Saturday, October 26, 2013

What A Crop of Seattle Spuds!

One Pot, One Planter Spud,
and Time Made This!
Today I harvested the potato crop from one container, and the result is as shown in the photo: from one small wrinkly spud I got half a hatful of potatoes, plus a lovely bit of glass art that looks like a green shell. Is it the soil or is it the air?

Reasons to plant spuds:
  • Foliage looks nice in the summer (I shuffle the pots around to fill in empty spots along my driveway)
  • Not much care needed (I am truly a lazy gardener)
  • Cheap to plant (especially if you forget things in the back of the pantry)
  • Easy to harvest 
  • Fun to eat!
QUESTION:  Should I plant that glass shell next spring to see what it raises?

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

2013 Guide to Free On-Demand #MCLE In Washington State

The 2013 Guide to Free CLE On Demand For Washington State is now available - for free of course! With this Guide, Washington State attorneys can access enough free, on-demand CLE to fill up their maximum allowable AV credit, including all their ethics credit requirements. Check it out now! Notes:
  • I put up a selection of AV CLE links on several topics, but if there's a topic you'd be interested in seeing, comment below I'll try to find some. Your feedback helps!
  • I plan to create guides for other states, but need to know which states should go first. If you'd like a guide for your state, let me know! 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Our New Apple Tree: What A ReLeaf!

Ever since finding our home, we've thought about adding fruit trees. They are both beautiful and practical, but we hadn't gotten around to putting them in, as other outdoor projects had higher priority.
A while back, we heard about Seattle Trees For Neighborhoods (ReLeaf): a project to help restore our forest canopy by getting homeowners to plant trees. It's a perfect public/private partnership: private landowners (such as ourselves) put our land to a public use, while retaining ownership and also reaping private benefits as well. Seattle's forest canopy has dwindled to something like 22%, which a concomitant degredation in air and water handling quality. ReLeaf is part of an effort to restore us to something like 35% cover, which will greatly improve our water runoff problem, while providing additional living spaces for birds, bugs, and people who like to climb trees.
We put in for the tree lottery as soon as it opened, and got in! We picked an apple tree; based on our past practice with fruit, we'll be able to put those apples to good use! 
Sunday was pickup day. I drove to the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington. There was a little class on how to plant a tree, which was pretty helpful in that it raised several points I just plain didn't know about. Then it was time to pick up our tree!
Today I planted. I wanted to set aside a block of time sufficient to tease out the root ball, as the class had indicated, this took a little more time than just digging a hole and plopping the thing in there. A tree (as I see it) is basically a pump, expressing water from the leaves into the air, and in doing so pulling water up through its little veins that ultimately come from the roots. Thus it is extremely important to lay out the roots so that they can draw a good amount of water from the very beginning and grow into a good support network as well. This tree was taller than I am, and its pot was mostly roots - fortunately none of them was so stiff that it couldn't be pointed away from the center; the class had recommended trimming off any that could aim only back into the center, as they would pose a problem later.
I mulched the tree well, with a mixture of leftover bark mulch from our rain garden party, dried leaves from the laurel, and a few gallons of butterfly bush & laurel mulch that the electric chipper has produced a few weeks ago. I watered well (and had to use hose water, since it's the rainy season and the cistern's capacity is reserved for storms - ironic hunh?) and stood back.
That's all there is to this story. If you're a Seattle resident with a yard, think about signing up for the Trees for Neighborhoods program next year, and if you're not, think about organizing one for your area!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

4freeCLE: Free CLE Webcasts & Events! October 20, 2013

4freeCLE: 
Free CLE Webcasts & Events!
October 20,  2013
In This Issue
Webcasts - October
Webcasts - November
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan, Maryland + Massachusetts
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virgina
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Archive
Guide to Free On-Demand CLE for Washington State Attorneys
 
Now at 

--------------------------

Also:

University of Washington Offers Free CLE for Moot Court Judges !
As of today, they need judges for:
  • Monday, Oct 21
  • Tuesday, Oct 22 
  • Monday, Nov 4
  • Tuesday, Nov 5
  • Wednesday, Nov 6
  • Thursday, Nov 7
  • Saturday, Nov 16
  • Sunday, Nov 17.
Scroll down to "Washington State", below and sign up now! Where else can you get up to 6 credits free, help educate the next generation of lawyers,and get dinner too!

Learn And Earn Credit Whereever You Are!
Webcasts + Conference Calls - October

Get A Quick Refresher Anywhere!
Webcasts - November
CLE State-by-State
 
Each of these programs can earn you credit, at no cost, in the state in which it is listed. 
In some cases, the programs require that attorneys attending apply for credit via reciprocity or other rules; check with the credit-granting authority in your state.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut
Connecticut does not have a mandatory CLE requirement at this time. Any of the programs may be of interest to Connecticut lawyers, including the free webcasts above.


Delaware

District of Columbia
DC does not have a mandatory CLE requirement at this time. The webcasts and other programs listed above may be of interest to lawyers licensed there.

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Michigan, Maryland + Massachusetts
Michigan, Maryland & Massachusetts do not have a mandatory CLE requirement at this time. The webcasts and other programs listed above may be of interest to lawyers licensed in there.

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York
See Also:
According to New York's Approved Jurisdiction Policy, programs in the following states may earn New York attorneys credit: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Dakota 
South Dakota does not have a mandatory CLE requirement at this time. The webcasts and other programs listed above may be of interest to lawyers licensed there.
South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virgin Islands

Virginia

Washington 
 
URGENT NEED FOR MOOT COURT JUDGES!  
The Moot Court events below can earn you up to 5.5 credits free, while helping train the next generation of law students and getting a free dinner in the bargain!
Register now! 

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

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