Trees and things

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Last summer I spend a few days at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky for my (now) brother-in-law's bachelor "party."  While I was there I gathered some pods from a large Kentucky coffeetree that grew in the courtyard and shaded a raised porch that overlooked the grounds.  The monks use the seeds from the pods to make rosaries.  Pioneers evidently used them to make (very poor) coffee--hence the name.  I thought I would try to germinate a few and grow myself a holy tree in my backyard.

Coffeetree seeds have extremely thick, hard shells that must be filed down before you plant them.  You should also soak the seeds for twenty-four hours before planting.  The Ketucky coffeetree is a native of the Midwest, but is pretty rare, and the hardness of the seeds' shells is the reason for its rarity.  Apparently, the tree was much commoner in prehistoric times, when its pods were a favorite food of the gomphothere, a scary-looking, four-tusked, prehistoric elephant.

After all the elephants in North America went extinct, the Kentucky coffeetree had lost its preferred mode of propagation, and survived by sending out shoots until the arrival of Native Americans, who used the seeds and pods for medicinal purposes, and helped keep the species from extinction.

Another "dinosaur tree" I want to have in my yard is the dawn redwood.  Redwoods used to cover most of the northern hemisphere until the last ice age wiped nearly all of them out.  It was thought that only two species survived--Sequoiadendron giganteum, the giant sequoia; and Sequoia sempervirens, the coast redwood--until a small stand of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, was discovered in a secluded valley in China in 1944.  It has since become a popular landscape tree; I became a fan of dawn redwood through seeing it in the yards of houses I was reading the meter at.

Finally, I want to plant some quaking aspens.  Besides being really pretty, the quaking aspen has contributed one of the largest organisms on earth to the world.  Pando, the Trembling Giant, is a 107-acre forest of quaking aspen that comprises a single genetic individual, spread by shoots over many thousands of years.

So, now to find a place to plant all these...

Garden pond

This is sort of old news, but I'm installing a garden pond in our backyard.  I came upon a preformed liner lying unused in somebody's yard while I was meter reading and bought it off them for $10.

I'm going to make a bed around the pond and plant it with wildflowers or something.

Eventually the pond will have plants and fish and things, and will look less like a plastic bathtub buried in the ground.  You can also put river pebbles in the bottom to give it a more natural look.

Mice solutions

Friday, March 12, 2010

Jeremy and I have been visited lately by furry creatures. Unfortunately, I discovered this upon opening our main food cupboard and finding many of the bags and boxes chewed through, forcing me to throw away many items.

We keep on telling ourselves that we should put out traps, but as much as we want the mice to find another house to bother, we have a hard time killing them. They've eaten our food, peeked out at us around corners, and left little signs of their presence in our home.

So, while we wait for our specially ordered "Haveaheart" mouse trap, that allows you to catch them and release them somewhere else, I've had to come up with some solutions. I put all my grains, flours, nuts and beans in glass mason jars, making them chew-proof. When I was all done, I realized, even more than preventing the mice, this was a great way to store all my dry goods. I can find them easily, they stay fresh, and I can store more this way. Aren't these lovely?

Green smoothie goodness

Friday, February 26, 2010

Several people have been asking about my green smoothie recipe (although my smoothies tend to be more purplish than green). There is nothing better than starting my day with a cup of this delicious goodness. I feel literally zinging with health when I drink one.

one or two handfuls of spinach or kale (kale is a bit rougher consistency)
one banana
one grapefruit (or ¼ cup fresh orange juice)
small handful of frozen berries (I get a mixed blend)
about ⅓ cup plain yogurt
a tad bit of maple syrup to taste

Blend together and enjoy!

Modifications: add a tablespoon of almond butter for protein
add a tablespoon of ground flax seeds

The large amount of greens may seem strange at first, so start small, but this is one of the best ways to pack a lot of greens into your diet. In fact, my recipe isn't half as green as my friend Diana's, of Frontyard Foodie. To be even more hard-core check out her green smoothies.

Ginger pancakes

Sunday, February 14, 2010

I tried out this new recipe today and made gingerbread pancakes from rice flour, oats and flaxseed when some of our neighbors came over for breakfast. I was super excited about how they turned out-- very light but still hearty.

I've decided that breakfast is my absolutely most favorite meal to share with others. I love greeting the first part of the day communally and I love looking around as we come awake with each sip of coffee.

Snow days

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Winter reared its hoary head to remind us it was still here the last couple of days.  Jenny and I have very different responses to inclement weather: she is always excited to have a snow day and get a break from teaching, while I rue the fact that my outdoor job will be that much harder.  Heavy snow usually increases the length of my meter reading routes by at least an hour; on Monday, it added an extra three.  On the positive side, I got to come home to a clean house and a saner wife.

Small changes

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

In our effort to live more simply, more green, and more healthfully, I can easily become overwhelmed with how far away we are from the ideal. It's a constant negotiating act: balancing time and money with our convictions to live in a the most holistic manner. I've decided to give myself permission to take baby steps, slowly changing little by little as resources and time allow.

Here are some recent changes I've made and then a few that I'm tackling next.

Recent steps already taken:
1)Buy bulk of produce from local sources
2)Stopped heating or microwaving plastics/switched to metal water bottles
3)Choose only meat, dairy and eggs from local farms and/or is free range
4)Started a compost pile
5)Reduced my dependency on coffee

Next steps:
1)Bulk up on more green foods: broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage etc. (green smoothies, yay!)
2)Drink significantly more water (at least 8 cups)
3)Become consistent in cooking whole local chickens and making/freezing chicken stock
4)Start a vegetable garden this spring (I'm so excited about buying seeds!)
5)Soak and boil dried beans rather than using out of a can

I would love to hear other thoughts about small changes-- what are the baby steps you are making?