Me and Living Things

Due to comments about the freakiness of my amazing yellow spider (which found a new home or was eaten the day after I found him), I need to explain something: I have a degree in biology and I worked in field research on aquatic animals, including what I find to be the most grotesque and vicious living thing - dragonfly larva (they bite... hard). I have also lived in a home where a spider egg sac must have hatched on the kitchen table as I was reading and had a spider run across my bed while I was on the phone (bad landlord). Basically, I'm no stranger to close encounters of the creepy kind. And this was a truly beautiful spider.

I have developed a great appreciation for living things. I think I've always had it, but it has become more refined over time. For example, we've had some ants in our kitchen, and I wince every time I kill one. I know they shouldn't be there, but I can't help but feel their death is my own fault for my lazy uncleanliness. And in our house, we generally try to save spiders. If they are in a bedroom or too close to my kids, they die; I just can't run certain risks. I know a lot of people are scared of them, but ... have you ever watched a spider spin a web? It's one of the most beautiful, patient, and creative natural events I've ever seen.

I really love living things, but I must admit there is one creature that will never survive if it sets creepy feet in my home (if I see it, of course). That is a cockroach. I can stand dragonfly larvae, spiders, ants, worms, snakes, lizards, rats... but any cockroach I see is DOA. I recognize that cockroaches are amazing and resilient creatures that have a purpose and function in this world. I just don't want to see it and I don't want that purpose invading my territory. Luckily our new place doesn't have that issue.

So, what living creature really freaks you out? And what is the most inspiring natural scene you've experienced?

This is another spider we found in our yard. I believe it's one of the yellow agriopa species. It moved after a week or two to I don't know where. Or it was eaten. At first I was worried. But, after researching, I found out that agriopa build their nests so that they can be suspended in the middle in plain view, to deter larger animals from destroying their nests. And what decently intelligent animal wouldn't be wary of a 3-4" arachnid? They aren't horrifically poisonous. And since we could always see it, the girls knew to stay 4' plus away from it (thank goodness for instinct). I was almost sad to see it leave; I'm sure it kept a lot of pests away.

If you really want to see insects in a new way, see the season 1 Green Porno shorts on Sundance Channel. I cannot in good conscience 100% recommend them, 'cause while they may be about animals, hello, the name is Green Porno. Basically it is animal/insect sex explained/acted out. Some of them are very funny to me (the spider and the bee), and some are pretty mild (season 3 squid and sardine). But, if you're uncomfortable with the words penis and vagina, don't watch them. If you're uncomfortable with gender specific body suits, don't watch season 3 shrimp or season 1 snail. And do not watch the fly one unless you like horror!

My Lizard Friend and the Amazing Yellow Spider

This is my friend the lizard. We have lots of lizards around here, but this one will always be dear to my heart. Those you spend time on always are.

My daughters found this little guy (or girl) one day on the edge of one of my seedling containers. I was amazed at how close he let us get. Then they found him the next day. I thought he'd just found a nice spot that he liked. On day three, though, I knew something was amiss. I checked and realized he was caught by some duct tape I'd used to secure the container. I had accidentally left some of the tape exposed and his/her fine toes had been caught.

I cut the tape off and, wearing gloves, I carefully used a small knife to extract his body from the tape. It took about a half hour, but at the end, he/she only lost a few scales. I will never carelessly apply duct tape again.


This is a spider I barely noticed. One of my daughters had asked me five minutes before I noticed the spider if she could pick this particular flower. I'm so glad I told her no! Isn't this an amazing camouflage?

Homemade Deoderant/Antiperspirant

Sounds pretty loony, huh? But, I thought I'd give it a shot. I researched several recipes. The one I wanted to try was on the angry chicken blog; the one I ended up using was one one green generation's recipe. Except that I tweaked it. You can read on one green generation about her experience. Here's what I did:
1 part non-aluminum baking soda (I did 2 Tablespoons) to 4 parts corn starch (I did 8 tablespoons), add several drops of essential oil or, in my case, Trader Joe's lavender body oil.

Mix in a food processor. Put in a small jar (mine is a washed out lemon curd jar). Apply with a make-up pad, cotton ball, or knit/crochet a small cotton pad like the one I made.

I needed a bit more baking sodathan one green nation 'cause I guess I just have a stonger or more prolific smell. What I like about this is you can adjust the ratio of baking soda/cornstarch based on your body type. No rashes yet and I've been using this for a month. Hope it keeps working, 'cause it's way less expensive and works even on those very hot days.

Recipe for Homemade Drums

Materials:

Carpet roll - call some local carpet stores; you only need one, 'cause one will make like 20+ drums
Saw or razor blade
Drill and drill bits
Sturdy string (I used kite string)
Durable plastic "fabric" or leather
Needle
Paint (optional, but way more fun)
1/4"-1/2" thick rope


Here's a pic of the carpet rolls in the garage. Only get one! The rest are just taking up space and filling themselves with silly little spiders. I shouldn't have taken 3, but I didn't know any better.

Take a saw or razor blade and cut cylinder in 10" segments. Around the top edge, drill small holes just big enough for a needle with your string to get through about 2" from the top. Just above the middle on opposing sides drill a bigger hole that the rope can just barely fit through, if you're doing the neck string.

Paint it if you want; put on a non-toxic sealer if you want to make sure the kids won't lick off any paint if you're worried about that sort of thing. Be careful of the holes or just redrill after the paint dries. If you just try to drill after painting, you'll probably crack the paint. I know because I tried.


Cut out a circular piece of plastic/leather that's about 3-4" wider than the tip of the cylinder. You'll sew the plastic/leather on through the holes you drilled. Make sure it's tight. Tie the ends of the string together. Put the rope on so the ends are on the inside. Make a knot so it can't get back through. Sand yourself up some dowels and you have drum sticks.

Have fun drumming!

Amazing Artist, Visually and Vocally

I saw these videos/heard these songs a few months ago. I really like Lisa Hannigan. I like her voice, her style, and her art.

Watch her here: http://www.vimeo.com/2814124

(Just realized I hadn't actually posted this yet... ach!)

A Different View on Depression & the Story of Stuff

Hi, all.

I just found this article in Scientific American so interesting I thought I'd share. It's an article exploring the possibility of depression as a preserved evolutionary function to help animals (humans included) analyze complex social problems by focusing solely on those problems. I've never been truly depressed myself (my closest understanding would be from PMS), but it's an interesting thinkpiece.

Also, for anyone I may have missed when I sent out an email on the Story of Stuff, just click here and it'll direct you to the video. It's 20 min, but an interesting watch. I don't agree with all the premises or the occasional misleading cartoony depiction, but my husband and I have had an interesting time thinking about the content. (We also love to analyze films, so we had fun picking it apart.)

Happy think-piecing!

Sprouting Potatoes

So, I tried sprouting potatoes this year. I haven't actually found out if they'll produce, but I do have some very healthy looking plants. I tried twice before I finally landed a healthy sprouting technique, and even then I lost some. Oh, and I did this using potatoes from the grocery store.

The first time, I tried taking potatoes whose eyes hadn't yet formed. It didn't work. I found out that many companies/producers spray a chemical on the potatoes to delay or prevent eye formation so the potatoes stay good on their way to the store. Just one more reason to wash your vegetables, 'cause who wants to be eating that!

So, next I let some potatoes sit in the cupboard for a bit (they were from Costco's gourmet blend potato bag). I found some with some great eyes sprouting. (For those who may not know, the eye of the potato is the little growths that sprout out at various spots.) I cut the potato about a 1/2" below the eye, making sure they could sit flat with the eye up. Then I used the rest of the potato. I put the piece with the sprout in an old applesauce cup (dang those things are useful!) with water just up to the bottom of the eyesprout. After a bit, they put out roots. Here are some pictures:


You can see the roots coming from the sprout in the eye. I actually had the hardest time with the white potatoes rotting where they contacted the water. I changed the water every morning at breakfast time, cutting out any rotting spots. After a few weeks, I actually had leaves forming. When the roots were just getting too long for the applesauce cup (wrapping in circles around the bottom), I put them in pots ('cause we still have pretty difficult clayish soil).

From what I've heard, potatoes need to be covered with new dirt every once in a while, so I planted them as low as I could in the pot. Even still, the plants shot up, and I was covering them with dirt every 4-5 days. I finally ran out of pot to fill. Here's a picture of what they look like 2 months after I started:
I'll let you know how it goes!