. She was born in Shellman, Ga., on April 6, 1894, and died Friday. Her favorite foods were bacon and fried chicken. When asked what the secret was to living a long life, she smiled…

Read the rest here...enjoy!

Added by Michael Levin on September 12, 2009 at 11:16am — No Comments

GUERILLA LUNCH-FARE

That is what Arupa calls the food people are bringing to the perimeter of St. Francis House and to the downtown plaza to give to the people turned away after #130 is admitted to St. Francis House for lunch...

Read the rest here in the Caring Zoobirds… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 1, 2009 at 2:47pm — No Comments

Curbside Gardens and Wildflower Lawns

Shmal mentions curbside gardens as a comment in the Community Gardens blog post. This is one I saw on the PedalPalooza Permaculture ride in Portland, OR. The idea is that even if your community garden is full, you can manage to plant some good things if you're creative.…

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Added by Michael Levin on August 25, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

Community Gardens

(Seaside Community Garden - photos by Michael Levin)

A new community garden is being organized in Winter Park, FL! A group cleanup occurred last weekend. Plans are in the… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 22, 2009 at 9:00am — 1 Comment

Gainesville and the Bat Situation - UF bat house collapses, thousands left homeless...

It looks like there's a dire situation in Gainesville, FL. A bat house has collapsed. Thousands of bats are homeless.

Here's some detail from the University of Florida:

University of Florida News: "Thousands of bats left homeless when the internal… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 18, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

The Earth, Weather and the Seasons

(NOAA Image)

Claudette, the first tropical storm of the season hit the Florida panhandle today. Our garden in central Florida is a long way from the panhandle. The skies are blue and puffy white… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 17, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Great Day at the Garden!

Today, I visited my patch at the garden. Click on the photo above to see some of my favorite things in the garden. You'll see some nice, ripening jalapeños. The cinnamon basil is finally growing enough so I can grab handfuls of it. There are some delicious cherry tomatoes. You'll see some urban mandalas. The mandalas have been moved to new places in the garden… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 16, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

H2Oh No! World Act of 2009 (S.624)

Ina Calvano sent me this video and request from Houston, TX:

"I just watched a video from charity: water, in which Matt Damon shows us the terrible plight of the hundreds of millions of people who live without access to clean water and sanitation. Read the rest here, in the All About Water… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 13, 2009 at 8:54am — No Comments

Pepper Dress

I've been looking for a reason to include Super Alisa in my Zoobird blog. Her writing is amazingly clever, funny and on target. This pepper dress was the ticket. Her stuff has nothing to do with organic gardening, but hey, it's peppers and we have a Pepper Zoo. WTF. Anyhoo, it's funny, worth browsing and I like… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 11, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Home Organic Gardens ::: What to plant now?

(Pedalpalooza Permaculture Tour - checking out Home Organic Gardens in Portland, OR - photo by Michael Levin)

UPDATED!

Fall is approaching. How do you decide what to plant? It depends on a few things, like where you live and what you like to eat! Portland folks love home gardens. Oregon has fertile ground and lots of rain. Florida, on… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 9, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Daikon Sprouts from Seed...already!

(photo of last Spring's Daikon radish at McRorie Community Garden, by Michael Levin)

Updated with photo!

I couple of days ago at the full moon, I wrote about germinating Daikon radish seeds. They've already sprouted! Nice way to start the day. Sh'mal, I sent you an envelope full of seeds yesterday. It's August and the temperatures are already… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 7, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Sh'mal in Time

Sh'mal has a birthday coming up on September 8th. So, Sh'mal wrote this poem with the birthday in mind.

Sh’mal In Time

I keep finding my way, sometimes circuitous,

With each step, ahead of the other;

Sometimes carefully placed,

Many times foolhardy...

Read the rest… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 5, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Fall Planting Full Moon

Hooray! It's a full moon tonight. And, Sh'mal tells me he's already gotten a head start on Fall planting in his garden in Seattle.

Here's what the Daikon radish looked like last year when Sh'mal first gave me his plot at McRorie Garden in Gainesville.

We collected some… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 5, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Elephant In Motion

Hi Everyone,

We entered a video contest sponsored by the Washington State Bar Association titled: “Justice for All”. Sarah Jane Lapp spent months working on it totally as a project of the heart for the elephants incarcerated at Woodland Park Zoo and at all zoos.

One of the ways the winner will be chosen is by how many views it receives on YouTube....

Read the rest… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 5, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Qi Gong is the Alphabet

Imagine yourself at the beautiful coast. Looking down, your view is full of things. Looking up, the view clears and becomes simpler, less busy, calmer. That’s what each movement of Qi Gong brings to you. Qi Gong brings focus. Purpose. Qi Gong eliminates what clutters your mind and body. What’s left is filled with what you’re looking for…

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Added by Michael Levin on August 2, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

The Vivid Man, by Bert Woodall

When George Tilley first moved to the small town in the low mountains he sometimes felt out of place, conspicuous even. But he was never anywhere near as conspicuous as the old guy George was watching cross the street.

This man would have been conspicuous at a convention of vaudevillian golfers: He was wearing polyester knit trousers of a vivid Easter-egg-yellow-on-bright-white plaid, along with an impossibly bright, saffron-yellow shirt… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on July 29, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments