Bamboozled

Did you know Bamboo is a grass, stronger than steel and the fastest growing plant on earth?
(Kelp is the fastest growing plant in the ocean, so shut up.)

I watched Nova the other night and learned a lot about bamboo.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/rats/program.html

This stuff is amazing! Pair it with hemp and we can leave the trees alone!
They're even making cloth out of it now. I'm sure the process is resource intensive so I don't buy bamboo cloth.. That and the stuff is really expensive!

But as a building material? Man, this stuff is awesome!
http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/Christoph.Toenges/pagesEN/intro.html

It's beautiful, easy to grow, sturdy and best of all.. SUSTAINABLE!
We need to get with the program and use what works best for us and harms the earth the least.
http://www.completebamboo.com/

I'm thinking of planting a small clump by my pond. In a container, of course. I think it would go well with the lotus I plan on having.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph39.htm

You need to find the right kind and learn how to care for it. It's also interesting to see what some people do with bamboo. Humans are such a creative species.
http://momer.home.att.net/

Smells like spring!

I have gardening fever!
Bees buzzing, birds singing, cats fighting. Sounds like spring.
My pond is in and I'm eying my winter vegetables and willing them to bulb. My peas are delicious.
What am I going to plant!?
I do know that I will be using heirloom seeds. No GMO's for me!
Heirloom plants are hardier and less prone to disease.
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/

http://www.seedsavers.org/

http://www.victoryseeds.com/

http://rareseeds.com/

It's good to know that there are so many people who are saving these seeds and passing them along to others. I don't trust science when it comes to creating new and "improved" things that Nature has already spent millions of years perfecting.
One of my first jobs was hybridizing fruit trees. That's about as freaky as I want to get with plants.
Now, the problem I have is what to choose. I have limited space and a need to get creative.
I am up for the challenge!
Sunflowers, yarrow and beebalm for a patch of wildflowers. Great cover for an ugly, cinder block wall.
Melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, basil, parsley.. Edible flowers..
Whoo hoo!
I love going out in MY yard and picking something I grew and nibbling.
Simple pleasures are the best.

Evil Twin's rant.

I wanted to write a post that was informative and hopeful. Instead, the evil twin has taken hostages and demands her say. I can't refuse.. She has my sweet tooth and sense of humor dangling over a shark tank!

Look around people. There is panic. It hasn't run out into the streets.. yet. Money is loosing its value. That's if you believe it had any value in the first place. Jobs disappearing, counties, states and even countries are going broke! Then, there is this insane woman who has given birth to 14 children!! WTF!? Having too many cats isn't good enough? She has to horde babies?
Suicide bombers, cholera outbreaks, starvation, floods.. Does anyone else see the four horsemen coming over the hill?

Now, I know people and I know you know people who seem to live their lives in constant crisis.
It is not because they are unlucky. No one can be that jinxed. I have observed a friend of mine and I have been guilty of this as well. When things get a little crazy in life as they do sometimes. It can be tempting to get caught up in the drama. Instead of handling things in a calm and collected manner. "Oh, look at me! My life is always in chaos and I can't do anything but freak about MY problems. No time to make good on promise because.. Oh, dear.. another crisis came up and I totally forgot.

Enough of that. It's time to stay calm and get focused. The shit has only just begun to hit the fan.
I have no cleaver links to share. All I can advise is that you stay informed. Our civil rights are being eroded away! People are scared and willing to sacrifice personal freedoms for the illusion of safety. We can't let this happen. The more news I watch, the more I want to be blissfully ignorant. TOO LATE! The genie is out of the bag and now, I have to keep up with things. I'd like to know when it's time to grab my shit and head for the hills.
How sad is it that I think it's more important for my son to know survival skills and how to handle guns than it is to be an "A" student? I'd rather be a useful member of the tribe. Someone who can make fire, hunt, cook and make shelter.
Yes, I am a bit grim but hey, the world order is unraveling. Governments and the legal tender they create are becoming meaningless. Wake up!
Learn how to garden and preserve. Take a primitive skills class. Learn how to sew and knit. I have a feeling that we'll need each other to share skills and goods.

Urban Wildlife

There is a Red tail Hawk in my neighborhood!
I know there is plenty of food. Pigeons galore and lots of mice. They adored my compost pile when I had one. I was beginning to wonder why all the neighborhood cats kept hanging out in my backyard.
One mouse was cute but I witnessed at least 5 one day picking through my compost pile. That was the end of that. Now, I just save my coffee grounds and use them to add to the soil. My garden seems to like coffee as much as I do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_wildlife

When I went to run an errand for a client. I found a very healthy looking Roadrunner in the parking lot. According to a recent report. Roadrunners are not as abundant as they used to be. Well, I have been seeing a lot and they're skirting the edges of the urban jungle and then the one in the parking lot. Nature seems to find a way. Adapt or die!
Here in Arizona, there is always an abundance of coyotes. I love how they seem so comfortable and at home in almost any environment. They are wiley creatures.

Even though I live in an urban environment. I want to create a small oasis that might encourage smaller wildlife to hang out. Maybe my pond will attract dragonflies and frogs. We'll see.

http://yuwr.org/

I don't see wildlife as a nuisance, unless it's pigeons crapping all over my car. I have covered parking so there goes that.
I love listening to the birds sing their spring time "hey baby!" songs.

I grew up in the country and was used to wildlife all over the place. I really enjoy the feeling of being a part of something more than the human condition. I like my furred, feathered and scaled neighbors.

I have discovered a plethora of sited dedicated to urban wildlife. The United Kingdom seems very progressive in the way they live in harmony, or try to with their wildlife. Maybe because they've had more practice. Maybe, because hedgehogs are so darned cute!
Peregrine falcons nest and feed in cities. Taking advantage of the tall buildings since they're the closets things to cliffs. Pigeons are everywhere.

With wild environments shrinking. I think it's only polite to invite the wildlife into our world.
Adapt or die.