To feel green and support the efforts of local journalists!

This is Mark with one of our Mammoth Sunflowers last fall.

This Friday ... just in time for my favorite holiday (one that I think should be a national day off to pick up after ourselves), Earth Day, the Concord Monitor and the wonderful folks involved with the Green Guide have launched ...

::drum roll please::

GREEN GUIDE NH!!! HOORAY!!!

Visit, visit, visit!!! Danielle Kronk (the lady in the know)0 gave me the heads up on this great addition to New Hampshire culture a little while ago and I have to give her and her staff HUGE props for doing such a tremendous job on it.

Well done, ya'll. Gaia is beaming, I can see her ear-to-ear grin now!

Ya' see ... it's folks like Danielle and crew that help to make this state and our communities a better place. Like my friend Suzan Ware Flower, another journalist who doesn't get enough recognition, when writers utilize these spaces- when they seek out platforms for educating their friends and neighbors- we're all a lot better off. They have important things to share and we should be listening.

In another sweet gesture by Danielle- you can reach my blog via the Green Guide web site.


Now, this is super exciting for me. I've been working on this little bloggy-thingy for over a year now. There have been lulls in my postings (specifically during the election and my transition from the Hippo to non-journalistic employment), but this is the best catalyst for me to get back on the band wagon.

To new readers: Let it be known ... sometimes I cuss. Sometimes I get politically charged. Sometimes I digress and get way off topic. Overall, I hope you feel a little more informed ... sometimes get a laugh ... and above all else, I hope you keep reading. ;-)

So, what are we talking about today, with this weather that is just making me itch to put my hands into the soil at the garden plot????

Let's talk GERMINATION.



Mark and I have several plants going ... here they are in order of planting over the past few weeks:

Black Eyed Susans
Catnip
Spearmint
Peppers (New Ace- best kind EVER.)
Eggplant
Broccoli
Zinnias
Azaleas
... and of what else we have, my brain log is weak. There are plenty more along the way, including pumpkins and melons, heirloom tomatoes, and most of the rest goes seed to soil ... summer squash, zucchini, mescaline and mustard greens, rainbow chard, radishes, sunflowers (Teddy Bears, a flower introduced to me by a farm at the Concord Farmer's Market), shelling peas, pole beans ...

::whew!::

We are going to be rolling in the veggies this summer. For those that were following my gardening ventures last summer, you know what a change this kind of variety is for us. For those unaware, Mark and I had much in the way of volume, but little in the way of veggie variety.

31 Tomato plants
20 New Ace peppers
12 Jalapeno plants
Not enough sweet peas
12 Summer Squash
A few gourds (really puny butternut squash)
Some gorgeous marigolds we got from the Fisherville Road prison greenhouse.

To all gardeners who know how vital marigolds are, get the Sunshine variety from the prison greenhouse. I have yet to see a marigold that rivals their vitality and the beauty of their blooms.


This is a shot of them in September, after several frosts ... and they're still kickin' it. Word.

That's about the only greenhouse plant we'll be buying this year, the rest is sitting on a fat kitchen table in my parent's livingroom in Bow. They have huge south facing windows that have allowed us to get some light to the germinating seeds with out running out and buying shop lights to hang over them. So far so good. I'll take pictures this weekend and post them here for all to see. It's quite a set-up ... a bit amateur hour, but we're not looking for awards ... we're just looking for a healthy, vibrant garden this year.

Now, Mark and I have a plot at the Concord Community Gardens. I'm fearful of putting their exact location here because our neighbors and ourselves have had several brushes with theft from our gardens. Yes ... people drive (or walk) to our plots with plastic bags and pick whatever they want from the gardens. One of our neighbors went on a long weekend vacation and came back to find half of his corn crop completely gone ... stolen by the worst thieves of all- the two legged kind. Mark and I spend at least 10 ours a week, almost always more, in our plot and to have our eggplant and herbs stolen was heartbreaking. We put good vibes out there, what kind of Karma would get our hard labor vandalized?? Hopefully this is an issue that will be addressed thanks to the survey sent out by NH DRED with our plot renewal forms. If you happen to bump into DRED at a local farm expo or farmers' market, take the survey and let them know your thoughts on the whole affair- that's how they can make these programs better for all of us.

Well, with all that said I have to be moving on for now. In the mean time, enjoy this gorgeous spring weather!!

Thanks for reading, go hug a tree.
Best,
Say

Watch TED, get your brain fed.

A good friend of mine turned me on to www.TED.com.

And through it I found this talk about using kites to generate electricity through wind power.

I highly recommend adding this to your bookmarks ... something great to open your mind to when you've got some time to kill at the office (not that I kill time while I'm here!).

Hope all is well. It's dark and grey in the world today. I'm really aching for some sunshine and warm air. Even more so, I'm aching for some dinner.

Cheers!

There is a pulse.

Hey ya'll. I know what you're thinking:

"Welcome back ... took ya' long enough! I even stopped reading for a while! Who do you think your readers are? You think we sit by the PC all day, refreshing our browser in hopes you'd come crawling back?"

Maybe you're not thinking that, but I'm certainly feeling it. I've been at my new job for over 7 months now. What a change from the writing gig. I've been overwhelmed with work, home and family life, lots of bits of life to juggle- but spring is around the bend and with that comes gardening (Mark's and my not-so-new, but certainly dear, love).

More details will come as the seedlings start to take off. We started several last weekend and this weekend calls for more. Eventually we'll have a staggered lot of motley looking greens, begging for full sun and the wind in there ...erm ... hair.

My friend Peter Noonan (incredible artist and fairly funny guy ;-)) thought of me recently and suggested I share this link with you:

How Much Water Do You Really Use???

And in this spirit of really knowing what the hell it is we're doing, I'd like to include this link as well:

Terrapass Shall Set You Free!

It's all about knowing our impact, isn't it? I'd like to think that the age of greed, consumerism, waste and haste is on it's way to remaining behind us (but then again, who knows?). I see a more conscientious human dynamic growing around me. Mark and I got to a fair amount of Farm and Forest Expos, NHOFA gatherings and pretty much everything with the mark of green creation on it. The numbers are increasing, people's interests are peaking.

Even the Obamas are on the bandwagon- God bless them.

And we can go even deeper than that. We can go beyond just planting a garden and we can cultivate endagered (sometimes even ancient) heirloom animals and vegetables. There is so much we can do and I'm so happy to be sharing my journey with you.

Love,
Say

Can you smell what Barack is cooking?

We watched the inauguration ceremonies at the office today. Everyone sat still and took in his speech, which included mentions of environmental stewardship and responsible use of resources. On the eve of such a time of transformation, I thought I would share this hilarious caricature of the last administration, courtesy of Grist.org.

Bush as a Simpson Character.

The possibilities for our future seem endless right now- though conservatives (like my parents) are wringing their hands at the thought of a Democrat let loose on our poor (literally) society- and I'm pleased to see such a universal push for change on behalf of our planet.

I am dizzied by the potential.

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone!
Viva la revolucion!

Valentines, Mark and Mt. Washington

February is always a month of many plans for me- Mark's birthday is just four days after Hallmark's favorite holiday, but this year there is a fun new surprise that will keep me waiting by the mailbox.

National Geographic spent the past two years researching and putting together a feature about Mt. Washington and they're releasing it in their February issue.

Don't believe me? Check this out.

Some time today (Jan. 15), the article should be available on the NG web site, though at 9:30 a.m. there was no Mt. Washington feature to be seen.

Sure, this kind of thing is really exciting- the world's most renowned anthropological and environmental magazine spent two years on our little state made of Granite- but I think the real point to be taken from all of this is that our environment is important to everyone ... not just hikers and leaf peepers. If we are to further alter our state of being ... refuse to change our ways that are slowly destroying our environment ... Mt. Washington would cease to exist in the way we know and love it. What a waste of 6,288 feet!

When you get a chance, read the full article (whenever it decides to show up online), and beam with pride over the looming monster we call neighbor.

Happy Thirsty Thursday, ya'll!!!
Best,
Say

Come, fly with me ... let's fly away.

New Hampshire's most beloved raptor is at risk.



Recent studies of the falcon's unhatched eggs showed high levels of PBDEs ... flame retardants added to plastics, clothing, cars, armchairs ... just about anything Americans wear or use. PBDEs are still being created and used all over the world and little is being done to regulate their use.

Does anyone my age remember DDT? You know, the chemicals that were killing off our native Bald Eagle populations? We are surviving fine now that DDTs are subject to strict laws ... we should be doing the same for PBDEs. Sure, flame retardants save lives, but so does putting out your cigarette before you fall asleep ... Common sense is what really does the trick- but that's just my opinion.

So, how do we protect these falcons? Read our labels more carefully. Enact more severe legislation. Encourage clean-ups of our local water ways ... just be more proactive and way less passive. It's easy if we try!

Happy Tuesday!!!

Auld Lang Seign?

Do I even have that right?

2008 has been an interesting year for me, folks. It's been so busy the past few months I've been forced to put my bloggage on hold- not a good scenario if you ask me, but I'm working on changing my modus operandi for 2009.

Quite the year if you ask me and in my personal reflection I've decided to look back, not so much in the direction of all the bad things (shit-storm there certainly was), but more on my self discovery in favor of the planet. Here's a list of my top ten (in no particular order) things that I've done over the past year to better myself and/or the Earth.

1) Read ... in new ways.
All hail the local library. I still buy books for friends as gifts, but in my own right I've been frequenting the Concord Library pretty regularly. That's one less copy that has to be printed. A majority (I lied- all of these) texts were based on environmental stewardship. My best reads?? Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver ... The Great Warming (I forget the author right now) ... The Power to Change the World (a book about nuclear power and how we can use it responsibly) ... there are more, but these are the breed at the top of my thoughts.

2) THE GREEN LIVING GUIDE!
Published with the help of the Concord Monitor, Danielle Kronk (the brains behind the operation) along with me and several other writers, have established the second (and most permanent) edition of the Monitor insert, geared at tangible ways for people to live greener. Hooray!

3) I quit the gym.
I've always had a distaste for gyms ... the stink ... the rude people ... but mostly the energy waste. Besides the fact that I just couldn't afford it anymore, I'm sticking to outdoor activities from now on. Nordic skiing, here I come ... once the snow returns!

4) I greened Christmas more than previously ...
I reused all my gift wrap, recycled what I couldn't use, and stayed close to home. It was awesome.

5) I turned 25.
The day AFTER Christmas. This isn't green at all, but I felt like sharing ... with age comes wisdom? I'm hoping I'm closer to reaching my ultimate goals.

6) I ordered heirloom varietal catalogues.
Mark and I are growing heirloom vegetables this year and forever more. I'm so excited for the catalogues to come in!!! It'll be like Christmas all over again!

7) I converted a few non-believers.
And when I say converted, I mean badgered to death. There's nothing quite like persistence when you want results. Thank you to those who have finally hopped on the good foot.

8) I have suffered through the cold
Not that there's been that much of it the past week, but I've taken to keeping my heat at home to no higher than 55 degrees. We live in a mighty shit hole that leaks everything but gold coins. If our gas-fed forced-hot-air system in fact did spit out gold coins, they would slide through the cracks in the walls, windows and doors before I could get my hands on them. I will not submit to the chills. I will just put on an extra sweater.

9) I take the recycling from my office home for collection.
Elm Street in Manchester doesn't have curbside recycling. The rest of the city does. It's stupid. I will not throw out paper, plastic, glass or aluminum, so I take them all home ... with a smile.

10) I haven't quit-
Though I'm pretty sure some of you might have thought my green ramblings were on the outs ... not so! I promise! I will make a better showing. That's my New Year's resolution ... to make a better effort at everything. The least I can do is give 110% ... right? If I ever fall short, at least I was giving my all.

I love you guys, happy New Year!!!