Happy Sightings!

I've had four sightings in the last 3 weeks that have made me do happy dances :) Sadly, each time I had no camera in my hands :/

Three weeks ago I saw my Cooper's hawk fly overhead just before sunset. I assume he/she was heading to wherever the nest is for the night. I hadn't seen it for awhile and was worrying over it.

The week after that I got up to water my green children one morning and found hover flies everywhere in my container garden! They were going after my alyssum and too fast to catch on camera :/ I saw many different sizes and colors so I think that means there's a good variety in my mini-habitat :)

Last week I stopped by home in the middle of day and there was the Cooper's hawk again! It flew out of dad's avocado tree (online info says they like to ambush little birds inside tree canopies) and sat on our fence briefly before flying off to chase a crow. That was amazing to see. Despite the fact that it's trying to make a meal out of my little army (as I call the sparrows and morning doves that come to our feeder) I really like having that hawk around. I would just prefer it to eat more pigeons instead...

Aaand... this morning while watering my green children again I heard a weird buzzy noise and looked up and - hummingbird! First I've seen this year. It was checking out the Alaska nasturtiums in the backyard :) I'm surprised to have it visit the container garden when I've hung a hummingbird feeder in the front yard :z

I must add more nasturtiums.... and transplant the red salvia I got last week....

Happy wildlife sightings to everyone!

No BPA on My Receipts Please

Ok this post is a little off-topic for me. I've been learning alot in the last few weeks about BPA on cash register receipts and used in the lining of canned food. I'm not a scientist and I don't completely understand everything, and I know a research here or there isn't the definitive answer on anything... But I'm leaning towards I don't want this in my water or food or on my skin. Especially if there are alternatives. Like for receipt paper.

So I contacted Vons and Trader Joe's last week to ask them to switch to BPA-free register paper. Just those two, they're where I shop most and my mom too. I'm very surprised in the responses I got, Vons was way more positive than I expected but TJ's was.. well they gave a complete non-answer and I find that very frustration and disrespectful >:(

Here's Vons response:

Dear Ms. *:

Thank you for contacting us regarding your concern about BPA on register receipts.

Thank you for expressing your concerns. We are reviewing the study and are gathering additional information. We are also in contact with our receipt paper supplier regarding this issue.  However, please note that the study does not draw a definite conclusion as to whether BPA on register receipts poses a health risk to consumers. Once we have done our due diligence, we will determine the best course of action. Please be assured that your comments are important to us, and will be forwarded to our Public Affairs department for consideration

If you would like to discuss this further, please reply to this email or call our toll free number at 1-888-723-3929 and reference contact I.D. ********.  One of our associates will be happy to assist you.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon.  Thank you for shopping at Vons.

Sincerely,

Vons Customer Service Team

Well, Vons at least says they're looking into it and already in contact with their supplier. This is more than I expected from a corporate giant. Hopefully it's true. Next time I stop by there I may lookup the manager and mention this, tell him I'm happy corporate is looking into it and that I'd really like it if he tried to make the switch next time they're ordering supplies at my store.

And here's TJ's response:

Mary,

BPA (Bisphenol A) is an epoxy used in manufacturing the plastic (resin
enamel) lining of canned goods. This resin lining in cans prevents
spoilage.

This is an industry-wide issue for manufacturers of food-grade cans and
canned foods. Work is being done within the industry to develop
alternative, BPA-free linings for canned products. The canned food
industry has relied on this method for many years and is scrambling to
come up with solutions that do not trade one perceived problem for a
degradation in food safety.

To be clear, our receipt paper does contain BPA and we do have some
canned items that have linings containing BPA. In this way we are in the
same position as all other retail grocers. Also please know that NONE of
our TJ'S products in plastic will contain BPA.

All of our products and packaging are within food safety guidelines and
regulations.

The debate between governmental agencies, manufacturers, and the
scientific community is ongoing-options for non-BPA materials are being
tested and there are new formats entering the marketplace.

We are handling this issue in the same manner as previous matters of
concern: we're listening to the feedback our customers are providing and
exploring options to put that feedback into place in a meaningful way.

Sincerely,

Heather
Trader Joe's
Customer Relation

Big difference here. I'm surprised they brought up the can lining, I didn't mention it in my message to them or to Vons because I know there isn't a practical alternative for the grocery industry at the moment (unlike the receipt paper). It is is nice to know that they're aware of that also. But they're just barely glossing over what I asked them about - the BPA receipt paper - without mention of what they're going to do about. Hmmm "there are new formats entering the marketplace" , but there's already BPA-free paper available.

I'm actually somewhat put off by TJ's right now. Right now I really feel like stopping at TJ's and having a little fit... but I know it's not my local TJ's manager's fault directly. On a day I'm so frazzled by other things I may take a printout of that response and take it to my TJ's and have a nice chat w/the manager.

That is all, Happy V-day everybody.

Ew My Stone Face Spewed....

Ok, this actually happened several weeks ago, but I just got time to ask about this:

So my faces actually weren't all that happy when they were transplanted into a container, several got shrivelly and kicked the bucket. One spewed the above white slivers. What the shaizer?! Close-up:

Does anybody know - were those seeds? Is my stone face an annual that's about to die?

I'm not dead...just on vacation...

Just a quick post to let everyone know I'm away until next week. I probably won't be able to put a proper post together until late next week or the week after...

Until then here's a taste of what I've been enjoying... the Cosmovitral de Toluca

Happy Gardening :)

Just Some Tidbits

Ok, I'm still behind on a general status of my Green Children...working on it... but until then -

Recently in my world:

cleverly disguised caterpillars threw a wrench into my broccoli seed harvesting plan...

ok, they weren't solely responsible-the aphids helped

incidently I also discoverd cute fuzzy caterpillars freak out my momma >:)

Luckily I still like the fuzzy terrors so they went to the Sacrificial Cabbages.

Yes, I now have Sacrificial Cabbages, 4 of them. I keep finding caterpillars and the Sunflower leaves were already looking a bit frumpy so I had to expand. Can't get the darned cabbages to grow proper heads anyways...

I have given several gifts of Green Childrens to a friend and every visit I am astounded by how much bigger they are growing than ones I kept for myself! I mean seriously, my mint at home is struggling and his is overflowing. o.O

Believe it or not there is a strawberry pot within this Mint Monster.

I told ya!

Other Green Children that have gone steroids crazy with my friend include another mint (Lemon Balm), dill, and...I can't remember - it's almost lunch, I need food...

And lastly, a rare sight. So rare that many people believe the adults of the specie spontaneous spring from pools of standing gutter water. I present to you my encounter with a baby pigeon:

That's one of the parents behind it.

That's one thing I kind of like about Lowe's so far. The one I go to has a decent sized pigeon population in it's garden center and they seem to live and let live. Just hope no one wants to move this pallet soon.