Earth Day

 We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. 
--Native American Proverb 

It just so happens that Earth Day is this week, and Jeremy built a compost bin and raised garden bed in time for it. The bed is made of cedar to prevent rotting, but the compost bin is old pallets, so you can't get much more salvaging than that. I have been saving rotten vegetable skins for months under the counter. Just kidding, but the thought did cross my mind. 

 The garden bed spot was picked for its optimal sunny location. The compost bin, for the rabbits' convenience.

We try to do a lot of recycling, growing our indoor herbs and outdoor veggie garden, planting trees and flowers, reusing plastic ziplocs and aluminum foil (apparently nobody else does this? Am I weird?), eating local food from the Heifer Intl CSA, and doing meatless dinners, well, most anytime I cook. We had plans to buy a Prius for our next car, but just a few weeks ago, the appeal of an all-wheel drive Subaru won. This is all in effort to offset our (Jeremy's) inclination to keep the thermostat at a brisk 70F all summer. 

I'm sure some of my conservationist instincts come from Mom, who has been gardening and composting all my life. And reusing plastic bags. She got it from her mom and aunt, Ethelyn, I'm certain. Another part of my tendency to reuse, reduce and recycle comes from my thriftiness that can get a little excessive if Jeremy doesn't keep me in check. I'm surprised he hasn't thrown out my 6 dozen aluminum pie tins, or the stash of every glass jar we have ever eaten food from (there are so many uses for them!). 

Pinterest is probably somewhat to blame for my holding on to items that may be considered useless garbage to others. Upcycled crafts! You can find a diy craft for anything if you try hard enough or search Pinterest for it. And then if it turns out really tacky, you just recycle it. 

Nancy and I are going to really celebrate Earth Day this Saturday. The plan is to spend many hours wandering around in the wilderness, or more specifically, running the Ouachita Trail 50k. I'm super excited about this, since I've always wanted to do this race, and my long lost running buddy is going to run just ahead of me with a bungee cord between us to keep me up with her.

In wilderness is the preservation of the world. 

 --Henry David Thoreau