Nature and Gardening Stuff

We have a Great Egret hanging out by the wet area in the field (big white bird, a type of heron). Fearless, a few folks have been out to take pictures. The tractors don't scare it away either.

Occasionally one of the Blue Herons (bigger tan an egret) comes by -- my FIL William has seen the both there at the same time, although generally the blue prefers to hang out by the brook, which skirts the hay field.

Second haying has started. The hay from the second haying is called 'rowen', and is pronounced "raow - enn", so, not like the tree.

We cut down the oats but it was hard to do because of all the rain we had this year. We think it made the oats leggy so they wouldn't stand up properly but instead got knocked down by wind and more rain. We still haven't made a thresher either, so threshing may have to be done the old-fashioned way, with a flail... Still, for all that we have a fair amount of oats to work with... worth trying growing it again next year.

A female goldfinch was hanging out amidst my garden lanterns on the front porch yesterday. ??

A couple of days ago there was a really, really large raptor flying up overhead. I meant to get my binoculars out to look, but forgot. Was definitely not a turkey vulture. Someone spotted a bald eagle on the other side of town by West Road. That's a few miles away but I wonder... we know they hang out at this end of the valley because last year we saw a pair of them at Mt. Toby, down by Sunderland. Plus the sound of the larger raptors is pretty distinctive as well (not the screaming sound one often hears paired with eagles on tv shows -- nope, that's from a smaller bird but the tv people thought it sounded more "appropriate").

Did loads of weeding yesterday around the pumpkins and squash. Harvested some summer squash and one delicata to try out. Have to try harvesting the acorn squash today I think -- volunteer plant from last year. William doesn't care for them, so we'll be acquiring those for our foodstuffs.

I need to clear a space in the pantry and hang a curtain over the space to keep it cool, I think. Squash are supposed to be stored at 50-70F and it's still warmer than that up here.

Although we haven't needed to use the AC since last month, just the ceiling fans sometimes. I was looking at the box for the AC, which is still sitting in the livingroom, and thinking it was just as well we never got around to putting the box away because L will probably be packing the thing up again soon. While we definitely have our uncomfortably hot and humid days up here, it isn't nearly as bad or as often as down in the valley. Being at 700 feet higher elevation does have its good points.

Peak Textile?

Peak Textiles -- basic descriptions and links to 3 full articles on how cost and type of clothing is being affected by increase in fuel costs. Yes, I know oil is going down right now, and yet the various textile industries are having problems -- like, people are spending more on food and gas so they aren't buying lots of new clothing. And considering the quality of a lot of off-the-rack clothing these days, who can blame them?

First article is on the industry/large scale outlook (int'l). Second is on re-using older clothing to make new clothing (US featured, Orion magazine). Third is also sort of on that, with a view to reducing the amount of clothing that ends up in the dump (UK).

I've done some repairs and patching of work pants of course... around the farm things don't have to be beautiful. But I imagine some more fashionable patching and piecing could be made to work for the office and/or social scene. Meantime, L has a pair of suit pants that got damaged and I'm toying with trying to turn them into a vest... hey, the pockets are already made!

Wood Stove, Insulating, Squashes, Bisphenol A

We finally bought a woodstove. It will be ready for pickup, along with the floor protector to go under it, next week. Would have been less expensive if we'd done this at the beginning of summer, but life got busy. But at least we're getting one. When we talked to the stove guy today he was telling us about a conversation with his supplier... by the time the Big E starts up next month, the supplier is figuring that they'll primarily be exhibiting and taking orders -- for next year.

We're getting a Dutchwest (small) by Vermont Castings. Low emission, efficient, should be just right for the apartment.

Meantime, more cleaning and making space both for the stove (easy) and for some indoor wood storage (less easy). And more work on insulating, of course. Got stalled on my plans for Southwest because I can't find some of the stuff I know I have around here somewhere... will have to improvise because I don't want to go shopping. And of course the more we insulate, the less fuel we'll need.

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Got a piece of gardening junk mail today, but it was handy because it had a photo of different types of squash on the front, including acorn and delicata. So since I already know the correct size for the acorn squash, I now know the correct size for the delicata. And both area ready for picking! Which means....

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(From Treehugger.com):
The Federal Drug Administration, responsible for determining the safety of what Americans put in their bodies, has looked at the dangers of Bisphenol A and concluded that "adequate margin of safety exists for BPA at current levels of exposure from food contact uses.” Their study acknowledges that the stuff gets into our bodies: "FDA estimates that BPA exposure from use in food contact materials in infants and adults is 2.42 µg/kg bw/day and 0.185 µg/kg bw/day, respectively." but also states that the "FDA has determined the appropriate no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for its assessment of BPA to be the NOAEL for systemic toxicity of 5 mg/kg bw/day (5000 µg/kg bw/day) derived from two multigenerational rodent studies."

The 5 mg/kg bw/day standard was set by the EPA and is questioned by many groups as being way too high. The two multigenerational rodent studies that so impressed the FDA were sponsored by the American Plastics Council.

IMNSHO (In my not so humble opinion)

Lots of folks talk about living "green", but a lot of the "solutions" are expensive. Want to know the easiest and cheapest ways to green your life? Anyone who's read my LJ for a while has probably seen at least some of this here before, but I need to get some thoughts down for a possible newspaper article or series of articles, so if you don't want to see this stuff again, scroll on by.


Don't buy lots of new stuff. Whether it's cheapo cr*p or "green" recycled/sustainably grown/etc. stuff. Use what you have, re-purpose things, buy from used clothing stores (there are ones for career clothing in some places, even), get things through Freecycle, etc.

If you need to buy new, and sometimes you do, buy things of quality -- things that will last. If it's clothing, try to pick classic styles that will stand the test of time. That's one my mom tried to educate me about, although I do still fall prey to the occasional spiffy /trendy thing... just not as often as I used to :D Even then, they're usually things that will last several years.

Use less fuel for travel. Combine errands when using a car, walk/bike when you can, take public transport if it's available in your area. Even if you only cut down on a few trips by car per week, that's a Good Thing(tm).


Buy what you'll eat, eat what you buy. Don't let food spoil or go past its expiration date. Leftovers are not the food of the devil. Maybe they can be combined with something else (or each other). Maybe each family member will have something different to eat - it's not the end of the world. Food thrown out is money thrown out. Also, at least parts of most commercially bought food can't be recycled or composted, so then the waste also fills up the already full dumps.

Turn out the lights. This one's not quite so obvious. Turn out lights if you're leaving a room and won't be back within 20 minutes. Use CFLs primarily for lights that stay on for a while, but use incandescents for lights that aren't used often and/or for very long. CFLs use more energy than incandescents when being turned on...

Get up early and use more daylight. Sunlight and windows are your friends.

Insulate. Layers on the walls and floor are good -- wall hangings and rugs -- maybe even rugs on top of rugs, as long as the rugs aren't a tripping or slipping hazard. Best way to save money on fuel is to not have to use it.

In cold weather, wear layers. Keeping the heat lower in the home is more bearable if one is dressed warmly. Some people can keep the thermostat lower than others, but I've found that wool socks & good slippers, long johns under the slacks/leggings/skirt, and a few layers on top work for me. Vests are a favorite for me because I can stay warmer without feeling like a stuffed animal (three layers on the torso but only two on the arms). Fingerless gloves are great, indoors or out. People lose a lot of heat through their feet and their heads, so in addition to the socks and slippers, a scarf or hat can be useful. With some work and creativity, you can probably create a new fashion statement :D

I like scarves too, although for indoors a light silk one is all that's really needed -- real silk is great stuff -- beautiful, lasting, and possible to get or make for not too much, if you hunt around a bit.

Other heating methods. Make tea or hot cocoa. Hot soups are good too, for heating from the inside. Baking bread and then leaving the oven door ajar for the residual heat to keep warming the room for a while is another good way to "heat" your home. Candles - double for lighting in some cases (remember, don't leave flames unattended). I know people who've used them this way, to supplement the little heat for which they were using their furnace.

Get up and move around periodically, to get the blood circulating. If you want the movement to have purpose, spread house chores throughout the day. Throw in some light exercise while listening to some favorite music, or while singing a favorite tune.

Have friends over, or go hang with some friends. People produce, on average, 100 watts of heat.

Go to the library (does this sound familiar? I suggested it for getting free AC in hot weather...). Great place to hang out, read, maybe do a bit of knitting or crocheting. On rare occasions, maybe the mall or theatre... Years ago, when I lived with a bunch of friends in Northampton, we ran out of fuel on a Sunday. Wasn't kept track of or the gauge got stuck, I don't remember. Our choices were to pay extra for a Sunday delivery, or wait until Monday for a regular delivery. Gas (carpooling), dinner and a movie were about the same as penalty charge, so we opted to wait on the delivery and go to the mall, where the cinema was located. Then we all bundled up for bed that night -- it was chilly in the morning, but quite manageable. In general I'd still rather go to a library, but we had a good time that night :) And malls do usually have benches and at least one public eating area, so if the mall is closer one can always bring a book or knitting and hang out (preferably with friends -- more fun that way!).