Grass removal plan--step 1

While I was in Mexico I had a thought about a really fabulous way to get rid of a lot of grass in our backyard, which didn't consist of a greenhouse so we could extend the season and possibly grow veggies here. Summer here is really quite fabulous and I love the idea of extending our evenings outside. So when I got back, we discussed it, walked the yard and plotted out a nice circular pattern.

see circular pattern with rope

We also planted some trees and thought about pathways and other privacy/noise reduction strategies that we could initiate this summer and watch grow over the next year or two. You can see the new trees in the background of some of the photos below...

I haven't been home many days since I returned from the field, but we've made excellent use of the days I have been here--it helps that Joe went all pick-axe on the grass on some of the days I was gone. And so, in many steps, we created a fire pit.

 

The sod.

Who needs to rent a compactor when you have a full keg?

 

   

Trying to fit my whole shadow into the circle

DONE.

A very personal inaugural fire, from the dead wood of the bubala

Another reason to dislike grass

"Today's Worst: Eugene"

I didn't need a map to tell me that; my eyeballs are screaming.

Clever

I am my own "single-serving friend."

At least this complimentary beer was Bridgeport.

All programs need this button

click when frustrated...

Our house without us...

It has been over a year now since we occupied our home in the Valley. We were so rushed getting out of it that we never had a chance to put our yard into a more maintenance free mode. I've been by the house a few times when I've been in town, but after 6 months away and spring in full swing, I was met with quite a site. 

It's actually beautiful if you don't think about how many hours it will take to deconstruct it (also that the house is on the rental market). I went to the house with an hour to spare and some shears and a pair of gloves. I knew I would restrict myself to simply cataloging the 'jungle' when I walked into the backyard and I couldn't find the slash pile/compost bins (being too obscured by the blackberry bushes).

Hopefully we'll get an intrepid renter.

The hops strangled the cherry tree.

The compost bins have been swallowed.

The dogs strike again. I hate those guys.

NEVER, EVER plant poppies.

Staying connected is key...

There are a number of reasons that I have come to greatly dislike my new student loan servicer:
1. The fact that the fed sold my loan to them in the first place
2. The fact that when it was sold to them they tried to collect on it immediately even though it is in deferment because I am a full time student.
3. The fact that they considered my deferment null because conducting fieldwork for my dissertation does not fall under the rigid rules for full time in-school deferment.
4. The fact that they made me deal with all of this while I was in the field.

These are just some things that make me wish I had more choice in who is going to benefit from the payback of my MA debt.

But this, this takes the cake:

email subject: "Proven steps to successfully pay back your loans"

By "liking" Great Lakes on facebook I will not default on my loans. Wow. Nevermind the job market, economic crisis, and neoliberal stance on funding education, as long as I stay connected I'm on the road to success.

Sigh.

Culture shock

I finally realized how hard it is to be back in the states. All I had to do was grade student papers...sigh.

And.....scene

This week I said my goodbyes, which was harder than I thought it would be. And now I am in the city wrapping things up, with just the weekend left. I have been longing for this coming weekend--homesickness in this case wins out over scholarly pursuits in my emotional tug-of-war.

It is difficult to leave, and difficult to explain whether I will be able to return--it's all based on funding. There will be a number of changes in the co-op between now and the end of summer. With the coffee harvest at a close things are quieting down. Workers will return to their communities, to plant and pick corn, beans and squash and to perform maintenance in the cafetal. The cooperative will meet to elect new leaders, and a new generation of farmers will take on new roles in their communities and within the fair trade network. The timing of my trip was aligned quite nicely with the coffee harvest and the activities related to it. I hope that I will be able to return to see the other side of the coin--what does coffee farming look like between harvests? I expect it looks like corn farming. We tend to discuss coffee producers as though coffee is their sole purview--but in reality, for small producers coffee is cash, corn is life.

I spent my last day with the co-op observing the shipment of their coffee destined for the U.S. There is a truck now at the port in Veracruz with 200 or so costales of Chiapan coffee, waiting to ship out. They will repeat this process 3 more times before the end of May. Each truckload represents a shipping container destined for the US, Switzerland or Japan where the coffee will be roasted for the 'local' market.

And I am now packing up my things, also, in a way, waiting to ship out.

From the comb

I may have forgotten to mention that about 20% of the farmers in the co-op I'm working with right now also keep bees. For honey.

Oh my glorious deliciousness. Certified organic, coffee flower, honey.

That is all.

As part of their fair trade inspection, which happened over the past week, we visited 4 different apiaries--due to the lack of protective covering available, the closest I got to the beehives was about 100 feet. Even with protective covering a number of people got stung. Although, the farmers claim to be "used to it;" one even remarked to me that after ten years of beekeeping, the sting was 'in his blood.'

Honey and coffee are complementary commodities here in the highlands--and not just because coffee can be sweetened with honey (not that it it needs it, freshly roasted and ground, I've been enjoying mine without any amendment), but also because coffee plants flower. The harvest for honey is around the peak time of the coffee harvest (Jan/Feb) and the coffee flowers are just starting to show in some places in the highlands (whereas in other cooler climes the last harvest of mature coffee beans is taking place right now. Even still, there was some yet unharvested comb when we went out and we enjoyed a sample before heading to the next community.

The honey part of the cooperative is really still in its development phase, but it is pretty incredible what the farmers have been able to do in just a few years. They are also planning on expanding their production and sales to macadamia nuts, the trees provide shade in the cafetal and the nuts an additional stream of income.

 

 

The coffee harvest is wrapping up and so is my time here. Another few visits out to see what I can see and chat with folks and then I'm heading stateside to see if I can't figure out what it all means.

Toasted

Medium Toast

Forget the chocolate covering. You have not enjoyed coffee at its finest until you have had freshly roasted, still hot, coffee beans.

I have spent the last two days in the office here in the city warming myself by the roaster, sneaking a handful of hot beans (here and there), conducting interviews and sitting in on the prep for the certification renewal that is due to begin on Monday.

The Toastador

Cafe oro spinning in the roaster

Freshly roasted and on to cooling

Cooling

Cooled