Am I green enough? Let's look at a week in the life of Daisy and see.

Good: We had new windows put in on about a third of our house. One third was done a few years ago, this is the second batch, and the last (and most difficult) will happen when we can afford it. The new windows will be more energy efficient than the old, saving us money in the long run. Bad: the process generated lots of construction garbage.
Good: the foreman told me that the biggest pieces will go up on Craigslists because people use them for decorations and art.

Good: it's summer, school is out, and I'm driving less.
Bad: when I do drive, I drive a minivan.
Good: The minivan isn't bad as gas-guzzlers go, and it does carry our bike rack when we want to take the family bikes somewhere.

Good: The garden is growing!
Bad: The weeds loved the last rain, too.
Good: I put down a cardboard layer and weighted it with thick boards leftover from our old deck. This area, with nothing planted, will provide a dryer base for the zucchini plants as the vines grow and spread.
Bad: A few tomato plants don't look good. Leaves are spotted, lower leaves wilting.
Good: Most of the tomatoes are doing well. If these few don't make it, the crop will be okay. Next year, I'll plant them farther apart.
Good: The pea plants are thriving! They're looking bushy as all get out.
Bad? or just curious?: They're not hooking onto the wire cages I gave them. I thought peas liked to twine. Maybe not.

Bad: We use a commercial housecleaning service, and they came Tuesday. The carbon footprint is medium-high, with their specialty car taking them from house to house.
Good: They use environmentally friendly cleaning products (I checked).

Good: I haven't used any house water in the garden; the recent rains took care of that and filled the rain barrel as well. I already want a second barrel; three days of rain would have filled both!

Bad: I use a dryer, not a clothesline. I washed sheets and towels Thursday.
Good: I use dryer balls, not chemical dryer sheets, and I hang the towels overnight first to let them partially air dry. On the extra credit side, I sometimes compost the dryer lint. How's that for balance?

There are definite weak spots in my green-ness, but they balance out with the rest. When the farm market starts Saturday, I'll be there with my cloth bags in hand! I can't wait to get local and fresh foods for my family, and that's on the good side in many, many ways.

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #3

Welcome to the Third Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are new questions recieved from a student at Beachnau Elementary in Ravenna, MI and a couple more from some of GreenSpot-On's adult readers along with my responses to them...

Question: What kind of things do you do at your job?
Name: Jenna Age: 6
Grade: N/A School-City/State: Beechnau Elementary - Ravenna, MI

JRouse’s Answer: At my job I have a variety of tasks that I do during the workday and sometimes it can be a little overwhelming...

I start off the day cleaning out the cages (kennels) that the cats are kept in and make sure they have clean litter boxes and clean towels to lay on as well as fresh food and water. Throughout the day I answer the phone and wait on customers and take care of the animals that are in the clinic. In our exam room we have mice in a cage to help distract the cats a little (so they aren't focused so much on seeing the doctor - kind of like you with lollipops), and we also have canaries that are in our boarding facility.

The boarding area is where animals stay when their owners are out of town. We try and make the area as homelike as possible; we have a fountain with large goldfish in it, the canaries and an exercise area for them to play around in. I assist the doctor with appointments - this includes; taking the cats temperature, weighing them, trimming their nails, and writing down information for the doctor regarding the cats diet and history.

I also assist the doctor and hold the cats for blood draws and vaccinations. On days that we have surgeries, I help check the cat in for surgery and then set up the treatment area in our hospital for the procedures to take place. Myself as well as a couple other co-workers do this job, and we all help the doctor with various things during these procedures, like shaving the cats that are getting lion cuts (a type of haircut for a cat), giving it a bath, or prepping for the surgeries. But, the doctor is the only one who actually can perform these - we only assist!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: How do you get the supplies you need to rehab an animal? Are rehabbers funded by a group or is it donation based?
Name: Kim Keller-Rouse Age: Over 40
City/State: Mount Pleasant, MI

JRouse’s Answer: The supplies that are used for rehabbing usually are purchased by the rehabber (out of pocket) and that is the case for myself, as well as most rehabbers. Sometimes if you start an organization you are able to get donations, but most rehabbers are independent, therefore, all the expenses are out-of-pocket. This is one thing that people don't understand when you are taking in an animal. You can be picky about what you take in, because you may not be able to afford the animals care it needs (depending on what you have to spend and what you have time for). When an animal is in its nursing phase it can be costly, just in milk, syringes, etc. Then when they are weaned it may be less costly, but that all depends on the type of animal you have and what it eats!

Got a question for JRouse (me) on any animals listed or pictured on the site? E-mail jr.greenspot_on@khrysania.com to ask! Please include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)

Name: (First Name of Child) Age: (Age of Child)

Grade: (Grade Level of Child) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Sincerely,

JRouse

GreenSpot-On

Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

Have Questions? Presenting GreenSpot-On's Wildlife Q & A!

Parents/Guardians, Teachers, Wildlife Enthusiasts and GreenSpot-On Readers!

As someone who has done wildlife rehabbing, JRouse has worked with many different types of animals. She would like to give children and adults/wildlife lovers the opportunity to ask her questions about the animals she has helped or even questions about what she does and how!

They include:

Fawns

Osprey

Red Fox

Canadian geese

Domestic geese

Pigeons

Pheasants

Squirrels: Red, Black, Gray Tree, Fox and Flying

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Barred Owl

Great Horned Owl

Screech Owl

Red-Tailed Hawk

Domestic Cats

Some of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page. If you have children or students or if you adults would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse in the following format:

Question: (Your Question)

Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)

Grade: (Child’s Grade) School/Location: (Child’s School Name and City/State or your location)

JRouse will answer up to 3 of these questions once a week as she receives them. All answers will be posted to GreenSpot-On with the original question in the format above. We at GreenSpot-On hope you will take this opportunity to teach your child something new about the wildlife around us. Thank you for joining us today!

Sincerely,

GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

Facebook Fan Page: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17981

Follow us on Twitter, Networked Blogs, by RSS Feed and other site by going to the mainpage of our blog and linking from there!

Nature's Surprises

I love history... I love genealogy. As a part of my research I go to cemeteries and photograph gravestones to preserve them and post them to on-line graveyards. When I was younger I spent alot of time in cemeteries, they were beautiful and serene. A great place to think. It wasn't until I was about 19 that I decided to photograph them for genealogy purposes, which brings me to my tale.

A couple years ago I happened to be visiting family in Mount Pleasant, MI. When I am in a town, village or city I try to get to the cemetery to take photo's of veterans gravestones. Especially the older stones and Civil War Veterans. While there I went to a beautiful Catholic Cemetery called Calvary Cemetery that has beautiful stones and many statues, alot of clergy were buried there. At one point I began to photograph a group of gravestones that was a family plot that had about 9 graves. There were lily's or some type of flower that was planted in front of two particular gravestones that hadn't bloomed yet. They struck me as particularly beautiful that day.

I looked through my viewfinder, zoomed in and prepared to take the pictures. Always trying to get the best shot of the full gravestone. I had originally planned on taking at least three shots of the one stone with the flowers. I steadied myself, took a deep breath and slowly let it out (to make sure I was holding the camera steady). To my complete surprise, a head popped up behind the flowers and scared me half to death! I jumped back and let out a shriek, in a complete panic as I have never had something pop out at me like that while photographing stones before (I had zoomed in to the stone, had taken one picture already, so through my viewfinder it was a lot closer and in my face). My heart was pounding in my ears. You simply don't expect that kind of excitement in a cemetery!

What was this thing that scared me so badly, to the point of near cardiac arrest you ask? I did a double take and stared in awe. It was a fawn, not very old and cute as can be! It still had it's spots! After the initial shock wore off and the idea that something living scared me in a cemetery (It should be the complete opposite like a zombie, right). I took in my surroundings and determined that it's mother must of left her baby in the fenced in cemetery to keep it safe while she went for food. There was no sign of her whatsoever. I stood in one spot while the fawn got up on it's four legs and began to move away as I had intruded upon it's safe and shaded spot. Needless to say I had quite a laugh at my own expense! How silly I felt!

My intention was not to scare the fawn more than I already had (or like it had scared me) and to not get close to it so it's mother would come back for it. It ran a few feet and then began walking around the cemetery when it realized that I was not going to follow. I stayed glued in my spot and began to take photo's of the little one walking around. This went on for at least 45 minutes. Eventually the fawn seemed to tire. It climbed a small hill near a large cross in the middle of the cemetery and hid in the comfort of the bushes that were in front of it.

After that, I lost sight of him/her and decided to move and finish my photographing. Not before I took a picture of the cross the fawn was sheltering near and went on my way.

I have chosen two quotes for you, both of which I feel are appropriate. They are:

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." - Anne Frank (1929–1945), German-Jewish refugee, diarist. The Diary of a Young Girl, entry for Feb. 23, 1944 (1947, trans. 1952).

"There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story." - Linda Hogan, Chicksaw poet and novelist (quoted in Listening to the Land, edited by Derrick Jensen) http://www.nativewiki.org/Linda_Hogan

Sincerely,
Khrysania @ GreenSpot-On

Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979
Facebook Fan Page: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17981
Follow us on Twitter, Networked Blogs, by RSS Feed and other site by going to the mainpage of our blog and linking from there!

Potential! This garden has potential!

A few weeks ago, my garden was just a deep brown color, waiting for seeds and seedlings. Now it has little hints of green here and there.

Peas and beans! The peas already look healthier than they did a year ago.

Cauliflower and (maybe) broccoli emerge, seeking sun and water.

I'm still not sure if I bought broccoli or cauliflower. Maybe they're cross pollinate and I'll get brocco-flower. Cauli-coli?

But the bunny food section? I must get those maple tree seeds out of this area.
It's a lettuce bed, not a helicopter pad!

Doing more in the existing garden space

Doing more with less in a school setting can lead to burnout. In the garden, I'm focusing on doing more with what I already have available instead of doing more with less. My goal: feel productive, not overwhelmed.

Compost, of course. I'm adding paper this year, that which can not be recycled due to food residues. Husband puts in the grass clippings, I add some of the soiled bunny litter box contents, and of course any suitable kitchen scraps. The grass clippings keep the temperature hot and help decompose the rest.

The rain barrel is already a success. I use it to rinse the litter boxes, rinse the emptied compost bucket, water the rhubarb, and more. We've only used the outside tap when we need the high water pressure for washing the lawnmower.

Tomatoes have new supports, supports that I already owned. The bean trellis is the same one I've used for years. I'm using a few old tomato cages for pepper plants and snap peas, and I think I'll sell the rest at our June rummage sale. I really have too many. Hmmm...if La Petite would wash and paint them, maybe they'd be worth a little more. Maybe?

All this productivity with minimal investment helps my morale. I feel frugal for reusing and repurposing. I feel accomplished for getting the garden in and tending it. I feel thorough for doing my research and nurturing the tomatoes to do so well. But lock your doors; if my zucchini is too prolific, I'll have to get creative in giving it away.