The Cardinal Direction

Tan Lines Are we losing our burn? Mary Beth noted that I'm turning paler. The weather has been sunny here pretty often, but less often than in Tucson. And I'm probably outside less. I think I'm starting to lose my Arizona burn.  This made me think about other miscellaneous changes that we have experienced.  Mileage I've noticed that we're getting better mileage in our PriusV. We're in the high forties and sometimes over 50 mpg on a tank of gas. The Prius really shines when you have roads with moderate speed limits and few stoplights and stop signs. The gas engine runs when you first start it up and for a little while after that. You can build up a good battery charge and then--at 35-45 miles per hour--back off and allow it to go on the electric motor. Often there are hills that you can go up--at first on battery power, and then with gas--and then coast down the other side, going back to the electric motor. On flat ground you can go a while on battery power and w...

Our house here in Richmond sits on a quarter-acre lot. About 0.15 of an acre is landscape. That's more than we had at the Tucson house. What is one to do with landscape in this setting? I'm in the process of learning from a variety of sources about how to replicate natural ecology to benefit animals of all sorts, especially birds and pollinators. There are a variety of sources here, including the Cope Environmental Center, the Hayes Arboretum, Indiana Audubon, Indiana Native Plant Society, and other local experts. I've gotten tips about sources of native plants. But I need to hurry because September is a good time to plant natives.  A typical front yard (ours), with a small area of  shrubs and the rest mostly grass.  I also want to start by looking at what neighbors do. That gives me a starting point for your list of possible landscape enhancements. I'll add some of what I see to my "to do" list and some to my "not to do list."  The overwhelming choi...