Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Nature loving Great grand daughter

Amy is a true nature lover from the heart. She loves plants and would rather go
into the garden center at Walmart than the toy section. If we are driving in the
car and we are out of town she will say, "Oh, look at the beautiful cactus, or the
mountains. On a visit last week she set about watering the plants and
gathering eggs. That is her mother in the background and her uncle.
The boys, her brothers came latter with their grandmother. Amy's
pretty little face puts me in mind of my dad's mother who
influenced me greatly in my love for the more simple life.
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Monday, June 29, 2009

Sustainability board meeting

Recently I met up with Melanie De Bo who is an activist and thinks sustainably.
She has tried to work on a program to better our county with forward thinking
and sustainable principles. When she and I got together we motivated each
other and got things rolling. This is the first board meeting at Melanies.
We will be reinstating a dormant non profit called "The Cerbat Learning Center"
Our mission statement will be "Promoting and Implimenting Sustainability
In Our Community"
In the forefront, Melanie, the new Director, Connie, (just behind her) Jack, ( Jack is off to Washington this week to speak about sustainability), me and Sharon.
Sharon is a lawyer in nearby California so said she might have a conflict of interest,
being on the board but will help out.
This is a new adventure for me and I'm looking forward to helping in the education
and promotion of sustainable lifestyles in Mohave County, Az.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Palo Verde harvest

Last evening I noticed how loaded the palo verde trees are with green seed pods.
I had read that palo verde seeds when green are like fresh peas, so I decided to
try one. It was a beautiful evening and so I ate my dinner of palo verde seeds
just as I would eat fresh shelled peas right out of the garden. They are very
similar in taste, filling and "YUM"
I am learning a lesson about the desert. There is a great deal of food that
many would just overlook. These seeds are so abundant and tasty yet if I had
not read that they could be eaten like peas I never would have tried them.
This morning I picked this basket and sat on the back porch shelling and eating
Palo Verde seeds. I don't know the nutricional value but since it is a nitrogen
fixing tree, I might guess that the seeds are similar to beans or peas. Next,
I'm going to try the dried seeds as cooked beans and flour. The picture of the
shelled beans didnt' come out. They look very similar to edamie. I will take
another picture, later.
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Palo Verde Harvest

Every branch on the palo verde tree is loaded with seed pods.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Spiral Island

Paradise island built of plastic bottles and mangrove roots.

Australian Land Regeneration - Part One

Here is the Australian Land Generation video no. 1. There are 4 parts that you can watch on Youtube.
Basically this man began to create ways to cause the water to stay on his land instead of run off in washes and errosian. A good way to restore the desert.

Desert Ponds/Bird habitat

In a comment on a recent post it was thought that ponds might not be possible in Az. Here is a link to a web page in West Texas where the weather and terrain is very similar to Az. In 11 years this woman built a beautiful oasis. Check out the photo pages and here oasis.

http://www.bigbendbirdhabitat.com

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Permaculture Worm Tower

Here's a very simple way to raise worms in your garden and improve your soil

Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute

Here's a very good video of the permaculture research center.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Peachick

It's very hard to see the little chick here in front of mom, by the grape vine.
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Peahick

Look close, there's the little peachick right in front of mom. Colors blend in with earth.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

crockpot chicks

Here they are all growed up. My rooster, the guy with the black cape on white crowed
for the first time yesterday. Won't be long before eggs
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Water feature

Recently, I was given some water lilies. Now I have a small water feature with a few fish.
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