Acts of Green

Did everyone get a chance to be part of the "Greening of Canada"? If not, be sure to register at the website One Million Acts of Green and get counted!

Now, I'm interested in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as one of my "green acts". In fact, when we lived in Kitchener, we joined a CSA program the summer before we moved to Brantford. Not only did we support the local farmers but we also enjoyed drug free (organic) fruit and veggies. Some of them were even "firsts" in our limited knowledge of local food: ground cherries, kale and swiss chard. The latter had become one of my favorite leafy green vegetable; that's why I grew them in my garden this year.
My very own organic Swiss chard, harvested this summer.


The above CSA site provides interesting tid bits. If you don't have the time to browse just now, here is a sample:

Interesting Facts About Imported Food in Canada:

- Most imported food is not inspected in Canada
- No processed food is inspected unless a complaint has been received
- The country of origin is not mandated on food labels
- "Product of Canada" doesn't necessarily mean "grown in Canada"
- Less than 10% of imported food is inspected and it is not mandated to meet Health Canada Guidelines for food production in Canada

Enough to make you think twice about those "exotics", eh?

Distraction

Well, it's been a while since I posted something in my blog. There were and still are several distrations.

One is that 3 weeks ago, Michael had decided to cycle to Halifax by "tenting it" along the way, usually finding a spot behind the bushes (if no camping parks along the way). He did manage to find some motels every 3 days or so to shower, do laundry and give us a call then. We did most of our communication by sending text messages via our cell phones. This piece of technology is very cost effective but it can give one a false sense of security. Michael was very good in letting us know his location at the end of the day. Except for those 3 nights when we failed to receive any messages from him! I did what any mothers would do: panicked. He finally called to let us know that he had been sending messages (but we never got them). So, exactly 3 weeks from the day he left Brantford, he safely arrived at Valerie and Richard's on October 15th.

Another distraction is that another Master Gardeners course, "The Science of Gardening" has started this month. A more difficult study "to get into" compared to the first course "Plant Identification and Use" .

Then, yet another garden project was started beginning with 5 cubic yards of triple mix that was delivered on the front boulevard; that had to be wheeled- barrowed and distributed to more perennial bed in the backyard! (I'd say about 4 times bigger than the front yard). Bob did the wheel barrowing and I did the rest including planting/transplanting more than 30 plant species. Some species have 3-8 individual plants!
This North facing garden in front of the Spruce trees shows only 1/4 of this Fall's garden project.

Of course, there is the usual "Fall Cleanup" to be done around the house. Bob has his share of cleaning the roof, draining the rain barrels, raking & (still) mowing the lawn, etc... but cleaning up the garden and preparing it for the winter is my sole responsibility.

So, don't let all these activities make you think that I'm working full time (but not getting paid in the general sense) but I am really having fun, too!