It Takes a Planet to Raise a Child

A Beautiful Thing

I cannot vote.  I am a permanent resident, but not yet a US citizen.  I wish I could vote.

I took my daughter to daycare today in our jogging stroller.  We ran past a polling station.  I saw the long line of voters waiting outside and my eyes got moist.

My husband returned from his polling station and said he saw an African American woman in her late forties or early fifties come out and say, "This is the first time I've voted in my life. We've got them."

Democracy, with all its problems, is still a beautiful thing.

Put Your Green Thinking Cap On

Is Your Teenager Environmentally Friendly?

If the answer is yes, and she or he is also a high school student, here's a good opportunity

The Weather Channel is sending 20 high school students to Washington D.C. to discuss environmental topics with experts at their Forecast Earth Summit. Interested students can fill out an online application until Oct 19th.

Fish on Friday

I have been thinking about fish today for two reasons:

1- We went out to dinner last night at Himalayan Fusion restaurant in Charlottesville and had the most delicious salmon.  I have no idea whether it was farmed or wild-caught, even though my seafood wallet card tells me I should care.  It didn't say on the menu and I wasn't the one to order it. It crossed my mind, but I didn't speak up and ask "is that farmed or wild caught?" when my friend ordered it.  Sometimes you have to weigh personal preferences against being a drag.  In any case, it was very good salmon.  So were all the other dishes we shared.

2. I read an email message today asking me to sign on to ask the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service to write strong, clear rules that stop overfishing through a link on Environment America's Web site.

Here's to good, clean, yummy fish for everyone now and in the future.

The Best is a Native

The best ornamental plant in our yard is a native plant.  I picked it up at a plant sale run by our local native plant society this past spring.

As instructed, I planted the  young green sprout in a sunny location without really knowing what it would turn into, besides having a vague idea of the flower shape. The name of the plant is three-lobed coneflower (Rudbeckia triloba).  It is a late bloomer. During the first part of the summer, it grew into a large, green, unremarkable plant on the rock slope next to our driveway.  Then August came and BOOM, it burst into flower.  For the past month, it has displayed more than a hundred bright yellow flowers with dark centers.  It is absolutely spectacular. 

Porcupine loves to watch the butterflies and bees that are attracted to the flowers.  In surprisingly short order, she has learned that flowers in the garden are for looking at and not randomly picking.  Although there are plenty of blooms, I can't bring myself to cut any of the coneflowers to bring inside.  They look so great where they are.

Don't let anyone tell you native plants aren't as attractive as exotic ornamentals.  I dare say our Rubeckia triloba is the best ornamental plant on our block (though not to my neighbors because that would be obnoxious).  I will definitely pick up a couple more next year.

 

Thrift Shop Back to School Wear

I'm not going back to school, nor is my 3 year old.  But this time of year still rings in an old feeling of new beginnings and the need to freshen up my wardrobe.

I am a big proponent of buying used goods.  I know quality used goods are a smart economical and ecological choice.  But so far, I have resisted buying used clothes for myself and have rarely done so for my daughter.  Instead, I usually opt for buying a small number of new quality clothing items, figuring that new good quality will last.

So I surprised myself when on a trip to the hardware store last week, I stepped into the local SPCA thrift store and starting browsing the clothing racks.  I was even more surprised when I came across some really good finds.  I ended up buying two pairs of pants for Porcupine, and a t-shirt and new pair of jeans for myself.  The jeans I bought were brand new with the tags still on.  They were also five bucks.

So there you have it.  I don't know if I am a total convert because I am fairly hung up on quality, and thrift stores sometimes don't always deliver for clothes in that department, but I would definitely look again.  Especially for Porcupine, who outgrows clothes in a few months time.  The clothes I found for both of us were good quality. The total bill was $20 and it went to a good cause.

Porcupine is wearing a pair of new used pants in this photo. 

And here is my SPCA thrift store back-to-school ensemble.

Beijing's Olympic Village Goes For Gold and Gets It

Bejing's Olympic Village earns gold certification under the US Green Building Council's LEED neighborhood development standard.  Bejing's Olympic Village is one of only eight developments worldwide (there's the number 8 again) to have certification under this pilot program.

See USGBC's press release here.

Obama's Book is a Good Read

I got Obama's books from our local library about a week ago.  At the time it felt a little like a school assignment. I picked them up mostly because I thought I should read them, not so much because I thought I would enjoy them.

I started reading Dreams of My Father and am pleasantly surprised. I thought the book would be bland, but I am really enjoying it. I am not even half way through so I can't comment on the second half of the book, but so far, it is a very interesting personal memoir. It is surprising to me (maybe I am naive) how much of Obama's time and thoughts were focused on race issues as a young man.  I thought he would be less sensitive because he was raised by his white mother and grandparents.  Obama's memories of his struggles with race are multi-layered, complex and honest. The book was published in 1995 (when he was young thirties). I hope he doesn't lose his sincerity in his current political role.

I find the book enlightening and a little disconcerting because 1- I have a hispanic daughter who is growing up in a white family and I don't want her to feel confused about where she belongs like Barack did as a adolescent  2- and I say this with the upmost respect and acknowledgement that we are still affected in some ways by racism, but sometimes it makes me weary to think we still haven't gotten past it. We have so many other things to fix. It would be so great to be done with it. Maybe having an African American family in the white house will help.

Anyway, a good read, no matter which way you vote.

Gore's Challenge

In case you missed it.  Highlights of Gore's challenge from speech in DC today.  Sounds like there are a lot of choir members in the audience.  The good news is the choir is getting bigger.

Pests I Like

Maybe it is my biology background, maybe it is because I lived in an apartment for several years, or maybe I am just unconventional, but I like some pests in our yard.

1. Our lawn needs some work.  We tried some seeding last fall but it did not take.  I don't know if the birds ate the seeds or what, but our lawn is still non-uniform.  We have clover, fescue, crabgrass, chickweed and violets.  I don't mind the chickweed or clover (actually good for fixing nitrogen in the soil).  I am not so big on the crabgrass.  I do love the violets!  In the spring, our backyard looked like this.  Even now the violets don't look bad.  They stay green longer than the grass in dry periods.  I can feel the turf aficionados cringing, but hey I think it looks good and isn't that the point?
2. I found a caterpillar on a spinach leaf in our garden a couple of weeks ago.  Despite the fact it was chewing on our spinach, I was glad to see it.  I tried identifying it online but I could not find it. So I do not know which butterfly population our vegetable garden is supporting.  I am going to look for butterfly guides on my next library visit.  This is a poor photo, but if anyone has any ideas, it would be much appreciated
3. I woke up early on Sat and saw a groundhog chewing our broccoli plants.  Another intruder in our vegetable garden.  Again, I guess I should have been upset but when I saw the plump groundhog reaching for our plants and taking a nibble, I just laughed.  I tried to get a photo but I should have turned off the flash because I got some reflection from the window glass and when the groundhog saw the flash, he took off like a shot across our yard and presumably, back to his hole.  We have a couple of holes in our lawn.  I try to mark them with sticks because I worry about kids stepping in them, otherwise I am glad to see the groundhog(s).  Our neighbor is not so happy to see him.  She puts all sorts of objects (rocks, fish tank pebbles etc) down the hole close to her yard but they just dig around the objects. I don't see them as such a bother and am happy to see some wildlife .

I do have pests that I don't like - crabgrass, already mentioned,  poison ivy - even though it is a native plant, I appreciate it in natural areas but remove it from our yard so our daughter doesn't tangle with it, weeds in the garden, anything in the house - mice, ants etc. 

If we were relying on our vegetables to survive or if our lawn was a golf course, I might have a different take on these likable "pests", but for now,  we'll let them be and be happy they came to visit.