June Cubed

Hosta June
Hosta June again
house finch nest












It's June 13, and for my family, this day could be called June cubed. It's the month of "June" and everyone in my family has a Hosta by the name of "June" in memory of my grandma "June" whose birthday it would have been today. The first two photos above are from the backyard garden that Doc B. has so wonderfully tended. Me, I'm just the water girl. It's part of my morning routine to get up and exercise and then quench the thirst of the potted plants while I take care of my own fluids with black coffee. Happy birthday sweet grandma June, wherever you are...

The other picture above is of a house finch nest built behind a mini, non-functional "see rock city" birdhouse. It's not really a birdhouse, it's more of a Christmas tree ornament - my baby sister gave it to us as a gift. We set it in a corner of our upper porch and the finches decided to do their version of an Amish barn raising.

So, speaking of birds and plants and watering, PLEASE add this movie to your "must see" list: An Inconvenient Truth. It's about global warming. I know, sounds really boring, right? It's not. It's one of those movies that will force you to consider the way you use/abuse our planet - perhaps without even knowing that what you are doing is a problem. Al Gore is the star of the show, it's his baby. But even if you can't stand Al one little bit, and even if you didn't vote for him like I did, you just can't ignore the facts presented in this movie. As my neighbor put it, it's a big powerpoint presentation. Yes, that's partly true, but it also puts global warming into understandable terms and makes you want to adjust your actions. If you do nothing else, please go to the movie's website and click on "take action". This will outline the most basic things that each of us can do to make a difference before my nieces and nephews have to deal with the repercussions. We are that close, possibly within ten years, to some major environmental tragedies. If global warming keeps going along at its current pace, our politicians will have no time to argue about gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research and the sex lives of our presidents... So perhaps we could just stop arguing about all of that right now?

We were pleasantly surprised to see that we are already doing many of the things on the "take action" list. But, we can do more; we all can do more, no matter how "inconvenient".

Here's what Doc B. and I are doing since seeing the movie less than 48 hours ago:
* actually using our programmable thermostat.
* dialing that thermostat up 2 degrees for the summer.
* switching out more regular lightbulbs with the fluorescent kind.
* making a heating and air conditioning filter swap calendar.
* totally unplugging electrical devices when we can, and for sure turning them off when we aren't using them.
* when our current potted plants die, we won't replace them - saves on watering.
* writing to our mayor to find out why our city, Decatur, has not signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Atlanta's mayor, Shirley Franklin, has signed. If you've not heard of Shirley Franklin, you will. I'd bet good Vegas money on her future national political career. My family will be glad to know that Ann Arbor, Michigan has signed on as well. Shoot, even Gary, IN has signed on.
* and the biggie - Doc. B. took MARTA yesterday for as much of her normal car ride as the Metro Atlanta light rail system would allow. Her morning drives have become about an hour and a half long. So what she did was drive all the way to work yesterday but then on the way home in the evening, she left her car at the northern-most MARTA station. She then rode the train all the way to a MARTA stop that is a ten minute walk to our house. This morning, we'll both walk up to MARTA and I'll get off at my usual stop while she transfers from the east/west rail line to the north/south rail line. She'll ride back up to her car and finish the drive to work. We are both anxious to see how much money this saves and if it will even save her some commute time. We'll keep you posted.

Good luck to all of us on this...