Feeling Fine at Fresh Roots Farm

The mosquitos and fierce summer heat (2010 was the second hottest on record since records have been kept, according to this NOAA report) kept me indoors many a day. If I wasn't out kayaking this past summer, I was probably packing, reading back issues of Backpacker Magazine, or otherwise avoiding sitting down at a computer to write. Still, during the nicest day I've felt in months, my friends Mark and Elizabeth of Fresh Roots Farm in Atlanta, GA inspired me to hop on the keyboard share what they're up to.

I hadn't seen Mark since 2007 when we attended Greenpeace's "Change It" training for student activists, but I'd followed his endeavors (without the help of Twitter) through a tour with Greenpeace's Rolling Sunlight (selling crowds on solar power), building trails with AmeriCorps, serving Peace Corps in South America, and landing back in Atlanta -- and that's when things got really interesting!

Though you have to ask Mark for the full backstory, the end result is a sweet little urban farm sprouting natural and organic veggies and offering local, healthy choices right in the heart of Atlanta. I was lucky enough to visit this weekend and meet the lovely residential pig (Olivia), pup (Cocoa), two roosts full of chickens and hang with the farm fresh couple running the show.

The farm is basically a front yard for Mark, Elizabeth, and a couple of neighbors in their 19th-century, post-industrial warehouse turned loft abode. I was greeted by my gracious host circa 2 a.m. (traffic was thick as molasses in Tennessee and I forgot about the time difference from Texas, to boot). My eyes widened to fit the space as I stepped from the entryway into the living room with a ceiling so high it could have housed the moon. I was further delighted by the way the decor seemed to simply capture the important things in life: pinned up sketches, a large kitchen table, a bookshelf balanced with history and fiction, a drum set, a few tomatoes no doubt fresh from the vine. Bunking on the futon, I was sun-kissed in the morning (with two-thirds of the wall being window) and set off to see what the many-hat-wearing Mark was up to...

The community that houses Fresh Roots is also a collection of residences occupied by artists and their adjacent studios, a gallery, a community coffee house, and a flexible space for all sorts of other gatherings and endeavors. While I sipped on coffee and tea and talked to Mark, a man came in and inquired about using the site for a music video. Apparently, on any given day here one might walk through the set of a far-out indie sci-fi flick, clothing-optional photo shoot, film festival, medicine show musical, or beer and pancake party. In the midst of all the abstract, Fresh Roots Farm keeps the place down-to-earth in a funky but wholesome way.

To visit, volunteer, inquire about their CSA, or just hook up with some really cool, bright people, check out Fresh Root's website and Facebook page and blog (managed by the loveliest chicken wrangler this side of the Mississippi, Elizabeth Stephens).

(Pictured: Mark, Elizabeth and Cocoa)

Be a pig! A SmartyPig.

Well, I've never been called a "pig," but under most circumstances I don't think I would be offended. Pigs are cute, fun, smart, sassy, and contrary to stereotypes, clean (and love belly rubs). But I'll take it a step further, and challenge you to do the same -- be a SmartyPig.

Okay, so SmartyPig is more so a reference to the piggy banks of our childhood allowance days than to the squeaky pink babes romping in fields (at least at farm sanctuaries). This hip new addition to the drift of online banking outlets has keenly brought merger to online banking and social networking, neglecting not a nuance. For example, savvy savers can watch a collection of YouTube-style videos (e.g., Setting Up A Savings Goal) as an introduction to SmartyPig rather than pouring over pages of fine print.

Once users have watched the videos (or you know, read the fine print), they can set up specific savings accounts for "goals," such as an "Adventure Fund" or "Emergency Savings" or even "Trip to France" with a scheduled goal deadline, customized savings amount, and scheduled contributions (or the option to contribute "whenever"). Upping the cool factor from the boring online banks of olde, SmartyPig allows users to chose an avatar, create a widget, and even share their goals and progress via Facebook. In addition to the factor that making a goal public generally gives us more inclination to stick to it (like the "21 day Vegan Kickstart"), these tools allow SmartyPig's savers to accept contributions from supportive friends and family.

So, full-disclosure, I am myself an enthusiastic SmartyPig with an adventure fund and emergency savings account, but I haven't gone public (widget-wise) with my savings goals. However, SmartyPig isn't giving me any kickbacks to write this post. Actually, I'm pretty sure this modest blog is below their radar. But I'm an advocate of a program that rewards members for saving (as opposed to credit cards that "reward" members for spending). Even barely eking by with an entry-level, non-profit salary and student loans to repay, with a 2% APY, I feel like I'm making hay of what I can scrape into my accounts.

So my recommendation? Be a pig; take your tax return and start a goal toward the vacation you don't think you can afford, create an "F* You Fund" for getting out of a dead-end job or crappy roommate situation, or save up to donate to your favorite charity. Maybe $oink$ will become the new "cha-ching."