The Wedemeyer Family

One of the things I like best about commuting by bicycle is my deeper involvement with the surrounding environment. In a car, you roll up all your windows, lock all the doors, and sort of pass through space. You’re moving very fast and your full concentration is required for the car. Worst of all, disembarking is a very involved process: drive around and find a parking space, decided if it’s large enough, back in, shut off the car, get out, lock the doors…

On my bike, I’m moving slow enough to see and hear what’s going on around me. I see other bikers standing over their bikes scratching their heads, trying to trouble-shoot a problem. I see squirrels and chipmunks running back and forth across the road. I see the kids on my street trying to race me as I ride past. If I choose, I can very easily stop and interact with the world around me.

Just yesterday, I was riding home past the Georgia Tech baseball stadium, when I noticed a badly leaking water-fountain (bubbler for our British readers). For some background, right now Georgia is experiencing a stage-1 drought. For me that means no watering of the lawn or outdoor plants, including our vegetable garden. For Georgia lawmakers, it means lawsuits and political posturing against neighboring states as everyone angles for a piece of a very limited water supply that is increasingly being pushed to the limits.

So, here is a water-fountain just spewing untold gallons down a nearby storm drain. I noticed a nearby gate was unlocked, so I rode right into the stadium. I climbed off my bike and looked underneath the fountain assembly. Just where the supply line connected to the wall, there was a shutoff valve. A few quick turns and the leak ceased entirely. I hopped back on my bike and was gone within 30 seconds.

In a car, I probably never would have heard the running water. If I did, it never would have crossed my mind to try and find a place to park and then go shut off the fountain. Who knows how many people passed by and did nothing?

Sarah and I have been busy this year with our vegetable garden. We tilled up (by hand) a 4×12 section of soil in the sunniest part of our backyard. Then, we added compost and some organic soil conditioner. Finally, we bought several seedlings and a few seeds at Lowes. Our organic gardening days had begun, and I quickly became obsessed.

Every day I patrol the garden looking for any signs of distress or weeds. For the disease and pests, there’s not really much I know how to do. I don’t want to use any chemicals, so I just grab the bugs and drown them. As for the weeds, we just try to mulch them to death with straw. It works fairly well, but I’m still pulling a few every day.

Just yesterday we got our first return. I harvested 2 very good looking cucumbers and 2 slightly mis-shapen cowhorn peppers. I’m really excited because the tomato plants have tiny little tomatoes all over them, and it’s just a matter of time before they ripen up.

Here’s the full garden. We have (from left to right…sort of): 2 cucumber vines, 1 watermellon vine, 4 zuchinni, 8 varieties of peppers, 2 cilantro and 2 basil, and 5 varieties of tomatoes.

Here’s a few of our tomatoes. They should be turning red any day now…

Here’s my pride and joy, a little sugar-baby watermellon. I’ve been watching it very closely over the past few weeks. In the past week it’s grown from the size of a golf ball to the size of a girl’s softball. I’m not sure how big they’re supposed to get, but I think it’s around 5 lbs. I just hope it gets enough water.