HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

I have received a lot of mail about eco friendly watches. There was an overwhelmingly positive response last time I discussed solar powered and battery free watches. Another type of watch that falls into this category are Kinetic watches. They recharge as you turn and move your wrist, and create their own electricity through your movement causing the quartz to oscillate.

There is an indicator that also states how much stored energy is available. When there is no detected movement for 72 hours, the watch “sleeps.”  There is a manual power saver mode where you an accomplish this and not wait the 72 hours.  It is still keeping time during this period, though the hands are not moving to save power. Once movement is again detected, the watch advances to the correct time.  If the watch in this mode, it will keep measuring time for four years.   It can be awakened by shaking it a few times. The time will be accurate within one second per month.

This would be such a hit if you were to buy one and donate it to a fundraiser drawing for an environmental group or animal rescue. Right now, it seems that Seiko only offers this type of watch for men, and hasn’t introduced many ladies styles.  I am sure that will change.  For now, it would be the perfect gift for the man in your life.  I would imagine that some of the styles would be suitable for ladies, except for dressy occasions.  It would definitely call for an activity where utility is the key.

I was watching a design show awhile back. I don’t remember which one. There was a composting toilet featured. It was in either a public place, or in a home where other random people were allowed to use it. I expected some people to say they thought it was weird, and some people say they appreciated the idea. I thought the interviewees were a little extreme, talking about how they felt so connected to the earth by using it or that their life was changed. At any rate, it got me wondering if this was even a practical idea. After all, the one on the show was built into a semi-outdoor bathroom that looked more like a natural habitat for something.

I have learned that there are two different concepts for composting toilets. The first, shown at left, features a central composting system. The toilet itself acts as a standard toilet, and then the waste water goes into this system. The second is a self contained toilet, shown below.

Both systems turn waste into compost, mainly oxidized salts.  The compost is very clean.  If I installed a  composting toilet, I most likely would not use compost on vegetables.  There is some literature that leads me to believe that human and canine waste is not the best or safest fertilizer.  The best fertilizer is still manure from herbivorous animals.  I might use it on the lawn, or more so, perhaps still toss it in the trash bin.  Some people might say that it sort of defeats the purpose if I was throwing it away.  On the contrary, it will still greatly reduce the water I use.  Some of the toilets use as little as one pint of water, and prevent the toilet from creating a strain on the public sewage system. The compost will take up a very negligible amount of space at the dump, and will just return to the soil.

Have you heard of these toilets?  If so, what do you think?

My neighbors are very concerned about recycling. Not only is there recycle bin full at the end of the week, but they are always looking for ways to reuse some of those bottles and papers a few times before they hit the bin. I have found that many people are in the neighborhood are the same way. I am far from radical, but what I notice the neighbors overlook is a few old fashioned ways to trim a few dollars off of the utility bills, such as conserving water. I am not talking about brushing your teeth dry, but water use for gardening and the kiddie pool.

Rain barrels are something that never crossed my mind until I lived somewhere that did not have running water for several days. The well was on an an electric pump, and when the power went out in the area, water was lost, too. I had filled the bathtub with water days prior to flush the toilet with, and there was still a water bottle or two at the store. Even so, just the suggestion of being without makes one thirsty. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge penned: “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.” The whole situation made me wonder how I could use a rain barrel to somehow benefit a bit more from the rainy season.

While rain barrel wouldn’t provide me with delicately filtered water to serve in champagne flutes, it has many important uses. I could water the lawn and garden with water I saved. Those tasks involve many gallons at time, so catching rain water would cut my water bill during the spring and summer. During a storm, I could use the water to flush the toilets. Washing the boys is something else I could use the water for.  The dogs usually are bathed in the stationary tub.  I could fill up a container from the rain barrel and use it to rinse them.  Of course, they are spoiled and like warm water, but I am sure they wouldn’t mind a tepid rinse, as long as they were compensated with being wrapped in a fluffy towel and held awhile.

Have you considered using a rain barrel?  Do you already use one?  Tell me what you think!

There are many reports that the Bovine Growth Hormone used in dairy cattle is causes a host of maladies in individuals, form breast cancer, to obesity, to food sensitivity.  There are also antibiotics in beef cattle.  Solutions are injected into the meat so that it displays better, and hormones also are sometimes given to cattle to make them more substantial.  While some may argue the solution is to go off of eating meat entirely, there are many others who are looking for sources of meat that they can trust for their family.  Many of my readers are concerned with sustainability or are looking to consume an organic diet.  Also, some individuals have chosen a raw diet for their dog and the grocery store meat is just too laced with preservatives.

One company that provides Natural Meat to suppliers and restaurants is Niman’s Ranch. They source meat from small, 650 family farms across the United States where cattle, swine, and sheep are raised in a humane and organic way. All animals are fed the finest of vegetarian feeds, and are independently inspected by veterinarians regularly. Since small, independent farmers raise the animals, you are also helping family farms stay in business. While much of American food is going overseas, these small farms are committed to keeping it local.

Their site has an online store coming soon, where you can order meat and specialty products for your family to enjoy in your own home, skipping the middle man of a restaurant or market.  I do not eat beef, but My Favorite Guy and other relatives do.  I am going to definitely consider ordering, as eating humanely raised, vegetarian fed, and antibiotic free meat keeps your loved ones healthy.  It looks like they are going to have some specialty products as well.

The summer equipment was all put away this week.  The hay bine and rakes have been blown off and they are ready to be wedged in the back corner of the barn.  Of course, unless the hay shoots up again for a third cutting.  My Favorite Guy has a hay field that he farms, and I started out the season just making due without seeing him during those activities, but now I have learned a few things and stand on a moving hay wagon with him.   It is good, clean fun and great exercise for the back and upper body.  In other words, I no longer “throw like a girl,” at least for now.

Now that everything has been put away, it is time to think about next summer.  To buy garden accessories doesn’t happen because of the fast pace, or it happens sort of slap dash.  Now, I can look through websites and catalogs at my leisure to decide what I might like to get for him.   Garden wind chimes are something that are pretty to listen to in the summer, and also give one an idea of the wind speed. Of course, a flag might be better, as garden wind chimes tinkle at the slightest breeze, but have you ever heard chimes really making a racket? That is what I am talking about. When you hear them speed up, you know a good breeze is blowing through to make some activities more bearable, and some just plain moved to the back burner.

I saw some copper chimes, like the horse chime at left, that really appealed to me.  Copper is something that can be left out, and it looks even better when the weather gets to it.  Most copper items have already been aged or painted to look weathered, but the addition of a bit more green or brown achieved through wind and rain just enhances their appeal.   There will be no need to bring them in and clean them every few weeks.  Really nice garden wind chimes like this can’t be found in the $10 bin, but will run you at least in the $50-60 range.  That is an excellent value when you think of something that will last for years.

One of the ways to be able to position a chime anywhere is a Shepherd’s Hook.  You can attach it to a fence post, as shown.    It will keep it away from an overhang, so you can see it a bit more easily from another window, and also get an idea what the wind is like away from the house.   I just recommend not to put it on the inside of the fence where there are horses, even though it is so tempting to buy that horse chime and stick it among the real horses.

They probably will leave it alone, but I know how Murphy’s Law operates all too well.  In fact, I know a horse that will go after golf carts and four wheelers just to try to lick the salt off of them.   I don’t think she would try to eat a chime, but a licking from a mare would definitely leave them in a state of affairs that they would need to be rescued from.  I did say I liked a nice patina on a chime, but that is definitely not what I was talking about!

Whether you are buying items to use for the fall, or are thinking about next season, there are many beautiful choices to be had.

Where has the summer gone? The last few weekends, it was an unbearable 95 degrees. This weekend, I was wearing a sweater. Often, it is not the actual temperature that is cold. “On paper” it is quite temperate. It is the sudden drop that our bodies react to. What really was nice this summer was having a nice fire going. Something like the Sojoe Fire Pit would keep things a bit more user friendly and off the ground. For the first part of the summer, we just dug a hole. That worked okay for awhile, but it tended to entice the kids to get close to it. The next time, it was not much better. We just put a ring of metal in the ground. That contained it from spreading to the grass, but was a bit unsightly.

The reason why I was looking at Sojoe Fire Pits primarily had to do with safety and portability. Sure, you wouldn’t want to be lugging a 65 lb fire pit around on your back, but you could relocate it easily at the end of the season. It is meant to develop a rich patina from the flames and the elements, and includes a cover, but you may want to make way for snowmen in the winter. It would require no digging up of leftover logs or ashes. You also wouldn’t have that telltale spot in the yard where grass doesn’t grow. Conventional farmer wisdom says that the ashes actually fertilize the grass because of the potassium content in burned wood. However, it does not always help if there is no grass to be found. The other factor is if the soil has a high alkaline content, it will actually do more harm than good and burn the grass.  You can recycle the ashes by studying which flowers and veggies prefer the potassium.  Roses could be one of them, as they say they enjoy a banana peal buried near their roots every now and again.

While the Sojoe Fire Pit is beautiful to look at, and you can order it with a variety of design motifs. The cut outs of cranes, moons and stars, wildlife, or kokopelli are not only decorative elements, but also serve to increase the ventilation. The fire keeps going by itself.  You can use a poker, but you don’t have to stoke it nearly as much as with a completely closed unit.

The fire pit comes with a poker, vinyl cover, and a fire screen.  Even with that, ground shipping is included in the price by Outdora.com.   I always am frustrated looking at larger items online, knowing that shipping would be an arm and a leg.  This was definitely a welcomed surprise.

Chimneas and fire pits are a great way to share good times with friends, and stay warm on those unexpectedly cold nights.   What have you done this summer to stay warm?

Tomorrow is my cousin’s graduation party. It is late in the year because of family trips, family illnesses, and it just being a busy summer. It works out pretty well that way, because she is going to use the money and gift certificates she gets on things for school rather than blowing it on summer fun. I remember my party being a few weeks after I graduated, and I felt my fingers itch every time I looked at the book store gift certificates and the cash.  On the other hand, to her, the reality of being a poor college student is nigh.  Yes, you need to use archaic language to express utter despair.

The one thing we usually do for summer gatherings is fire up the grill. My uncle was looking at a Lynx Grill for the amount of burgers and chicken that are short ordered and delivered to the buffet line during the year. Every one of us has purchased a cheap grill. One was crushed when the eye of the garage door opener did not see it. That red laser light that “looks” a few inches above the floor to stop the door did not see the tripod, Star Wars droid like charcoal grill. When we heard the crunch, it was too late. It was banged back together but was too lopsided to use.

Another grill in the family was a particular pretty penny to buy.  It looked very high end, but the stainless steel panels were put on quite cheaply.  The hinges broke off when my cousin hung on the doors. When all said and done, thousands are probably spent by the family just buying another grill due to one mishap or another.

One thing being considered for a renovation is the Lynx Grill that is intended as a built in. I have seen brick structures where an outdoor kitchen is created in a yard or a pool enclosure. It keeps it more protected from the elements, but is also great in a storm. Your electric stove won’t work, your gas stove probably will, but who wants to cook in the dark?  Life can go on as normal.  If you are marking time and can’t live without the television, you can always use the time to learn to make venison and turkey jerky for your dog, right?   At left, is one such set up that a family member tried for awhile.  However, the grill is not the type designed for such purposes, and when it conked out, nothing else seemed to fit.

There are quite a few Lynx Grills that are made specifically for that purpose.  I found not only a traditional lift top, but side burners as well.  You could configure something that looks more like a grill with a rotisserie, or closer to a stove top appearance. They are also high end, and are what the professionals use when it comes to their tailgate parties, BBQ challenge shows, and more. It will kind of make you feel like you are on one of those cooking competition shows.

Something else also occurred to me.  In many ways, grilling is very “green,” and also offers more opportunities for family bonding than one person hidden in the kitchen.  It is a much better use of fuel than an indoor stove.  Sure, you can multitask and have something on the burner and something in the oven.  To cook a whole meal, however, you need to delay dishes or also fire up the toaster oven, and encourage guests to cook ahead.  With a high end grill, you can do everything simultaneously.  The meat and the veggies have enough elbow room to not cross contaminate.

Also, when the cooking is over, you can still cook marshmallows as it cools.  It won’t be the same as using charcoal.  There is nothing like burning a marshmallow, ending up in the ER with several degrees of burns, and catching your eyebrows on fire. Then, of course, there are hours spent trying to get it out of the dog’s long haired ears when you drop it from your stinging hand. With propane or natural gas, you might miss out on all that nostalgia, but you will get used to it.  I promise.

The end of the summer is coming soon, and another patriotic holiday is coming up.  Labor Day is not as significant as Independence Day, but sometimes individuals use it as the last opportunity of summer to adorn their boats and porches with flags.   There is common knowledge and some myths about how you should care for your flag.   I learned something new about the American flag at American-Flag.com. It is widely believed that if a flag touches the ground, it needs to be burned out of respect.  This isn’t true. According to the site:

Despite the common myth, flags that touch the ground do not need to be destroyed. If your flag does touch the ground, and it gets dirty, simply wash it. Allowing a flag to touch the ground is disrespectful to the flag, but of course accidents do happen. Just try to prevent it from happening again.

While cleanliness is something not everyone is clear about, it is common knowledge that when an American flag is tattered beyond repair, it should be retired.  The most common method is respectfully burning it.  In fact, the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts, and The American Legion all take flags and perform a flag retirement ceremony.  However, the exception is for nylon flags.  When nylon is burned, it can let off a toxic gas.  When you turn in a nylon flag, please mark it “recycle,” and they will recycle it or bury it in a box.

Every time I look at getting a flag, I am very disheartened to see a Made In China sticker on it.  Granted, I find that the smaller the flag, the more likely it is made in a foreign land, but it really is the principle of the thing.  Finally I have that Valley Forge Flags are made in the good old USA. You may have to order them online versus find them at your local store, but it is worth it.  As far as POW Flags, you will find that the larger sizes are available from American manufacturers, you just need to keep a close eye when looking at the small ones.

Have a safe August, and Labor Day Weekend, no matter what your plans may be.

There is a big push to “go green” by switching to fluorescent lighting. From time to time, you see threats of a government mandate. My contention is although they may be energy efficient, if you break one, you can put your family (both two legged and four legged) in peril. They contain mercury, which must be dealt with by specialists. If everyone switched to fluorescent, we would save no money, as stations would have to be created to destroy and dispose of old bulbs. The long fluorescent tubes you see in stores pose less of a risk because they are not something that are consistently handled around the house like the size you would put in a house lamp, which have more potential to be dropped.

In addition, fluorescent lights can potentially emanate heat. When used in the meat or dairy case at the grocery store, more energy is needed to keep the products cool. The reason is the bulbs sometimes emanate heat and it needs to be counteracted, thus using more energy. I am not saying you should not use these light bulbs in your home, I just believe widespread mandated use would come at a high price.

What should you use if you want to go green but want to keep your family safer? The long unsung led lights (light emitting diodes). They are not really a traditional “bulb”. They are semiconductors that glow when electricity passes through them and they last far longer than a conventional (incandescent) light bulb. They do not emanate heat and they can last longer than fluorescents too. Why are they not more used? They are more expensive to purchase initially than an incandescent fluorescent bulb. However, technology is catching up and the cost is coming down every day.   Manufacturers are answering the demand.

(At left, an LED light strip from magnalight.com)

When I was a kid, my brother and I were quite dazzled by our solar powered calculators. We hid in the closet, or extended our arm under the bed just to see if it would still work. We would watch the display fade in and out and see if it held our calculations. Now, solar technology is a bit more advanced, and the item in question will still work out of the sun.

The Citizen Eco Drive watch has a battery that recharges in the sun or artificial, and never needs to be changed.  It will save you time from crisscrossing around town to find a battery, and will prevent a number of batteries from ending up in a land fill.  It will run 180 days on a full charge, so you don’t have to worry about it blinking out if you have your arm propped under you, or a pesky brother throwing a towel over it to see what would happen.

There is a whole line of Eco Drive watches at BlueDial.com for quite a bit off of the retail price.   In fact, Father’s Day is just around the corner if you are in the United States.  If you are in Australia or New Zealand, where you celebrate Father’s Day in September, you have time to save up. Wouldn’t it be quite the gift for your long suffering dad?  If you were anything like us, yours deserves a watch, a plaque, and a vacation.

The National Geographic Society doesn’t really use Star Trek teleporters to save money, but more importantly, valuable resources on travel.  It would have been cool though, right? Instead, they have been using LifeSize HD video conferencing equipment. It is a teleconferencing system that allows researchers, writers, and employees to get together in real time, from wherever they are on the planet.

Of course, they could always do a conference call, but you can’t exactly show people your dinosaur bone through the phone. Webcams might work, but they don’t exactly have “whole room” technology where multiple people can tune in at one location. I remember the old video conferencing units that were jumpy, and caused you to break down and pick up the phone instead. Nowadays, technology is more advanced, and you don’t have that unbearable ten second lag and “one at a time talking” that used to happen. Money is saved, fuel is saved, and productiviy has increased.  I would call that great stewardship of grants and donations!

Previously, I was introduced to and wrote about the Mosquito Magnet. It works on the principle of attracting and trapping the female egglayers, to keep you and your pets safe. After a few weeks, the mosquito population boom will bust. In the meantime, there are no harmful chemicals that will effect you, your dog, your cat, or wildlife. The attractant is carbon dioxide. The mosquitos are naturally attracted to it, thinking that it is naturally a trail to an air breathing, hot blooded mammal to bite.

Upon further reading, I discovered that octenol is a secondary ingredient. It mimics human breath, as 1-Octen-3-ol, the scientific name, is actually contained in sweat and breath.   DEET supposedly deadens a mosquito’s receptors for this, and that is why it repels skeeters.  Of course, DEET can be poisonous and is not a good choice for people who are sensitive to it, or to many pets.  The octenol in the Mosquito Magnet acts as “interference” and the mosquito is attracted to the larger source and gets trapped inside.  Black flies and those little gnats that I usually call “no-see-ums” also meet their maker.

I was very impressed by the information that was available from the manufacturer, both scientific info to file in my head, as well as practical “how to” information.  It is so importabt to be educated on the items you are using, especially if they control your environment.

Spring is in the air, and a few things usually happen. “Blue Sky Fever” runs through offices in epidemic proportions. This disease is caused by the weather being too beautiful to possibly go to work. If you are not in a relationship and wish to be, the season sometimes causes you to look a little more longingly at watching happy couples walk by. If you are in one, sometimes one hears wedding bells a little bit louder. In that case, and you are a gal whose guy agrees, than Diamonds may just be a girl’s best friend.

However, I am finding that while many people take care to buy American or environmentally friendlier automobiles and other big ticket items, they neglect to think about those things when it comes to diamonds. Diamonds, of course, are natural, so you don’t have to worry about any artificial poisons, etcetera. The big buzz about diamonds is making sure you are not buying “conflict diamonds.” What is a conflict diamond? According to United Nations, conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds, are traded on the black market in war-torn areas. They sometimes find their way into the hands of legitimate dealers as well.

Diane Irvine, CEO for Blue Nile commented on the subject in an interview with Puget Sound Business Journal:

We take it very seriously. We have very rigid rules in place. We work with all our suppliers to ensure they are a legitimate source of diamonds. If customers are interested we are able to speak of that and assure customers we are a legitimate and clean source of diamonds.

First there was sustainable coffee, and fabrics, and now there seems to be sustainable diamonds. It seems that not only can you use Blue Nile because of the frugality of saving money, but you can also rest easy knowing that they strive to eliminate products that would go against your sensibilities.  If you make small purchases thinking about the bigger impact, think about the large ones too.  There is not necessarily a “necessary evil” lurking about.