Sunday, August 2, 2009

Home Grown in Pohatcong

One of the recurring themes as we begin our downward slide along Hubbert's Peak is the need for building resilent local communities to ameliorate the effects of transitioning from a carbon based industrial society to that something else yet not well defined. Regardless, the present scheme whereby the average calorie of food that we consume travels 1500 miles or so before reaching our plates, is doomed. Food security by way of localized production is something we all will have to get better acquainted with as consumers and also as potential food producers ourselves.

Currently, the agricultural landscape in Pohatcong offers little to be optimistic about as most farming here still follows along the lines of cash-cropping, petro-chemical monoculture that produces no benefit for most of the people in this town. There are of course, bright spots- one of which hit me square between the eyes while shopping at the Shop-Rite in Clinton this past Saturday. There, at the end of one of the ice-cream aisles, stands a prominent display of "Pohatcong" honey from Dale B. Hills Apiaries. (Our purchase is pictured above). So kudos to you, Mr. Dale B. Hills, for doing your part for local food security.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Pohat vs. Lopat Boy's CBL Basketball

Here's the first 2-1/2 minutes from last night's action between the Pohatcong Braves and the Lopatcong Launchers. A gallant effort by our lads but victory would prove elusive on this particular evening.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Growing Your Own

Which one of these will help feed your family?


This?









Or This?

Kitchen and vegetable gardens were once commonplace in America's rural communities and it would have been unthinkable for a family not to grow a good portion of their own food every year. Unfortunately, the green revolution, which was able to produce ever increasing yields per acre thanks to the inputs of inexpensive fuels and petrochemical fertilizers, also caused a decline in interest in this type home-based food production. Kitchen gardening was no longer an economic necessity for families who could now afford to give up their green thumbs and take up a new lifestyle of listless wandering through food courts, mega malls, and click n' play virtual reality worlds. No wonder we are now faced with an epidemic of obesity in this unhappy republic.

However, with apocalyptic horsemen beginning to ride hard on the public imagination, there is evidence that a bankrupt populace, enveloped in existential fear, may be developing a new understanding of what survival will look like in our post peak-everything world. While sales of SUV's, McMansions, and hand-stitched leather luggage may be plummeting, sales of seeds and gardening supplies are rocketing. It is never too late to dig up a patch of useless lawn and plant a life preserver of green crops instead. Expect success, expect failure. If you need good advice, here is one source I like and will continue to use this growing season :

http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-When-Counts-Growing-Mother/dp/086571553X



Things that I have grown (successfully): beans, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, cantaloupe, pumpkin, cucumber,broccoli, brussel sprouts, miscellaneous herbs, watermelon...

Had problems with: carrots, onions. Stay tuned.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Donutville

If you were wondering what might be replacing the shabby convenience store that was razed recently on the same lot that houses the US Gas service station (next to Raymour & Flanigan) on Rt.22 East then you may happy
(or saddened) to know that it will be yet another ubiquituous Dunkin Donuts franchise. That will be the third one on Rt.22 between Pohat and the Easton-Phillipsburg toll bridge and clearly puts them in the lead over fast food rivals McDonalds and Burger King who each have two units along that same stretch. Trailing the action altogether are Taco Bell and KFC with just one establishment apiece. However, if the now vacated Wendys location (near Roseberry St.) is available, it could be time for one of these horses to get back in the race and give the donut purveyors a good run for the fat (sic) food crown. (Sarconol off).

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Back to the Future on Ravine Road


On the township message board, prolific and ever-observant poster, Smokey Joe, brings to light the dangers of travel on this somewhat obscure and pitted little Pohatcong back road-and he is, of course, right on all accounts. Ravine Road probably started out as a natural footpath for the indigious people many years ago and was then enlarged somewhere along the way (once a few houses popped up alongside the creek) to help with the new horse and buggy traffic. Since the landscape is deeply sloped along most of this road, it was probably never densely developed, and as a result, was spared the inevitable suburbanization of being widened and blacktopped. It is true that on the Greenwich side blacktopping has occured but it is of the most tenuous sort- one good sized storm seems ready to peel it all away.
For the uninitiated who may now be tempted to drive its course just keep these few words and phrases in mind: narrow, one lane, Mexican stand-off, road-rage.
Good Luck and Happy Motoring!