Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Teaching the girls about being good to the Earth

When we moved we left our awesome garden, yard, sandbox, amazing perennials (including some beautiful fragrant peonies), and our compost bin.  Until last weekend we have been living a life that feels wrong when it comes to kitchen waste.  We have been throwing scraps in the trash or in the disposal and my hippie conscious has been weighing on me.  No longer.


The girls mostly "supervised" as I installed our first ever rain barrel.  Ada helped me screw the Earth Machine into the ground and put it together.  Both of the girls helped me put some yard waste and kitchen scraps and we brainstormed some things that we'll be saving and putting in.  Ada is excited about saving the little bottom of the banana and putting it in the bin :)


Checking everything out. 


This is the water barrel all set up.  I'm planning on using it to water some plants by hand.  You can attach a hose to it as well although I'm not sure I'll use that feature too often.  Hoping to use this as a teaching tool for the girls to talk about clean water.  Ada can use it on her own, so she will be able to fill up pails to water her plants or use in the mud kitchen.


BTW, the mud kitchen is going well.
This is cow food.  Ada "cooked" some up and has informed me that we should have cows at our house :)



The big silver bin has clumps of sod from where I made a garden bed in the front yard.  I thought it might be fun to play with.  We ended making some "brownies" with it shortly after this picture was taken.  So much fun!!

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2 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 28, 2012 at 10:57 AM

    That rain barrel looks like such a good idea that I think I'm going to have to get one, too. We've had so many dry seasons that I've had to pick and choose what to water to spare the well. Last summer it was tomatoes and herbs only.

    And composting makes me feel so much better. It's ridiculous, because what I compost is a couple little buckets a week. But it's NOT going into a landfill, at least.

    Ada's right: you should have cows at your house!

    The mud kitchen is such a brilliant idea. And what adorable summer-wear the girls have, but once again, it's hard to believe you're in MN in May!!!! Can't believe how warm it's been. And I was so worried that your first winter and spring in the Midwest would be so brutally cold - HA!!

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    1. AmandaMay 29, 2012 at 10:51 AM

      We just got a ton of rain and the barrel is about a third full. We've used it a bunch already and I am in love. We'll see how this year goes and might get another on next spring. A good investment for sure!

      I like the idea of chickens and goats better than cows. But in the future we'll see. If I had to I could pick up a goat. A cow's a bit harder to manage. Chickens have been ordered and will arrive June 28 (or maybe a few days before). We are very excited!!

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