Change Of Address

Prairie Roots has moved! Take a look at the new digs: http://prairieroots.wordpress.com/

Tip Of The Iceberg

Here's just a fraction of the cucumbers growing from my three plants. They're Mideast Prolific cukes from Seeds of Change, and despite the 90-degree weather we've been having lately, they're surprisingly sweet. Guess who's making cucumber salad for tonight's supper side dish?

This is the first batch of beans harvested. They're destined for my daughter's tummy tonight.

The zinnias are the second batch I've cut from my thriving flower patch. The first lasted nearly two weeks before wilting. That's with just plain water for nourishment. Sure can't say that about store-bought flowers. The sunflowers are from Seed Savers Exchange's Sunflower Mixture.

We've enjoyed only a few ripe tomatoes but bunches will be ready soon. Sweet corn and bell peppers are close behind.

Roots Reading

A friend recently asked me for the reading list I used for one of my classes at Regent College. Since this blog has been a little short on theology, I'll post that list here.

This was a guided study class taught by Loren Wilkinson. The year I was there Professor Wilkinson happend to be skipping a year in his usual rotation of teaching "Understanding Creation," but he graciously consented to teaching it as a small group guided study option for a few of us. The format ended up more like a seminar class rather than a first-year graduate lecture course, which was great. We first read through For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care by Stephen Bouma-Prediger. Then each of us chose a research area and presented our work to the class. I focused on developing a theology of food. Here's my reading list for that paper (I cited several other works, but these were the main books I read through completely for the course):

Brueggemann, Walter. The Land: Place As Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith, 2d ed.

Capon, Robert Farrar. The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection.

Jung, L. Shannon. Food for Life:The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating.

Schut, Michael (ed.). Food & Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread.


A few other great titles I would throw into the mix for anyone wanting resources on environmental stewardship from a theological viewpoint:

Basney, Lionel. An Earth-Careful Way of Life: Christian Stewardship and the Environmental Crisis.

McKibben, Bill. Pretty much anything he's written, but especially The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job, and the Scale of Creation.

Berry, Wendell. Again, pretty much anything he's written (including his fiction and poetry), but especially:

The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture This is by far his densest, meatiest book. If you need something a little less scholarly (but certainly no less significant), check out the titles below.

Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community

What Are People For?

Home Economics

Mason's: Plan B

Given the possibility that our beloved local Mason's building may never see brighter days--it has sat mostly empty for the last decade, after all--Cory and I have been trying to think of outside-the-box ideas for what could stand in its place, should it have to be razed (perish the thought!). Our latest idea: a park.

But not just any park.


This locale could remain the best "outdoor brownie-eating, people-watching, solving-the-world's-problems spot, right at one of the liveliest corners in town". With careful planning, it could be a beautful gateway to Madison's downtown. And just what would make it so distinctive? Architectural elements from the Mason's building itself. Salvaging things like the front columns and bricks would make it a dream project for any good landscape architect. (Oh, and we just happen to know one young Madison native who has a landscape design degree and a keen interest in sustainability.)


The columns could easily form a stunning park entrance creating what might literally be known as Madison's front porch. It would be a nod to stately home front porches around town like this one, which Cory and I always refer to as the "White House," since our good friends Steve and Becky White spent some of their formative years there:


It would connote neighbors getting together for a glass of lemonade (or a DQ Blizzard from right next door!) and a good chat. To enable the most chatting, a landscape architect could design some aesthetically-pleasing sound buffers. There could be great gardens, great spots for picnicking, and maybe even an area for outdoor performances. Think the Queen Bee Mill Ruins at Falls Park in Sioux Falls...only a lot less ruinous.

But that's just the beginning. The next logical step would be to relocate the farmers market here, although its current location at Library Park is indeed a lovely spot. But imagine the Mason's corner on a beautiful summer Thursday evening, bustling with locals scanning the best tomatoes from area gardens and farms. Madison musicians (and we have some great ones like Howard Hedger, Perry Killion, Mitch Villhauer, and Mike Lee) could provide outdoor entertainment. Downtown businesses could stay open late and enjoy the increased revenues that come with farmers markets located in the heart of retail areas.

What a useful, beautiful, energizing, productive, and yes, even unexpected spot this could be both for visitors to Madison and its own residents.

Update 8/3/07: More support for why this type of shared space can make Madison a more vibrant place:

New Urbanism makes shared space the organizing element of a community. Architecture physically defines streets as places of shared use. Care for the public realm adds character, builds value, promotes security, and helps residents feel proud of their community. Plazas, squares, sidewalks, cafes, and porches provide rich settings for interaction and public life (source and more about new urbanism here).