gardenless gardener

Sunday, October 23, 2011

discovery

One young squirrel became acquainted with the feeder yesterday.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

young squirrels 2

Today I was able to take some more shots of the squirrel youngsters playing.

Enjoy!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

young squirrels!

Thank you to all my followers who have patiently waited for me to blog again...

Today I had a big surprise waiting for me outside the door. Four young squirrels were chasing each other on the pine trees in front of our house! They are so cute. I like to think that our squirrel feeder has helped their mother along, and I hope to see these little ones find the feeder as well, as the winter time is approaching... There has been abundance of acorns, beech nuts, and hazel nuts this year, and I have been diligently collecting, drying, and storing.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

sunflowers to heal contaminated soil in Fukushima

Activists are asking people to plant and grow sunflowers with a goal of decontaminating soil made radioactive in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. A group of young entrepreneurs and civil servants are asking volunteers to grow sunflowers, then send the seeds to the Fukushima area where they will be planted next year to help clean the soil of contamination.

The process of extracting contaminants from the soil via plants is called phytoremediation. While animals can move away from pollutants or other toxics (if they’re lucky), plants have evolved ways to live with the toxics and eventually extract them from the soil. The downside is that the concentrated pollutants, such as radioactivity or lead, can then pass along the food chain if not disposed of properly.

Fungi, bacteria and plants have remarkable properties that can help clean up the messes that we humans create. While no one solution will solve the problem of irradiated soil and the struggling farmers, it’s always wise to look to nature first for the processes that can heal the land.

Read the whole article here