hot hot hot
It’s hotter than blazes outside and still too hot inside to do much of anything. We were at 104 yesterday and look to top that today!! woo baby! I’m keeping everything watered outside but my basil is droopy. Basil can be somewhat tempermental…it wants it warm but not HOT. Once the new moon is here I’ll transplant it into a much larger pot or directly into the garden. My other basil plants are in the garden but I like to keep one plant potted so I can coax it into holding on into the early fall. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
I saw my first butterfly of the season last week in my backyard and several more this week. Their arrival every year lets me know I’m doing something good outside. Butterflies in the gardens/yards tell us that some of the balance is shifting back to a chemically free zone. I saw more of them when I was a child, when lawns weren’t abused by weekly visits from the "lawn manicurist" and weeds in the yard were accepted.
Speaking of chemically free zones…did anyone watch the LiveEarth concerts? I cried through much of it. Melissa Etheridge gave a very inspiring talk during her song Wake Up. wow! If you haven’t heard it, Google it and listen. I understand how daunting a task it can be to navigate through this world with as little harm done to mother earth as possible, and the feeling like what we do isn’t enough. BUT, one small change made by each of us is HUGE and it will impact us all in a profound manner. Just find one thing that you can change about your daily life, just one. Once that becomes habit for you then pick another….and so on. It can be as small as recycling the toilet paper cardboard rolls instead of tossing them in the garbage. Then, move onto building a compost bin that you can toss the cardboard into, in turn giving you some amazing "black gold" to ammend your soil with. These are just some examples but you get the point. I’m doing more too. I seem to have slipped back into the horrible habit of using paper napkins. gah!! As an accomplished seamstress I have NO EXCUSE and should be downstairs sewing some very easy napkins. If I took a few hours I could kick out a few dozen. So, if you need some encouragement or support, leave a comment and I’ll gladly support you in kicking your habit as I’m kicking mine! We can do so much in our own little worlds.
Using cotton hankies (instead of kleenex) and reusable cloth grocery bags are two more, easy (& relatively inexpensive) changes that the average person can make. And, for non-squeemish women, reusable cloth pads are also a relatively inexpensive (esp. if you know how to sew at all) change to make. Replacing your teflon (when it wears out, not just for the heck of it) with cast-iron (which’ll last just about forever & a day) and/or stainless steel. Re-using glass jars instead of buying more plastic (even if it’s just to carry your water & leftovers in, to work), and of course using real dishes & silverwear instead of paper & plastic disposable.
Good luck with your changes!!!! I’m working on the DH & FIL about composting. I’d like to get into it, the FIL is almost persuaded, and the DH thinks it’ll stink to high heaven & isn’t up for it at all.
Comment by Kati — July 13, 2007 @ 4:33 pm
im going to start using my paper grocery bags as my garbage bags instead of plastic bags. its better for the environment AND cheaper!! ill have to take out the garbage more often but thats ok. ive started composting as well but im just not yet ready to give up the paper towels and tampons.
Comment by angela — July 15, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
We compost, use canvas and re-used paper bags at the store. We use the plastics to line waste baskets and recycle those that we don’t need. It hasn’t been incredibly hot here, but it is so dry. This is reminiscent of the years I was pregnant with my daughters: 1988 and 1991. It was 104 at the time my oldest was born (her 19th bd was yesterday).
How’s your daughter doing abroad?
Comment by debra — July 15, 2007 @ 11:03 pm