Day 82 (Or: What's That Chicken Doing?)

Maybe you don't remember this, but earlier this year (day 65, if we're counting, and we are) I pledged to do some things in the garden this year. Several things. Things like: Build raised beds to grow veggies in; plant fruit trees; raise chickens; raise BEES; and several other home-steadish things.

What actually happened:

I bought 5 fruit trees (two apples - a yellow and a red - a pear tree, a cherry tree and a plum tree) and planted them in order that the poor, pathetic, mangy neighborhood deer herd (yep, it's a whole fuzzy Bambi family) might have a nice midnight snack. And they did. Repeatedly.

I bought tomatoes (the deer ate them), and basil, pumpkin, cucumber, lettuces, and strawberries (the slugs ate them) and didn't plant them at all. By this point, the deer had decimated the fruit trees, and I'd basically given up on life.

We adopted a murdering chicken. Yes. There's a henicidal maniac bird living in my yard. And she's old, so there aren't any eggs, if you're thinking that there might be a marginal pay-off for adopting said bird. Henrietta (isn't that a sweet name for a killer chicken?) was banished from her hen-house after taking the Top Hen status one step too far. She killed a fellow chicken, and now she lives in our yard. Alone. And she crows (yep, she's top hen) every morning, and doesn't give us eggs, and poops everywhere. But she IS very pretty. So we sort of like her.

Also, GOOD NEWS! The quack grass has now invaded every last tiny corner of my life.

On the UP side, my new neighbors planted the MOST productive, verdant, healthy and incredible front lawn. Boy-child says the neighbors lawn makes him angry. I caught him lying in it the other morning.

I'm really glad Fall's upon us. I don't think I can take much more of this.

Day 82 down, which means that I have 918 more days to put up some deer fencing.

http://oneofonethousanddays.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-65-or-revolution.html

Day 78 (Or: No Calorie Chocolate? Yes, Please!)

Did you know that there's such thing as CHOCOLATE COSMOS? It's a flower. And it smells like chocolate. Really!

This is what it looks like:

Image via

It looks like chocolate, too! Lovely! And I happen to know that Cosmos are silly-easy to grow.

So, anybody who knows me and has followed my blogginess, knows that I adore chocolate (and wine, and brie). That same person (there may or may not be more than one of you) has probably wondered if there's a better decision to be made, when one is in a kerfuffle, than burying ones-self in chocolate. And, although I'm being coy, here, what I'm really trying to say, is that I've got a chocolate problem. A big one.

Well! Not any more! Day 78 of One Thousand Days, over-indulging in SMELLING chocolate, and LOOKING at chocolate can't be all that bad, can it? No. No it's not. I've decided, and I'm not running this one by Holly for approval.

And to top it off, as I was rabbiting down the rabbit hole of the internet, I discovered THE most delightful gardening site, Heavy Petal, with an amazing post about all kinds of chocolate flowers. Weeee!!

Andrea Bellamy, the genius behind Heavy Petal, posts about the West Coast garden, and lovingly highlights foodses, decor and other gardening delights (such as CHOCOLATE FLOWERS!) Take a peek. You'll like it!

78 down, 922 to go.

Day 75 (Or: Traci Intelligently Rants)

Over here at One Thousand Days, occasionally we recognize that other people might have something important to contribute to the world, and that we aren't the only ones doing Things.  


Traci Adams, a high-school friend and Facebook buddy, and all around highly intelligent girl, can be found photographing lovely things, spending time with loved ones and perusing the natural world.  And when she's not doing one of those things, she's paying keen attention to social and cultural issues, ideas and yes, even memes.  Who doesn't love a good, relevant meme?


Anyhoo, I'm glad she let me re-post her recent status update, which is FAR more than a status update, as these things sometimes go.  Traci's "teaser" posts, get me thinking, which is a good thing.  Thank you, Traci Adams, for intelligently ranting your way into Day 75 of One Thousand Days!


Editor's note:  I've added links to some great resources for doing exactly what Traci suggests...

Today’s thoughts -

Complain, complain, that is what we do….

I am guilty of this too…. 

But the answers are simple (ok, relatively simple)…

Not enough money? Not enough time? Food becoming scary? Etc……..

1. Buy less crap = more money. We as a generation were programmed by advertising to think we “need” SO much, but… we don’t. NO ONE needs a new cell phone every year, that is just STUPID. No one needs a new wardrobe 4 times a year. No one needs SO much stuff.

2. Grow some food = more money and better health. I am not saying everyone has room for a huge garden and few people have the time and knowledge to survive on what they grow. But supplement your diet with whatever you can, and another benefit, gardening really does relax you and is rewarding.

3. Eat less meat (or none, your call) = more money. Alas the American love affair with meat has gone out of control. The cost to the animal’s health (ie: your health in the long run), the fuel consumption, the food to feed them…. Who wants to eat a zombie cow that is only alive because the medication they are giving keeps them alive?

4. Drive less (or not at all) = more money. I am SO guilty of this…. I LOVE my car….. all of the reasons for driving less are too obvious to state.

5. Turn off electric powered things like lights when you aren’t using them = more money. I really hate to sound like my parents, but if you aren’t in the room, turn off the light….. and don’t get me started on “decorative” lighting….. sigh….. (editor's note:  Check out one of my FAVORITE resources, YES! Magazine, and their article, written by Collin Beaven:  10 Ways To Change Your Life (Not Just Your Lightbulbs)

6. Lastly start trying to shop locally and from real people. Not just food, but everything. These giant corporations are OWNING us. Real people and small local businesses sustain local economies and provide more jobs in the end… The great CEO on high in a tower in NY cares not a lick for whether of not my neighbor has a job or loses their house…. It is also near to impossible to hold them accountable. But if the small corner store is selling you crap…. You stop shopping there and walk two blocks to the better business. THAT is how our system is SUPPOSED to work. We are supposed to have the power to punish bad business via their pocketbook.

These are just a few small things that we should all start to do more…. Or less…. You know what I mean. : )

Thank you for your time…. : )


75 down, 925 to go.

Day 67 (Or: The Windblown Look)

A couple of thoughts.

One:  Aviator helmet. With goggles.  And possibly a jaunty scarf.  This is how one should address wind gusts of 40-50 miles per hour as one is doing Day 66 Things (walking to work).

Two:  Shoes are important.  Especially shoes that don't slip around while you're walking doing Day 66 Things.

Three:  Friends who live halfway between home and productivity place (work), are simply fabulous.  Especially when it's windy, and there's tea to be drunk.

Day 67 of One Thousand Days, I scheme for further preparation for the walking endeavor (better shoes, weather accommodation, etc).  And recognize that if I'm going to bike, or take a bus (what a hoot!), I'll need to do some likewise preparation toward the facilitation of those activities as well.

67 Down, 933 to Go.

Day 66 (or: Walk and Live)

Ha HA!  Today's Thing is huge.  Really huge.

I began a new job.  A job that's promising to be incredible in a million big and small ways, but ONE of those millions of ways is the opportunity to live what I do.  When you live what you do, or do what you live, in effect, you're blurring the lines between the drudgery of work and the joy of life.  In reality, we should all be so in love with our "work" that there isn't any drudgery, and we live a life that is full of productivity (otherwise known as "work"), ease, beauty, joy, laughter, love, family, and chocolate.

I do carry on, don't I?  blahblahblah.  All this, to describe that I'm beginning, today, Day 66 of One Thousand Days, to change the way I commute to one of my many productivity places (otherwise known as "work").

You see, I've been engaged to provide organizational services to the remarkable and lovely Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, which luckily, although nationally renowned and functioning in a national and world-wide forum, is based in the lovely town of Port Townsend, WA.  Lucky me.  That's where I happen to be based as well!

A mission statement, and vision, for the WALC Institute, looks something like this:


"The WALC Institute is an educational, non-profit organization working to create healthy, connected communities that support active living and that advance opportunities for all people through walkable streets, livable cities and better built environments.

The Institute inspires, teaches, connects and supports communities in their efforts to improve health and well-being through better built environments."

"Walking" Artist:  Nicola Villa

So.  I'm doing a thing, which I've been wanting to do for a while, but haven't had the proper fire-under-my-rear to do begin.  Namely:  walking.  Because my new Productivity Place is a nice little Bic lighter and lighter fluid, and I'm JUST the briquette to ignite and flame on with my walking self.  

I won't even bother mentioning the health benefits of walking.  So obvious.  Or the environmental benefits of walking.  Because you're a smarty, and you already know, don't you?  And we don't want this post to carry on for the next 3 pages.  'Nough said.

Except this:  I will walk the 1.5 miles to work, and at about mile .75, I will stop, knock on a best friends door, and drink some tea before proceeding on with the other .75 miles of my journey.  Next week, I may BIKE!  And you just never know, maybe I'll even get on a city bus (wouldn't THAT be a hoot?).

66 down, 934 to go.

Day 65 (Or: Revolution!)

Stumbled across this today:  Not in the StumbleUpon sort of way, in the it appeared in my Facebook "news" in several different forms:

Similarly, I stumbled across this (again, in the accidental visitation, sort of a way, not in the SU sort of a way):  

I'm inspired.  Have been for a while.  I want chickens and bees and a garden full of food - fruits, vegetables and herbs.  This is the year!  I'm doing it!  Day 66 of One Thousand Days, I lay out the yard plan to accommodate (almost) all of these lovely things - more research on bees in my urban area is needed before I commit to a herd of yellow and black fuzzies.  

The Dervaes family is an incredible inspiration for such remarkable works.  I've seen them on YouTube:

...and in a myriad of wonderful magazine and blog articles.  Take a minute to check out their website and blogs:  http://urbanhomestead.org/about

And, if you care to, add The Urban Farm to your reading list, and start drawing up plans for your summer bounty!  

66 down, 934 to go.

Day 64: (Or: See What You Want To See)

Two neat things:

Thing one:  iGoogle.  Seriously.  Insert your feeds, your favorite sites, cool gadgets for getting things done, inspiration, calendars, email links (if you can't find or make a gadget HERE, chances are, someone's made one and put it on the interwebs, just Google "my-favorite-thing iGoogle Gadget"), and NEVER AGAIN suffer the indignity of stupid news.  Or, at least minimize the stupid news.  Relief!

Here's what my iGoogle home page looks like - or part of it, anyway:

And thing number two:  A Good Book:

Maira Kalman.  If you've never seen her work...well...I'm sure you have.  Even if you didn't know what you were looking at.  Charming illustration, charming story-work, charm.  And one of her latest endeavors is a collaboration with Michael Pollan, of Food Rules fame.  And their collaboration, a second edition of Food Rules, RULES.

Find it, preferably, at your local and independent bookstore.  Or, because I love libraries, your local library. Either way, find it, read it, enjoy it, and live it.  Day 64 of One Thousand Days, I did.

64 Down, 936 to go.

Day 63 (Or: On Snow and Love)

The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love. Margaret Atwood

Day 63 of One Thousand Days I continue to ruminate on Love. And I'm still a bit cold. If you hadn't heard, we were visited by Snowmageddon over here in the Pacific Northwest.

63 down, 937 to go.

Day 60 (or: The Sunday Hiker: Welcome Guest Blogger Cara Leckenby) of One Thousand Days

The Sunday Hiker: Welcome Guest Blogger Cara Leckenby of One Thousand Days

Clever. Remember this? It was clever, clever, clever. And I thought I'd re-post it as a tribute to...um...myself. I can do that, right?

60 down (I know, this one's questionable, but I'm counting it anyway!), 940 to go.

Day 55: (or: Why's everything dead?)

This is dead:

So is this:

And these:

And this:

And this happened:

So I figure it's about time to put the garden to "bed".   And if I don't do it (grumble), nobody else will.  Because Prince Charming doesn't exist, and neither do little charming helper animals (my animals just leave poop for me to "stumble" across while weeding), and neither do fairy god-mothers.  Although the Soup Fairy DOES exist (there was proof of the Soup Fairy delivered straight to my door last night). 

Day 55 of One Thousand Days, I'll be my own hero and deadhead all those dead heads out there.  Or at least 1/4 of them.  Or maybe just 3 or four of them.

55 down, 945 to go.

Day 44 (or: Great Gulping Gargoyles, What IS That?)

Todays thing is mildly disgusting.  And sort of amusing.  And enlightening.  And disgusting. 

It's the fridge, you see, it's a massive vortex which sucks in leftovers and doesn't give them back until they're completely unidentifiable.  Sometimes it sucks in non-leftovers.  Actually, a lot of the time it sucks in non-leftovers.  Something that went into the fridge red, comes out green, something that was yellow is now black.  It's sort of scary.  Really, worse than the results of a few weeks time spent in the fridge, are the statistics about food waste.  According to Next Generation Food, and Jodie Humphreys, the following disturbing food waste statistics are worth a second look:

• In the US, food waste has increased by 50 percent since 1974
• 40 percent of all the food produced in the US is thrown out
• Food waste accounts for more than a quarter of freshwater consumption and 300 million barrels of annually.
• Food is the third largest waste stream after paper and yard waste
• 8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK annually
• In the UK, city dwellers generally waste the most food, with the worst culprits being single men, aged between 25 and 35

Blech.  Really?  Well of course, really.  Judging by the contents of my fridge, I'd say that all sounds about right.  And is also fairly disturbing.  Especially given the hunger in the world.  What's left out of this nice little list, is the dollar amount associated with these statistics of waste.  Maybe a realization of the hit to the pocket book would help? 

Might help me, anyway, as I have been a horrible, wasteful, mindless and absurd glutton.  And it must stop. 

So here it is:  According to the Stockholm International Water Institute, all that food waste amounts to 43.8 billion bucks in the U.S. alone.  Gack!

So, after recovering from sticker shock, I cleaned the fridge, and now the garbage can is halfway full, even though pick-up day was yesterday.  And today, Day 44 of One Thousand Days, I pledge to not throw any food away for the next 7 days.  I figure this is a good start, and gives me a chance to report back at the end of said days.  I'm well pleased with my progress today, and now my fridge looks like this: 

44 down, 956 to go.

 

Day 12 (or: Mmmmmm, bacon)

Love fades from my arms, but not from my heart. Today, the day of Hallmark romance and tokens of affection, I love very deeply and truly. Love my friends, love my family, love the Bad Relationship. That might be the champagne talking, but I do.


Snippets of Love day:

Sleep in until 9:45 (joy!)

Eco-Sabbath day. Candlelight and silence.

Text from The Bad Relationship: “Happy sugar heart day”

My response: “Back at you”
Lissy's advice for response:  "Happy kiss-my-ass day"

My thought: Must block cell phone number. Maybe.

Champagne cocktails and brunch with the best of the best.

Tiny crepes and omelets made by an incredible 8 year old.

The most remarkable red-velvet cupcakes made by my lovely bakestress friend.

A house full of babies and children and delight.

Conversations about Love on my arm.

And about eco-sabath observation.

Red primroses and hand-made cards for my family.

Son at the end of a weekend long playdate with the greatest non-grandparents ever.

Joy.

And synchronicity. It’s Eco-Sabbath day again, and in a happy little bit of synchronicity in a conversation about my whacky eco-day, my friend told me (after protesting observing anything eco.  After all, she lived off the grid in Alaska, and that makes up for a lifetime of eco-gluttony) about a wonderful way to save ourselves a little energy: Blackle. Ironically, I had to Google it before I could sign up for it. Interested? You should be. It’s an energy saving search engine. By displaying a black screen with white lettering, it saves energy! Blackle claimes that 1,706,161.543 Watt hours have been saved. One step at a time, right? Well, I’m all for it, and today (of all days) seems like a good day to switch my search engine to Blackle. Which I did.

But that’s not the end of my good streak. I’m ready to take a big step. BIG. I’ve done it before, but it bears repeating. In fact, it was one of the wonderful things that I did during the terrible 1,000 days. And if it was that phenomenal (which it was), I think it deserves to be done during the good One Thousand Days. And possibly (hopefully) for the rest of my life. Today, Day 12 of One Thousand Days, I commit to consuming no sugar, no meat, and no dairy (basically Vegan, with the addition of controlled sugars). I do this for my own well being (allergies, hormone imbalances and other unpleasantness), and I also do this for the earth. Animals raised for consumption (mainstream consumption, anyway) tend to be treated badly (understatement of the year).   And the environmental impacts of raising, slaughtering and distributing meat to water and other resources are more severe than raising and distributing vegetables. And damn it, it makes me feel good. So there. Now that I’ve downed my poached eggs, and my red-velvet cupcakes, I’m not going to eat brie (oh, lovely brie) or bacon (mmmm, bacon) or copious amounts of pie (WHAT? Even the pie?) anymore. Again.

Day 12 down, 988 to go.

Day 8 (or: Planting the seeds of tomorrow's good today)

Yesterday sucked. And I mean it. I can just hear Holly shaking her head and saying “Cara…Cara. Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t be lame?” Well I was. And I didn’t even wait until Day 63 to do it. Nope. Straight out of the gate. Not even into the double digits yet. But you know what? If yesterday sucked, then today was Armageddon. But the good news is that while everything fell apart around me, I wasn’t as lame in my attempts at good today as I was yesterday.

So here’s my thought. I’m on the hook now for allowing Day Lame of One Thousand Days to happen. If I had a wasted day of “good” yesterday, I’d better make up for it today. Right? Glad you agree. And, if I do say so myself, I think I came up with a fairly decent one.

There are all sorts of good reasons for gardening. Exercise, satisfaction in caring for and growing a living thing, calming the nerves, communing with nature, absorbing the vitamin D. Myself? I just love digging into the dirt and making things emerge from the earth. Incredibly satisfying to us obsessive compulsives. So satisfying that I’ve become a bit obsessed (duh), and I watch for new plants in the same way that a contemporary might watch for new fashion. But today I’m not thinking about my own gardens, I’m thinking of plants on the community scale.

I’d like to share two of my favorite public gardens. The first is the garden at my son’s new school. Funded at the start through the work of a former co-worker, whose mind for all things good is fairly un-equaled (remind me to tell you some day of the scholarship program he started in Jefferson County. For peace.). The garden is a part of a new program for Jefferson County schools and has grown (groan…pardon the pun, I couldn’t resist) into an innovative recycling program and wonderful, educational, and nutritious endeavor.

But my all time favorite public garden is purely one of the most beautiful and incredible and simple triumphs of human accomplishments. An abandoned, blighted, and dejected highline rail in New York City, which has been re-claimed by nature with the help of us clever (but vile, somehow, for creating the waste and devastation in the first place) humans.

Now, it's no Highline, but I live next door to a City owned property, which has collected rusted bits and bobs and plastic toys and overgrown tweedy stubs left in the haste of partially clearing the area. The City put a public trail through the area, but the trail is forlorn and the buzzing of the nearby power sub-station overwhelms what could be a lovely public space. So today, day 8 of One Thousand Days, I did two things. First, I went to the Jefferson County Conservation District and ordered a dozen cedar trees, a dozen western hemlocks, a dozen madronas, a dozen mock oranges and several other native shrubs and trees to be planted in march when the plant sale is completed. And because I had a deep need to do something physically lasting, something that I could count as an accomplishment for good, TODAY, I bought sweet pea seeds and planted them in the sunny areas of the lot. Joy.

Terrible day 8 down, managed to make up for day 7, and 992 to go.

Day 5 (or: Ouch, that’s my foot!)

Day 5 is a no brainer. It’s Sunday. Sabbath, if you will. The day of rest and prayer (for those of you who actually observe – not me, of course, I’m a heathen). Strict observence of the Jewish Sabath is the inspiration for day 5, and also for suggestion number 3 of Colin Bevin’s article in Yes! magazine: 10 Ways to Change Your Life (not just your lightbulbs).

So, for Day 5 (the entire day) of One Thousand Days, I will: “OBSERVE AN ECO-SABBATH. For one day or afternoon or even one hour a week, don’t buy anything, don’t use any machines, don’t switch on anything electric, don’t cook, don’t answer your phone, and, in general, don’t use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Every hour per week that you live no impact cuts your carbon emissions by 0.6 percent annually. Commit to four hours per week, that’s 2.4 percent; do it for a whole day each week to cut your impact by 14.4 percent a year.”

It may be dark in the house, so we’ll be bumping into each other a lot, and this may cause more mayhem than it’s worth, but we’ll give it our level best. And when my son steps on my foot (remind me to tell you how my feet are magnets for all things heavy and painful), I’ll try my hardest to be nice. Really. And, GULP, no computer!

5 down, 995 to go