sustainability

Springtime is long at last here and it’s time to take full advantage of the fantastic wild food sources that are beginning to burst from the earth. Spring is my favorite time of year to do food foraging, because there are some particularly special offerings. Spring is all about fresh beginnings: light greens, tender shoots, and cool roots.

There are close to 90 million dogs in the United States and an even higher number of cats. While these pets—for many of us, companions, best friends, and loyal members of our family—often go on to have full lives, their passing is unfortunately inevitable. Burying our loved animals in the backyard is often the best choice, but is not always practical or possible.

The other day while out shopping with my mom, I spotted a warning on a shower curtain case. It basically said the materials the shower curtain was made from were toxic and linked to cancer and hormone disrupters. I had to do a double take. Did they really just admit to such a thing and then still deem it worthy to put on store shelves? I was totally blown away. It leads me to ask—are shower curtains toxic? The short answer is yes, but here's why and what you need to know. 

As the main canner and preserver in my family, I spend a few days in the autumn preserving as much of our harvest as I can. I usually end up with about 30 jars of pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, canned tomatoes, and pickled dill beans.

Did you know most of the clothes we wear contain some form of plastic in them? Whether it be polyester or nylon, your clothes have a high chance of being made out of plastic. You might be wondering why plastic in your clothes matters. That's a good question, and there are several reasons it matters.

Our first and most essential biological need as humans is air. Without water we would survive three days, without food we would survive three weeks. But without air we would only survive for three minutes.

If you live in a particularly snowy region of the world you might think that there is very little opportunity for wild foraging. Everything appears asleep and buried during winter. With the right knowledge, however, you will find that there are plenty of plants that are ideal for harvesting in winter.

Winter is almost always hard on the skin, especially if you live in a cold, dry, and sunny climate. Exposure to wind and sun burn can make your lips painful and peeling unless you take steps to protect them.