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Tuesday 6 April 2010

Garden Bloggers Unite for Earth Day : )


We have been battling our Raccoon problem for a couple of weeks .. so all of the wonderful Spring projects I thought I would be in the middle of and enjoying at this time .. well they have fallen off the face of the earth for now .. just too exhausted.

BUT .. Jan of "Thanks for Today" has a wonderful meme for Earth Day which is April the 22 this year.

It is about sustainability for the most part .. but I have to tweak ? mine a bit and speak about the little things we do here to help out.

One of them being our raccoon problem ? even though I have an overwhelming urge to scream with the word raccoon involved in a sentence .. we have done everything humanely possible for the mom and babies to survive their episode with us ..
Greenshield the company that has gone through our soap opera has done everything possible to help mom with her babies move on.
Eventually after so many turns and twists of events .. she has done so .. thank goodness for our sanity ?

Next .. small bits and pieces .. we take our yard waste to our city's green dump ..

We have a wonderful rain barrel .. I would love to have another one , even though it would be tricky placing it .. I would TRY very hard ! hint hint

When I water the garden I use a wand and place it right on the soil so none is wasted waving it in the air ! I hate seeing those people that use the old sprinklers that shoot water so far up in the air it evaporates how DUMB is THAT !!

Mainly, the contribution I love is .. finding another tree to dedicate it to this special day .. well, tree after tree that I have picked, seems to be on the impossible to find list which is VERY frustrating .. BUT .. I will find that special tree for Earth Day one way or another.

So .. my wrap up to this post is :

Do no harm if at all possible in relocating an animal that decided "your home is so comfortable I want to live with you guys" !!

Do those little things such as making sure your green waste gets to the right place !!

Do plant something you can look at and know it was a special event dedicate it to !!

Even though this is last year's Earth Day picture of my Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry tree .. it is a stand in for this year's mystery tree I will FIND for Earth Day and I might even get a picture in time to what ever one I finally have for Earth Day : )

24 comments:

tina said...

Keep looking for that special tree Joy. Don't settle. I like the 'do no harm'. Great advice.

eric @ my First Garage said...

What a great idea! After this comment, I'm off to her blog to check it out -
As for our household, we do a lot - recycle, compost, and use only simple cleaners. We actually do a lot to maintain a green and simple lifestyle - way more than can be added here.

Dave said...

We plant trees every year although we don't dedicate them to Earth Day. I'm way late on writing my post for Jan - better get to it!

Anonymous said...

Great green post, Joy, with lots of good tips! :)

Kathleen said...

Nice post Joy and I think you do awesome. I certainly think (from everything I've read about your raccoon saga) that you've done everything humanely possible for the wildlife. I think gardeners in general are more conscious about wildlife. Anyway, now that the raccoons are gone, I hope you can re-group and move on with your other projects. Have a good day!!!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Tina girl .. I just can't believe the problems I have run into this Spring .. even thinking I should be able to find certain trees that are more than zone hardy for our area, they shouldn't be such a mystery ! I will not give up though girl .. I'm determined to find just the right one !

Eric .. we also do a lot more, but to list them all ... sometimes you overwhelm people who are still just starting out with this process .. so I kept the list short but affective .. I would cover our city plot with trees if I could but I just have to have some room for plants as well .. so there !! ;-)

Dave .. I was struck with the guilty club on this so I made myself get to it and done .. I am so exhausted from the "R" adventure .. I can't even say the word any more !!!! hahaha

Thanks Nancy .. I was half awake this morning when I did it .. had to re-read it for the oops ! factor ? haha

Thanks Kathleen .. I just need a bit more rest before I do the regroup thing and plunge head long into my garden adventures ;-)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Aw, this was a nice post. I do feel for you with Mama Raccoon. And, I like your suggestions on all the little things we can do to be good citizens.

Planting waterwise flowers is a biggie for me. But, then I live in a place where water is hard to come by. Hang in there..

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Kate girl .. hey ..it is almost only 200 days until Halloween !!!
Yes .. I did feel for mama raccoon trying to keep her family together .. but not in my attic please ! eeekkk !
I'm systematically getting rid of "grass" as much as I can for xeriscaping plants .. and that mystery tree for earth day !! ;-)

Kimberly said...

Joy, being as green as you can be is the essence of community, isn't it? I'm so excited to pick up my new rain barrel tomorrow...my next step in my green attempt. I appreicate your thought re. watering and wasting it (or not)in the wind.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Kimberly .. I think you are very right about the general atmosphere of a community promoting the effort to be green .. we have the recycle boxes and all the information but if there isn't a community spirit (and it can be just enough of a spark to make you think .. it doesn't have to plough you over !) you will lack the drive.
It makes me crazy to see those type of water sprinklers .. I think they should be outlawed !!!!

Jan said...

Hi Joy, I am SO glad you finally managed to have mama and babies leave your nest-so to speak! They were fortunate that they picked a kind place to set up shop...in other households they may not have been so lucky! The watering issue is a biggie for me, as well. I am guilty of having a sprinkler system and am going to be very cautious about using it this summer. There are so many things I own or do that I am going to gradually decrease or omit entirely. I want to get a rain barrel also. I cannot enter my own contest so we will get one ourselves. This is a great year to adjust our habits and improve how we treat the earth. The first step to change is awareness, and I am getting more and more aware of how even the 'little things' have an impact on the earth-both positive and negative-and it's up to each of us to make wise choices. Thank you for joining in, Joy...good luck with winning something! I hope you are enjoying spring in your garden! Jan

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Hi Joy, I am so impressed with your efforts to make sure mama and babies got off to a good start - elsewhere! :-)

Good for you, and enjoy your tree hunting!

Rose said...

I think, Joy, that if everyone just adopted a few small practices that "did no harm," this world would be in much better shape.

Glad to hear the raccoon family has found better living quarters:) I don't know what the law is in Canada, but here in the U.S. it's against the law to harm most animals, including raccoons, even if they are creating a nuisance on your property. Even with the law, I suspect many people would ignore this and not treat an invading raccoon family as humanely as you have.

VW said...

I'm so sorry you had a family of ragamuffin racoons move in! My parents have skunks living in their woodpile some years. We don't have much of anything in our yard, but I'm sure I'll be cursing the squirrels for digging up my bulbs in a few years when the trees mature.
I'm planting several more trees soon - hopefully that will count toward earth day.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Jan .. I did that post in a bit of a hurry .. I wanted to be more detailed but there are so many things playing on my poor brain cells .. they just keeping misfiring in the wrong directions ? haha .. the water issue is "my thing" there are many more ways for me to cut down I'm sure but watering the garden is something I really do the right thing by .. my washer and dishwasher are both new and water wise too. In any case done deal and I was glad to join in Jan .. it is important to us all in the end isn't it ? I hope to enjoy my garden SOON ! ;-)

Ms. S I so want to find the RIGHT tree this is making me crazy !! OK .. more crazy than usual ? haha .. Thanks girl !

Thank you Rose : ) Yes ! we do have laws here protecting wild life .. you can't move a raccoon any more than a kilometer from the original site .. but with mom and babies we chose the plan to just get the family out of the house but go through the baby box so mom can move the babies to where she feels safe with them .. the best in this situation .. but John and I are so exhausted from the stress of how long this took and how many scenarios that shouldn't have happened DID ! that is the luck of the Irish for you ? LOL

VW girl .. I think I would have totally lost it if it was a skunk ordeal ! hahaha .. Hey .. your home and garden is going to look so fabulous the squirrels will leave you alone because they will be in AWE of how beautiful everything is ? LOL
I'm dead jealous girl ! ;-)
The tree thing is special to me, I just thought it would be nice to have it dedicated for Earth Day so I could remember when we planted the darn thing ? haha

Amy said...

I'm glad your raccoon drama is over and they moved. You did the right thing and I bet you had to have a lot of patience. I hope you find the tree to plant. Enjoyed reading your post. :)

garden girl said...

Hey Joy, good on you for doing your part! You are definitely making a difference. Together, likeminded folks are a powerful force. Rock on!

The lily you were asking about this morning is . . . a mystery daffodil. They were here when I came, and I've never taken the time to identify them. They didn't used to bloom since their foliage had been cut back too early by someone (who shall remain nameless - not me ;) I'm so happy to see them starting to come back now that I let them get ugly and die back on their own.

donna said...

I like the idea of planting something for Earth Day and also for Arbor Day. I'll probably take my grandson out to pick up trash in the area ditches in honor of Earth Day.

donna

wiseacre said...

Not that old raccoon story again. How frustrating. I'm not sure I'd be so accommodating the second time around.

My wife gave up and let the varmint live in the house even though I'm not housebroken.

Victoria said...

Yay..Super-Lovely post Joy...I love coming here to read up on your new adventures! Hope you are having a wonderful and fabulous day!
Kiki~

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Amy and thank you ! .. it seemed to drag on forever but I think we are in the clear .. for now ? haha I'm still hunting my tree down .. time is just flying by and I am getting a bit panicky !

Hi Linda .. yes, every little bit counts doesn't it ! .. I am laughing about the "some one" who cut back the plants .. it takes a lot of patience to let them die back naturally to revitalize the bulb .. but it is worth it : )

Ho Donna .. I like remembering that a tree or a special plant was dedicated to Earth Day .. it just seems like a nice touch to the garden : ).. we have a garbage picking day in Kingston too !

Dear Mr. WiseA** I just knew you were never house broken .. the raccoon adventure , well I just don't think we could live through a 3rd time so this company is making sure we are secure .. something the raccoons always thought of themselves too ? LOL

Thanks Kiki .. I really loved those pictures you took .. the glass door knob was a stunner !

Bren Haas said...

Now that Image you have at the top on the right is AWESOME!!!! I love those Hel... not sure on the spelling!

Great shares for spring - can't wait to return to see what you share next!

Bren in the BGgarden.com

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Bren and thanks ! a few years ago I didn't really know hellebore existed .. now I am addicted to them and collect them when ever possible .. the BIG allium is what I want to see happen next here : )but it will take a couple more weeks .. meanwhile I should be weeding ! ;-)

Jan said...

Congratulations, Joy...you're a winner!

http://thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-earth-day-contribution-and.html