A short lesson in grey water( AKA Gray water )

Obviously the financial situation in the U.S. isn't going to get better anytime soon. We can gripe about it, or we can look for ways to conserve and to be better stewards of what we do have. Ask yourself, " Am I doing everything I possibly can(within reason) to conserve energy, money and resources?"

I'm not suggesting you take up beekeeping or start spinning your own wool,(although I personally would love to do both) but dealing with Grey water is a reasonable place to start.

What is Grey water? I'm glad you asked. Grey water is the product of dish washing, showering, and bathing. Not to be confused with toilet water which is considered "black water" due it's being a serious bio-hazard. Grey water may contain soap residue, skin cells,food particles, and in the case of tub water, a small amount of fecal matter. Don't go freaking out, Grey water is potentially very useful if used correctly.

The most widely-used method of recycling Grey water is for watering plants. They love it! With few exceptions, your plants will love getting water with 'extra goodies' in it. What are the exceptions? Well, most notably Rhododendrons. It has something to do with plants that love acid vs alkaline conditions. If your concerned, look it up.

A word of caution: Do not use greywater for edible plants! You run the risk of growing contaminated food that will make your family sick. Recycled water is best for your trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. And please, please don't drink it.

My brief gleaning of a very small portion of the total amount of information available also suggested using it to flush your toilets.

What do I stand to gain from this?
1. A lower water bill
2. Conservation of a valuable resource
3. Knowledge is power
4. Greater level of self-sufficiency

Lastly, please use the internet to learn how to make use of your household's Grey water. There are many excellent suggestions for gaining access to the water used in your washing machine and dishwasher as well as products you can buy to filter and purify your Grey water to a more usable quality. Below are some suggested sights for information:

www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/

www.greywater.com

www.greywaterguerillas.com

This is for Annie! (a blog response to Aurelia Ann)

These pics are for the newly converted "mushroom hunting mama" Annie.They are, in descending order, Fly Amanita, Milk Cap, and Orange cup fungus. I took these pics last fall while searching for Chanterelles and Hedgehog mushrooms.

Can it!

The need to get everything 'put up' for the winter has kept me from posting regularly these past few weeks. Still, I can't complain. Our family has been blessed with blackberries, apples, tomatoes, even pears. Here are the fruits of our labor, no pun intended: 1st pic: blackberry jam and canned pears make a fall centerpiece, 2nd pic: spiced apples, 3rd pic: spiced apple syrup heats in pot, 4th pic: my sister with the giant pressure canner I affectionately call "The Beast".

urban homesteading

Below is a blurb from an article by Kelly Coyne. Really amazing stuff. Check out Kelly and Eriks blog at : homegrownevolution.com

"What is an Urban Homesteader?

An urban homesteader is someone who enjoys living in the city, but doesn't see why that should stop her from engaging directly with nature, growing her own food, and striving for self-sufficiency.

We don’t wish to retreat to the countryside and live like the Unabomber in a plywood shack. We believe that people are best off living in cities and cooperating with other like-minded folks. Instead of hoarding ammo and MREs, we're building the skills and forming the conditions and networks that sustain us, our friends and our neighbors, now and into the future.

Urban homesteading is about preparedness, but we don't like that term very much. It connotes stockpiling things that you hope will keep your ass alive. Survivalism in general is about the fear of death. Urban homesteading is about life – it is a way of life founded on pleasure, not fear. Our preparedness comes not so much through what we have, but what we know. We are recollecting the almost-lost knowledge of our great-grandparents, those most essential of human skill sets: how to tend to plants, how to tend to animals, and how to tend ourselves."

This is pretty much how I see it. Every single one of us has the power to improve our quality of life and increase our independence by doing for ourselves. Our grocery stores will continue to sell us inferior products full of pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics unless we take a personal stand. And besides, urban homesteading is so much fun! I encourage you to take a small step today. Plant a little lettuce in your front yard, grow herbs in a pot on a windowsill- If your really brave, keep a chicken in your backyard! Fresh eggs are really fantastic. Not all runny and pale like store bought.
stepping down from the soapbox for now,
-EJ

old and new

Paxson informed me today he will be gone in less than a year. By 'gone' he means off to college. Nevertheless, hearing it made my heart squeeze just a little. For Paxson it's exciting, uncharted territory. I've no doubt he can almost taste the freedom. For me it's not real yet. I'm still wrapped in a warm, comforting blankie of denial. It feels good so I think I'll stay there awhile.

Yesterday Max and I ruthlessly yanked squash plants. It just wasn't worth it anymore to water them daily yet throw most of them out due to rot. Dante' and I are eager to start several different kinds of lettuce this fall. They will occupy the space left empty after the beans and squash were pulled.

At the community garden things are well. The tomatoes continue to ripen, the celery are quite large, and the beets are beginning to look like they might actually be growing. The carrots are long since uprooted and eaten. That space will probably grow radishes if I can lay my hands on some seeds. Sheesh! Buying seeds in town this time of year is near to impossible. The only viable source at this point is most likely the internet.

Max is loving preschool. Everyday he says the Pledge Of Allegiance to our neighbor's flag,(I wonder if they notice?) and then prays for a good school day. He is learning his letters and shapes and gets a serious kick out of singing "Grey squirrel". The "shake your bushy tail" line is simply irresistible. We've made our own playdough and this morning Max learned to string pasta onto a shoestring. It really got his attention. Max felt so important to have mastered the skill he exulted "This is so much fun, Mommy!". You know, life would grand if we could all just take a time out and push macaroni onto a shoelace. Stress levels would drop dramatically. I strung some pasta with Max and it was astoundingly therapeutic.

William, Richard, and Paxson have been just wonderful. They are all doing well in school and are a great help at home. Dante' is never very happy with school but she excels in her work. Simply put, time away from her horse is not time well spent, in her opinion.

Again, Fall is weaving it's magic. Something in the air makes me nostalgic to the point of writing these sentimental posts. Pumpkin pies are begging to be baked. The cool air needs the waft of freshly baked gingerbread. Dinners become more substantial, have fewer greens and more grains. I light good-smelling candles around the house and long to sleep under heavy blankets. Max is precious with his cherubic face beaming from under his hooded sweatshirt.

All good things.

-EJ

Boxes of Memories

7 years ago I moved from Virginia to Oregon. There wasn't enough room to bring everything so boxes of keepsakes got left behind. Last Friday I came home to 12 boxes in my living room. 12.

At first it was fun, like Christmas. Box after box held baby pics of Paxson and Dante', old letters, movies tickets,etc. But as I dug farther into the pile, most of my past was being pulled from those boxes. Too many memories. Way too many. Why did I keep all those things? Almost every paper I've written, all my report cards from grade school through high school. People long forgotten or left behind. Reminders of mistakes and lonely times.

That first night I couldn't sleep. My head was spinning with information overload. The bedroom was so full of stuff the floor couldn't be seen. The second night was a little better. Still it was hard to think about my life before coming to God. Shallow, selfish, and reckless are good words to describe my teens and twenties.

By Saturday the thrall of the boxes was over. Every needless item had been trashed. Precious memories re-boxed. Other items assimilated into this home. The only feeling remaining is thankfulness to the Lord for remaking us anew when we come to Him.

-EJ

harvest time

If I haven't posted in a looong time, blame Fall. The green beans went on a producing rampage and had to be dealt with virtually all at once. Then the carrots, then the cabbages etc. and so on............

The excitement of preserving your own food is soon dulled with the panic of trying to get it all done before everything goes to rot. Is it possible I ever lamented the lack of garden squash? Will I ever be able to look at another cabbage and feel anything but chagrin? Did I mention that harvesting frenzy coincides with back-to-school?

And what kind of masochist home schools 3 children at once? Apparently I do. "Le sigh"
All kidding aside, it has been a great success. I am so grateful to The Community Garden for giving me the confidence to start a home garden. The amount of food the gardens have provided our family is substantial. We had the pleasure of fresh vegetables all spring and summer and probably most of this fall to come.

In a nutshell:

Successes- lettuce, cabbage, swiss chard, radishes, green beans, green onions, carrots, yellow squash, spinach.

mildly successful- cucumber,celery, peas, mustard greens, tomatoes

Failures- Okra, pumpkin

"The jury is still out"- corn and beets


Here's a new one- location had everything to do with success. Green onions did well at the community garden and absolutely tanked in my front yard.

Spinach also did well at the garden but was much less abundant at home. Lettuce fared equally well both places.

Next years plan- Trellis climbing beans up the side of the house, plant potatoes, ditch the okra.

The laundry room is knee-high in dirty clothes (no joke), the house is a mess, beans and carrots sit downstairs awaiting their final destiny. Tempted as I am to run and hide (mommy who?), it's time to go to bed and rest up for the next round.

cheerfully,
EJ