by Catherine Haug
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to grow fresh fruits and veggies year-round, right here in Bigfork? It’s about to happen! with a new multi-family cooperative community endeavor.
Paul Renner, a member of our ESP community, is working on a project called “Peaceful Gardens.” This is a “community oriented, year round, food self-sufficiency program specializing in growing organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers.” (more…)
by Catherine Haug
Setting up at the Potato Festival
Today St. Patrick’s Community Garden celebrated a potato festival. The weather was great, if a bit windy. The brats, hot dogs and ice cream were delicious. Bigfork Harvest Foods donated the hot dogs and provided a good discount on other items. Bigfork Drug and Roma’s Eclectic on Electric donated prizes. Please thank these businesses for their generosity.
Many people brought delicious potato dishes; it was difficult to vote for your favorite. The turnout was good, with several attending from our ESP community. A total of $225 was raised, which will help pay for a drip watering system for the garden.
Thank you! to all who contributed dishes and attended.
If you would like more information on the community garden, or to arrange for a plot, please contact Michelle at 837-0982 or jlp3(at)bresnan.net (email disguised for security). See also: Community Garden Project on this website.
by Catherine Haug
Presenter: Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund provided a comprehensive handout (Communication Discussion), so this summary will only include additional information from my notes, including questions and discussion from the audience. He also provided two informational handouts from the web:
You can find a printable pdf version of this summary at Gathering Summary: Communication in Difficult Times.
Edmund’s presentation was in three parts:
followed by a general discussion. (more…)
by Catherine Haug
Steve E. sent me this NY Times Op Ed article which I thought I’d share with our ESP community: Big Food vs. Big Insurance, NY Times Op-Ed, Sept 9, 2009.
Pollan explores the link between the Great American Fast Food Diet and soaring health care costs. As our elected officials debate how to reform our health care system, perhaps now is the time to deal with this elephant in the living room: The REAL reason for the high cost of health care, and what to do about it.
Our ESP Community IS doing something about it; we:
Check out this article: Big Food vs. Big Insurance, NY Times Op-Ed, Sept 9, 2009 (Note, this is a 2-page article).
by Catherine Haug
Presenters: Peter Hall and Cameron Clayton of Mountain Mike’s Bikes in Bigfork (mountainmikesbikes@gmail.com). In addition to maintaining their own rental bikes, they also do repairs on others’ bikes. They sometimes sell their used bikes at the end of the season, but may not do so this year.
Topics covered:
See Gathering Summary: Bikes and Bike Maintenance for a printable pdf version of this summary. (more…)
by Catherine Haug
With the advent of mass-produced garments, blankets and rugs, we have largely grown to take these items for granted. But as fuel becomes scarce and prices rise, we may no longer be able to have these items trucked into our stores from distant factories.
As little as three generations ago, it was not uncommon for people to weave their own cloth and sew their own garments. Nearly every home had a loom, and the more fortunate had a treadle sewing machine. Anticipated shortages in our future may bring back these old traditions and provide opportunities for entrepreneurial enterprise in the making of cloth and garments.
Fiber arts are becoming popular today, as wearable art and gifts. Yarn stores are thriving as people learn how to knit, crochet and weave. People are raising alpaca, llama and sheep for their valuable wool. And ESP is planning a gathering next year on weaving and spinning, presented by the Alpine Spinning and Weaving Guild.
My friend Kevynne in Portland, belongs to a group of weavers and spinners, and writes about their doings in her blog. Her most recent entry was about dying wool using natural dyes: chamomile, pecan leaves, dodder, indigo and cochineal. This includes wonderful photos. Check it out: Another Good Day to Dye.