Category Archives: environment

first squash

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I am so thrilled that the weather is finally cooling down.  Not only is it easier to ride my scooter in cooler weather, but plants actually grow.  Something about dropping below one hundred degrees triggers happier plants.  My grapevine looks bad; it’s the time of year that the bugs eat it, but everything else looks great.  I have some corn that might produce something, and my native american squash seeds grew into a beautiful vine that produced what I think is an acorn squash (see photo).  The vine is doing pretty well on the lawn.  I guess grass is good for something.  I’ve planted my seeds for lettuce, kale, carrots, bok choy, chives, and more.  We’ll see what grows-I’m not really one for labeling or designating.

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old warriors

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It’s been a strange few weeks around here with the insect observation.  I’ve had a rather intimidating sized spider living above our door, her three foot web strung tightly between the palm and the grapefruit tree. I’ve left her alone because I am weary of the mosquitos.  She could easily straddle a half dollar.

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Tonight, we noticed a three-inch-long green dragonfly by the outside lamp.  Dragonflies also eat mosquitos, and their larvae eat mosquito larvae. Crazy, eh? Look at those wings!

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a myth is a female moth

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It’s funny the strange phrases one remembers from junior high.

Last week, as I was watering my garden, there was movement under the chard as something rather large struggled to avoid getting soused.  I thought at first it must’ve been a mouse or lizard even though I have never seen a mouse at my house nor a lizard of that size, but a rather large moth started crawling up the wall.  It was bigger than my lens cap, and the beautiful pink markings made me grab my camera.

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update much

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So, Steph gave me a hear time because I hadn’t updated in awhile. Meanwhile, her blog hasn’t gotten any action in over a month. Not that I’m saying…okay, I’m saying it. Pot…kettle.

I have been doing my best to survive the summer. In case anyone was wondering, it’s still really hot here. Somedays, it’s a bit humid. Not Tennessee humid, but humid. Supposedly, the monsoons are around. Somewhere. I think it rained once.

I realized the other day that I live in a pretty diverse area. Within a mile of my home is a Jewish Community Center, a Seventh Day Adventist Church, a Korean Church (Presbyterian I believe), a Jehovah’s Witness building (not sure what they call those), a Lutheran church, an Episcopalian church, and the Mosque is nearly ready to open. They said it would be ready in time for Ramadan. I am really excited because I can see the dome in the view from my bedroom, and they are going to paint it gold.

It’s about time somebody around here decorated something. Thanks local Muslim congregation! Perhaps it’s the artist in me, but I love love love religious buildings. We need more creative spiritual beautiful inspirational spaces to be in.

In other news, I am working on two projects for hire. One is a wooden dragon set from China. Another patient at the chiropractor’s overheard me talking about art, and said he had bought the set for over his door, but it was unfinished wood. So…it rode home on my vespa on day to be painted. Not sure if I want to paint the two dragons identically (I like mirror images) or just have them “go”.

The other project is a large painting to go over someone’s couch. She gave me a swatch of fabric with colors that she likes, and a picture of another painting she liked and asked me to use it as a jumping off point. So we shall see what comes to pass.

I’m also giving a temporary home to my friend Alyssa’s shiba inu dog. His name is Kishu, and he lives downstairs. Peter bossed Kishu around when he first arrived, but the other two cats have been chased upstairs.

I am also planning on going to the scooter rally in Flagstaff next month. Yay for scooter rallys. Rallies? I have no idea what people do at these things, but I plan on going with a group of other scooter enthusiasts. And hopefully some of my friends. And hopefully, I won’t be a big dork with my helmet and jacket. Safety first though, right?

Below is a picture of just how awesome trampoline are because of how they make us feel. Hooray for trampolines! And hooray for MacIntyre’s and Schroeders!

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soapdish

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Part of “living green” is reducing consumption. This may include gasoline, paper products, or materialism. One thing I try to focus on in my own life is reduce my consumption of plastic. Plastic may be recyclable, but it takes a lot of energy to do so. (I also believe the recycled plastic may not be used for food containers. Correct me if I’m wrong).

I’ve started to slowly replace the liquid soap pumps around my house with glass or porcelein soap dishes. The reduction of plastic is two-fold. First, there is no longer the pumps themselves which eventually break and must be thrown into the trash. Second, the refill bottle is no longer part of the cycle either. Thirdly, (I just thought of this one) the soap bars I am using are more natural products themselves and do not contain petroleum products. Yay!

I love the way the light hits this dish. This happened to be the only one I bought new. The rest I have purchased at thrift stores.