Signs of Life

My dogs own my deck.

At my house, the arrival of summer means a spontaneous doubling of living space: my deck becomes the brightly-lit reading, dining and crafting room. My backyard fire pit becomes a second kitchen. My clothesline becomes my de facto dryer. My front steps become my phone booth (real classy like, I know). And on and on.

But I’m not the only one. My dogs are also outside with a vengeance, barking at defenseless older people as they walk by and scavenging for maple tree helicopters and rocks as the mood strikes. They’ve also claimed the deck chairs as their own (see photographic evidence, above).

But that brings me to the matter at hand: Sharing the backyard with Spot isn’t always a seamless endeavor, especially if the human family members want a garden and the canine family members treat the yard like an all-you-can-eat-buffet. There’s also the matter of safety for both pets and humans.

So here’s some advice on how to have a beautiful backyard/extra summer living space that’s also fido-friendly — and safe for all:

1. Say NO to pesticides — Cancer risk is much higher for pets in homes where pesticides are regularly applied to the lawn. Remember, they are putting all four paws and often their noses directly into whatever goes on the grass. They’re also bringing the toxins inside with them (and so are you if you step in the lawn) where the toxins become dangerous indoor dust that everyone in the family breathes in (and even more is getting tracked onto furniture or the bed if you let your dogs lounge in those spots). Avoid chemical lawn treatments and embrace natural weed control instead, including:

• Corn gluten meal — inhibits seed germination and is a pre-emergent weed killer. Apply in early spring before weeds come up.
• Mulch — mulches help control weeds naturally, but avoid using cocoa bean mulch in any area where dogs have free rein. Cocoa is toxic for dogs when ingested.
• Rock gardens — Rocks as mulch are also pretty, and are generally safe for Spot. But if your dog is a serious backyard grazer, avoid them — especially if the rocks are small and your dog is small (big things happen fast in small intestinal tracks). Eating too many rocks can cause intestinal blockage and, in some cases, death.
• Let your yard go natural — this is perhaps the healthiest (and simplest and cheapest) option for your personal health, for your pet’s health and for the environment.

2. Un-treat your lumber — Treated lumber is loaded with nasty chemicals, including arsenic, that can leach into the dirt where Fido digs and sometimes snacks. Stick with untreated cedar for garden borders or fencing.

3. Fix-up burned grass naturally — The backyard doubles as your dog’s bathroom and you can often tell exactly where they go #1 because of the burned grass. Apply Gypsum to the to the affected areas to help minimize burns. You can also try putting a little brown sugar on the affected area and watering. This is said to help attract worms, who in turn help aerate the soil and improve drainage. (Note of caution: dogs may want to snack on lawn care additives that smell like, or are, food. So apply before a big rain or water well to keep them from grazing on your soil amendments.)

4. Plant dense — Dogs have bad depth perception and can’t always see single plantings (which means they are more likely to tear through them). Plant dense to help Spot see what’s coming as he tears around the yard. (Note, this will not help if your dog is simply naughty.) Another bonus: dense plantings naturally inhibit weeds.

5. Get a motion activated sprinkler — Most dogs hate getting wet, so a great way to keep dogs out of backyard gardens is to put a motion activated sprinkler in the bed and wait for Spot to saunter over and lift his leg. He’ll get soaked and saunter off and your garden will get a nice mist. Kill two birds with one stone!

My free cup didn’t have whip cream. Sigh. Maybe I’d have drunk it if it did.

(Photo credit: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid)

Having woken up late (per the usual), skipped breakfast and hair washing (sorry, aesthetics), I was flying to work one day last week when I realized that I wouldn’t make it through my morning meeting if I didn’t get something to eat.

So I breezed into an upscale chain bakery that happened to be en route.

Me to Cashier: I’ll have one of those buttery, quiche-y, egg-and-spinach-y things to go.

Cashier: Comin’ up! Would you like a cup of coffee with that? We’re giving away a small cup of coffee with the purchase of buttery, quiche-y, egg-and-spinach-y things!!!

Me (desperate for a cup of coffee, but having just spied the stack of Styrofoam to-go cups from which, on (health) principle, I do not drink): No, thanks. I’m okay.

Cashier (undeterred): C’mon it’s free! I’ll get you a cup!!

Me (lying): No, no. I’ve had too much this morning already. But, thanks.

Cashier: Nonsense! There’s no such thing as too much caffeine — and it’s free! Here! Here’s your free cup! Take it, it’s free!

Me: . . .

Cashier (beaming): . . .

This free cup of coffee should have made my morning, right? Been a bright spot in an otherwise routine day? I mean, what kind of loser gets depressed when they get something for free?

Well, I was depressed. So by my own logic I concluded I was a loser and just got on with my commute. But later I thought about it more, and something dawned on me: right from the start, my free cup of coffee was far from free.

First off, the cup was made of polystyrene foam, a dangerous synthetic material that has been known to leech toxic materials into the beverages it contains (polystyrene contains benzene, a known human carcinogen). The stuff also takes over 900 years to biodegrade and causes starvation in marine wildlife (polystyrene is one of the most ubiquitous marine pollutants). What’s more, producing polystyrene is a huge energy hog. That adds up to a pretty steep environmental and personal health cost for a “free” cup of coffee.

Next, there was the cost to my newly clean car. After I poured the coffee on the grass, the cup was about to become free-floating garbage in my beleaguered Subaru. This seems like a small cost in the grand scheme of things, I know. But stuff adds up, and it takes a psychic toll (especially if, like me, your car tends to serve manifold functions, including purse/lunch cart/storage unit/roving Dumpster). This cup = more stuff = more psychic toll. (The high number of consumer products produced today also takes an environmental toll. Check out the great interactive video, The Story of Stuff, for a clear-eyed picture of the life cycle of stuff.)

Another cost of my free cup of coffee? My annoyance at my inability to refuse it. I felt like I’d been forced into the free coffee, but in reality, most cases of feeling forced into something are really cases of us having said yes despite our wish to say no. So then I became annoyed with myself for having not stuck to my guns and said no. Then I became doubly annoyed that such a simple thing should be so hard to say no to, and then I became triply annoyed that boundaries and limitations and being clear are such hard things to master. I’m an adult, for goodness sake. How hard is it to set a boundary with the bakery counter guy?

I’ve read that getting better at saying no takes practice (read more on how to say no here), and that the best place to start practicing is in low-stakes settings like, say, a bakery. Sigh. I guess I need more practice. So I’m heading back to the bakery tomorrow, but just in case I still can’t refuse, I’m bringing my own refillable mug. Then, at least, good coffee won’t go to waste.

Baking soda will bring world peace.

The economy’s crummy. Money’s tight. Here are some healthy ways to spread your dollars:

1. Use Baking Soda for Everything. Seriously. — It wasn’t long ago that people used baking soda for everything around the house. And I mean everything. Then devilish marketers arrived on the scene and sold us on supposedly higher power, often highly toxic, and way more expensive substitutes. But baking soda has all the power you need — and best of all, it’s natural, nontoxic and cheap, cheap, cheap! Here are a small fraction of the many uses for baking soda:

Clean countertops, sinks, bathtubs, and crusty dishes — Baking soda is mildly abrasive and, with a bit of water, dissolves grease and dirt. Keep a cup filled with baking soda by the kitchen and bathroom sinks so it’s always handy. (Consider buying aluminum-free baking soda for the hot bath and for baking.)

Clean yourself — Baking soda cleans hands and nails and softens cuticles. Again put a dish filled with baking soda near the sink and use as hand soap. Or dip a nail brush into the bowl and scrub away that post-gardening grit. Add a cup of baking soda to your next bath, too. It softens the skin and helps detoxify.

Get Beautiful — Mix 3 parts baking soda with one part water and it becomes an exfoliating face scrub. Also use on elbows to remove rough skin.

Wash the Dog — Sprinkle some on Fido, rub in with your hands, then brush well. He’ll have that new dog smell all over again.

Remove Little Sally’s permanent marker art mural — mix baking soda with toothpaste and watch the magic. Check out this real life test run captured on video.

2. Discover Borax — A mineral compound, borax is a natural, nontoxic every powder (much like baking soda). It works as a water softener when added to the laundry; its great for hand-washing delicates; it’s safe for washing cloth diapers; it’s the best toilet bowl cleaner I’ve stumbled across; it keeps the garbage pail smelling fresh (add a couple tablespoosn to the bottom of the pail); and it makes a great carpet stain remover: blot up whatever’s spilled, sprinkle Borax over the remaining stain, let dry and then vacuum up. The stain — and smell — disappears. A big box of borax retails at Target for around $2.69, give or take a dime.

3. Try vinegar — Another nontoxic household cleaner, vinegar removes mold from grout and plastic shower curtains. Mix it with water to make glass cleaner and then use crumpled newspapers to wash the windows (though don’t use the newspaper on, say, the TV screen). Newspaper is the best cloth you’ll ever use on your windows — no streaks, perfect shine. I know it seems counterintuitive at first, but you will be blown away by the difference. I guarantee.

4. Buy in bulk — At most supermarkets these days, you can buy food such as beans, seeds, rice, oatmeal, flour, grains, pasta and much, much more in bulk. Buying in bulk saves money and packaging. With bulk, you can buy only as many almonds as the recipe calls for and/or as much quinoa as you want so when you want to whip some up for under a stir-fry, you always have some on hand.

5. Improvise — Craft the things you need on your own, MacGyver-style. I’ve been collecting past-dated socks, stuffing them with table scraps, tying them in knots and, voila! Insta-dog toy! Or take an old, needs-to-be-recycled t-shirt, cut it into strips, braid it, and you’ve got another couple hours of doggy entertainment at the low, low price of zero dollars (dog toys at the store can cost up to $20 or more). Dog toys aren’t the only things that can be improvised. Look around at what you have, assess what you need, and see what you can devise!

6. Shop for local food and wares — Products that travel less distance to reach you are less dependent on the skyrocketing price of gas. See the recent EL article on how to shop for all things local.

7. Wash your clothes on cold, and lay off your dryer — I feel like it’s my god-given right as an American to use my dryer. Ahem. But that’s just the magic that marketing has worked on my poor, susceptible brain. Not only is the dryer really harsh on all my clothes, it costs A LOT to run. You’ll save on electricity by using an old-fashioned drying rack or an outdoor clothesline. Running the washing machine on hot is also a huge energy gobbler. Wash on cold and you’ll notice the difference when you get your electricity bill.

Blowin’ in the wind.

I don’t talk specifics when it comes to politics. It can just be too incendiary and I hate conflict.

But it’s been a wild election season and ever since the caucus whirled through Minnesota, I’ve noticed a curious political contradiction playing out — literally — on the street in front of my house.

The night before the MN caucus, the campaigns canvassed residential neighborhoods with shiny get-out-the-vote fliers. The fliers indeed had helpful information — what time to vote, location, directions, etc.

But now it’s been several weeks and the fliers are still floating on the wind in my neighborhood. They cake the sidewalk, ride ice floes toward the storm drains, stick to the trunks of trees. In a year when every serious presidential contender is talking about the environment, isn’t having shiny, probably-took-a-lot-of-energy-to-produce fliers that subsequently become free-floating environmental garbage a big fat contradiction?

Perhaps it’s an unintended consequence of the grueling demands of presidential campaigning (I couldn’t do it. You can see in their eyes exactly how much sleep they aren’t getting. It makes me tired just watching them…), but it irks me. Every time I walk the dogs, I see a candidate’s smiling face blow past me just like “the most beautiful” plastic bag in American Beauty (oh, Alan Ball, do you ever do anything short of a masterpiece?) on its way to clogging up my watershed. How do I believe a candidate’s professed sincerity about fixing the environment while I’m peeling their garbage of the bottom of my winter boots?