The Wimpy Environmentalist Archives - Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Simple Ways We've Gone Green

Ann Kroeker — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:24:49 +0000

Visit this post at NotSoFastBook.com to enter the Green Mama book giveaway—ends Saturday morning, June 19.Each weekend during soccer season, we tote collapsible chairs to and from our kids’ matches. The chairs fold down and slide into bags, and nearly always one of our bags is ripping at the seams.This past season, it was one of the red chairs. The chair itself still functioned fine, but this sorry-looking bag needed replacing.Frugal and willing to make-do, I always keep an eye on the trash cans toward the end of the season. Quite often someone tosses a broken chair into the trash, and with it, the matching bag.Sure enough, the day I showed my daughter that the red bag was holding on by a thread, we passed a trash can with a chair stuffed inside.Along with it, the matching bag.After fishing out the green bag, I tossed in the ratty red bag.Problem solved.But that’s just one small problem I solved. It’s hard not to look at the world and see problems that seem too big to solve. A little dumpster-diving can’t make much of a change, other than amusing (or shocking) fellow soccer moms as I scrounge around looking for something usable.Tracey Bianchi, author of Green Mama, argues that we can look at the world around us and instead of seeing problems too big to solve, look for ways to make small changes in the way we go about our daily lives.Because changes can add up over time. Your changes, my changes, Tracey’s changes … together our changes can make an impact.Have you noticed your grocery store carrying organic produce? That’s because we shoppers bought organic whenever it was put out. Grocers set it out to see what would happen, and we indicated our preferences with our wallets, changing our purchasing habits to choose something that’s healthier and easier on the environment and the farmers who plant, care for and harvest the food.Our collective changes added up and now organic is mainstream.In Green Mama, Tracey suggests lots of simple ways we can start shifting the way we shop, clean, cook, and get around town. At the end of each chapter, she recommends we take one idea to try incorporating into our lives and identify one thing we’re not interested in doing.The book is a good resource, pointing to other good resources. And Tracey’s an enthusiastic cheerleader, urging readers to go green in simple, everyday ways.After reading Green Mama…Changes we decided to make:

Use my stainless steel water bottle. Stainless steel water bottles are often ridiculously expensive, but about a year ago I found some reasonably priced and bought five all at once. So I already own the bottles; we just need to start using them. Except for the plastic bottles that fit in a special holder attached to the frame of our bicycles, I’m going to donate or recycle all of our reusable plastic bottles.
Look for Fair Trade chocolate. Tracey provides a lot of eye-opening information about the chocolate industry. She convinced me to find a store that carries it—it could be that Target might sell it; I just haven’t looked.
Goodbye, paper towels. We use sponges, dish towels or rags for most cleanup, but we do usually have a roll of paper towels on hand for occasional spills. Years ago my uncle said that instead of using paper towels, he bought a stack of “bar mops” for kitchen cleanup. “It’s how they taught us to do it in the Navy,” he explained. So just today I bought two packs of “bar mops.” They look like basic white towels. Then I went to Goodwill and bought a rectangular basket in which to store them. They’re on the counter, ready to swipe up splatters and blobs.
Environmentally gentle dish-washing detergent. I’m going to pay a little more for Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers or Ecos brand detergents that Tracey recommends.
Compost. We used to faithfully compost kitchen scraps, then I don’t know what happened. I guess I got lazy. I resolved to begin again and pulled out a plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid we can use while collecting peelings and egg shells during meal prep. The kids can run it out to the garden.
Cloth shopping bags. I hate when I forget these, and it’s always when I’m standing at the checkout with my items rolling along the conveyor belt that I remember them. I will figure out a way to make this a habit.

Things we already do:

Wash (most of) our clothes in cold water. I started doing this mainly because I was shrinking almost everything! Sometimes I do a load of extra-dirty whites in hot, but cold water has been working fine. And blouses are staying their normal size!
Hang clothes to dry. This, too, I started because I was shrinking clothes and thought I should avoid the dryer. Plus, I like going outside in the quiet morning to hang them up and love the way they smell when they’re dry.
Recycle. Apparently we recycle effectively, because our neighbors couldn’t believe our family of six could fit all of our trash into one container. We didn’t tell them that many times, the container isn’t even full.
Cook from scratch. Because I usually cook from scratch, we use less packaging than if I used mixes and prepared foods. I like to think it’s healthier, without all those additives and preservatives.
Buy organic and local. Whenever possible, I try to buy organic and locally grown foods. Shopping at the farmer’s market in the summer makes it easy. An organic farmer has a stand, and so far his produce hasn’t been much more expensive than the others.
Bike whenever possible. For nearby errands, we are trying to use our bikes instead of driving the van. We can easily bike to the library, piano lessons, grocery stores, Goodwill, Barnes & Noble, Officemax, several restaurants and many other shopping destinations.
Shop secondhand. Speaking of shopping (and Goodwill), I think of my Goodwill shopping as recycling. I buy 90 percent of my clothes from Goodwill (the remaining 10 percent represents swimwear, undergarments, socks, and a few nicer speaking outfits). I also buy books secondhand. And furniture. And cars.
Glass storage. I’m trying to transition from plastic storage containers to glass. We aren’t totally there, but we’re moving in that direction.
Travel mug. For tea or coffee, we are trying to use travel mugs. We usually make our beverage at home, but we’re also trying to grab the mugs if we’re off to church and will fill them there instead of using Styrofoam cups.
Minimal A/C. I prefer relying on open windows and fans in the summer, but my husband does like to bring down the humidity with air conditioning sometimes. This morning, however, I came downstairs and he had opened all the windows to enjoy the morning breeze.
Garden. We have a vegetable garden again this year. I’ve never been an amazing gardener, but I keep trying, year after year. We usually get a fair amount of tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers, and it is so rewarding to pick stuff for dinner from my own garden plot.
Consolidate errands. Whether I’m in my minivan or on my bicycle, I try my best to minimize errands, doing as much as possible in a given outing.
Natural cleansers. For cleaning, we use really basic, natural products.

We do a lot of “green” things that are so normal to me, it doesn’t occur to me to identify it—I’m sure I could add lots of things on the list that we’ve been doing for years. It’s kind of fun to think about what’s become normal for us, or habit, and what we could do to change even more.Be sure to drop by the book giveaway post and read Tracey’s thoughts on “Slowing Green.”

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Make-Do Mondays: Campsite Creativity

Ann Kroeker — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:37:02 +0000

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

Feels Like Home (homemade ice cream)
Sunnydaytodaymama (caterpillar cake)
Coupons, Deals and More (Cool Whip)
My Practically Perfect Life (Camping Food)
Like Mother, Like Daughter (Decorating Hack)
Mama Long (Ceiling Fan)

Make-Do Mondays with AnnCamping turns a vacation into one big make-do extravaganza. You already read about the Belgian Wonder’s portable coffee gadget, so he can drink make-do coffee. But there’s always something we have to rig up to meet a need using whatever we have on hand. An obvious make-do activity is stringing clothesline all around like a drunken spider building a wobbly web. You can check out our initial clothes-web in the first photo below:Later in the week, after a thunderstorm blew through and dampened many items, we greatly expanded the web, weaving and wrapping the extra length of rope around tree trunks and limbs. We also used many plastic grocery bags for trash (shame on us for having so many—but we were trying to recycle).And when my sister-in-law saw the printer box, she suggested I snap a photo for Make-Do Mondays.Contrary to how things may appear, we did not bring along our printer.The Belgian Wonder grabbed it to store some pots, pans, and our electric skillet (I know what you’re thinking! Is it really camping if I have an electric skillet? You decide…). Storing them in the box, each stuck inside of a paper grocery bag, kept them from banging and clanging against each other and other items stuffed in the camper on the bumpy ride.We saved the big Cheerios box in case we needed it for storage, too, but ended up burning it in the fire pit (make-do kindling).Our dishwashing system was all about making-do. Two tubs, dish soap, a sponge, and a scrubbing gadget. The dishwasher squatted down by the faucet and worked while voracious mosquitoes buzzed around ears, arms and legs.Camping is a great way to practice making-do for Americans used to the comforts of hot water on demand, comfy mattresses, well-lit bathrooms with reliable showers, ovens and air conditioning. We don’t rough it like wilderness campers hiking in with everything on their backs and pitching camp in the mountains, but every time we camp we come back appreciating simple pleasures, like kitchen cabinets, hot water on demand, washing machines and sturdy shelter.How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

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Make-Do Mondays: Campsite Coffee

Ann Kroeker — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:24:19 +0000

see below for alternative button

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

Sewing Chick (Menu Plan, gray paint, and tolerating the ugly fan)
Like Mother, Like Daughter (Shelf–to paint, or not to paint)
Rancho Ruperto (Free Cosmos)
Mama Long (T-Shirt Refashion)
Sunnydaytodaymama (rosewater)
Sunnydaytodaymama (mud)
’50s Housewife (Iced Coffee)
Feels Like Home (Creamy Spinach Doodles)
Life Together (Make-Do Composter)
CherieZ Recipes (Ozark Pudding)

Make-Do Mondays with AnnI’m back among the Internets after a week of camping (see me waving and shouting “Hi! Good to see you again, friends!”? See me dumping sand out of my shoes and duffel bag? See me tackling at least four mountains of laundry?).If there were a continuum of campers, where you would find on one end snowbirds in their giant RVs decked out with oak cabinets and parquet flooring, and on the other end would be Boy Scouts building a lean-to shelter out of branches, I suppose we’re in the middle.We own a pop-up, which gets us up off the ground, and we use a few electric appliances to make life easier. Our goal is not to make all our food in a dutch oven over an open fire; we camp to save enough money so that we can visit places of interest. Because our camping motive is primarily to secure inexpensive lodging, we don’t feel bad about bringing along things to make life at the campsite easier, like the electric griddle for pancakes and a hotpot to heat water.Yet, even with our luxury items, I think of campsite coffee preparations as making-do.The Belgian Wonder brought along some Starbucks coffee, so he certainly wasn’t making-do with a cheap instant brand, no sir.Instead, to make a small thermos of morning coffee, he used a plastic drip gadget that sits atop a coffee mug or other appropriate container.I apologize in advance for the breakfast clutter we’ve captured on film. All the cereal boxes and used bowls are unattractively on display. Clearly we weren’t the tidiest campers who ever drove a stake into the sand.But I thought you might enjoy seeing the gadget at work. It’s very simple. He measures out what he thinks will be the right amount of grounds into the small filter (getting the right strength is the trickiest part, he says), which sits in the plastic piece, then pours very hot water over the top and lets it drip.Several people have recommended that he take along a French press instead, but he prefers this.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-_owGu1lps]How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

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Monday Afternoon: Light on Water and a Heavy Tool

Ann Kroeker — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:49:56 +0000

The fountain, where we found a quarter on the road and tossed a penny in the water.My daughter noticed the delicate dance of light on water, while I stood staring, distracted, at the blue sky.Feathery patterns, shimmering in the spring sun.Lingering near this spot where the water cascades down, we could hardly hear each other for the noise. On the path home, so peaceful, one would never guess we’d just spent an hour figuring out how to remove a broken bike lock, and that much of the afternoon had centered on this:

Credit: Ace Hardware

Fountain and bike path photos: © 2009 I. Kroeker

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Recycling Running Shoes

Ann Kroeker — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:18:57 +0000

I have been a recreational runner (I think I’m also known as a jogger) for several years.Following the advice of every running magazine and runner with injuries, I buy new shoes every 500 miles or six months (if I haven’t kept very good track of mileage but have been running consistently).The old shoes don’t offer adequate support to absorb the impact of foot-meets-pavement after that much use, but they’re okay for wearing to the zoo, my parents’ farm, or out in the garden. So I usually save and “repurpose” them, as they say. It’s an in-house recycling program.After several years, however, one ends up with a lot of running shoes.

Shoes I grabbed from the closet and garage without even searching very hard.

And there are only so many pairs needed for the zoo, farm, or garden work. Sometimes my in-house recycling program needs to be augmented by an outsourced recycling program.Once solution is the trash can. But that’s not recycling.There are, as you can imagine, other options. Old running (and athletic shoes of various kinds) can be put to good use after they’ve outlived their original purpose.First off, I was interested to learn more about Nike’s recycling program called “Reuse a Shoe”.They take worn-out athletic shoes (any brand) and grind them up into a material called “Nike Grind” which is used to form sports surfaces.One of their processing centers is in the United States, and the other in Belgium (a detail of personal interest to our family)!They ask that the shoes fit the following guidelines:

Athletic shoes only (any brand)
No shoes containing metal
No cleats or dress shoes
No wet or damp shoes

That doesn’t seem to be asking too much. After tossing my oldest gardening and zoo shoes into the washing machine and air drying them (thoroughly), this is a great way to give them a new and useful second life–as a cushy basketball court, for example.Finding a recycling location is a bit trickier for me, as my state has none. But I saw that there are two in the Chicago area, so if we plan a trip there (or to any other city with a store that accepts donated shoes) in the next few months, I can save them up and take them along.Otherwise, I can pack them up in a box and ship them to this address:Nike Recycling Centerc/o Reuse-A-Shoe26755 SW 95th Ave.Wilsonville, OR 97070This interactive map can help you determine if there’s a donation center of some kind located near you.Another program called One World Running accepts donations of nearly new and new running shoes, which they distribute around the world to aspiring runners in countries where many people train barefoot for lack of resources. Limited drop-off locations listed here. If you send them too-used shoes, they simply send them off to Nike, where you probably should have sent them in the first place.Another neat program is a Texas-based organization called The Shoe Bank. In their own words:

The Shoe Bank had just one goal when it was founded in 1989 – to put comfortable shoes on a few hundred homeless men living on the streets in downtown Dallas. The program today provides shoes for twenty thousand people every year – primarily children, both here and abroad.Here’s how it works. Good used children’s shoes, men’s and women’s athletic shoes, and men’s dress shoes can be donated at schools, athletic facilities, and retail stores displaying Shoe Bank depositories. The shoes are carefully inspected and then delivered to local social service agencies for distribution.

If you’re in Texas, this is a neat program getting kids (and adults) into comfortable shoes.Recycled Runners (recycledrunners.com) has attempted to consolidate various options for shoe donations. If you have time to dig a little bit, you can have some fun finding a place near you and an organization that fits your personal “giving” mission statement, if you have one. Do you have one? If so, please share it in the comments, because I don’t have a personal giving mission statement, and now that I wrote that, I’m wondering what it might be.So, whether or not you have a personal giving mission statement, you probably have some old athletic shoes that nobody wanted to buy at your last garage sale and are sitting on the bottom shelf waiting for a new lease on life.Send them off.Who knows?Perhaps the shoes that never did fit you quite right and have barely been worn to the gym will fit someone in a developing nation–someone who is wearing a duct-taped pair of shoes plucked from the trash two years ago and is just waiting for something with laces. And soles.Or maybe our shoes will simply be turned into the safe surface for an inner-city basketball court.No matter how humble or noble an old shoe’s future turns out to be, it’s better than tossing it in the trash, don’t you think?

Current, soon-to-be-retired shoes, on their way to the donation pile.

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Eco-Friendly Experiments: Bicycling to Church (and thoughts on patience)

Ann Kroeker — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:17:37 +0000

This past week we’ve only had one van. The other one is in the shop for repairs. As a result, we’ve been creative with transportation solutions, running errands by bicycle or simply staying home some afternoons.Inspired by this forced experiment (and with this post from Anne Jackson still affecting me a little every time we fire up the van on a Sunday), we decided to ride our bikes to church this morning.The weather was perfect, and the whole gang was game to try it.We appreciated that our town created a bike path we could use to get us most of the way there, safe from traffic.When we turned on the road that leads to the church, however, the bike path ended. This road cuts through a residential section of town, neighborhoods on either side of the street. A 30 mph speed limit is posted.After we turned, we planned to cut over to the sidewalk that started up about two blocks from the corner.This meant that for about two blocks, no more, the road had no bike lane, not even a shoulder, and no sidewalk. That was the only tiny portion of the entire 30-minute ride that required us to share the road with motorized vehicles.Two blocks.To be safe, we rode two abreast instead of single file, hogging the road a little bit. Bicyclists are told to do this because it forces the cars behind to treat the bicycle as another vehicle and pass at an appropriate time instead of slipping past. On the remote chance that The Boy would unexpectedly swerve toward traffic or a car would attempt to skim past us too closely and actually graze one of us, riding two abreast actually kept the cars at bay for that short distance. A few cars stacked up behind us and couldn’t pass because of a little rise in the road where the drivers couldn’t see oncoming traffic. Instead of passing, they had to putter along behind us for those two blocks. We were getting close. We were just about to cut across the grass to the sidewalk.Then the honking began.Honk! Honk-Honk! Honk-honk-honk-honk-honnnnnnnnnnnnnnk!While the car continued to honk, we all rode over to the sidewalk after that extremely brief time on the road. We watched the five or so cars that had been held up for probably less than one minute get up to speed and move on.The honker turned out to be a purple Mini-Cooper.We know this, because they kept honking and honking as they passed us.We know, because they rolled down their windows and stuck out their arms.Both the driver and passenger flipped us the bird.They yelled something, as well. Thankfully, I couldn’t make it out.They continued to honk as they sped off, and I started laughing. I laughed on and off all the rest of the way to church, actually.Something about the whole situation–a family with four kids on the way to church being flipped the bird (x 2) for inconveniencing a Mini-Cooper for approximately one minute on a road with a speed limit of 30 mph on a Sunday morning….I don’t know. Something about the whole thing just made me laugh.You know, as more and more of us make choices to slow down, simplify, lower our impact on the environment, have fun, and be a little healthier, people will eventually adapt. Someday, drivers will be on the lookout for bicycles, neighbors won’t mind seeing a few clothes drying on lines in back yards, grocery stores will carry less expensive locally grown produce and/or organic options, and so on.In the meantime, those of us taking a few small risks as we experiment and alter our habits may be laughed at, ridiculed, cussed out and flipped off.It’s a small price to pay, I suppose, to be part of the first waves of change.In case of some ridiculous turn of Internet events the driver of that purple Mini-Cooper stumbles onto this post, please know that we do apologize for inconveniencing you for those 45 or 50 seconds of your life. We are peace-loving people who prefer to be helpful and encourage others; we hate that you were annoyed and aggravated by our eco-friendly experiment. And I wasn’t laughing at you; I was laughing at the fact that we got flipped off on our way to church. Even though it’s kind of sad, it’s also kind of funny. At least, I thought so at the time. I may be wrong, but I think it could be considered situational irony.We might be out there again some Sunday morning, however; and, while we hope to find an even safer route, it’s remotely possible that our paths may literally cross again. It’s possible we could slow you down again. I apologize in advance and hope that you won’t run us off the road. Or flip us the bird.In fact, in anticipation of that possibility and at risk of going out on a limb, I thought I would offer you this link to a short Web page highlighting what the Bible says about patience. Perhaps it will be helpful to you.Enjoy your Sunday evening.And if you happen to find yourself behind a cyclist again sometime, try to be patient.And please, say a little prayer for him or her…and know that someone has prayed for you, as well.

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Travel Tips

Ann Kroeker — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:11:43 +0000

I’m home. Finally.Two loads of laundry out of the way. Most bags unpacked. Travel successes and failures still fresh in my mind.Here’s are several things that worked for me on this vacation:Nylon sports bag.I threw this in my suitcase at the last minute, not knowing how much I’d use it.It became the ideal daypack, very flexible. For example, it stays inconspicuous as it lies fairly limp when carrying only a few necessities, like a water bottle, camera and wallet. But if I ended up buying something, it would expand to hold quite a bit. I stuffed all kinds of things into it for the beach–a book, notebook, pen, rain jacket, water bottle, shells, towel. I could even sit on it in the sand to provide a little protection from the dampness. It also worked great when we biked or went to the pool.It rolls down to almost nothing, and taking up virtually zero space, can be easily tucked in a suitcase, backpack, or even a purse:Next time we go on any trip, I’m having everyone roll up a personal sports bag to slip into the corner of his or her suitcase, or fold it flat and slide it into those rarely used front pockets. Other than my camera, this bag was the single most used item I packed. And they’re so cheap–we got four for free from a booth at a neighborhood carnival. If we don’t feel like advertising the company that handed them out, we just flip the writing side to the back, as you saw in the photos.The only negative is that the strings don’t feel so great against bare skin. When I wore my swimsuit to the beach, I preferred to first slip on a T-shirt or tank top so that the strings rested against the material.It could also work as a reusable shopping bag, for those who are trying to be eco-friendly but leave the bags at home or in the trunk. Try it out next time you go shopping. Just roll it up and stuff it in your purse; it’ll be right there at the checkout.Categorizing and ContainerizingAnother success was determining categories of items to pack and separating them into bags. I actually use this method on a daily basis in my purse, and merely expanded on the concept for the trip. Here’s a quick snapshot of my bags:Top-to-bottom:

Brown bag contains a mini hairbrush, hair clips and elastics;
Blue bag holds first-aid items such as Claritin, Excedrin, band-aids and triple antibiotic cream;
Blue bag with swirls holds, um, how shall we say it, “personal” items;
Light blue with pastel colors holds makeup basics;
Cloth toile bag is the least precise, because it serves as a mini-purse. It can hold several frequently used items, like a nail file, small tissue pack, antibacterial gel, a stray band-aid or two in case I didn’t have the entire blue first-aid bag, chapstick, two business cards, and one emergency “personal” item.

I simply grabbed the bags I thought would be needed that day and toss them in my purse or daypack. The kids got to know which bag held the first-aid items and could run to the room and snatch it when needed.This containment system worked with my own logic (each person should lean on his or her own, as my own logic doesn’t always make sense to others) and kept things easily transferable from one bigger container, like a suitcase, to another, like a daypack.Of course I had a toiletries bag, as well; but it wouldn’t be tossed into a daypack or purse for use on the go.These small, makeup-sized bags are not a big investment: I found them all at Goodwill, each at 99 cents.Neither of these ideas is all that novel, but perhaps one will help minimize somebody’s minor travel woes.Change of Clothes in Carry-onEverybody knows to take a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a change of clothes (especially underwear) in a carry-on bag, right? This is so that if you arrive at your destination, but your bags don’t, you have options. This happened to us, and we were glad to have something to wear the next day.Empty Water BottleYou can’t take liquids on the plane, but you can take an empty plastic water bottle (be sure it’s totally empty). Fill it up on the other side of security and avoid the high-priced bottles offered at the airport gift shop (plus, feel good about recycling). We filled ours, dropped them in our red sports bag, and took them everywhere, as drinking fountains are extremely rare in Belgium and Holland. A very small bottle is handy, as it isn’t so heavy to tote around.Time Change and Jetlag: Don’t Look BackMy father-in-law, a world traveler, has always encouraged me to change my watch to the time zone of my final destination so as to start living it and adjusting to it. I used to say things like, “No wonder I’m tired–back home, it’s 2 in the morning,” and he would point out that by continuing to look back like that, I was keeping myself from enjoying the present and shifting faster through jetlag. Somewhere along the way, I started following his advice and have found it to be wise and accurate. I change my watch as soon as I’m on the last plane.Speaking of jetlag, we had the longest travel time ever on this trip–with three planes and some drive-time, we were awake for 24 hours when we got in last night.Thus, while not wanting to make excuses, those are the few tips that my weary brain can drag up at the moment.What kinds of travel solutions have you implemented?For more tips, check out Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer.

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More vacation pictures–and a gross face-in-place

Ann Kroeker — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:32:42 +0000

It’s a nature bonanza here on the coast of Florida!

Last night, we fell asleep to an owl’s hooting. As I walked to the bath house this evening at dusk, I heard a mockingbird going nuts, singing a crazy medley of migrating birdsongs one after another fast and furious.

This Great Blue Heron hangs around near the fishermen. So regal. He moves with smooth confidence.

Fishermen along the beach keep plucking things from the water—things we’re not sure we want to know are swimming nearby. One boasted that he caught a stingray, a sand shark, and a sea turtle. We weren’t sure what to think, since the information first came to us via the fisherman’s 8-year-old son. Exaggeration?

Then we watched his line go taut and he started reeling in, struggling, pulling, reeling.

This is what he pulled out.

This impressive ray was about two feet wide.

This fellow provided me with my first “faces-in-places” shot; but I’m not sure it counts, as it actually is his face, if a stingray can have a face. Oh, and if you’re squeamish, maybe scroll past. He’s just had a hook plucked from his mouth.

He looks so sad, doesn’t he? He deserves to be sad, snagged from his home like that by a sport fisherman.

I think he’s crying.

I decided to share my lonely place with my extended family. My brother and I walked with the kids around the bend to what we coined “The Cove,” and there the kids discovered a sandbar. As they walked out to the sandbar in knee-deep water, they saw beautiful shells, perfectly formed. Plucking them from the water, they discovered that the shells weren’t empty.

They found dozens of hermit crabs in the shallow water of the cove of the lonely place.

Even I found one and took a self-portrait with him–he’s a little camera shy. Or maybe he’s embarrassed to be seen with the lady wearing that ridiculous red sun hat.

On our way back to the main beach, my brother and I were in front of the kids. I spotted a jellyfish. At first, I straddled it, so that they kids wouldn’t accidentally step on it.

“Kids!” my brother called out, “watch out for the jellyfish!”

They didn’t hear us or weren’t paying much attention, so to visually alert them, I used my toe to draw a big circle around it in the sand.

They were delighted with this communication, and started writing and drawing circles of all kinds. Here’s what our walk back ended up looking like:

The Boy saw all the scribbling and pictures, and starting drawing fish. “The kind that the Christians used to draw.”

“They called it an ‘ichthus,'” I said.”Oh! I wonder if people will see all my ichthuses and think, ‘Hey, somebody’s a Christian!'”

“Maybe.”

Then he saw all the messages his sisters and cousins were writing, and inspiration hit.

“Wait right here, Mama! Do NOT look at what I’m doing!”

He ran down the beach a short distance, then ran back to me.

“How do you spell ‘love’?”

“L-O-V-E.”

He repeated it to himself. “L-O-V-E.”

I repeated it. “L-O-V-E.”

He repeated it and took off to his spot. “Are you looking? Wait! Don’t look!”

“I’m not looking.”

He ran back to me. “How do you spell ‘you’?”

“Y-O-U.”

“Y-O-U…Y-O-U.” He ran to his spot repeating it. “Y-O-U. Hold on. Almost ready. Okay!”

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