Texas' Toll on Trees

My fig tree before and after the Texas Summer

I go back and forth on whether to maintain this blog or not. It sometimes seems like a long ramble, and so I am considering a more focused approach, perhaps a short self-published e-book or downloadable PDF, something along those lines sometime in the future.

Anyhow, I am now back in the desert after my tour up the East Coast by train. This last month (after the tour), I have been visiting with friends and family in Houston and Austin, and somewhat dawdling my return to the heat of the desert. Now that I am back, I find the heat quite tolerable. Even though I don't have AC or even a swamp cooler, allowing my body to adjust to the gradual heating and cooling between day and night is easier for me than constantly going back and forth between very cold AC interiors and the scorching outdoor temps that have settled over Texas this Summer.

Sadly, my fruit trees (one plum and one fig) didn't make it through the Summer heat and drought. My water catchment and timer system was foiled. This is because either a good intentioned neighbor or a very evolved rabbit or coyote turned off the faucet that my timer was attached to. I know that I left it in the right position before leaving because I monitored it for the few days leading up to my tour. Perhaps someone was just thirsty and needed water. Who knows? But I've realized that an automated system is far inferior to a manned system when it comes to being a caretaker of life, or of anything for that matter. It is OK. I feel fortunate that everything else is intact. Many people around here lost homes, property and livestock from fires caused by the drought. I may try to plant new trees this Fall. Or just focus on harvesting what this area provides naturally, i.e. mesquite.

Food from the Desert

Every year, it seems that I am gone while the Mesquites are podding. Usually I return from the road and they have fallen from the trees and are rotting on the ground. There is such an abundance of Mesquite pods, not even all the birds and hungry desert critters awaking from hibernation can make a dent in the supply. Ever since I have moved out here, I have wanted to harvest the plethora of mesquite pods and make mesquite flour, which is very high in protein and minerals. It is also gluten free and has a very desirable sweet and nutty taste. Yesterday, when I should have been indoors instead of outside in 108 degree weather, I harvested a few gallons of pods in town. I have read that the ones to pick are the ones that snap off the tree easily and taste sweet. This is the easy part, unless it is 108 outside. The hard part is grinding them down into flour. It would help to have the right tools. I'd like to harvest enough to be able to at least sell some mesquite flour at the Farmer's market when the season starts again. And in the future, sell it here on the interweb. But I only have a few days in town in between tours, so I may lose the opportunity once again.

SWTX

So, like last year, and the year before, I chose SWTX over SXSW (the much hyped annual music fest in Austin, TX). And glad I did. It is not only a magnificent time of year for Spring weather here in the Big Bend, but there is also heavy tourism, and thus, a built in audience for a songwriter like me. They are the right kind of crowd, one that listens and buys records. Over the last week, mostly from record sales, tips, and the guarantees from the venues, I have raised enough money to pay for my Amtrak pass for my tour by train this Summer. Not a cheap ticket.

Moving Poo and Surprise Visitors

Mark and Shannon

I was ready this morning for friends Mark and Shannon to come by to gather goat manure from Don's Domeland for the Community garden in Terlingua. What I wasn't expecting was an early arrival and surprise visit from...

Plums from Dishwater

I woke up yesterday morning and found that my kale starts have been eaten! It was either a rabbit, or the quail that have been showing up around here every morning. I was bummed. I waited a day too long before deciding it was time to protect them with a barrier of some sort. 

I drove to Alpine as planned, to get more insulation for the shed, as winter is approaching. My neighbors Ben and Vanessa were generous to give me their leftover insulation from their own project, and it covered over half of my 120 sq. foot ceiling. That got the ball rolling. 

While in Alpine, I decided to stop at a plant nursery that has always interested me. They had some fruit trees for sale, which also interested me. Plums, nectarines, cherries, apples, and pears. I bought a healthy looking plum tree for $25 and this made me feel much better about losing my kale this morning.   

It also makes me feel better to have an organism that will take my used dishwater and give me juicy plums. I feel that most trees, especially ones that produce food, are a form of water catchment and storage rather than water wasters.

Terlingua Recycles and Plants Gardens

This morning was a bit nippy, just above freezing, as I met the rest of the recycling volunteers at 8 am to take the town's recycling into Big Bend Park to sort. The National Park Service gives us access to their great recycling facility, and the Rio Grande Electric CO-OP graciously donated a recycling truck to make access to that facility possible. The Terlingua Recycling program accepts donations and has an annual fundraiser to pay for the gas and insurance to run a volunteer crew to the recycling facility about once a month. They even trust us to run the recycling machines at the facility. My favorite is called the "Cram-A-Lot". It removes the air from plastics, cardboard, and cans by squashing them to death before they are reincarnated into new products. We broke a record by finishing the job in under an hour. Pat, who owns the Terlingua Springs Market health food store, treated us all to coffee afterward, as she always does for volunteers on recycling days.

The day warmed up quite nicely, getting to about 80 degrees. I went over to the Terlingua Community Garden to pick up some metal scraps that they were giving away to volunteers. Shannon and Zoe were there planting rows of winter greens, and they let me plant a row of broccoli. I am looking forward to eating some in a few months

Another exciting and eventful day.

Here is a great Bill Moyers interview with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and writer for the New York Times.

bicycles and gardens

I have started riding my bicycle to get my mail. The mailboxes are about 3.5 miles from me, so it is a nice 7 mile roundtrip exercise chore. The ride takes me on dirt roads right past camel’s hump. It then spits me out onto the Terlingua Ranch road, which is paved and mostly flat. Sure beats driving ! The weather right now is ideal for bicycle riding. Most of the year is condusive to bicycle riding really...may have to just adjust the time of day you choose to ride ( mornings and evening in mid-summer, mid-day in the winter ).

In other news, I planted some seeds today. Tomatoes and beets. John Wells then showed up with some green bean and squash seeds, so I planted those too. I attempted planting tomato seeds twice already, but they didn’t germinate in this soil. It dries out too fast. This time I used potting soil so we’ll see what happens. Planting seeds is a good practice in patience and planning. It makes the fruit of one's labor that much more tasty. There are many ways to plant seeds in our lives and those are the things that are most worthwhile. And the motivation behind it is that while new seeds are being planted, older ones are yielding, giving a constant flow of, in this case, FREE food. It works the same way for energy and water harvesting. The instant gratification of a mass produced, purchased item can wear out quickly without leaving any residue of appreciation for what was consumed.

The dome building is back to a snail's pace since Emile left back home to Oregon, but progress is being made. The window wells are now fully lathed, and I've started to stucco them.

I have been listening to too much news while working, so I have begun listening to a music station called Sirius Disorder, a satellite station that is actually pretty good. No commercials. I am still only using 45 watts of solar panels, but it has been plenty so far, especially since Don Mcdowell ( another local Don ) graciously donated a brand new 12 volt battery. Thanks again Don !

Don't forget about total lunar eclipse tomorrow !