1. Plant seeds for my spring garden. It's about that time; not sure yet what I'm going to plant).
2. Fertilize my plants. They need it--I know it's not strictly organic, but
a. I had rotten luck using fish guts last year, and we have a lot of raccoons rambling around our backyard, sometimes even in broad daylight;
b. the fertilizer is only going in containers, so I don't fear it washing away during rains and polluting waterways; and
c. they're slow-release pellets.
3. Get rid of the dead matter on my plants. I am expecting at least one more freeze, sometime this week. It'll probably be the last one. I don't know if I am ready for summer, but it's coming soon despite me.
4. Have a fire. I still have that big stack of wood from Emily's, and my friend Bob brought me some logs last week. He'd recently seen the ax another friend, Rob, gave me for Christmas. I've been really wanting to chop some wood, so the logs are welcome. I do need to further sharpen the ax before I use it, though.
It was one of those weekends where I was proud of myself for just sweeping the house.
I will start planning the spring garden soon. I'm going to try a different media mix this time, as I doubt the sustainability of peat. Not sure what I'll use...maybe plain old potting soil with perlite for draining. I also plan to drill more holes in my containers to further assist the drainage process. I think my current garden isn't thriving because the media is staying too wet.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Another Weekend
The weather has really been interesting lately. Friday the sky looked like this:
And Sunday was like this:
An 80-degree day. Go figure. I lay under the magnolia tree and took a nap. It was glorious.
And Sunday was like this:
An 80-degree day. Go figure. I lay under the magnolia tree and took a nap. It was glorious.Thursday, February 21, 2008
Winter in Florida
It's been wacky weather around here this winter--more than usual, even. The temperature, barometric pressure, and sunshine have been fluctuating wildly almost every day.
The other day I was driving home when it looked like a violent storm was threatening. Someone is building these horrible condos near my workplace, and I despise them, but took a photo of them anyway because the light looked so beautiful reflecting off of their windows, combined with the dark sky to the south.
I continued on my usual path home, which means I skirt the entire "city," basically, passing all the greatest hits: industrial area, homeless shelter, etc. The sky loomed.
Then I turned the corner and got this.
What the heck?
The other day I was driving home when it looked like a violent storm was threatening. Someone is building these horrible condos near my workplace, and I despise them, but took a photo of them anyway because the light looked so beautiful reflecting off of their windows, combined with the dark sky to the south.
I continued on my usual path home, which means I skirt the entire "city," basically, passing all the greatest hits: industrial area, homeless shelter, etc. The sky loomed.
Then I turned the corner and got this.
What the heck?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Broccoli and Leek Pie
I invented a new recipe! This is a very exciting turn of events for me. I'm a pretty good cook, but can't just produce dishes out of thin air like some of my friends, e.g., Kim and Tia.
It all started with the mystery novels I've been obsessed with for the past month. I've been reading all of Elizabeth George's oeuvre for the second or third time. The stories take place in England, and a passing mention was made in one of the books to broccoli and leek pie. I thought, "Now, how would I go about making a broccoli and leek pie?" When I came up with something that seemed like it might work, I got started.
First I made a pie crust (the recipe for this one can be found in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Mollie Katzen). Then I began to assemble the filling:
2 sticks celery, minced
2 leeks, sliced
1 medium-sized baking potato, diced
1 head broccoli, chopped (should be 2-3 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine/cooking wine/sherry
3-ish tablespoons minced red onion
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, or similar combination
1/2 - 1 cup grated Gruyere
1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
A few tablespoons minced parsley
Thyme, rosemary, tarragon, basil (about 1/2 teaspoon of each)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Make pie crust and refrigerate; preheat oven to 375.
2) Lightly steam broccoli and immediately drain; cook potato in boiling water in covered pot for 10 - 15 minutes, until pretty soft.
3) Melt butter and oil in large pan over medium heat and add leeks. Saute alone for a few minutes, then add red onion, lemon juice, celery, garlic, spices, parsley.
4) When everything's softening up, add wine. Cook uncovered over medium heat till the wine starts to evaporate, then turn up the heat to medium-high and cover until the leeks are soft.
5) Mix together cottage cheese, egg, and cheese in large bowl.
6) Add potatoes, broccoli, and leek mixture, stirring thoroughly. Then add to pie shell and bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, crust is golden, and top of pie is beginning to brown.
Delicious!
It all started with the mystery novels I've been obsessed with for the past month. I've been reading all of Elizabeth George's oeuvre for the second or third time. The stories take place in England, and a passing mention was made in one of the books to broccoli and leek pie. I thought, "Now, how would I go about making a broccoli and leek pie?" When I came up with something that seemed like it might work, I got started.
First I made a pie crust (the recipe for this one can be found in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Mollie Katzen). Then I began to assemble the filling:
2 sticks celery, minced
2 leeks, sliced
1 medium-sized baking potato, diced
1 head broccoli, chopped (should be 2-3 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine/cooking wine/sherry
3-ish tablespoons minced red onion
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, or similar combination
1/2 - 1 cup grated Gruyere
1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
A few tablespoons minced parsley
Thyme, rosemary, tarragon, basil (about 1/2 teaspoon of each)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Make pie crust and refrigerate; preheat oven to 375.
2) Lightly steam broccoli and immediately drain; cook potato in boiling water in covered pot for 10 - 15 minutes, until pretty soft.
3) Melt butter and oil in large pan over medium heat and add leeks. Saute alone for a few minutes, then add red onion, lemon juice, celery, garlic, spices, parsley.
4) When everything's softening up, add wine. Cook uncovered over medium heat till the wine starts to evaporate, then turn up the heat to medium-high and cover until the leeks are soft.
5) Mix together cottage cheese, egg, and cheese in large bowl.
6) Add potatoes, broccoli, and leek mixture, stirring thoroughly. Then add to pie shell and bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, crust is golden, and top of pie is beginning to brown.
Delicious!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Rain Barrel
My mom's birthday was last month, and my dad and I got her a rain barrel. But we didn't have time to convert it from plain barrel to rain barrel until this weekend. Rain barrels are a great way to save water and money. You just capture some of the rain that falls on your roof and use it to water your plants. One inch of rain on 1,000 square feet of roof can produce 620 gallons of water that you can use for free!
It was a beautiful day on Saturday. The redbud tree in my parents' front yard is starting to bloom. I can't believe it's spring already!
My mom loves orchids. I counted over 300 in and around her greenhouse a few months ago. She brings the ones that are blooming into the kitchen. They're really beautiful.
Now--to the rain barrel!
My dad and I got a large plastic barrel from the local feed-and-seed. It wasn't expensive, and it had held only food (Greek peppers from, oddly enough, Turkey). The latter is important because you wouldn't want to irrigate your plants with water that had been held in a container that once held chemicals of some kind.
This is before we made any modifications. It looks like the downspout is going into the top of the barrel but it's not--it's just resting on top. We placed the barrel in a corner right by the kitchen and utility room where a lot of rain comes off the roof, and it's on concrete blocks to keep it level. The front yard is basically just driveway, so rain quickly forms puddles. The rain barrel should help keep pools to a minimum.
Here's the top.
And this is the inside. It smelled strongly of, well, Greek peppers from Turkey. We didn't scrub it out, though, because, hey, Greek peppers from Turkey are vegetables, and this water would be used for vegetables, so no harm there, right? I hope that's right.
We followed the plans Alachua County's consumer horticulture agent, Wendy Wilber, had sent me. Wendy is very, very good at what she does. But my dad doesn't really "follow directions," so I think ours looks a little different from the barrels people build in her rain barrel workshop.
Regardless, my dad had seemingly acquired all the necessary parts. This is the part of the faucet that goes inside the barrel.
And this is the faucet connected to the inside part, a sort of test run for when we attached it to the barrel. The silver washer is supposed to keep the water from leaking out.
Pop drilled the hole for the faucet. We wanted it pretty close to the bottom of the barrel to make sure all the water was accessible, but far enough off the ground that a bucket could easily fit under it (for watering with).
He wants me to show the bit he had attached to the drill.
We attached the faucet. I leaned inside the barrel and screwed it in while he held the spigot steady on the outside.
We have a fine-mesh screen to keep mosquito larvae and detritus from entering the rain barrel.
The next step was to connect the downspout with the barrel. Pop sighted the hole rather casually. (He drew a rectangle slightly larger than the downspout with his keys or something in the moisture that had accumulated there.)
After drilling a hole in the square to get things started, he sawed the rest of the square out.
There were some technical difficulties...the saw got bent. The parental didn't like that and tried to bang it back into alignment.
Eventually the task was finished and we fitted the downspout into the perfect-sized hole.
Then we created an overflow valve. This is for when the rain barrel gets full. One heavy rain, and it could fill up pretty quickly. (We'll probably end up making more barrels for the rest of the house.) The overflow valve is on a different side than the faucet, so that one can place a bucket under there to catch any overflow if desired without getting in the way of the spigot.
And this is the final product! You can see the overflow valve on the upper left of the barrel (by the hand). Overall, it took less than a half-hour to do, cost under $30, and was a fairly simple and straightforward operation.
Plus, it made my mom happy.
It was a beautiful day on Saturday. The redbud tree in my parents' front yard is starting to bloom. I can't believe it's spring already!
My mom loves orchids. I counted over 300 in and around her greenhouse a few months ago. She brings the ones that are blooming into the kitchen. They're really beautiful.
Now--to the rain barrel!
My dad and I got a large plastic barrel from the local feed-and-seed. It wasn't expensive, and it had held only food (Greek peppers from, oddly enough, Turkey). The latter is important because you wouldn't want to irrigate your plants with water that had been held in a container that once held chemicals of some kind.
This is before we made any modifications. It looks like the downspout is going into the top of the barrel but it's not--it's just resting on top. We placed the barrel in a corner right by the kitchen and utility room where a lot of rain comes off the roof, and it's on concrete blocks to keep it level. The front yard is basically just driveway, so rain quickly forms puddles. The rain barrel should help keep pools to a minimum.
Here's the top.
And this is the inside. It smelled strongly of, well, Greek peppers from Turkey. We didn't scrub it out, though, because, hey, Greek peppers from Turkey are vegetables, and this water would be used for vegetables, so no harm there, right? I hope that's right.
We followed the plans Alachua County's consumer horticulture agent, Wendy Wilber, had sent me. Wendy is very, very good at what she does. But my dad doesn't really "follow directions," so I think ours looks a little different from the barrels people build in her rain barrel workshop.Regardless, my dad had seemingly acquired all the necessary parts. This is the part of the faucet that goes inside the barrel.
And this is the faucet connected to the inside part, a sort of test run for when we attached it to the barrel. The silver washer is supposed to keep the water from leaking out.
Pop drilled the hole for the faucet. We wanted it pretty close to the bottom of the barrel to make sure all the water was accessible, but far enough off the ground that a bucket could easily fit under it (for watering with).
He wants me to show the bit he had attached to the drill.
We attached the faucet. I leaned inside the barrel and screwed it in while he held the spigot steady on the outside.
We have a fine-mesh screen to keep mosquito larvae and detritus from entering the rain barrel.
The next step was to connect the downspout with the barrel. Pop sighted the hole rather casually. (He drew a rectangle slightly larger than the downspout with his keys or something in the moisture that had accumulated there.)
After drilling a hole in the square to get things started, he sawed the rest of the square out.
There were some technical difficulties...the saw got bent. The parental didn't like that and tried to bang it back into alignment.
Eventually the task was finished and we fitted the downspout into the perfect-sized hole.
Then we created an overflow valve. This is for when the rain barrel gets full. One heavy rain, and it could fill up pretty quickly. (We'll probably end up making more barrels for the rest of the house.) The overflow valve is on a different side than the faucet, so that one can place a bucket under there to catch any overflow if desired without getting in the way of the spigot.
And this is the final product! You can see the overflow valve on the upper left of the barrel (by the hand). Overall, it took less than a half-hour to do, cost under $30, and was a fairly simple and straightforward operation.
Plus, it made my mom happy.
Flowers from the Garden
I cut some of the flowers off my geranium and dianthus for my living room.
The vase is an old milk bottle I got from the flea market. It makes me think of Neely O'Hara stealing her neighbor's milk in Valley of the Dolls.
The vase is an old milk bottle I got from the flea market. It makes me think of Neely O'Hara stealing her neighbor's milk in Valley of the Dolls.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
"Green" Clean
Lately I've been thinking a lot about getting rid of all the chemicals in my house. I have this book called The Natural Formula Book for Home and Yard (by Dan Wallace) and I've been looking through it to see if I can find something interesting to try, like homemade laundry detergent or whatever. But every homemade home cleaning solution in this book, it seems, includes bleach. So I figured, ok, I guess bleach is "healthier" than I thought. I guess I'll just buy bleach and make my own 409 with fewer chemicals.
So I got one of those little sprayer bottles at the drugstore for like sixty-nine cents, added about an inch of bleach, and filled the rest with water. I sprayed that in my shower and Reader, I have to tell you: it cleaned itself! I didn't even have to scrub the mildew. That's my kind of cleanin'! And someone told me something about bleach breaking down in water so it's pretty low-impact...I'll have to look that up.
So I had just figured all that out when I read an interesting article in the New York Times the other day. It's about how major chemical companies finally realized the market potential for "greener" products. A little late, people. Come on.
Update: Apparently chlorine bleach is the kind of bleach used for cleaning, and its components can create organochlorines, which are suspected carcinogens, et al. I really need to do more research into this. I did find this interesting article about this question, and on this page, the section called "The Chlorine Issue" offers a helpful synopsis.
I figure I'm pretty green, house-wise:
1) I mostly rely on Simple Green to clean and own no commercial cleaning products;
2) I use eco-friendly dish soap;
3) I am very conservative with water;
4) I hardly use any paper towels, and then I put them in my compost heap; and
5) I have the smallest trash can available (20 gallons) and most weeks I don't even fill it halfway.
I guess the only two things I'd really like to change are my laundry detergent (I haven't really figured out which is the most sustainable, so I'm just using the usual), and the fact that I don't know how to get rid of mildew without non-chlorine bleach. I guess I am doing ok.
So I got one of those little sprayer bottles at the drugstore for like sixty-nine cents, added about an inch of bleach, and filled the rest with water. I sprayed that in my shower and Reader, I have to tell you: it cleaned itself! I didn't even have to scrub the mildew. That's my kind of cleanin'! And someone told me something about bleach breaking down in water so it's pretty low-impact...I'll have to look that up.
So I had just figured all that out when I read an interesting article in the New York Times the other day. It's about how major chemical companies finally realized the market potential for "greener" products. A little late, people. Come on.
Update: Apparently chlorine bleach is the kind of bleach used for cleaning, and its components can create organochlorines, which are suspected carcinogens, et al. I really need to do more research into this. I did find this interesting article about this question, and on this page, the section called "The Chlorine Issue" offers a helpful synopsis.
I figure I'm pretty green, house-wise:
1) I mostly rely on Simple Green to clean and own no commercial cleaning products;
2) I use eco-friendly dish soap;
3) I am very conservative with water;
4) I hardly use any paper towels, and then I put them in my compost heap; and
5) I have the smallest trash can available (20 gallons) and most weeks I don't even fill it halfway.
I guess the only two things I'd really like to change are my laundry detergent (I haven't really figured out which is the most sustainable, so I'm just using the usual), and the fact that I don't know how to get rid of mildew without non-chlorine bleach. I guess I am doing ok.
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