Monday, July 27, 2009

Sow be it

Mikael Kirkman and our little chicken.


Earlier this year our friend Mike Kirkman decided to take-over his neighbor’s backyard
in Albany, California. Matt and I decided to help him. The yard belongs to an older man with a long grey ponytail and a matching beard. He prefers to stay inside.

His yard was an overgrown mess of blackberry bushes, old soup cans, and lots of opossum skulls. It took about a month of drunken bon-fires and covert trips to local dumpsters before we could even see dirt.

It’s good dirt. Decades of neglect and mulching have resulted in fertile soil. Every vegetable we’ve planted, except for red peppers, has grown. Here’s a list:

Carrots
Walla Walla Onions
Green Onions
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes
Chives
Lettuce
Broccoli Raab
Corn
Watermelon
Cucumber
Tobacco
Sunflowers

The backyard is also home to Mike’s honeybees, Zack’s chicken from Compton, and our coffee roaster.

In the garden we roast coffee, eat food, drink beer, and play backgammon. It’s my refuge from the madness of the city. The city is full of zombies and scarecrows. And they’re always telling me about their run-ins with the CIA, asking me if I want to buy used batteries, and getting mad when I don’t let them use the bathroom.

Eventually, I will leave the city, live in a secluded cottage near a river, and create a family with a beautiful woman. Until then, I have Mike’s neighbor’s backyard.

Here’s some photos (Mike took-em):

Haunted shack in a haunted yard


Haulin stuff


Sowin seeds


Cousin Brad doin the watering


The wooden box in the middle is full of honeybees