Blog is moving!

Well, I can't say that I've been a consistant blogger in any way, but I am moving the blog to my new site at http://www.jessejsaunders.com/blog.

There will certainly be a bunch of garden updates as we get into into spring & summer with all of the lessons learned from our experiments last year, and hopefully some music as soon as I get some time to do some writing! Come on over and follow the new blog!

Food, Inc. -- Go see this movie!

Tonight, Danielle & I saw the movie Food, Inc. It is a look inside the big business behind major food production, and paints a terribly brutal picture. Federal subsidies for big agriculture, engineering and modification of food, big business pressuring the small guy, and how we get the food we all eat. After doing some internet searches it seems that some of the companies attacked in the film are fighting back against some of the allegations, but the arguments seem pretty difficult to defend.

While we all know that fast food isn't healthy food and Coke isn't giving your body anything positive...it's amazing to see how these foods come to the store and who is behind them. It's certainly changed how I look at food and will greatly influence my decision to buy organic and local food whenever possible and grow as much as we can out at Cauble Farms.

On a side note, when the Wal-Mart reps visit the organic farm in Brattleboro, VT (home of a great New England event "Strolling of the Heifers") , it had to be quite an awkward visit, as the farmers stated "We've never been to a Wal-Mart"; not to mention the town of Brattleboro's effective protests that prevented a Wal-Mart from opening in the town several years ago. A store was eventually opened just across the river in Hinsdale, NH.

The movie is playing at the Regal Arbor in Austin, at a couple of theatres in D/FW and the Boston metro area. If it's playing near you, PLEASE go see it...if it's not, get your hands on the DVD when it comes out.

The trailer:







On a lighter note, we also saw a trailer for the movie Taking Woodstock, coming out August 14th. The "hippie born in the wrong generation" in me can't wait!

Late May Garden update

This post was written at the end of may, but I forgot to post (sorry!)...another update coming soon!


Wow, 2 months since my last post! Between finishing up with grad school, keeping up with the garden, home church, and graduation, and family in town, it's been a busy few months.

Today a bunch of us got together to work out at Cauble Farms. We've eaten up all of the broccoli, cauliflower, red & bibb lettuce, collards, arugula, and cabbage, and are nearly done with the chard, onions, and strawberries (the latter of which have been really slow to produce). In their place we have planted tomatoes, green peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, zuchinni, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon, cantelope, as we have pulled things over the last couple months. We still have a few things going from our original planting, including wildflowers, herbs, and leeks.

Today's work included lots of harvesting, weeding, putting up shade cloth (on the frames Josh & Aaron built a couple of weeks ago), planting black eyed peas as a cover crop until the fall, putting up a few bamboo tripods for the tomatoes to climb, mulching around some of the mature plants, and fertilizing to help increase the production of the flowering plants and cut down on pests that are munching on some of the eggplant and other plants.

crazy cucumber (tastes great!)














Flower bed, Shade cloth & tunes (today provided by: Crazy Joe & The Mad River Outlaws, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and Swell Season)


















Shade cloths to help cut down on the noon-day sun.














Ryan spreading some mulch

First harvest on the farm!

Today saw another work day out on the farm, as we were able to have our first 'mini-harvest' of lettuce, chard, bibb lettuce, kale, broccoli, and radishes. We also put in: green & red peppers, hot peppers (including one plant claiming to be "the world's hottest peppers"), tomatoes, eggplant, beans, and hopefully some zuchini later this week.

While most of the things we planted a few weeks ago are taking off, the beans we'd planted just didn't take (we think it got too cold for them with the last cold snap), so we put some new seeds in. It was great to be able to get some veggies out of the garden. Now just waiting for a great salad with ingredients from the garden.

Some of the highlights:

Broccoli about to be harvested














Strawberries are making progress














LOTS of radishes














Bibb lettuce ready to be cut!














Danielle picking














Ashley planting peppers














Me planing peppers














Row of lettuce














Cabbage is getting huge














Ryan, we want a batch of salsa featuring these peppers!

Cauble Farms Part II

So this weekend the whole Cauble Farms gang got out and put down soil, spread mulch, prepped row coverings, and planted a bunch of fruit/veggies (3 types of lettuce, 2 types of onions, leeks, arugula, beans, peas, kale, shard, broccoli, and cauliflower), a bunch of types of herbs, & lots of flowers! We were out most of the day Saturday and a couple hours of Sunday (in the crazy wind). It was pretty amazing to see the transformation of the garden in 36 hours.

Overnight we got a ton of rain, but I hear that aside from making the farm muddy, everything looks good, the plants didn't get washed away and the netting protecting the rows stayed in place!

A few more weeks and we'll get some later season veggies (carrots, squash, melons, etc.), but for now it's all about upkeep and looking out for bunnies trying to munch on our harvest!


Here are a few highlights from this weekend:

Beginning of Saturday















Ryan shoveling soil



















Jy supervising the crew



















Danielle & I working the flower beds



















Mulched and Prepped Beds and rows














Putting out plants















Putting plants in the ground!














Rows, the two "upper" beds, and Lora's avocado tree














One of the eight square foot boxes














Planted square foot beds















Farmer Aaron looking forward to the harvest

Cauble Farms, Day 1

This year the Cauble's, Sowers', Osborne's, Stearn's (I think), and Danielle & I are going to be farming an area of the Cauble's property which we've all named "Cauble Farms". Today was the first major work day on the farm. Ryan and I built boxes for the square foot garden boxes while the ladies roped of and began working the farm rows. Then we all worked to compost, double-dig, and recompost the row areas. Virtually all afternoon we worked to the jams of Mike Stearns & Nate Pina, which helped time fly by. We put in about 6 hours today, and I think we were all impressed with what we got accomplished. The row areas are looking really good and ready for soil.

Next week we're planning on prepping the box garden areas, spreading soil (which may get done mid-week) and get some plant starts and seeds in the ground.

The full photo collection is on my facebook, but here are the highlights:

My car overloaded with compost.

Yeah, it's a lot of compost

The ladies laying out the rows
Building the square foot boxes

Lora spreading compost.

Mike & Nate providing the tunes.

Finished rows & boxes

Jy hanging out when the Sower's stopped by to check out the progress.


Becuase we care

RPM Challenge 2009

During the month of February, I'm planning on participating in the RPM Challenge, www.rpmchallenge.com. The goal of the challenge is to write and record an album worth of music (10 songs or 35 minutes), all during the February.

I've been trying to work on my songwriting over the last few months, after writing my first 'real' song last February. My writing has been extremely sporadic with very few songs being completed.

It's my hope that by forcing myself into a deadline that I'll be more efficient and productive in my writing/recording and get myself into a 'habit' of songwriting. Not sure how effective this will be, but certainly by doing a lot more writing the material should improve.

quick question

Yes, I know that I've been really bad about posting to the blog lately. Hopefully I'll be better in the coming weeks.

One thought for the day...

Can anyone rock better or more consistently than Billy F. Gibbons?

Answer: A resounding NO!

Maine Man Song

Maine Man Song

I can happily say I'm proud to be a "Down Easterner".

On the return of Phish...

As referenced in my post on Wednesday, Phish is reuniting this March: nearly 5 years after the 'breakup', 11 years after my first show, and over 25 years since the band's first performance.

I have to admit that after the breakup, I took a bit of a break from Phish myself. Some shows, particularly high points of ones I attended and lots of the final weekend were actually tough to listen too. Ok, so the Coventry "Velvet Sea" still gets me.

After "broadening out" my musical tastes over the couple years, I've come back to Phish more and more over the last several months and rediscovering just how amazing the interplay is between these 4 guys is. I've enjoyed their solo projects a lot, but there's a certain something that only seems to happy when the 4 are together.

Danielle and I have always said, after sitting in traffic and not getting into Coventry, that we would do whatever we had to to be at the first show when the band got back together. Therefore, we're currently in the lottery for Hampton, VA tickets in March, and if we miss out there we'll go nuts on the phone & internet on the general on-sale date!

For the uninitiated, some of my phavorites that I was able to find on youtube
Punch You In The Eye (part of the Gamehenge saga)
Possum
Waste (this is actually the encore from my first show!)
You Enjoy Myself (part I -- part II

really? really? you're not kidding right?

www.phish.com

The "new" Kerby Lane Cafe

Next week will mark 3 years since Danielle & I moved to Austin, so I am in no way authorized to pine for "the good old days", but I can say that I'm really bummed about the "new" Kerby Lane Cafe location in North Austin.

The thing I've loved about Kerby Lane is the food, but the atmosphere is also great; relaxed, easy-going, really just feeling lived in. Two weeks ago the location on 183 moved north a couple of exits and to the other side of the highway, out of the old house-style building and into a big plaza location. I've been to the new location twice since opening, and while the food has remained the same (great!), the vibe is just different. While before the space felt like walking into someone's home: a little rough around the edges, picked up enough for company, but you could still tell they'd been there for years; the new location feels too slick and polished. Everything is fresh and new, a big tv in the waiting area, host & wait staff (while still the same personnel) being dressed a little nicer than normal, and new art on the freshly painted walls.

Don't get me wrong, the migas and french toast were still GREAT. But, I was actually somewhat contented this morning when I realized by plate had a chip taken out of the bottom of it. Hopefully the new, bigger location will alleviate some of the wait times, and that after it's open a few months it will start to acquire that good old Kerby Lane feel.

Meat or no meat...that is the question...

Since the end of the spring semester, I have been trying to work out more and eat better. The goal is to improve my general health, and train for the Zilker Trail of Lights 5K in December. This has been moderately successful, as I have lost some weight, but my running has left a lot to be desired. With some new running shoes a few weeks ago, I'm hoping to step up my running to be able to do the 5K by December.

On the eating side, I've been thinking lately and realized how often I haven't felt well after eating (usually a lot) of meat as of late. Therefore, in order to help kick our healthy eating up a notch, Danielle and I have gone (mostly) vegetarian over the last couple of weeks. I'm by no means being hardcore about it, the chicken pot-pie at COM Group Tuesday was great! However, in general I've been amazed at how much better I've felt after eating, and how my Rolaids consumption has gone down.

I'm trying to make running a part of my normal routine, which hasn't (so far) been a great success, but is moving in the right direction. As for the -mostly- vegetarian food, we're thinking we'll try it out until the Mier's wedding in November and see where it goes from there.

What I Learned This Week

So after a week of time in the studio with the JCB, getting back to class, spending too much time reading blogs, and church this morning...I have learned the following:

- Coffee is my friend.
- Don't ever trust cables from Guitar Center to work, even the first day.
- Fantasy Football has increased my interest in the NFL, to marginal.
- Always check the wiring before putting speakers back together, live or in the studio (had to do this twice before I learned)
- Museums have really inconvenient hours. M-F 10a-4p...really?
- I never remember to check the room number for my classes until 10 minutes before the first meeting.
- I'm breaking more strings than usual, not sure if I should start using thinner picks.
- Coffee is still my friend, and so is Jesus
- And as of 2 minutes ago... waiting to order dinner, for deliver, until 8:45 is a bad idea.


Hopefully I have a week at least as enlightening next week. We shall see.

moving closer to the next step...

this wednesday begins my next to last semester of graduate school, which is scheduled for culmination in may 2009. this time next year i will (hopefully) have a full-time job as an archivist. grad school and a "real" job in the field i intend to to be my long-term career have been something that's been off in the horizon for several years now.

therefore, i'm both nervous and excited. i spent 5 1/2 years working various jobs between college and grad school, always seeing it as something...out there. now graduation and moving to the next stage seems imminent: a house, kids, building a long-term career, etc; and i can't wait.

now if my professors would just post the syllabi so i could know what i'm up against this semester...

Giving...

I had a brief conversation with a friend yesterday. At his church on Sunday, "a young boy running down the aisle toward the row where the offering plate was being passed. He had this expression of total excitement on his face, a smile that went from ear to ear, and pure joy in giving his tithe."

Why does it seem that we don't have the same attitude toward giving to the mission of God (church, missionaries, etc)? As "grown-ups" why do we so often look at giving as being beaten up by "dutiful submission" instead of as a supreme joy of giving to God's work, something so much bigger than ourselves?

George Carlin, Dead at 71

While certainly no saint, George was against pretty much any establishment there is, spoke out against injustice, wanted government out of people's lives to be able to live like you want and be left alone.

I didn't agree with all of his politics or social views, but on the whole, I agree with him more than nearly any politician/public figure.


Insane, but brilliant.

Our 2nd "Crash-a-versary"

So for most people today is just Cinco de Mayo, but for Danielle & I it's our 2nd "crash-a-versary".

We had just crossed into Memphis, TN on our way to her Grandparent's 50th Anniversary party (in Nashville) when we came up on rush hour traffic. The Class A motor home behind us hadn't noticed the impending traffic and wound up going more or less over top of us (me driving, Danielle in passenger seat), and sent us pinging into the guardrails and other cars on the highway.

It's amazing to look at the photos and see how incredibly "smushed" the car was. We were reported as dead on the evening news, and the hospital staff said "wait, you were in the red car, we weren't expecting anyone from that car" when we arrived. However, we walked away, Danielle with massive bruising throughout her torso, and me with 2 broken ribs and a good cut on my arm after only 12 hours in the hospital. Unfortunately, my first Taylor 110 wasn't so lucky, as it wound up being the thickness of a Telecaster in the back seat. Thankfully, Danielle's cousin decided to fly at the last minute, or else he would have been in that seat.

However, we're amazingly blessed to have been able to walk away (even if with lots of painkillers) and not have any long-term effects.


Front driver side



Front of car



Back of car - that's the rear bumper laid across the top



Rear - at least my Birkenstock's were saved



The back seat & Taylor 110



Taylor 110

New Pedalboard

my new board. i'd really considered a Pedaltrain board/case (about $160) but wound up going with a $7 Goodwill suitcase, $4 piece of 1/2" plywood from Home Depot, and paint/velcro that I had in the utility room.



Signal Chain:
72' Tele Custom RI/Yamaha Strat/Taylor 110 > DT-10 > EB Volume > Analogman TS-9/Silver > Analogman SD-1/808 > Sparkle Drive (for clean boost only) > SCH-Z > True Bypass Loop for E-1010 (and then E-1010) > DD-5 > Nau Engineering Tremolo > Headrush E2 > A/B/Y
A > Amp (Electric)
B > DI (Acoustic)


This thing's heavy, but I'm finally able to get everything I really want on my board!

After a quick lunch, I'm playing for the rest of the afternoon!

I need to find a turntable

After finding a copy of ZZ Top's Fandango on ebay for Josh, I also picked up a few John Denver records. I'm now being hit with need for a turntable, and the urge to go scour Cheapo on Lamar

I can't wait to return to the world of analog!