Cathedral of Junk

While in Austin, Texas, Karen and I visited the Cathedral of Junk. This monument of kitsch, trash, antiques, and the obsolete is a hundred feet high and contains tens of thousands of items. You can even climb to the top for a bird's eye view of Barbies, license plates and rotary phones. Best of all, it is in a residential neighborhood, unmarked and unadvertised. Just another dot on the freak map that is Austin, Texas.

What does this have to do with organic farming? Nothing, really. Except that I found it interesting and funny and wanted to share it. But, it also made me think about what people do with outdoor space.

Some people build swimming pools or tennis courts in their backyards. Others have massive entertaining spaces with a wet bar and fancy grill. Some of us, obsessed with plants and food, pull up tons of grass and build huge raised beds and spend all their time planting, weeding, watering and harvesting more crops than they could ever eat in a lifetime. And still others collect junk and pile it a hundred feet in the air. Who are we to say who is crazy?