Let’s get down and dirty

‘Tis the season to get down and dirty. I’m doing it. It feels great. Over Easter weekend, I picked a sunny backyard location, put concrete blocks on the ground, then a large round container on top. It looks like stone but it is the lightweight synthetic stuff, less expensive and even better – and it was on sale.

I guess, the formal gardeners call this approach “raised bed gardening”, yep, really raised, so less bending over, easier on the old backbone. I like this part.

Spent some time happily digging up great dirt from the compost pile. My, those earthworms have been busy! Egg shells, orange rinds, leftover lettuce, onion skins, all magically changed into rich dark soil. Not like the sand in the yard (this is Florida, we’re built on sand and limestone). By the way, I have compost to give away if anyone wants some. Bring your own bucket. I’ll fill it up.

Next a trip to the plant store. One the way I saw several people in their front yards on their hands and knees, trowel in hand, planting flowers. They were smiling.
Brought home eggplant, arugula, peppers and tomatoes. Also seeds for zucchini, lettuce and nasturtiums (the flowers are lovely and are edible – I like them on top of salads, taste lemony!). Bought some starter seed plugs and planted seeds.

And I didn’t forget the butterflies. A red penta now sits next to a large fennel plant. The penta attracts butterflies, like the smell of fast food. They drink the nectar then look around to see if there is a host plant to lay their eggs. Ah yes, swallowtails lay their eggs on fennel plants. Nearby I have milkweed plants and monarchs lay their eggs on these. An arbor with passion vines serves the gulf fritteries and the zebra longwings.

By having both nectar and host plants, you get butterflies for life – they come, have dinner, stick around to lay eggs, then caterpillars emerge, eat leaves, get fat, change into chrysalis, and finally emerge as butterflies. How cool is that? This means, of course, that you won’t be using pesticides as they kill butterflies. Organic, pesticide free – Mother Earth thanks you.

Spring. Rejuvenation. Seeding the future. It is a down and dirty work in progress.

Lucy Beebe Tobias is a freelance writer, photographer and artist in Ocala, Florida. Her book 50 Great Walks in Florida was published February, 2008 by University Press of Florida. She is the Authentic Florida expert for Visit Florida.

How to make your vote count

Let the mudslinging begin. Clinton blames Obama for holding up Michigan re-vote. Obama’s minister makes racist comments and somehow that makes it Obama’s problem. McCain goes to Jordon, gives a speech, says Iran is training Al-Quaeda when in fact they don’t. The Democrats seize the moment to attack.

Ger out your waders. You will need them. The mud fight is going to get deeper much our disappointment. Why shouldn’t we be a bit bitter? We are entitled. After all, the 2008 campaign started so well.

Strange, isn’t it? Only a few months ago a wave of enthusiasm swept the country and beyond our borders. Voters turned out in droves for primary ballots. Candidates were talking about the war, health care, housing, immigration – subjects that need solutions.

The presidential hopefuls have an ethnic and minority diversity many folks thought they’d never see in their lifetime. The voters spoke in the primaries. Left standing are Obama, an African American, Clinton, a woman, McCain, a senior citizen, and Ralph Nader, another senior citizen.

Even though the election is seven months away, we already have that déjà vu feeling – been here, done this in 2000 and 2004. Gone are the discussions of solutions to housing, health care, education. In their place – accusations, past life episodes dredged up to set wildfires, an unforgiving righteous attitude towards opponents and mud slinging taking us down to tabloid level.

But wait. Don’t drop out. Hang in there. Our votes do count. Your voice makes a difference (do you remember how close Bush and Gore were?). If you are not registered to vote, do it today. You want to be proud of America? Then step up and be part of the process. Vote in November.

Here’s a surprise. There is another way to vote. Not at the ballot box – but at stores, at home, at work and church. We vote with our pocket books. Let’s say you need legal pads and a box to store all those tax returns the IRS says you must keep for X number of years. Off we go to the office supply store.

You have choices (hopefully between the regular stuff made from virgin pulp or products made from recycle paper. The other day I picked out recycled legal pads and a recycled cardboard box. I cast a vote and made a difference.

The cash register went Ka Jung. And deep in corporate America a green light went on. A recorded voice said “Customer bought two recycled products, paper and boxes. Buy more. Restock.”

Okay, I made that scene up. But it is happening. I’m seeing recycled products in places like Staples that NEVER had them a few years ago. In my area of Florida, the Publix grocery stores have tripled their organic products. Now, if they would just embrace free trade . . .

And you vote with your daily actions in combination with your wallet. Want to save Mother Earth? Start at home. At my home the light bulbs are all changed from incandescent to florescent. I took a class on rain barrels and have one, full of water, in the back yard. My clothes are drying a clothesline instead of sucking up power by using a clothes dryer. Reduced pressure on resources. It matters!

Many people are doing their research and then voting with their pocketbook and lifestyle changes. These votes affect our future, just like researching the political candidates then picking the one to lead us for four years.

While the political scene gets muddy, the personal scene gets clearer. Everything is connected. We make choices every day. Vote with your wallet. Vote for Mother Earth. It is the green thing to do.

Lucy Beebe Tobias is a writer, photographer and artist in Ocala, Florida. Her book 50 Great Walks in Florida was published by University Press of Florida, February 2008.