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Earth Mother News
Going
Green...or Power Down
I was watching
former Vice President
Al
Gore on c-span this morning discussing global warming.
There is general agreement the situation is grave and our attention is
needed to look for solutions. I have been searching through the
nether regions of my mind searching for the words and terms to provide
the outreach needed. I think maybe a new word or two is in order.
Ourearth and Ourhome sounds kind of inclusive, right? Our planet
earth is the common home of all living organisms. We share a
common need for the materials available to exist. Air, water, light and
shelter. Common home? Common future...
I feel what is needed is leadership; someone to say this is what is
needed and what's to be done. Now lets do it! The complex
nature of the problem is that all of the things we consider important in
our lives contributes in some way to the whole. Change is what we
want, but what we would really like is for the other guy to do the
changing. Mr. Gore had a good laundry list of steps to take;
transcripts will be available.
Meanwhile, I have a small laundry list. I am replacing my light
bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. My goal is to replace five
of the most frequently used lights.
Sylvania says the the bulb will last seven years and save $44.00
in energy costs. The goal is to reduce my energy use which will
reduce the amount of coal that is burned to provide the needed
electricity. Next, I unplugged the electric clocks in the two
guest bedrooms. I can set them when needed. I have a surge
protector on the computer and I now switch it off when I shut down.
Our entertainment center in the family room has a similar set up and I
plan to switch that off before going to bed. Another thing I am
doing is buying the concentrated laundry soap, All, Free and
Clear, which now comes in triple strength. I had a friend who
owned a commercial soap business and he said that the granules in the
dry laundry soap was just filler. Also, the jug of liquid soap is
mostly water. Using a 1/2 a cap of detergent makes sense.
Reducing packaging and shipping for the manufacturers. Savings,
conserving.....
Now let talk garden for this summer. But first, I am at a
crossroads in travel plans for 2007. I was reading the news and
ran across an article about the
Cherry Blossom Festival in
Washington DC. The blooms of the three thousand cherry
trees are expected the first week of April. Right now I have
reservations at the Omni Shoreham hotel in DC. for April 1, 2, and 3rd.
I have never been to our nation's Capital and I relish the prospect of
the cherry blossoms. I am on a e-mail list of
www.TravelZoo.com and there
was a deal of 4 star luxury hotel. Problem is that I'd like to
have a travel companion. My family fizzled out on me. I know
that there are a number of great gardens to be seen in the area as well.
I have three new friends from last spring garden tour in England that
live in
Washington. Sorry I am a rambling again. Just call me
Old Rose. Pun intended....
Celebrate spring with a quick check of what looks like it made it
through our strange Midwestern winter. I lost two small evergreen
shrubs and the rabbits or deer ate several flowering shrubs nearly to
the ground. I am happy to report that all four of my tree peonies
have buds. It is a little early to uncover the flower beds that
are under a heap of pine needles and oak leaves that the wind so neatly
tucked in around the plants. Now is the time to begin to plan the
garden layout and consider the needs in line of seeds. Whether
ground space is big or small, you need a plan. Plant the family
favorites and plant at least one new vegetable. Do a little
research for recipes to prepare this new vegetable. Spinach might
be a good one to help your family know. I have always liked a hot
vinegar and bacon dressing on a spinach salad. Just recently I was
reading about creamed spinach. I can't say I have ever eaten creamed
spinach. I visited my favorite cooking site
www.allrecipes.com and found a lot of good recipes. I took a
whole bag of spinach and removed the course stems and washed it good.
I then put it in a plastic bag in the microwave for about 3 minutes,
drained the spinach, then chopped it a bit. I made an ordinary
cream sauce with a little chopped garlic. Add the spinach and, as a
finishing touch, a dash of nutmeg. Yum-o...So spinach is on my
list.
Celebrate spring
with a plan. Remember to be kind, to speak the truth and eat good food.
These things bring the best to all lives. Talk later, your Aarde Moeder.
Dateline March 24, 2007
County B
Platteville, WI. 53818
nina@mhtc.net
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