Spring Brings New Growth and Change

It's the last of February 2010. It's rainy. Our old roommates are in the process of moving out and the new roommate and her pretty children will be moving in this week. This change will be good for all of us. Old and new roomies alike. 


The rain has halted our chicken coop building project for the moment, but I think on Tris's next day off, we will have that thing built! So instead of building or doing homework, I decided to take rainy day photographs.

The view from my dining room table where I am writing from right now. 

New growth on the peach tree. Still no blossoms. I can't remember when they first started blooming last year. 

The apple tree, however, is in full bloom! Look at how beautiful!

This is just one fragrant blossom. If you know where we live, you can come smell them if you want. 

The first color on the cherry tomato bush. There are so many flowers on this bush. I don't know what we are going to do with all of the fruit! Plus we have romas and another kind. 

The first of the grape leaves are popping out. Summer garden shade and a natural cooler. 

The almond tree is starting to fill in. 

These next pics are of the rain collecting on the rose bushes in the front yard. I am not much of a flower gardener, so they are kinda wild. 

Everything is going crazy with all this water. The Christmas tree from 2004 has been having a growth spurt for the last 3 years! (Incidentally, I have also had a growth spurt these last three years. Only mine has not been up or out, but inward.) 

Here is the mint jungle! The herbs in the side yard, or what we call the cafe, are doing really well. When the China Berry tree starts leafing will be the big test of if anything really can grow there. 

I almost forgot the peas. Look at how the pea blossom holds that water. It's majestic. 

ECHO Photo Shoot

Error: The issue hits the stands on March 28, 2010! I got so excited that I took ten days off! Thanks Stacey J for the correction!!!! Xoxo!

Yesterday was the photo shoot for the ECHO magazine cover story about Phoenix area LGBT bloggers. Tris and I had so much fun!!! We met some very cool people and hopefully made some new friends. I didn't take very many pictures and the ones I did take, I can't post until after the issue hits the stands on MARCH 18!

The other famous bloggers we met are Dugaldo from Hump Day Newsletter, Lonnie from Lonnie's iPhone Blog and Cicely from mrster.com, pronounced miss-ter. All of these people were so great!! The writer of the article, Stacey Cavaliere, is wicked cool!! He's a free-lance writer and special-ed teacher! Thats gives him and A+ in my grade book!

Just in case you didn't get it, the issue will be out MARCH 18, so pick up your copy!! We will sign it for you if you like! (P.S. I just went on Lonnie's site and there is some pics up from yesterday! Go and check them out!!)

How Close Do You Live To Work?

Key

• Orange- % who drive themselves
• Red- % who carpool
• Lt. Blue- % who take public transport
• Dk. Blue- % who walk to work
• Peach- % who work at home, etc.

There definitely seems to be a huge difference between the places with good public transportation systems and those with poor systems. In my own efforts to be kinder to Mother Nature, I have been bussing it, ALOT. 

When I first started riding, I thought that helping the earth by not driving would be all that I would be getting from my experience. I was wrong. I get to see humanity in it's entirety. I have seen love and affection. I have seen indifference and blatant hate. I have seen men get up for women and everyone gets up for the elderly folks and moms with young children, no matter how crowded the bus is. I have listened to and talked to people. I hear stories, tell stories and sense stories. 

I guess what I am trying to say is that riding the bus is so much more than what I first thought it would be. I use the bus to reconnect with what I have felt I was very cynical about, humanity. 

once in awhile is never too little...

T here, I know I don't grace these pages with my mad writing skills very much, but when I do you can be sure to get something worth reading. So here I am bringing to you today a few snapshots and short thoughts from my ever rambling mind.


First off, I apologize for not taking the picture of the first carrots from the garden. I get so excited about how lovely they are going to taste that I forget. But, it is logged away in the main frame of my mind for next time and I will not let ya'll down again. (They were very lovely by the by, about 5" long and 1" wide).


Second, I have started the deconstruction of an old, unhealthy tree in the back yard. Normally I am not one for cutting down trees, (ironic seeing as how I come from a family of loggers), but in this case, it is hanging dangerously close to some power lines and siting right in the middle of where our kitchen is going to be in our straw bale home. So needless to say it must come down. Only 2 problems, my ladder is too short and my chainsaw is too dull. But don't dismay, my ingenious brain is brewing up some possibilities as I sit here and write. Updates will follow ;-)


Once this is accomplished, we can mix and pour the foundation and then finally start construction on the frame. But in the meantime, we have chicken coop to construct and burms to prepare. We will get ya'll some pictures later on this evening of those two adventures.


Until then, thanks for reading the ramblings of my lil brain and remember, violence is NEVER the answer.


Peace
T

It's Not Too Often

But occasionally, Tris and I like to put on some shoes, sport some snazzy cotton-wear and go out on the town. Here are heart day pictures. Just thought you might enjoy some updated photos. This is us after all the tofu, avocado and cucumber rolls we could eat.

I was trying to mess up her shot. It didn't work. She kicked my ass! I keep playing her, hoping someday I will beat her, without her letting me.

This is the glamourous treat that is my littlest sister. My little sister, the one older the this one, but younger than me, is knocked up (YAY!!!) and got tired before we went to the bar. (I mean knocked up in a good way.)

We're Famous...Well Sorta

A while back, our friend Liz told us that a friend of hers was looking to write a piece in Echo Magazine, a local, biweekly LGBT publication, about queer bloggers. We have this blog together and another one that I used to write on all the time. That's where my coming out story and all my queer quirkiness was posted for about three years. I digress, sorry. Anyway, I wrote him a quick email and, this week, he wrote me back. He said that he wanted to write the story and do a photo shoot.



Then he emailed last night and said that the blogger story would be the cover story in April! I didn't think it could get any better, but it has. There will be several bloggers mentioned in the article, but only four featured bloggers and we are one of them!!!!! I am so excited. We have only been writing this blog for, what, three months! And now we will be famous!!!! The other three bloggers who will be featured are MRSTER.com, Hump Day Newsletter and another boy who takes and uploads pictures with his iPhone. (Sorry I don't know the name of this one, but I will get it as soon as I can.)

Don't worry, all this fame and, well no fortune, won't get to my head. I promise. 

Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got
I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block
Used to have a little, now I have a lot
No matter where I go, I know where I came from (from the Bronx!)

Oh yeah! I just went there! (And just so we are clear, I had to look those lyrics up. If I was a gay boy, I would just know them by instinct, I think.)

A Few Big Announcements

First, ya'll, sorry we haven't been writing on here very often lately. I started my last semester at community college and it might just kick my ass. I have made a commitment to myself to ride the bus at least 4 days a week and that means getting up earlier and home later, but Mama Earth is worth it. That's my excuse and I will make one for Tris too. When I get busier, so does she. She has a bunch more kid responsibilities then when I am on break, but rest assured, this has not slowed her down from digging the foundation for our new dwelling. I'm not sure if I have metioned that yet, but I will get to it soon enough, my pretties.

So...on to the announcements. Tris has raised enough money to enter her charity motorcycle race, called Hoka Hey. This is a huge endurance race from Key West, FL to Homer, AK. The money raised goes to various charities, that you can read about on the Hoka Hey site. In addition to that, Tris has been raising money to actually pay for things like gas, food and supplies during the race. She will only spend what she has to, because all of the excess money will go to 1 in 10. So we are hoping she can raise a bunch of money that she doesn't need! She already paid the entrance fee and will probably be one of the featured riders. This will be televised, so all sponsors will have their logos displayed on her vest or jacket. Wanna help?  What she needs most is money. You can donate directly to us, if you know us, or you can can go to her website and use paypal. Also, if anyone is interested in corporate sponsorship , you can email us at twoqueerhippies.

That was biggie number one. Number two is more exciting for me. I have FINALLY made up my mind and decided what I want to get my bachelors degree in. I have applied to ASU's School of Sustainability. My focus will be on sustainable ecosystems. (I'll be a scientist! or something like it...) Sheesh! No brainer, right? There have just been so many things I have wanted to do, I had a hard time deciding. I check everyday to see if I am accepted or not, but so far just pending. For those of you who know me, you know this is HUGE!

And the last big announcement is.... Last Thursday, Tris asked me to marry her. A ring and all. With diamonds. Small diamonds. Not blood diamonds. And of course I said yes, but I also said, no government involvement, even if by some chance it becomes legal. So the date is for summer 2011. We have a tentative date, but will be withholding that until we know for sure. What we do know is that this will be a week-long camping party in Payson. Two days before the day, we will set up camp, then we will commune with the forest like the hippies we are for the next 7 days.

I guess just a few more things. Tris took out the broccoli this evening. We ate it all and now it's just sucking the nitrogen from the soil. We have been eating fresh salads from the garden all week, including lettuce, spinach, peas, chives, broccoli and our very first carrot! (Tris forgot to take a picture. Sorry.) Our second round of carrots is popping up, out tomatoes made a huge comeback with this warmer weather and our trees are starting to pop out baby leaves.

Did I mention yet that we planted three new trees? A combination apple, with 5 kinds, not all will grow well here, a pomegranate and an almond tree. The almond tree I rode home with in the basket of my bicycle, with the trunk resting on my shoulders. What a perfect way to honor my tree, wind in her branches and no carbon burned! The peach tree promises to be bountiful and the apple tree has flowers. I will be really interested to see if any apples come this year. I will be adding to my tree collection soon. I need citrus! Marmalade!!!!!!!

This weekend, I will be finishing the digging for the front yard garden. It has taken me a bit, I know, but stuff kept coming up. Like our oldest testing positive for wheat allergy! (WTF, man? More about this later... another science lesson perhaps?) Anywho, the first garden will be corn and sunflowers on top and cucumbers, watermelons and honeydew on the bottom. They should take a good portion of the summer to grow, so fall will be the next round out front with more corn and sunflowers, their plots switched, and pumpkins, pie and jack-o-lantern, on the bottom.

So many great things are happening! Much love to all of you who read this!

The Almond Bros

As I write this, I am sitting on the front porch swing, listening to the birds chirp and smelling the neighbors dinner cooking. I am thinking about all the stuff I did today and all the stuff that needs to be done soon. It's starting to get warmer here. Was in the low 70's today. We are expecting rain tomorrow, good for the plants and the new tree.

For my birthday, I decided to buy an almond tree. I rode my bicycle to the nursery, a mere 3 mile trip, and rode home with the root ball in my front basket and the trunk resting on my shoulder. I have been riding my bike alot more lately in an effort to conserve fossil fuels. Anyway, my beautiful almond tree was planted in the front yard today and I started digging the plot in the front where I will be placing another garden.

The new front yard garden will be home, first to sunflowers and melons, starting in March, then to other yummies. I'm hoping to be able to keep the feral cats out of the garden somehow. Any suggestions?