Two Green Boots

Remember my excitement over the snow forecast ?  Well, it turns out that while people just a few miles up north are getting bombarded with a full-fledged blizzard, the storm decided to sidestep my house and drop a bunch of rain on me instead.

Today I hit what I consider to be a goldmine.  I went to my Netflix queue to find a documentary dealing with energy usage.  I needed help with figuring out just how much I was consuming, and how I could work toward changing this. 

Last month I thought I was going to have a panic attack.  Why, you ask?  Because I got my gas/electric bill.  I’ve lived in the desert southwest all of my life, so I’ve never been overly concerned with my gas usage.  I didn't use much, since I didn't need to heat the house a great deal.  My bill from the energy company in my new state of residence, however, told me that perhaps I need to pay close attention to weatherproofing.

I went out to check on my Canterbury bells this afternoon, and discovered that I didn't add enough water when I originally sowed the seeds.  While the bottom was still relatively well moistened, the topsoil looked like an image from a documentary about drought. Oops! I wouldn't really be concerned, but the seeds, of course, were only planted at about 1/8 inches deep.  I added more water, so things may turn out fine.  We'll find out in a few weeks. Oh!  The forecast for the next few days is snow, snow, and more snow.  Up to a foot in total!  So much for the mild winter, right?

“Well, it’s been a pretty mild winter…” Those words were spoken by the woman working at Farmer Seed & Nursery .   I had decided to go there to see what additional seeds I could buy for my winter sowing project.   She was very helpful, even going so far as to show me an article on winter sowing that she had read.   The article was written by a woman that teaches winter sowing classes in the Twin Cities. Minneapolis is about an hour or less away for me, so I’m seriously contemplating a day trip!

After looking at the photos that I posted in Part 1 , I noticed that they illustrate something very important.  You'll notice snow in the background of my first picture, and a complete lack of snow in the second.  What does that have to do with anything? It has to do with which side of the house we're looking at.  The snow is on the North side.  Not enough sun gets through to melt it.  The other photo, however, is on the west side of the house.  While it doesn't melt as quickly as snow on the south side would, it does get a decent amount of sun.  The bottom line?

While surfing the web about a week ago, I stumbled onto the concept of winter sowing.   That’s right.   Sowing seeds in the winter , of all things.   This concept blew my mind!   How in the world would it be possible to get seeds to germinate in the winter, while it’s snowing, without using a greenhouse? Sounds crazy to me. Naturally, I’ve decided to try it.

I needed some inspiration.  I wanted something that was beyond my skill level, something that I could aspire to making a reality sometime in the distant future.  Why would I want to do that when I could instead look for a goal that’s easily attainable? Probably because I’m a glutton for punishment.

My reason for beginning this blog is very simple.  I’m an environmental leech.  Even though I’ve taken many steps toward a ‘greener’ lifestyle, I have a long way to go.  I recognize this, and feel that the best way to fix this problem is to do the research that will enable me to learn how to transform myself.  Green DIY projects and garden projects will both help to attain this dream, as well.  In so doing, I hope to help others find the inspiration and knowledge to do the same.