Saturday Linkages: Holiday Edition

December 21, 2013

...ors Superbugs, Consumer Reports Finds http://huff.to/JKYa1W Why LA’s local water strategy is like ‘Superman 3’ http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/12/13/40922/with-water-from-the-delta-uncertain-la-looks-to-ex/ … Bike helmets and safety: a case study in difficult epidemiology – Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013/12/15/bike-helmets-and-safety-a-cas.html … Avoid Antibacterial Soaps, Say Consumer Advocates http://on.natgeo.com/18Pptyh Arizona Food and...

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Kelly’s Goals for 2014

Mrs. Homegrown

January 2, 2014

Fitness, Thoughtstylings

19 Comments

...along with everyone else on the beach–watches me flail pathetically in the water, looking like a oddly leggy, chubby seal in my wetsuit.) The last time I was super-fit was when Erik and I took the Sierra Club’s Wilderness Training Course. We had to climb many mountains and do challenging winter outings involving heavy backpacks and snow shoes. I trained hard for the climbs, in morbid fear of collapsing midway up the mountain and having to be mediv...

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The Hugelkultur Question

Mr. Homegrown

November 17, 2014

Gardening, Permaculture

48 Comments

...contend that the logs break down and become open fungal pathways to store water and nutrients. Kelly suggested we take an unused raised bed in our front yard and try an at-grade hugelkultur experiment (mounding in our dry climate seems like a bad idea, especially given our current drought). I balked at the amount of digging that would be involved. Kelly suggested that we should try it since we had little to lose and we’re supposed to be experimen...

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Quick Relief for Poison Oak

Mrs. Homegrown

April 4, 2014

Domesticus, Herbal Medicine, How-to

34 Comments

...til I found one I liked from good ol’ Dr. Weil. He recommended running hot water over the rash, as hot as you can stand it. I don’t remember that he said how long you should do this, but I decided to do it as long as I could stand it, which in my case was probably a minute or so. He said the heat will cause the itching to flare temporarily, but then suppress the itching for hours, and speed healing as well. Results? It worked like a charm for me....

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Anagallis monellii : A New Favorite

Mrs. Homegrown

April 14, 2014

Gardening

10 Comments

...uited to the California climate, and it follows that it does not need much water. It is perennial in zones 9 to 11 (that’s us), but can be grown as an annual elsewhere. If you see Anagallis monellii without blooms, it is not much to look at. It’s a rangy, low-slung plant with uninteresting foliage. What it excels at is blooming. I believe it comes in a few colors, but “Blue Pimpernel” makes 1″ flowers in a rich gentian blue with magenta eyes, and...

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