Zoobird

Dangerously organic!

Michael Levin's Blog (510)

Fall Harvest Festival





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…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on October 7, 2008 at 5:00am — No Comments

Enhance your Garden with Worms!



Hello all Zoobirds! I'm back from Ireland and Scotland. It was a good trip. All went well until Saturday. I somehow caught a bug on the plane back and have been feeling sick until now. Who knows what caused it. I've been eating rice and chickpeas under strict orders from my doctor. And, sleeping a lot. I think I am better today...but I am going to take it slow. Meanwhile, there's nothing stopping me from writing!



Today is a special day. It's the Jewish new year,…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 30, 2008 at 7:00am — No Comments

Signing up

I met someone here in Dublin who lives in Berkeley, CA. She said she doesn't own a house, lives in a small 1bdr flat and her friends sometimes comment that she is such an "un-slave" to fashion. She said she lives like this because she doesn't want to sign up. Now, she is a hospitalist, so there's no real financial issue, but her point is that she lives way below her means and only materially to her needs. I like that philosophy. Comments?

PS - I hope we see her here in Zoobird! That's…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 26, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Irish Organic Lifestyles



Some of you know that I once lived in Ireland. Well, the next entries you'll get here will be from Eire. I'm going back to the Emerald Isle tomorrow for the rest of the month.

Donal O'Hare's place is one stop I'll make. Donal is a tree specialist with the Republic of Ireland. You see me with his dog, Sparky, at the top of beautiful Wicklow Mountain in the photo above. I'll tell more about Donal and his work in the…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 12, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

A Good Day at the Garden







The spring harvest yielded wonderful vegetables. There's a view of Sh'mal's patch in May '08. You can see the collard greens in the center, which are the hardiest veggies in the patch. Just to their right is kale. The garlic chives (three sprouts on the bottom of the photo) make for delicious additions to salads and many recipes. The Daikon radishes are huge. See the lush, soft patch of lamb's quarters near… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 4, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Letter to Sh'mal

In case you Zoobirds haven't met Sh'mal yet, here's a video I call "Sh'mal, the benefactor" to introduce him:







And, here's a letter I just wrote to Sh'mal, who has moved to Seattle.







Hi Shmal! I sent you a shot of the garden I took yesterday and you replied:



"Looking at the garden makes me feel that I'm still there."



The earth was very soft and easy to work with. The weeds came up pretty well. I am…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 3, 2008 at 9:52am — 2 Comments

Zoobirds Write!

We have a magic community here at Zoobird! Here are some of the things our members have written about:







Robbie, my vegan friend I met at the NW Hostel in Portland with his friend Gabby, who I hope joins Zoobird, has taught me so much about healthy food. Gabby has, too!…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on September 1, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Coffee Zoo!



Find more photos like this on Zoobird

It's easy to roast your own coffee. Just take a handful and put them in a pot over a high heat. Roast them until brown. It takes five to ten minutes. Then, grind and brew. Coffee… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 30, 2008 at 12:50pm — No Comments

The Garden ::: Chapter 3







I looked around the garden. There were patches with flowers, patches with herbs, and some patches with vegetables. I bent down and rubbed some rosemary between my fingers. I smelled it. What a lovely smell! When I looked up, I noticed someone else in the garden on the other side.







So, I walked over and said "Hi! I'm Michael Levin". He said "Hello! My name is Sh'mal". I wasn't sure I heard him, so I asked him to repeat his name. He said… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 29, 2008 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

How does your garden grow?





My garden has kale, collard greens, lambs quarters, garlic chives and sweet potatoes. Since I started gardening, my overall well-being has dramatically increased. As a result of eating organic vegetables, my health has definitely improved. I've lost weight. My eyesight is better! I love to garden. Plus, I have met so many interesting and friendly people at the McRorie Community Garden. No negatives. It's a lifestyle change for me. Now, I look at every meal as an…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 20, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Living Small ::: What is Enough?

Slingshot: "For me, the idea of living small in particular means figuring out what enough is and taking joy from having enough, rather than chasing my tail hoping I'll someday be happy if I just have a little more. Enough doesn't just refer to money or things -- figuring out enough goes for everything humans do from work to play to love to stimulation. Figuring out what is enough and achieving satisfaction with it is hard but can be a… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 16, 2008 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

Dancing in 42 Countries!

Thanks to Zoobird Dana for sending us this…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 7, 2008 at 12:46pm — No Comments

The Garden ::: Chapter 2





A piece of the earth in a community garden to call my own! I was so excited. I thanked Maura and my mind filled with thoughts of how nice it was to be given the opportunity to join a community garden. I thought about what I'd do with my 20 by 2 foot strip of earth. And, I took more pictures. Then, I hopped on my bike and rode off.

As you know, my passion is travel. It opens the mind. It forces you to think beyond the normal bounds of everyday life. Travel opens…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 7, 2008 at 9:30am — No Comments

The Garden ::: Chapter 1



Dear Sh'mal,

First of all, I want to thank you explicitly for bringing me into this beautiful world of organic gardening and all that surrounds it. Yes, I found the McRorie Community Garden on my own while wandering around SE Gainesville on my bicycle looking for the Hawthorne Trail.

And, yes I had gotten a start before I met you by talking with Daniella and Maura, our garden administrator. But, as you recall, there appeared an obstacle in the…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 6, 2008 at 8:30am — No Comments

Tai Chi - a Gentle Way to Health

Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art practiced worldwide as a form of exercise and meditation. It is an effective strengthening technique that is gentle to the joints and muscles. No special equipment or setting is required. There are a series of movements that comprise the Tai Chi exercise. They are easy to learn. There are many free resources that will assist you in learning the movements. I recently borrowed a DVD from the library that demonstrated 37 Tai Chi movements.…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 5, 2008 at 10:30am — No Comments

A Sh'mal World





Here's a message from Sh'mal that he said I could share with Zoobirds. This came after I sent him the beautiful shot of McRorie Community Garden at sunset you see above.

"Michael, how much more nostalgic can you make my life than by showing me a picture of that corner of the garden, or maybe a corner of this planet, that has been an integral part of my life for the past few years? It is my life. All…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on August 4, 2008 at 5:33pm — No Comments

Good Karma

I dropped by Indigo yesterday and had to snap this shot. I love the caption "Help Yourself". You see, it's the underlying intent that people notice. My friends at Haile Village Bodywork, here in the Swamp, introduced me to the concept of qi (or chi), which is the energy attribute that tai chi refers to, the energy that we get from good conversation, it's energy!

And, people notice these things. I notice the tone of voice used in…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on July 16, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Mojo - the Soul of Mexican Smoked Chicken



I recently visited Chris, a good friend in Houston who has moved into a neighborhood in the Heights graced by a Mexican grocery called La Michoacana. La Michoacana has a wonderful produce department.



I found some chicken there that would go well with Mojo.





What's Mojo? It's a marinade commonly used with chicken and meat, veggies and poultry before cooking on a bar-b-que. The ingredients include lemon juice, black pepper,…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on July 9, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Spore : Create Your World

There's some buzz about a new game called Spore. Remember The Sims and Sim City? Remember Life and Risk? Spore is a computer game that lets you create a creature and nurture it through stages of evolution. You can create your universe by making vehicles, buildings and spaceships.

What about our own world? Now, there's some real fun and challenge! Why pay to play the game when you can do the real thing.

So,…

Continue

Added by Michael Levin on July 8, 2008 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Things Change - Mellow Johnny's



Austin is growing up, but staying cool. The media here talks about "5 Great Reasons to Start A Business In Austin". It's a smart place.

We rode the bus on a Saturday night down the Drag to get dinner. A day pass for the bus here costs $1. Taking a bus in Texas was not very common until now. You could do it, but it had… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on June 29, 2008 at 10:00am — No Comments

About

Michael Levin created this Ning Network.

Translate Zoobird

The Zoobird Bookshelf

Click here to visit the Zoobird Bookshelf

 

Your donation helps to support this website!

 

Zoobird

Promote Your Page Too

 

Reading List

Badge

Loading…

Show your colors!

© 2024   Created by Michael Levin.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service