Sustainable Urban Living Inspiration

Steve's pup has found a nice shady place under the tomatoes.

 We all need someone who shows us that what we read in books and magazine is possible.  Steve Fry is that person for me.  He makes it all happen right here in Muncie, Indiana and has been a great source of inspiration, encouragement, and practical help.  The problem is that Steve is so busy gardening that he doesn’t spend time on silly blogging endeavors, so I will have to brag on his behalf.

Steve's Outdoor, Solar-Heated, Water Heater

When I first met Steve, he was living a block from me completely off-grid and raising enough produce for a small army.  Last spring he moved to a little bit larger house, but he is still in the heart of the city on an average sized lot.  I remember him going to work immediately on making the yard into gardens upon relocating before worrying about the shape of the inside of his fixer-upper.  I was away this spring, and when Steve came by to welcome us home, he was excited about our backyard transformation and full of encouragement.  He said we must stop by and see his progress.  This is what met me upon entering his gate (remember, he just moved in last spring): 

An unbelievable, edible backyard oasis!  He followed us the several blocks back to our house and helped make some repairs to our rain barrel system, leaving us with a bag of produce since we got a late start planting this year.  I suppose this means I should get back to work!