Why slugs don't drink at Starbucks

I love to garden on the weekends, and this is the best time of year for planting. You can get the plants situated in your garden, and then let mother nature rain down on them all fall and winter long. The roots will have lots of time to establish before the sun starts making daily visits to Portland again. And then your plants will grow like crazy this spring.

One challenge with tender new plants is that the slugs just go to town on them around here. My friend Damaris gave me a great enviromom tip. Apparently, slugs and snails do not like coffee grounds. So if you spread some coffee grounds around the base of your new plants, the slugs will keep away. And without a doubt - this is a lot less toxic than putting chemical slug and snail killers in your garden. There is certainly no shortage of coffee grounds at my house - and if you are a java-junkie Portlander like me - you should have no problem in that department either.

Good luck and good planting!

(Originally published on ReadySetMom.com)

Heating with biodiesel

Here at ReadySetMom corporate headquarters (i.e. Starbucks) we thought we'd try something that might actually be helpful to someone. Enviromom! No, no, no we haven't created a new superhero (though if you feel inclined to don a green cape, please do) rather we want to celebrate the small victories of incorporating "green living" into our everyday lives. So, here's my latest victory:

My house is heated with oil. How delighted I was when I discovered that my oil company, First Call Heating and Cooling, now offers an 80/20 blend of oil and biodiesel, made from cooking oil, as an alternative to pure oil. It costs the same, it heats the same, it doesn't smell any different, but it burns cleaner than pure oil.

Send us your victories! What small - or big - things have you done to add more green to your life?

(Note: Originally published/posted by Heather on ReadySetMom.com)

And the co-payment goes to... the Fanno Creek Clinic

I'm feeling like a bit of a traitor. Let me start by saying I love my OB/GYN like a sister. She's the only doctor I've seen (not counting my dentist) with any regularity over the past 6 years. However, I know with certainty that I'm done with birthin' babies, and therefore no longer in need of an OB. So the thought of waiting 4-5 months to get a regular checkup with my OB/GYN at Women's Healthcare Associates, and then on the day of the appointment, waiting in the lobby for hours while she tries to catch up from deliveries and her overbooked schedule - I just can't do it.

So today I had a physical at the Fanno Creek Clinic in SW Portland. I was expecting the blood pressure check, cholesterol screening - you know, the works. And I was not disappointed. They even zapped a sun-damaged spot off my cheek - without my having to come back in for another appointment and another co-payment.

If you don't know about this clinic, they are one of the most socially and environmentally responsible small businesses I've ever heard of. They pay their employees incentives for making environmentally friendly purchases. And they installed solar panels on their roof in 2005, which earned them a Portland BEST Energy Award for Small Businesses. They are also a veritable United Nations - with more than 10 different languages spoken at the clinic. It's a funky looking little place, but the care is top-notch. My husband, dad and I go there for primary care, see three different providers and rave about them all.

So if you're shopping for a doctor, this is one place to look into. They are accepting new patients.

And now that I'm approaching 40 and no longer exempted due to pregnancy or breastfeeding, I need to go get my first mammogram. Oh joy. I'm sure I'll be telling you all about that one of these days.

(Originally published on ReadySetMom.com)

Upcoming Nature Walks

Guided nature walks are a great way to get outdoors and get you and your kids a little exercise. Here are a few that are coming up:

Ladybug Nature Walks by Portland Parks & Rec
Love, love, love these walks (and so do my kids).
- October 6 at Marshall Park in SW
- October 13 at Forest Park
- October 20 at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (this should be a good one)
- October 27 at Laurelhurst Park
- November 3 at Hoyt Arboretum
Walks start at 10am and last 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Check the PP&R Web site for directions and see my earlier entry for more commentary on these walks.

Green Walks by Portland Parks & Rec
Can't make Friday Ladybug Walks? Then check out info at the PP&R site on these Saturday walks, which are also appropriate for families:
- October 7 at Hoyt Arboretum
- October 14 at Oaks Bottom
- October 21 at Whitaker Ponds
- October 28 at Ainsworth Linear Arboretum
Walks start at 10am and last an hour

Backyard Bird Shop Kid's Nature Walks
Love these stores and am betting the walks are great fun.
- October 22 at Tualatin Hills Nature Park, 10-Noon
call the Beaverton store at 503-626-0949 for reservations
- November 12 at Mary S. Young State Park, 10-Noon
call the Lake Oswego store at 503-635-2044 for reservations
Here's a blurb from the lastest Backyard Bird Shop newsletter:
Child educator and naturalist Elaine Murphy will introduce the plants and animals that live in temperate rainforests. You'll take a close look at the forest life using bug boxes, magnifiers, a field microscope and a bird-spotting scope. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED! These are free walks and children must be accompanied by an adult.

(Note: Originally published/posted by Heather on ReadySetMom.com)

October 4th is International Walk to School Day

Put down the keys to your Subaru! Walk or bike to school on Wednesday, October 4. It's International Walk to School Day. I'll bet you didn't even know there was such a thing. I sure didn't.

Oregon calls it Walk + Bike to School Day. Be on the lookout and drive carefully tomorrow if you are out. Around 14,000 kids in Oregon will be out there on walking feet or biking wheels.

This day brings our attention to the fact that kids need to move to be healthy, we need safe routes to school, and air quality is improved if some of us soccer moms stay out of our cars.

For information on this event in Washington and other states, check out www.walktoschool.org.

(Originally published on ReadySetMom.com)
My kids are not in Portland public school, and I think we'd risk our lives if we tried to walk from our house to preschool tomorrow - so I won't be walking or biking with my kids, and I'll be cheering all of the rest of you on. But do count on me next year. For sure. Even if it's raining.

Worms + kids + kitchen scraps = a great big squirmy fun mud pie

My husband is fond of saying that "the geek shall inherit the earth," but I believe the worms are a more likely winner. After a long hiatus, we've begun worm composting our kitchen scraps again. It's primarily a project for my husband and kids. They make a ritual of taking the compost bin outside, churning in the new scraps and chanting "come butter come." I have no idea how my husband gets them to say this - as the scraps don't smell nearly as sweet as fresh churned butter. In any case, it's their favorite outdoor game now. The challenge for me is to remember to put the coffee grounds, eggshells, veggie peelings, apple cores, etc. into the kitchen compost bin (I think I need to put a giant neon sticky-note directly on my brain). We've got our compost bin from Williams-Sonoma with a carbon filter in the lid so the bin doesn't get stinky. It doesn't look like Williams-Sonoma carries them now, but lots of other places like the Improvements catalog do.

If your kids are squeamish about worms, there's a great Web site for kids about worm composting by the University of Illinois called The Adventures of Herman.

And Metro has a plan for worm composting at schools, if you'd rather your school did the dirty work.

Do you compost in your backyard? Are there any compost bins or other products you can't live without? What are some other things you do to teach your kids about lessening our impact on the environment?

(Originally published on ReadySetMom.com)