A Bouquet For You

If you are anything like me...
by this time of year (in the northern states) you start to crave
sunshine and color.


The world is rather monochromatic... sometimes it seems like we live in
an Ansel Adams photograph.... beautiful and austere, but definitely lacking
in color.


Today I am giving us all a dose of color - just to tide us over.


A little color from last summer, as a reminder of what is to come.


I picked this bouquet just for you!!


Won't the taste of fresh produce be a wonderful thing?

If you live in an area where fresh produce is always available... enjoy!!
It will be a few months before my garden offers its first bounty.


Sugar peas and asparagus, lettuce and spinach will be its first offerings.
Oh, how I long for the taste of freshly picked green.

To me, color is energy.
To consume those colors gives my body and soul that energy.


To feast my eyes on a rainbow of colors rejuvenates my soul.


So, although the world around is clothed in grey and browns,
the promise of color is out there...
just beyond our fingertips...
but it's out there, nonetheless!

I received a letter from Minerva.
(She's working for a family in Australia for the season.)
She reports that it's been the hottest summer on record in that area,
and she is quite eager for her return to Pennsylvania in the spring.
She'll be ready to tend garden once again, starting in late April.


Today is the day...
the long awaited day.
The solar panels get turned on.
To answer a few questions that we have received about them...
yes, they will supply all of the electricity that we need as long as the sun is out.
If we do not use all that is produced, it goes into the grid.
At the end of the year, the electric company will credit us for
any electricity that our solar panels produce over and above our consumption.
This year there is still a 30% tax credit (on the price of installation)...
but, that credit starts to decrease every year after this year...
which is why we jumped on it this year.

We do not have battery storage at this point,
so, we will only be supplied with solar power when the sun is out.
That being said, I am prepared to adjust my usage according to the weather...
ie: laundry on sunny days, etc.

The company that we had install our solar panels guarantees that they will produce enough power to supply us for the year.... and if the weather does not cooperate, they will cover the difference for 
the first five years... not a bad deal.

There are a couple other financial incentives available at the present time that sweetens the pot a little.
I cannot tell you at what point we will recoup our investment.
It was our decision to go ahead with solar regardless of whether we would ever recoup
our cost.
To us, it seemed the right thing to do with regards to the environment.
I realize that this is not always an option, which is why I suggest doing
whatever you can to decrease your carbon footprint.
Drive less.
Change your lightbulbs to LED's, and turn your lights off when you are not in that room...
anything we can do to decrease our usage...
actually, anything we can do to decrease our general consumption...
energy, food, material goods, anything manufactured or shipped....
helps.
Every little bit helps.
But I urge you... don't stop there... stretch yourself a little...
try doing just a little more... and then a little more.
It's up to us... no one else is going to do it for us.
Yikes, I sound a little preachy.
Will stop.
Thanks, as always for your interest!!!

Comments

colleen said…
I can't tell you have happy I was to see those flowers. I have been dreaming of getting back to the huge pile of mulch that our town delivered to us..free.. last fall. We are working very hard to have a working Back to Eden garden (flowers and veggies).
I ordered some bar shampoo but it didn't work well in my hair type but my husband loves it. I will have to try a different kind of the same brand. I have natural curly/w gray and it made it too soft and unmanageable.. but I'm not giving up.
I'm as happy to hear about your solar panels as I am about Minerva. xoxox
This N That said…
Thanks for the flowers..Zoey loved them..Glad your solar panels are done...Can't wait for Minervas return..:)
diane in northern wis said…
thanks so much for your kindness in showing us the beautiful and colorful flowers and lawn and vegetables today. That was greatly appreciated.