Category Archives: Association

2 Pod Meetings, 2 Work Parties plus Blooming Neighborhoods! May 31st – June 6th

Long post! The last week of May through the first week of June has been chock full of activities both onsite and offsite for Green Acres! Without further ado…

May 31st saw us all gathered for a long overdue pod meeting, which lasted the better part of two hours and was continued on Sunday, June 2nd! Many ideas were brought to the table and discussed, especially the idea of community building and bonding over not just work, but activities we enjoy and can benefit from in intentional community. At the end of each meeting, we stood in a circle, holding hands with heads together. A cheer rose up naturally that ended loudly with enthusiasm before we took our leave: WhooooaaaaaHEYYYY! Like a football huddle for Team Green Acres, except we were speaking about the long game — a 2 year plan!

Saturday, June 1st saw Ann and myself at Blooming Neighborhoods Celebration at City Hall during Farm Market, seated in a half circle with a larger community of neighborhoods represented to meet and greet.

Gabbie, Georgia & Ann - Green Acres

Monday, June 3rd Work Party, found us working on the new chicken run after a short new moon ceremony as we said goodbye and let go of the plum tree in the front yard, which had ‘canks’ and would likely not produce decent fruit. Read more about this on Ann’s blog!

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Many of the branches were tossed on top of the hügelkultur beds behind my house at DeKist 2 [my roommates: T: Andreas and B: Justin hauling them above], and the rest of the larger branches and logs used for firewood. Dan, however, saved the two lovely pieces below for a creative project: making wooden spoons.

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Rebecca [L] and Ann [R] hauling the last of the branches to the back garden. Below, Ann stops so I can snap the ‘canks’ Devin told us about that prompted the tree to come down!

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Afterward, Justin and I worked a long while on the fencing for the new chicken run, and behind the coop where there is now a second exit for the chicks. Rebecca and Andreas worked on the opposite side of the neighbor’s fence so they could view the chickens, too!

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It ain’t pretty but it works! The chicks were big enough to join the hens this past week.

Thursday morning, June 6th Work Party

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I arrived from a pet sitting job to find everyone already busy and as always, a warm greeting from our Smiling Dan! He and I worked to cover the cabbage beds in this photo after sprinkling them with a healthy amount of diatomaceous earth. “DE” is an off white talc-like powder that is the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton. It’s like kryptonite for bugs and moths who want to eat your cabbages.

L, Justin and R, Rebecca, weeding and working around the tomato cages. In the foreground are the Yukon Gold potatoes we planted back in April.

Where is Ann? Oh, there she is! Spotted in a jungle of jewel weed near the pond:

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We tried to get a good photograph of the jewel weed she pulled, up close to capture it’s beautiful translucency. Unfortunately, it doesn’t show well here. I should have brought the good camera — maybe next time!

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Back to work — the above Brussels sprouts and broccoli got a healthy dusting of DE, as well — after much weed pulling. We’ve had so much rain and warm weather that they are hard to keep up with. Below is more jewel weed in the back garden that’s waist high. A luscious green path to the back patio!

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In closing — the hens love the new chicks and the new chicken run. The second gate has been removed since this was taken. Happy hens mean more eggs! [And quiche, yummm!]

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GAV news, first week June: Bamboo! amidst garden abundance

June begins and we’re already way too stocked with garden goodness.

Meanwhile, we’ve been wanting to construct a bamboo latticework fence for the front yard of the second DeKist house, to discourage deer from the pepper plants. (Deer once ate 1000 pepper plants at Rebecca’s farm overnight!). Meanwhile, have ordered some remay to cover the peppers until we can get that fence built.

So, the first step was one week ago, for our weekly work party. We were able to get bamboo from the house across the street on Overhill. Not only that, but the little boy who lives there with his sister and parents wanted to help us. Here goes, a photo shoot of that evening. Dan chose and cut the stalks,

then gave them to Nolan.

 who carried them down the street,

and onto the pile with the others.

Meanwhile, here are the posts we put up to hold the stalks running horizontally and slanted up and down.

But we now realize that the posts are too far apart, and so are now looking for another source of bamboo that has huge thick strong stalks to be stood upright half way between the posts. I think I’ve found a source, and am awaiting the address.

Meanwhile, here are the stalks, piled up with their branches stripped. Nice and straight, but not enough of them yet.

Then, Saturday, neighbor Jelene and I participated in the annual Blooming Neighborhoods event, along with 27 other neighborhoods, tabling in the courtyard of City Hall next to the Farmer’s market.

Kat, who led the Green Acres Sign Saga, stopped by;

as did neighbor Mariella.

We gave away kale, cabbage and tomato starts to all who wanted them.

Village News, mid-April: (Chinese!) Community Dinner, Tunnel Project news, weekend work party

Big news in the Village this week. First of all, new housemate Evan, who works as an airline steward for United Airlines flying in and out of China, agreed to take the lead for Wednesday’s Community Dinner, and decided that the main dish would be “twice-cooked pork.” Here are some notes I found on the kitchen table, written partly in Chinese!

When the day came, he called in a Chinese friend and they made the delicious dish, which took quite a while and everybody loved it. “That’s good,” he confided afterwards. “Sometimes when I make it for Americans they don’t eat it!”

At the dinner, our first patio party of 2017, and during which I totally forgot to take pictures, we heard from two city employees:  Sean, of the Sustainability Department, and Beth, of the Planning and Transportation Department, about the city’s decision to create a mural for all 2800 feet (both sides) of the long tunnel under the bypass at the end of 7th Street (not much more than a stone’s throw from here). Here’s the official invitation sent out to artists.

 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :

April 7, 2017

For more information, please contact:

Sean Starowitz, Assistant Director of Economic & Sustainable Development for the Arts, starowis@bloomington.in.gov, 812-349-3534

Call to Artists: Mural Project on 7th Street Underpass

Bloomington, Ind. – The City of Bloomington Planning and Transportation Department, in collaboration with the City’s Economic & Sustainable Development Department, is issuing a call for artist qualifications for a mural to be located at the 7th Street underpass.

Mural Details:

  • The goal of the mural is to provide an innovative and strong work of public art to the residents of Bloomington, IN.

  • The mural is to be painted on concrete – see images

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  • The artist will be expected to engage neighborhood residents in the installation of the mural.

  • The mural space is approximately 2,300 sq.ft. Detailed measurements provided upon request.

  • There is no application fee.

  • Proposal deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5th, 2017.

Stipend:

Artist will receive $2,500. This amount includes all artist fees, material and equipment purchases to complete the mural. Payment will be upon completion.

Completion Date: All work must be completed prior to June 30th, 2017.

WHAT TO SEND:

The written proposal contact information:

  • Full name

  • Address

  • Telephone number

  • Email address

  • Illustrations of the proposed mural. Submissions must contain between 1 and 5 sketches or digital renderings of the proposed mural. These are not final renderings, as a public process will have to take place.

A description of the proposed work. Please include the following descriptions:

  • An artist statement describing mural experience and interest in the project.

  • A description of the concepts in the proposed mural.

Support materials/previous work:

  • Proposals should be accompanied by 5 to 10 images of previous work.

  • Resume – maximum 2 pages

  • Files should be submitted in a .pdf format and will be acknowledged upon receipt.

Selection:

The artist will be selected by a panel consisting of staff from the Planning and Transportation Department, a member from the Green Acres Neighborhood Association, members of the Bloomington Arts Commission, and City staff.

Submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 5th. Artists will be notified about the selection by Friday, May 12th. Send electronic submissions to starowis@bloomington.in.gov with subject line stating RFQ – 7th Street.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Sean Starowitz at 812-349-3534.


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Green Acres Villager Mariella has agreed to be our neighborhood rep on the Tunnel Project committee. YES!

Mariella has been planning a move from one house into the house adjacent (it’s bigger) for some time. And I’ve been telling her to let us know, because there are plenty of people who would offer to help. So she did! Yesterday puppy Shadow and I walked over to her house (about a block and a half away) with housemate Dan, and met up with Mariella, her kids, Katarina and Brian. Eva and her kids were due to come as well. I moved all her plants, transfered coats from front closet of first house to second house, and unpacked her dishes.

Others did the “heavy lifting.”

Then we celebrated with beer, wine, and chips.

“This morning, son Colin brought over a pizza for lunch, and stayed for an hour of more heavy lifting. (He also fixed a basement window that somehow got stuck open.) Rebecca was also going to help at some point today. I forgot to take pictures this morning.

Oh and one more note: Mariella told me that Evan walked over with a blanket and leftovers for her from the Wednesday dinner late that same night, since she had just returned from a work trip,  exhausted, hungry, and with no blankets for her new bed.

What’s a village without sharing and caring?