Heck Yeah Conservation...
& stuff like that...
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Free Peach Tree Leaf Fungus
We’ve got ourselves a frugal fruiting false! The free peach tree I scored is sicker than a dog. I have removed most of the leaves, and next thing to do is find an organic fungicide.
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Mutant Seafood: Not just in Springfield, USA anymore.
Mutant Crabs Showing Up in the Gulf
BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may be related to the eyeless shrimp, clawless crabs and other deformed animals now found in the Gulf, reported Al Jazeera. Fishers and marine biologists believe tremendous amounts of highly toxic chemicals may have had a negative effect on creatures that are constantly bathed in them, contrary to what BP asserts.
Al Jazeera quoted numerous fisherman who had pulled warped crustaceans from the waters where nearly 5 million barrels of oils spewed forth after the 2010 explosion that cost 11 men’s lives on the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
- “I’ve seen the brown shrimp catch drop by two-thirds, and so far the white shrimp have been wiped out,” Keath Ladner, a seafood processor in Hancock County, Mississippi told Al Jazeera. “The shrimp are immune compromised. We are finding shrimp with tumors on their heads, and are seeing this everyday.”
- Tracy Kuhns and her husband Mike Roberts, commercial fishers from Barataria, Louisiana, found eyeless shrimp and: “We are also finding eyeless crabs, crabs with their shells soft instead of hard, full grown crabs that are one-fifth their normal size, clawless crabs, and crabs with shells that don’t have their usual spikes … they look like they’ve been burned off by chemicals.”
- “We also seeing eyeless fish, and fish lacking even eye-sockets, and fish with lesions, fish without covers over their gills, and others with large pink masses hanging off their eyes and gills,” Darla Rooks, a lifelong fisherperson from Port Sulfur, Louisiana said. (via discoverynews)
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2012 Garden…go!
Here’s to hoping the Hammen Home Produce is more productive in 2012 than it was in 2011!
Over the weekend the Mr and I got a truck load of Garden Mix from Great Western Supply in Tenino, WA. This mix is 1/3 dirt & 2/3 mushroom compost from Ostrom’s Mushroom Farm, just up the street from us…which I find funny, because we had to drive 20 miles total to get compost that is produced less than a mile from our house…but at least it’s local-ish. By having our good friend’s truck available to us, we saved ourselves a $55 delivery fee…so our nutrient rich soil only put us out $16+gas!!
After unloading a full truck of soil with only one shovel and one hoe (long story about how we break things and haven’t figured out how to fix them) we were content to let the soil sit for another 24 hours. I have been suffering from some muscle spasms in my lower back…sort of unexplained but most likely roller derby related…and I want to try to take it easy, key word being “try”.
The very next day I opted to skip church and go to derby practice…probably not the best choice for my back but it ended up being good in the long run. I had practice, ran some errands, and then tried to make it to church for our annual plant sale…I had put my name and phone number on a plant…but by the time I got to church everyone was leaving and my plant was gone! Sheesh! I had been babying that plant all week, dropping in for watterings twice…and gone from under my nose. Looking a little sad, one of the leaders of the sale offered up a peach tree to me for free…no one wanted it! But of course as I head out to look at it’s condition (because I didn’t remember a peach tree from my watterings…so I know I neglected it) another couple is saying they will take it….Nooooo! I’ve got to admit…my face got more pathetic looking and it might have been intentional…long story…I got that tree…my efforts were not wasted.
I took my free plants, yes plural, as a couple other sad babies remained unwanted…and got them home to soak for the afternoon. Everything perked right up again…then it rained…so they are going in the ground tonight like happy little clams.
I could not stand to let the garden sit, untouched, another day, so after lunch I got my butt out in the dirt and started plotting things out. I went back to regular zucchini, which I have in the sunniest spot this year, alternating with pac choi. We like our choi small, so if it doesn’t thrive we won’t be hurt. Leaf lettuce and arugula are growing to the right of the zucchini. Bush beans are planted behind the zucchini, and our winter growth are in the shadiest part of the plot, brocoverde and collards. I intend to keep our tomatoes and peppers in planters again this year. They did fine last year, just needed more calcium in their feeding regimen. I had a bit of blossom losses before I knew how to fix that…eggshells!
After all that work, I even managed to put my scarecrows in the ground and cover the tastiest of seeds with black plastic to keep our murder of crows out! Can’t wait to get home and see how that worked out…and to take a picture…like I said the rain and kept raining into today…so timing was perfect in every way. I could not be more pleased with our weekend efforts!
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More from WAMU! (via Remembering Bluegrass Pioneer Earl Scruggs)
I can’t believe I used to hate listening to this every Sunday morning on WAMU…on our way to church…it used to drive me nuts…but now I find it all so soothing.
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An Age Old Question…
How does one get along with your very different neighbors? And how do you convey your values for your space without coming across as passive aggressive or worse?
You guessed it, hubs and I got new neighbors this past weekend. The 2 story next door to us had been up for rent/sale since November 2011, and it is just beginning to be filled with new tenants. We aren’t sure if the new residents are owners or renters as of yet, we’ve only exchanged polite waves and witnessed unpacking. There have been 4 vehicles coming and going from the home, a huge Dodge Van, Ford Explorer, Cadillac, and Ford Econoline Van; and Saturday between unloading one of the residents paused to run their quad around the backyard and through the neighborhood a few times.
I hate to be bothered by this, because it seems so very petty or menial, but then I return to the understanding that my home space is my place of refuge from the cruel anonymity of the outside world. Do my new neighbors understand that their toys create a tremendous noise that is disruptive and bothersome? Do they even care? Do they plan to make this sort of noise on a regular basis?
It is bad enough that my neighbor across the street brings his semi-truck home, parks almost in front of my mail box, occasionally affecting delivery, and tunes up his Harley every other weekend…but now…right next door more internal combustion engines a plenty! Maybe I was just raised dancing the line of necessity and luxury, but never gauche or excessive. My family had 2 passenger cars and one pickup truck or van during most of my life. Those who needed transportation drove what worked for them…a 4 cylinder fuel efficient vehicle…and my father still bicycled to work…because driving 2 miles on a sunny day felt sinful! A life of excess feels so dirty to me…and not just mentally, I am also thinking of emissions. But now I am passing judgement, maybe each of those V8s are useful to their owners…I don’t know just yet…and judging isn’t productive anyway.
So I think what I am struggling with is, how do I present our values in a way that is not offensive or the cause of irreconcilable differences? How does one ask their neighbor to refrain from using those off-road vehicles in the .25 acre backyard without coming across as uptight and un-fun?
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Glow-in-the-dark mushroom rediscovered after 170 years
Spotted once in 1840 and then never seen again, one of the world’s most bioluminescent mushrooms has been rediscovered deep in the Brazilian wilderness. -
HOW TO CREATE MOSS GRAFFITI.
(Source: och-annie)
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Because they just make life look so much more fun!
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Keystone pipeline to be linked to U.S. highway bill: Boehner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers will try to force the Obama administration to approve the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by attaching it to a highway bill that Congress will consider next month, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Sunday.
President Barack Obama earlier this month denied TransCanada’s application for the oil sands pipeline, citing lack of time to review an alternative route within a 60-day window for action set by Congress.
Republicans have since been looking for a vehicle to resurrect the $7 billion project, and Boehner said that would be a House Republican energy and highway bill.
“If (Keystone) is not enacted before we take up the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, it will be part of it,” Boehner said on ABC’s “This Week” news program.
Environmentalists and some Democrats oppose Keystone, citing higher greenhouse gas emissions, while most Republicans say it would create needed jobs.
Republicans in the Senate also plan to introduce a Keystone bill. Some Senate Democrats back the pipeline, but its passage is not guaranteed in the body.
Parts of the House Republican plan, such as opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, stand little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate.
Attaching Keystone to a pending deal to extend payroll tax cuts for workers, which has greater bipartisan backing than the highway bills, is another vehicle Republicans are considering.
Another goddamn rider-based hostage situation. Good to know that the politics of 2012 is going to be identical to 2011, as if there were any doubt.
Buckle in folks, it’s going to be a long year of this bullshit.
-Joe
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What goes in the ocean goes in you. Recent studies estimate that fish off the West Coast ingest over 12,000 tons of plastic a year. Find out how you can help turn the tide on plastic pollution at www.surfrider.org/rap.
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(Source: bodyless-soul)
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Thai Inspired Autumn Soup
Seasoned Roasted Butternut Squash
4 Tbsp EVOO
2 Lemongrass Stalks - cut into large pieces
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 Chopped WallaWalla Onion
2 Cloves Garlic Chopped
4-5 Cups Vegetable Broth
Several Pcs Dehydrated Mango
1 Can Coconut Milk
1 pkg Hard Tofu - cut into large pieces
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
1/4 Cup Almonds Toasted or Shredded Coconut
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease a baking pan with 2 Tbsp EVOO. Half your butternut squash, remove the innards, and season with salt & pepper. Bake from 30-45 mins depending on size. While baking squash work on other prep. Check if squash is done with a fork; it should easily poke through the squash to the pan.
In large sauce pan heat 2 Tbsp EVOO, heat onion, garlic, & ginger until onion is soft but not brown.
Bring broth to a boil, drop in lemongrass, and cooked onions & garlic. Take 1/2 Cup of broth from the soup pan and pour into the sauce pan. Place Tofu and Mango pieces in to steam, cover; flip Tofo as needed so that it does not stick. In a small sauce pan begin toasting Almonds or shredded Coconut on low heat until fragrant.
Cut up fully cooked squash carefully removing all bits of the outer skin. Place squash and mango pieces into the soup pan. Pour in full can of coconut milk. Once Tofu is lightly browned turn off the heat.
Using a hand-held mixer blend squash soup until smooth, careful not to splash hot liquid with blender. I wouldn’t say this if I hadn’t done it…half a dozen times. Salt & Pepper to taste, add in Curry Paste; carefully blend again.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with Tofu and Toasted Almonds…and try not to freak out on the first bite. You may or may not be able to hand the awesomeness!
I reserved some seeds from my squash…so hopefully they will be a nice addition to my garden for 2012! Let’s just hope I get the chance to make it again before then…yummm!
This soup was inspired by those of Vanessa Rosage, on her www.purehunger.com blog, but I wanted some excuse to have Thai tea with dinner…so I gave my soup the flare it needed to fit my palate.
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Fall Harvest Kickoff!!
It’s been an amazing 2 weeks to start off fall, I must brag. I have participated in so many things that have reminded me how much I love this time of year.
My good friend Kristen dragged me to the Puyallup Fair, paying my way, with her Alaska fishing money burning a hole in her pocket…and I had a fantastic time.
We pet the goats and sheep, throwing all posted caution to the wind…and we smelled like lanolin by the time we reached the newborn piglettes!
We visited with a very sick Heather Keller, a friend and onwer of a curly horse ranch in Olympia, and saw some of the more odd-ball humans and animals; hedgehog, emu, zhorse, zonkey, mule & mini-ponies.
From there we looked at youth craft competition itmes, giant produce, sampled some dark honey, stumbled upon some classic carnies, and made our way to the elephant ear, scone & taffy stands.
Last weekend I drug my husband and step-son to Hunter’s Family Farm here in Olympia, for the corn maze, a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch, and more farm animal fun. I found out that my step-son doesn’t trust llamas, that I find the smell of boars repulsive, and my husband pretty much loves that shit if you just get him out of the house.
We walked out of Hunters with 3 nice pumpkins and some corn stalks for fall decorations. Going on opening day was the right choice. The Saturday crowd was minimal and we really lucked out with good weather! I couldn’t ask for more!
The following day my roller derby team met at the home of an awesome urban farmer, Z. The space she and her partner have in West Olympia is very inspiring. Their back yard is half the size of ours and completely shaded, but by fruit trees, under which they have removed any sod and replaced it with wood chips. They have a small movable pen for their rooster, and a fixed, fully enclosed pen for their laying hens. All of the sun they get hits their front yard, and they have nice raised beds throughout, pathways are strategically left in between. It is obvious that they have not dropped a huge expense on rain barrels or composting products…everything is basic, reused, or hand built. Along the back of the house they have built an overhang and roofed with clear plastic corrugated sheeting…expanding their workspace, from a small tool shed, during the wet winter months.
I am so energized after everything I experienced in the 2 weeks prior…I can’t wait to start implementing everything I have seen. This weekend I hope to construct a scarecrow for our garden and begin composting the plant debris left in this year’s failed attempt at gardening.
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We need more of this in the 21st century!
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You ever wonder why certain groups seek to control media and methods of mass communication? Why when events take place, certain images are available on the TV 24/7 and others you have to go on a hunt for on the internet? You should…..Laban Yuelgye (via birdbathcabal)
The blog title is a total nod to my dad, who introduced conservation to me at a very early age, and who also hates the phrase, "stuff like that." 