Speaking of Green...

This is my new rechargeable electric lawnmower. Yes, it's in my living room (well, it was when the photo was taken)! That's the battery charging at the left side of the picture. I love it! Well, if you can love a lawnmower, anyway! I have a reel mower, too (for anyone who doesn't know, the kind that has no motor and the blades rotate kind of like a cylinder), but this one is so much faster on a big lawn - and still green!

Green Sewing

I FINALLY got a copy from my local library of Green Sewing by Betz White. I have GOT to get me one! I love this book - possibly the best "being green" book I've ever seen. I hope to have more on this post later, but for now, just go check it out! (http://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Green-Projects-Repurposed-Materials/dp/1584797584)

An Earth Day Project

An impromptu project for Earth Day - just a stick, nine bottles with their caps and some fishing line (the lizard isn't climbing onto the stick - he's just hanging out on the wall). When I get it balanced, it's going out on the porch to swing around in the breeze.

Let's Save the Earth!

Happy 40th Earth Day (counting the very first one on April 22, 1970)! Although I tend to honor Earth Day every day by trying to reduce my carbon footprint as much as possible, each year I add something on Earth Day. This year, it's water - I'm going to attempt to reduce my use of water, water my garden entirely from my rain barrel, shorten my showers, not buy water when the water from my tap is perfectly fine, turn the water off when brushing my teeth, keep my gutters cleaned out to reduce rainwater run-off, etc.
On the Go Make Something site (http://gomakesomething.com/), the weekly "Make It Mondays" this week is anything inspired by a footprint, and all I could think of was a carbon footprint! So I added another page to my art journal, and here's my entry - very impromtu among all the other things I was doing last night - enjoy!

Spring!

I've seen signs of spring for a few weeks now - a little more sun in this part of Ohio, more rain than snow, a generally more green appearance. But yesterday, it really LOOKED like spring! My first tulip is blooming! Peonies and raspberries are coming up, and the buds on the trees are noticeable. And a little grey squirrel sat watching me as I walked around taking photos. Welcome spring!

A curious little grey squirrel..

Leaves on the bushes

and trees...

Rasberries

Peonies!

My potted plants

And my beautiful little first tulip!

Orange You Lucky!

I just discovered this blog, showcasing the really delightful designs of Helen Dardik! The illustrations remind me of the graphics of my childhood, like they ought to be on greeting cards or bark cloth somewhere! Now go check them out at http://orangeyoulucky.blogspot.com/!

A Girl of the Limberlost and Gene Stratton-Porter

A Girl of the Limberlost, a book written by Hoosier author Gene Stratton-Porter (born Geneva Grace Stratton, nicknamed at an early age "Little Bird Woman"), turns 100 this year. The cluster of Indiana State Historic Sites encompassing the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site in Rome City, Indiana, the Limberlost State Historic Site in Geneva, Indiana and the Loblolly Nature Preserve near Bryant, Indiana will all be holding events during the week of April 24 through May 2 - designated "Go Green with Gene Week." According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (http://www.in.gov/dnr/5296.htm), these events include hiking, nature photography, and stories about the life of Stratton-Porter. If anyone is in that area at the time (or really at any time), these venues would be well worth a visit.
For my part, I've decided (of course, in addition to everything else I'm doing right now) to read the book once again. It has always been one of my favorites. Alternating between routing for Elnora and wanting to be her, she was a significant part of my childhood. When I was about 8 or 9, my great-aunt - an avid visitor of the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site herself - purchased several of the author's books for me. From her, I received A Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, The Keeper of the Bees, The Song of the Cardinal, A Daughter of the Land, and Her Father's Daughter. My grandmother had At the Foot of the Rainbow and Laddie and eventually gave those to me. Beyond those, I've also acquired The Harvester and Michael O'Halloran. But in my heart of hearts, I love A Girl of the Limberlost best!
If anyone is interested either in reading any of these wonderful old books, visiting the sites or supporting the Friends of the Limberlost, please visit one (or all) of these sites: http://www.genestrattonporter.net/ or http://www.genestratton-porter.com/ or http://www.in.gov/ism/StateHistoricSites/GeneStratton-PorterCabin/index.aspx.