The Progress Paradox and Sustainability

Two ideas have been swirling around in my thoughts for the past months. The first is from Gregg Easterbrook’s The Progress Paradox; the idea is that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century - but most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. The second idea is that we have to figure out ways to live on Earth sustainably (a good staring point to understand why is Jeffrey Sachs' Introduction to Sustainable Development course available On Demand from Coursera)…or we won’t be able to live on Earth; our population is growing, there will come a time when the world cannot provide enough food and water, and we are changing the climate of the earth (and it’s not for the better).

Putting the two ideas together - we live in a way that is not making us happy and it is hurting the planet…..

We need to change the trajectory of ‘progress.’

Up until now - progress has been about harnessing the resources that the earth stored away in the past. Breaking natural cycles was not something we worried about. In many cases the resources are transformed as they are harnessed and cannot be used in the same way again. With the cycles broken, the resources are not replenished either. For example, we have ramped up agriculture to produce food for more people but managed to reduce the productivity of the land either by erosion, salination, or poisoning of soil…so that some soils can no longer grow food as effectively (or at all). And the overall biodiversity around us has been dramatically reduced.

Our quick and dirty manufacturing has made industrialists wealthy and provide inexpensive products to millions but left debris and poisons in their wake.

There is evidence that there is a human induced mass extinction happening on Earth right now.

We all make choices about the way we live and most of us would choose to live sustainably if we could. But our society provides very few choices that enable that?

Right now some aspects of sustainability are very difficult or impossible. Some examples:

There are some items that always come packaged in plastic (plastic bins/bags of salad greens, bags of frozen fruit),

There are products that such short serviceability that they clog landfills (disposable diapers, foam packing material), and

Electric cars are expensive and range limited….the list goes on.

But the real problem is lack of vision from the top that leads to a sustainable society. With no top down vision it is hard to piece together what we as individuals can do (i.e. bottom up) that will make a difference. That does not mean we should not take the actions that we can.

In 2015 - my overarching resolution for the new year is to live more sustainably. 

There are some steps I have already taken in the past few years and new actions. Some are substantial…some are very small. I’ll be writing about them in the weeks ahead and encourage everyone to think about taking steps, even small ones, toward living more sustainably. It’s the most important type of progress we can make for the long term benefit of our children…and the generations to come. And - who knows - maybe there is a nugget of happiness in the doing too.

Christmas Retrospective

What were the best parts of your Christmas? Here are mine:

A sunny day. We’d had clouds and rain for the days leading up to Christmas to having a bright sunny day for Christmas was very welcome.

Scones. I made scones with cranberry orange relish and crystalized ginger - and ate my first serving hot from the oven, sitting in a sunny window, drinking hot tea, and reading a novel.  Cooking is something I savor now that I don’t need to rush.

Yes - there was other good food and gifts…but looking back at the day, I savored the quiet of this Christmas. Many past Christmases were a lot of hustle and bustle with large family or work events around the holiday. By the 25th everyone was exhausted. But the calm settled in around my house early this week....making the day a relaxed crescendo of the season.

Merry Christmas

Every Christmas is different but I enjoy them all.

Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful day with family and friends!

Christmas Eve

The night before Christmas….what is your tradition?

As I was growing up, I remember the countdown to Christmas. We were permitted to open one present per day beginning a few days before Christmas. The largest or most grandly wrapped present was saved for the evening of Christmas Eve - opened after a very large evening meal that tried to provide everyone’s favorite foods. I remember the desserts more than the main dishes: apricot kolaches and cinnamon rolls. As I got older I appreciated the raisin buns (yeast bread around a raisin filling) served with dinner.

We enjoyed the lights of the season. There was a line of cars to see the biggest display in town. We always tried to spot which part was new…and where the guards were sitting.

Music was also an important part of the season. We enjoyed school performances, caroling, and church choirs. Some of the events were earlier than Christmas Eve but they set the stage for the evening…and the next day too.

Now - I realize I have some of my own traditions.

• Pumpkin Custard is our favorite dessert for the Christmas season (as it was for Thanksgiving too). I’ll be making it today.
• We’ll watch The Snowman video (available on YouTube here) this evening and maybe listen to Steeleye Span’s Gaudete (from their web page here) and some Mannheim Steamroller Christmas.
• A fire in the fireplace to enjoy along with our dinner and video/music.
• Driving around to look at the lights in the neighborhoods near us.

The Grand Cleanout - December 2014

About 150 books and tapes left the house this week - donated to the local Friends of the Library charity for their used book sale. This is what they looked like in boxes filling the trunk of my car.

Previously I had been keeping travel and cook books as references but now I am using the internet more than books. When I travel I want the most current information rather than a book several years old. Doing a quick search for recipes on my tablet is easier than looking through the cookbook shelf; I put the tablet on a stand on the counter once I choose the recipe.

I kept the travel books that were very specific to a place I enjoyed…and cookbooks from Moosewood - a restaurant we enjoyed while my daughter was in college.

December Sunrise

It is easy to be up for sunrise these days. Yesterday - when these images were taken - the sunrise was at 7:18 which is well after the time I am up and about in the morning. Another benefit for this time of year - the leaves are gone so the horizon is not a solid wall of vegetation. It was a very cold morning so I took the easiest vantage point: through a window on the second floor of my house!

The first image was taken about 10 minutes before sunrise. Doesn’t the sky look like molten lava behind the trees? The second image is about 5 minutes after sunrise when the light was turning lemony.

December Hurry and Flurry

The December hurry and flurry is in full swing already for me. I seem to be a little behind in a number of areas.

The front yard needs raking because the oak tree waited to drop its leaves until about a week ago and it had been very wet since then. The leaves need to be raked even though it will be a cold and miserable job.

The gifts that have to be mailed are purchased - which is good. But they need to get in the mail this week. And there are more on the list to be ordered and sent directly to the recipients. I appreciate the Amazon wish lists!

I am barely started on sending out cards. It is more time consuming since I want to write at least a short note in each one. My goal is to do at least a few every day over the next week and hope they all get done.

The house needs a good cleaning - the floors and bathrooms are OK but many surfaces (particularly the bookcases) are very dusty.

And items to be donated are piled in the dining room.

It is all easily corrected…and I’ll feel a lot better about the holiday when it is!

Clothes for Cold Days

Now that our weather has turned decidedly cold - I have all my winter clothes out. I have lots of options but I find myself thinking more about what helps the most to keep me comfortable in the cold:

Shoes. My hiking boots are the warmest shoes I have. The thick soles - insulating my feet from the cold ground are the most important part of the shoe. I have some clogs which are my second warmest shoes; they are open in the back but their soles are thick and I wear them with thick socks if it isn’t wet or snowy.

Gloves. If it is cold when I go shopping - I have discovered that I am more comfortable putting my coat in the trunk of the car before I leave my garage….putting on gloves with my indoor winter wear (typically sweatshirt and jeans)…and walking fast between the car and the store. If I wear my coat into the store, I get too hot. Wearing the gloves keeps me comfortable for the minute it takes for the short walk. Somehow my hands are the first part of me to get cold. I also have mega-gloves for when I need to work outside (shoveling snow, for example).

Scarves. It is amazing how much extra comfort a scarf can provide when it is very cold. It seals off air leaks around the neck…or can be pulled up to partially cover the face if it is really cold.

Hoodie. I like to wear a hoodie under my coat. It is a good layer too…if it isn’t quite as cold as I thought. In really cold weather I wear a knit hat and pull the hoodie up over the hat!

Personal History via Christmas Ornaments

Every year when I decorate for the holidays, I enjoy the personal history the ornaments represent.

From the 1960s, there are red tree shapes with gold braid (my mother gave them to be years later when she was cleaning out Christmas ‘stuff’),

A ceramic candle holder of carolers given to me by a friend from early elementary school, and

A Madonna and Child from an elderly neighbor that lived across the street when I was in late elementary school.

From the 1970s, there are handmade felt birds. I made two of each kind. In recent years they have decorated banisters rather than the tree.

From the 1980s, the collection includes angels left behind by the previous owner of the house we bought in Virginia,

Some heritage glass ornaments from the Smithsonian,

Dough bears made by my sister just before we got pregnant with our daughters (her first, my only), and

Ornaments that my mother-in-law bought during her first Christmas with us.

In the 1990s, my daughter chose a white artificial tree (the cat is from the 2000s and is not a Christmas ornament) and

Homemade ornaments (my favorite is the purple eggshell).

By the 2000s, the tree was already full. One of the few additions were copper coated leaves that my daughter bought as a gift to us while she was away at college. I like them so much I put them in the window as sun catchers.

In the2010s, I added an owl cut from light wood that I bought on our trek down the east coast to Florida in fall 2013 for the Maven launch.

I’ve also wrapped the small boxes (empty) we’ve accumulated over the years to put in a sleigh beside the tree - they are my latest ‘decoration’!

Backyard View - November 2014

I’m continuing my monthly post of morning images of the trees in our backyard that I started in September and continued in October. Since all the leaves have fallen of this month, I’ll take a hiatus until next spring and then do another series in the spring.

The November trees were colorful…and then bare by the end of the month. At the beginning of the month, the tulip poplar (middle) leaves were mostly on the ground, the maple (right) still had a lot of red leaves and the small locust next to the pine was turning yellow. The images in the slide show below were taken on the

2nd, (still some green in the maple)

3rd, (no more green in the maple and there are more leaves on the ground)

4th, (there was some raking done for the thickest area of leaves)

8th, (the locust has turned completely yellow and it is obvious there will need to be more raking)

11th, (the neighbor’s yard crew did now work, the maple is has dropped a lot of leaves but the locust still has quite a few)

13th and (not leaves on the maple, the locust has lost most of its leaves as well)

20th. (the neighbor’s yard crew blew off the leaves and left bare dirt).

Since the last picture - I raked again. I leave the leaf mulch in areas that are too heavily shaded to grow grass!

Thanksgiving 2014

The cranberry orange relish, pumpkin custard, and gingerbread molasses scones were made yesterday.

The roast is in the crockpot.

The potatoes (sweet and russet) and parsnips (au gratin) are poised to go into the oven.

We’ll light the logs in the fireplace and eat a small salad as football blares.

It’s our tradition.

In the short silences of the day -

Maybe on a neighborhood walk after the big meal, during halftime of the football game -

We’ll talk of the wonder of our lives:

That our long careers were satisfying…

That our family is well…

That the future is full of potential…

That we live the way we wish to live…

And we are full of thanks.

Frozen Days

We have already had some very cold days in Maryland this year - where the temperature did not get above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That has prompted some thinking about the cold weather to come. What will I do differently than last winter?

I’ll empty the bird bath in the late afternoon or early evening on very cold nights and then refill it in the morning before I have breakfast. That habit would provide liquid water at sunrise and a few hours afterward for the birds when they are usually active around our deck. The bird feeder is hanging nearby but the bird bath has been very popular the past few weeks (when it isn’t frozen like it was when I took the photograph).

There will be a snowflake photography kit kept in a plastic container on the deck so I won’t have to wait for everything to cool down before I can get snowflake pictures. It will include: colored glass plates and a jewelers loupe.

An old coat and scarf will be kept in the trunk of my car. It is very easy to misjudge the cold when I am leaving the house since the car is in a garage. I’ve become more aware that a scarf makes a huge difference on bitter cold - or windy - days. I should also try to replace clogs with closed shoes. I rediscovered hiking boots last winter and wear them particularly on cold days when I know I will be outdoors.

I'll wear leggings under my jeans when I am outdoors on very cold days. They work better for me than long underwear! 

Hot drinks are always welcome on cold days. Tea has been my hot drink of choice for years but I am changing to hot water flavored with ginger root and lemon this year.

That’s about it for now….I’ll probably come up with more as the cold of the season deepens.

Last Leaf Raking of 2014

The last raking of our yard was done this weekend. I put it off until the loud noises from leaf blowers ended. I prefer to hear the noises of leaves and small animals in the yard and forest while I work. There were only a few places where the leaves were deep enough that the lawn mowing in a few days (the last of the season) would not shred them enough to feed the grass rather than smother it. The base of the maple was the largest area; I had already raked once but the tree still had half its leaves at that point.

I left the leaves in the flower bed. The mint seems to be enjoying the protection of the leaves through the recent temperatures in the teens and twenties; this calls for another small mint harvest to create a pot of fresh mint and ginger ‘tea’.

I am putting leaves around the base of the sycamore that came up in our backyard a few years ago. It is growing up: the bark is beginning to peel and it had one seed ball this year.

In a little over an hour, the job was done - mostly. I stopped because the base of my thumb felt raw under my work glove; sure enough - a few layers of skin had been rubbed away by the friction of the rake handle. 

Holiday Plans

I’m working on the grocery list that includes the makings of our Thanksgiving feast and thinking more broadly of the next few months. Along with the holidays, there are family birthdays and anniversaries to consider. I enjoy the traditions woven with events unique to the year. This season is shaping up with a good mix.

We’ll have our traditional crock pot roast for Thanksgiving…along with potatoes (sweet for me, russet for my husband), cranberry orange relish, and pumpkin custard. For the ‘something new’ I might try parsnips au gratin and a small pecan pie (from the bakery).

Rather than shopping on Black Friday, we’ll put up our Christmas decorations: the tree, the pinecone wreath on the door, the collected Christmas cards under plastic on the breakfast table, and flags from the loft railing. We are putting the Christmas tree in a slightly different place this year; they’ll be more re-arrangement of furniture.

We have a two day photography class the first week in December which we’ll watch on the television in the room that has the Christmas tree…we’ll soak up the ambience of the season. I’m making sure we have enough logs for the fireplace.  What a nice coming together of circumstance!

Then I have two days of volunteer work to support holiday events. One is a Holiday Sale for a local non-profit and I’ll buy a good portion of Christmas gifts for my family from the venders there. This is only my second year with the event but I count it in the ‘tradition’ column.

Then my husband travels to the west coast for a conference - which he has been attending for years and it is always in December. It is a tradition - one that we adjust our other holiday plans to accommodate. While he’s gone, I’ll distribute the piles of ‘stuff’ I’ve accumulated for donation and take a look at Brookside Gardens Conservatories. Usually we have a tradition of walking around the Brookside light display but it is not happening this year due to construction/renovation at the gardens.

We have never been to Longwood Gardens in December - but are adding it to our holiday plans this year - for the display in the Conservatory and the lights. It will be a day trip. We can leave after the morning rush hour traffic and delay coming back until after dinner to avoid the evening rush hour. We’ll pick the day to avoid any weather related driving hazard.

Christmas will be quiet with just two of us in the house. I almost made myself sick last year when I bought a whole red velvet cake. This year I think I look for one slice - uphold the tradition but not overindulge!

Our tradition is to take all the Christmas decorations down on New Year’s Eve but we’ve been talking about taking in a ‘First Night’ celebration. It is a toss-up whether we’ll stick with tradition or try something new.

We already have some plans for January too - a trip to Tucson. That is not a tradition but it seems like good timing - the flurry of holidays over and (maybe) a bit warmer weather for a week.  It will be a great way to celebrate a 42nd wedding anniversary.

Houseplants

I have three houseplants on the table in front of the breakfast area window - complete with a grow light to support their growth through the winter.

My experimental plant is ginger. A root that I had purchased to add to stir fries sprouted - and I cut off the two areas that sprouted and put the pieces in soil. They have done very well. The original sprouts now are stems and leaves...and there are additional sprouts at the base.

The aloe that had gotten way to large is survived by some smaller versions of itself as my second houseplant. How long will it be before these small ones graduate to the parent’s pot?

So far the sweet potato vines that I rooted in water and then planted in soil are not doing well at all. It is very frustrating. My goal had been to have three pots of the vines so that I could harvest the occasional leave to add to winter salads. Right now they are acting like they preferred to stay in water rather than grow in soil.

Still these few plants are my brace against the coming drabness outdoors. Right now there is still a lot of leaf color but it won’t be long before the color variety in the outdoor scene will be dominated by browns and piney greens….until it snows and we’ll enjoy the clean white for a few days.

The Compost Pile

This is my first year for a compost pile. I started it about a month ago by putting branches on three sides to contain the pile in a small area under our deck where the grass does not grow very well because of the deep shade.

The first layers of the pile were parings from the kitchen (veggie scraps), pine needles, and leaves. I collect the parings from the kitchen in a large bucket just outside the door closest to the kitchen. In a month’s time, I had about half a bucket collected…so they went onto the pile this week along with the plants (peppers, tomatoes, zinnias, and marigolds) that were wilting after the first frost in pots on the deck, some shelf fungus that our neighbor’s ground crew dislodged from an old stump, and more leaves/pine needles.

I hope the pile will ‘cook’ all winter and the compost will be ready to augment the deck pots and garden next spring!

Sunrise on a Cold Morning

I am a morning person. Earlier this week the sun was coloring the clouds pink as I was coming down the stairs for breakfast. What a great ‘first scene’ for the day! The light coming through the narrow windows on the sides of the front door and the transom window over the door let some of that color into the entry hall.

Fortunately my camera was handy and I stepped out the front door to take the image of the trees silhouetted against the morning sky….and discovered the very chilly fall air.

Resolution for the next few months: observe sunrise more frequently. One of the compensations for the longer nights and shorter days of winter is the ease of savoring the sunrise. 

Raking Leaves

BeforeRaking leaves is work --- but one of the enduring and endearing chores for our fall yard. The yard crews that swarm our neighborhood tend to use noisy blowers but I prefer a rake. I like to hear the noises of the birds in the trees….the crackles in the forest of deer or squirrels. I started on the part of the yard that had the densest covering of leaves. The grass is already sparse in that area; the trees are shading the area more thoroughly every year. I raked them into a big pile and into the forest.After

I left the leaves on the ground between the maple and the forest; the dirt is already exposed in the area. Maybe the leaf mulch will slow the runoff during the rain and snow to come. Next year we’ll have to try heavier mulching and planting some shade loving plants….and attempt to keep the deer away from the area long enough for them to become well established.

I still have to rake the front yard. Raking the leaves always seems like such a huge task when I first start but it gets done….and then the yard will sleep until spring.

Backyard View - October 2014

I’m continuing the monthly post of morning images of the trees in our backyard that I started in September. There has been quite a lot of change in October but there are still quite a lot of leaves remaining. There was added drama this month because of a broken branch high in the tulip poplar that had remained awkwardly suspended rather than falling to the ground. About mid-October (image 3 in the slide show below) - it fell. I was surprised that I didn’t hear it fall.

The tulip poplar turns yellow and drops most of its leaves before the maple completes its color change. I’ve done a quick raking on some of the thickest parts of the leaf drop (and pine needles too) because I want the grass to survive. I’ve started taking the leaves into the forest rather than bagging them for pickup at the curb. I used the big branch that fell to make a corral to keep the pile from blowing back into the yard! There will be a few more rakings before the yard slides into its winter mode. 

CSA Week 21 - The Last of the Season

The only left over veggie I had in the crisper from week 20’s share was a bell pepper. That was a very good thing because the last week for the Gorman Produce Farm Community Supported Agriculture was quite a lot:

• 2 green bell peppers
• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 3 garlic
• 2 baby lettuce
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 bunch chard
• 1 bunch watermelon radishes
• 4 snack peppers
• 1 bunch turnips

The turnips and watermelon radishes were about the same size. I’m going to cook the green tops too!

The garlic and peppers are pretty enough to be a centerpiece.

And the lettuce is a melding of gentle green curves.

I am going to miss the weekly trek to the CSA and the bounty of fresh veggies. It is going to take some focused attention when I go grocery shopping next week to buy a similar range of vegetables in the produce section of the grocery store; the CSA has broadened my palate. Now it is up to me to sustain the improved eating habits that have developed over this summer and fall.