Sunday, April 20, 2008

Do It For Me As I Do It For You


A big day is coming up for this blue marble... Tuesday is Earth Day. Twenty years ago I probably couldn't have cared less. Ten years ago I took notice, but did nothing. This year, I can say that I do care. I am doing something.
As much as we like to live in a disposable world, our world is not disposable. Far from it. And, as much as we might like to think that it's the 'other guy's' problem, it isn't. It's my problem. And it's yours, too. So how do we correct this problem?
It starts at home. It's easier to do than you might think. Baby steps taken each day are easy, painless and culminate to a greater good. For me, we recycle. Our town gives each home a recycle bin, which we happily fill with all sorts of 'trash' that can be recycled. I turn off lights I don't need. I don't run my air conditioning or heat unless we absolutely have too. (One month, my electric bill was $65, and that's with a 2,330 sq. ft. home, people!) Probably my most enjoyable effort is my composting. Our town will give any homeowner a free composting bin (or a second one if you ask nicely!). I have my two next to my garden and every day I have something to toss in there - coffee grounds with the natural, unbleached filter, veggie peelings and trimmings, spent flower heads, grass clippings which my neighbor so sweetly gives me after mowing his lawn, lemon peels, lettuce gone past the point of edible, etc. Three or four times a week I grab my pitch fork and turn it over, giving it a good shower, too. What I end up with is 'gardener's gold'....black, rich, earthy soil that my gardens can't get enough of! All from 'trash'.
So, I ask you to think about how to fix our problem. It doesn't have to move the mountains that I love so very much, and hope that my grandchildren-to-be someday love as I do, but it could save a planet.
Here is a link that helps illustrate the importance of each of our efforts. I am a big fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and this song is one of theirs that few people know about; which is a pity, for the message is truly, universal. I hope you'll visit it.

Color Me Pink




Know what the name of tonight's full moon is?


The Pink Moon. It got its name from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.


Other names for April's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and among coastal tribes, the Full Fish Moon - because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.


Tonight...take a few moments and peek at her beauty. She won't be back for another year.