Love in the Falling Leaves

Those trees that provide shade during summer give free material for compost in the autumn. Unfortunately, my trees are unable to place the leaves in the right spot.

Leaf raking might not sound like much of a date, but if it must be done I intend to have fun doing it. My honey prepared the rakes and wheelbarrow. My dog wandered across the law and collected leaves in her fur. I put mulled cider in the slow cooker and made pumpkin scones.

The sun was warm, no wind blew, the temperature held at a balmy 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The pile of leaves grew on the front lawn until it was so large I was tempted to jump in like a kid. I contemplated whether it would seem immature and silly. Absolutely not; enjoying life as it comes is essential.

I fell backward and wiggled my arms to burrow deeper. My dog joined in by jumping on top of me, yipping and then licking my face. More leaves flew to cover us. My honey scooped them into the air and let them fall. The dog jumped out and tried to catch the leaves. Even with time out for fun, the leaves ended up in the compost pile and we took time to relax.

My honey proposed a toast with a cup of warm cider. "To fertile imaginations and the soil that gives them life."

I never would have guessed raking leaves could be so romantic. My new appreciation for trees goes beyond their contribution to cleaner air, shade, windbreak and all those attributes that make planting more good for the environment. Trees are a living metaphor for growing love.

THE END

Browsing Leads to Future Fun

The outdoor sports supply stores of my youth were very different from what can be found now. Back then I tagged along with my parents to pick up hiking essentials. My recent visit to the REI flagship store along the Platte River in Denver was an awesome experience. My honey and I went there to plan our activities and find out what is available to update our gear.

We walked into the store and saw the Pinnacle, the freestanding climbing wall. The climbing wall looks like the cliffs along the Front Range. Once my honey managed to pull me away from watching the climbers, I enjoyed looking at all the new products for hiking. Technology has made gear lighter in weight and more efficient. The wall designated for foods for hiking amazed me. These aren't the old rations; I even found a vegan/vegetarian line of products available.

My honey wanted to look at the ski equipment and winter gear. We thought that just having some of these products would make survival enjoyable. I especially liked discovering that we could get topographical maps printed on demand for the specific area we wanted to hike.

I haven't been on any long back country hikes for a while. I'd like to think I'm up to the challenge after some practice day and overnight hikes. And I love the on purpose getting lost to find my way out through orienteering. I'm going to enjoy these even more with a partner I love if the excitement generated by our planning is any indication.

We also enjoyed finding labels that showed a company was at least working on being environmentally friendly. We found numerous options including clothing made from recycled soda bottles, a commitment to reduced paper tag labeling and companies committed to self-recycling products if I manage to wear them out. We found organic treats for my dog and a recyclable chew toy.

Now I've always thought that hikers and other active-outdoor-sports enthusiast hold a greater respect for the environment though I have seen some evidence to the contrary. The books and gear designed for the pack-it-in-pack-it-out create minimal impact lifestyle groups make me proud to have been raised a granola-head. I'm going to enjoy introducing my honey to my favorite sport of hiking and I'm looking forward to having him share skiing with me.

THE END

Alternative Transport: Biker Friendly?

Getting to a date or appointment using alternative transportation requires commitment, daring and in some areas a rebellious soul willing to put life and limb in peril for defying the automobile culture. Biking to work, biking to a date, biking doesn't use fossil fuel or create carbon emissions. I love my bike and used it as my chief transportation during graduate school for my 6-mile-one-way commute.

Tucson, Arizona has bike lanes and is a very positive environment for bikers. Unfortunately I'm not in Tucson any longer. I am geographically challenged for biking because I live thirty miles from a big city and nine miles from a small city. I don't bike every day, but even in cold weather I make an effort to use my bicycle as much as possible.

Even when the law demands sharing the road with bikers, automobile drivers see bikes as a nuisance. I advocate that bikers must obey the laws of the road - stop at stop signs, obey traffic lights and drive defensively.

I recently used my bike to meet for a presentation on organic olive oil. When I was putting on my helmet and preparing to leave, a man walked up to me. "You do know the price of fuel is dropping so you don't have to bike to save money."

As if the cost of fuel makes it OK to use more fossil fuel. I didn't feel like having to defend my right to choose to bike though. "As long as I bike I'm healthier and the size of my clothing doesn't go up." So, maybe I didn't play fair by verbally assaulting his spare tire, but sometimes well-meaning advice just makes me rebel more.

Biking is a viable option for alternative transportation. Until our culture relies less on automobiles though, anyone making the choice will either find the need to defend the choice, ignore the critics or get out there and promote biking as excellent alternative transportation.

THE END

Friends with Meal Benefits

A creative solution for preparing casseroles and not ending up having to eat the same dish every night for a week is to share with others. For the price of a casserole or two, I get a variety of different meals for the week.

We started with four people to gain at least four days worth of meals. Each person must bring a casserole that will serve four to six people, meaning couples are welcome as long as they bring two dishes. Every participant is also responsible for providing their single-serve containers or packing multiple meals back in the one casserole dish. To enhance the fun, we've tried this with desserts too.

The host can ensure that meals meet standards (vegetarian or tweaked to accommodate allergies). Each person should bring the recipe or at least a list of all ingredients. One way to coordinate this is to have each person choose two options and then email to all participants and let them vote on preference and provide information on food allergies.

Everyone comes to the host location with a casserole ready to bake or one already made. Some people prefer to do the cooking on-site and have friends act as sous chefs. At the party, the host has snacks or meals to offer. Spending time with friends, having fun and celebrating food are the highlight of the evening. When I dig out a meal during the week I have two benefits, reminiscing about time with people I care about and enjoying a meal I just had to warm up.

THE END

Help thy Neighbors Prepare for Winter

Nostalgia for the good old days is double-edged; on one side I get that warm help-your-neighbor glow and from the other side I get that icy strained-muscle-rather-stay-in-bed ache. I'd read about barn raisings and quilting bees. I believe in the ideal of neighbors joining together to finish a project is what this county should still stand for, though this past weekend strained my zeal.

I was volunteered to split and stack firewood. Notice the passive voice; this was not an active decision by me. I'm all for using firewood for heating in a responsible manner because wood is a renewable resource and with improving technology is becoming cleaner burning. The reason for the firewood project involved clean up of dead trees from pine beetle infestation. The trees came from my friend's lot in the mountains.

In two weekends, he'd piled enough blocks to make six cords of wood, imagine the floor space of my two-bedroom, one-bath home with living room, kitchen, dining room and sun porch covered with wood one block deep. The odds of my friend burning that much wood in one winter when he already had his winter's wood were unlikely. Therefore, the neighbors benefited.

I spent my weekend filling a wheelbarrow with split pine, dumping it at the new location and stacking it into squared off stacks. These pieces of wood should never match, like putting together a puzzle by dropping the pieces on a table, mashing them a few times with a rolling pin until they made a solid mat and calling the project a success.

My friend said he wouldn't do the project without me because of my stacking ability. Never again should I admit to experience of this sort. The temperature hovered at 40 degrees Fahrenheit all weekend. Basking in performing a good deed doesn't warm quite the same as backing up to a wood stove, but it does build character.

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Silent Bonding or Just a Good Massage

Just because a person is trying to be environmentally friendly and striving to leave only footprints doesn’t mean she must sacrifice all pampering for the sake of the environment. I love the meeting of nature and massage for an eco-friendly date.

One Saturday afternoon, in the dappled shade of an oak beside a pond, my honey and I settled on mats with large cotton towels and blankets for comfort. The warmth made me sleepy. My eyes closed, I didn’t want to miss a moment of the massage though. If I fell asleep I would miss out on the experience. My honey squeezed my hand in silent communication.

While the two massage therapists worked the stress from our muscles, I enjoyed the feel of warm oil and the gentle flow of hands over skin to melt away the stress. The special oil had mint in it and when it was rubbed into my scalp, all my cares disappeared. I breathed easier and inhaled the tangy scent blending with the freshness of the air.

We didn’t speak to keep the moment pure. In touch with our inner feelings and the opportunity to become with nature, just human animals listening to the chirping of the crickets, a lazy sound dependent on air temperature. The buzz of other insects, the plop-swish made by frogs moving into the pond and the tiny dollop-dimple sound of the water skating bugs in preparation for the first glide across the pond.

This was a moment of idyllic quiet before we return to our daily lives. I was surprised that four people could be so silent as to not mar nature by sound. Each person lost in private thoughts and still joined in a special oneness that cannot be duplicated, a unique moment becoming part of the continuum.

THE END

Treasure to be Found in a Book Barn

Of course I wanted to spend a Saturday morning wandering through the stalls of a barn. Especially when the proprietor admitted he didn’t have a clue where to find certain books. I was here by invitation because my date knew I treasured all books. The hard to find and long out of print books are my favorite.

Somewhere in this would-be attic was a treasure waiting to be discovered. The problem was reading every title. I took the ladder to the hayloft and looked down at the stalls. From that height I couldn’t determine which stalls held which subjects.

My date sat in a rocking chair with an oversize book of photographs on his lap and one of those old fashioned viewers he could use to look at special postcards giving the illusion of three-dimensions. He looked up at me and grinned. I waved and blew him a kiss.

From somewhere one golden strand of hay fluttered into my hair and pricked me when I reached up to remove it. Back on the ground floor, I tripped on one of the loose planks and landed on my seat in front of a bookcase. Right there I saw a large brown cover with gold illuminated letters on the cover. The book was a complete works of Shakespeare and had been printed in the first decade of the twentieth century.

This was the treasure I couldn’t bear to put back on the shelf. While I didn’t have competition from other customers for this book, I decided to pay right away. The owner directed me to the back yard where his daughter had a lemonade stand. I bought two cups before joining my date. He’d brought me to the right place and the wrong place. I wanted to bring home every book. I praised the owner for rescuing so many books from becoming trash. I didn’t want to leave.

THE END

Romance Goes Berry Pickin'

Sunlight made the dew on the maple leaves glisten when I parked in the shade. The parking lot at the organic pick-your-own farm was filled with fossil fuel gorging SUVs. The strawberries and raspberries were a big draw for parents from the city.

The owner met us at the back door of the barn turned fruit and vegetable stand. She handed us each a cardboard box. "Take as many cartons as you want to fill."

The cardboard box had a famous soup label on it and the cartons were made of pressed paperboard. So far, so good.

She pointed. "you can pick in the farthest three rows for raspberries and we're picking in the strawberry field to the right."

We thanked her and started to walk to the field.

"Wait."

We turned around.

"If you'd like, hop on the haywagon and we'll take you to the field."

The hayrides seemed popular with the kids; all I could think was itchy hay sticking in my hair and to my clothes. Too many memories from childhood. Fortunately my date was up for a walk too and I could avoid the tractor fumes.

While we picked to fill the cartons, we sampled a few berries direct from the vines. Nothing like going right to the source and pesticide free too. Yum! We picked enough berries for me to freeze several containers for winter.

Back at the farm stand, the cashier rang up our purchases. This date cost as much as a vegetarian dinner for two and a movie. We gained scratches from the thorns in the raspberry bushes. I sunburned my nose because the brim of my hat wasn't wide enough. We witnessed city children learning where food comes from and the work involved. Together we learned we share similar values. I have a winter's worth of fresh frozen organic strawberries - can't put a dollar amount on that kind of value. Oh wait, they could, $48.34.

THE END

Light or Dark Coffee

I need to always be prepared by carrying a reusable mug in my briefcase. An unexpected invitation to go for a cup of coffee meant I entered a whole new world of the ubiquitous coffee shop. Where have I been the past fifteen years that I didn’t even know how to order a cup of coffee?

The barista approached. “What can I get you?”

I had been looking at the menu board and experienced a moment of confusion. “All I really want is a plain cup of coffee.

“Light or dark?” The man took pity on the poor ignorant granola head who hadn’t yet caught up with modern culture.

“Dark!”

“Should I leave room for milk or cream?”

Oh no. I really am odd. “No thanks, just hot, dark and strong.” I was talking about the coffee, really not men. OK, so I like my men the same way. I felt guilty holding the disposable cup, like my environmental friends would set the recycle patrol on me. At least the cup was made of recycled pre-consumer paper.

In theory, I knew about coffee shop culture, philosophers and intelligentsia in Europe throughout the twentieth century met in coffee shops and shared thoughts. The modern coffee shop seems to be taken over by writers using laptops sitting at tables alone. I had hoped for sharing ideas etch and my coffee companion proved to be interesting.

He brought up themes to discuss and the conversation ranged from discussion of careers to business, books and then the dangerous territory of politics. In terms of compatibility I’m not sure if a dark straight-up coffee drinker has much in common with an iced mocha latté with extra whipped cream.

The nice thing about opposites is combining strengths. The one topic we didn’t discuss was the environment. The coffee shop embraced recycling and provided an aura of being good for the environment and supports fair trade practices. Next time I’ll make the experience even better by taking my own cup.