A long, long time ago, before online shopping, consumer goods were offered right at the front door. In many areas like Madison Park, smiling Fuller Brush salesmen went door to door, displaying brushes for any occasion. Vacuum cleaner salesmen demonstrated previously unimaginable attachments like those for cleaning Venetian blinds. How about reversing the suction, acting as a leaf blower, or painting the house – who knows?
I’m not a native Northwesterner (though I’ve been here since ‘87 and graduated from UW, so I have some credentials), but one of my native-born friends told me this past weekend that she doesn’t remember it exceeding 70 degrees in her childhood. As much as I’d like to feel that this heat is a “freak occurrence,” these sweltering summers seem to be trending up. Per Nicholas Deshais in a recent Seattle Times article, we’ve had the “second-warmest start to July since 1945,” and the July 9 high of 98 degrees was the highest we’ve seen since 2021’s stunning 108.
Our world is swimming in plastic. Since the early days of large-scale plastic production in the 1940s, plastic manufacturing has skyrocketed to total over 18 trillion pounds – more than twice the combined weight of all animals (and humans) on earth. Of that, over three quarters has become waste. Only an estimated 9 percent of that waste has been recycled; 12 percent has been burned; and the rest has been ushered to landfills or tossed into the environment. Some of it has congregated in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic-berg located between California and Hawaii that is now more than twice the size of Texas.
A perfect day for me begins like this: I sit on my small balcony, surrounded by a garden of potted plants. I call it “my garden” because its size fits into my life. Because I’ve grown more comfortable with low-maintenance over involved. Because when the morning light lays itself over the plants so that the new growth sparkles brighter than the undergrowth, for about fifteen shining minutes I don’t think about anything except what is most important to me, and that’s the definition of a garden. Because leaving worry behind is not easy for me and never has been.
Species or hybrids? It really doesn’t matter — it’s what you like in a plant that counts.
Last month, I wrote about apps you to use during a disaster – this time, we'll look at websites that could be handy during an emergency, especially local sites
A return to civilian life after two years with Uncle Sam.
As May makes its debut, folks are considering which tomatoes will rule their gardens.
You already likely rely on your phone daily, but it can also be essential in an emergency.
Once properly planted, hyacinths are best left to thrive with judicious neglect.
A regular column from the local author of 'Every Little Thing.'
Freedom can be found in exploring the world without sight.
Delivering ice was a great way to get to know neighborhoods and their people.
Monthly reviews from Madison Books.
The lamb is butterflied, a method that prepares meat for easy roasting or grilling.
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