It's been awhile since I last posted here but I wanted to write that I finished Novella Carpenter's Book,
Farm City, about 3 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is an entertaining first-hand account of Novella's quest to establish a garden - or if you will, an Urban Farm - to sustain herself and her neighorhood with fresh healthy food. It was personally interesting reading this book because I know a few of the characters that appear (including the author) and the location (I once visited the site, several years ago. It's only about 1 mile from the office where I work downtown Oakland.) Beyond that, the book is an entertaining read because of Novella's humble, witty style and her ability to tell stories within the story. It's also educational and taught me several things about gardening, for instance, that bees and turkeys are difficult, ducks and chickens less so, and not to get all bent out of shape if one or more plants get damaged by an animal or human intruder. Novella basically attributes these events to karmic law, in that what you lose today, you will gain tomorrow.
I look forward to her next book and hope you get a chance to pick this one up at a library or bookstore near you. (I got mine at Pegasus in Berkeley.)
Also I can report that I had a fantastic time hiking in the
Trinity National Forest in northern CA (near Redding) with a group of folks from the local Sierra Club. The scenery was truly beautiful and it was a treat to be able to get to an area where no cars, campers, RVs or fireworks were allowed! My shoulders and legs are still a bit sore, but that is part of the deal with backpacking. I'm not 25 anymore ...
Though it was over 100 degrees only 1 hour away by car, in the mountains where we were, temps were cool and we looked up at the snow and swam in an icy cold mountain lake. There were a lot of backpackers up there and it was impressive that everyone picked up after themselves (well, almost everyone) and the place was so clean and spotless. California is truly a beautiful place, and I think most folks who live here do appreciate it.
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