"Over by the In-and-Out Burger."

Finally got a chance to see Homegrown, a short film following the Dervaes family's attempt to live a low impact, self-sufficient, Little House On the Prairie lifestyle - on a 1/5 acre lot smack dab in the middle of L.A. Sounds like prime blog material, right?

As the product of a similar urban situation, I was encouraged by Papa Dervaes' success. Something crazy like 6,000+ pounds of produce! And only after 3 years. Think about that. In 36 months, his house went from pain-in-the-ass, weekly mowed, relatively useless American front yard, to a working, edible landscape.

Granted, the Dervaes family devotes all their energy to their household. Odds are, the average Jeff Goldblum isn't going to cut short his miraculous big screen career to start tending his bok choy beds. But what if everybody eased up on their definition of the "perfect yard" a smidge to the point we wouldn't dub Mr. Dervaes a "nut?" Or at least not make a movie about his yard.

What's so sacred about a giant, trimmed green rectangle anyway? Usable space? Try again. When was the last time you saw your parents host a flag football tournament with their friends in the back yard? Throw some native grasses out there and let the thing go, Pops. Maybe go crazy with a few rows of corn and wine grapes. Or goats.

There are countless superior alternatives out there, both economically and ecologically. Xeriscapes, permaculture, formal gardens, forest settings, wildflower drifts, native prairie grasses. Plenty of job opportunities for me and my classmates should the average American quit listening to Scott's commercials...

"Who's this gentleman, Dude?"

Goat's Eye View of Wall of Deck Furniture

There was some furniture rearranging last week on the Dougie Deck. Realizing no one would be home for the weekend spurred some creative solutions to keeping the goats on their best behavior during our absence. Digby has been getting bolder and bolder in his escape attempts, regularly climbing up the steps and hurdling over the small fence onto the deck. Once on the deck, the goats would still be confined to the back yard by the deck's opposite fence - but better safe than sorry. Our makeshift barrier included 5 or 6 chairs, a table, some pots, a ladder, a tool shelf, and a grill. Not pretty, but it worked. And it only cost zero dollars.

In addition to securing the perimeter, I also cut some more overhanging privet limbs. About half were placed under either side of the shelter to encourage its use. The other half disappeared within minutes of hitting the ground.

I cut another huge pile of privet last night that should keep the goats occupied all day. After last night's pruning, almost all of the privet hanging over the fence line has been removed and consumed by the goats.

2 Birds: feeding the goats and visually widening the yard.

1 Stone: Dunc' and Dora's backup (and antiquated) loppers.