Earth Day 2013

Last week was a difficult week. As someone on Twitter pointed out, you know it's been a crazy week when the story about an Elvis-impersonator sending a ricin-laced letter to the President is not the top news story in the U.S.  Here's to hoping that this week is more peaceful than last week, not just in this country but all over the planet.

For Earth Day, I like something that CNN's Eatocracy blog posted last year: Try to grow something that you can eat, or join a CSA, or support your local farmers' market. Do one thing to keep your resources in your community. I think it's a nice way to focus on our environment, and to remember that old slogan-- "Think globally, act locally."

Earth Day 2011

Thanks to my new work schedule, I have every other Friday off, and today happens to be a day off from work for me. On this Earth Day I though it would be appropriate to spend time in the garden, tackling some of that weeding I didn't do last weekend, but the skies are cloudy and gray and they're forecasting rain. Since today is also Good Friday, this gloomy weather seems appropriate to mark the solemn occasion for those of us who celebrate Easter. (Ever since I was a little kid, I've noticed that every Good Friday is overcast. Hmmm).  So I'll try to do as much in the yard as I can, but I'm not a hard-core enough gardener to go out in the drizzle and work. I do, however, want to buy some rain barrels or larger containers to collect rainwater than the little can I have on the deck right now.

This year I also want to be better at documenting the different growth stages of my seeds. I love seeing the fruit form, but I think my most favorite part of gardening is seeing the seedling emerge from the soil, like in the second picture above. It still fascinates me to think of how a tiny little seed can grow into a plant and produce a flower, or tomato, or tree. It's pretty cool. The pictures above are of squash and bean seeds that we started indoors the first week of April. They have already emerged and in another week or so we're going to move them outside. Although I promised myself that I don't want to spend my day off work on the computer, I'm already dreaming of the different dishes I want to cook with the squash, so I'm off to do a little recipe hunting. Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day 2010

Now that I'm a "gardener" (gardener wanna-be ;)) I do have a better appreciation for the wonder that is nature. Since the last time I posted pictures, none of the seeds I planted have made enough progress to deserve more photographs, but they're doing well.  It amazes me that all the beautiful flowers, trees, fruit, and vegetables on this planet come about because of the magical combo of dirt, water, sunlight, and a little seed. 

The white azaleas finally bloomed today, and they're the subject of my post. The flowers don't last long, unfortunately, so I'll enjoy them while they're here. Happy Earth Day!