t-2 days

BEYOND PROVISIONS
To supplement our diet, because now our goat, allotted to us by a woman Karen got in touch with through the Long Island Dairy Goat Association, is now going to the state fair in September, and is no longer available to us through August. (We weren't even called with this unfortunate news, and we are in a tough situation now that the provider of such a staple in our diet will be absent.) We are now looking for alternatives (including, believe it or not, a COW), but unless something works out, we need backup. I don't expect to survive on lettuce and cucumbers for a month.

So I picked three highly nutritious foods that I ordered in bulk from Provisions (an organic foods market I used to work at), and that also could grow in this part of the world. (Black beans are an exception unless you have a greenhouse, but I thought it was conceivable, and conceded because they are such a potently nutritious legume.) If anything was to be eaten only under desperate circumstances, it would be the black beans, which would be hardest to come by around here. (More on that later... it all arrives next Monday or Tuesday.)

Black Beans

Black, or turtle, beans are small roughly ovoid legumes with glossy black shells. The scientific name for black beans is Phaselous vulgaris, an epithet shared with many other popular beanvarieties such as pinto beans, white beans, and kidney beans. Black beans are associated with Latin American cuisine in particular, although they can complement foods from many places. They are available in most grocery stores in dried and canned forms.

The history of black beans is ancient. They were first domesticated over 7,000 years ago in the region of South America now known as Peru. Since the beans grew readily in warm weather and preserved well, they quickly became an integral part of the South American diet. Other varieties of beans also entered cultivation during this period, with different people selecting for different bean traits. The ubiquitous food entered Europe when early explorers brought beans back with them in the 1500s.

Like other legumes, beans pack a serious nutritional punch. They are very high in fiber, folate, protein, antioxidants, and vitamin B, along with numerous other vitamins and minerals. When combined with whole grains such as brown rice, black beans make a complete protein, which is one of the reasons they are commonly included in a vegetarian diet. Since the beans are cheap to produce, they are an important part of a balanced diet for people of low income around the world.

(http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-black-beans.htm)

Quinoa

There are so many similarities between quinoa (keen' wah) and amaranth that it seems appropriate to describe them together. Quinoa, however, is a cool weather crop and amaranth is a warm weather one.

Quinoa and amaranth are two very old, high-protein plants that hail from South America. They were held sacred in ancient Inca and Aztec cultures. Both now hold great potential for self-sustaining gardens in the northern hemisphere. They grow as easily as their weedy relatives (pigweed or lamb's-quarters) and the quality of food they offer far surpasses that of our common grains. Traditional hand-harvesting methods can obtain bounteous harvests.

Quinoa and amaranth are treated as grains although they have broad leaves, unlike the true grains and corn, which are grasses. Their leaves are among the most nutritious of vegetable greens, but it is their fruit that is usually meant when these plants are referred to as "crops." And that fruit or grain is quite special. The protein content of these two foods has a essential amino acid balance that is near the ideal. They both come closer to meeting the genuine protein requirements of the human body than either cow's milk or soybeans. They are high in the amino acid lysine, which is lacking in most cereals such as wheat, sorghum, corn and barley.  

(http://www.saltspringseeds.com/scoop/powerfood.htm)

Almonds

The almond that we think of as a nut is technically the seed of the fruit of the almond tree, a glorious medium-size tree that bears fragrant pink and white flowers. Like its cousins, the peach, cherry and apricot trees, the almond tree bears fruits with stone-like seeds (or pits) within. The seed of the almond fruit is what we refer to as the almond nut.

Almonds are off-white in color, covered by a thin brownish skin, and encased in a hard shell. Almonds are classified into two categories: sweet (Prunus amygdalu var. dulcis) and bitter (Prunus amygdalu var. amara).

Sweet almonds are the type that is eaten. They are oval in shape, usually malleable in texture and wonderfully buttery in taste. They are available in the market either still in their shell or with their shell removed. Shelled almonds are available whole, sliced or slivered in either their natural form, with their skin, or blanched, with their skin removed.

These are the three types of food I ordered in 25 lb bags.

Here are my calculations...(I used various websites to calculate the weight and calories of the three foods in terms of cups.)

quinoa: 

Serving Size  1 cup (170g)  2 oz (50g)
Amount per serving
Calories 636	Calories from Fat 89

Hide Daily Values

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 10g		15%
	Saturated Fat 1g	5%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
	Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 0mg		0%
Sodium 36mg		2%
Total Carbohydrates 117g		39%
	Dietary Fiber 10g
Protein 22g

Vitamin A	0%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	10%	Iron	87%
Thiamin	22%	Riboflavin	40%
Niacin	25%	Pantothenic Acid	18%
Vitamin B6	19%	Potassium	36%
Phosphorus	70%	Magnesium	89%
Zinc	37%	Copper	70%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Calories in Quinoa:

200 calories in 2oz of Quinoa, 637 Calories in 1 Cup of Quinoa. There are 180 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, and 3 Points in 1/4 Cup of Quinoa.

Quinoa is considered a pseudocereal or pseudograin in that it is not quite a grain and not quite a cereal. It has great flavor, potent nutrition, and is quick to make. The true 'Mother Grain' of the Andes, organically grown on small family plots at over 11,000 feet in the Andes mountains of Ecuador. A small, round, yellow grain with a pleasant crunchy texture that cooks in just 12 minutes. A gluten free whole grain, rich in dietary fiber providing 45% daily value (DV). Best amino acid profile of all cereal grains. Heart Healthy* whole grain.

A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to Central America,quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized itsvalue in increasing the stamina of their warriors. Not only is quinoahigh in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein,meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Not only isquinoa's amino acid profile well balanced, making it a good choice forvegans concerned about adequate protein intake, but quinoa isespecially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which isessential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoafeatures a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium,iron, copper and phosphorous, this "grain" may be especially valuablefor persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

1 lb = about 2 cups 

25 lbs = about 50 cups

50 cups x 636 calories = about 31,800 calories

(31,800/3)/31 = for each of us: about 341 calories of quinoa a day

black beans:

 

1 lb = about 2 cups

25 lbs = about 5o cups

50 cups x 227 calories = 11,350 calories

(11,350/3)/31 = for each of us: about 122 calories of black beans a day

almonds:

1 lb = about 3 1/2 cups

25 lbs = about 87.5 cups 

87.5 cups x 842 calories = about 73,645 calories

(73,645/31)/3 = for each of us: about 792 calories of almonds a day

t-3 days

Mom and Luis wonder about picking up the wood... 

"Could 44 12' planks fit in Daddy's Honda Element? ... Well, if my car is this wide across... Daddy's would... maybe... Nah, no way."

 

 

I promised myself that I would be super conscientious about getting work done before having friends over, but making new friends makes keeping focus less easy. It's ok though, i've been doing pretty well.

Ordering the wood for the platform was complicated (for several reasons)...

1. I wanted to order wood that had been used already: discarded, reclaimed or rescued. I expected there to be some kind of surplus center in the Hamptons (what with the prodigious levels of construction out here, even during a recession), somewhere where we could find cheap material left over from the construction site. I sent out a few (unanswered) emails to people I thought would know about that, and according to Orlando, there really isn't one to speak of out here, it's more catch as catch can if you want some discarded lumber or something.

2. I discovered (after ordering about 46 pieces of reclaimed pine from a lumberyard in Brooklyn, which cost me $640.00 plus the cost of the Budget truck we rented), that Karen and Orlando had worked out an alternative floor plan for the tent, using materials they could buy at home depot that would cost under $150. (You can imagine my delight at this revelation.) The miscommunications began at the very outset since we had started out using the wrong blueprint, which didn't include an extended deck, so Orlando had a different picture of our tent in his mind. Together, they mapped out a floor plan that called for a fraction of the wood the blueprint demanded. (They did not tell me about this new plan.) We were going to have to buy materials for the whole platform anyway, and we had discussed using large, wide plywood instead of planks. But when I called the tent company, the guy I spoke to said we couldn't use plywood that big for the deck, because it would collect pools of water whenever it rained, and you run a similar risk by using it on the interior. Hearing this, I decided to just take matters into my own hands, because everyone was depending on me to get supplies. So I looked on the Home Depot website, and got prices for cheap, southern pine decking, and what I found that day added up to more than the cost for the reclaimed pine at M. Fine's lumberyard, or nearly the same price (1$/foot). (Again, this was not wood for an alternative deck, this is wood like what they call for on the blueprint, and enough to cover a 16' x 24' area.)

3. Getting the order shipped would have cost an extra $250.00, so my dad and I had to drive down there in a big budget truck to pick it all up, (about a 5 hour drive).

4. Getting all the nails and screws and little pieces of metal still attached to the wood from its previous job removed would have doubled the entire order cost, so instead we had to spend all the time we had yesterday afternoon hammering away with crowbars and screwdrivers at thousands of rusty nails protruding from the edges of the boards.

So this, below, has some semblance of what the inside of our tent will look like when we're all finished. Pretty nice, right? Compared to a rickity plywood floor, we'll have a really nice hardwood deck. I mean, in the end, it's no comparison. The effort involve just increases the value and beauty. I wonder where the used pine came from originally... and also what it was used for until it was reclaimed.

t-7/6/5/4 days

and the caravan rolls on...

The Newest Addition to the 

CHANNING MENAGERIE

The very chickenly, but really rather well-behaved chickens have arrived! 8 of them.

They take up so much less space than I thought they would.

The black one in the upper right corner we named Elvis. 

The past few days have been on and off frenzied activity and no work at all. It's funny though, I find myself thinking pragmatically all the time now, with what I eat, look at in stores, wear, how I manage my time... This project has taken over my head. 

I like it though, it's like I have a job now. No lazy, now that we're so close to the wire. And people are really into the project!!

I met an awesome fisherman named Ken Morse yesterday, who owns a bait & tackle shop in Sag Harbor. I was there for a little over half an hour, but left feeling as if I had just gone to a comprehensive fishing school, outfitted with top notch gear (kind of) and knowledge about what's up with local fishing. Ken said sometimes using bait works best, but other times its really the lures that attract the fish. He gave me advice about what times to fish (late evening or early morning, avoid the sunniest parts of the day), and where we'd probably be most successful (surrounding rocky shore areas that trap smaller sea life and attract bigger fish). He gave me a meter to measure the legal, keepable length of different types of fish (sampled below).

I think the regs on the Bass mean that your allowed to catch one, and it has to be between 28" and 40", whereas those on the Bluefish state no minimum size limit. Bluefish have sharp teeth! Apparently some surfers got chewed up by a school of them a couple days ago over at Mecox Bay, I think. Ken told us about it, I can't seem to find an article about it though. 

He gave me a full spectrum of lures, for different depths and kinds of fish... And he said some interesting things about people that come into the shop and order the highest end equipment, but seldom (if ever) actually go fishing. The lures he gave us were ones that he uses, and ones that have worked for him and his customers. I liked his honest approach, and another guy came into the store to buy a few lures and told us, as Ken was marking off all the best local spots on our map with a highlighter, "He won't steer you wrong!" 

I want to go back to Tight Lines with Karen and Patricia before we start the project. I know we'll have to go back frequently to pick up live bait anyway, unless we can catch our own... This is another thing I have thinking about, should we use lures that are so thoroughly gridlocked, and so susceptible to getting bitten off their lines and lost in the bellies of unfortunate fish and birds? Yes, a plastic lure might catch you a fish, which could be our biggest priority next month, but I feel like it's a kind of pollutive Russian Roulette.... We'll see. I think we should try to stick with using local live bait for as long as we can.

KAREN AND ORLANDO FINALIZE THE "COUP"

I always feel like Orlando thinks I'm just a lump on a log when they're working on their structures. I end up kind of standing there, watching them work, and he speaks no English at all, so he knows me entirely through Karen's translations. I know this part of the project is really Karen's anyway... I'd just like it not to seem like I'm not doing anything. I should get some pictures in here of me doing things, because, who knows, maybe I'm a lazy bum... are you convinced?

<<>

t-8 days

THE SOLAR PANEL ARRIVES

And I still have no idea what to do with it.

I got much help with research and selection from my friend Jake Sosne's dad Alan (a.k.a. 'Solar Alan'), but best solution we could find, which is the awesome Voltaic Generator Solar Laptop Charger turned out to be a little more expensive and less versatile than I was looking for. (It is a very cool bag though:  http://www.voltaicsystems.com

/bag_generator.shtml )

So, I ended up ordering a panel and a charge controller off amazon. Together they were under $150.00, so it was a pretty good deal. I still don't know exactly how to use them, though, or if the charge will be sufficient to power my laptop.

What I need to do now is take the panel out of the packaging and make sure the controller is the right voltage and everything. 

Karen came over again today to continue working on the chicken coop (or as she says, with a French affect, "coo"), with Orlando, Tom, and her grandmother this time. Tom worked on hacking the post bases into points with an axe, and then Orlando beat them into the ground with a sledgehammer. From his position on the ladder, about 3 feet taller than the rest of us, Orlando wielded the sledgehammer with accuracy. But I was terrified, because a miscalculated swing would not bode well for Karen's grandmother, who was standing below him, steadying the post. 

(below, Orlando and Karen's grandma fix the chicken wire to the posts.)

I pointed out the irony of using a chainsaw to build an off-the-grid structure, and Tom reminded me that everything we're using is gridlocked in some way, from the chainsaw to the

 handsaw to the hammer to the nails and staples. The only difference is, the chainsaw is actively gridlocked, like my computer is now (before I have the solar panel set up). We didn't buy any gas to power it this time, but using what was left in the tank just means my dad will have to buy some more when he needs to use it again.

We are hoping that the hens will arrive ASAP, so they can have some time to get used to their new surroundings. Otherwise, the optimistic estimate of 1 egg per hen, per day, will most likely go down due to stress. Unfortunately, there have apparently been some problems with the hens, who have been pecking at their own eggs in their coop in Noyac. The person who owns them is waiting to see which hen is whacked before letting us pick them up.

PHONE CALL WITH Paul Hamilton: I've had an irregular correspondence with Paul in the past few weeks, but he is still interested in helping out! Paul is an organic farmer at EECO (East End Community Operated) Farm in East Hampton, and he used to do guided nature walks out here, so he knows how to identify forest flora (and fauna?), and has lots of experience building forts out of found materials with his two sons. Paul also subs at Ross, and replaced my English teacher for about a week this spring, when I first got a chance to tell him about the project. He lent me a few books that he thought I would find useful. One of them, Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons, was apparently a sensation in the 60's and 70's during the whole back-to-the-land movement, and works as a kind of detailed, instructional field guide to procuring wild edibles. I haven't gotten a chance to use it practically yet, but Paul said he was willing to do a kind of nature walk with us and maybe experiment with building an organic structure of some kind.

The Platform Tent Arrives.           Now what?

It's here!! 

The two little bundles of packing plastic that are the canvas tent and its supports have arrived via an "On Time Trucking" semi, transferred to my dad's big old front loader, placed at the tent site, and are now awaiting further instruction. 

But hold up... the platform isn't even finished yet... it's kind of barely started. We have the skeleton in place, minus that for the extended porch... and I don't have the necessary wood for the decking. (Problem!!) 

I did some research a few weeks ago, looking for reuse centers or building surplus stations in the metropolitan area, and I found a few that look promising. The problem is, the wood suggested in the tent blueprint are 2" x 6" planks. For a 16' x 24' platform, this means about 96 pieces of lumber, if they're all 8' long!! Sounds crazy, but do the math. This is why we were trying to see if maybe 16 8' x 4' boards would work instead. When I spoke with Dan at the Colorado Yurt Company, he said that 8' x 4' boards would work, but should not be used for the extended porch. This is because the space between 2" x 6" boards allow for water drainage, while the large boards (especially on uneven ground), would start to collect pools of water that would probably run inside the tent.

This is a picture of our tent, (or what we hope our tent will resemble eventually, minus the little chimney.)

 

   

t-9 days

Yesterday morning, I had my heart set on calling the Colorado Yurt Company to get some blueprint specifications-- the one we were using didn't include the extended deck (for the covered porch).

At right is the original blueprint I got on the website for a 16'x16' platform tent, which, exhibiting my questionable judgement, I assumed would include the front extension. 

Realizing that this was not the case was especially uncomfortable when I had to explain to Karen's stepdad Orlando, who had helped us lay the foundation, and speaks virtually no English, that there was a whole other part to the skeleton that we hadn't considered...

Above, Orlando scours the woodpile behind my dad's studio for any usable building material. He would occasionally bump an old discarded sculpture while removing blocks, and made me cringe repeatedly with his strictly practical focus. I was amazed he was even there helping us; Karen called me that morning with news that her stepdad had fought with her mom the previous night and was now not talking to the family. Our plans to start work that day hinged on Orlando's help and stock of old wood from sod transportation platforms, so his absence left us high and dry and my mom fuming.

Only several hours later, who showed up in a crammed minivan but Karen, her boyfriend Tom, and Orlando, dressed in work clothes and rearing to get started.

From the getgo, I was absolutely amazed by Orlando's energy and efficiency. His understanding of all the equipment in my dad's immense prefab tool repository that he laid his hands on was profound. Within the first hour of work, we had procured all the wood we'd need for the tent base, and then some. (The blueprint says to use cement blocks, but Orlando said the block we found in the woodpile, shown below, would work just as well.)

 I watched with mild resentment as we loaded the pickup truck with the blocks and tools and headed out to the site. Orlando's rigid determination and momentum seemed unstoppable-- I didn't want to blow his top with a crazy request like, "So, maybe we could carry these big heavy pieces of wood out there? I mean, just to save gas? It is an off-the-grid project, anyway..." The impracticality of such a suggestion was almost ludicrous when we had all the motorized equipment we could ever want at our disposal.

Initially, my grand scheme was to develop a sustainable lifestyle from entirely organic, local resources. My vision harkened back to pre-colonial time on Long Island, pristine and vibrant with deer on the roam, pheasants and turkeys. I had a completely romantic idea of what it could be- sleeping in a thatched roof hut, wearing deer pelts and moccasins, eating corn and native vegetables and fish... 

I decided though, in what turned out to be an entirely new direction, that modern technology isn't necessarily the bane of our existence. Since the Industrial Revolution, pollution and environmental degradation has skyrocketed, yes, but this doesn't mean we should have to go back in time and rewind innovation to find harmonious equilibrium. I think bicycles and solar panels are great! The danger is in their production and disposal, and those processes need improvement. For now, though, I think as long as we avoid buying anything new or using anything fossil-fueled as much as possible, the positives outweigh the negatives. To the extent that the goal of the project is to keep in touch while off-the-grid, almost everything we will be using by definition- (computer, cell phone, solar panel), and otherwise, in terms of gardening, tools, and equipment (bikes, trowels, hoes, pots, fencing, hoses, etc.), was generated on the grid.

I need to make a comprehensive list of every "gridlocked" object or substance or process we have utilized and will utilize throughout the course of the project. The point of the project is not to simply lower our carbon footprint as much as demonstrate the simplest of modern sustainable living systems.

t-10 days

I'm wondering, as I listen to the gentle but steady rain outside and look at the weather forecast for the next few days, why it is, in The Little Prince, that the rose says she hates being rained on, and when she's thirsty, it's only her roots that want a drink?

And out there are my zucchini plants, flowered and rolling, getting soaked in the showers. I watered them myself recently- the past week has been almost incessantly dry and sunny, and some of the plants looked so happy when I held the watering can over them, while some shuddered and wilted. 

Plants are like children! So picky, yet so resilient! It's difficult to know what to do when new seeds want a nice heavy shower, and large plants seem to relish the rain, but delicate little sprouts quaver and wilt the moment the drops fall, and then grow dramatically in a day or two. Ay! Mother's anxiety. But it's ill-founded, I know. The soil out here has proved itself rich and bountiful year after year, and after all, mother nature is the ultimate nurturer... I think it's my interference that bothers me, on sunny days, well, how much do I water the garden? Does time of day matter? The hose drags over a baby kale plant. Doomed? How hard do I pack the soil? How much water drowns a seedling? What are ideal proportions of rain and sun?

These are questions for a farmer.

My mom, the epic heirloom tomato grower, has been the garden advisor thus far. However, I have found that she, like my grandpa, has a visceral, intuitive way of doing things (like cooking, gardening, etc.), that makes following her instructions tricky while she's away. (My grandpa is famous for his bread, but uses unique measurements--a pinch of salt, a handful of flour, a bit of yeast--making it almost impossible to reproduce.) I don't mean she's not systematic; she has a very organized gardening strategy and insists on planting in tidy rows. I just shudder to think what's at stake if I should miscalculate while not under her supervision and damage our crop. I like having her there to say, "That's good!" or "That's enough!" 

I read a little article in the Times the other day about garden thinning. The author was having qualms about, first of all, yanking baby sprouts from the ground, and second, learning that eating those aborted vegetable plants in a baby-greens salad can pose health risks. Apparently, juice from a radish stalk can burn your skin if the sun is out.

 

The packet for the summer squash seeds I planted several weeks ago with Patricia instructed that we plant two or three seeds in every hole to guarantee the successful germination of at least one little plant. Several weeks later, every single seed sprouted, and were so healthy looking that I couldn't bear to discard them. Instead, I carefully transplanted every second and third sprout into rows adjacent to the original. Fortunately, the transplanted sprouts, though not as robust as the plants that were left in their original positions, are actually doing quite well.

As of yesterday, the garden is looking vibrant, but not really productive quite yet. I think that's a good thing, because I'm assuming it bodes well for a full harvest when we need it in August. But I'm knocking on wood.