Last night, the news suddenly hit that Los Angeles' South Central Farm is on the verge of being bulldozed. I was shocked and a little upset that I had not been paying closer attention to the situation, which I heard about on NPR several months ago. I guess I wasn't alone.

The South Central Farm is a 14-acre piece of land in one of L.A.'s most economically depressed neighborhoods. Since 1992, this community farm has allowed residents of South Central to supplement their diets and earn extra income by selling their crops. It also serves as a precious green space in the middle of an industrial landscape.

Unfortunately, as part of a legal proceeding, the city sold the land to a local developer, and he plans to bulldoze the farm to put up a warehouse. The developer offered to sell the land to the farmers, asking $16.3 million for it, but they were only able to raise $6 million. This week, an eviction notice was served.

It's possible that it's too late, but I am sending emails to Mayor Villaraigosa and members of the city council asking them to do all they can to save the farm. As I write this, farmers, environmental activists and various Hollywood types are down at the farm staging press conferences and tree sit-ins to keep the destruction from happening. If you read this blog and live in L.A., consider sending some emails or donating to the farmer's fund.

Mayor Villaraigosa's email is: mayor@lacity.org

For more info, email addresses to send letters to and a way to donate money, check out the South Central Farm website.

Here's the letter I wrote to Mayor Villaraigosa if you need some inspiration:

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa,

I am writing at the final hour to ask you to please do everything you can to prevent the destruction of the South Central Farm. The farm is an important resource and a historic landmark, and, as Los Angeles citizens, we should protect it.

Los Angeles should be proud of the farm and the people who grow food there. The South Central Farm is a positive symbol in an area of town often stereotyped as crime-ridden and desolate. As someone who voted for you and who believes in your desire to make L.A. a better place to live, I ask you to hear my request.

Stop the destruction of the South Central Farm.

Thank you,

My Name
My Address & Zip Code

Dakota and I have recently been trying to eat significantly less meat. We're not going completely vegetarian, but we're trying to cut down on the amount of meals we cook with beef, chicken, fish or pork. I suggested this because it's difficult to deny that factory farming and fisheries have a fairly serious impact on the environment. While I don't see myself becoming a complete vegetarian, there's no reason that I can't strive to eat more vegetarian meals than meals that contain meat.


So far, it's been going fine--not great. We have had several very delicious meals and a few unsuccessful ones (making your own veggie burgers doesn't always work out so well). Some dishes I'd recommend would be: Soba Salad with Carrots and Zucchini, with tofu mixed in, and Baked Tofu Szechuan Style. Both of those were pretty tasty, which is nice since the first time I cooked tofu was two weeks ago. We also grilled up some marinated portobello mushrooms and asparagus one night. That was quite delicious. So, I don't think we'll starve.

The goal is really just to work more vegetarian dishes into our lineup of meals. I imagine we'll still buy steak from time to time, but I was starting to feel like we were relying too much on ground beef and chicken breast because they are easy. I think once I get in the habit of cooking more tofu and beans, I will consider them as convienient as those meat options.

If you have any suggestions for vegetarian dishes to try, let me know.

The hamster photo is courtesy of the awesome site Cute Overload.

A few weeks ago, I did something at work that I'm kind of psyched about. It was small, but I like to think that every little bit helps.

I have been bringing my own reusable water bottle to work for a while, and, in a meeting last month, the issue of bottled water came up. I jumped at the opportunity to make a few comments about how I am concerned about all the disposable bottles of water we go through at the studio. Then, I offered to get everyone non-disposable, refillable water bottles. To my delight, almost everyone said they were interested.

A couple of days later, I brought in a variety of hard plastic water bottles, and my coworkers picked the ones they wanted. Now, they all use them and refill them throughout the day. It's been several weeks and it seems like everyone is still using them. A couple of my coworkers have even commented on how much they like their reusable bottles. It made me happy that they were all so open to change.

Now, if I can just get everyone at the animation studio to switch. I am considering putting up a flier.

About a year and a half ago, Dakota and I dug up all the grass in front of our house and put in a xeriscaped yard instead. It was a long and difficult process, but, at this point, the yard looks pretty good. Plus, most of the plants are established enough that I barely ever have to water them. There's only one problem: grass.

No matter how many times I pull it up, the old grass keeps growing back in to the front yard. I have tried and tried to dig up all the roots, but the grass just keeps coming back. I haven't wanted to use a toxic weed killer because I don't really believe in putting nasty chemicals into the ground just to save time. But, I recently found a product on one of my favorite organic gardening websites, Planet Natural, that I'm excited about.

It's called Weed-A-Tak, and it's a weed and grass killer made from all-natural products "including eugenol (clove oil), 2-phenethyl propionate (peanuts), castor oil, thyme oil and wintergreen oil."

I sprayed it on the grass growing in the front yard last weekend, and in a couple of days it was DEAD. Yea! So, I am feeling good about this product. I plan to wage a campaign to get the front yard grass-free using Weed-A-Tak, and I think I have a good chance of success.

I think I have finally found the answer to my skunk problem.

As you may recall, I have been trying various methods to keep the skunks and other backyard animals (raccoons, squirrels) from digging up my plants. In the past, I have tried crystallized fox pee--a product that sounded really cool, but didn't work as well as I'd hoped it would.

Now, I have discovered a new skunk barrier: Critter Ridder by Havahart.


I planted a few low-water-use plants that I made with cuttings from my front-yard plants (a chocolate daisy and a weird lavender variety) down at the bottom of the back yard a few weeks ago. This is prime skunk territory. After I planted, I sprinkled Critter Ridder, which is basically a pepper mixture, and the plants have gone untouched so far. Yesterday, I planted several more plants, including some mint, in the same area. I sprinkled the Critter Ridder liberally, and when I checked this morning all the plants were safe and sound. So, I feel hopeful that I have finally found a skunk repellent that works.

I have heard that straight cayenne pepper can also keep pests away, but I am not sure if that would be more or less expensive than the Critter Ridder. For now, I think I will stick with what I know works. Or at least works so far.