While I’m sitting on my ass writing this brief blog post, my neighbor Ramutis “Ray” Narkevicius is building something, tending his poultry, making compost, growing hops on the rooftop of a brewery, scavenging materials, grafting a fruit tree or wiring the inside of a Fed Ex cargo jet.
Over the years Ray has turned his yard into a elaborate nutrient loop. Spent grains that he gets from the brewery feed the poultry. Poultry manure nourish fruit trees and the duck water waste hosts crayfish. All the water gets pumped around to a series of raised beds that grow herbs, dragon fruit and strawberries. His small yard overflows with the most delicious citrus you’ve ever had. And he’s a generous and kind neighbor who is always willing to lend a helping hand.
Thankfully, the folks at Fair Companies, including friend of the blog Johnny, of Granola Shotgun, made a video about Ray. One of the cool things about this video is that the footage spans seven years so you get to see how much Ray has done in just that short amount of time. One little takeaway you see in this video is how well citrus does with the liberal application of compost. The other takeaway? It’s time to put this laptop down, head outside, and get to work.
Very inspirational! It makes me also want to get out there and work in my yard! Thanks for posting!
I loved the video. Thank you for pointing us to it, and… wow, what a character. A lifelong learner, someone successful in his career, but mostly, someone who takes care of his place and everything in it: water, feathered creatures, fish, plants, and humans. I loved how there is no concept of waste, but a change of stage… Amazing.
I found his attitude of stewardship, of curiosity and observation of the environment, very inspiring. And the person, also, very likeable.
Hey, Eric… how about we traded neighbors?
Wow! You’re very lucky to have this person as your neighbor. I recognize his name as Lithuanian, and my experience as someone who married into a Lithuanian family is that they love repurposing stuff.