Celebrating Earth Day and a Worm Update

Earth Day 1990, Central Park. I gathered with thousands of other people for a huge festival, but the thing that I most remember about the event was coming down with the chicken pox the following day. (I can only imagine how many people I managed to infect.)

Since then, the day hardly registered on my radar. Nineteen years of nothing, then this year it seems like green events are everywhere. Maybe it was Obama, maybe it's because German has heightened my awareness for environmental issues, or maybe it's just plain time that people started paying attention again, but this year it seems like Earth Day is everywhere. "Earth Week," as I've heard it being called, is being promoted with a green logo on NBC, Target is giving away reusable bags, and events are being held all over.

On Saturday Kevin and I attended the Planet Earth Celebration in downtown Raleigh. Featuring lots of activities for kids, music, and vendors, and food, I thought the event was great. There were recycling and composting garbage areas, which were overseen by volunteers who helped people identify where to put their trash. Vendors were there selling local, recycled, and fair trade products. Lots of organizations were also on hand to distribute information and promote green industries.

The thing got me most excited was the booth about composing with worms. I had set up my own worm box about a month ago, but have been struggling with it. The box began to smell. Then it got very wet and was leaking. After moving the box from the garage to the back yard, Kevin was just about ready to give up on the worm projects. I had stopped saving my vegetable scraps, but I hadn't yet given up on the project all together yet.

I'm glad I didn't. The woman working asked lots of questions about my box, and gave me some suggestions. I think I gave my worms too much food to start with. She said I should wait until all of the scraps in the box are processed before adding more. She also told me to always have three inches of shredded newspaper on top of the worms (before I had it below). And, that I should alternate the side of the box where I put the vegetable scraps.

I really hope this works, because I just planted some tomato plants this weekend and I can't wait to fertilize them with my own compost.

Old Yeller

Last week I noticed a thin layer of dust on the car and knew it was coming. After this weekend I can say that there is no doubt about it: yellow season in Raleigh has arrived with a vengeance. On Sunday we went for a walk in the late afternoon, and by the time we returned home less then an hour later the entire stroller was covered with the yellow film.

This phenomena came as a complete shock to me the first spring I spent down here. I couldn't believe the amount of pollen in the air. You can actually see the pollen in the air, moving around as the wind blows. And, after it rains, the streets glow with a neon film of pollen.

The yellow pollen comes from the region's pine trees, which (ironically) are the state's official tree. Although I've been told that this yellow pollen doesn't trigger allergies, I can confirm that it does cause same irritation. I can't walk around outside during this time of year without feeling sticky and gross by the time I get home.

Also, I find it completely irritating that I can't open my windows until the pollen subsides. If I do, I'll be vacuuming yellow dust from my carpet and furniture for the rest of the summer.