Flamingo Musings » earth day

Celebrate The Earth – Stop Junk!

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:44:00 +0000

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Did you know that more than 100 million trees are destroyed each year for junk mail? Plus, 28 billion gallons of water and enough energy to power 2.8 million cars? When you stop junk mail and catalogs, you keep trees in the forests doing what they do best — providing oxygen for us to breathe and absorbing CO2 to keep our planet cool and healthy.

For $41 — that’s just $8.20 a year or 2 cents a day — 41pounds.org does all the legwork to reduce your junk mail and catalogs by 80-95% for FIVE years. They’ll also donate $15 to Born Free USA united with API for each new sign-up. In celebration of Earth Day — April 22, 2009 — accept the 41Pounds challenge! If Born Free USA signs at least 50 new accounts during April, 41Pounds will provide an additional generous donation to Born Free USA!

When you register, 41pounds.org will contact 20–35 direct mail companies to remove your name from their distribution lists. This includes almost all credit card applications, coupon mailers and magazine offers, plus any catalogs you specify.

It’s that simple! Stop your junk mail by visiting Born Free USA united with API’s dedicated link to 41pounds.org or call 866-417-4141. It only takes a few minutes to make a big difference for you and for the animals.

No one is paying me to talk about this – but as a junk mail junkie for more years than I can count (they used to call me “The Catalog Queen”), I can’t think of a better way to break the vicious cycle. For more information, please visit this product’s webpage. And while you’re at it, please check out Born Free USA united with the Animal Protection Institute’s site, too!

Happy Day, Earth!

Earth Day 2008 — Certify Your Backyard

admin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Today is Earth Day, 2008. Or as I like to call it, My Personal Day of Irony.

In honor of Earth Day, I killed a starling. Okay, I didn’t exactly kill it. More like an abortion. It was completely unintentional! I swear! On the one hand, I probably shouldn’t feel guilty. It was a starling, after all. An invader. A usurper of native birds’ cavity nests and killer of good birds’ eggs! Right?

Here’s what happened: I noticed that one of the vent covers had fallen out of its space in the eave under the roof over the laundry room. Didn’t think much of it until yesterday afternoon, I notice a pair of starlings hanging around that area and flying back and forth, and then one of them flew up and then out of the hole. I asked MJ to move the ladder closer to that spot so I could replace the vent cover, because, after all, as a Certified Wildlife Habitat person, I was not going to host a brood of starlings, for G-d’s sake, and perpetuate the bad. Right?

MJ moved the ladder for me and about 20 minutes after that, I took the vent cover, slathered it with Liquid Nails so it wouldn’t fall out again, and went up the ladder. Unfortunately, where MJ placed the ladder, I couldn’t really see the space in detail, I could just barely reach to slip the vent cover in place. About 10 minutes after that, MJ asked me if I replaced the cover, and when I said that I had, he said, “I think you might be too late anyway. I think there was an egg in there.” You saw an egg? “Well, I saw something oval and white and tried to remove it, but it felt kind of slimy and I thought I might just make a real mess, so I left it alone.” You’re telling me this, NOW? So, now the damn “mommy” starling is still hanging around, flying up to the top of the window shutters, onto the ladder, back onto the cable wire, “singing”, and making me feel all around like a real shit.

I know it’s a damn starling, but I am seriously tempted to go up there and remove the vent cover next to the one I replaced yesterday, and give mom a chance. I dunno. I’m torn.

I certified my yard as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation about a year ago. I haven’t put up my sign yet — I’m still kind of waiting for the front to look a bit more habitat-like, but it’s coming!

So in order to assuage my guilt, I’m urging you to Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat

Certify Your Habitat! Join the thousands of wildlife enthusiasts across the country who have been recognized for creating havens for neighborhood wildlife in their very own yards. These individuals have provided the essential elements for healthy and sustainable wildlife habitats and have earned the distinction of being part of National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat™ program. You don’t even have to have a yard — your apartment balcony can be a habitat, too!

After all, the Earth – she has been very very good to you!

Happy Earth Day!

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:47:00 +0000

Happy Earth Day & National Wildlife Week!

I feel a little guilty that I’ve wasted so much time this winter not doing so many of the things I had planned for my yard. Sloth, procrastination, laziness. I did plant a few things, but the wholesale yard makeover just never happened. And the National Wildlife Federation even sent me my “Backyard Habitat” certification sign for the yard. MJ asked me yesterday why I hadn’t asked him to put it up yet. I said that I want to do a few more things before installing it. Like it should look like a habitat before I advertise it as one. You know?

But I did plant my “Bleeding Heart” vine against the back fence this morning. And last week I finally got my second mulberry and last beautyberry into the ground. One of my butterfly sage shrubs didn’t make it, so I’ll have to replace it at the Fairchild spring plant sale next week.

I love the Fairchild plant sales. You don’t find this stuff at Home Depot. It always feels like a new beginning. New plants and shrubs, and a fresh surge of purpose and dedication. Now that our water restrictions have tightened, I feel even more justified – dare I say, even foresighted – that I’ve been concentrating on planting native and naturalized plants. They may not be as instantly showy, but once they get acclimated to their new surroundings, I never water anything. Unless you’ve got little kids that need to run on the stuff, or dogs who need to poop on the stuff, lawn grass is such a waste of space, time, and resources (including money). I preach to an empty choir most of the time, but I’m betting that new converts will be popping up the longer this drought and these water restrictions go on.

It’s so easy to make a mini-habitat, I can’t believe that more people don’t do it! A couple of bird feeders (or even just one), a bird bath (I use the catch tray from a large plastic planter set on top of the turned-over planter – easy to dump out and refill with the garden hose). Let an inconspicuous corner of the yard go wild. Plant native grasses, plants, and shrubs. Above all, give up the pesticides and weed killers! The birds themselves will do a bit of “planting” for you, if you catch my drift. It’s so much fun and interesting to see what shows up.

We’re so urbanized and concrete-ized, we tend to forget where our water comes from, how our air is cleaned. Want to see butterflies, cardinals, and hummingbirds up close and personal? Plant for them! They don’t have to be just static images on prints and knick-knacks. Bring on the grackles, the blackbirds, the hawks, and yes, even the squirrels!

This is the perfect opportunity to learn about your personal habitat: sit back and watch what visits your yard naturally. Learn what grows in your area that attracts the wildlife you enjoy. Once established, there’s almost no effort involved.

So, Happy Earth Day & National Wildlife Week! Plant something and enjoy!