June 2008 Archives

My dogs own my deck.

At my house, the arrival of summer means a spontaneous doubling of living space: my deck becomes the brightly-lit reading, dining and crafting room. My backyard fire pit becomes a second kitchen. My clothesline becomes my de facto dryer. My front steps become my phone booth (real classy like, I know). And on and on.

I'm not the only one. My dogs are also outside with a vengeance, barking at defenseless older people as they walk by and scavenging for maple tree helicopters and rocks as the mood strikes. They've also claimed the deck chairs as their own (see photographic evidence, above).

But that brings me to the matter at hand: Sharing the backyard with Spot isn't always a seamless endeavor, especially if the human family members want a garden and the canine family members treat the yard like an all-you-can-eat-buffet. There's also the matter of safety for both pets and humans. So here's some advice on how to have a beautiful backyard/extra summer living space that's also fido-friendly -- and safe for all:

1. Say NO to pesticides -- Cancer risk is much higher for pets in homes where pesticides are regularly applied to the lawn. Remember, they are putting all four paws and often their noses directly into whatever goes on the grass. They're also bringing the toxins inside with them (and so are you if you step in the lawn) where the toxins become dangerous indoor dust that everyone in the family breathes in (and even more is getting tracked onto furniture or the bed if you let your dogs lounge in those spots). Avoid chemical lawn treatments and embrace natural weed control instead, including:

•  Corn gluten meal -- inhibits seed germination and is a pre-emergent weed killer. Apply in early spring before weeds come up.
•  Mulch -- mulches help control weeds naturally, but avoid using cocoa bean mulch in any area where dogs have free rein. Cocoa is toxic for dogs when ingested.
 • Rock gardens -- Rocks as mulch are also pretty, and are generally safe for Spot. But if your dog is a serious backyard grazer, avoid them -- especially if the rocks are small and your dog is small (big things happen fast in small intestinal tracks). Eating too many rocks can cause intestinal blockage and, in some cases, death.
• Let your yard go natural -- this is perhaps the healthiest (and simplest and cheapest) option for your personal health, for your pet's health and for the environment.

2. Un-treat your lumber -- Treated lumber is loaded with nasty chemicals, including arsenic, that can leach into the dirt where Fido digs and sometimes snacks. Stick with untreated cedar for garden borders or fencing.

3. Fix-up burned grass naturally -- The backyard doubles as your dog's bathroom and you can often tell exactly where they go #1 because of the burned grass. Apply Gypsum to the to the affected areas to help minimize burns. You can also try putting a little brown sugar on the affected area and watering. This is said to help attract worms, who in turn help aerate the soil and improve drainage. (Note of caution: dogs may want to snack on lawn care additives that smell like, or are, food. So apply before a big rain or water well to keep them from grazing on your soil amendments.)

4. Plant dense -- Dogs have bad depth perception and can't always see single plantings (which means they are more likely to tear through them). Plant dense to help Spot see what's coming as he tears around the yard. (Note, this will not help if your dog is simply naughty.) Another bonus: dense plantings naturally inhibit weeds.

5. Get a motion activated sprinkler -- Most dogs hate getting wet, so a great way to keep dogs out of backyard gardens is to put a motion activated sprinkler in the bed and wait for Spot to saunter over and lift his leg. He'll get soaked and saunter off and your garden will get a nice mist. Kill two birds with one stone!

My free cup didn't have whip cream. Sigh. Maybe I'd have drunk it if it did. (Photo credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)

Having woken up late (per the usual), skipped breakfast and hair washing (sorry, aesthetics), I was flying to work one day last week when I realized that I wouldn't make it through my morning meeting if I didn't get something to eat. So I breezed into an upscale chain bakery that happened to be en route.

Me to Cashier: I'll have one of those buttery, quiche-y, egg-and-spinach-y things to go.

Cashier: Comin' up! Would you like a cup of coffee with that? We're giving away a small cup of coffee with the purchase of buttery, quiche-y, egg-and-spinach-y things!!!

Me (desperate for a cup of coffee, but having just spied the stack of Styrofoam to-go cups from which, on (health) principle, I do not drink): No, thanks. I'm okay.

Cashier (undeterred): C'mon it's free! I'll get you a cup!!

Me (lying): No, no. I've had too much this morning already. But, thanks.

Cashier: Nonsense! There's no such thing as too much caffeine -- and it's free! Here! Here's your free cup! Take it, it's free!

Me: . . .

Cashier (beaming): . . .

This free cup of coffee should have made my morning, right? Been a bright spot in an otherwise routine day? I mean, what kind of loser gets depressed when they get something for free?

Well, I was depressed. So by my own logic I concluded I was a loser and just got on with my commute. But later I thought about it more, and something dawned on me: right from the start, my free cup of coffee was far from free.

First off, the cup was made of polystyrene foam, a dangerous synthetic material that has been known to leech toxic materials into the beverages it contains (polystyrene contains benzene, a known human carcinogen). The stuff also takes over 900 years to biodegrade and causes starvation in marine wildlife (polystyrene is one of the most ubiquitous marine pollutants). What's more, producing polystyrene is a huge energy hog. That adds up to a pretty steep environmental and personal health cost for a "free" cup of coffee.

Next, there was the cost to my newly clean car. After I poured the coffee on the grass, the cup was about to become free-floating garbage in my beleaguered Subaru. This seems like a small cost in the grand scheme of things, I know. But stuff adds up, and it takes a psychic toll (especially if, like me, your car tends to serve manifold functions, including purse/lunch cart/storage unit/roving Dumpster). This cup = more stuff = more psychic toll. (The high number of consumer products produced today also takes an environmental toll. Check out the great interactive video, The Story of Stuff, for a clear-eyed picture of the life cycle of stuff.)

Another cost of my free cup of coffee? My annoyance at my inability to refuse it. I felt like I'd been forced into the free coffee, but in reality, most cases of feeling forced into something are really cases of us having said yes despite our wish to say no. So then I became annoyed with myself for having not stuck to my guns and said no. Then I became doubly annoyed that such a simple thing should be so hard to say no to, and then I became triply annoyed that boundaries and limitations and being clear are such hard things to master. I'm an adult, for goodness sake. How hard is it to set a boundary with the bakery counter guy?

I've read that getting better at saying no takes practice (read more on how to say no here), and that the best place to start practicing is in low-stakes settings like, say, a bakery. Sigh. I guess I need more practice. So I'm heading back to the bakery tomorrow, but just in case I still can't refuse, I'm bringing my own refillable mug. Then, at least, good coffee won't go to waste.

Dirt just feels so right.

Happy Friday! We've got some great entries this week for our Small, Good Things appreciation list. Anne wrote in with a wonderful, amazing list of small goodnesses! Here are her top seven:

1. Dirt -- "Today, for example, I was out planting my garden, and the feel of the warm, soft dirt beneath my bare feet made me so happy. So, add DIRT to the list!"

2. Going barefoot -- "Not to mention how exciting it was to be outside in shorts and barefeet and be warm for a change! Hooray for SPRING!"

3. A pillow that's just the right balance between firm and soft, fluffy and cozy.

4. The sound of songbirds chirping outside the window in the morning.

5. The joy of finding a fantastic new tune on iTunes.

6. The excitement of finding an e-mail from an old friend in your Inbox.

7. And of course, my favorite: being outside at just the right time and place to catch a spectacular sunset, marveling at the array of colors and feeling grateful for the gift of eyesight and the time to savor that moment!

And Jen concurs that 8. dog lips are good stuff. Her dog, Zoey, agreed to pose for the camera to prove the point.


:

Zoey sleeps, er, poses for the camera.

And my one addition this week is (9.) the wind. A strong-but-not-too-strong wind feels so cleansing somehow. And the rustling sound it makes in the trees sounds like the ocean (which is such a treat for those of us who guard America's Inner Shores).

As an editor, many newly published books cross my desk. Here are a few worthy recent additions:

New Good Food: Shopper's Pocket Guide to Organic, Sustainable and Seasonal Whole Foods by Margaret M. Wittenberg (Ten Speed, 2007) -- When this book first crossed my desk, I thought, "Well, whole foods are whole foods, right? What else do I need to know? I can already tell the difference between a squash (whole) and a Twinkie (slightly less than whole). But this book has a treasure trove of valuable information. It gives all the nitty-gritty details on identifying, preparing, and storing whole foods staples. Need to know if preparing French green lentils differs from preparing Spanish pardina lentils (or mung beans or split peas on yellow soybeans)? This book's got the answers in an easy-to-refer-to chart. Can't keep Soba and Udon noodles straight? Check the book. Want to try baking with ultra-nutritious Teff flour? Book'll tell you how it's done.

Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying by David Bach (Broadway, 2008) -- Bach has authored a series of "finish rich" books, but this one focuses on how to build your wealth while also saving the earth. While the tips struck me as more useful for befriending the earth than bolstering the wallet, they'll help out with both. What I liked most about the book was the "Go Green Action Steps" Bach provides in each section. They direct readers to websites (primarily) for more information or getting involved. All the websites I visited from this section were actually really helpful (so many sites are not). And, call me old-fashioned, but I like gleaning new websites from books or print magazines and newspapers instead of someplace else online. Also, the book has beautiful pictures and is well designed. I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but it's fun to peruse something pretty.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Penguin, 2008) -- This book is great, great, great. Pollan chronicles the modern history of American food, which sounds much less interesting than it is. What's happened to our food system in the last 40 years is the stuff of Shakespearean tragedy. Pollan exposes the many sins committed in the name of food and then gives guidelines for eating well in the modern age. Even if you're not a stitch interested in food, I recommend this book for it's pure phraseological beauty. Pollan's prose is bewitching, with sentences that are hearty, soul-enriching comfort food and whipped (grass-fed) butter all at once.