I've lost weight. My knees feel better. I lost a shoe size - I guess because my feet aren't as flat or my toes aren't as chubby. I went down another pant size. So, with some new clothes acquired, I have to get rid of clothing in the spirit of the 100 Thing Challenge. I'll go through the closet tomorrow and cull the herd.

I've been playing darts with intermittent progress. I'm going to play in a blind draw tourny tonight - or maybe not. I'll go down and see what's happening. The bar is a smoker and I hate smelling like smoke afterwards.

In the category of "what was I thinking?" I almost asked a gal home last week.

I've been re-reading "Inevitable Illusion" for some insight.

At the butcher shop, today, I had a small sip of a local cab-shiraz. Delish. I picked up a bottle to take over the holidays.

The gutters must be done tomorrow. I must climb the ladder. I can do it.

I picked up a new scent from Aveda last month. Nice. I hardly wear perfume, but I'm feeling girly.

I'm also planting the bulbs (daffodils, tulips, gladiolas, and the nekkid ladies) in front of venus.

I managed to get a few shallots out of the garden with another harvest of parsley, oregano, and thyme. I'll be drying herbs this week.

It's Saturday night. Have you hugged your loved one tonight? Do so.

I attempted to mulch up the leaves today. I raked/mowed upwind to leave a clean lawn behind and then...the wind shifted. Changed plan. The wind shifted. Repeat. I surrender. Maybe a big wind will blow tonight and remove the rest of the leaves from my yard.

During a walk in the neighborhood, my neighbor who had the apple and pear trees I used to forage from stopped me for a chat. I had offered to prune the trees but he decided to cut down the pear and the apple trees. He left one apple tree in the far back corner (It's deep on his property so I didn't know it was there). He was wondering why it didn't fruit this year. I told him that apple trees need to cross pollinate and there weren't any other apples close so the remaining tree probably wouldn't bear fruit. He was disappointed. Oh well.

Found this through powerswitch

Global Footprint Network (GFN)

GFN supports the creation of a sustainable economy by advancing the scientific rigour and practical application of the Ecological Footprint as a measurement and policy tool, with the goal of making ecological limits central to decision-making everywhere.

GFN's flagship awareness raising day is Earth Overshoot Day, the point at which humanity collectively has used up the resources the Earth can created in a year, and from that point on until 31 December is living on ecological credit:

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/earthovershootday

On September 25, humanity will reach an unfortunate milestone. We will have demanded all the ecological services – from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food – that nature can provide this year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, a research organization that measures how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what.

From 25 September until the end of the year, we will meet our ecological demand by depleting resource stocks and accumulating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Since the mid 1980s, humanity has been demanding ecological services faster than the planet can regenerate them, a condition known as ecological overshoot. We now use in less than 10 months the amount of resources it takes 12 months for nature to generate, according to Global Footprint Network data.



I make choices everyday that impact the earth. I do my best. Small changes lead to big changes. Believe it. Live it.

I watched the moon rise tonight from my bed.

( colorful! )

An heirloom tomato. I wonder what its final shape will be?

Aside from herbs and greens that I've been harvesting since late spring, here are

green beans, late season kale, cherry tomatoes, cured onions, and a rogue zucchini from the cold pile.

Harvested:
( homegrown goodness )

Bonus basil:



There's also coriander and cilantro growing "wild" along the fence.

There's oregano tea, lemon balm tea, and basil tea in my future as I harvest the flowers and cut back the leggy growth of the herbs.

The bumblebees love the purple flowers.

A critter chowed down on my wax beans. Boo.

I spied a striking beauty amoung the oranges, yellows and reds:



she wasn't there last year.



Oh Joy. Oh Rapture unforseen!

Bright light flashes above the treetops as the storm rolls in.

Tiny lights flash intermittently beneath the tree.

I love the local farmer's market - only local produce, mostly organic!

Today's treasures:

romaine lettuce
red lettuce
kale
fresh mozzarella
string cheese
wild strawberries
organic whole grain boule

local pork chops - grass fed

The Pottsdown Meat Shoppe in the Metro Center whre I get my amish chicken is having a festival of local products - cheese, noodles, sweets, etc. They roasted a whole hog and were pulling it off as we were leaving. Tasty!!!

Edit: 12:23 pm: Courtesy of freecycle I got transplants of marjoram, two indeterminate tomatoes, and some raspberry canes!!!!

I can meet my goal of the 100 mile diet from June to November. I am getting better at four season harvest so I might be able to still get herbs, greens, a root veggies from the garden this year.

The wellness people were there, and I had my blood pressure checked - 115/75...It had been running 130/90 so I'm feeling good about the first week of "training."

Peering over the fence at the neighbor's yard, I saw mama robin with one fledging. Are they MY robin family? I hope so. I saw a second robin go to the (empty) nest. Natural selection. Survival of the fittest. There were 4 eggs, 3 chicks, 2 nestlings, and 1 fledgling.

It's twilight and I was outside picking up. I went towards the garage door and scared the robin fledgings right out of their nest. I saw two of them flutter down into the neighbors yard. Ooops!!! Momma Robin was ticked!! She dive bombed me. I ran inside. She was clacking and chittering up a storm. Mea culpa!

I just went out there with a light to look over the fence. I couldn't see any of them. I wonder if I could have picked them up with gloves and put them back in the nest?

I know that fledgings get too big for the nest and spend some time on the ground before learning to fly. I hope they were old enough.

It's dark now and momma robin is silent.


Edit 9:12 pm: The baby birds I saw actually "flew" about 10 feet from the nest in a diagonal path to the neighbors yard. I didn't want to enter their yard without permission so I got my ladder and climb up to peer over the fence. Nothing. They do not have pets. I found this website: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/babybirds.htm

I will check again in the morning.

Robin Redbreast has triumphed.



They went from my porch light to the light over the garage to the gutter at the back corner.
She has eggs. They win.

Finished the lawn care. Edged, trimmed, mulched. Patio set up. Marigolds planted near the toad house. Lemon tree repotted.

Still to be accomplished: strawberry fountain, patio palm transplant, new beds to be tilled, plum tree stump to be removed, water catchment installation, irrigation for beds, hanging baskets, bean poles.

Time enough to watch the birds. I saw a flicker this morning - red head, spotted back, white tail, black bib - on the ground scooping up ants.

The peonies are ready to burst. Tulips past their prime. Yellow is the color for the annuals this year; really pops out under the shade.

New this year: pak choy. The oregano is up. Lemon balm everywhere; delicious tea. Finally, tomato & cabbage plants, ready to be transplanted to the garden bed:

I think she's a nuthatch...but it could be a hairy woodpecker.

Mom & Pop Cardinal are hovering around and bringing bird delicacies to him.

I'm hoping to continue my practice of dedicated time for poetry while in Denver. I got my amazon shipment which had a new sleep cd by Jeffrey Thompson (Delta Sleep System). I ripped it and put it on my mp3 player for Denver.

Spring is here.

I rec'd my heirloom seeds from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and have sown them in the pots in the sun room. Brother T will come over to make sure the pots don't dry out, but I don't expect him to have to do anything. I turned the compost piles and left them open to the rain to get some moisture in them.

Tulips under the Tulip Tree:
( little sisters )