Words&Dirt

There’s always something.

My friend Barry Snitkin often says this when a problem arises on his farm, and this week I found myself echoing the sentiment.  It has been a week of upkeep, of varying jobs that subtly announce themselves.  It’s not like the plants can holler at me to come help them out, so Ma and I have to be attentive enough to give the garden what it needs.  Ma’s an old pro at this, but I’m still learning the ropes.

This week, I spent some time clearing space beside our driveway so that a long-neglected plum tree could start to see some more sun.  The space around it had become so thick with foliage that we’d all but forgotten the tree was there.  But just a few weeks ago, we found eight small, delicious offerings, ovals of dark purple tucked in amongst the dense greenery.  We resolved to see if we could save the tree and give it more space to grow and mature, so I spent a few hours clearing out the surrounding plants and making additional space for one or two new fruit trees.  The little guy isn’t quite free of all impediments yet, but we’re getting there.

The plumb tree

Space cleared for new fruit trees

I also spent some time this week trying to help a different lifeform improve its circumstances, but this case had to do with keeping a roof over someone’s head.  For confidentiality purposes, I’ve changed the names involved in this story.  Frank, a good friend and local social worker, asked me to take a look at a case in which one of his clients was at risk of losing a housing voucher that would, in effect, evict him from his modest apartment.  We’ll call him Chris.  Frank told me that Chris was a good guy with a severe medical condition that was worsening due to unknown causes.  Unfortunately, a small amount of marijuana had been found in Chris’ apartment during a recent inspection, and it looked like the local Public Housing Authority was going to revoke his voucher, which almost certainly would result in his eviction due to inability to pay rent.  Chris has been a good citizen over the years, with no record of violence or public disturbance.  Frank needed my help because Chris had to attend an informal hearing during the week where he would be able to ask the PHA to reconsider revoking his voucher.  Frank wasn’t able to attend the meeting, so he asked me to look at the case and consider going as Chris’ community advocate.

I’d never done anything like this before, so I was hesitant at first.  But after some more thinking, it seemed like a good chance to help someone out, if I could.  Frank did a great job of putting together a packet of the relevant paperwork for me, and as soon as I started going through it, I realized that this was a clear case of a moment of bad judgment leading to a drastic course of action that, if carried out, would have terrible consequences for Chris.  With Frank’s guidance, I also found that there existed clear legal precedent for the PHA to make exceptions in such cases.  I focused on that and put together an argument, which I made during the hearing.  Chris turned out to be a friendly, if somewhat befuddled, fellow.  When we met with the Housing Authority folks, they were friendly and very receptive to our position.  For my part, it was nice to see a small group of people sit down and patiently listen to each other instead of bickering over minor details.  It seemed like the big picture became clear by the end: Chris’ relatively minor drug infraction paled in comparison to the peril he would no doubt face if he became homeless.  Although we won’t know their final decision until next week, I think Chris left the hearing feeling hopeful that they would reconsider revoking his voucher.  The experience reminded me that, despite its flaws, I am lucky to live in a democratic society where there is recourse for an individual who has been misunderstood by the system.  I wish Chris the best of luck and hope that the PHA makes the right call.

I spent the rest of the week trimming the plants in the front yard into the nice curving shapes Ma originally intended.  It was dull work, but I didn’t mind.  The weather is getting colder, and I love being out in the brisk morning as the mist burns off the redwoods.

Before trimming

After trimming

Before trimming

After trimming

Pretty trees

Much of yard work, and manual labor in general, is focused on keeping nature at bay.  After spending the week reading Toby Hemenway’s useful guidebook on basic permaculture practices, I’m starting to envision ways that I might be able to construct plant systems that will be more or less self-sustaining, but it would be a fantasy to think that I’ll ever be able to overcome all the little tasks that need doing in order to keep the property tidy.  Keeping up any piece of land, whether or not you are trying to use it to produce food, is filled with menial jobs.  But as frustrating and tedious as they can sometimes be, they always remind me where I am, and who I am.  I am fortunate to live in a place where I not only have a safe home for my loved ones and myself, but where I can also strive to create space and light for other living things.

I’m off tomorrow for a two-week permaculture workshop at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, so I probably won’t be updating the blog at all until after I return to Humboldt on October 11th.  I’ll try to take lots of pictures and relate a thorough account of my experience there.