It was completely awesome. It was busy from 10:00 until about 3, when it became markedly slower, but still with a steady stream of people. Some vendors sold nearly out of what they brought!
These photos are from when everyone was getting set up, after our heart-attack inducing discovery that they had NOT emptied the room as they were supposed to, and we had to do quite a bit of very fast carrying of things into the back room. BUT! It all worked out!
I enjoyed this article today about Iowa City Mayor Regina Bailey and her concerns about allowing urban chickens.
University students often leave pets behind, she says, and the city – home to the University of Iowa – would need to develop facilities to shelter abandoned chickens.
Another problem: Small Midwestern farmers are increasingly trying to raise a diversity of organic produce beyond corn, oats and soybeans. But that movement faces an uphill battle, Bailey says, when locals who are passionate about high-quality eggs bypass their local farmers.
Hm. I’m not sure that abandoned chickens will turn out to be quite the overwhelming problem she anticipates. Chickens are yummy and they move slower than most of their predators. Also, you can eat them.
Today, we took our new Yard Chipper out of its box and put it to work. (And I broke it all in one day.)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/20343339@N00/4094435620/” title=”Chipper by sarahtar, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/4094435620_1468022fa6.jpg” width=”332″ height=”500″ alt=”Chipper” /></a>
Um, can you say LOVE?
Here at our little Urban Homestead, we have tons of trees. They are beautiful and also a pain in the butt. One of the reasons they’re a pain in the butt is that they regularly drop large branches. Usually during storms, but sometimes just for kicks. When I say large branches, I mean that I have friends who have trees that are smaller than these branches.
These branches accumulate in the yard. We haul them into a pile. And then, after a year, we have a huge pile. In the city, we can’t burn our pile. So, if we need to have tree service, we pay the tree service people to haul it away. This is expensive, but we’ve done it. Otherwise, we could chop the branches up into the 3 foot lengths required for city pickup, and pay the city to pick it up. Expensive and labor-intensive.
Add to this nonsense the fact that we have a high need for mulch around here. Mulch is also expensive.
Enter the Yard Chipper. Yeah, it was like $150. Yeah, that’s kind of a lot. But, um, hello? FREE MULCH! Just in today’s work, in which I nearly obliterated our backyard brush pile, it’s easily paid for itself in terms of money saved in haulaway charges, and money saved in purchasing mulch.
Even more, it’s another step towards being self-sufficient. We have the source for all the mulch we could possibly need or want right here in our yard. Why buy it from the store?
In case you’re wondering, our chipper is a Yard Machines electric model. Most of our yard equipment is electric. It will handle branches up to 1.25 inches in diameter, though it’s more realistic to say that it’ll handle straight branches 1.25 inches. Anything bigger, we cut up with our chainsaw (rechargeable cordless electric Ryobi) and add to the woodpile for use in our outdoor fireplace. Or our indoor one if we ever get the chimney fixed.
Filed under: About Us
I’ve just returned from the Harvest Festival at Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah and spent some time on the way back thinking about how proud I am of Natural Living Des Moines. I started this site a number of years ago after being inspired by the ReDirect Guide I saw in Salt Lake City. I wanted Des Moines to have its own listing of resources for natural living.
Originally, I had wanted to turn the site into a print guide, like the ReDirect Guide. It would have turned the free listing site into, eventually, a paid-listing site. But the goal and focus have changed. It doesn’t make sense, really, to have a print guide. I mean, particularly for Eco-Living, right? Waste of paper, and energy, and everything. And I don’t think it’s right to charge anybody for the privilege of being listed here. I mean, what does it cost me but a few minutes of my time?
The publicity comes from those who are listed, in addition to my own efforts. I’ve been amazed at how much traffic the site gets, and more than pleased at the positive emails I get on a nearly daily basis. Natural Living Des Moines has grown so much since its inception.
Yes, now there are other copy-cat listings. Most of those are either pay (and quite expensive at that) or are sponsored by big-name media. But Natural Living Des Moines was here first, and remains – and will always be – free.
We’re getting ready to proceed with a few exciting plans that we’ve put off for far too long around here. I think you’ll be excited about the new developments, too. I look forward to sharing them with you as soon as I can.
Meanwhile, if you know someone who should be listed, have an event we should put on our calendar, or have a topic you think we should blog about, or – better yet – want to write something for the blog, just shoot us an email!!
Iowans for Informed Consent seems to be a relatively new organization in Iowa. They are focused on informed consent relative to vaccines, and particularly the H1N1 vaccine.
Filed under: Home and Garden
Last fall, we took down our vinyl shower curtain and hung up a green canvas one. We had bought it at Target, after they put their back to school stuff on 75% clearance, for about $4. We weren’t entirely sure that an all-fabric shower curtain would work – would it keep the water in? Would it get soaked? Would it drip on the floor?
Well, I’m happy to report that it DID work, it did keep the water in. It got soaked, but it did not drip on the floor.
It did, however, start to break down and tear apart. We think the problem was combined soap scum and mildew. And once it started to go, it really deteriorated quickly.
So, this fall, I bought myself some Hemp and Organic Cotton plainweave and made us a new one. It was not hard to make (I mean, it’s just a big square – 72 inches by 72 inches – with holes for the rings at the top). Hemp is a bit more rot-resistant than cheap cotton is, and we’ll also take it down to wash it more often. Hopefully, this one will last us a good many years.
I like the natural color better than the green, as well. (hey, when you’re buying on clearance, you can’ t be too picky!) If we ever fix up the bathroom, I’ll stencil the shower curtain with historically-appropriate designs.
What I love most of all is that it’s not vinyl. It doesn’t fill our bathroom with noxious fumes. It’s renewable and biodegradable.
Cross-posted at Boulevard Designs.
Filed under: Events
I’m so excited about this! Natural Living Des Moines will be hosting the first annual Des Moines Green Gifts Fair in November!
The fair will be November 15, 10-4, at the Des Moines Social Club downtown. It should be an excellent opportunity to purchase eco-friendly gifts for the holidays – or for any event – or just for yourself!
We are currently accepting vendors for this awesome, unique event.
We are looking for vendors to sell items that are eco-friendly and that would make good gifts. We will be choosing vendors based on the items they plan to sell at the fair. Obviously, items should be eco-friendly in some way. Additionally, we will have a bias towards localism – items made from locally-sourced materials, items made locally, etc – but are not excluding non-local items/materials. Items do NOT need to be handmade, as this is not necessarily a craft fair. Additionally, food and wine vendors are welcome, as long as no alcohol is sold to be consumed onsite. Green service providers would also be a welcome addition, if there is some sort of “gift” component to what you do (even if it’s just gift certificates – who wouldn’t love a gift certificate for a massage for Christmas?).
Each booth will be 10’ x 10’ and will cost just $20. Please just let me know if you’d like an application! (sarahtar1@gmail.com)
Filed under: Parenting
I’m embarassed that I didn’t think of this before…
I perused more than my fair share of school supply lists this past month. (the 12 glue sticks required by Ankeny for Kindergarteners was a bit shocking.) I couldn’t help but notice all the disposable and/or toxic “supplies” on these lists.
Now, obviously, disposable tissues (not Kleenix, as noted on most lists, which is a brand name) are the way to go for classrooms. I get that.
But Clorox wipes? Hm. Not sure there.
So… parents of children who attend school. What do you do? Do you just buy the single-use, toxic-ingredient Clorox wipes? Do you buy something else? Abstain? File a complaint with the school?
What are those wipes even used for? Do our schools not provide adequate cleaning supplies these days?
Filed under: News
KCCI had a story recently on the issue of alternative energy sources in towns.
“There’s not really wide acceptance of it in urban areas, with small lots,” said Sam Perry, planner with the City of Ames.City administrators are facing new pressure from residents who are interested in incorporating the technology in their homes. Currently, most Iowa cities limit the construction of wind and solar generation to lots that are at least one to two acres.”That really cuts out 80 to 90 percent of residential subdivision lots,” said Perry.
