In bikes VS cars, I choose people

I am a multi-modal commuter. In equal parts, I choose walking, biking, public transit or driving for work and leisure. I own a car. I pay insurance and registration on a '98 Camry that I gas up once a month and use a couple of times a week. I have 15+ pairs of shoes, but let's be honest, I wear like 3 of them. They walk OK. I've got two bikes, a nice hybrid when making time is priority and another that I like to call my "ice cream bike", an Oxford Windsor equipped with Brooks saddle and wicker basket, perfect for a lazy Sunday ride. My money clip carries a MetroTransit pass that always has value stored on it. With door to door service and several bucks cheaper than downtown parking, bus riding is my preferred choice to get to work. Let this paragraph serve to fully illustrate: I know how to get around town and I have experience on all sides of this topic. Get it, got it, good?

Up until recently, I considered myself Pro-Bike. I wanted stronger biking facilities; be they bike lanes, bike parking or bike racks on buses. I wanted it all. I craved route options. I needed a safer way to travel via bicycle and a city government willing to make that a priority. And I yearned for acceptance on the road. What changed recently is not that I no longer want those things, I absolutely do (so you can change all those 'wanted's to 'want's for the same effect). What's changed is my frame of mind on the whole issue. I am not Pro-Bike or Pro-Car or Pro-Ped or Pro-Public Transit, I am Pro-People.

A few months ago I started serving Major Chris Coleman's office as a member of the Community Advisory Committee tasked with aiding the design of the new downtown Saint Paul bike loop project, an 8-80 initiative. Needless to say (but needed to say for this post, I guess), my interest in city planning has perked tremendously. My involvement in the CAC has increased my attention to other bike initiatives happening throughout the city and my ears are more open to what the communities around me are saying on the 'Car VS Bike' debate.

It ain't pretty. This issue is heated and often times downright hateful. While our governments (some better than others) are trying to find safer ways for ALL people to travel regardless of mode within it's boundaries, our communities stand heavily, strongly, and stubbornly divided on this issue. So as I am paying more attention to which roads might be getting bike lanes and more attention to what neighborhood Facebook page might be posting on the topic today, what I end up feeling - is pretty shitty. This topic can rapidly turn into horrible generalizations, an aggregate of misinformation and slips pretty quickly into direct personal attacks. Brutal, unnecessary attacks (thanks, Internet!).

I see both sides and I am neither of the extreme that people rant about. I am not the lazy, convenience centered driver, just as I am not the rule breaking ruffian on two wheels. And honestly, I think most of us aren't. I think most of us fall somewhere in the middle - where we try to follow the rules but slip up sometimes. Let's be honest with ourselves, most of us, on occasion, treat the rules of the road as guidelines. In driver's ed we learn to slow as we approach a stop sign, the front end of our vehicle cannot cross that stop sign and our vehicle must come to a complete and hard stop. That's how we passed our drivers test. Right? But when is the last time you did that? The rolling through, entering the cross walk "stop" is far more common than the aforementioned. I admit, I am guilty of this too. I will also admit that as a cyclist I often opt for the Idaho Stop when traffic isn't around, but when riding in traffic, I absolutely try my best to obey the same traffic rules of the vehicles around me. My point is we all break the rules, and some studies are showing at similar rates, so let's stop accusing the other side of being the only violators. We are just human, after all.

But if we embrace ourselves as HUMAN, than we must also embrace our own human nature for not being perfect and messing up sometimes (or a lot of the time). We get distracted. We might not know all the laws (like in MN, motorists must at all times maintain a three-foot clearance when passing a bicyclist) and we might even slip up the ones we do (ahem, speeding). We, as a society, inherently know this about ourselves, so now I transfer the onus to our city planning efforts.

The boom of the automobile has passed, and it's unfortunate that the design of our neighborhoods was a consequence of its heyday. We have to embrace that people are getting around differently today and we have to make that safe for EVERYONE, regardless of mode. Not having designated bike lanes on roads is like not offering pedestrian crosswalks. What bike lanes and pedestrian crossings do is give those people not in cars, a safe and predictable place to be. So the pedestrian knows where to find the bicyclist that knows where to find the motorist that knows where to find the pedestrian and round and round it goes. As a result, we can better prepare for our possible and inevitable encounters. Likewise, there is benefit to all to SLOW DOWN CARS. Narrowing traffic lanes to accommodate bike lanes, slows down vehicles and that's a safety win for all parties. Less accidents for drivers, for bikers, and pedestrians alike.

Let's face it guys, cars can be incredibly dangerous machines. Pair that with our likelihood to make mistakes and injuries result. I am not encouraging people to give up their cars with this post. But I am encouraging people to give the safety of every single person top priority. Convenience and speed, and all the other reasons we sometimes choose a car can come last. Today, I fight for city planning and executing infrastructure that embraces traveling of all kinds. I want to some day pass along my love of biking to my future kids without the fear of traffic. I want to minimize risk for all persons alike. Better design is possible. And believe it or not, accept it or not, it's happening, little by little every day.

For me, the bikes VS cars debate is not a road tax issue first or a parking space issue first, it is first and foremost a safety issue. We should all put safety first for the lives of our brothers, sisters, children, parents and loved ones. And for that, I will always choose people over bikes or cars.

April 18, 2015

April 18, 2015

The state of my (garden) affairs:

The garden is all cleaned up and ready for summer.

I have wire wrapped all of the things that I possible can... the raspberry bush is now a squirrel proof fortress.

I have sown seeds for kale, radish, parsnip, carrot, onion and beets directly outside.

The kale and radish are sprouting.

The raspberry bush is getting greener and taller every minute.

I have started tomatoes and herbs inside.

I have used eggshells for the things I'm starting indoors again. I liked the results last year.

I have planted a small amount of flowers outside.

Maybe I will start my flower seeds indoors today...

Humming humming hummingbird

One of the things I never talked about last year was that we bought a hummingbird feeder. I've rarely ever seen birds in my backyard. I don't know why I should think we could start with a hummingbird. But we bought one. Mostly it hung there. Sometimes I'd remember the change the water. But mostly... it hung there.

For something that we impulsively bought and then ignored, it sure does come up in conversation more than it ought to. So maybe that means... I should try. Put a little effort in.

Supposedly the hummingbirds are migrating north and have been spotted in our neighboring states. I have cleaned the feeder and today I added some enticement.

Flowers.

This 70 degree weather has me optimistic, I'm sure, but it sure is nice putting some color back there. I tried to stick with the red the birds are drawn to. But who am I kidding? We have wayyy too many one legged cats in this neighborhood for hummingbirds.

I also bought a little alyssum to plant between the veggie pots.

I'm so very ready for summer.

Clean Up

It's 67 degrees and I'm feeling fine. Sunny and perfect to stay outside. We got our hands dirty today and cleaned up the yard and readied the pots. We also squirrel proofed, lettuce bed'ed and pinterest'ed the shit out of some plant markers. This is what we did today:

 
My stick labels. Pinterest made me do it. We direct sowed some of our root vegetables outside today. Parsnip. Carrot. Radish. Onion.

Squirrel proofing... or at least trying to....

This is going to be our lettuce table. New this year. It's a world premiere of sorts.

Pretty little maids all in a row... who knows what goodies they will hold...

All cleaned up.

lazy gardener

Last fall I might not have cleaned EVERYTHING up. A few things I just threw into the garage at the first snow fall. Thinking I would deal with them later.

Months past and these two kale plants refused to kick the bucket. On occasion I would throw some snow on them after I pulled my car in. Mostly, I ignored them and waited for them to die. They never did. So they are back outside! But I don't think you can eat kale the second year? Regardless, this is what they look like today after surviving the harsh Minnesota winter:

PS I bought a tiny, awesome and new camera! Upgrading from the camera phone, downgrading from the 9 lbs digital SLR. Expect the best.

Hello Garden 2015

The thing about apartment gardening is when you are researching "apartment gardening" and come up with a million hits on "best vegetables to grow in pots", they never tell you the HOW part or the YES, BUT part. Pinterest will tell you you can grow a miniature Meyer Lemon tree in a pot in your kitchen year round! You get all excited at the prospect - but quickly realize your apartment doesn't have the south facing sunroom cloaked in sunshiney warmth that that Meyer Lemon tree needs to survive. Let's not even mention the dry, cold, drafting housing conditions of a Minnesota apartment winter. Needless to say, I wasn't duped by this Meyer Lemon business. There was one that got me last year though:

The raspberry bush. 

They tell you it can grow in a pot. True. It can stay alive and even grow some. But what they don't tell you is that raspberries are two year growers. The first year it grows the vines and the second year those vines become woody branches with the strength to support fruit. What this means for the apartment gardener that just spent $16 on one plant is two things:

1 - when you first buy that plant it will look like a cut back branch or two. It will look like that because that is precisely what it is. That stubby, thorny 6 inch wood shaft is THE ONLY branch that will support fruit that first summer. Which means a wicked yield of a mere handful of berries. 

2 - then you have this plant in this big pot that you need to over-winter. No one really talks about this part. Come fall 2014 I realized I had a crazy heavy pot and a temperature problem. Raspberry bushes need the temperature to get cold enough to force them into dormancy, but not so cold that it kills the plant. I couldn't bring it into my basement (too warm) and I couldn't leave it sitting out (too cold). I searched for advice long and hard on what to do to prep for winter. I didn't want this $16 plant that I only ate 4 berries from to die before I got a decent crop! I tossed around the ideas of putting in the detached garage or wrapping it in burlap and straw cover. Talking it over with my local garden store, they told me that a plant in a pot would surely die in our winters since the wind & cold will cut right through the container. In ground plants mostly survive the weather due to thermal mass of the earth. Our brains clicked at the same moment and we decided I should try burying the pot. Which is what I did.

As the snow has cleared I have been debating whether I'm looking at a dead plant or a dormant plant. After much uncertainty, I'm proud to announce - It worked! Today I unearthed my pot. And am happy to say I have the first green buds of life.

My summer garden has officially begun.

a stand for my plants

I've continued to update to my space and solve some of it's 'problems'. One being that I don't have enough surfaces near windows for my plants. They seem to be increasing in quantity (a good thing since it probably means I'm a killing them at a lesser rate) and still have limited sunny spots around the apartment.

Pinterest has largely fueled these home projects and purchases. It has probably inspired me more than it should ($$$) but it has also helped me hone in on my own personal style. Pinterest helps me visualize how things might work together. I decided I need to just stop buying single items that "I like" without the consideration of the larger whole (this thinking is trickling over to my wardrobe as well). What I have learned about my own taste is that I love big furniture pieces with strong mid century modern lines and then prefer to embellish on the accessories. 

Back to the plant stand - I kept pinning these vintage retro stands:

Turns out antique bullet planters like the above can go for $200-300 a pop. But I also was pinning these:

And THESE made me think - can I build that? The beauty of Pinterest is when you have a thought like mine.... you can immediately find someone that has already done and documented it. I found it here but the problem with that DIY was my lack of tools and skills for it. Alas, I also found this slightly different rendition on A Beautiful Mess and it was speaking my language.

Here is my step by step:

Supplies:

4 - 40"x 1"x 2" wood pieces (cut down from 2 - 8' long strips) = $0.82/ea or $1.64 Total

2 packages - 1.5" corner braces with screws 4pk = $3.68/ea or $7.36 Total

1 - small canister of stain in dark walnut = $4.38

2 - 12" round panels = $3.99/ea or $7.98 Total (found at Menards, Home Depot doesn't carry them)

I had sandpaper and the white paint from another project. Which brought my overall cost to $21.36.

I lightly sanded, stained and painted first.

Then added the brackets and finished with attaching the circles. The hardest part was trying to find the equidistant points on the circle to make sure the legs were even and symmetrical. Initially I tried to figure this out scientifically but ended up mostly eyeballing and feeling a little stupid. It turned out well enough, I'd say. It's a lovely little addition to the living room and a great sunny spot for my plants.