Monthly Archives: February 2014

Valentine’s Day Rose to Each and All!

Valentine's Day, ,

Rose DSC01727 A rose, received and given.

It is so wonderful to give and receive our Valentine love. We breathe sighs of relief, that we may do so again this year, with the promise of many years to come.

To all of our brothers and sisters, their spouses, parents, and children, we wish you the celebration of all of your loves.

To our children,  their spouses, and their children we wish you the celebration of all of your loves.

To everybody unrelated directly to us we wish you the celebration of all of your loves.  We wish you the celebration of each and every one of us,  according to our essences.

 

 

Coping With a Cold Day

Any Day, Environment, Every Day, , , ,

The 40 degree reading on our porch at 1 PM on FEB 11, 2014 DSC01709 Midday, it was 40 degrees on our porch, and drizzling.  It feels very cold!  We are staying in today to catch up with news, chores, and communications.  I actually like to stay inside when it is miserable outside.  And a tinge of guilt  passes over me for feeling comfortable by using fossil fuel, (natural gas) to stay warm  Even though we set the temperature at 71, it remained 68 degrees.    This is balmy compared to what people put up with when they are out of power, cannot afford to heat very much, or live in the north.   DSC01710 This is also a testament to our old house poor insulation.  Transportation, heating and cooling are some of the largest energy uses, and therefore uses of fossil fuel.   It is also a testament to the cold breeze.   Now I vow to look into ways to mitigate our fossil fuel use!

DSC01712

I am searching for new and old ways to move toward a  fossil fuel-free normal.  In spite of our use of fossil fuel, we are choosing to get by with less of it (conservation).  One way we do get by with less use of fossil fuel is by using shawls,  throws, sweaters, and fleeces.   We are going to be keeping technology:  this is a given.

We Have Got To Get Off Fossil Fuel

Energy, Environment, Garden, Global

DSC01338  Parsley bigger than it was.

      DSC01191  Our winter garden before the days started to noticably lengthen.

DSC01624 Some food, only the green of which was grown in our garden.

We are using fossil fuels to take the stored sunlight out of the ground to burn for quick and convenient energy right now.  Every form of fossil fuel that is being burned is putting CO2 into the  atmosphere, and contributing to global warming.  Furthermore the methane that  gets released, and is getting increasingly released as the methane ices in the Arctic thaw, are adding to the effect.

The only way we will be safe is to switch off fossil fuels immediately, and go to sustainable energy sources, such as solar and wind.  We have to adhere to the energy budget we are given by the sun.  Wind energy comes from the sun due to the differential heating and cooling, which causes air pressure differences, and the wind is the air movement to equalize these pressures.

It is common knowledge that it took millions of years to form those fuels which we are burning up in a blink of the eye.  The green from out garden is a small part of what we eat.  I do not want to have to depend on fossil fuels to get the rest of what I have to eat.