While sitting by that lovely fire, listening to those lovely birds, and sipping on a lovely cup of coffee (made by DH), a light breeze, with only a light chill, sauntered into our little backyard retreat. What a lovely, lovely morning!

The morning suddenly soured with a terrible noise accosting the sereneness of the moment. Briefly, I had forgotten about a Walmart sack that had found its way to the very top of my backyard Black Walnut tree. Too high to reach. It had survived several days  60 mph wind gusts, pouring rain and a slight bit of hail. What was that? It was as if it was in stereo!   !@%&*!  There were two others high in other trees. What the hey! The noise was intolerable…and those of you who live in Kansas KNOW how the wind blows here.

We had found a pole for retrieving those darn bags in an online catalog, but it was over $200…OUCH! Well, as it is said, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. DH went into the garage and returned with several suspicious looking items. I wasn’t certain what in the world he was planning, but I have learned to not ask…because his answer is generally…”just wait”.  He re-entered the garage and came out with a contraption made from bended wire, pvc pipe and the beloved duct tape. DH..errr..MY HERO…went to work at retrieving that stupid nuisance of a bag and found that the two new bags that had joined in the chorus were not just bags. There was also a packing foam sheet that had taken flight.  Soon after the last piece of debris was removed from my trees,  the chirpping shenanigans of the plethora of bird species presented the only symphony being played in my backyard….sans any sour notes from the &%#@! plastic bags.

I am so excited that we remembered Recycle Day in town this month. Usually we are out of town or don’t remember until 30 minutes before the trailer closes. Our recycle trailer comes to town on the first Saturday of the month for two hours and is run by volunteers. We filled the back of my small hatchback and even used a bit of the backseat to get everything to the trailer. 

This more like three of four months of recycling in one trip. I didn’t want you to think we create that much in one month…haha!

Originally posted 01.19.08

Finding it difficult to sleep, I was up early this morning. Normally, I would not turn the television on because it usually ends up being an all morning affair when I do, but I wanted to check the weather to discover why we had none of the snow that was expected this morning. Well, it resulted into a late start for my day, but it is not with regret. There were two segments on the morning show that interested me. One segment brought attention to the environmental and health hazards of individual bottled water and the other that I found interesting was about the Federation of Damanhur and the Temples of Humankind, which I hope to research further and write about at a later date.

I was amazed to hear that 40 million plastic water bottles are added to landfills daily. Top that off with the fact that the water sold in the bottles is not governed by as strict of standards as our tap water and the story had my attention. I did not realize or maybe I just have not been listening before now, but the bottling companies do not have to follow the stringent quality guidelines of the EPA. After I research a bit more, I may have more to say about this at a later date.

Since my family and I are on a quest for a more self sustained lifestyle and making greener choices, I want to chime in on our overuse of the individual water bottles. I am ashamed to say that I am afraid to guess how many of those little plastic bottles we have contributed to our local landfill. Being a parent of a high school and club athlete, we are on the road several days a week, year around. To keep from buying soda while traveling, we are in the habit of grabbing those little bottles as we are running out the door. I even keep a small stock of the small, itsy bitsy bottles in the hatchback of my vehicle.

Those little water bottles are not only perfect for the road, but I am come to appreciate the “no-taste” of the water. I was raised in a large metropolitan area of another state and never remember the water have a “taste”, but since moving to a rural area I have found it difficult to palate the definite taste in our local water. This has resulted in me drinking not only more of the individual bottles but I also buy several gallon jugs to use while at home.

Dear Husband was raised in a rural setting and he is accustomed to the “thick” taste of the water, so he finds my habits a bit ridiculous. He was actually the first to baulk at my over consumption of the bottled water, and revolted by purchasing his own reusable water bottle that he now carries with him as we travel. The requirements for his bottle were that it had to have a mouth large enough to be able sterilize properly and to be a size that is easily manageable. I once bought a large insulated mug that donned the Kansas State University logo, but found that once it was filled with liquid it was just too difficult to handle. It was like carrying a 6 lb weight around with you. Consequently it sits in the cupboard, taking up space and a reminder of the petroleum that was consumed in the production of plastics.

It has taken some time, but I finally found that perfect water bottle for me. It has a double wall for better insulation, fits my hand, and holds about 16 ounces of liquid. A Britta Pitcher Filter has assisted with some of the taste issues I have and I am now keeping the filtered water in the fridge, instead of those plastic gallon jugs. Dear Daughter stills runs out the door with a sports drink in her hand, but 2 out 3 isn’t a bad start. I am sure she will jump on board when we find a solution for her.

We finally did it…..we have a compost bin. It is not the perfect bin, but I am so happy…it doesn’t matter the appearance. With our new motto of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, we refused to go out and purchase any new items to build my bin. Last year, our neighbor gave us chain link fencing that he had been storing for years. We had thought about building a dog pen with the fence, but could not agree on how or where it should be, so it sat in rolls in the back yard (part of OUR junk pile…lol). We had some landscape timbers that were originally used in a temporary gate built a few years ago, so with a few pulls of the hammer claw…the timbers were ready to cut down to size. Technically, this was built without spending any money, but to be realistic, the wood did…at one time…cost us money. Best I can figure…about $15, then add a dollar or so for the nails and I still have a compost bin for less than $18.
We will eventually add a divider in the middle of the bin, but for now, this works great!
A few photos of our new “cobbled” composte bin..

You can see a portion of the yukky old chicken house beside the bin….BUT…I NOW HAVE  COMPOST PILE! Can you tell I am excited?

Posted by anaj at 3/17/2008 10:21 AM | Add Comment

3.09.08

It’s here! It here!  Our last frost date is usually between the second and third weeks of April,  so (doin’ a happy dance) it’s time to start my seeds.
The first thing that I realized is that I did not have near enough recycled containers, nor enough seed starter. Normally, when I realized my poor planning, I would have just gone out and purchased new flats to use for my seedlings, but DH came to the rescue. From the depths of a deep, dark, storage building, he came in with his arms filled with brand new flats (with lids no less) and un-opened bags of soil and starter. Golly, he even found a couple of growlights that were still in storage from our last move.  I still need more starter medium, but I will wait for my next planned trip to town. With fuel at $3.19 a gallon, trips to town must be strategically planned and used to the fullest. A round trip is approximately $12.00 now. Makes shopping online and through catalogs a bit more attractive these days.
So far, my basement garden includes:

• Cherokee Purple Tomato
• Plum Lemon Tomato
• Big Jim Capsicum Peppers
• Sweet Chocolate Bell Peppers
• Early Yellow Crookneck Squash
• Cocozelle Squash
• Morning Glories- Pearly Gates, Flying Saucers Purple/White, Scarlett O’Hara
• Thai Basil
• Lemon Basil
• Rosie O’Day Alyssum
• Candy Cane Mix Azalea
• Cracker Jack Marigolds

I have so many more packets of seeds, that I most likely will not have room for all of them.  I went a little crazy with the catalogs this year.  The photo is not the best, but it gives you a little peek at the start of my basement garden.