Study break

Last weekend I went with a friend to a cheese-making workshop at a suburban goat farm just north of Nashville. Not only did we learn how to make chevre and mozzarella, we got to feed a week-old kid and hang out with a few others that were just days old:

Don't let the perspective fool you: this goat is indeed just about the same size as this chicken.

Rejection, surgery, recovery.  It all seems so long ago now.

Changes afoot: I decided early on that being a professional arborist is not a career I especially enjoy, since working with people (especially city folk) and the environment is what enlivens me. A few weeks ago I saw an ad for an educator position at Bartram's Garden, and I applied, interviewed, and got the job. The tricky part is that it is a part-time/seasonal position, so I was super-excited to be doing the work that I enjoy but freaking out on the inside about finances. But when I finally talked to my current boss about returning to arborist work, I proposed coming back part-time so that I could still make enough money to keep our lil' ship afloat. He was fine with the idea, and so for the next few months I will be working every day. That's right: 7days a week. Ouch. But some work "days" are only a few hours long, so I think I'll be able to handle it.  I hope, anyway.  The work at Bartram's is fun, the people are amazing, and it mostly doesn't feel like work. But before I launch into my new occupation, here's what I've been doing with myself:

I went to Nashville for two weeks, during which I strolled around the Opryland Hotel Atrium with the fam.

Sharon and I came back to Philadelphia, where among other things we checked out the maple sugar festival at Fox Chase Farm. This horse was the best part.

We went across the mighty Delaware River into Jersey and explored a park. A park with a pipe.

I bought a really great watch that apparently is so reliable and easy to use that it has a steady fan base in the IED-making crowd. That's what Amazon said, anyway; I have no idea if it's true. Obviously.

I went on a Zoe-Strauss-billboard-viewing ride with Trophy Bikes.

I went to the Blueberry Capitol of the World (Hammonton, NJ) to get our lonely blueberry bush some friends. At $5 a piece, and a nice drive to boot, we're in.  

I walked around Bartram's Garden and familiarized myself with the plants.  Can't wait for this one!

I got a laser pointer to point out tree branches and such.

And last but not least, I got cleared from the doctor to go back to work.  Here goes!

Over the shoulder.

Contrary to rumor, our blog is not dead but has been in hibernation mode. We've been busy finishing an incredibly hectic semester (I submitted seven PhD applications!), traveling to Paraguay for field research (more on that soon), working at least two jobs apiece, and trying to spend time with friends and family (when not eating or sleeping: see above).

Over the past year we did manage to blog about some of the highlights of 2011, including my day trip to Memphis:

the ongoing improvements in the sideyard and our adventures in gardening:

 

 
 and my youngest brother's wedding  (hooray!).

 

We did not find time to blog about our around-town adventures:

  

 That's Bryan at an art show, contributing to a  zine about handwriting.

Our picking/harvesting/foraging/collecting/eating:

 

We may have mentioned food a time or two, but just look at that! Nothing

makes you miss July on a 20-degree day like gallons of fresh blueberries... 

 many good times with family:

the miles and miles of [uphill] biking we've done:

or the fermentation workshop with Sandor Katz (!) I attended in November.

 Yes, it was amazing! And I scored a Nashville kambucha starter

along with my portion of that vat of fermenting vegetables...

2012 will be equally full as there are many changes on the horizon - most exciting, the chance that we might live together again! We'll keep you posted, I promise.

Well beyond my turn.

We're supposed to keep this 50% Nash and 50% Adelphia, and by those rules it appears that I've been slacking. Sharon just left this morning to go back to Nashville and I of course remain behind in Philadelphia keeping the home fires (homefries) burning. I confess too that I did not document the weekend well with photos. Actually I only took one:

That's one of my parents' dogs coming out of the water at Lums Pond, DE, where they were participating in a dog agility trial. I recommend going to one if you ever have the chance. 

The non-photo-documented parts ofthe weekend included celebrating Courtney's birthday at the house where the fire department came, like clockwork, about 20 minutes after we lit a fire in the outdoor fireplace. The neighbors hate fires, but (as usual) the fire dept. has no problem with our setup. We also went to a soccer game at Villanova, went to a great chili and cornbread dinner party in West Philly, and met up with some of the old Morris interns to catch up with each other. The weekend went way too fast, but it was a lot of fun and worth every moment.

In other news:

- I'm still stressing out about applying to the Longwood Garden graduate program, but proceeding nonetheless.

- I'm feeling slightly strange about my standing in the US economy, and a blog I read regularly expressed how I feel really well:

This is a huge topic to tackle within the confines of this site, and I don't for a second take for granted the many good fortunes that I have, but at some points in my day I reflect on just how nice it would be to someday not go through life treading water financially. I think about how this is the only industrialized nation in the world whose residents can put themselves into a bottomless debt just paying for basic health care and education, and how I literally fist pump the air in celebration every time I get.... (the smallest bit of money)

I agree, and am a little tired of people telling me how "lucky" I should feel to be doing manual labor with no vacation/sick time and/or benefits of any sort. Really? I do feel fortunate to not be among the masses of the unemployed, but I don't really feel "lucky" either. Anyhow, enough of that.

- In other news, I just found two amazing jackets. Behold:

I like to call this my party sweater because it is that amazing.

- Lastly, on a day last week when I was searching for the silver lining to the gray cloud hanging over my head, I pedaled my way to Center City to ask Apple to somehow fix my ailing iPhone, which suddenly and inexplicably stopped working. After about 45 min of them telling me that my phone was pretty much just an iPod at that point, they decided to give me a new phone. Yes, for free. What? Hello silver lining, welcome home.

Nothing says summer like outdoor adventures

Seriously, who's been interested in indoor sports like blogging? Not us. We've been busy

Attending beekeeping talks in West Philly:


(Did you know that harmful hive-mites get helplessly lost just a few inches away from the comb? The strategy is to overcome the problem by cross-breeding all species of bees to carry the mites outdoors and dump them.)

Enjoying birthday injera at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant:



Swimming in the Wissahickon with a friend:


Installing a green wall on Drexel's campus (guess which one of us did this):


Finding eggy evidence of happy vermicomposting worms:


Digging potatoes from the garden:


Making hot-weather suppers of delicious open-faced sandwiches and cold potato & bean salad:


Enjoying no less than 25 independent neighborhood fireworks shows from the roof of our house on the 4th:

(Why brave the crowds at the Art Museum when fireworks shows surround you?)

We've also been doing the usual berry picking, gardening, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends. And here's to more of the same.

Visitors from the east

Last weekend my three sisters came to Nashville, and we had a grand ole time, enjoying the summer-like weather, seeing the sights, walking around town (and Radnor Lake), and talking up a storm. Good times had by all.*

*I think. No negative reviews of my hosting yet!

What's a month-long silence between friends?

 

Those of you who still mosey over to our corner of the blogosphere have probably noticed that things have been a little quiet around here. We've been preoccupied with doing things like seeing each other in person (!), celebrating the holidays, and generally taking a break from our online life. Now that I'm headed back to Nashville tomorrow to start the spring semester, we figured we should reactivate our blog for the new year. 

 

And what better way to do so than with low-light, high-drama photos from Longwood Gardens? We canceled our pre-Christmas visit because of snow, so we actually just went on Thursday. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

  
More soon -- promise.