Desert; a place to live when you get old

Just thought I would try out this email to the blog feature. Hello to all you new readers out there, you know who you are. Enjoy this picture of the desert, a place I'd like to live when I get older. 

D.C. Start for the Giro d'Italia Confirmed - DCist

D.C. Start for the Giro d'Italia Confirmed - DCist

All my cycling friends, check this out!! I know you have to wait for two whole years but this should be worth it. Plan ahead.

Jayne and some friends caught the end of this on the outskirts of Bologna Italy last year. They have rave reviews. They did however say it was hard to make out which one was Lance Armstrong at the speeds they were traveling.

Heres a tip: If you want to get a good view of the racers, position yourself @ an uphill section.

Tanglewood Nature Center

I recommend a trip, in any season, to Tanglewood Nature center in located in Elmira NY. It's a hidden gem, tucked way up in the hill country of Coleman ave. There is an amazing facility there which houses and interpretive center, a gift shop, space for parties or conferences, library, and a stunning vantage point at which to view the birds and scenery of the woods.

Here's a note from my niece, who attends the kids camp, and had just gotten back from a class on tracks, scat, and survival:

"dear liz did you know that I went to tanglewood and when I went there I met a new friend and her name is Alexzandara and she is really cool and do you want to know what else I got to hang out with 6 different animals #1 iggwana #2 ferret #3 guinea pig #4 snake #5 bunny rabbit and #6 turtle and I had my own turtle and her name was Raggie and Alexzandara had her own turtle to and his name was Paddles so I had a female turtle and Alexzandara had a male turtle I had alot of fun playing with the animals and after we gpt done playing with the animals we went on a 1 mile hike and we found different tracks and after that we ate lunch in the aditorium and while we were eating lunch we watched the movie bloto and after lunch we went outside I HAD A LOT OF FUN ATTANGLEWOOD I HOPE I CAN GO BACK SOON!!!!"

SINCERELY

Emily

Here are some photos I took on a lovely in between winter and spring season walk.

Project Indoor Grow, is a go!

A peek into the grow table after all had been planted and foil was assembled

Spacing and planting with Organic Mechanics potting soil, there are rice hulls in there!

From the peet pods, to the big sea of potting soil, carry on little ones, mama is proud!

The family chillin post project time, Dulce naps, Jayne resumes studying. Liz marvels in the beauty of it all.

Elements

I work for a private outdoor program called Elements. Elements looks to get kids outdoors in winter, loving and embracing the challenges and the beauty that winter provides. It was founded three years ago by Margaret Reitano. Margaret started this program after she had four kids and put aside a budding career in landscape architecture. She seems to always have been an entrepreneur and has always had an expansive social network. She used those qualities and her love for children and the outdoors and formulated it all into Elements.

This year is the biggest year yet with two separate programs running one Tuesday, one Thursday. The same kids do not attend each section, except Margaret's kids, they attend both. But there are two parks and two weekday after noons the families can choose from. Many of the kids know each other but not all of them. We have roughly 15-19 kids in each session and 4-5 instructors. Its also the biggest year due to record snowfalls and something people have called the "snowpocalypse". Its a bit much.

Coming from an Outward Bound background it is a real relief to see kids for about an hour of fun then sweep them back into their cars to go home with their parents. But it is limiting. There is a part of me that wishes for more time to chat with individuals and go a bit deeper with the understanding of the lessons. With that said I am also now exposed to the idea of just having a ton of fun!! And thats what we do...

snowy Olympic fun

igloo building fun

pre snowstorm dry ground elements

and by far and away the best photos of capture the flag and the fun we have at Elements

Lettuce is consuming me, not the other way around.

For Christmas this year Jayne got me this book, The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen. This apparent couple lives in LA and live a very self-sufficient lifestyle that they outline in the book. Things like stealing fruit from your neighbors' trees and planting potatoes in old tires are some of the "projects" that they guide you on in this book. They also provide "10 essential projects" that, in order to claim self-sufficiency, you must attempt. This book got me thinking about all the natural things that I could do right here in my row-house in the middle of DC.

I started looking at local gardening blogs and found a bunch of good ones, here, here, and here. This University of Maryland site has just about everything you would ever need. It's on this UMD site that I saw the Grow Table idea, and I thought, that is awesome! So I took a trip to Home Depot and this is what I came up with.

Its a 2 ft. by 4ft. space that sits roughly 3 ft. off the ground. I constructed it here in my basement bedroom. It was nice having the carpet to kneel on, and not too much of a hassle to clean up, I used a old shower curtain for a drop-cloth.

Now, I will finish the bottom of the grow area with some super-fine mesh, so the dirt can't escape but the whole thing is super aerated. I have a 4 ft. florescent shop light that has one cool white bulb and one warm white bulb. I am pretty sure that will provide the entire spectrum they need. cover the whole thing up with an emergency blanket to keep the light from reflecting away and jahzah! we've got lettuce year round. Also, some kale and herbs. Here they are...my little seedlings, sprouting after only three days in the dirt!

testing the mobile blog situation out -Liz