My post today has nothing to do with being green, I just wanted to share a cool photograph. It’s been a lazy Sunday so far and I caught this image of our Pitbull “Huckleberry” sunbathing by our front door. I think it captures the wonder of a quiet Sunday at home with the family and our animals… Enjoy;

Our Pitbull Huckleberry in the Sun

Fall seemed the appropriate time to talk about worm composting. Worm composting is a way to recycle food waste into a rich, dark, earthy-smelling soil conditioner. This type of composting is somewhat unique in that it can be done indoors, as well as outdoors, this allows for all year composting. If you live in a zero lot line home or an apartment, you can also compost using this method. The short version goes something like this: worm compost is made in a container, plastic or wood, filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste over a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms, over a period of time, will convert the entire contents into rich compost. It is a natural method for recycling nutrients in food waste. The resulting compost is a good soil conditioner for house plants, gardens and patio containers. The following information is from the experiences of a network of worm composters linked to City Farmer, Vancouver, and the excellent and practical book: Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof.

1. THE CONTAINER:
You can use wood and plastic containers, you can either build or buy them or recycle something like a old barrel, old dresser drawer, wooden crate, think creativly. A container made of wood seems to work the best because it is more absorbent and a better insulator for the worms.
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Photo by: Momster

Its almost Halloween and along with the season comes the carving of the pumpkin.  The pumpkin carving ritual isn’t complete until you have cleaned out all those seeds. Here is a great idea, recycle and reuse them, by roasting them in the oven. Roasted pumpkin seeds are packed with nutrition and low in carbs. For 1/4 cup, it is about 5 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fiber. They have a nutty flavor and are packed with protein. You can salt them or better yet flavor them with your favorite sweet or savory spice. The smell and crunch of roasted pumpkin seeds will add  new dimensions to the carving experience!! Of course when possible, by an organically grown pumpkin for organic roasted seeds!

Here are the directions to roast those seeds!

Ingredients:

Photo by: kzimmer

• Pumpkin or squash seeds
• If you want to add salt or seasonings, you’ll need a bit of oil so it will stick

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1) Clean the pulp off the pumpkin seeds, and dry with paper towels.

2) If desired, toss with a little olive or other oil. You only need enough to barely coat, otherwise, they will be greasy. Add salt and any kind of seasoning you want – garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, dried chili powder, or whatever sounds good to you!

3) Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the seeds out in one layer.

Bake for 3-5 minutes, until seeds just start to color and are fragrant. Sometimes I use a longer but safer method of using a lower temperature. If you roast the seeds at 250 degrees F., you don’t have to watch them as carefully. It takes about 45 -60 minutes.

By the way, did you know the origin of carving pumpkins? The story of the Jack o’Lantern comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a crafty farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the Devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk, making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took an ember from the devil, and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as “Jack of the Lantern.”

What could be greener than a traditional pumpkin carving contest? Pumpkins are all natural, completely bio-degradable and they unite families at this time of year in an earth friendly activity.
These are the Our Everyday Earth favorite pumpkin carvings for 2009.

Help us pick the best of the bunch by taking our Top 10 Halloween Pumpkin Carving poll… First, let’s check out the entries…

Spooky Pumpkin Carving #1

Our first pick is a spooky pumpkin with a very “Day of the Dead” feel to it, we loved the intricate carving and details in this one!

Have you ever wondered whether you can buy a wonderfully soft plush toy which is also good for the environment? Well now there are a range of super cute stuffed animal toys made by Mary Meyer, they are the amazing green plush toys called “Fuzz that Wuzz”.

Green Plush Toys by Fuzz that Wuzz

Amazingly these cute stuffed toys are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! We bought this green plush toy dog and considering he is made entirely from recycled bottles he is super soft and feels like a regular stuffed toy. His dog tag says his name is Woofzzzz Dog and he was made by the Mary Meyer stuffed animal company. Mary Meyer started making stuffed toys in 1933 and her company is now making these eco-friendly creations for us to enjoy…
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If you are anything like alot of people, you have probably never heard of soap nuts. I know I hadn’t, until this article I read the other day. Soap nuts, also called soapberries, washing nuts, or Ritha/Reetha (in Hindi), contain “saponins”, which have the ability to clean and wash. When in contact with water, it creates a mild suds, which is similar to soap.  The article went on to explain that for hundreds of years, people in India and Nepal have been doing their laundry and cleaning with Soapnuts.

Soap Nuts In a Laundry Sack

Our sunny Texas subdivision is host to a wealth of wildlife including possums, skunks, snakes, lizards, toads, squirrels and hawks to name but a few!

Today we had the pure luck to witness a meetig of two sharp eyed yard prowlers, a Hawk and a Squirrel…

Below are the photos we took documenting the epic battle of Hawk Vs Squirrel;

Hawk vs Squirrel - The first encounter!

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