Compost Troubles, I Think

HELP HELP HELP!!!

A few days ago I decided to turn the compost pile.  It is moving along very nicely considering it is winter.  I saw some of my beloved worms and some great soil at the bottom of the pile.  I also saw 2 mice that had made their home in my soon-to-be black gold.  I jumped as I do every time I see a mouse, envisioning them scurrying  up my leg.  I was disgusted, thinking of those gross rodents living in my pristine pile.

What to do:

1) Nothing, they don’t hurt a thing.

2) Get the out of the compost.

My questions about them being there:

1) Will they eat my worms?

2) Is their urine/feces harming my pile/worms?

I think I will find a way to get them OUT of my pile.  But before I do that, I really want to hear from you about what you think I should do and what kind of  damage they might cause.

Thank You

Spring is calling my name

Spring is calling my name…and this is how I know

Addi Kay and I took a trip to the back yard.  I looked for new growth and she went to her sand box and “planted seeds”.

Succulents are making a comeback in my yard.

The Pussy Willow Tree is beginning to bloom

And…all of the bulbs have emerged

*sigh and smile*

Reducing Lunch Waste

This year my husband and I have been very good at packing our son a lunch for school.  Of course there is more than one benefit for doing this.  School lunches tend to scare me all together (we will save that for a different time).  Our main reason was to make a conscious change in what we put the food in.

It occurred to me last summer that we would go through quite a few seal-able plastic bags in a week.  I had everything I needed to pack his lunch in a more reusable way, I just had to do it.  I really did wonder if this was going to be one of those great ideas that took off  and later old habits took back over.  Not this one!  We always use reusable containers for lunches now.  I have even cut out all of the box/pouch drinks and switched to a cool camouflage thermos.  That alone made me very excited.  Not only do I get to more closely monitor the sugar going into the growing 6th grader, but I also have NO waste.

You can do this too.  Here are some ideas of things I think might get you started.

http://www.etsy.com

If you haven’t visited Etsy yet, do.  This is a website for people to buy and sell handmade goods.  You can even shop by location to support you local community.  At this website, you should check out “reusable bags”

http://www.builtny.com/

This is a cool company called Built out of New York, making lunch bags fun.  Be sure and check out their many other products.