EXPLORATION

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

     Here's some context.  Jimmy Carter was in the White House, Magic Johnson was at Michigan State, Stephen King released The Shining, Tom Watson won the Masters and Apple released their new color logo. 
     35 years ago today one of this planet's greatest accomplishments was launched. Voyager 1 began the journey that today has taken it 11 Billion miles and to the edge of our solar system.  Voyager 1 and companion Voyager 2, now some 9.3 Billion miles in another direction, continue to mine data of deep space, soon to be interstellar space. Voyager has gone the farthest human kind has reached.
     On board are those gold discs containing sounds, data and renderings of human life, in case an intelligence encounters our sub-compact car sized "human offspring" wandering beyond our knowledge base.
     Alicia Chang of the Associated Press reports each Voyager "has only 68 kilobytes of computer memory.  To put that in perspective, the smallest iPod-an 8 gigabyte Nano-is 100,000 times more powerful. Each also has an eight-track tape recorder."
     Mind bending isn't it?

THE OTHER BOUNDARY

      Jack Kerouac's cult classic On The Road was published by Viking Press on this day in 1957.

From back cover of ON THE ROAD

       The original manuscript, a long continuous roll of type written script, now belongs to Jimmy Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts.  

        A few years ago the late George Plimpton told me he was in an office as the On The Road manuscript roll was being read and considered.  He said while it may be revered now on that particular day, people in the office were having  fun unrolling it across the floor and back, like a kid's toy.

Photo from mountholly-lamano.com

DAY FILE

GARDEN NOTES

      We've got a "volunteer" and "mystery" squash growing
down the back hill side.  

     Not sure what it is-something like a butternut or summer squash.  We've had a few and it bakes and sautés nicely and is great in a casserole.  I decided to pick a few when they were smaller.  One that had "hidden" beneath a slope side leaf grew to the size of a small pumpkin. That "prize" went home with a stone mason working on a neighbor's fire pit. He was delighted.

     A tomato update.  The "beautiful" greenhouse continues to endure evening breezes and winds and the crop inside flourishes. It ain't pretty, but the crop is.

      It continues to amaze us that we can grow tomatoes in this climate near the Pacific fed by the cooler than 
hot and humid mid-west conditions which favor tomatoes.

See you down the trail.

THE HIGH GROUND-FLAT AS WELL

PART 2

      My thanks to those of you who responded here or in e-mails about the beautiful work Lana has done.  Today we continue. 

THERE IS ALSO THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

     You may recall from an earlier post that we dubbed a section of high ground that we tilled, Indiana. Flat and with good soil, it is a perfect place for the kind of veggie gardens we kept in the Mid-West.

 These "book end," shots, from north and south, provide a low ground view of the raised bed garden.  You can see the bird net hoops as a marker.

More about those steps in a future post.

Up in Indiana Lana has created other beds for lettuce,

parsley and other goodies.

Veteran readers may also recall the "original" raised bed

and Tomato Tent at the side of the house

We borrowed the tent idea from a veteran gardener and friend, Nan, last year.  It is the only way to get tomatoes to ripen well this near the Pacific. The tent maintains warmth.

Lana is happy that after a couple of years in a pot

the Camilla is now blooming.  

And for those of you who suggested I put down the camera
and do some work, well.....
Someone needs to report. And it is Lana who has the 
green thumb.  I'm her #1 fan.
See you down the trail.

CURIOUS AGRICULTURE

IT'S DIFFERENT NEAR THE COAST

Back in the mid-west we took pride in 

our tomatoes.  Out here on the central

coast we've had to go to great lengths.

We borrowed this idea of a "modified" green house

from Nan, who lives just blocks from the Pacific.

We are on a ridge, "top of the world" as it's called,

between the Santa Lucia Range and the drop to

to the Pacific. It is an area of many micro-climates

and we are in what Nan calls the Banana belt.

We get sun when she often has fog and it is 

warmer here-still we are close enough to the 

Pacific and the mountain breezes we need to 

"heat up the growing space."
Her design is a bit more refined, though this works.

It is not like the humid heat of the midwest garden

but we are getting a crop.

Next is working on getting those wonderful little

yellow or orange "cherry" tomatoes to grow.

In the meantime we noticed an interloper coming from the 

compost.

We don't think it's going to "make it" but it has been a

spirited volunteer.
STILL OF ODD AGRICULTURE
Link here for an eye opener about very curious agriculture. it is frightening in its implications.

See you down the trail.