This is one of the swellest books my better half yet suggested to me.
By Michael Ableman.
Tells the story of a small organic farm outside Goleta, California (as in Camper Van Beethoven's "Baby, don't you go, don't you go to Goleta...") on a rich plot of land completely surrounded by subdivisions and strip malls.
The aerial photos in the beginning might be worth the whole book.
But the language definitely is. It's a slender, easy read which tells a story to anyone who has ever grown anything, or wondered where food comes from, or gotten frustrated by suburban sprawl, or been an activist for any cause.
Scattered throughout are single-page sensual/wise growing tips. (For example, the one on selecting the proper peach ends, "Eat slowly.") At least one gives sage advice on fighting City Hall.
Here's a nice passage from the second chapter, "Walking the Land":
I often sit in my office with all the windows open on hot still nights. Lacewings, ladybugs, beetles, and tiney flies land on the light and the papers while I work. If I walk out into the heart of the orchards, it seems I am a thousand miles away from cars and highways and strip malls, from the hum of frenetic suburban life. But the farm does not have walls and the smells of hamburgers, fries and tacos waft in from the fast food outlets that are within walking distance. Delta Airlines' last flight to San Francisco takes off at nine. The airport and flight path are so close that from anywhere on the land I can wave my flashlight and be seen by passengers in flight.
Walking the perimeters of the farm, I pass my neighbors' illuminated windows, feeling like a voyeur. Families prepare their children for bed, babies cry, the grayish blue glow of television flickers, and students pore over their homework. The farm reveals another reality. Small animals scurry, owls screech, a slight breeze rustles the leaves on the trees. Air temperatures change as I enter and leave different air currents, and smells of citrus and avocado in bloom come into focus and mix with the rich smell of recovering soil. |
