Random thoughts, learning to live greener

I started thinking about why we do the things that we do. Simple things add up, and sometimes simple things can make a difference. Like the quote from Margaret Mead. "Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty". Like this example, years of putting clothes into the dryer, even though it's in the 80s outside, dry and sunny. The dryer uses energy, generates heat (and it's already a very hot day), and pulls cool air out of the house. Is the dryer easier? Probably not much. It's not that big of a deal to hang clothes on a line. Is it faster? Who cares, it's not like we're standing there fanning the clothes. Do the clothes come out better, cleaner, neater? Not really, and for most, it doesn't matter. Do the neighbors care about clothes on the line? If the do, how obnoxious of them. Is the dryer better for clothes?" Probably not, the dryer lint suggests that dryers gradually wear clothes down. I guess there's always the bird poop issue, but how often does that happen? So why do we use the dryer instead of hanging clothes on the line? I have no idea. Just habit, I guess. Just not thinking.

That being said, it started raining after these were hung out to dry. Still, it will pass, and they'll dry soon enough.

I know, it's not like I just discovered how to make solar cells from used plastic water bottles. Still, sometimes we just need to THINK about why we do what we do. Maybe it can make a difference.

True, about 4 months out of the year, hanging clothes outside may not be an option. But there is the other 8 months. An indoor drying rack might help with the 4 rainy winter months, and humidify the house a bit when it is most needed. And not drawing heated air out of the house.

This photo is probably my great-grandmother and her daughter.

Postcard from Manilla, 1907

It's the washing, not the drying, that's so much work. You won't see me outside with a washboard, but this summer I'll try to continue this new habit, and continue working on living in a more aware manner. Not just with living greener, but other ways as well.

Aarrrgggghhhhh. Figs at whole foods, $6.50 a pint. Not as good as home-grown, not nearly as good. Had to buy some, to get a taste since there may not be a breba crop this year.

Most of the Vancouver fig brnaches are pinched a the tips now. That gives me some hope, since the pinching is only done when there are about 5 or 6 good leaves.

Despite a slow start this year, it's looking good now.

Gingko trees. Progress report.

Medium Ginkgo tree:
2008 19 inches (so far) with current total height 65 inches
2007 14 inches, final height 46 inches
2006 11.5 inches, final height 35 inches
2005 final height 23.5 inches




Smaller Ginkgo tree:
2008 16 inches so far with current total height 40 inches
2007 11.5 inches, final height 24 inches
2006 final height 11.5 inches

Onions and Garlic

All of the multiplier onions have fallen over and are drying. So I pulled them up. I'll dry them in the shade - one year I dried shallots in the sun and they all cooked. These are the "white potato onion". I like the flaver - it's different from modern varieties. Maybe more like a shallot, but milder. Plan: save about 6 larger bulbs, and most of the smaller bulbs, since there isnt much to eat on the small ones. Plant thme in september. The rest can be eaten.

Multiplier onions. Here they are drying in the shade.

The first garlic plants are drying out and falling over. These were levtovers from the year before - I did not know they were still in the ground.

Inchelium Red garlic. Not brown yet - I'll wait until they are. Given the size of the plants, I'm hoping for BIG garlic bulbs. This variety is the one that I think I'll keep growing. To the side, potatoes almost ready to bloom. At the rear, Ning's Chinese Beans are climbing their strings.

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