Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate, Peeps! I think of you guys constantly. Maybe we can catch up sometime. Here’s some hot apple cider. What are you doing today? 🩷❤️🍄

Well I’m out of cider, but I cannot wait to try new drink recipes for Solstice. It’s especially important that I learn to do so at home this year, as businesses and foodies making holiday recipes have lost their mind.

My first alarm bells went off when I heard about the Christmas Tree flavored potato chips. It’s a great example of misleading ingredients (The main ingredient is pine oil yet the photo on the bag is fir). Also a great way to give someone a novel allergy attack! Early reports say they taste just like a yummy chunk of air freshener.

Starbucks apparently has a juniper latte, but my understanding is the flavors are sage and other herbs. And maybe some juniper syrup. Uh, yum? Don’t get me wrong – I love crushing needles of a conifer tree, and enjoying the scent of tangerine, lemon, sage or apple, depending on the species! But I don’t want the oils in my drink.

I also love new hot drink recipes. Api morado, salheb, around the world you can find cultures with very old (but very new to us) flavors. Anyone have recipes to share? I’d love to hear them!

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Happy Solstice, peeps! We still need to buy our living tree. But honestly, I have not the slightest clue which kind. Our local garden center sells balsam fir, rosemary (?) and 2 types of spruce. My favorite is the Colorado blue, but it’s not native.

However, I did recently discover that these living trees can survive potted till the spring. Which means I have a lot more time than I thought to randomly beg some random friend, incapable of saying “no” to pick it up and drive it  across the country for me. That should work, right?

In the past year, I have come to immensely respect the power of trees, even more so than before. A recent study shows that seriously protecting forests and using cover crops could be like taking every car and truck off the road. Norway just became the first country to ban deforestation. We should take note.

And I just love having a Solstice tree in my house. Even if I have to pay a taxi to drive the thing home.

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Oh, how I have missed my group here. And how I’ve missed this little box in which I can scrawl my unorganized thoughts about whatever I happened to read about nature in the past week. Thank you for still subscribing even though it must have seemed like I was never coming back.

I’ll start with a light and cheerful story, about turacos. These charming, perching birds, as a group, are sometimes called banana eaters, or plantain eaters. And my favorite, the go-away bird. I have to assume this originates from their song, though I should check.

The recent discovery which justifies my rambling: a turaco fossil was found to have longer legs than their modern descendants. Which means they were probably among ground-dwelling birds that spent their early existence adapting to the absence of dinosaurs. So the go-away bird might have been saying “go away” to the big dinosaurs.

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Happy almost October, peeps! It has suddenly turned cold here. I look forward to posting more. My job has been way beyond crazy. I stayed sane by asking children to tell me their favorite ghost story. I return soon with scary film recommendations, science stuff and Fall drink recipes.

I haven’t many hot drink recipes to share, but I did hear about one that uses coconut and barley. Good for busy Fall mornings. Have you heard of any?

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Hey Peeps! Well, it’s been a long winter here with lots of lost mittens and black tea. It was nice to step outside and see the now melted snow and unraked leaves actually helped our native flowers grow back quickly. Lots of birds in our old maple tree.

Yet sometimes when I post eco-friendly advice, renters feel left out. So this post is for you! Maybe the homeowner is amenable to compost piles and bird shrubs. Or something radical like depaving part of the driveway. If not, here are some fun things you can do without a yard:

• Care for what’s out there. Toss some peanuts or seeds for birds. Set up a stick pile for insects (which will feed birds).

• If you have a balcony or porch, grow just one thing. Whether it’s veggies or a house plant, what we learn from doing so can inform our actions later on.

• Observe. Yes, just watch nature everywhere. What do you see? Are there nesting birds? Porcupines eating wild thyme? People probably don’t even know! Alert them to what needs protecting.

• Go birding!! I sometimes go birding without binoculars, and just listen. We do keep them by the window. You can bird from home! Or walk down your street and just watch. Dead snags attract more birds than live ones.

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Here’s a fun idea, a grown-up Easter basket! Now, yes the holiday is over but Ostara is not! Equinox is more of a season than a single day. So, you know. Plenty of time to put one together for our next party.

I like the idea of a package-less gift basket, with meaningful gifts. I like the idea that it has to be given in person, not ordered online. Kitchn has some nice ideas. Crazy-modern dyed eggs. A nice hand towel instead of fake grass. A coffee mug. Home made anything.

It doesn’t have to break the bank. What about tickets to a movie? You can even hand-write “coupons” for a day out! This time of year, I am up for almost anything. A shrub, a latte, a cup of Darjeeling. An excuse to leave the house once in a while.

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Here is some cool stuff for home dwellers. Your yard might benefit the planet even more than farms. First a study that showed native woody plants like trees and shrubs provide loads of food for birds. But only certain shrubs!

Oaks, elms and cherries are apparently a lovely choice for the food web. The other amazing news is that the soil in your yard may be even better at absorbing and storing carbon than trees in a forest. Soil is truly a secret treasure.

What to do if you live in an apartment? Well, this merits a separate post. But I will say here, advocate for green spaces in your city! They benefit everyone. Learn about cool spring plants and discuss on social media; or grow some on your balcony (or in your flat) and learn what it needs to thrive.

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Hello, peeps! Is everyone enjoying winter? Easter is on its way. It is a religious holiday but it often resembles equinox combined with holiday treats. It seems like this stagnant holiday could use a 2018 sustainability makeover. Why are cheap chocolates still on the shelves? What’s with all the plastic wrapping and joke Hallmark cards? The alternatives are not only sustainable, they’re also gorgeous. Here are some ideas:

Sunglasses! Yes, that was suggested for Valentine’s Day. I love this idea for an Easter basket. Take it from a winter runner, reflective snow can cause a retina burn. Pink sunglasses are a great gift.

Give potted plants instead of dead, monoculture grown roses. Or plant a bird-friendly fruiting tree like bayberry or winterberry.

Visit a shelter or bunny rescue, enjoy their company, and bring along a fun new Smithsonian article about rabbits to show the staff!

Candy in reused glass jars.

Intercropped cacao can be grown with vanillas, pepper and cassava! Shade grown coffee and chocolate are far better for the planet.

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Happy Solstice, friends! Once again I am in awe of Reindeer this time of year. Their warmth, their beauty, their creamy white coats. I just enjoy seeing them being celebrated everywhere. Their hardiness makes our winter easier to endure. Some Northern tribes depend on reindeer. For transport and their warm fur. Their milk is said to be sweet and has a much higher fat content than cow’s milk. I don’t think we’ll be buying it in supermarkets anytime soon (though, why not)? So that is why I have a reindeer theme in our home. And their usefulness goes back to Neolithic times. What’s not to love?

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