Pollinator Protection Project: A Home for Bees

It's been a few weeks since we last wrote about it, but that doesn't mean that we haven't been hard at work on our Pollinator Protection Project. One of the duties under the Pollinator Protection Pledge is to create and protect bee nest sites, and after noticing a few mason bees swarming around the yard at the beginning of the summer, we decided that we would build a nest for them.

Mason bees are solitary bees that make their homes in holes caused by wood-boring animals or in hollow reeds near rivers and swamps. They are important in the pollination of fruit trees (so much so that they are sometimes called "orchard bees.") Like other bees, their populations are threatened by deforestation and the use of pesticides and insecticides, so steps should be taken to protect and supplement their habitats, where possible.

Building a house for the mason bees in our yard was a quick and easy project that took only a small slice of our Saturday afternoon. There's a great tutorial here with step-by-step instructions. In a nutshell: we took about a foot long piece of 4x4 lumber and drilled small, deep holes in it using a piece of pegboard as a template for spacing. Then we angled the top to encourage water runoff and hung it on the fence near a nice wet spot where water from our gutters accumulates when it rains (mason bees love mud).

So far we're not entirely sure if any bees have moved in to the home we've made for them, but we have seen more of them buzzing around than usual so maybe? We're excited to see if any decide to become our neighbors permanently and will keep you updated if they do.

Here are some other tutorials for making nesting spots for backyard pollinators:

• A home for carpenter bees (very similar to our project but on a bigger scale for a bigger bee)
• Bumblebee nest using flower pots and plastic tubing
• Butterfly nest boxes 
• Building a caterpillar house 

And for good measure, a few super-creative and fabulous designs for solitary bee houses. Some of these are really gorgeous!

Do you have bees in your backyard? What kind?

Update, 10/20/13: By mid-October, about half the nesting holes in our mason bee house were occupied. See how some of the holes are plugged with gray mud? This will hopefully mean lots of pollinators in the yard next spring/summer. Hooray!

DIY wrapping paper

Birthday season is officially upon us, which means that lately, A. and I have been wrapping lots of gifts for friends of all ages. I've mentioned before that Anne isn't the craftiest kid, but something she's always up for is making some DIY wrapping paper to use for our presents. It might be because it's always more fun to make something for someone, it might be because it's a really free-form, unrestricted activity -- there really are no limits, no rules.

I used to buy a lot of gift-wrapping stuff, and dedicated a good amount of space in our tiny apartment to wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, and bows, which was all pretty bad for the environment. But these days my wrapping paper stash takes up approximately 1% of what it used to. A roll of (recyclable, compostable) craft paper, some dot markers, and a couple of stamps are all we need. The results are always festive, if not professionally perfect. It feels nice to give our gifts a personal touch and to know we're not creating a lot of extra waste.

A couple of our favorite finds are the to/from stamp we bought from Etsy to use in place of tags, and rolls of colorful baker's twine to add a little pizzazz to our designs. Do you create your own wrapping paper or cards? What are some of the supplies you use?



Have a happy weekend, all! And happy birthday to all the birthday boys and girls we've celebrated with recently. :)

Grassy grass grass

With all of the gardening prep going on at our house lately, Anne has started to get very interested in plants and seedlings. I thought we should try to grow something, to give her a sense of the process. It's still a little early to start our seedlings for our garden, and besides, I wanted something a little more toddler friendly (i.e., able to be touched/experienced/loved on without too much damage), so I searched for another plant that would make a good project.

We decided to grow wheatgrass. It's the perfect plant for kids. It's hardy, it doesn't ask for much, and it grows so quickly that sometimes I feel like I can see it growing, which means that it offers pretty quick results, nice when you're dealing with toddler-sized attention spans. Not to mention that it will make a perfect Easter centerpiece, and we won't have to use that crinkly cellophane grass that makes the cats throw up. We could even harvest it for wheatgrass juice once it's full grown, if we were so inclined (I'm not -- whatever the health benefits might be: YUCK.)

Here is how we grew our wheatgrass. First, we ordered some seed online (Todd's Seeds offers inexpensive, organic products, so that's where we got ours). Once it arrived, we sprouted the seeds for a day in a jar of water that we changed every eight hours or so. Then we filled a small pot with a layer of rocks (for drainage -- if your container has drainage holes, you don't need to do this). Added some pre-moistened potting soil, scattered the sprouted seeds in a thick layer on top (so that almost no soil was showing), and covered the whole thing with a damp paper towel. And waited.

Within two days, our sprouts were an inch high, so we took the paper towel off and moved them to the light. Wheatgrass doesn't like direct sunlight, so we keep our pot on the radiator cover in the kitchen, just under the window. We've been watering our seeds twice a day with a plant mister and they've been growing like crazy.

Anouk thought the little seeds were babies, and she calls her grass her "baby grass." Several times a day we take the pot down and check to see how it's grown, check the soil, and give it a nice stroke. The other day I caught her trying to brush the grass with a tiny Barbie brush, and that was my cue to move it to higher ground. :)

Here's the Woody Guthrie song that this post title comes from, btw -- so simple that it shouldn't be a favorite but it is. Have you ever grown anything with your kids? What did they think?

Kids and composting

Our garden last year was a bit of a bust. We moved into our new house in July, and by the time we got our plot ready and put our plants in, it was too hot for anything to really take hold. Our squash and greens fizzled, and aside from a few root vegetables, we really didn't get much of a crop.

This year, we're getting a jump start and are already busy getting our garden ready for spring planting. We've freshened up our garden plot, loosened the soil, added more, and gotten rid of all of those pesky weeds that took root over the winter. We also have added a layer of compost to our soil to get it nice and rich for our plants. Courtesy of my dad, who gifted us with our very own composter to get us started. (This is the one we got.)

So far, we're taking to composting really well. Something about it is deeply satisfying to the minor obsessive in me. And Anne is happy to help in any way she can. I don't think much of the concept really sank in, but she does bring me her banana peels every morning, and we put them in the old coffee can we keep on the counter. When the can is full at the end of the day, we take it out and dump it in the composter and talk about what's going on in our nice stinky mix of leaves and dirt and veggie detritus, and how when it's ready, we'll put the compost on our garden, our flowerbeds, and in with our houseplants to make them grow big and strong.

I think composting is a great thing to do with kids -- not only does it set a good example of recycling and reusing and being kind to our planet, but it's just fascinating, the idea that something familiar can change into something else. Since we started, I've been scouring the internet for composting activities and links. Here's what I've come up with so far:

• This infographic gives a really good overview of general composting rules with words and pictures to explain what's compostable and what isn't.   

• The budding scientist can make a miniature compost bin out of a soda bottle -- the clear sides make it easy to watch decomposition in action. 

• Even if you don't have a lot of extra room, here are a few ways to compost  in small spaces. 

• I love these ideas for decorating a compost jar for the kitchen -- it seems like creative way of getting kids involved in the act. 

We also came across several picture books about composting while at the library the other day. You can find a list of our faves here.

Do you compost at your house? What do your kids think of it?

80/20 Burger Bar

James's birthday was at the end of December. Because our birthdays fall near Christmas (mine was the 26th), neither of us have the traditional birthday party experience, but we do like to go out for a nice dinner together. But finding a sitter during the week after the holidays is a little bit of a feat, and we'd been abusing the familial babysitting privileges, so we knew this year that we would have to bring Anne along with us. With that in mind, we wanted to find someplace where a toddler wouldn't be too disruptive -- but a place that was still festive enough for a birthday meal.

When we look for a kid-friendly restaurant, we tend to keep three things in mind: a toddler-friendly ambience, but with dishes that will also appeal to more sophisticated grownup palates; bonus points if the food is reasonably healthy. Usually, we can get two out of three, and when we do, we mark it to go back to. 80/20 Burger Bar on 21st Street in Norfolk was the rare place that offered us everything on our list.

The restaurant is warm and inviting (I read somewhere that the owners built everything in the restaurant themselves, which is super cool), with a bustling atmosphere that covers up baby chattiness. There is a full-service bar, but it's separated from the eating area, which avoids that whole Sweet Home Alabama "you have a baby? in a BAR?" dilemma. The kids' menu offers darling slider burgers and some other options to accomodate a little pickiness. And the rest of the menu was novel and fun and delicious enough to get us parents excited, too. (James had the Alamo Burger and I had the redneck Wellington...a burger wrapped in pastry, with mushroom duxelles and goat cheese. How cool is that?)

Here is Anouk eating every. single. thing. on her plate

Our favorite thing about 80/20 is their commitment to serving grass-fed, grass-finished, locally sourced beef. We try to avoid unpastured meats for our family whenever possible, but especially for Anne, since she can't make decisions about what type of food she eats for herself. It makes eating out a little tricky at times, so it was nice not to have to worry about it. Everything on the menu was fair game.

Some other highlights: The extensive selection of french fries (bay spices! rosemary and parmesan! fire-hot-pepper blend!), house-made flavored sodas (alcohol-spiked available for the adults), and some really refreshingly creative sides (order some smack and cheese for the kids -- and for yourself).

And now, some things to keep in mind if you decide to visit: 80/20 opened just a few weeks ago and is getting a lot of (well-deserved) buzz, which does mean that wait times can be a little long, especially on the weekends. We were told 20 to 25 minutes, which was just long enough for us to pop over to Carolina Cupcakery for some birthday treats, but friends and family who have gone have been told to plan for an hour or more. It might be a good idea to call ahead to suss out wait times, especially if you plan on bringing the kidlets. Also, there have been rumors that chef Joe Pavey is planning on paring down the menu after a month or so, so make sure you order everything you want this go around in case it doesn't make the cut (Pimento cheese. You've got to order the appetizer cheese plate!)

We had a great time. It was a wonderful birthday dinner for a wonderful dad.

Cheers to you, Jamesy! Bottoms up!

Have you been to 80/20 Burger Bar? Are you planning to go? What did/would you order?

Happy weekend, everybody!

Mount Trashmore

I have to admit right off the bat that Mount Trashmore is not one of J.'s favorite places. He comes from DC, a place where they ship their garbage off to West Virginia when they're done with it. They definitely don't heap it up in the middle of town and cover it with grass to make a nice little park out of it, no siree. He can't quite get over it, a hill made of garbage creeps him out a little.

But I do like Mount Trashmore -- I think I like it because it is a glorified landfill. Mostly because I have this Anne of Green Gableish streak in me that likes the idea of making something ugly into something pretty, something that can be enjoyed by everyone.  I have fond memories, too, of flying kites at the top with my dad, or rolling down the sides with friends. And it's refreshing to stand at the top of a nice windy hill. I forgot that, since becoming a flatlander again.

In any event, in an effort to combat the November blues, I've been trying to spend a fair amount of time outside this month, and Mt. Trashmore is a favorite destination. The park is a good one, with lots of climbables and swingables; there are always geese by the lake to wave at (scream at, in A.'s case); when the trees still had leaves, and after they had turned, the view from above was so pretty, and it's really only of the interstate, so that's saying something.  The stairs up to the top are a very effective workout (judging by the miserable cross-fitters we passed on our way up and down), and the loop around the hill and park is the perfect little after-dinner walk.

This was Baby A.'s inaugural Trashmore visit, and her thoughts on the place consisted of "Wow," "Cool," "Yay," and "Doggy!" Which sums it up, doesn't it?

New Earth Farm

One of the reasons I'm glad we joined the CSA at New Earth Farm this fall is that we now have an excuse to visit the farm every weekend, come rain or shine. Over the past few months, it has become one of my favorite places. Not only is it the place where we get most of our food, not only is it all delicious (and 100% organic), but every person we've met there is warm and welcoming (almost suspiciously so) and the farm itself is beautiful. I especially love the old tumbledown house that greets us when we arrive.

The past few weeks we've gotten a ton of eggplant in our New Earth CSA boxes, so I thought I would share one of my favorite eggplant recipes, modeled off of a Middle Eastern dish my grandmother used to make, called Batinjan. It's heavenly on chilly nights.

Beef and eggplant stew

2-3 cloves garlic
1 small onion

2 tablespoons cumin

2 lbs ground beef

4 small eggplants (I used the skinny purple and green ones)
3 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

2 large potatoes

Brown the onion and garlic in olive oil in a saucepan, add the meat, sprinkle cumin on top. Cook meat until almost done, and add the chopped eggplant and saute a bit longer. When eggplant has just started to brown and meat is cooked, add the can of tomato sauce. Add enough water to just cover all the meat and veggies in the pot. Bring to a boil, and then turn down heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Microwave the potatoes for five minutes and let cool. About halfway through the stew cooking time, cut the potatoes into chunks and add to the stew. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Serve over rice or in a bowl with flatbread.

Happy Monday! What did you get in your CSA box this week?

Breakfast at the Get Fresh Cafe

We take brunch very seriously in our family and a lot of discussion goes into each week's choice. For this past week's rainy Sunday, we decided that the Get Fresh Cafe at the Five Points Community Market would be just right.

Get Fresh, like the name implies, serves fresh local produce sourced right from the market (you can get breakfast from 9-1 and 11-1 on Saturdays and Sundays, respectfully). After we placed our orders, we browsed the other vendors and took a look at some of the market's other offerings, while Baby A. amused herself with a handful of Legos in the play area.

James ordered an omelet with a side of sausage, and I splurged for a very un-Paleo French toast made from challah from the Sugar Plum Bakery. Baby A. sampled liberally from both of our plates, and was an especial fan of the home fries. 

I just spent five minutes trying to write a sentence about how good it all was, but you know what? I'm going to let the evidence speak for itself: 

Yum.

Virginia Garden Organic Grocery

 You know you've got a good thing going when running out for groceries feels like a bonafide outing. Anouk and I love going to the Virginia Garden Organic Grocery (at the Virginia Beach Farmer's Market). Here are a few reasons why:

While there are many food vendors with local and naturally grown produce at the VB Farmer's Market, there's also a lot of traditionally grown stuff, too--meaning the same watermelons and grapes you see at your local Kroger. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. In addition to a focus on local foods, virtually everything at the Virginia Garden Grocery is organically grown or humanely raised: fruits, veggies, meats (we are big fans of the grass-fed beef), fish, eggs, dairy, and dry goods (locally-milled flour!) If you're unsure, the staff is knowledgeable enough to ask, and if they don't have something you want, you can request it (Anouk's stomach gets a little funky with too much cow's milk, so today I put in for goat's milk on the spur of the moment, hoping that will be better.)

Bonus points: it's just a short walk to the Oberweis dairy stall for ice cream cones, best eaten on the grass watching the jets from Oceana practice overhead.

Having the cutest shopper-helper in the world is a bonus, too.