Skyglow Raises Awareness of Light Pollution

May 26, 2015

...is is one of those problems that would be relatively easy to fix simply by making sure that lighting is not directed upwards and by using bulbs that emit light on a limited portion of the spectrum. And we’ll save energy in the process. Unfortunately, as the Los Angeles Weekly recently reported, the City of Los Angeles has not done a good job with light pollution. If you’d like to contribute to Mehmedinovic and Heffernan’s project, their website is...

Read…

Haint Blue

Mrs. Homegrown

June 5, 2015

Design, Insects

14 Comments

...sting insects — and restless spirits (“haint” derives from “haunt”) — from making themselves at home in our living spaces. Haint blue is not a single shade of blue, but refers rather to a blue used for this purpose. The actual color could run from soft powder blue to true sky blue to bright teal. While the cool, airy white porch with a blue ceiling speaks to elegant Victoriana, I’ll note that the practice probably does originate in the traditions...

Read…

Creating a Moon Garden

Mr. Homegrown

July 17, 2014

Design, Gardening

2 Comments

...t pollinators and other wildlife. Bornstein had a number of great tips for making a garden interesting at night: Consider color. White flowers, of course, will pop out under moonlight. But yellow flowers stand out even more. We’re lucky in Southern California to have a lot of native plants with silvery grey leaves (an evolutionary adaption of dry climate plants). Masses of silvery grey leaves stand out well at night. Include a contrasting backgrou...

Read…

An Easy and Healthy 100% Whole Rye Bread Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

June 24, 2014

Bread, Food

32 Comments

...andreou from How to Make Bread Ingredients Day One Before going to bed mix: 150 grams/1 1/4 cups dark rye/pumpernickel flour 150 grams/scant 1/2 cup rye sourdough starter 200 grams/3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water Let sit overnight at room temperature. Ingredients Day Two In the morning when you wake up mix in the dough from the previous night with: 200 grams/1 1/3 cups dark rye/pumpernickel flour 1 teaspoon salt 150 grams/2/3 cup hot water 1...

Read…

We heal together

Mrs. Homegrown

June 4, 2013

Miscellaneous

34 Comments

...ome, mixed in with our more usual practical DIY postings, garden rants and pictures of cats. Right now I can say was enormously touched by the things you all shared. I did not answer the comments individually. I didn’t want to turn the conversation in any particular direction–I wanted to leave the comment board as a blank slate. But as I read, I was saying, “Yes, yes” — yes to all of you, actually. Because my thoughts encompass all the thoughts I...

Read…