busyBlues Moon
This shows the outside of Blues Moon with the main floor and two layers of apartments. The two flanking buildings also belong to the Ebonies & Ivories. The taller building on the left is an apartment building. The smaller building on the right is used as storage space for artwork and furnishings which can be used in any of the apartments above the jazz joint.
The basement contains the working part of the lair. The piano room is in the design studio in the lower left corner. The largest office below the lunch room belongs to Boss White. The one across from it is the guest room. The accounts/manager and board room offices are shared space. The big corner office in the upper right is the patch room. They actually don't have an exercise room in their own lair; instead they have a group membership at a nearby gym.
Morton Meadows is a historic neighborhood in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. It lies between Center and Leavenworth Streets, from 42nd Street to Saddle Creek. It is near the Dundee area. Other nearby historic districts include the Gold Coast, Field Club and Country Club.
The Wright House
The Wright house is close to Downtown, the Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University, and the Omaha Zoo. It is two stories tall with a basement. This Welcome sign hangs outside. The front porch includes chairs and a wooden bench for sitting. The back yard includes a table and chairs. A small lawn under the lilac bush provides play space. A grill stands beside the house.
In the basement, the playroom is matted with interlocking foam tiles. The craft room includes several tables and chairs, along with shelves and bins for storing supplies. The family room features a couch and an easy chair in front of a large viewscreen. The basement bedroom includes a full-size bed, a twin-size bed, and a sitting area. Berry Wilkin has the full-size bed while Jubilee Wright has the twin-size bed. The bathroom includes a toilet, sink, and shower stall. The laundry room has a washer and dryer under a storage shelf. A large basement pantry stores food and household supplies.
The Wright family Christmas tree stands in the foyer on the main floor. It holds ornaments made by most members of the family. The living room has a fireplace with a viewscreen above it, along with several mismatched chairs. The dining table has extra leaves to accommodate more people. An upright piano stands in the dining room. The tiny kitchen includes a refrigerator-freezer, stove, microwave, and sink. A desk and chair sit near the kitchen. The powder room has a sink and toilet.
Upstairs, the master bedroom has a queen-size bed and a dresser. Jefferson and Precious share this room. The second bedroom has a full-size bed, belonging to Carmine Hughes. The third bedroom has bunk beds. Rhyland Solinger has the upper bunk while Delonn Baumbach has the lower bunk. The upstairs bathroom includes a toilet, sink, and clawfoot bathtub with shower.
Prairie Meadows Cohousing Community
Prairie Meadows is a cohousing community in Morton Meadows, Midtown, Omaha, Nebraska where the Mayfield grandparents have retired. It has mixed-income housing tightly clustered around large green spaces with mature oak trees and a community garden. It includes about 40 adults and 10 children in 42 homes with a mix of houses and apartments. The common house includes 3 guest bedrooms, a great hall for shared dining and larger gatherings, a large kitchen, a laundry, a kids room, two sitting areas, and a multi-use room. Other shared spaces include a workshop and gym on the ground floor of the E block. There are parking spaces for guests and one space per household, plus bicycle parking. Communal storage facilities and recycling / garbage bins are distributed around the grounds. The site entrance and green alleys connect the interior to nearby roads; a bus stop right outside the community receives a bus every 10-15 minutes. The community is close to supermarkets, schools, stores, sports facilities, a play area, and a community center.
An aerial overview shows the shape of the community. The elevations compare the row houses and the apartments. This site map shows the housing types, this one has the floor plans, and here are the common areas and bins.
Housing Type A (1,169 square feet, 108 square meters) has 3 or 4 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms, plus front and back yards. Housing Type B (1,321 square feet, 123 square meters) has 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 or 3 bathrooms, plus front and back yards. Housing Type C is divided into a 1-bedroom unit (549 square feet, 51 square meters) on the first floor and a 2-bedroom unit (657 square feet, 61 square meters) on the second floor, each with one family bathroom. Units have their own front door and either a yard or a balcony. Housing Type D offers 2-bedroom apartments (807 square feet, 75 square meters) with a large family bathroom, private secure storage, and either a terrace or a large west-facing balcony. The building has a secure shared lobby with an elevator. Curtiss and Serena Mayfield have a 2-bedroom apartment on the ground floor. Housing Type E has 1-bedroom apartments with one bathroom. See the floor plans.
• Plots 1-10 are on the West Terrace addresses 4-22.
• Plots 11-18 are on the South Terrace addresses.
• Plots 19-31 are on the North Terrace addresses 62-86.
• Plots 32-42 are the F and D apartment block attached to the Common House addresses 10-19.
Mayfield Meadows Farm
The family farm of Mayfield Meadows has 356 acres of farmland, native prairies and meadows, forests of various types, and waterways. They use sustainable agriculture and land stewardship practices.
The farmhouse is on the bottom of the picture, slightly left of center. In front of it are gardens and spaces for small livestock. Farther away there are barns for larger livestock, greenhouses, and more gardens. At the top of the picture lies the food forest. The orchard runs along the right edge. This closeup shows several barns with pastures, a greenhouse with gardens, and a small pond peeking through the surrounding forests. A long driveway winds between cow pastures dotted with trees, heading toward an orchard and the farm buildings. A bluebird trail runs along the wooden fences on each side of the road. The farm market looks out over over greenhouses and other outbuildings. Trails and bridges wind through the food forest, allowing access for wildcrafting.
Inside the farm market, customers can buy many kinds of fresh produce. The checkout area shows some farm products in jars and bags, too.
These greenhouses lie behind a large garden. Classes teach young black people how to grow their own food. Older farmers gather to talk about farm practices.
Mayfield Meadows raises a variety of livestock. These Jersey calves will grow up to give sweet, rich milk. Hereford cattle make up one of the most popular beef breeds. Columbia sheep graze in the tall meadows, producing both wool and meat. Nubian goats browse the margins between forests and pastures, producing mostly milk but also some meat. The landrace pigs had foundation stock mainly from Duroc, Hampshire, Hereford, Spotted Poland China, and Yorkshire breeds. Moveable hog huts provide shelter as the herds are taken around to forage in different parts of the farm. They provide leaner, more flavorful meat compared to commercial pork. Chicken breeds for free range and foraging include barred Plymouth rock, black Cornish rock, buckeye, buff rock, and Rhode Island red.
Snow covers the barns and pastures in winter.
Concord grapes fill the vineyard. Wild black raspberries and blackberries grow along the fences in many places.
Wildflowers fill some of the meadows.
A food forest offers many layers of wild edibles.
