Fresh Cherries

The cherry tree has produced its newest drop of juicy, delectable fruit.  After years of “fruitless” anticipation, the past few years have produced enough cherries to have a few each morning for breakfast or as a snack while walking past to water the flowers.  Not sure what changed.  Several years ago, I pruned it sharply, [...]

Frugal Herb-Gardening Tip of the Day

Fresh herbs close to the kitchen door make for a sure-fire way to quickly and economically add zesty, bright flavors to your meals.  If you are lucky enough to have a small sunny patch within steps of your entryway, make a list of the herbs your family uses the most, plus one or two that are outside of [...]

Glass Positive

       
Things happen.  That’s what the kitchen dealer who shut his doors owing me over $900 said when I inquired about several unpaid invoices.  The two larger panels on the right had been installed in their entry way as an additional, hopefully eye-catching display that would lead to more sales, and by the way decorate their lobby….  [...]

Frugal Gardening Eco Tip of the Day

Part of being a Frugal Gardener is to be stingy with Mother Earth’s resources as well.  Having recently purchased many plants and landscaping accents, an interesting pattern emerged as each bush and shrub was readied for planting. 
Some came in biodegradable burlap tied with twine.  The hole was prepared, the plant was shifted in place, the twine was [...]

Eco Tip of the Day

Use your online banking option.  It saves time, stamps, envelopes and trees.  If every American used this simple tool, 3.9 billion tons of greenhouse gases would be eliminated, and, 2.3 million tons of standing wood could be spared per year.
When you visit the ATM machine or self service gas station, skip the receipt–those scraps of paper [...]

Office Tree Hugging the Simple Way

Going green does not mean you have to chain yourself to a tree, but you can increase the pitiful amount of office paper that is recycled annually.  A typical U.S. office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year–roughly the equivalent of one tree!  8 million tons of office paper is used annually in this [...]

Compost 101

“Equal parts of green and brown help to break the compost down.”  Compost is a simple, frugal way to improve the soil that most of us are faced with when we step out the door.  The best part is that it can be inexpensively improved by simply adding compost.
Compost is made from yard and kitchen debris [...]

Recycle E-Waste

We all have the quirky exceptions to our local recycling programs.  Each municipality makes choices from the menu of options available.  Understandable.  Cost vs benefit.  My local municipality, for example, does not include plastic in our curbside pick-ups.  Clear plastic has been easy to re-cycle elsewhere, but the solid color #2 Plastic (HDPE Colored) used in laundry detergent, shampoo bottles, containers for cat litter, [...]

Disposing of Drugs and Medications

As the world becomes more crowded and more environmentally savvy, the long term effects of what was once seen as a simple common sense solution to the disposal of old pills and other medicines is now recognized as creating issues all of us need to heed.   Drugs that weren’t available two or three generations ago are now part of everyday [...]

Earth Day and Election Day

Earth Day has coincided with Election Day in Pennsylvania.  A reminder to take better care of our planet and to choose our leaders wisely.  The two events are actually intertwined, as our choice in leadership will ultimately *affect our planet, and, our planet’s existing environmental problems will *effect what becomes important on the national agenda.
On this Earth Day, [...]