Coming Soon: The Denver Tool Library

There are some super wonderful places and things right here in Barnum. That said, there seems to be an exploding volcano of awesome erupting precisely 2.5 miles in any direction from the center of our neighborhood. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, constantly repeating, "Such and such is only 15 to 20 minutes by bicycle!" for all the cool shit in West Denver. I can't decide if we're crazy unlucky and operating like a 2.5-mile-strength repellent to neat stuff, or if we're crazy lucky to be at the precise epicenter of all of these various areas of awesome. I guess it depends on how willing you are to ride a bicycle for 15-20 minutes at a time.

The newest 2.5 mile news is the Denver Tool Library, which will be opening its doors at 5th and Santa Fe in the near future. (That is 2.5 miles in the exact opposite direction from the Belmar ice rink that just reopened for the season 2.5 miles to the West.) It is precisely what it sounds like: a library to check out tools so you don't have to clutter up your 800 square foot Barnum house with a bunch of purchased tools you'll only ever need once or twice. You buy a $60 membership and BAM! borrow away. Check out their website here. Read an article about the Denver Tool Library in the Denver Post. And, if you're feeling as excited as I am about having them as a 2.5m neighbor, feel free to donate to their IndieGoGo campaign here.

Speaking of bicycling, have you heard the awesome news for Barnum bicyclists?! I'm gonna leave that as a teaser and make you tune in next time to find out more...

Earth Friendly in Barnum!

Now that we've been rid of our gross dumpsters in Barnum and Barnum West, it's easier than ever to recycle.

I'll be honest, but please don't hate me: I've been pretty rotten about recycling for a few years now. Spoiled by the dumpster in the alley, I found it impossible to either remember which day was recycling day or else to muster up the energy to drag the bin out and back into my yard at the designated time. I know, I'm a terrible person. Or, at least I was. Now I'm not! Now that I have to be mindful about trash day, I'm finding it rather easy to remember to put out my recycling bin. In fact, recycling has decreased our trash enough that we put out both bins every other week -- and the trash bin is nearly empty. Huzzah!

If you don't yet have a recycling bin, sign up online. Visit Denver's recycling website to see which items can be recycled. And, if you're having a tough time remembering to get your bins out, try signing up for reminders! And if, like many of my neighbors, you've been on the recycling train for ages, here's a celebration jump for you!

Barnum Garden Tour: The Barnum Community Garden

Today's Barnum Garden Tour comes from the Barnum Community Garden, located on Lowell between 1st and 2nd Ave.

I met with my neighbors for a neighborhood plant and seed swap, enjoyed some delicious cider (thanks, Wendy!), and had an opportunity to meet Jack, one of the Community Garden's regular and long time gardeners.

Jack gave us all a tour of what's growing this year and filled me in on the garden's policies: the very generously sized garden plots are $40 for the entire season to cover watering expenses (this fee might be waived if you're unable to afford it). To reserve your plot for next year, send me an email for the number to contact, or get the number from Denver Urban Gardens. Otherwise, talk to Jack if you see him in the garden!

This was the perfect time of year to see the Community Garden in all its bounty. It was bursting at its seams with sunflowers, potatoes, tomatillos, squash, corn, cosmos, and a bagillion other sorts of lovely things to eat and admire. Be sure to wander through to see for yourself before the weather turns! For more information on seed/plant swaps and other meetups, join NextDoor Barnum -- an online neighborhood forum.

While there, I also heard a rumor that a Community Orchard is in the works for the adjoining vacant lot. I'm waiting with baited breath for more details. 

And, one final bit of news: The Barnum Neighborhood is in the early stages of planning for a Barnum Farmer's Market next summer! If you're interested in helping to make this a reality, please email welcometobarnum(at)gmail.com to get on the email list and/or come to our next planning meeting!

Trader Joe's is coming...3 miles away.

Photo from 5280 Magazine

Yesterday, Trader Joe's announced that it is opening its second Denver location 3 miles from our doorsteps. It's headed for 7th and Logan. And, because it's off 6th Ave, Google Directions estimates it's but a 5-10 minute drive, even during morning rush hour.

I can't decide if I'm super happy or super bummed. Trader Joe's is crazy popular but it's still not quite close enough to call our own. In fact, it completes the circle of large grocery shops 2.5 to 3 miles in any direction from Barnum/Barnum West. We have King Soopers to the North at Sloans Lake, King Soopers to the South in Mar Lee, King Soopers and Whole Foods to the West at Belmar. Now, with Trader Joe's to the East, we've formed a perfect perimeter of not-close-enough-to-walk-to large chain grocery stores.

Oh well. At least we have all our little local grocery shops for walking trips. And at least Trader Joe's is closer to us here in Barnum than they are to the Highlands. Hey Highlands! You like apples? How you like them apples? Cause you have to drive past Barnum to buy them from Trader Joe's. Here's a link to the 5280 article about the new Trader Joe's.

Don't Know Much About Barnum?

When we first moved in, several of our neighbors were super excited to tell us how our backyard was once-upon-a-time a hotel for circus elephants. So charming, but sadly not quite true. Since PT Barnum was somewhat famous for his hoaxes, entertaining as they might have been, I think it's rather fitting that his namesake neighborhood carries the same sort of not-quite-true-but-it-makes-for-a-good-story sort of mythology.

Here's some fun facts for your next Barnum barbeque: Yes, this land was purchased by PT Barnum in 1878. No, it was not ever going to be a winter home for his circus. It was, in fact, a real estate investment. How mundane. After selling the rest in bits, he did sell part of it to his daughter, Helen, who was married to William Buchtel. If that name sounds familiar to Denverites, it should: William Buchtel became Mayor of Barnum, but his big brother, Henry Buchtel was Governor of Colorado, Chancellor of the University of Denver, and namesake of Buchtel Blvd.

One more cool fact: Barnum has a slogan. "If you stick with Barnum, Barnum will stick with you." What an unfortunate slogan.

For more info on ol' PT and the history of the Barnum neighborhood, check out this link to Denver Public Library's Western History and Genealogy Department: The Story of Barnum.

Do you have a cool Barnum neighborhood history to share? Leave a comment! Interested in becoming a contributor to the Barnum/Barnum West website? Send us an email! 

welcometobarnum (at) gmail.com 

Farmers Markets and CSAs

Ahh, forsythias and daffodils: spring is official. 

And speaking of spring and awesome vegetation, wouldn't Knox Court be the perfect place for a farmer's market? How can we make that happen? Anyone? Well, I'll let you guys figure that out. But, in the meantime, here are the closest summer farmers markets:

Denver Urban Homesteaders
(2nd and Santa Fe, appx 3 miles)

Broadway Farmer's Market
(Ellsworth and Lincoln, appx. 4 miles)

Belmar
(Wadsworth and Alameda, appx 2.5 miles).
Note: The Belmar Farmer's Market only has one or two produce stands. It's really more like a weekly festival than an actual farmer's market.

And, if you are in the market for a CSA share this season, here are a couple of nearby farms that offer shares. A word of warning: a farm can only grow so much produce in a season, so shares do sell out somewhat early on many farms: i.e., they're probably already sold out.

Ubuntu Farm, Revision International (somewhere in Westwood)
Two Hands Farm (18th and Wadsworth)

Or, lastly, do you just really want to grow your own? I do love having a giant kitchen garden in my yard. But, if you'd rather not devote your yard to sprawling zucchini, we totes have a community garden in Barnum. I'll dig around (Ha! Get it? Dig around? Garden pun!) for more info and post about it soon!

Do you know of a local CSA you'd like added to the list? Have you found a great farmer's market nearby? Would you like to review any of the above? Leave a comment or send us an email.

Books, Libros, Sách

Our friendly neighborhood library, is the Ross-Barnum Branch (named for the family who generously donated the money for their construction). The space is small, but the staff is impressively fluent in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and you will find materials in all three languages. Talk about some wonderful diversity!

The way I use the library is to visit their website, make all my selections, place them on hold with my library card, then the library will email, text, or call you when the items arrive at our branch. It is a great timesaver, and you get access to all of Denver Public Library's resources.

NextDoor Barnum and Barnum West

Spring tulips! Woot!

So, as it turns out, there is a great online message board for our neighborhoods at NextDoor (Barnum and Barnum West). As of this week, there are about 110 or so of our neighbors signed up between the two. I've been a tad skeptical of the site until now because you can't really dig around much until you put in all of your information. But then I realized that it's kind of a good thing. You know, you have to live in the neighborhood to hang out on the neighborhood message board. Or else it's just creepy. And anyway, it's the 21st century and I have no digital privacy anyway, so what's one more site with my name and personal info attached? I'm in.

The best part is that you don't have to remember to check in every day to see what's happening. I'm signed up for email alerts, so it'll email me if anyone posts from my 'hood. Overall review? It's cool and it might be pretty useful. Perhaps I'll see you there!

Also, it's my first year with tulips in the garden. I planted them last fall and I'm so excited to see them starting to pop up! Yay! Bulbs really do work! They've always seemed a little sketchy to me since you have to buy these dead-looking brown lumps and you can't tell if you've been swindled until months later when it's far too late to return them and get your money back.