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Backyard garden: 2023 season update
As the seasons (abruptly, here on the southwest coast of BC!) change, it’s a good time to look back on the gardening season that was. As it’s all too easy to forget the nuances of the year, it’s helpful to make notes about what worked, what didn’t, and what could be changed up for next year! All in all I’d have to say it was a pretty good year, see below for highlights! Read along about past years here. Best thing made with garden produce (so far) Have you ever heard of a tomato mill or strainer? I hadn’t until a couple of years ago but then I discovered this…
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My 2023 Balcony Garden Update
I mentioned earlier this year that I hadn’t been planning on having a garden this year, but I’m so glad I changed my mind and went ahead with planting a few things. My garden isn’t very elaborate or productive, but it’s so satisfying to see things grow. You can check out how I started my garden in my 2023 Balcony Garden Post. What I’ve been growing in my balcony garden This year I went simple with my garden and tried to use up the seeds that I had from last year. I didn’t want to make a huge investment of money this year because last year’s garden didn’t produce enough…
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10 Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Towels
I’m not sure if it’s the change of season, or the movement toward return to school and routine, but I’ve been feeling a need to declutter. And one of the items that I always seem to have too many of is towels! My family and I are planning a sewing day to create head wraps for use with wet hair that will use up some of my many towels, but it got me thinking – what else could I use my old towels for? Here are 10 ideas to help me (and other towel hoarders!) with our overflowing linen cupboards. If you’re also looking to declutter, see our past post…
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4 Reasons to choose an emissions-free vehicle
Introduction As our world is faced with the urgent need to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to a more sustainable future must accelerate. One significant step we can take is to embrace emissions-free vehicles, such as electric and hydrogen-powered cars. When faced with the need for a new car last year, my family opted for used a Toyota Prius, a plug-in hybrid. It was exciting to take such a big step to make my life more sustainable. But it was the day-to-day impact I wasn’t expecting…I didn’t realize how often I looked around and thought uncomfortably about the emissions I and the drivers around me…
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Residential solar panels: 2022 year in review
Why solar panels? In study after study, it has been found that our planet is warming. And a significant part of the emissions that are causing this change in climate can be traced to the energy used to warm and cool our homes. Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. UN.org…
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Restoring connection with nature: Marking the solstice
In the past few weeks we’ve been exploring how a disconnection from nature can cause us to undertake activities that harm our planet. So this week I’d like to explore an way of restoring connection! There’s something about camping, whether you’re in the midst of the wilderness or something a little more luxurious, that restores our connection to the wide world. We start to live more by the rhythms of light and darkness, our activities are driven by the weather, and we hear and see nature more as we sit quietly in the midst of it. It’s so difficult to do this in the winter, in cold climates at least,…
