Halloween

I need to state at the outset that Halloween is my favorite day/night of the year.  It's more than a family foodfest, it's not about having to be (sometimes artificially) nice to people and relatives coming together once a year to celebrate.  It's a time when people assume the identity of someone/something else and live out their new identities. 

There is no event during the year that produces so many smiles among people of different cultures and faiths, so many imaginations, as we see kids dressed up as ballet dancers, pirates, sports figures, political spoofs, etc.

Last year I bought a costume the day after Halloween--in part to save money for the coming year and in part avoiding the difficult decision of what costume to wear when I usually procrastinate until the last minute before Halloween.  Here is what I came up with (notice the fake left hand that frees my left hand to manipulate the snake.

We also hired a professional pumpkin carver to give us some lessons on how to carve a pumpkin. Here is some of our work, under his sage tutelage and with the tools that he brought to our event.

David Infantino from Nonna's Restaurant on 85th & Columbus brought his tools and design ideas for pumpkin carving.  Look at the owl to the right--what a master piece!   The pumpkins carved by our group were then put on display at Nonna's Restaurant.



But....moving on to Thanksgiving....

Winter to Winter

Oops, so much time elapsed that I forgot that I already uploaded these photos and stories from Skiing in Bariloche.   Now I get to edit them! ;-(

Ed

Several months and holidays have passed since I updated my global explorations.    In the meantime, I have gone from skiing in winter in Argentina in September to considering skiing here in NYC as the temperature has now dropped below freezing.   Along the way, Halloween--my favorite of events during the year--has passed with me being a snake charmer (with a movable snake as you can see in the photo below) and I had the chance to spend Thanksgiving in warm Amman, Jordan.   And I'm sure you're all waiting for an update on my worms....

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  I was able to spend four days skiing, which is by far my favorite sport, in Bariloche, Argentina with Alisa.  What an exhilarating trip to be able to hit the slopes and join an asado at which Alisa was the chief asadora.   Fortunately for both of us, Alisa's job ended the day I arrived, giving us lots of time for lots of hours of strenuous skiing.  Well, actually, it was more so for me, being much less in shape, and I couldn't keep up with her on the runs.... Beautiful days, with some new snow at the top each morning and some fairly bare runs at the bottom because we were pushing our luck with Bariloche spring skiing.

We also enjoyed some hiking in a town that has some of the most stunningly beautiful vistas in the world.  And we explored natural and locally-grown food stores in town where Alisa expertly picked out and knew the names of grains and herbs--ones that I would have had to look up online.  I was treated to wonderful meals, including an asado prepared by Alisa.   The role of an asador is traditionally one filled by men in this country, but that night we had an asadora!

It was fantastic, with not a scrap of the Argentinian beef left on the plates afterwards.  Rare, tender, scrumptious.

Well, enough about global exploring....back home in NYC, the worm compost is the top of my agenda.  The worms have done an amazing job--eating and composting every day that I've been traveling to South America, Washington, DC and to Jordan.  They just keep chomping away at the garbage and never stop making nutritious soil for my backyard plants.   Unfortunately, in the 2 months since I posted last, the temperature has dropped significantly and my plants are now dormant until March or so in 2011 (I'm looking for some ornamental cabbages to plant this weekend.  They can handle ice and snow!).  So, I'll just deposit the composted mass in and around the plants and hope that it helps next spring in the northern hemisphere.

As successful as the worms have been, I have now encountered a problem that many others of us worm composters face:  flying critters who love to lay eggs in fertile and garbage-infused soil.   In the past 3 months, the number of fungus gnats and fruit flies has counted in the hundreds (others might claim it's actually thousands, but I'm trying to assume a modicum of sanity amidst the flying critters.  First, let's look at what we're dealing with.  Those seeking advice on how to deal with them might check out the State of Massachusetts' resources: http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/flies.htm

Seen from a distance, fruit flies look black and are stupidly stationary, making easy targets for a newspaper or unwanted magazine from my junk mailbox pile.   But, examined up close, they are a different critter.

They are ugly, making it a joy to swat them.  I've been told that they can lay 400 eggs at a time, so this is not a laughing matter.  They are not something to be cohabiting with, even if they don't bite or carry horrendous diseases.  My fear is that they are laying eggs in the worm compost and producing like crazy--even though the worm compost box is supposed to be sealed and not allow this to happen.  Need to do some serious investigation into the box....

The larger numbers (but much smaller) of flying bugs, are the fungus gnats.  What a horrible name.  They're flying around, attracted by light and any sweet or fruity aroma.   One web site notes: "So there’s good news, and there’s bad news: The good news is adult fungus gnats only live about one week. The bad news is that in this short time, the female will deposit 100-150 eggs on your plant’s soil surface. These eggs are laid in strings of three to 40 and can hatch within four days of being laid."  Since I don't have indoor plants, this means that these eggs are being laid on my worm compost soil.  Since there are no plants to eat, logic tells me that they should not last long.  WRONG!  They're here in numbers.  Here is what one looks like:

But, this photo makes them look bigger than they are and, of course, they don't bit, suck blood or transmit horrendous diseases.  They're just an incredible pest--gnats flying around--often attracted to a computer laptop screen because of the light.  They don't land and cannot be swatted--despite how many times I have tried.  They can be trapped with a jar with banana peels, covered with plastic with holes in it.  They fly in, attracted by the tempting aroma of banana peels and then can't find their way out.  

I've tried the traps and they work, but don't capture all the gnats.  I've tried some people and environment-friendly insecticides with pyrethrins.  Hasn't worked.  Tried old and horribly offensive fly paper, which catches and catches them, but it doesn't get at the root cause of the flies and gnats.    So, I'm open to suggestions.

But, now it's time to think of Halloween and Thanksgiving so I can give some thought about what may happen toward the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011.

Musings on an Amtrak Train

Some musings on race in America while riding an Amtrak train....

I’m riding Amtrak from Washington in late September 2010 and am sharing a café car table with a couple that is clearly enjoying each other’s company, with affectionate comments, touches and caresses.    This is not remarkable in and of itself, as I have witnessed as a frequent rail mileage passenger on Amtrak between Washington, DC and New York City.   What is remarkable is that the couple, a young 20-something duo, is multi-racial…she an African-American and he a Euro-American.   Clearly what is so remarkable is not that they are together, but that they are so together as a loving couple, but also in commonality with the hundreds of others in the café car tonight (it’s a crowded Sunday evening crowd returning to NYC).

Looking at their obvious comfort and joy, my thoughts go back to 1967 when I was friends with and then a husband to a woman with whom I did not share a common racial ancestry.   She was Japanese-American and I, like my café tablemate, had roots in Europe.  Dating and being seen as a couple in Seattle in those days was comfortable, with its rather large Asian-American community. The sixties were a time at the University of Washington of social and political activism—even to the point that she and I volunteered for an organization that had us pose as the acceptable couple testing realtors who had just told an African-American couple that no apartments were available.   Sadly, we were usually shown an apartment immediately.

But, it was not all roses.   We both had relatives who refused to accept that two individuals who loved each other could be tolerated (much less respected) if they looked different.  We were told by these relatives on both sides that we would never darken their doorstep if we were to marry.  My aunt even went so far as to refuse to speak to my mother (her own close sister) for 10 years after we subsequently did marry because my mother had not stopped the marriage.

Needless to say, Washington State was not familial paradise for us.  So when employment for my wife at AT&T and graduate school at Columbia University emerged at the same time in the early 1970s, we immediately jumped a United Airlines flight to New York City.   In addition to career paths that were seemingly leading to the metropolis, we felt that the diversity of the city (and distance from family members) would also free us from the hassles of others looking at us as being different.  

We were to be disappointed.   It seems that couples of Asian and European ancestries were not common.  New Yorkers with ethnic roots in China seemed to stay in (or were channeled to) certain neighborhoods.   Others with Asian ancestry were generally expatriate business people (this was before the huge immigration waves from South Korea, Southeast Asia and elsewhere in Asia) from Japan who did not mingle much with other New Yorkers from Europe, Africa and Latin America.  As a result, we received stares and negative vibes when we were seen holding hands walking down Broadway—even on the Upper Westside, the incredibly liberal and diverse community that has continued to attract both of us 40 years later.  She was consistently asked if she spoke English and where are you from?

Clearly, we did not suffer the humiliation and racial persecution of those who preceded us in the 1950s and before.  My heart is heavy knowing what they went through.   In 2010, It’s hard to remember or believe that it was illegal to marry or have sexual relations with a person of another race in 16 states as late as 1967, the year I met my future wife, when the Supreme Court ruled the state laws unconstitutional.  This is not ancient history we’re dealing with.  It’s within my lifetime.  Yet, I still marvel at and rejoice in the comfort of the couple in front of me and in how absolutely “normal” the relationship seems to be to them, me and everyone else in this diverse Amtrak café car.  I’m celebrating tonight.

Ed

Bariloche and NYC in September

It's hard to describe the feeling of switching hemispheres, particularly in September, when NYC is getting ready for falling leaves and the first frost -- which will wipe out the flowers in my back yard -- and when Bariloche, Argentina is wrapping up the winter skiing season.  Imagine hiking and even within the city have vistas of snow-covered peaks in a 360 panorama in September!

It was great to spend a week in Bariloche in September and forget the impending leaf-raking.  What made it special was to be able to ski day after day with my daughter--zipping down the slopes of Cerro Catedral.  Well actually, most of the time she was zipping and I was trying to pretend I was leisurely enjoying the slopes at a slower pace.   Only on the steeper and icier runs was I able to keep up with the fanatic Alisa. 

A highlight of my north-south adventure was to join an asado in honor of the departure of one of Alisa's friends.   Normally, the role of chief barbecue chef is a gender-determined one, but this time Alisa took control as chief "Asadora" and handled the key role with expertise and confidence.  And what a demanding crowd--with some of us from el norte asking for rare (and I mean bloody rare) and other more locals asking for a bit on the well-done side.  But it was delicious and she received the appropriate standing and clapping ovation when the barbecue cooking was complete.

And then, with an 11 hour flight back north, I'm looking at 90 degree weather again and leaf-raking.

But, I realize I left you in the lurch about my worms--ones that also stayed behind while I enjoyed the slopes of Bariloche.  Well, I realized why there was earlier trouble--the bottom tray was askew and the critters were not able to crawl back up into the food-laden soil/compost.  As a result, a number created ritual seppuku on the floor in protest of my inattention to their life dilema.   But, all is fine in wormville.  The took my 8-day southern hemisphere without a peep and made major progress on the beets, egg shells and lettuce that I had left them before getting on the plane.  There seem to be even more worms than when I started this adventure, so I am breathing easier.

I am now spreading the worm compost story widely, with several new converts--including Maggie in NYC and maybe Alisa in Bariloche.

It's great to be back in NYC, with its diversity and stimulation.  What a trip.  Thanks, Matias, Juan Andres, Sol, Ashley and Alisa for the fun times!

Ed

Trouble in Wormville

Over a month has passed since my last episode of the worms. With all the traveling that I have done this summer, it was a relief that I could throw some organic waste into the worm bin and leave confident that my roommates would be safe and nourished.

Dark, rich worm compost from organic matter.  It's amazing that they can do this

Today I decided to harvest some of the soil that my worms have produced so far.  I collected 3 large bowls like the two in this photo and spread the soil over the plants in my back yard.  I could almost hear the sighs of joy from the flowers as they were showered with this dark nutritious matter.

But, in scraping the soil out of the lowest level of my worm compost bin, I have discovered that I have very few worms left (hundreds, perhaps, instead of the original one thousand).  Looking in the drainage level, I noticed about 100 dead and dried worms. I wonder if they could not climb back up into the bin after falling into the drainage level--despite the gently sloped sides that are designed to facilitate re-entry into the food and composting soil above. I noticed that some of the bottom holes of the now-empty compost level were plugged with newspaper residue from the original compost bed. Could this be the culprit and answer?  It was also quite dry in the drainage level. Is there too little moisture?

Wow, the questions are coming like lightening. Looks like some more web research is needed.   But, for now, I have carefully placed the living worms into the top food level of the compost bin, hoping that the rotting broccoli, tomatoes, and beet tops will resuscitate them.  The good news is that almost all the immediately visible worms are quite small--must be offspring from the original residents.

Stay tuned.  I think my travel may be over for awhile--until a trip to Argentina to see my daughter.

Worms are contented and I'm traveling

It's been a few weeks since I have been home enough to care for my worms.  Great kind of pets that you can just throw in some scraps and go away for several weeks!    After the ISTE Conference in Denver and NEA in New Orleans, I've headed south to the Chincoteague and Assateague Islands off Maryland and Virginia.   Assateague is the home of the wild horses of Chincoteague, which doesn't make much sense.   The beaches are great (see photo) and the horses are wild (well, more in a bit).

Turns out that the two state sides of the border are very different on Assateague and are searated by a horse-proof mile-long fence--that extends into the ocean.  On the Virginia side, the herd is kept at 150 horses and for most of the year they are wild--and hard to see, especially this time of year.  It seems that the horses know that at the end of July the Penning round-up happens and all the Virginia side horses are rounded up and forced to swim across to a point on Chincoteague Island, where they are put into corrals and the young foals are sold away from their parents and herd. After the spectacle, the remaining horses are forced back across the water to the Assateague Island side to be left alone until the following year.  Because of this traumatic episode, the horses are extremely hard to find and see.

That somewhat sad story on the Virginia side is contrasted with the Maryland side, where the horses are left alone all year to live as they would in the wild, except that all mares are shot with a dart that limits them to 1 foal per lifetime.   As a result the horses here do not fear humans at all and live amongst them--walking next to campers, seemingly not at all intimidated by humans, unless, of course, they try to touch them.  Imagine what would happen if someone actually tried to put a saddle on and ride one!   The visitors center had photos of people's backs where the horses had bitten them!!!

At one point on a six-person boat ride around Chincoteague Island, the captain noticed a huge number of terns swooping down to the water--feeding on something.  He took us there to see the "fire worms" that emerge from the bottom and are picked off the surface of the water by the terns.

I knew I would come back to worms eventually! 

Quite a July 4th Trip.

Mold - my first test

Tonight, I lifted the lid of my worm factory to find some of the bread I had thrown in as food to be covered with green/grey mold.   Wondering what I was doing wrong and concerned that my new roommates may be poisoned, I quickly removed some of the biggest bread blobs and stirred the others under the soil--out of sight, out of mind.    But, my conscience led me to research the issue.

I learned that mold is, on one hand, a natural feature because of the fertile microbe environment I had created, but that too much mold (and mine seemed too much) might mean over-feeding.  I was advised by the Wikipedia and blog gods to take out the biggest pieces (which I had already done) and then stir everything up again to mix food and worms and soil.  I was advised to reduce the Ph by using crushed egg shells (another omelet for breakfast?) and coffee grounds.   

Since I never eat breakfast or make coffee for myself in the weekday morning, this was a call for major lifestyle change....what changes we have to go through for progress and knowledge!

I'll try, but not in the morning because I have to catch a train at 7:17 am at Penn Station.  Wednesday, that's my day for making sure all is right with the worm composting.  Whew!

My first "harvest"

This morning, I lifted up the worm factory to look in the bottom to see how much worm compost had been created my my crawly roommates.   Using the scraper/spatula that came with it, I scraped a bowl full of material out of the bottom tray.  After watching the DVD on worm composting that came with my factory, I learned that a little of this material goes a long way and that just a spoonful should be put on plants at any one time.  Strong stuff!  

So, I have decided to conduct a science experiment.  I have two pansy pots--neither of which is doing very well--outside.   I opted to apply a little of the magical material on the sicker-looking one (on the right in this photo) and only water on the one on the left.   Each week I'll repeat the process and examine the state of the two plants after 3 weeks.  

Stay tuned for the results.

But, today a larger crisis hit my backyard as a large branch of a tree in the next patio broke off, falling on the branch below it, which then caused both to kind of crash into my back yard--barely missing my science experiment flower pots.  Science has so many variables sometimes.  Tree cutters are coming tomorrow to carefully (I hope) bring down the fallen branches.  Good thing we weren't having a Sunday brunch with the NY Times outside at the time!

Worms are Working!!!

 Hi, after several weeks of worm composting, I can state that:
1) there is no smell so far
2) the worms are easy to take care of and feed
3) the worms are hungry
4) They produce real soil!!!
Here are some photos of the soil that the worms have produced in just a few weeks since starting.  It falls through the holes at the bottom of the worm composting bin--which for me is still just 1 "floor."  I need to read more about how to determine when it's time to add another floor and entice the worms to move upstairs by putting food in the second floor.  So much to learn......  But, the message is that it works!


I'll start to put this soil in my plants outside tomorrow.  I'm expecting great things to happen...new blooms on the geraniums, new pansies to pop up.  Hmm.  Wonder if I'm expecting too much.

Looks like a few worms fell down with their soil to the basement level.  Not sure if I should relocate them or let them climb back up to find the food source.   So much to learn....

Stay tuned.

Memorial Day and Worms

Feeling that my worms could handle a long weekend (Memorial Day in the US) without me, I ventured with 5 friends to my house in Milford, Pennsylvania--where the grass turned out to be 15 inches high.   After an energetic friend, Jorge, attacked the hirsute grass, we struck out for hikes through the woods to the Sawkill creek and various waterfalls and swimming.   The sunny day provided warmth for splashing in creeks and hiking--despite a tick (of the dog tick variety without Lyme Disease) or two.

Inside, those with a more competitive stroke vied with each other with darts and Pictionary, and with the lawn trimmed down a bit, we tried a bit of croquet--though without the required British gin and tonic--and barbecued burgers, chicken, mushrooms.  

Great weekend and all the time, I was hopeful that my worms could survive in the city without me!  Returning to NYC, I found them chomping down on last week's salad.   All's well in the vermicomposting.  But, without rain, my pansies in the backyard were a droopy mess--probably the result of a dehydration death.  Oh well, life gives and takes.


--

Worm Bed ready for new arrivals

Well, today students from the YouthCaN program at the American Museum of Natural History came over to help prepare the Worm Factory for the arrival of the worms tomorrow. Following the instructions that came with the bin, we lined the bin with newspaper, created a soil mixture made of soil from outside, leaves, egg shells, and a small brick of coir. Having researched coir, realize that it is a fantastic soil made from coconut hairs. Lots of water are added to small brick of coir and it expands by 9 times its original volume. It grows right in front of you! Here is some info on coir: http://www.greeneem.com/cococoirpeat.htm

This mixture is then combined with shredded paper and some initial "salad" of produce waste. After covering with moist newspaper, the bed is ready for the 1,000 worms' arrival tomorrow.





Wednesday morning I went to the famers market in Union Square, where the Lower Eastside Ecology Center has a booth on Wednesdays.  They sell the worms out of the back of a van--a pound (about 1,000) in each milk carton.  She lifted the top cover to prove to me that the wriggly crawlers were in fact there--all in a tight ball of worminess.

After a day in my office (which I was assured was ok for my new house guests) and an hour at a pool game with Fei, my worms were ready for their new home. I had been cautioned that the transition from worm breeder to new home can be traumatic, so I was urged to "gently" introduce them to their new home.    With great  and gentle care, I placed them around the top of the bin worm bed.  I was told to leave a light on all night as a way of encouraging the worms to burrow into the bed since they abhor light!     After the first 12 hours they did not seem to be moving down much into the paper/soil bed.  I was worried that they were rejecting the new bed and bin.  That still seemed to be the case after 24 hours and panic was setting in.

The instructions said to replace the bin lid (darkness) when it was clear the worms were gulping up the waste salad we had prepared for them.   Timidly, I dug down to the tomatoes, beet tops and other yummies and yes, there they were--wrapped up in an unsightly gorgy on the waste produce.   SUCCESS!   They were adapting and thriving.

Throwing the lid on, I went to bed Thursday evening confident that my 1,000 house mates were content.

Worms come home

Well, the worms are coming. I have ordered them from the Lower East Side Ecology Center, the primary source of composting worms in Manhattan. I needed to put in an order for 1000 worms (about 1 pound) to be picked up at the farmers' market in Union Square on Wednesday.

That means I need to get the worm composter worm bed ready Tuesday evening. The first layer is of shredded newspaper, which sparked an internal discussion in my mind about which newspaper to use. Which news print and ink would work best? Or should I consider that journalism rags of garbage press will provide better fodder for worms. I can well imagine that the New York Post and Rupert Murdoch would provide much more nutritious garbage than the NY Times, but who knows?

I'll risk using the available NY Times rather than invest in potentially more delicious worm food.

Now I'm supposed to build the worm bed with a "soaked block of coir." I'm glad it was provided with the worm factory since I would have no idea what a block of coir is. Do you know what this is?

More when the YouthCaN students come to help me set up the worm bedding.

Global and Local Exploration

Since I ventured across the Pacific at the age of 17 to spend a year in Seoul, Korea, I have seen the world and its people as incredible sources of inspiration and new perspectives. Since that year so many years ago, I have had wonderful opportunities to populate my passport with stamps and visas from over 70 countries. The stories I have heard would fill Wikipedia if written out. In addition, I have a commitment to bring the world into my life in Manhattan, NYC--both its cultures and a concern that global human sustainability depends on changes in lifestyles everywhere to preserve the stunning beauty and awe of amazing parts of the planet, such as the South American Andes around Bariloche in the Patagonian region of Argentina.

My current project is to add a worm composting bin in my small NYC apartment. Since NYC gets a bit cold in the winter, it's important that the worm bin be able to do its composting in a small and non-aromatic space. My choice was the Worm Factory 360--a multi-storied luxury house for the hundreds of wriggly consumers of my organic waste that I bought online about a month ago. I've been advised to buy about 5 pounds of worms. OMG, that sounds lot a lot of squirming critters.