Adventures in Eco-Living

Here's to the Crazy Ones

I came across this bit of inspiration today:

Here’s to the Crazy Ones

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The trouble-makers.
The round heads in the square holes .
The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules,
and they have no respect for the status-quo.
You can quote them,
disagree with them, glorify,
or vilify them.

But the only thing you can't do
is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world,
are the ones who do.

We've got a history-making election coming up, are in the midst of economic turmoil, have realized that oil will one day run out, are on the brink of a green energy revolution, and are starting to dream, en masse, of a better, more-fulfilling life for EVERYONE on this planet...

Here's to getting a little crazy today!

PS- It turns out this quote was a promo piece done by Apple Computers. Kinda ruins it a little bit- huge corporation using this inspiration and motivational quote to make billions. But it's a cool quote, nonetheless!

Harvesting Walnuts

We decided it was time to take advantage of the hundreds of walnuts that fall from the half dozen or so walnut trees edging our property. Our neighbor has been collecting them for years, and though the process sounded like a bit of work, we thought it would be wonderful to have our own walnuts to crack open on a snowy winter evening while sitting around a cozy fire... and the idea that our own land had yet one more way to provide us with sustenance intrigued us. How hard could harvesting walnuts possibly be?

 Our window of opportunity was quickly closing. The squirrels were looting what they could grab, and numbers of walnuts were rotting away on the ground, untouched. Winter was obviously approaching....

My mom and I grabbed a harvest basket, and headed to the brambles. Ducking, dodging, and weaving in out and out of thorny , prickly vines and covered in burrs, we searched for fallen walnuts hiding amidst the leaves. Much to our surprise, walnuts look incredibly like limes, a vibrant green, the size of a small rubber ball.

 We managed to fill our basket in less than 30 minutes. We had Alex shake a small walnut tree that was still hanging on to a couple dozen ripe walnuts- a risky proposition, we realized, as they bopped him on the head during their fall to the ground.

The best (and, as our neighbors might say, most cheatin'est) way to de-husk the walnuts is to run them over with a car. This smashes the husks, which can then be easily removed. (Warning: this process will stain your driveway.)  The husks can't be added to the compost, because walnut husks contain a compound that is toxic to many plants, including tomatoes. Apparently, this is an evolutionary adaptation that helps keep competing plants from growing too close to the walnut tree and stealing vital nutrients.

Now, we had read a recommendation to wear gloves while removing the husks, because the juices in the husk can stain your hands. We thought it would be "interesting" to see how bad walnuts stain your hands. I think it is fair to say we both regret that. A week and countless harsh treatments later (I caught my husband  pouring turpentine and gasoline on his hands in desperation), they are still black as black can be (see photo of Alex's hands to the left). We are told to expect the stain to last about 2 weeks- until the skin and nail cells have had a chance to replace themselves. Yikes! So anyway, we recommend gloves. Strongly recommend.

After running over and removing the husks, we threw the walnuts into a cooler full of water to wash off as much of the black goo as possible. Though a lot of it came off, the walnuts were still full of black and yellow, mushy husk bits,  but that's OK. After a few days of drying out in the sun on a screen (we put them inside a portable greenhouse to keep squirrels away), they were ready to go into our cement mixer for

an hour to tumble off all the dried husk. It worked phenomenally well! The walnuts came out perfect! (If you don't have a cement mixer available, I would suggest putting them in a large bucket or barrel, and stirring them aggressively with a stick- though the cement mixer was certainly a lot easier!)

Finally, we hung them in some old onion and garlic net bags, where they will hang to cure for about 3 weeks. They are hanging off our coat closet door in living room, near the wood stove, to speed up the curing process.

Eco-Friendly Jewelry: Sustainable Tagua Nuts are Hitting the Green Scene

I first came across a tagua nut while browsing in a bead shop last year. A big sign read "vegetable ivory" and "helps preserve the rainforest". Of course that piqued my attention! What was this tagua nut, why were they calling it vegetable ivory, and how come I had never heard of it before?

It turns out that tagua nut trees grow in Central and South America. It takes about 15 years before they will begin producing a harvest of tagua nuts, but then they will continue producing for a century and more. By harvesting the tagua nuts and creating consumer products from them, the survival of these tracts of rainforests is guaranteed. You see, as long as money can be made from standing trees, then it makes sense to leave them standing (instead of cutting them down for lumber, which has only short-term economic gain).

Local villagers are able to support their families by creating a tagua nut trade. Additionally, these curious nuts have been called "vegetable ivory" for their usefulness in replacing the extremely detrimental elephant ivory for the manufacture of small objects such as sculptures and pendants. A very sustainable discovery!

Not only are the tagua nuts eco-friendly and sustainable, but they are also gorgeous. You can see in the photo above that the tagua nut contains natural swirls of color, rendering every slice totally unique. They also can be sliced into thin chips and dyed various colors.

You can learn more about the tagua nut and see some beautiful necklaces here.

Our Chickens are Now Officially Free-Range

After months of having our chickens penned up in their relatively small coop and fenced-in yard, we finally are able to safely allow our chickens to roam- no small task, since we live in a very rural area where we often see coyotes, foxes, raccoons, stray dogs, chicken hawks, and other potential chicken predators right in our own backyard. We already lost 2 chickens to what we presume to be a raccoon earlier in the summer, and do not want to dwindle our flock any further!

The idea to go more free-range all started after doing some research recently regarding free-range vs. conventional eggs, when I realized a number of important things.

First, we needed to find a source for organic chicken scratch. There are numerous harmful chemicals that can end up in chicken scratch, arsenic among them. Yuck!

After calling local organic farms to see what they use, we finally found 2 dealers in the region, one that sells Fertrell Organic Poultry Feed and one that sells Graham Organics (a local brand, and one that we ultimately settled on). There were not many options in the Southwest Michigan area, but we were very pleased to find the Farmer's Elevator Co-op in Hudsonville, about 50 miles from our farm. We headed out there and bought enough chicken layer mash for the whole winter (hopefully)- 4 50-pound bags at $22 each.

I also have become concerned about the lack of greens in our chickens' diet. I mean, I do pick weeds and greens for them every day, but estimates I found suggested that chickens should have close to 40% of their calories from grass/greens! And since grass is a low-calorie food, that's a lot of grass. But I guess I didn't realize why this is so important....

You know how decades ago, everyone thought eggs were healthy, and then sometime around when I was a little girl, things changed, and we were told to limit how many eggs we eat because they can cause high cholesterol? I think a lot of that had to do with the way that chickens were raised, and was an indication that we had switched from small farm, free-range eggs to mass-produced factory farmed eggs, with dire health consequences.

See, it turns out that we get two essential fatty acids from eggs, Omega-3 and Omega-6. The ratio of these 2 EFAs depends on the diet of the chicken. A high-Omega-3 egg would actually help lower cholesterol, whereas a high-Omega-6 egg would raise your cholesterol. The green part of plants is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and the grain/seed is high in Omega-6. So when we overfeed our chickens grains/corn/seed, and under-feed greens, we end up with eggs that are high in Omega-6, and therefore contribute to high cholesterol. When chickens are allowed to free-range, they produce eggs that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and these eggs are much, much healthier, actually having positive health benefits, especially for our heart and arteries! I think that is totally fascinating!

And that also explains why fish/seafood is so heart-healthy. The ocean only produces plants with green parts, and no grains, and so all ocean life that feeds on seaweed, or on a creature that fed on seaweed, ends up being high in Omega-3 fatty acid, and therefore is a heart-healthy thing to eat.

So we decided that we had to let our chickens free range, if we wanted healthy eggs. We started letting them out for a couple hours a day, when we knew our neighbors' dogs were inside and could not chase the chickens (we think they might be responsible for a dead wild turkey- much bigger than a chicken- that turned up on our driveway). But I cannot tell you how hard a time I sometimes had getting those darn chickens back in the coop when it was time. The first day I chased them for 2 hours (probably as much due to my lack of skill as to their stubbornness). That simply was not going to work.

So we came up with a grand plan! One of our larger garden plots is next to the chicken coop. Since the growing season is over, we decided to let them roam in there, cleaning up the weeds, bugs, and scratching/tilling the soil, all while adding beneficial chicken poop. It's a perfect solution!

So Alex built an enclosure that connects the coop to the garden, cut open the garden fence, and now the chickens have a huge and wonderful pasture to graze upon to their hearts content. Let me tell you, they sure are some happy chickens now! And the best part- they aren't eating half as much layer mash, which will mean big savings for us. Happy chickens, happy wallets. Who could ask for more?

Natural, Organic, and Healthy Halloween Candy

It's coming... that intoxicating favorite holiday of children (of all ages!) across the country, the perfect excuse to dress up in spooky, outlandish costumes and consume unheard of amounts of candy. What more could a kid want?

As a health-conscious parent (or treat-giver), you just might be looking for something a little bit more natural than your typical Halloween candy. Well, do we have some great suggestions for you! All of these treats are natural, some are organic, and they are all free of artificial colors and sweeteners, making them a healthier choice for candy this year!

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops
Oh, gosh, these are just heavenly! Really, truly, the best-tasting lollipops we've ever tasted! And get this- they are made with real fruit juices and fruit colors, have no artificial-anything, and come in ghoulishly good flavors like Blood Orange Cocktail, Ginger Zest, and Chili Mango Mambo. And for the Halloween flood of trick-or-treaters, YummyEarth lollies come in bulk 1-pound bags. The perfect choice for a healthy Halloween!

Glee All-Natural Chicle Gum Variety Pack
Made from the sap of the Sapodilla tree in Mexico and Guatemala, this all-natural gum contains no artificial sweeteners, colors, or preservatives, and helps preserve the rain forests by supporting local villagers who harvest the chicle from already-standing forests. This handy variety pack contains 21 individual packs, each with 4 pieces of gum- perfect for handing out to all the little monsters and goblins that come your way!

Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit
Don't just buy some Halloween candy, make it yourself! This cool kit lets you actually make your own chewing gum from a chicle (Sapodilla tree sap) gum base. How cool is that? We thought it would be a great activity for either an at-home or at-school Halloween party. Especially since it teaches kids about raw material sourcing and ethical trade practices while letting them connect to another part of our globe. A fun AND educational activity! Also check out the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit and the Make Your Own Gummies Kit.

Crank Flashlight- No Batteries Needed!
And lastly, we thought this flashlight was a great idea for extra-safe trick-or-treating. Make your own power by winding the crank for about a minute or two, and then enjoy an hour and a half of light- without having to worry about dead batteries. And kids- even big ones like my husband- will enjoy winding the crank to create light!

Need some more Halloween treat ideas? CLICK HERE to check out more Healthy Halloween Treats.

First Frost Last Night

It's happened (and it's rather early, too). The first frost has hit, which has taken out the remaining eggplants, basil, and peppers (hot-weather-loving plants). The cooler-weather plants, like Russian kale and chard and Brussels sprouts, will be fine for quite a bit longer. The tomatoes were already dead/dying, ravaged by a summer of too much moisture, not enough heat, and rampant spread of septoria and blight.

The peppers will have to be picked today, as they can't take this frosty weather.

The frost also means that this was the first morning that I had to start a fire in the wood stove (we've been having fires at night, but not during the day). Winter is coming, and with it, an entirely different set of chores! Feeding and watering the chickens is not so pleasant when it's 30 degrees and your wet hands are freezing! Of course, it's going to get much colder, and so I better get used to it...

We opted not to protect any of our more delicate plants, as we are just about at the end of the season anyway and have harvested plenty. But if we had wanted the peppers to survive, we could have thrown some floating row covers over them, covered them in some sort of plastic or tarp, or ran the sprinklers all night (the moving water prevents the plants from freezing).... which some people may want to do in the next few weeks if there is a frost advisory. When we were living in the city, I don't remember frost warnings being on the news too much, but here, out in rural farming country, it is a top priority to warn local farmers and gardeners that a damaging frost is approaching. It's interesting how different rural news can be from its urban counterpart!

So today I will head out to the garden, pick the remaining peppers and eggplants, and preserve them (I'm thinking roasting and then freezing). We've had a great harvest this summer, despite the goofy weather and pesky disease and pest problems, and so I am thankful. We will certainly enjoy it all winter!