Sustainability is Sexy

Upscale and luxury “green” products and services are available along with the ability to purchase carbon offset credits. This makes reduce-reuse-recycle-repurpose seem retro at best and lowly to the point of being mediocre. My honey and I try to consume less and be efficient with use of resources. To this end we make knowledge, awareness and action sexy. Going to a Green Festival or even may be a reasonable enviro-friendly activity for a date, so is picnicking in the backyard on what’s fresh in our garden.

There was a time in the early part of the 20th century when the automobile meant freedom. Having access to a vehicle mean wider travels, driving somewhere scenic for a picnic became a routine Sunday afternoon event for many and car camping was considered a vacation. Times change and “green’ has become a marketing buzzword for increased consumerism. Add a hybrid or alterative fuel SUV/RV, some organic food and a few carbon offsets we can call driving 100 miles to a resort for recreation and partying an environmentally friendly activity. Sure, the idea feels sexy, but what about giving back and leaving smaller carbon footprints?

Sexy can be a solid relationship based on respect and shared values. And such a relationship requires effort. A couple can have it all. Lavish living might seem sexy and make headlines; true sexiness comes through soul-deep intimacy with each other and the environment and that can remain out of the headlines.

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Choice Forces Conservation

While traveling in our RV instead of always stopping at places to hook up to water, electric and sewer, we dry camp. We save money and think of environmental concerns. Our unit is self-contained and made for this specific purpose. Our RV has all the comforts of upholstered sofas, full kitchen and bathroom and a king size bed along with the basics of heat, lights and indoor plumbing.

Along with comfort though, the storage tanks for propane, fresh water, gray water (used bath and sink water) and black water (sewer) have limited capacity. We take extra care to monitor or use and stay in campgrounds once every week to empty, refill and do laundry.

The benefit we enjoy is the variety of backyards in the mountains, near lakes and rivers, in forests and in RV parks within city limits for the urban vibe enjoyed mostly by loft/high-end apartment dwellers.

A better awareness of how our choices affect the environment helps us be more careful. Critical effort breaks the use-withou-consequences mentality.

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Recycling in the Round

“Let’s do all the errands in one trip.” My honey is a stickler for conservation of effort. If the vehicle leaves the driveway it better be because we have too much stuff to carry or the distance is too far to be feasible by walking or biking (about 12 miles – a decent workout).

Every stop is planned for maximum efficiency. We are good if one parking stop hits the can recycler, the bank, the grocery story and the library. Since we read for fun and research, we have many heavy tomes traveling back and forth.

At the second stop, I crammed the used printer cartridges into my purse and grabbed the six-year-old cell phones I’d discovered under the bed. I walked across the partaking lot the size of a corn field; really this development was a former cornfield. I made my deliveries and wandered to the farm supply store to meet my honey.

We packed everything in our canvas bags and headed home. Two stops, eight errands. I talked myself out of an impulse purchase of a frozen latté. As a reward my hone made me a double chocolate with vanilla soy milk when we got home.

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Celebrating Cozy Moments

Sometimes romance doesn’t require planning or effort. Heavy rain cancelled outdoor plans. We rejoiced because the Rocky Mountains needed the precipitation to stave off drought for the southwest, which relies on the Colorado River for water.

I’d planned ahead by stocking the refrigerator and pantry in case a blizzard snowed us in and prevented deliveries. We grilled eggplant, zucchini and red peppers on the patio. Rain pounded a musical beat on the metal roof. A chill breeze came up and we bundled into hats, mittens and thermal jackets. Listening to nature was enough while we snuggled on the loveseat.

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Responsible Pet Stewardship

Outdoor exercise is a major part of my day; therefore I meet a lot of animals both domestic and wild. Hardly ever does one of them follow me home three miles. I tried to send the dog home and he persisted running beside me as if he belonged. My honey thought we should call animal control since the dog didn’t have a collar.

I hesitated; the policy in our county isn’t to keep animals for more than 48 hours. “Maybe we can find the owner.”

“With this size population he could be from anywhere.”

I agreed with him in principle and still called dispatch. The first question – “Is the dog loose or contained.”

I figured I had implied I had the situation under control. “He’s inside my fenced yard.”

“I’ll send an officer.”

Since this wasn’t an emergency I didn’t expect prompt response. We gave the dog a bowl and water and sat with him to help him relax.

In ten minutes one officer arrived and sat across the street waiting for backup. Then they both approached. “Don’t you want to keep the dog?”

“Of course I do, he’s a sweetheart, but I can’t.”

“If we take the dog, it’ll be put to sleep in 48 hours, maybe before the owner gets a chance to look for it.”

“So what are our options?”

“You can keep the dog long enough to try to find the owners and then you can take the dog to a Dumb Friends League shelter where it’ll have a chance to find a home.”

No question about my choice. The police thanked us and left. “We know where to come if the owner reports it missing.”

Great, anther date night interrupted by life, my philosophy remains to enjoy our time together regardless. After our grilled veggie sandwich meal, we went to the area where I’d first seen the dog trying to catch up to me and started asking people who were out in their yards if they recognized him.

Finally success, the neighbor pointed to a house. “He belongs two doors over.”

“His owner asked, “Where is the collar?”

“He didn’t have one on.”
“For how long?”

Hmm. Apparently they didn’t miss him. Then she looked at the fence and saw the collar dangling from a post. “Oh, it’s right over there.

End of story, dog home safe. My honey and I spent the evening talking. Society is part of animal stewardship. Please be aware of options including RFID (radio frequency identification inserted under the skin). Know the laws in your city and county. Donate to rescue and no-kill organizations.

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Hunting the Edible Easter Eggs

Ritual makes celebrations personal. Every year I paint Easter eggs (and for other holidays too) with a companion. I had an eco-idea this year – food grade pain on hardboiled eggs my hone could later use of stuffed eggs and potato salad. Bonus we had a three-for activity; decorate the eggs together, hide the eggs for each other to seek, eat the evidence and compost the shells.

For paint I mixed 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons water into a paste and for color on a palette mixed food coloring or dyes made from fruits and herbs a spoon at a time. We used brushes and a regular dinner plate and the clean up was easy.

Warning: this product doesn’t paint like a regular pain; it splotches some and doesn’t spread well. All my eggs were patterned on fabric, the styles of tie-dye, paisley and polka dots. My honey painted reminiscent of grass, mosaic broken glass and a football.

The eggs dried quickly because we painted them while they were still hot. We could immediately use them to hide and I grew frustrated if my hone hid them too well. We refrigerated the eggs promptly after play using proper food safety.

Conquering the Mountain of Recycled Asphalt Product (R.A.P)

What happens when date night must be sacrificed for a home improvement project? I arrived home to find a mountain of R.A.P. (sometimes known as conbit) blocking the driveway. We’d chosen the recycled product for cost effectiveness, durability and as a viable environmentally-friendly surfacing.

Instead of going out, we attacked the project with shovels, rake and wheelbarrow. The original plan was work together, fill the wheelbarrow, dump the material in the fresh spot and rake it flat. It worked for three loads and then I banged my honey’s shovel with mine. The vibration rattled me like a cartoon character.

We settled on playing to our strengths. I filled the wheelbarrow. My honey wheeled it to the new site and dumped it. My hone raked the pile into a flat surface. I retrieved the wheelbarrow and filled it again. We worked much faster this way and still enjoyed moments for a quick kiss or hug. And the intentional five minute breaks to enjoy sips of a cold beverage. Physical labor is thirsty work and sweetened ice tea with mint really refreshed though there is flexibility to choose a favorite beverage.

We planned to work until the project was done. Thank goodness for streetlights, because we worked until almost midnight. I figured romance was definitely out while I limped into the house. Not so. After a quick shower my honey massaged my sore muscles with lavender and mint oil and of course I willingly reciprocated.

Next time you have a home improvement project, prepare a picnic, plenty of cold drinks and a plan to work together. A real connection happens when two people get dirty, sweaty and can still manage a hug and a smile.

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Scavenger Hunt

My honey and I picked up a brochure listing the outdoor sculptures in Golden, CO. The brochure made it really easy by showing the locations on a map. They were located around the downtown area and in easy walking distance. As we visited each one we marked ti off on the map and at each one told each other something we appreciated about the other person connected to the sculpture.

The hardest one to relate something romantic to was the swimming fish. I tried too hard to think of something romantic and this is all I came up with. “From among so many thank you for choosing me.”

My honey has a sense of humor. “I’m glad you’re a great cook.”

Every day provides opportunities to express love, some of these days remind us that love can be taken for granted if we don’t put in effort. While we enjoyed this as a romantic activity, scavenger hunts are great for families and groups too. I saw one team playing with a list and using a camera phone to prove they’d been to each spot.

In your area, check with the chamber or commerce for landmark maps and information. Or pick up brochures listing a sampling of things to do and places to go. These are great for a location scavenger hunt or do a little research on the internet and create your own list of things you’d like to see/experience.

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