Grounded in the Earth

           When my old house was on the Historic Home Tour several years ago, I had one of those ‘light bulb moments.’  It was the first time I met fellow column writer here, Holly Lindzy, as she traipsed through my yard taking pictures and then came up to me and asked, “are you the gardener?”  I looked back at her blankly, thinking “am I the what?”  Then I guess I mumbled that yes, I was the gardener. 

            And from then on, in part thanks to Holly’s confidence in my humble little garden and the fact that I could clearly see I was actually growing things, I’ve known I’m a gardener.  I love having my hands in the dirt, turning the soil, sticking in plants and seeds and seeing what happens. 

            I love my flowers and how right now my flowerbeds around my house are a sea of wildflowers—white Shasta daisies and purple coneflowers, that divide and spread with no effort from me. I’m also growing fruits and vegetables, and it’s such a thrill for me and my children to go pick some tomatoes—organic of course—right from outside our back door.           

            More and more people, it seems, are forgoing the grass, making gardens, and growing some of their own food on their urban or suburban land.  I’ve always preferred gardens to grass. A couple of months ago I was at a party and met two fascinating women that have transformed five vacant city lots on the near Eastside of Indy into a certified wildlife habitat, orchard, and organic heirloom gardens, complete with native plants and installation art. 

            I can’t wait to take a trip down there to visit, and just a couple weeks ago I was at (another) party at my friend Linda’s. Her backyard is gorgeous and inspiring, from the fairy swing hanging from the maple to a brick patio made with reclaimed bricks from her sidewalk that was replaced to a large vegetable garden and flowers throughout the winding paths.

            All of this makes me want to go get grounded in the earth, to plant more, to be the caretaker of something that is beautiful and thriving.  It’s good for the earth and good for the soul.

Going green seems to be the road less traveled

I feel like an eco-freak a lot of the time. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to forget when I’m in my own little world here. My little world is an oasis, an environmentally friendly oasis. I feel kinda good, like I’m making some sort of difference: recycling everything I can, reducing and reusing, collecting wine corks that would otherwise be thrown away, and on and on.

Eco-consciousness colors everything I do.

And then I get a jolt. Recently I went on a trip and was acutely aware of waste at every turn—from the large, bleached paper napkins the size of hand towels to the auto flush toilets that trigger three times per trip on average. At least they’re low-flow, right? And then there were the pretty much non-existent recycling options. It’s enough to make me crazy!

I felt so guilty at every turn, from the jet fuel spewing over the landscape on the flights to the fifty-six seat charter bus for our meager tour party of seventeen. The bus idled during the times we weren’t on the road. You know I’m anti-idling. Twist the knife again!

I did what I could. I asked for a real mug instead of the typical polystyrene cup when we stopped at the local coffee shop. I wiped my hands on my pants in the restroom as opposed to paper towel usage when there weren’t auto hand dryers, and I declined maid service during our hotel stay because we didn’t need daily fresh towels and sheets.

I brought my own stainless steel water bottle and travel mug along with me, so that also helped assuage my guilt a tiny bit.

And I wondered. What did the hotel do with the heaps of extra food left after the breakfast buffet? The perfectly good scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon didn’t go into the dumpster, did they?

I saw all this waste and I felt like an island. An eco-freak island. Does anybody else care, I wondered? I know there are other eco-freaks out there, where are you? Treading lightly on the Earth, inasmuch as we can, should be a priority. If your complaint is that it’s too hard, the only way it will get easier is to practice it daily and together.

Celebrate the equinox this time by the light of the moon

I’m looking forward to celebrating the autumn equinox this week. I’m very into celebrating the equinoxes, solstices, and following the cycles of the moon, so I look forward to doing something special when any of these roll around. The equinox (meaning ‘equal night’) falls on Thursday the 23rd, which also happens to align with the harvest moon this year, also falling on the 23rd.

I feel really passionate about this celebration of transition—and I feel like it’s something we have lost along the way. This need to mark the seasons and cycles of the moon is ingrained in us because this is how our ancient ancestors marked time and seasons. I feel like it’s an imperative and recharging way to feel more connected with the earth and others, when almost all of the rest of the time we’re caught in artificial time, 24/7 shopping and working, and activity overload.

Do you notice the changing of the light in the fall? It just feels and looks different, it seems more golden somehow. And the leaves have already started changing. All too soon, fall will be over and winter will be here. This is why we do this—to take time to slow down and savor the moment.

Marking the rhythms of the earth this way is significant and something we as a family and our friends look forward to. It will be a simple celebration—just food, music, friends. We’re getting together to share a meal and linger outside as long as we can. We’ll definitely hoop. Maybe do a rain dance. Or maybe a rain hoopdance? We also wanted to have a bonfire, but I doubt that’s going to happen thanks to this drought and the subsequent burning ban. Darn!

But hallelujah, we’ll have the light of the moon.

Earth Day’s Birthday

I’ve been celebrating Earth Day for about 25—wow, 25—years now. This year, Saturday April 24th, marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day (www.earthday.net). Visit http://www.earthdayindiana.org/ for Indy’s festival info (it’s Indiana’s 20th Earth Day festival).

I remember my first awareness of Earth Day, how I celebrated it then and still do today. Back then, I volunteered to take over the trash collecting on the side of the road that my parents always did in the spring anyway. I would walk along both sides of the busy state road we lived on, garbage bag in hand, and pick up trash.

I was always amazed. One, that people would actually litter, since purposely throwing trash on the ground is such an obvious wrong and so environmentally disastrous. And two, the sheer amount of trash was staggering, collected from such a relatively small place. It really saddened me to realize that this disrespect was happening not just in my small corner of the world, but all over.

The thing with picking up trash though is that it becomes addictive. Passing by litter will be about impossible, and something you may ask yourself is: “when will it stop?” I heard someone say once: “No, when will it start?”

Every year since I started celebrating Earth Day I have committed (and re-committed) to try to make a difference, in my own small way. So this Earth Day, I will take my children on walks through our neighborhood and we will pick up trash. I encourage you to take your children, or your grand-children, and do the same. This is the way we show we care not only for the Earth, but for our children. After all, the Earth they will inherit is the Earth that we leave for them, good or bad.

Ditch the dryer and do some line drying this year

Ahhh, do you love the smell of line dried clothes and sheets? There’s nothing like it. I think of my childhood and sleeping on my sweet smelling sheets that smelled like sunshine, and I can’t wait to do some line drying this spring in my backyard. We strung up a clothesline at our old house but still haven’t done it here (at our ‘new’ old house). There just doesn’t seem to be a good spot to put one up, and I’m dreaming of yards and yards of clothesline to pin up our garb. Anyway, this year we’ll make it happen!
So why line dry when throwing clothes in a dryer is so easy? Well, line drying is free, and clothes dryers are the second largest electricity sucking appliance (refrigerators are number one). What a great way to make a big impact on energy usage (or lack of) by ditching the dryer.

I also feel it’s a conscious move toward reclaiming a piece of a simpler life and simpler pleasures. Much like kneading bread can be meditative and restorative, so can line drying clothes.

Is that enough? Yes, I know, there are restrictive homeowner covenants in most subdivisions and many HOA’s outright ban clotheslines, but I have to say I would put one up anyway (and hey, it’s not like you’d rig it up in the front yard!). I like being subversive, personally, and I rather enjoy questioning the status quo. Not to mention, I’m all for people’s rights to line dry their clothes outside no matter where they live.

I’m looking forward to harnessing the power of the sun and wind and kicking back in my yard to watch my family’s clothes flapping in the warm breeze—it’s green and it’s free.

Love Mother Earth this Holiday Season (November 17, 2009)

I am always striving to do better in treading lightly on the Earth, so with that in mind I wanted to share some ideas for making this season greener and simpler.

1. Have a willingness to change your shopping, decorating, and celebrating habits. Do you always wish the holidays were simpler and less hassle? So does everyone else. If we want to get more out of Christmas/Hanukah/New Year’s, let’s do less.

2. With that in mind, consider giving fewer gifts to family and friends. My husband and I strive to give each of our children a few really meaningful gifts. Usually this consists of something to wear, something to read, and something to play with. We try to find a balance that strikes the chord of just enough.

3. Shop local when you can. And by local, I don’t mean a chain in town. I mean a real independent shop. I’m partial to the downtown courthouse square myself. Go spend some time browsing the shops and get a cup of coffee at Noble Coffee & Tea (bring your own travel mug) or a homemade ding dong at Logan Street Marketplace.

4. Shop secondhand stores. Why? Items are less expensive, recycled, and your purchase benefits good organizations. Don’t forget craigslist and eBay, and for new gifts that support artisans, try etsy (www.etsy.com).

5. Buy fewer plastic/battery operated/insanely packaged toys and gadgets. Recycle cardboard boxes and plastic packaging.

6. Bring your own reusable bags when shopping.

7. Wrap presents in kraft paper (can be recycled), re-used gift bags, fabric bags, or not at all. You could hide the unwrapped presents and leave 3 clues as to where it’s hidden.

I hope these ideas help you—visit my blog at www.cachetwrites.com for more ideas and to leave your own comments!

**more thoughts--instead of a regular gift exchange at large family gatherings, have a silly exchange.  At last year's family gathering, I instructed each participant to bring 2 prettily wrapped presents that are cheap but preferably useful, some examples would be: a pack of pens, washcloths, a bag of peanuts, etc.  Then we went around in a circle and each person could choose one from the pile or steal one.  On it went till everyone had 2 presents.  It was a hoot.  This could of course be modified to everyone bringing a secondhand item, either one they bought at Goodwill or one they brought from home.  Another idea would be the stipulation that everyone bring something they created themselves (or that someone else made).

Speaking of family gatherings and other parties--use real dishes.  Most people have a dishwasher, so it's really not a big deal to put them in the dishwasher.   Sooo much less trash is generated this way.  Use cloth napkins, too.

Consider a family membership to an area museum as a gift.  Conner Prairie is excellent (and so close).

Commit as a family to tread more lightly on the earth.  Brainstorm together.  Ideas--Recycle more . Walk or bike more places.  Drive less.  Buy used as much as possible. Wear clothes several times before washing/re-use towels.  Buy or make your own natural cleaning products. 

Either skip the christmas cards, or send out postcards instead.  Either way, you'll be saving paper AND money on stamps!

I'm sure I will think of more!