It's Easy Being Green

This last week I ran across a desk that popped up on Freecycle.  I’ve been working off of a tiny desk that was barely big enough for my monitor and the keyboard since moving to Indiana last year.  The only challenge was the desk was about a 30 minute drive from the house so it was going to require some advance planning to find a morning I could sneak out early and pick it up.

Wild sunflowers bloom alongside one of the many gravel roads leading in and around Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area in northern Warrick County.

I chose Wednesday, a day when we don’t have much going on other than me going to work, and made plans with the Freecycler to come cart their old desk away.  I woke up early, loaded the car with recyclables to drop off on my way out of town, grabbed a free coffee at McDonald’s and then headed out.  I was supposed to call the Freecyclers just to warn them I was headed out so they would be ready for my arrival.

A typical grassy meadow borderd by forest and found throughout the Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife area

Needless to say, I wasn’t really surprised when nobody answered the phone and I didn’t get an immediate call back after leaving a message.  I wasn’t too concerned though since I needed to stop and drop off my recyclables before heading out to the desk.  After 10 minutes of sorting recyclables and getting them into their correct bins at the recycling center, I decided to drive around in the general area waiting for my return phone call.  It just didn’t make sense to drive all the way back home only to turn around and head back out that direction again.

Wildflowers of all different shapes and colors bloom in the grassy praires and even right alongside the guard rails on all of the gravel roads

Sometimes the magic of just driving around on the roads less-traveled is enough to keep me occupied.  I love seeing the land and discovering little hidden corners and hideaways.  As I was driving along on two-lane farm roads, I discovered a gravel road that veered off the pavement and up a hill.  I decided to meander up the road and check it out.    It ended up running into the nearby Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area, a network of prairies, woods and lakes that attract all sorts of local game.

Reflecting on their serene view, wildflowers bob and sway in the breeze at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area

I parked the car and decided to turn my frustration at a flaky Freecycler into some good mind clearing fun.  I wandered down the gravel roads, checking all sorts of native wildflowers blooming just about everywhere you looked.  Since I”m a horticultural nut, I also spent some time collecting seed pods off of the different wildflowers so maybe next year I can grow some of my own and cultivate them.  The quiet and solitude of that 30 minutes was just what I need to rejuvenate my mind for the rest of the day.  The only man-made noise was from a plane passing overhead.  The rest was the breeze blowing through the reeds, fish jumping for bugs, insects and frogs chirping and whirring away and a heron swooping in over one of the lakes to setup his observation post, looking for his next meal.

Even dried flower pods are colorful. These ones are covered with bright orange and black beetles that look like cousins to the squash beetles that attacked my zuchinnis and cucumbers

I started out angry at yet another Freecycle Flake who says one thing and then does another but was able to turn the wheel down the road less-traveled and cleared my mind with nature.

A beautiful Monarch butterfly stops for a sip of nectar on one of probably thousands of purple thistles blooming in the area

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Who knew an activity that sounds so dirty on the surface could be so beneficial, not only for our planet but also for yourself?  This morning a dumpster dive find that required really no diving came in especially helpful.

Jack, our orange tabby cat, decided to projectile vomit all over the beige carpet this morning.  In a feined attempt I tried to catch him and get him to a solid surface instead of puking on the carpet.  Instead I was left cleaning up quite a mess, hoping it wouldn’t add another stain to the already pet stained by the previous owner carpet.

After cleaning up the chunkies, I sprinkled the vomit with Borax (I’ve just discovered in my greeness it can be used for virtually any cleaning task you might have) and let it soak for a couple of hours.  Then I used the nifty carpet steamer we found by the dumpster the other day to suck it up and scrub it down.  We found out the reason it was put by the dumpster is because the hot water container leaks all over the place when you attach it to the steamer.  The simple fix is to just hold the container and squirt the water you need on the spot and then scrub it and suck it out of the carpet.  It may not be as convenient but the machine still works and doesn’t need to clog up our landfills anymore than they already are.

The free carpet cleaner we found sitting by the dumpster. It still works!

Another great dumpster find I made was back in Arizona when we lived in an apartment complex there.  Someone who moved out had left a 32″ TV by the dumpster and a portable, rolling Rediwhip freezer like you’d see in the grocery story.  Both worked so how can you pass up extra freezer space and a bigger TV for free?!

The free Reddi-wip freezer I found next to a dumpster in Arizona. The working items people throw out is sickening!

Have you found any great finds that someone else put out for the trash?  Don’t be ashamed, share your story!

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We all know times are tough and our money just doesn’t stretch quite as far as we want it to these days. For all those people who have stretched themselves as thin as they possibly could have, I think this economic contraction is something they need to go through.

We all know who these people are and more than likely you have one of them as a neighbor. I’m talking about the family who drives nothing but large trucks and SUV’s, has the brand new toy hauler trailer with living compartment that is stuffed to the gills with ATV’s (one for each family member), a boat, motorhome and just about any other largely expensive toy you can think of.

Back in Arizona, there were more of those types of people than I could count on my hands just living within a block or two of us. I know that none of it was actually purchased with cash. Most was probably bought with some whopping huge credit lines that they’ll be paying on for the rest of their life. I’m glad to see that some of them are struggling enough that they’re finally giving all that “stuff” up. Sure part of it is probably selfishness on my part but the rest is some sort of hope that people will quit over-extending themselves and buying unnecessary crap.

Indiana has been an eye-opener for the same sort of reasons, looking and listening to each neighbor up and down the block taking care of their yard. Each person has a lawn mower, leaf blower, weed whacker, edger and any other accessory to dominate their patch of land with. It makes me think what a waste it is for each person to go out and spend their money on their own lawn mower and accessories.

That’s why the idea of Neighborrow has perked my interest. It’s based on neighbors working together, sharing the resources they may have with another neighbor. It’s an I’ll share my lawn mower with you if you share your weed whacker with me principle. Why the idea hasn’t caught on more is beside me but I think it’s great. My Freecycled lawnmower isn’t working at the moment but my next-door neighbor has been letting me borrow his. He doesn’t have to look at an overgrown lawn next door and I even mow his section of yard bordering our shared pond every now and then.

Speaking of my non-working mower, I’ve been on the lookout for someone who repairs mowers for a living. I found one and dropped in to have a conversation with him about my mower. I’m not too keen on spending a lot of money to get it fixed. After all, it is a gas guzzling, air polluting mower and I’ve been eying some of the electric or push variety for a few months now. Instead of paying full price for a repair, I asked him if he would consider taking my old mower and selling me one of his repaired ones at a discounted rate. It would be like a trade-in credit at the car lot. Not a straight barter but I’d get something and so would he.

He said no. It left me to wonder how bad he was really hurting in this economic downturn. Shouldn’t we be thinking about more smart and creative ways to interact and help each other out other than just the straight transaction of cash from one person to the other? What do you think?

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The so-called “Dog Days of Summer” are paying off in the veggie garden this week. My wife and I have spent quite a bit of time outside pulling weeds, smashing squash beetles, plucking Tomato Hornworms and giving our little 10×4 foot plot of wholesome paradise some good ‘ol TLC. Mother nature has been a big help too, squeezing some much needed rain out of a passing cloud or two at least once a week. That’s apparently a rarity out here in southwestern Indiana during August but who’s complaining? We’ll gladly take the free water!

Our collander is brimming with Friday's tomato harvest, sporting a fresh batch of roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and slicing tomatoes.

On Friday I had to make a mad dash through my tomato patch to harvest what was ripe before the plants sucked up all the rain water. I’ve been having a big problem with tomatoes expanding way too quickly with all the rain and then splitting just as they ripen. Since I’ve been picking preemptively, they’ve been faring much better though. Our roma tomatoes are producing a bumper crop of pear-shaped goodness that will be perfect with pasta. The cherry tomatoes haven’t let up either, gifting us with a fresh flush of fruit every couple of days.

On Saturday our baby was fast asleep for an afternoon nap so we decided to hit the garden again and do some cleanup. Squash beetles totally annihilated both of our zucchini plants. They bore into the stems of the plants and kill their ability to suck up water. They eventually get the wilt disease and die. I would normally be sad about it but those two plants each produced about ten pounds or more a piece of fresh summer squash.

A weekend bounty of fresh vegetables for the picking. Clockwise from top left: Handfuls of cherry and roma tomatoes, lemon cucumber, bell peppers and an Orange Oxheart heirloom tomato.

While we were out there dealing with the squash beetles we harvested another basket full of produce. Saturday’s take included more roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, bell peppers and an Orange Oxheart heirloom tomato. All have really taken off and produced wonderfully in southwestern Indiana. We can’t wait to enjoy the fresh tastes of each of them.

My failures were definitely sweet corn, yellow squash, pickling cucumbers and pumpkins. I’ve been struggling with powdery mildew spreading from one cucumber vine to the next and then it spread onto my pumpkins. Both are still putting on fresh leaves and trying to set fruit but the mildew just marches on. My sweet corn growth was very stunted and produced some very tiny ears of corn, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. I didn’t follow proper planting recommendations by planting at least four rows so that was probably the cause there. Yellow squash were attacked by squash beetles early on and never really had a chance.

We still have another three months to go before the first average fall frost so I think our harvest days are far from over. I’m also going to try my hands at growing some fall vegetables this year and am getting ready to tackle that project this week.

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I’m not sure whether it’s the hot summer nights or the copious amounts of backyard barbecues happening about now but I sure have noticed both possums and raccoons out on the prowl late at night. In fact, I almost ran over two raccoons who were fully engaged in trash can debauchery when I was coming home the other night.

If you’re experiencing nightly raids on your trash cans, you can tell what kind of thief your dealing with by looking at the leftovers. Dogs knock cans over and rip into bags to get at the delights rotting away inside and they’ll strew the mess everywhere. Possums tend to leave a trail of half-eaten food as they picked through what they wanted and munch on it while walking away with their take.

Opossums will leave a trail of food behind them after making a raid on your garden or trash can.

The most cunning trash thief of them all is probably the raccoon. The smart nighttime prowlers can carefully let themselves into trash cans. They’re known to pick through the garbage, pick out what they want, clean it off and then dine on their new found smorgasbord.

Raccoons are smart and nimble. They can make well-thought out raids on your garbage.

So how can you go about protecting yourselves from those trash thieves without trapping them or poisoning them(both terrible options if you ask me)? If you have the money to buy yourself predator proof trash cans, that’s a fantastic way to go but one household chemical also apparently acts as a pretty good trash thief deterrent: ammonia. Just put a teaspoonful in your garbage can and maybe even some in the bag of trash before you tie it up. Also sprinkle some around the base of your trash cans. Those late night thieves will come across the ammonia and won’t be too excited about what might await them inside.

Let us know if you have any tips on how you’ve been able to ward off late night trash thieves or what your experience has been with the four-pawed, neighborhood crooks.

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Picking up where I left off on my last post:

Pamela checked in about every hour to see how things were going and to give support about what was going on at that time.  Around 6:15 my wife said she was feeling like she should start pushing.

With that announcement, Pamela began to assemble her birth kit in the living room and kitchen of the cabin and called two other midwives to witness and help out with the birthing process.  I helped T labor in the shower on about 5 separate occasions throughout the night.  The hot water helped relax her muscles and a change of position kept her limber and active.  She seemed to be handling the contractions flawlessly and gave no indication of pain.  The hours seemed to drag on and even though I knew how long birth can last, it didn’t seem like we were ever going to get to the end.

Around 10:15pm, the contractions had picked up in length and intensity and T was beginning to feel like she couldn’t hold back from pushing at that point.  Two other midwives had gathered to join Pamela in our cabin.  Stacey, Pamela’s daughter in-law, was a new midwife and was enjoying getting her feet wet with us.  Jenn, a doula and midwife in training was also present and was learning the ropes from one of the best, most seasoned teachers.  The three worked in partnership with each other, never stepping on another’s toes.  They constantly lent encouragement and suggestions to my wife while constantly monitoring the position, activity and heartbeat of our baby.

Around 11pm, the midwives suggested that I sit behind T and let her lean back on my chest while I gave her a bit of a break by pulling her knees up while she pushed.  This gave her an opportunity to relax her muscles a bit and conserve some energy for later.  Just before midnight we took a break from laboring in the bed and I helped her labor a bit in the shower.  That was when things noticeably started moving along much quicker.  Just around that time, our hot and sticky summer night turned into a cool refreshing one as a thunderstorm rolled into the area.

The lightning, rumbles of thunder and rain pattering the canopy of forest around us was undeniably the perfect background for our natural birth.  At 12:15am, the push was really on.  My wife was pushing every two to three minutes and the midwives led her through several different birthing positions during this time.  She tried a birthing stool, squatting while hanging her arms from a doorknob, bent over the end of the bed and finally crouched on all fours on the floor, grabbing the foot of a bed.  This was the position that seemed to work the most amazingly!

Around 12:45am, T got hungry.  She had a light snack of yogurt, a handful of protein-rich cashews and soy nuts and a glass of apple juice.  This nourishment gave her the little added boost she needed to complete pushing our daughter down the birth canal.  She experienced about three insanely intense contractions and made a lot of headway pushing the baby out.  In fact, it only took three minutes from the moment her head crowned until her head was completely out.  That was a record time according to the midwives!

Seeing my daughter’s head appear from my wife’s vagina was the most amazing and awe-inspiring thing ever.  I didn’t think it would be worth seeing and would probably do more to horrify me than anything else but once again, I was so wrong.  Seeing that little smooshed face, for the very first time after 9 long months of waiting and anticipation was just the moment I hoped it would be and yes, it was love at first sight.  One more push and she was completely out and on my wife’s chest at 1:16am!  We were parents!

It was about 45 minutes before the placenta appeared and everyone could be cleaned up, measured and weighed.  Because our little girl crowned so quickly, my wife experienced a fourth-degree tear which the midwives insisted be repaired at the local hospital.  They didn’t want her to be scarred or damaged.  At 4am, very tired and exhausted, we packed up Mom, baby and Pamela and headed off to the labor and delivery ward at the local hospital.  Three hours later, my wife was stitched back together and we headed back to the cabin for some much needed rest just about 24 hours after the whole process began.

The care we received from Pamela, Stacey and Jenn was incredible.  There’s no doubt we made the right choice about birthing at The Farm and would encourage anyone interested in natural childbirth to look to The Farm as a possibility.  You’ll be glad you did!

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