August 3rd and 4th

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a typical (I use this word loosely) workday for our Summer of Solutions team. To start off the morning, I met with my newly recruited mentor Sage Billig. She and her sister run a garden that supports the only urban CSA in Fayetteville from their adjacent homes in the south of town. It was really nice to be able to see their garden and be able to talk to someone who experiences and is knowledgeable in urban agriculture. While I was talking to Sage, Adam and Shiew-wen were working on improving the bed that we have installed at the library; they put down a layer of cardboard beneath the mulch. Adam hopes that this technique will help the bed hold at least some moisture as the days grow progressively hotter. During our Monday meeting, we discussed the importance of maintaining and bettering the library plots and so have picked up our efforts. Adam went so far as to create a detailed manual of all of the tasks that have yet to be done.

Later on, Serena and I went to Ozark Natural Foods to buy the remainder of the food that she wasn't able to get at the Farmer's Market for our community meal tonight (Wednesday). Stephan had a good morning filled with promising clients for his Lay of the Land database and only one rejection by 12:30. Andrea completed her first draft of her interview with Sycamore Farms and is finishing up the one highlighting farmer Jesse. Banah continued her search of the ever elusive food providers for the the Fayetteville Public Schools cafeterias. And the rest of the team, of course, kept at it and only escape getting mentioned because I failed to notice their specific actions.

This morning (Wednesday), Banah, Andrea and I worked outside for about an hour and a half on the bamboo beds intended for the library. Even without Adam's physical presence, we were able to make progress thanks the the previously mentioned manual. Although it started heating up by the time we retired to the indoors, it feels so good to have accomplished something so obviously tangible. That, along with the pleasure of simply being outdoors and being able to ride my bike this morning, has put me in a great mood. It is refreshing. Tonight is our community meal scheduled for 6:00. The menu (put together by Serena) looks premium and I look forward to being able to just sit back and enjoy the meal with our team.

-Joel