Spring Cleaning

For me, springtime brings a new sense of purpose, and repurpose. Having spent the good portion of 2011 trying to discard, donate, and reorganize, last night I decided to dedicate a 40 min cleaning session to sprucing up the unfinished part of the basement. Normally a no man's land of storage bins and laundry detail, last year's labors provided me with newfound space. Whipping out a half-used can of paint, I tackled painting all of the cabinets and doors a cheery bright blue. The result made me wonder why I hadn't done it sooner. My tropical painting, Self-Portrait with Cat, a 1992 tribute to Henri Rousseau's Dream, was set above the washer/dryer, adding just the right amount of insouciance to my domestic duties. And who could forget the 50's bar stools? Perfect height for the workspace I had just cleared. Yes, it was a rewarding 40 minutes indeed.

Arbor Day

While I was listening to a college radio station this morning, the host was chatting about the contrast between big business and the environmental movement. "The oil industry has money, but the environmental movement has the collective." He went on to assert that the collaborative nature of the environmental movement, sharing members and resources, allows for many leaders who vie for progress not power. The power of the environmental movement comes from everyday people making choices in their everyday actions-- and in this way, the collective can affect change. For example, my students recently implemented a water bottle recycling program at our high school, capturing 1.3 tons of plastic in March alone. Needless to say, the actions of individuals, positive or negative, have a combined result.
With Arbor Day upon us, it seems like an appropriate time to encourage the collective response of planting trees. Instead of a national day of consumption-- cards, flowers, candy, toys-- let's honor a day dedicated to improving our natural habitiat. The collective act of planting trees has great political power too. Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt movement in Kenya one tree at a time-- the end result was massive in terms of the environment and the empowerment it provided.
And why not plant trees? We need to counteract those lost annually to overdevelopment and to storms in order to provide a healthy environment to animals and people alike. Consider adding a tree to your yard this spring, or simply protecting the ones you have. Or instead of giving out a rubber bracelet for a fundraiser, or a tchotke as a wedding favor, consider sharing saplings. Those trees might just add up to a forest.

Signs of Spring

A million thanks to mother nature for bringing springtime weather to Long Island. This spring, however, will be different for us. Olivia's book tour will take us cross country, leaving the garden to 'go natural' until we return to our usual routine in May. Til then, I can enjoy birds eating at the feeders and building their nests on a sunny Sunday morning. That may be all I need anyway.

Spring Clean Up Continues

So what I've discovered with my spring clean up is that the fewer things you bring into your home, the fewer things you eventually have to toss. Obviously I know it's the first R in reduce, reuse, recycle, but it became evident that packaging is a huge part of that equation. After recycling the laundry detergent containers which had gathered in a corner of the basement, I decided to switch to Method, sold at -- where else-- Target. Because the soap is more condensed, it requires less packaging. It's the same reason I've switched to bags of coffee instead of cans-- less to recycle. Any other swaps for the sake of packaging? Do share.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Here's a photo essay of the 'Before and After' of the meditation garden clean up.

Every year I swear I'm going to clean it out in the fall to prevent unwanted mold and blight, yet when early autumn rolls around, I can only savor the last moments of greenery. By the time the leaves are down and blanket the garden, I seem to lack the spare afternoon or energy to put the garden to bed properly. Instead I tell myself the ground will stay warm and cozy until spring's clean up.

Yesterday's clean up was especially grand with its warm sunshine after a long winter. I turned on the last of a great audiobook-- Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen-- and savored the afternoon preparing for this year's herbs and flowers, celebrating its completion with Clara, James, and a bottle of prosecco.

Spring Cleaning

Am I the only person who gains energy by setting the clocks ahead? Ever since the clock sprang forward an hour, I've been on a cleaning jag. The book shelves need some pruning, the bric-a-brac some editing, and the basement--- don't ask.

It's amazing how quickly the tide of clutter needs to be revisited. Last year I didn't get to my spring cleaning until June, so I knew I wanted to get started a bit earlier this year. My goal, to get something out of the house every day. Today I donated toys and coats, parted ways with a paisley silk blouse, shared a lovely scented soap, and tossed a broken humidifier. It's a start.

Over lunch I read a 'how-to' article about organizing one's home; however after reading the tips, it seems far easier to do the annual toss than to follow their complex regimen and stringent guidelines. If I had that kind of time on my hands, I wouldn't be disorganized in the first place.

Mellene of Melleneland blog and I commiserated on spring cleaning-- check out her hilarious entry on the issue.

whatever a sun will always sing is you

Now that April's over, I've decided to celebrate the first Friday in May with a bottle of red and a meal... and part of an ee cummings poem:

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

The poem reminds me to get back into the garden tomorrow. Though I've often maintained an herb garden, I've been inspired by Michelle Obama's organic garden at the White House and may attempt something grander like tomatoes and zucchini, perhaps even a bean pole. And finally after spraying water on a block of spores for two months, I've got ONE shiitake mushroom, slightly less than my goal of an entire crop. But the good news is that my transplanted peonies are doing well, as are fruit trees and the hydrangeas, so there may be hope for my green thumb after all.

Ready for Spring

Not even a foot of fresh snow can chill my anticipation of springtime this year. I am all ready to set my clocks an hour ahead, loss of sleep be damned. In honor of spring this year, I'm planning some eco-projects-- First off, we've started some seedlings. Olivia plunked some seeds in a pot and I've got a pine tree going that's now about ten inches tall. Next up, we're starting our shiitake spores today. We had high hopes of using a decaying log, but reality set in, so we are starting with a smaller kit and working our way up to logs. And for a bigger project, we're setting up some birdhouses to combat habitat loss for our feathered friends. Check out birds.cornell.edu/nestinginfo. But our greatest spring project so far is hatching a batch of butterflies. Right now they are a handful of fat caterpillars, evolving into even fatter caterpillars. We're just hoping spring comes in time for their release. Otherwise, we're pointing the car south and going on a road trip.