Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sweet Decadence
It's not always about red apples here at the Elegy. Sometimes you can spot a green apple:
This is Sandra, who runs Sweet Decadence in Newcastle. I love her for her generosity with free samples and her beautiful workspace. And creative learning opportunities--We will be taking her truffle-making class next week.
In less than a year she's become the heart and soul of Newcastle. Brava, Sandra!
This is Sandra, who runs Sweet Decadence in Newcastle. I love her for her generosity with free samples and her beautiful workspace. And creative learning opportunities--We will be taking her truffle-making class next week.
In less than a year she's become the heart and soul of Newcastle. Brava, Sandra!
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Wearing of the Salmon
The latest in flower arranging straight from Pike Place Market:
Tiny open cabbages in a bouquet of dahlias. Love the salmon-colored dahlias with the veggie-green. Produce as bouquet element. Hopefully the flower sellers won't ever team up with the fish guys there and start using salmon in their artful arrangements!
Tiny open cabbages in a bouquet of dahlias. Love the salmon-colored dahlias with the veggie-green. Produce as bouquet element. Hopefully the flower sellers won't ever team up with the fish guys there and start using salmon in their artful arrangements!
The Sounds of Autumn
Yesterday from dawn to dusk the sounds of autumn were deafening. Along with the mulchy smells of mushrooms and damp leaves, the beautiful sight of golden branches and bright red foliage, a third sense is activated: the whine-y buzz of leaf blowers at work. On a clear day, when the rains have finally let up, people burst out of their houses intent on a single purpose: ridding every square inch of debris.
As a park concept, the idea of a mow-free, blow-free zone has a lot of appeal to me:
Perhaps a park could remind us that some of us just like to hang out and watch the grass grow...
A lot of people think that the synthetic turf requires no maintenance, or that the costs involved in upkeep are not as high as maintaining a natural grass fields. However, "A task force put together by the National Sports Turf Managers Association addressed maintenance issues in their lengthy November 2008 report. Based on their findings, a typical cost to maintain an average synthetic field was approximately $6,000 per year in material costs (not including equipment) and requires 375 man hours per year to maintain.
The primary cultural practice for a synthetic surface is grooming. To maintain a uniform surface with an infill system the field will need to be swept and dragged on a regular basis. Depending on use, this may be required once a week to once a month. It is important to follow manufacturer’s recommendation on grooming because it can cause excessive wear and inappropriate grooming may void your warranty. Equipment needed include something to groom the surface, usually a nylon-bristle bush, and a drag to stand fiber up and to distribute the crumb rubber.
Infill material (required with new synthetic turfs) will also need to be added on an annual basis. A field will need 1 to 7 tons of rubber added yearly. Note it takes about 20 tons of crumb rubber to get ¼ inch. Topdressing equipment will be necessary in the reapplication of crumb rubber. Vacuums and leaf blowers can be helpful to remove some debris (e.g., sunflower seeds and peanut shells), but in many cases, debris may need to be removed by hand since these implements may also remove/move infill."
Read "To Turf or Not to Turf" here
Read more about STMA here
As a park concept, the idea of a mow-free, blow-free zone has a lot of appeal to me:
Perhaps a park could remind us that some of us just like to hang out and watch the grass grow...
A lot of people think that the synthetic turf requires no maintenance, or that the costs involved in upkeep are not as high as maintaining a natural grass fields. However, "A task force put together by the National Sports Turf Managers Association addressed maintenance issues in their lengthy November 2008 report. Based on their findings, a typical cost to maintain an average synthetic field was approximately $6,000 per year in material costs (not including equipment) and requires 375 man hours per year to maintain.
The primary cultural practice for a synthetic surface is grooming. To maintain a uniform surface with an infill system the field will need to be swept and dragged on a regular basis. Depending on use, this may be required once a week to once a month. It is important to follow manufacturer’s recommendation on grooming because it can cause excessive wear and inappropriate grooming may void your warranty. Equipment needed include something to groom the surface, usually a nylon-bristle bush, and a drag to stand fiber up and to distribute the crumb rubber.
Infill material (required with new synthetic turfs) will also need to be added on an annual basis. A field will need 1 to 7 tons of rubber added yearly. Note it takes about 20 tons of crumb rubber to get ¼ inch. Topdressing equipment will be necessary in the reapplication of crumb rubber. Vacuums and leaf blowers can be helpful to remove some debris (e.g., sunflower seeds and peanut shells), but in many cases, debris may need to be removed by hand since these implements may also remove/move infill."
Read "To Turf or Not to Turf" here
Read more about STMA here
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The End of Nature II: Westfield Park
Westfield Park belongs to the newer subdivision to the west of Newport Hills Park. It came in at the behest of the City, who required parks to be a part of all new development in Belleue. In our case these houses were built on grassy farmland and small ranches with llamas and horses. Though it may have been the City's intention that these parks be public, these parks are definitely not open to anyone but the homeowners.
As the sign says, with rather ragged punctuation:
This park and it's play facility, is for use ONLY by the Homeowners' of Westfield
(Click to enlarge)
A lonely park, one which doesn't allow children under 10 unless supervised by an adult.
A sad little park, where "no organized sport event, including, practices, are not allowed in the park" What about disorganized sport events?
As the sign says, with rather ragged punctuation:
This park and it's play facility, is for use ONLY by the Homeowners' of Westfield
(Click to enlarge)
A lonely park, one which doesn't allow children under 10 unless supervised by an adult.
A sad little park, where "no organized sport event, including, practices, are not allowed in the park" What about disorganized sport events?
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