Corner View : Earth Day

This is the way I'm recycling newspapers for Earth day, I'm using it as weed barrier in my garden.



By overlapping multiple layers of newspaper, the sunlight can't penetrate, so the weeds don't grow. By covering the newspaper with composted cow manure, it looks like well weeded, dark, rich soil.



The entire process takes about 10 minutes per 20 foot row, but it looks like you just spent long hours weeding, plus it's biodegradable and feeds the garden.



For the garden paths, I'm laying out the newspaper and then covering it with cypress mulch.



Now that I've worked up a sweat, I think this will be the perfect Earth Day treat.





This is how Blaze is cooling down:





The Florida Museum of Natural History's Earth Day Celebration is this coming Saturday, April 24, 2010.

Museum Earth Day

While Jane is away this week, Corner View is being hosted by Joyce of A Perfect Beginning. Every Wednesday, Corner View brings together participants from all over, to share what life is like in their corner of the world.

Cofrin Nature Park

On the way home from Blaze's speech therapy today, we stopped at Cofrin Park. Even though Cofrin in located along a busy city street, it was once a horse pasture. Now it's a small wooded nature park, with a playground and a tennis court.



Blaze brought along my old butterfly net. First, he thought he would catch bugs, and then he changed his mind and decided he'd catch squirrels instead. The only thing he actually caught was a few leaves.











We are lucky to live in a city with so many green spaces.

Morningside Nature Center

On most school days, I have an afternoon tutoring job, but today that was cancelled so that my student could go get new glasses (he jumped out of a boat, while on a fishing/camping trip over the weekend, and his glasses flew off, never to be seen again).



Blaze and I took advantage of this bonus afternoon off, by going to Morningside Nature Center's living history farm. I love going there on weekdays, because we always have the whole farm to ourselves.



This is the real reason I wanted to go to the farm. It's Spring time and I figured there would be baby animals of some kind.



















Relaxing in the shade of the cabin porch:





My new boots:






A very well camouflaged lizard:

Cleavers

These are cleavers:


Cleavers provides food for the larvae of many types of butterflies. It is supposedly edible for humans, as well, although I have never tried eating it. What I like about it, is that it sticks to things.It cleaves, but it does hurt. The stems and leaves are covered with little hooked bristles, so they stick to fabric and hair, which means that if you throw them at someone, like maybe a little boy, they can stick to his shirt.





This will, of course, cause the little boy to want to stick cleavers to you, and much silliness will ensue.



Luckily, there is plenty of ammunition, because cleavers can be quite invasive and grows in large clumps all along the edge of the little woods that separates the apartments from the student gardens.

An afternoon at Westside Park

The Solar System Walk:

Each planet has a statue, spaced to scale, along the sidewalk.





It was a hot day, so we went wading in Hogtown Creek.









"Look, I found a shell!"


A little tributary to the creek and some natural clay:





Leaflets three, let it be!



Poison Ivy!

Greek Chicken Patties

This was our first tiny harvest from this year's garden, mint leaves to go in our Greek inspired dinner:






Greek Chicken Patties

1 lb. ground chicken

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

1 egg

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well. Place 2 Tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and make sure the bottom of the pan in well coated, so the patties won't stick. Form 8 patties and fry until golden brown on each side. Serve on pita bread with lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki sauce (recipe below).

serves 4



Tzatziki Sauce

1 6-ounce container of plain Greek style yogurt

1 4-inch piece of peeled and finely chopped cucumber

1 clove of finely chopped garlic

2 Tablespoons of chopped, fresh mint leaves

salt and pepper to taste


Mix everything together and chill.