Birthday Bike Rides & Glorious Gardens

It's 2 am and for whatever reason I am awake, so in an attempt to use this time productively I figured I might as well post an update.

Quite a lot happened over the last week. For starters, I turned 28 last Friday. It wasn't as scary as I had once imagined it might be, although it was rather odd spending a birthday in Michigan. I couldn't quite recall when the last one was spent here so I guess that means it was a) rather uneventful or b) I'm definitely getting older if I'm struggling to remember things like this.

This year's celebrations were simple, but it's true that often those are the best. I spent the day with the folks down in Fenton where my lovely Mum made me pancakes for breakfast (a tradition that began in my old house in London). Next we had a quick visit to a nearby consignment shop where I picked up a few bargains for my little rooftop garden (more on that later). The afternoon was spent in Kensington Park, where after a little picnic (again, thanks to my lovely Mum) my Dad and I proceeded to go on a birthday bike ride around the lake. Are there such things as birthday resolutions? Well if not I'm making one anyway, and that is to go on more bike rides with my pops.

Then we continued south to Ann Arbor, where a viewing of the flim The Kids Are Alright and a pretty fancy dinner finished the day off quite nicely.

As I finally got paid at the end of July, this past week I was able to get around ordering some worms to begin a mini worm farm in my new home. After a few days worrying they may not arrive alive, they finally did and are now munching away on my veggie scraps and coffee grinds.

With my new-found riches I was also able to purchase a few more plants for my rooftop garden (which I mentioned earlier) so it's now looking like this:





For now I'm growing a few tomatoes, some red bell peppers and lil' chili peppers and a variety of herbs (pronounced with a hard H). The photos don't really do it justice, but when the sun is shining and the butterflies are flying I'm certainly very pleased with it.

In other garden related news, yesterday marked the 2nd annual Edible Flint Food Garden Tour. In addition to my interest in the tour, I had also arranged to take approximately 60 students from one of my classes to give them a glimpse of some of the beautiful things happening in the city. I do have to say a massive thanks to the folks who arranged the tour who organized an awesome event and helped me get approximately 60 freshmen registered, fed, and on a bus around downtown Flint! Of course, most of the class opted for the bus tour but a few adventurous souls joined me on the bike tour! We got to visit some glorious gardens (including a couple right in my neigborhood) and even got to taste a few goodies along the way.


After the recent Critical Mass bike ride, it was great to be cycling around the city with a large group of people again. On the tour I bumped into an old friend who I met while a member of the students for social change organization at UM-Flint (ah, the memories). It was also wonderful to get a glimpse of some of the amazing work being done in this city to equip and empower local people to grow (and in some cases sell) their own produce.

Since moving downtown almost three months ago and as part of my attempt to live a more simple and lower-impact lifestyle, I've been doing most of my shopping at the Farmer's Market and choosing to buy food that is both in season and that has been grown right here in the heart of Flint. Both my conscience and my body feel better for it, although I have to admit I'm running low on fresh ideas of what to do with a zucchini so any recipes would be much appreciated!!

The more I get out and about and see the amazing things that are happening here in Flint, the more I envision myself sticking around for longer. While this recent birthday made me very aware of how blessed I am to have made so many wonderful friends during my six years in London (and how much I miss them all so dearly), I'm also aware of just how much I learned from so many of them. I may not see much of them these days, but with every bike ride, cup of fairtrade coffee, stab at a new vegetarian recipe, attempt at knitting or even a listen to the sound of the smiths, it feels like they're right here with me.