SNOW ME SOME WINTER

Snow days are the fun day's where you can bundle up and go outdoors. A snow ball fight is a brewing and I intent to get you. Unless you are busy being a snow angel. What fun is it to be out in the snow? Making a snowman with your kids and just having fun as if this season is more enjoyable than the last or the next. Some people believe that the first snowfall of the season is the most precious. Something about the silent flakes making their way down from the sky that makes you wonder and ponder about the earth that we live in. The trees that are bare. The foot prints that are left behind as we explore the snow. Hop, jump and a skip away. There we are exploring this earth that we may be slowly (perhaps unconsciously) destroying and yet trying so hard to save. Slipping and sliding into the future that is ours to shape. If not for us to enjoy it but for our kids to love it. How quickly we forget that it should not be their responsibility to save what we have destroyed but our responsibility to not destroy it in the first place. So that we may all enjoy. Saving this earth is easier said than done, but trying is a cinch. I dare you! Try it. Save it. Cherish it and it will reward you with bountiful goodies for you and your loved ones to enjoy.

FALLING INTO PLACE

Fall is a great time to zoom in and look at whats around you. From the leaves that have just fallen to the snails and other insects, it's nice to take a moment to just be. Free as a bird. Think about it! How much time do you spend inside watching t.v.? That time could be better spent out side dancing in the leaves. Kick them around a bit. They won't mind. I was sitting amongst the leaves pondering my next move when out of no where it jumped up from under the leaves. A spider. Natures Architect. I was close to it's web. A most magnificent find. How is it I wonder that they catch the prey. Well the web is sticky so things get stuck and it becomes a struggle to break free. As it tries the web vibrates telling the spider that there's a meal waiting. A feast is near. Other things you can do with your kids are the roly poly races. OK what you may ask? Well. Draw a circle in the dirt and put two or more roly polies in the center and which ever makes it out the circle first wins the game. Did your roly poly win? Or did your kids beat you?

HOT HOT HOT IT'S SUMMERTIME HOT

I dig it! I'm so digging it. Dirt that is. It's time to get dirty. Put on some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and get in the dirt. Play in it and let your kids be free if not for just a moment but for a time, mere minutes of fun. Ooh what joy! Do you have a microscope? Use it to study the dirt. What do you see? Tell me tell me. Are there ants in the dirt or any other types of bugs? Did you know that a bug is an animal that has a mouth part that can pierce and suck, like a mosquito or lady bug. Are you still in the sun, at the beach making sand castles? Me no at the butterfly room. The most delightful of all with their delicate matter and enchanting beauty. Just when I thought I almost caught one. Nope not this time but next. I'll set up camp in my back yard next to the rocks (with hidden treasures underneath) and watch and wait for them to come. The waiting is the fun part. In the dark with the stars out and the moon. Ooh the moon What shape is it? I remember as a kid sleeping under the stars. Kinda spooky but fun fun fun.

SPRING INTO SPRING

It's springtime. Trees are stretching and yawning. Buds are peeking. Birds are gathering materials and building nests. Seeds are seeking sunshine and sprouting. Awaken a new sense of wonder for your children by discovering the offerings of spring. Find a place that you and your child can sit and stretch and observe. This is the perfect time to use your senses to know what is out there. The various colors of nature. Better yet the various smells of plants that are in bloom should provide fun activities to enjoy. Picture all the shapes that are associated with spring. Riddle me this, what are worms? Well they are animals (invertebrates), which means that they do not have a back bone. They do not have eyes but they are sensitive to light and dark vibrations. They burrow through the soil, eating and digesting dirt along with organic matter (like your compost pile). They help keep the soil healthy and rich so that plants can grow. Now I dare you to go find one and observe it for a few minutes. What do you find? What does it do? Tell me I'm curious. You could create a bird bath and food area and watch them come. Photograph them enjoying the bounty you have provided. They will love you always and your kids will have memories to cherish. Splish splash the birds are enjoying the bath and oh no it's raining what do I do? I would go jump in a puddle if I were you and dance so freely as if time were still but only for me to dance dance dance. I would collect the rainwater and reuse it. Over and over this earth has given us a bounty of wonders to enjoy and if I were you I would take advantage and enjoy it while it lasts. Don't let it deplete. Save it! Take care of it as it has taken care of you.

LADERA RANCH GREEN EXPO UPDATE

As some of you know I had a booth at the expo. How was it you may ask? Well the turnout was weak due to the fires, but all it all it was interesting and a good experience for me since this was the first real booth I had done. I have to admit though that my friend Delilah from the Road Less Traveled Store helped me out a lot by letting borrow her display sono tubes etc. That's another thing that I can get excited about... Having friends that really are willing to help you grow your biz, and having nice networks like Tree of Life Nursery that donated 3 native pot arrangements for me to display at my booth. The concept was to have a display area of various useful books with some native plants and various business promotional information. The other part was to have 3 display areas of sample types of designs you could have - Tropical, Spanish & Artsy. With each type there was a native plant representative of that style and some good indoor building products that would work well in that style that the Road Less Traveled Store let me borrow. All in all I had fun doing the booth and learned a lot about booth design and preparation.

AB 325 NOW AB 1881

Did you know that water efficient landscapes and irrigation systems offer more potential water savings than any other single water conservation measure!

So what does this mean for you? Well in Sept. of 1990 Gov. Pete Wilson signed Assembly Bill 325 directing the department of water resources to adopt a model local water efficient landscape ordinance (this ordinance has now been revised as AB1881) which each local agency is mandated to adopt no later than Jan. 31st 2010. Each agency (city) will thus be required to submit a copy of what they are going to do to comply with this ordinance and how they are going to do it. This ordinance is important for many reasons...

1. Promotes the values and benefits of landscapes while recognizing the need to invest water and other resources as efficiently as possible.
2. Establish a structure for designing, installing & maintaining water efficient landscapes in new projects.
3. Establish provisions for water management practices and water waste prevention for landscapes.

You may be wondering if this will affect you. Well! It will, because if your water meter reads that you used more than the maximum allowed water usage for a given month then you will be subject to fines. How much are the fines you ask? Well that would depend on each city and how they choose to enforce this ordinance.

Is this where you freak out? NO! This is where you kill your lawn and have an earth friendly landscape designed and installed. A simple cost effective solution to what might be a scary thought. But I need to have my lawn because all my neighbors do. So if you neighbor jumps off of a bridge then will you? I hope not. Seriously though you do not and cannot be mandated by any agency to have lawn in your garden. Unless you have a play/recreational area then you will most likely have no use for lawn so then why have it. Why not turn that space into something more functional and pleasing to look at.