Missing the Farm-to-Work Program

This year, many of local Texas farmers have been suffering during this severe drought.  When I say suffering, I mean that their harvests have been smaller than the norm and certain programs that they rely on have had to back away until some well needed rain occurs.  Central Texas may have had rain at least one day in each of the last six weeks, but it doesn't even make a dent in the drought that we've been dealing with.  Where I live, we're still in a stage II watering restriction, which means watering twice a week, no new landscaping, no filling swimming pools, and no park irrigation.  It's been looking pretty brown, until the weeds took over a few weeks ago.

Anyway, back to our farmers.  At work, they have suspended our Farm-to-Work (FTW) program because the farmers were not producing enough vegetables or fruits for our demand.  This program was a super easy way for me to get new types of vegetables into my body, but I have to seek other mechanisms now.  Luckily, not to long ago, a local farm, Johnson's Backyard Garden (JBG), was advertising it's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program through Groupon which eliminated the setup fees, so I took advantage.  Not only can you choose to have the baskets delivered straight to your home door, for a cheaper price, you can pick them up at a variety of drop-off locations (e.g., farmers' markets or houses which have volunteered to be a drop location).  In addition to just the vegetables, you can also get eadd-ons on an as-needed basis:  coffee, vegetable starters for your garden, eggs (which I have plenty of since I own chickens), oranges, and grapefruit - all organic.  Who wouldn't want to support a local farmer if the convenience is there?

Yes, my farm-to-work program is cheaper than JBG, but I have to consider two things:  1) Starting in about two months, my job moves downtown and therefore it'd be more difficult to get to the farmer's market that I would normally pick a JBG box up.  Also, with the job move, even if the FTW program was still going, I would have to go to the main campus for the pickup, and I'd have to do it by 4:00pm.  That's not going to happen.  So I like the possibility of getting the vegetables home delivered.  2) The FTW program is not certified organic.  I know this means very little since most local farmers cannot afford to get the stamp of certification; I've talked to a number of them at local farmers' markets.  My lawn, garden, compost, chickens, etc. are all organic.  I use very little pesticides and when I have companies come spray for ants and bugs, it's all organic and natural.  After my environmental health class back in 2003, I don't want to expose myself or anybody I live with to unnecessary chemicals that can cause cancer or other illnesses.  It's not for me.

Lastly, for those who live in the Austin, please consider supporting our local stores, venues, and farmers by purchasing a Go Local Card.  I fully believe if we begin to grown and support our local businesses, then perhaps our economy will strengthen.

Austin Coffee Places

I get frustrated when I see articles like this after I sign out of my yahoo e-mail account: The Best Independent Coffee Shops in Austin, Texas.  Seriously?  Who paid him to pick those coffee places?  (As a side note, that is why you will not find ads on my blog.  Nobody is paying me to have space on my site.)  None-the-less, he seemed to have forgotten that Austin doesn't end at the University of Texas, but rather it extends to the northern sector as well.  Here's a non-hipster's list of coffee places in and around Austin.

1.  Epoch:  By far this is the coffee shop to go to.  Epoch is open 24/7, has plenty of seating, a great patio, and lots of power outlets throughout the coffee shop.  Not to mention, the people who work here are super friendly and just so easy going.  I can't speak highly enough.

2.  Kick Butt Coffee - at the Triangle.  They do have one additional store on Airport, but I've never been to that location.  I'm surprised have few people know about this place.  It is never super packed and I can find a seat to get homework done with no problem.  Kick Butt Coffee does hold open mics, which can be rather entertaining.

3.  Dominican Joe Coffee Shop is located on South Congress and Riverside.  Now that I live just outside the city, it's a bit more difficult to get down there to hang out, but it was a great place to hang out with friends or grab a coffee to extend a date.

4.  Green Muse Cafe has a great atmosphere, but can be a hit or miss.  The coffee is great and the patio has a decent lay out.  Sometimes you can find seating, sometimes you can't.  Sometimes the barista is a socializer, sometimes he/she does his/her job.  I only shy away from it because it's so far south from where I work and live.

5.  Scooter Coffee House should have better hours, but they could be much worse!  It is always quiet when I go there to study, and they play halfway decent music.  And surprisingly, they have a drive-through!

6.  Halcyon - Don't even bother after the makeover.  It lost all it's flavor.

7.  Mozart's Coffee Roasters feels like a tourist trap half the time.  Great patio and atmosphere, though.

8.  I haven't been to Austin Java in quite some time, but I've been to a couple different locations.  One was for a book club that I participated in and the other was for local live music (the patio was nice).  I'm not sure how great it would be to get school work done.

9.  La Tazza Fresca is the place to socialize, especially since it's sort of close to the university.  I have never seen it quiet and more often than not, I get stuck studying at the bar.  I'm not complaining, but sometimes it's a bit loud and not for somebody who really needs to get work done, but would prefer to socialize with a friend or two, or make a friend or two.

10.  Spider House is overrated in my opinion.  I've been once and wasn't impressed.  It was crowded and way too busy.  Perhaps it's a bit better with the new acquisition, but I have no desire to go back, and the bus goes past it on my way to school from work.

As you can tell from the above, I've been to many different coffee places throughout Austin, north, south, and central.  I know many people have a variety of tastes when it comes to coffee and atmosphere, and hopefully one of the above will work for you even if it may not have fit my personality.