Inspiration & Collaboration (in the form of links)

Inspiration

• Austin Farmers’ Markets – Austin Farmers’ Markets are a real gift to our city and a great thing to do on the weekend. We are so lucky to have two markets, one south of town and one downtown. We like to visit one every weekend for fresh, local food, good music, admire all the di
• Design, Build, Live – Design, Build, Live is Austin’s sustainable learning center that shares, practices, promotes, and nurtures natural building and sustainable living.
• Elkhorn Ranch in Tucson, Arizona – The Elkhorn Ranch is owned and operated by my sister-in-law and her family. This is a wonderful place to escape and be amongst amazing desert plants, ride horses, relax, and meet interesting people.
• Fiddlers Green Music Shop – Fiddlers Green is a beautiful music shop in central Austin that offers high quality instruments, lessons, and hosts great jam sessions in their barn behind the shop.
• Garland’s Lodge in Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona – Garland’s Lodge began as a homestead in the early 1900s in Oak Creek Canyon (in between Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona). The lodge offers lovely food grown on the premisis (including apple, peach, and plum trees), rest, and relaxation.
• Harvesting Rain Water by Brad Lancaster – Brad Lancaster has provided great inspiration for sustainable water-harvesting systems for your home, landscape, and community along with to other practical advice about growing food in dry climates.
• Hundertwasser – Hundertwasser was a painter, graphic artist, architect, ecologist, and philosopher. His whimsical, curious work and writings have served as interesting inspiration.
• Laura Freeman – Laura Freeman is a talented Austin musician that writes and sings songs for children. She also puts on great adult themed shows. Laura is a good friend and has also collaborated on projects with Annie.
• Michael Franti and Spearhead – Michael Franti & Spearhead sends out strong, positive messages about peace, love, and politics in the form of great ‘rebel rock’ music and a lively stage presence. POWER to the PEACEFUL!
• Michael Pollan – Michael Pollan is a writer for the New York Times and the author of many books about food and how it relates to our culture and the environment.
• Native Seeds/ SEARCH – Native Seeds/SEARCH is an organization based out of Tucson, Arizona that researches ancient seeds for modern needs. Native Seeds/SEARCH conserves, distributes, and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of agricultural seeds, their wild relatives an
• The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems – The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems is located in East Austin. It is a non-profit education, research, and demonstration organization specializing in life cycle planning and design. They have a great happy hour the first Friday of every mo
• The Desert Museum – The Desert Museum is a beautiful living museum that inspires love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson. This museum has an amazing botanical collection not to mention a zoo of animals kept in very natural settings.

Collaboration

• Annie’s Omnium – This is Annie Taylor’s website. Annie offers freelance creative services such as illustration, interior design, and visual merchandising.
• Dai Due – Dai Due translates as ‘From the kingdoms of nature, choose food with care.’ Jesse Griffiths and Tamara Mayfield are cultivating a more conscientious food culture in Central Texas by offering a roving supper club that is prepared with only locally produce
• EDIBLE AUSTIN, summer issue, 2009, IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD: MY GARDENING MANIFESTO by Jason Minshew – Jason was invited to write and article for the summer 2009 issue of EDIBLE AUSTIN about the ongoing edible landscape work he is doing for Habitat Suites in Austin.
• Farm House Delivery – Farmhouse Delivery is a fledgling company started by Stephanie Scherzer and Elizabeth Winslow brings farm fresh, local produce to your door. They will also be hosting classes and workshops based from Rain Lily Farm in East Austin.
• Habitat Suites Hotel in Austin, Texas – Habitat Suites is Austin’s only ‘green hotel’ and a charter member of the Green Hotels Association of America. Habitat Suites has been a maintenance account of JBird & Company since 2007. The goal for this landscape is to garden with plants that are
• Jody Horton- Photographer – Jody Horton is a talented Austin based photographer. Some of his photographs are featured in this website.
• Norm Ballinger – Norm Balinger recently came into our lives, from around the corner in our south Austin neighborhood. He is a musician, poet, green builder, and proud builder of Austin’s first Straw Bale home.
• The Green Minds Project – The Green Minds Project is about all types of gardeners and gardening created by Gayla Trail. Gayla interviewed Jason about his work up at Habitat Suites in the spring of 2008.

Articles

• EDIBLE AUSTIN, summer issue, 2009, IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD: MY GARDENING MANIFESTO by Jason Minshew – Jason was invited to write and article for the summer 2009 issue of EDIBLE AUSTIN about the ongoing edible landscape work he is doing for Habitat Suites in Austin.
• Farmer in Chief by Michael Pollan – From the New York Times, October 9, 2008
• Sow Those Seeds! by Verlyn Klinkenborg – From the New York Times, February 14, 2009
• The Rural Life; Victory Garden by Verlyn Klinkenborg – From the New York Times, August 7, 2004

Books

• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon – The cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats.
• The Straw Bale House by Athena and Bill Steen – Straw Bale architecture has captured our imagination recently. We dream of building a Straw Bale studio in the future.

Press

• EDIBLE AUSTIN, summer issue, 2009, IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD: MY GARDENING MANIFESTO by Jason Minshew – Jason was invited to write and article for the summer 2009 issue of EDIBLE AUSTIN about the ongoing edible landscape work he is doing for Habitat Suites in Austin.
• Maximizing your Green Landscaping- Keye News feature – This short article featured in May, 2009 on Jason’s ideas about a residential garden. Our son Ollie steals the show with his cuteness!