Kitten Play

Yesterday was a day for slogging through the ice and snow and slush.
It had rained through the night and continued on through the day.


It's best that my camera stays indoors on days such as that.
We don't want another camera-tastrophie in the same year.
This means cell phone photos are what we are left with.


Most everyone (except the horses, of course)
remained in their shelters during the rain... anti-climactic stuff for a blog post.
Luckily, the kitties were obliging and were up to their usual antics.
They've grown so much... I bet they are three times the size they were when they came
to the farm.


They now have their entire large stall to run and play 24/7.
Their crate is available with soft bed and heat lamp whenever they choose to go in.
Now that they are bigger, nap times are less frequent
and playtime is anytime!


I often hear them mewing from across the stall aisle, as I clean
the manure from the stalls that are open for horses to wander in and out.
The kitties have all found their voices and are sometimes quite talkative
(but only to each other.)


They've discovered that the garden cart which is parked in their stall
is a great place to play hide and seek,
and all manner of kitty games.


(the lighting in the barn is poor, so the photos are poor... but you get the idea.)


I thought I would update you on my quest towards a more sustainable lifestyle
and reducing our carbon footprint.
I have stopped, whenever possible, buying anything packaged in plastic.
My conundrum has been finding organic greens in "light" packaging.
We eat a lot of vegetables and greens, and I hate buying plastic tubs of greens.
 My challenge this year is going to be to come up with a way to grow greens in our greenhouse...
without the use of potting soil.
I would prefer to grow only in our own soil... so getting it into the greenhouse will be a challenge...
impossible, now, while the ground is frozen.
As soon as the first sign of spring is here, I will be planting greens back in the garden boxes.

I have switched to bar shampoo...and I really like it.
I find that the lather that I make with my hands is just the right amount for washing my hair.
And the great thing is, they are packaged in very light cardboard only...
completely recyclable.


We have also switched to tree-free toilet paper... made entirely from sugar cane
and bamboo... two very sustainable sources.

I have found that asking myself "do I need this?" is the best deterrent
for excessive consumerism.

As for our solar panels... the weather just has not cooperated with the 
installation.
Now that the snow is off the roof, work should begin again.



Comments

Louise Stopford said…
Gosh those gorgeous kittens have grown. They seem to be so happy in their barn - hope that they all stay with you where I know they will be very well cared for and loved (even if they remain a bit feral). Have a lovely weekend.
colleen said…
Crazy kitties :). Thanks for sharing the kind of bar shampoo you purchased. I'm going to check it out. I NEED your sustainable lifestyles updates, it helps keep me in check. Do I need this blog??? Well, yes I do!! Make it a great weekend.
Karla said…
Bev, so glad you all aren't in the polar freeze. It is minus 17 here in Illinois this morning. Although rain and slush are NO fun either.

Don't know if you've considered hydroponics for your greens? I have no idea about the how's for this, but might be an interesting alternative to soil. There is a farmer here, who grows salad greens all year in his hydroponic green house.

Thank you for the tips on reducing our carbon foot prints!
daisy g said…
It's great to hear about your progress in sustainability. Thank you for passing on the product information.
How 'bout growing micro-greens?

Hope you have some sunshine this weekend!
Dee J. Hartman said…
Bev, even on a rainy day and night, you find super things to write about!....I continue to be amazed with your talents!
Anonymous said…
Love the kitten pictures! I will definitely try the bar shampoo - never even knew such a thing existed.

PS Love your sweater from yesterday's blog post !!
Unknown said…
There is a company, the name escapes me right now, that sells reusable veggie bags that you take to the store, store the veggies in the refrig and wash the bags out to use again
This N That said…
Cell phone photos are really good these days. Play that we had all that rain so you could get your roof going again! The kittens are really growing. Looks like they're having a blast.Enjoy your day.
farm buddy said…
Hello,
Have you checked out the book, Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening, by Peter Burke? It is a really good book, and the ideas are great! I am working on growing the sunflower shoots.
Highlander53 said…
Our Country magazine arrived today and as I was reading through I came to "We Grow Love". What a wonderful story of your move to the country and a new way of life. Then we saw your location of Seven Stars, Pennsylvania which we have driven through many times on our way to a family cabin in that area. Congratulations to you for your published story in a national magazine! And now we can enjoy your blogspot.
Unknown said…
Work, on your farm, would not get done if it was left up to me. I'd be sitting and watching those kittens all day. I hate plastic, too, and buy my TP, in bulk from the BIG A (Amazon). I did buy a case of the sugar cane TP, figuring it was made in the US- I mean they wouldn't send the cane to China to be processed, then sent back to the US. Well, duh! China has their own cane to process-silly me. The fact that the TP was from China means there was the carbon use of flying/shipping the product to distribution points. I have high hopes for hemp (now legal) taking off in replacing so many of our products (TP, clothes, paper, bioplastics, insulation, biofuel, etc).
Cheers!
Mick