What Happened to Us?

  

Gina B, CC BY-SA 3.0
 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

I usually try to stay away from politics in my blog since sustainable living is a goal for many, regardless of ideology. I am a very political person and at this point, not being more so here is intolerable.

I went to a conference a few years ago and attended one of those generational understanding workshops. The facilitator broke us up into generational groups, and our task was to identify something that influenced our world perception when we reached adulthood. Our group took less than a minute to identify ours. When it was our turn to share, the entire group shouted, "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll!" The looks on the faces of the younger cohorts was funny.

I graduated high school in the early 70's so I grew up during the 60's. The picture on this blog captures how many idealized the 60's, but truthfully, the hippies were a relatively small, but very influential, group. A lot of important things happened in the 60's and 70's. The Civil Rights Act (1964), the Clean Water Act (1972), the Clean Air Act (1963/1970), Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970), end of the Vietnam War (1963), and Earth Day (1970). These all came out of a movement for a safer, healthier, and more inclusive world. The time wasn't utopian by any stretch, but the movements spawned or nourished during this time certainly made our lives and our country better.

And now, here we are. Everyday, I find myself thinking, "WTF! What happened to us?" I hardly recognize my peer group some days, let alone the children many raised. I am not sure what happened, but we have turned to a dog-eat-dog philosophy. It seems we recognize our neighbors as people of value (mostly) as long as they are like us, but somehow, we have become a nation of, "I have mine! If you don't have enough, then it must be because you deserve it." I recall the seagulls from the movie Finding Nemo a lot of days. Earth Day is barely a mention on the calendar and environmental and safety regulations are being rolled back. Our public lands are being taken for commercial interests without regard to preserving them as a national treasure for all. American workers are being left behind. We have a lexicon of words relating to race and gender we aren't allowed to write and books our children are not allowed to read and discuss in many schools. Women are increasingly represented as having value only as wives and children by the government, and have lost autonomy over their own bodies in most places. Our neighbors of color are being harassed and brutalized (not to say whites are not as well, but our neighbors of color are being specifically targeted). We can argue about whether a given policy is appropriate without throwing our overall values is the dumpster.

I am truly sad and angry. I tend to hang with hippies still. We're older. We have the t-shirts. We're definitely not as spry as we used to be, but we still cling tightly to our values. We didn't come so far to go backwards. It's discouraging to feel like we are going to have to start all over again, but I am not giving up.

Ever Been to Sip 'n Science?

Eastern bluebird (male)
USFWS Midwest Region from Midwest Region, United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever attended one of River Bend Nature Centers Sip 'n Science events? This over 21 event happens most months and is a fun way to explore a variety of science-related topics. 

If you haven't been to one before, or if you have, you should plan to attend the next one on Jan 30. The topic is bluebirds, and who doesn't love them? Bluebirds...not Blue Birds will be presented by Donna and Chris Honkomp, two members of the local Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist and also the Texas Bluebird Society. I have heard them talk about bluebirds before. They are very passionate and knowledgeable about the topic.

For the $20 admission ($25 if you are not a member of River Bend), light refreshments and beer/wine will be available. AND you'll learn a lot about bluebirds.

The Sip 'n Science events are always a lot of fun.

It Does Work!

 

I have been working to reduce food waste in my house. First, to reduce our carbon footprint, and secondly, to save money. I don't know about you, but groceries are a huge part of our budget and getting more expensive by the day. 

I have had the ad pop up several times showing a vacuum sealer for mason jars. The ad asserts food stored in mason jars will last longer, meaning you throw away less food.

I have such a vacuum sealer. Granted, it is one of the less expensive models. If I recall, it was about $30 a year ago. When I got it, I was having difficulty getting a good seal, so it has been sitting on the shelf. I decided to pull it out and try again.

I tested it on cherries and spinach. I had both for a week before vacuum sealing. The spinach was already showing some signs of spoiling, so I pulled out all of the bad leaves and rinsed/dried what remained. The cherries were fine in the crisper drawer. In the photo to the left you see the food 2 weeks later. By now, the spinach should be a pile of goo and the cherries moldy. Both are perfectly fine. I have opened the spinach a couple of times to pull out some leaves for mixing into my omelets and sandwiches, and then resealed (be careful breaking the seal or you may need to use a new lid).

My vacuum sealer does a great job on the wide-mouthed mason jars. I still have problems with the small-mouthed jars with getting a good seal. I just do it over until I get a seal, which usually takes 3 or 4 attempts. A different model might do better.

Overall, I see this as a good way to preserve fresh food longer. I was using mason jars to store rice, beans, lentils, and pasta already, but I wasn't vacuum sealing. I will be doing that next to see if it improves the storage life. I noticed this week my brown rice was clumping, so perhaps this will help keep the moisture out.

It wouldn't take long to recoup an investment in a sealer. Cherries are running almost $9/lb and spinach, almost $2/bunch. More if you are buying organic. Give it a try.

Moth Week

Vine Sphinx moth

 

 I almost let the week go by without recognizing Moth Week. Moths don't get the press that butterflies do, probably because they aren't as active during the day and many of them are fairly nondescript. Obviously, that's not the case with the vine sphinx moth the to left. I did find this one during the day, so the colors are easy to see.

Black Witch moth

The black witch moth on the right is a migrant. I took this picture at night, so the markings aren't as clear, but it is also a dark moth. It is a lot larger than it appears in this photo. Think just a little smaller than my hand.

Moths are important pollinators. Moths prefer light-colored, fragrant, and long tubular flowers, especially those that open at night. Some examples are honeysuckle, morning glory, bee balm, milkweed, columbine, asters, clovers, phlox, thistles, yucca, and vetches. Some food plant pollinated by moths as well as bees include redcurrants, strawberries, and stone fruit. 

Moths are a prime food source for bats.

Most people know that the monarch butterfly migrates, but many other butterflies and moths do as well. I mentioned the witch moth above migrates through here, but so do other moths. Not a lot is known about moth migration, but here is a short piece on the subject. Although the study was done on moths in Europe, the information is applicable here.

I hope you'll take some time to learn more about these fascinating insects.

Making Your Own

Kimball Museum (a "like to do")

When I retired a few months back, I thought, "I'm going to have all this time to do more of the things I like to do!" One of my biggest concerns was turning into a couch potato like I see many retirees do.

I hate to admit it. The past few months, I have been a sloth. At first, I was constantly stressing over the thinking I needed to be doing something because I was always busy before retiring. Not to say I didn't have things I could do--it was the absence of things I HAD to do. Then I went through a phase where I didn't feel like doing anything. Even things I liked to do. And then, finally, I got bored. I have finally started getting back to myself. I think I am over whatever was going on in my head. 

Getting back to the true point of this post....I have always made most food from scratch. When the kids were small, it was mainly because (1) it was healthier for them, and (2) it's usually cheaper. And for most of my life, pinching pennies was the norm. But, I admit, working full-time and going to school at the same time sometimes made me really want to use the prepackaged stuff.

I have tried to find premade meals I like. Mostly because I am cooking for one most of the time. I have tried dozens of frozen and packaged things in recent months. For the most part, I haven't liked any of them, although a few are somewhat edible. If you are desperate. And then you look at the label--salt and sugar. Very little nutrition and a lot of calories.

I have been craving minestrone soup for days and finally decided to make it. Yes, I could have gone to the store and bought a can. After all, a can of Campbell's minestrone soup is only $1.79 at United Supermarkets (and even less expensive at some other stores). That $1.79 gets you 2.5, 1/2 cup servings. Does anyone actually eat a 1/2 cup of soup? If I go by the label, there is about 1.25 cups of soup in the can, which is still pretty stingy for a meal.  Looking at the label, that 1/2 cup serving has 28% of the recommended daily amount of sodium. If I eat the whole can (which I would), I am nearly to 75% of my recommended sodium intake for the day. So we can say $1.79 for a meal, which is cheap.

I find most canned soups are edible, but not anything I truly want to eat. They usually have a metallic aftertaste and not much else. I admit I haven't tried the minestrone. But let's consider cost alone. I was lazy, so I did use a couple of ready made ingredients--one Swanson's chicken stock and a can of generic kidney beans. All of the other ingredients were things I had on hand--some tomatoes from the garden, veggies (corn, celery, onions, carrots, zucchini, potatoes, spinach and broccoli--unfortunately, I didn't have any cabbage), some barley, pasta, and spices (oregano, garlic, pepper, basil, rosemary, and parsley--no need to add any salt). So, the only things I paid any significant money for was the broth and the beans (both of which could be done cheaper with a bigger time investment.) And, of course you add water. Together, less than $5. Although a lot of veggies are listed, the amount of each one is small--anywhere from a tablespoon to 1/2 cup each. Since I had the tomatoes already, maybe $2 for all the veggies and that is an overestimate in my opinion.

It did take me about 30 minutes to cook the soup, but I have had six bowls of soup over the past few days. Any my bowls tend to be in the 2 cup range. The soup was thick and hearty. Although I estimate the pot of soup cost me $7, let's use $10. That would be $1/cup. The Campbell's soup was $1.43/cup. It also had less nutrition and more sodium.

Yes, it cost me about 45 min total to chop up veggies and cook the soup versus probably 5 min for Campbell's, but I also didn't have to cook several meals, so I think it probably evens out in the end.

We all need to make choices about our time, budget, and health. I encourage you to learn to cook from scratch and do it as you can. I think you'll find it worthwhile.

Native Plant Society Meeting

The next meeting of the Wichita River Chapter Native Plant Society will be tomorrow, Thursday, July 24, at 6:00 PM, at the Forum on Speedway. The subject is "How to Create a Pollinator-Friendly Garden...Without Completely Renovating Your Yard!" The meeting is open to the public.

Sip 'n Science

 Have you attended a Sip 'n Science event at River Bend Nature Center yet? If not, you might want to attend the one coming up on Friday. This is an over-21 adults only educational program with beer, wine, and food. For those of us who don't drink, water is also available. 

I have attended several of these programs, and they are always interesting.

If you're a member of River Bend (and you should be), the cost is $20. $25 for everyone else.