Saturday, July 13, 2013

Mulching The Cat

Imp tests the new mulch and find is restful.
We mulched all our gardens in preparation for the July 14 White Center Jubilee Days Garden Walk and the July 20 Village Green Tour of Gardens in White Center.
While we invested in professionaly-made bark mulch for the rain garden and the patio walk garden that are the main attractions, for everything else we used home-made mulch. Pruned branches and other excess foliage were swiftly converted to effective, all-natural, locally sourced mulch with the aid of an electric wood chipper (and since we ran it during the day, it drew power from our roofs photovoltaic cells - how cool is that?)
We then relaxed, had a beer and pondered how mulch feeds the soil, conserves water and looks good. But we still had something to learn this day.
I'd harvested the rhubarb from one of our half-cask beds before mulching it. We haven't decided what we'll plant next, but the choice was made for us by one of our cats.
Imp (Impromptu Underfoot McCord) jumped into the bed, lay down and proclaimed it hers. Who knew you could mulch a cat?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Paul Sorey is our Neighbor

The back of our property touches on two properties, and I don't interact much with those who live there. However last year I wondered if I could do something about some laurels that had grown to a very inconvenient height - over 40 feet tall, and shading our back yard.
There really was no alternative except to go talk to the neighbor. I would pitch it as something that would be mutually beneficial - it would let more light into his backyard as well.
It turned out he was a really reasonable guy. He agreed that it'd be nice to bring down most of the stuff, and even volunteered his son to do the work. 
I noticed a lot of metal art stuff around, and asked what he did. It turns out he's an actual professional artist by the name of Paul Sorey. If you get around the Seattle area, you'll have seen it. 
Check out his website at http://paulsorey.com - there's some really neat stuff there. 
AND - he's a very reasonable guy!

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Bee Jogging Around the Passion Flower Racetrack

Bee jogging in the passionflower on the right
We have a passionflower in the raised bed out front. I hear that down south it grows so fast that it's an annoyance, but her in Seattle they seem to be easy to control. And the flowers sure are pretty! The colors are intense and the shapes are freakily fun, which is kind of Seattle brand (the Space Needle is the best example but there's a lot of the same around.
I just saw a bee working the pollen by jogging around under the propeller blades. It was pretty cute!

Monday, July 08, 2013

Senator @MarcoRubio - do I #NeedYourPermission to drink a beer? ‎#NYP

I'm a guy but I figure if government is going to make all those decisions for women, why should I be burdened with having to make choices too?
I read that a bunch of right-thinking women were conceding that Republican politicians simply had the right and the power to make the important decisions for them, like where they could get health care and what they should do with their bodies. So they started the #NeedYourPermission movement to ask for permission about everything else:
"If these legislators, Lt. Gov., and Gov want to control our bodies, lets try to give them all the decisions for one day. We will call/tweet/email/FB (or all four) every time we need to make a choice. Up do or hair down? Toast or cereal? The tollway or the freeway to work? Brown bag or buy lunch? What should we eat for lunch? And so on. Try to work in the word choice, too." I said at the beginning. "Choices are hard because I'm a woman! Can the governor tell me if I should have soup or salad?" It became a day of catharsis and object lessons. Some legislators engaged, only to quit when questioned too closely. Some ignored us. But we all banded together, and now we will continue that fight all month. With the help of UniteWomen.org, who have joined us in our efforts, this event is now national in scale - check out some of the other states, if you can, and see if you can help. You can also work on the national campaign to ask Marco Rubio for his permission. Lets inundate their phones and inboxes with choices. It won't actually accomplish a change, but it would probably make us feel better, and it might annoy their staff for a MONTH. If you are male, feel free to call on behalf of any feeble woman you know. Please join us in calling and/or emailing the governor, lt. governor, and at least one rep and senator, preferably from your district (unless your district is just awesome)."
Now all across the nation, women are asking their politicians for permission, freeing them from the hard work of deciding for themselves.
Men: don't we have equal rights?
Shouldn't politicians be making those choices for us too?
I am never quite sure whether I want a malty beer or one that's heavy in hops. Either choice is good - so why not let a politician decide for me?
The Need Your Permission - Marco Rubio event is July 8, so I've scheduled this post to publish them. Please Senator - tell me what to do!!!!

Sunday, July 07, 2013

"Every Time We Gain A Right, We Throw A Party" - the Wedding of Marcia and Wendy

Left to Right: Atty, Marcia, Wendy, Friends & Family!
Our friends Marcia and Wendy, across the street, got married Sunday, July 7, 2013. It was a beautiful sunny day backyard party, featuring friends throughout our neighborhood plus their family, coworkers and classmates (both from college and from birthing class).
Their boy Atticus had his first birthday around this time; enjoying the offered food is an important part of sanctifying the ritual, so I took a big slice of wedding cake and of birthday cake, just to be helpful.
Marcia gave a short speech thanking us all for coming. They had been married before, in another state, and then when Washington legalized civil unions, they got one of those too. Now that marriage equality is here, they held this ceremony so they're fully married in every way.
"Every time we get more rights, we have a party," she said.
Isn't that a good plan?

4freeCLE: The Free CLE Newsletter! July 7, 2013

4freeCLE: The Free CLE Newsletter!
July 7, 2013
In This Issue
Webcasts This Week
Webcasts 7/15-7/21
Webcasts 7/22-7/28
Webcasts 7/29+
In California
In Massachusetts
In Minnesota
In New York
In Ohio
On-Demand
Past 4freeCLE Issues
 
with Attorney
Roberto Zamora

Attorney Roberto Zamora 
This 1.5 credit AV CLE features Attorney Roberto Zamora who, as a law student in 2003, sued his government for violating the right to peace enshrined in Costa Rica's constitution ... and won!
As a result, the President of that nation was compelled to rescind participation in war-making.
How Zamora succeeded and further efforts to implement peace under law in a variety of legal venues is the subject of this lecture, recorded at Seattle University School of Law in June of 2013.

Webcasts This Week
Watching Webinar Feeding Duck
Webcasts Bring CLE To You!
Earn CLE from the convenience of your office!

Webcasts July 15 - July 21
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Webcasts July 22 - July 28
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Webcasts July 29 and Later
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In-Person CLEs State-by-State
General Meeting
Each of these programs can earn you credit, at no cost, in the state in which it is held.
In addition, these programs often can earn you credit in other states. If the organizer has not applied for credit in your state, check with the credit-granting authority in your state.
 
California
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New York
Ohio

Oregon

Washington

On-Demand CLE
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Learn what you need to know from the comfort of your home or office! 
Find more on-demand programs at 4freeCLE's List of On-Demand CLE. And feel free to share this list with a friend!

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