Decomposing Cutlery

Anyone know how long it takes compostable cutlery to break down?
I get curious and check in on the progress from time to time. I think this one has been cooking for about three months.

Momma Alligator

I want to remember way into the future, say next year, that this kid gave herself and her parents and imaginary friends different names every day or so. Baby Cilantro turned into Baby Basil, who became Momma Alligator and then Lauren. Bryn is currently Mia.
Also, this second image illustrates what a toddler does when asked to open her eyes.

Light Shelves

Another note on the post below. Light enters through the custom-designed bookshelves that line the perimeter, all window, of this small satellite library branch. The quality of light is great for reading. And being.

Read

I'm long overdo for a post on this here blog. Life sometimes gets in the way of our writing about life. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing.
This is a public library designed by Osborn Architects. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in Glendale.

Cal Wonder

It took more than a month from the time this pepper was fully grown for it to turn from green to orange. Every day I thought I'd end the wait and harvest it early. Somehow I held off.
Bryn, Nusia and I had a celebratory predinner tasting moments after cutting it off the plant this evening. It was worth the wait.
The Purple Beauty variety we planted also grows quite an attractive fruit but it doesn't taste anywhere near as good as this one.

Even the Losers

Squash is my friend. Gardening can be—often is—a beat-down. That's one reason we're drawn to it. It's hard and it's bigger than we are. When the pests and blights and diseases and overwaterings and underfertilizings get to you, plant squash. Hard to mess this one up.

Baby Cilantro

She goes by "Baby Cilantro" now. It was her idea.

Curlers?

People ask us if we curl her hair, which is silly for a number of reasons, but mainly because she barely even lets us brush it. She's too busy doing things.

Painter

She painted a picture of my intestines (she's learning about organs in school) and my hair. It wasn't very representational, but it was pretty rad.

Of Course

This fancy bag that once contained fancy coffee from Whole Foods, by way of Ethiopia, says it's 100% compostible. It is. So are all brown paper bags whether they tell you they are or don't.

How Ya Gonna Kick It?

Over the past couple of months I posted some pictures and words about the Russian Mammoth sunflowers we've been growing here, and now their life cycles have reached a new stage. Over. At least until their seeds give rise to another generation next spring.
In the meantime I was curious about their root structure, since the plants grow so big and tall. Here's what I found.

No Explanation

Unless you ask.

Thai Dragon Peppers

Bugs tend to stay away from hot peppers with "dragon" in their name, which make these lovely red killers easy to grow.

Elegant Lodgings

Recent Work

Gardens You Can't Eat

have their place, too. This is the UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, it's in L.A. and it's free. See you there.

Not An Homage to Weston

Obviously. Nor my favorite, Charles Jones. Just the first Purple Beauty that we grew from seed and harvested. And ceremoniously ate.

I-5 and Andersen's Pea Soup

Andersen's Pea Soup in Santa Nella on Interstate 5—south of Newman, Patterson, and most significantly, Tracy—has a bar. We didn't drink there, but Nusia and I walked through it.
I don't think Tracy gets paired with "significantly" much.
Oh yeah, Nusia liked the pea soup.

The Gardens of Berkeley

A recent trip to the Bay Area brought us to our favorite backyard farm: Uncle Rich's in Berkeley. Corn, beans, tomatoes (red and yellow, big and small), onions (sweet as candy when grilled), leeks, lettuce, strawberries (Nusia definitely picked and ate those), pears, apples, asparagus, kiwi fruit (that's right), sweet peppers, hot peppers, potatoes. And more.
Rich's backyard breadbasket was/is one of the key inspirations for me to try growing food. But whereas my novice attempts are sometimes successful, in small ways, Rich brings about some serious YIELDS. Dinners at Karen and Rich's are full of the tastiest veggies you could hope for.
You might like to make fun of Berkeley. And, don't get me wrong, it's fun. They do wear their hearts on their bumper stickers up there. Is there dramatic segregation and inequality, as in all American cities? Yes. But they also have beautiful flower gardens instead of lawns, and vegetables growing in what seems to be every other yard. Big old grand trees line the streets. The early-20th century houses are the anti-Irvine.
And bikes. Bicycles are just part of life in Berkeley. Normal people (not bike geeks) ride bicycles to get from point A to point B. Bike geeks abound. Bike paths abound. Signs indicating bike-friendly streets abound. It ain't L.A.
So make fun of Berkeley. I might, too. But we sophisticated Angelenos have a couple of things to learn from our statemates.