Vegetarian Diet

Summer time is the best for those who are vegetarians - more fresh food for us to eat. For me, I am actually what you would call a Octo-Lacto Vegetarian because I still eat eggs and cheese (although I do not like milk.) I have a garden that consists of many plants, but due to my neighbors tree it has not been getting as much sun as I would have hoped. Therefore, my lettuce and my tomatoes are striving, but the rest are not. Luckily for me though I have my mom and her boyfriends garden that I can raid! Today, I was able to get an abundance of yellow and green beans. Most of which have been blanched and put in the freezer for storage. I love harvesting the veggies and being able to store them. That way I know I will be able to eat some cheaper - organic food during the winter months.

My favorite to store I would have to say is probably zucchini, because I love to make bread and other dishes with them ;) I thought that I would share one of my favorite recipes that I like to make that I experimented with until I got the exact flavor consistency that I love (It's quick and easy) :



2 small zucchini's - diced
2 medium sized tomatoes - diced
1 yellow pepper - diced
1 red pepper - diced
1 green pepper - diced
1/2 red onion - diced
3 sweet basil leaves - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 cup of lite Italian dressing
1/4 cup Feta cheese



1st I just cut all the veggies and throw them in a bowl, then the garlic and Basil. I add mix in the dressing, then throw it in the fridge for an hour, then add the Feta. Then you have a quick and easy dish on the side or for me a meal!!!

I have many salads that I make up in the summer, but this one is my fav! ENJOY!!!

'Tis the season for Zucchini!!

They start looking like this.

Then they get a little bigger, like this.

And finally, they look like this!

Mmm, zucchini.

The first two ended up sliced thin and sauted. Next? Maybe a zucchini bread or cake.

After that? Time to look for a few creative recipes and start filling the freezer!

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #6

Welcome to the Sixth Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are questions I received from a students from the University of Oregon, C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy in Grand Rapids, MI and others along with my answers! Please keep the questions coming as I am running out!

Question: Can you come to my school and show us some animals?
Name: Iain Age: 6
Grade: 1 School: C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy, Grand Rapids, MI

Answer: I would love to, unfortunately, in order for me to be able to come to your school I would have to have an educational permit that would allow me to do that. At this time, I do not hold that type of permit. But, when I do, I would love to come and show your school some animals!!!

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

Question: Could you explain what a person should do if they find a baby animal with no mother or father around?
Name: Chi Age: 32

Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Answer: It depends really on the situation. If the animal is injured then you would want to contact a rehabber or the local DNR. In the case of an uninjured animal that is not an orphan, you would want to leave it so that it's mommy and daddy can continue to care for it. Often with fawn's (as well as other baby animals) people think that they have been abandoned by their parents, when actually the mom and dad are just off getting food.

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

Question: If i can post a question, what is the most exotic animal you've ever taken care of?

Name: Sam Age: 20

Grade: College School: University of Oregon State

Answer: Being in Michigan, there aren't many animals that are considered to be "exotic" here in the wild. We have taken in foxes and bobcats before. Bobcats are actually more rare for us to see that the foxes.

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

Most of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page.

If you have children, are a student/adult or wildlife lover and you would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse. Include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)
Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)
Grade: (Grade Level of Student) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Up to 3 questions will be answered during each issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A, so it may take time for your question to be answered. Subscribe to GreenSpot-On's feed by Email to get the Issues & other posts straight to your inbox!New to GreenSpot-On: Videos! You can get to them by scrolling down on our main page and click on the videos or you can go to the following page to see our videos: Click here

Sincerely,
JRouse @ GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979
Become a Fan! GreenSpot-On Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreenSpot-On/76428392367
Twitter: @GreenSpotOn

Subscribe to our feed by Email from our mainpage for GreenSpot-On straight to your Email!

Children & Nature

I thought it might be neat to give a child's perspective. I decided to interview my oldest son who has been exposed to the outdoors and nature since he was a baby for this post.

~~~begin interview~~~

How old are you?
7

What are your favorite things to do in the summer?
Swimming, fishing, seeing baby turkeys, camping, helping my aunt feed animals.


When you go for walks in the woods, what did you see?
Deer, baby turkeys with their mommy's, butterflies, toads, dragonflies, white moths, deer tracks and poop on the deer trails, trees.


What did you learn?
There are little streams in the woods. There was lots of mud that the deer made tracks in. We found one deer antler that came off a deer that shed it's antlers. We didn't find the other one.


What should a kid do if they find a baby bird that is out of it's nest?
You should leave it where it is, because it's mommy and daddy might be out getting it food.


What will happen if a person touches a baby bird they found?
It could die, because it's mommy and daddy will not come back if the baby bird smells like people.


What should people do if they have trash and they aren't near a trash can?
Go find one or put it in your pocket till you can get to one. Ask mommy or daddy if you can recycle it.


Why do we want to keep our trash off the ground?
It's not good for the ground or animals.


Thank you for letting me interview you.
Thank you for interviewing me.


Would you like to say anything else to our readers?
Look at the videos and pictures that my mommy, my aunt and I took. They are cool!

~~~end of interview~~~

I would like to thank you readers for continuing to support GreenSpot-On by subscribing to our feed by email and other mediums, rating and reviewing us on Blogged and Networked Blogs (Facebook) and following us! We hope you enjoy our posts and continue to read them. Leave a comment, we look forward to hearing from you!


Sincerely,
Khrys @ GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979


New to GreenSpot-On: Videos! You can get to them by scrolling down on our main page and click on the videos or you can go to the following page to see our videos: Click here
Become a Fan! GreenSpot-On Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreenSpot-On/76428392367
Twitter: @GreenSpotOn
Subscribe to our feed by Email from our mainpage for GreenSpot-On straight to your Email!

What does "green" mean anyway?

Good morning readers! My name is Jenny (aka "BA") and I will be contributing to GreenSpot-On on Wednesdays. I have been interested in nature writing, ecocritcism, and various other environmental issues for some time now. I live in Bowling Green, OH (I KNOW! Very appropriate/ironic location considering the blog's main topics right!?) and I'm studying for my PhD in Communication Studies... and even though I've lived here over a year now, I still consider my heart to be in Michigan. That's where I grew up and spent so much time outdoors. I hope to relocate there after I've finished my dissertation. Other introductory information that you might like to learn about me can be gathered at my personal blog:

http://shouldieatthatorrollaroundnakedinit.blogspot.com/

or my professional website:

http://jennyarmentrout.weebly.com/

But enough about me... on to the elusive meaning of "green." I'm quite sure this notion has been considered by various other bloggers, environmentalists, etc., yet I'd also like to address it here. What does it mean to you? Are there varying levels of "green" living and/or "green" products? Is this just a lifestyle choice or a unobtainable goal?

These questions occupy my thoughts every time I throw something in the recycling bin outside my door. Different federal institutions as well as various corporations intend to impress us with the meanings and underlying reasons why we should go green or greener, but I'm always curious as to what/why green is framed in a certain way. Here are a few prominent links that attempt to impress upon the masses what "green" means:

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

http://green.org/index.php

http://www.greenhome.com/

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/

http://green.yahoo.com/

http://www.usgbc.org/

Out of these sites, which are legitimate, long-standing, and credible? Do they all stand to benefit or profit in some way? These are the types of questions that we should be asking and hopefully encourage our children to ask. I'd love to see how kids would respond! Here is a video of how adults (who, consequently, are also preaching about their sustainable products) conceive of the word "green":

What does green mean to you?

What does green mean to you? from Babe Elliott Baker on Vimeo.

Warren Wilson College Mountain Green 2009 Sustainability Conference

Anyway, these are just a few random thoughts. To me, the idea of going "green" is a means for us all to strive for. Even the most ridiculous stuff I throw away is seriously pored over, because I never know where the waste I create is going. Understandably "green" is a mindset that I believe can be adopted, yet should be thoroughly pondered. In my lifetime I've witnessed many ecological decisions rendered in terms of the "green" moralistic platform, but they are sometimes weaker than what were intended.

_________________________________________________
For next week's blog, I'd like to foreshadow with a quote from my dad: "Dirt is alive and it eats poop."

Cheers- BA

Give Peas a Chance!

Last year my pea plants looked like this. I made the mistake of planting them behind the beans. The beans hogged all, and I mean all, the sun.



This year I made several changes to the layout of my garden with the sun in mind. The main change moved tomatoes to the back with peppers in front of them and beans to the back with peas immediately in front of the bean trellis.
With those simple changes, the results have been great! It's the first year I've successfully grown peas. In the past, a tall tomato cage has been enough support. This year they've far overgrown the wire cages, leaving me wishing I'd set up a second trellis. Oh, well, next year. But the best part of successful pea plants is, of course, the peas.

Peas and their pods; I can't wait to cook supper!