Happy Earth Day!

Since today is Earth Day, I couldn't help but reflect on what Gabe and I are doing to be more "green". I realized we have made a few changes this last year to jump on the "green" bandwagon.

1) Re-usable grocery bags. These are the BOMB! I don't know about you, but our mountain of plastic bags became so big that we couldn't deal anymore. We got so sick of stores putting one or two items per bag. When we made the switch to these, we were very happy to see that the baggers pack as much as they can into one bag. The nice thing about these is the wide bottom so that you can hold much more in them. Most stores have made these bags available, including Target and Walmart. Some stores will give a .5 cent rebate each time you use them so they pay for themselves. Now Whole Foods announced they are getting rid of plastic bags completely.






2) Recycle - we have been doing this for years, but until this year we only recycled glass. So we bought these new recycle bins from Improvements (LOVE this catalog)so we can include paper and plastic.





3) Carpool - This was really just an attempt at saving gas money, but its side-effect is better for the environment :)


4) Cleaning Products - As much as I love the Swiffer dusters, I realized that is was causing unnecessary waste. So I went to Walmart and bought a pack of microfiber towels and a pack of bar-mop washcloths. The microfiber picks up the dust almost as good as the swiffers and the bar-mop rags replace paper towels for clean-up. When I am done I just toss them into the washer and viola! I have not been able to give up my Swiffer mop yet though. I still need to find a good alternative. I also switched from my chemically toxic cleaners to the new Clorox Green Works cleaners. So far I am happy with them. They work as well as the others and the smell is MUCH nicer! I wish I could give up my Magic Erasers, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Baby steps! :)

5) Energy effiencient washer and dryer - Housewarming gift from my dad and stepmom.


Here are a couple of items that still need work:
1) Light bulbs - we are slowly replacing these. We have some, but not many. One problem is the energy efficient bulbs put out the most awful light. Almost a fluorescent light and I hate that! So we still need to work on this.

2) Composting - Living out in the country, this is a common thing. A lot of people compost since they can't put kitchen scraps into the septic tank. There was an established compost pile out by our barn when we bought the house, but, we have not been the best at it. For one thing we have been quite lazy about taking the scraps out to the pile since its not in a convienent place. And we have not been good about making sure we are layering right and turning it often...etc. We are hoping to be better about it.

3) Kitty Litter - Probably the worst offender in our house is the kitty litter we use. Its clay based and horrible for the environment. I am on the hunt for a more environmentally friendly litter, but one that can handle two cats and cut the odor as well as the clay stuff does.

4) Garden - Gabe is starting the garden this year. we hope to be able to start consuming our own organic product soon.

These are small steps, but we feel pretty good knowing that even our small efforts can help to make a big difference.

Finally!

Yes, finally! Its the end of April and we finally had a decent weekend that allowed us to springify the house. The entire weekend was gorgeous. 70's, sunny, and dry. That kind of weather makes us both feel energetic which meant a pretty productive weekend for us. Saturday, I spent all day cleaning and trimming and weeding. Sunday was the payoff. After church we went and spent a fortune on flowers. As energetic as I was Saturday, I was lazy on Sunday and just bought potted plants that I set into my baskets and pots. haha.

Here are few pics:

The bradford pear trees were slow to bloom this year. They still have a little ways to go but they are coming along

Looks like spring! We decided to go with Boston Ferns and Petunias for the hanging plants around the porch

Used Impatience for the shaded area of the porch

Hi Buddy!

The only flower I did actually plant. Columbines-The Colorado flower

Play time! Looks at Cookie's ears. LOL!

Another view

Here is a teaser for future blogs. Gabe is trying his hand at gardening this year. From seed. Here are the newly planted seeds. We will see if they take hold and sprout! Stay tuned...

Its dinner time now and I promised Gabe lasagna and chocolate chip cookies. Better get going!

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend. We finally had great weather and were able to get outside and enjoy it!
Our friends, Jennipher and Ryan came over with their puppy, Siena. We had a great time hanging out with them, grilling kabobs and drinking margs. John's marg recipe is always a hit! We were hoping that Siena and Cookie would become fast friends and wear each other out with play. But Cookie is still on the mend and wasn't 100%. I have never seen her not in the mood to play before, but her foot is still pretty painful.
After a late lunch we pulled out the agility equipment and gave Siena her first lesson in agility. She did great! The neighbor dogs came over and wanted a part of it too :)
Here are some pics:

Pretty baby Siena!

Cheyenne shows off her skills :)

Siena catches on quickly!
Buddy the neighbor dog wants in on the action too!
Look how good Siena is! I think we have a champion in the making!
Even Linus is enjoying himself! :)
Cookie is slowly getting better. The wound is healing, but slowly. She has been quarantined to the back yard and not too happy about it. Another couple of days and she can go out and play with her friends. Poor girl.

Sunday was a nice relaxing day too. We skipped church, again, and enjoyed the weather. Gabe helped Chris put together their new play gym while I stayed home and enjoyed the sunshine, birds chirping and cleaned house. I love a clean house! Now that is therapy!

It was only a matter of time....

We always knew, living out in the country, and being the total sucker I am for anything canine, that this would happen. One of the first lessons I learned when we moved here was how many strays there are out here. In the country, dogs roam everywhere. Most are owned by people who let them run free but this is also a prime spot for people to dump their dogs. I had to learn not to want to bring in every stray I see. That every dog running around may or may not be homeless. Heck, I even thought I was doing well. I would see a dog out loose and just drive on by, even against my strong will to stop. But today was a different day.

Today just started out strange. Our dog Cookie came in from her morning rounds with a nasty wound on her back paw. It seems she may have gotten tangled up in wire, or maybe even a barbed wire fence and forced herself free. There is good size chunk of her foot gone along with a nasty, deep cut. So Gabe and I washed and dressed it as best we could and decide watch her closely in case she needed to go to the vet.

With this little escapade, I am already running late. I rush out the door and head down the road, dreaming about what size diet coke I am going to have today. Up ahead, I see what looks to be a couple of dogs close to the road. I slow down in case I have to avoid hitting them. This is a regular occurance, so I didn't think much of it. But as I got closer to them, I start to realize there are more than just a couple of dogs. Its two adults and a whole litter of pups. And big pups at that! I keep on driving, wondering what that all could mean. This isn't right! Something in my head is screaming at me to turn around. I make a U turn and pull into the field they are in. Immediately the mom comes running to the car, tail wagging. Her pups following. Dad is cautiously staying at a distance. I have no food in the car so I pull out what I had to eat for breakfast. Raisin Bran. Mom is starving and takes the food. But she won't let me get too close. By this time, another good samaritan stops to help me. I am able to grab a pup and take it to my car. After several trys I am able to grab 4 pups, but not mom. Finally mom, dad and the 2 remaining pups run away. Reluctantly, I had to let them go.

So here I am with 4 pups. The local animal shelter tells me they can't help because we are outside the city limits. I call Gabe and tell him I am on my way home with 4 puppies in the back seat. We set them up in the horse stall in the barn. They are cold, wet and very scared.
I am a muddy mess, so I clean up and head back to work. As I am passing by the field again, lo and behold, there is mom, dad and the 2 pups!! Darn it!! So I stop again, and make one last desperate attempt at getting mom. I get very, very close, but am unable to do it. However, I am able to grab one more exhausted puppy. Whew! Back to the barn! I finally make it to work to make some calls around to the shelters and rescue groups. Everyone is full. I am having no luck. What are we going to do with 5 pups??!! We start preparing to foster them indefinitely. On the way home, I make a call to my fellow good samaritan, Kristy, to give her an update and let her know I still had the pups. Within minutes I get a call back from her. She says she knows a woman who runs a rescue and can take the pups tomorrow! Great news!

I head to the barn to check on the pups and feed them. They have settled in quite nicely and are not scared little pups anymore! I am almost sorry to see them go.

Here is some video as I walk in. They didn't know I was there at first. Super cute...

This is one of the shy guys.

Big Red. Gorgeous dog. Gabe and I really liked him. He was the leader of the pack.

The was my favorite of the bunch. Little Runtie. If we were to keep one it would be a hard choice between Runtie and Red.
I am sure this is the first of many more rescues to come. This is something we just have to learn to accept out here in the sticks. I am just so happy we were able to get these little guys. As hard as to was to steal them away from their mom, I know that we did the right thing. Cars, coyotes, anything out here can get a little puppy. And mom would have a hard time protecting all of them. I just hope someone can help save the others we didn't get.

Plus, I am a firm believer in the old saying "everything happens for a reason". The woman who helped me today turns out to be my neighbor! She lives across the street from us! Now, I have to think that is more than just coincidence!?...