I didn’t say that, I totally agree with it! But my friend and fellow artist Jennifer Summer said that and I love it.

I have to admit something, we only started recycling a few years ago, and you know what, we’re not good at it, our piles are a mess, they stack up in our mud room and we miss the pick up dates quite often.. but I suppose I should be totally happy we are doing it. It’s not just recycling though, we are trying in other ways, no more plastic bags, Sean is a bit of a crazy person over plastic water bottles (he gives me the eye if he catches me with one and so I’m weaning off them).

One of the big things that we are doing starting this May we will be getting our vegetables local at a farm co-op, organic and only a few miles from our home (I’m SO excited about this and can’t wait to do a post every week when I go to pick up my veg!). We have pear trees and apple trees (that’s them the pretty pale pink in the pictures), cherry trees and even a little apricot tree that is sadly being shaded out by some huge pines. I’m not trying to crow about, we have SO much more to do.)

I’m trying to think about energy, our house is a technological energy sucker, how many computers, chargers and oh yeah cameras do I run. I used to not shut down my pc’s and I’m discovering that even shut down the power bars and the big plugs suck power 24 7. I’m going to be powering down more, being more mindful of my usage, think a bit more and use a bit less. I need to buy a bike (I used to fall down riding them ALOT and I would rather go dirt biking), we’re going to drive less this summer. For A Girl In Love, for all small file orders I’ve gone to digital download and as I use up my existing boxes clients may get their packages in recycled boxes, the photographs and albums and canvases are what count, not a huge dyed box that will be tossed as soon as it’s open right… so we’re doing some stuff and working on other stuff.

Today I unplugged for just a bit and walked out into our yard to see what I could see. Another bird nest (the Wren in the garage has four babies at least that look like little worms according to Ares but are doing well) in the front yard, a robin, she’s right by the mailbox and I’m thinking of asking the mailman to drop our mail next door until her babies are born and flown. The apple trees are blooming and we have spent the last couple weeks planting plants gotten from friends, family and neighbors, cuttings and transplants (and a few seeds as well) Here is a bit of what we have going on in our back yard.

I hope everyone got to enjoy a bit of what makes our planet special and unique today, and I think celebrating that every day of the year is what I’m going to try to do.