Happy Halloween!

BOO!  Happy Halloween!

Have I told you lately how Red Wigglers love pumpkins?  Give them a delicious post Halloween treat tomorrow.  There's no need to slice and dice.  You can quarter the pumpkin or put it in whole.  You'll be amazed at how quickly they will devour it.  They'll stop feasting on the scraps in the bin and migrate to the pumpkin.

If you don't have a worm bin or compost pile and you live in Bend, give them to me.  My Red Wigglers would be delighted.  Leave me a comment and we can set something up!

Don't throw your batteries in the trash!

This is the aftermath of fun times!  A pile of dead batteries that once gave life to wireless video game controllers and wireless mice now sit on the kitchen table.  As you can see, we are not loyal to one brand.  We grab what is on sale and also have a few rechargeable batteries. Unfortunately, we don't have many charging stations to satisfy our immediate need when one battery dies, especially during an epic battle in Halo! (a really cool game by the way.  I admit.  I have joined in on a few matches, getting my booty whipped and laughing as it's happening) So, we resort to buying mass quantities of AA batteries.

Just last year, I would toss these into the trash not even giving it a second thought.  Now running a composting business,  I TRY my best to watch what is heading to the landfill.   Realizing we can't feed batteries to the Red Wigglers, we bagged them under the kitchen sink next to the other recycling containers.  Yesterday the bag was about to bust so I called the landfill to see if they could be put at the curb for pickup.  Nope, they have to be dropped at the Hazardous Waste Building, an annex next to the Recycling Center.

Before taking them, I dumped them onto the table to get a picture for my post.  I couldn't believe how many we bought over the past year!

Yuck!  I really wish I put something on the table before I dumped them.  This battery was already leaking the bad stuff!  What it is..... I don't really know to be honest with ya!  I just have a feeling it can't be good because my hair had a run in with a dead car battery that was stored in the back of my trunk when I skipped high school!   'nough said!

Bottom Line:  Bring your batteries to the Hazardous Waste Department (just that name let's me know...the things inside the batteries are not good for the planet!)

The Red Wigglers will devour a few non food items, like coffee grounds and filters, newspapers, eggshells, toilet paper rolls, and compostable baby wipes, but they will not munch on batteries!  Who would blame them?

Wonder Worman Sewed! Really, I did!

For the past 3 months in the Wonder Worman household, we have been been using cloth napkins and rags instead of paper towels and paper napkins.  I wanted to think of another way to cut back on the amount of trash we were contributing to the landfill.  Composting the food waste with the Red Wigglers is going well.  I have occasionally thrown in some napkins from dinner but never those with cleaning residue so I decided to use the cloth solution.

We already had a stash of cloth napkins given to us as gifts for the holidays, house warming, and Cinco de Mayo (My favorite time of the year!!). We also had a variety of rags from old towels and t-shirts.   I thought I was set and didn't need to purchase any more.  Well, that changed this week.  I started thinking about how I had increased the amount of laundry loads.  Now, I was worried about the water and energy being used to keep these clean!  I was determined to find a solution to increase our supply of napkins therefore decreasing the amount of times the napkins and rags needed to be washed.  So, I decided to make my own napkins.  We have a beautiful sewing machine that was given to Little a for Christmas.  She uses it often to create pillows and "fun stuff".  Now, it was my turn to make some napkins.  For those of you that know me, I AM NOT a person that sews, but I was determined to give it a try for the sake of the planet! I did some on line searching and found a cool site!  Link is below.

I picked this fallish fabric!  

Set the template on the backside of the fabric and traced with a pencil.  I don't own fabric chalk?! what is that any way??

Fabric cut in squares.  I would've called it done but knew the sides would fray.

Finished!  I used Little a's orange thread!  Thought the contrast was cool.  Plus, it was already set up on the machine, and I have trouble rethreading the bobbin and then threading the needle and all of that sewing stuff that you have to do on the machine! 

Here's the link (click here) to the site where I found the set of instructions. Really quick and easy!  Next set of napkins will be made from Max's too small oxford shirts! Recycling our clothes will be fun and will give us something to talk about when friends and family come over.  Don't worry, I won't use our underwear!  

pH of Wonder Worman Bin

Have you ever wondered what the "p" and the "H" in pH stand for? Well, I'll give ya a little science lesson, rather a brief science lesson. The "p" represents potential, and the "H"is for Hydrogen. Basically, in Wonder Worman terms it is a scale used to determine the amount of Hydrogen ions in the substance you are testing. The lower the Hydrogen ions... the substance is more acidic and the higher the Hydrogen ions... the substance is more basic. The ph scale ranges from 0-14. The lower the number = more acidic the higher the number = more basic. If you come up with lucky 7, you have a balanced amount of hydrogens. The substance you are testing is neutral which, by the way, is the ideal environment for Red Wigglers.

I am sure a lot of you remember using the ph strips in Science class! They would turn a really cool shade of blue or red, and then you would check the scale on the canister. Oooh, I loved doing that stuff, and I still do. Instead, I am now using this digital meter called "rapitest" the name reminds me of a home pregnancy test and the probe reminds me of a thermometer among other things, but I won't go there.

Over the weekend, I tested the pH of one of the bins. I like the fact that I don't have to compare colors, and I am given a number because lately I have been second, maybe third or even fourth guessing every decision I am making. Looking at "shades" of colors would have be wondering, "Is it a true red? or Is it pink?" My head would be going round and round and round and round.

So here's what you do....

1) Turn the meter on! See the pretty turquoise button or is it green, or aqua? lol..... It always defaults to 7.0.

2) Put the meter in whatever you are testing and twist it around

3) After about 5 -10 seconds, it should flash and register the reading.

Basically, it's really simple to operate!

These are Wonder Worman directions. It comes with more elaborate ones.

Well after testing, the bin registered a pH of 6.5! Pretty good. I am going to keep on feeding 'em what I've kept on feeding 'em!

Happy Wormin'!  Just in case you want to check your pH, click on the handy link below or check your local garden store!

Slimy, Yummy, Pumpkin Guts

Yesterday, the kids and I went to Kristi's house to hang, eat really good sweet stuff...(Holy Cow, Have you ever eaten popcorn balls with marshmallows, vanilla, cinnamon and salt?...Don't, because once you do, you can't STOP!)... and carve pumpkins. Originally, we planned on heading to the Central Oregon Pumpkin Co. in Terrebonne to participate in the full Fall experience but the weather wasn't cooperating. So we decided to hang in the hood, and buy pumpkins from our local supermarket. Great deal by the way, but a bummer that we couldn't support our local patch! Wet kids and muddy shoes were not on the agenda. Food and a warm house won!

Kristi was gracious to host the carving festivities. We mauled the pumpkins in the garage. She had it all prepared for the goopy mess. We had mini saws, pocket knives, and even drills! Hilarious, thanks Jeff! By the way, she even had a worm bucket for all of the seeds and guts! Woohoo! She's always thinking of the wigglers.

Well after the all of the feasting and fun, we departed to get on with a few more Sunday activities, catching up on H.W. and getting ready for school on Monday, always a joy with the kids!! Little a didn't have too much to do and was more than willing to help with the separation of the seeds from the guts!

I love the feel of the pumpkin's guts and so does Little a. Max not so much! It's this cool, slimy feeling, and I love trying to grasp it with my fingers before giving in to the spoon. We spent about an hour with our hands, squeezing and separating all of this goodness. I do this for two reasons, to prepare the seeds for roasting and to remove the seeds from the Red Wiggler's feast. They don't eat the seeds probably because of the size and texture. I am sure if I pulverized them, they would eat them. Too much time, and I wanted the seeds! Yummmmm!

This sloppy mess will be fed to the worms later on this afternoon when the temperature warms up a bit. Brr! I will also be out there getting a pound of Red Wigglers for a client this afternoon!

Yippe!! some cashola!

So readers, if you have a worm bin and are carving some pumpkins think of your wigglers.

Look at all of that delicious goodness!!!!

Slurp!

Holy Moly! I chowed this delicious acorn squash in, uh...., under a minute. More like 20 seconds, seriously. I had this amazingly tasty veggie all to myself. The kids were at school, and my hubby is on a mini vacay! Glad they weren't here to witness my slurping and totally awful manners!

This super veggie is loaded with bazillion amounts of Vitamin A which is super awesome for your skin. Today, I cooked it in the oven at 400 with about a cup of water in the dish. After 30 min, it was soft and ready to be inhaled. Before the feast, I doused it with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. In the past, I have added butter and some maple syrup. Today, I skipped out on that stuff. It would have taken too much time to get all that out, and I was starving.

So now these scraps will be on their way to the wiggler bins. Just giving them a tidbit, a little teaser because in the next few weeks, they will be enjoying huge amounts of pumpkins and gords!

ph meter

I just bought this ph meter from Bend in Bloom, one of Bend's garden supply shops.

I am really excited to test the ph of the compost and castings in the Red Wiggler bin!

More later!!!

Red Wiggler Funeral

Artichoke RePost

Last night, Carlos and the kids made artichokes stuffed with Italian bread, garlic, parm cheese, parsley, oregano and some vegetable oil. We devoured the delicious goodness! Can't you tell by the picture!

As I was pigging out, I couldn't wait to share my scraps with the Red Wigglers. My buddy Kristi makes these often because her sweet daughter LOVES them. I find them often in the Neighborhood Community Bin for the Red Wigglers.

The Red Wigglers love them, and I wrote about them in April of 2009 after my first time feeding them. The post was short and sweet, but this is what it said...

Hey, guess what??? Worms love artichokes! Rotten ones and eaten artichoke skins (I think that's what they are).
They were all over them this afternoon! Yipee! cause I love them toooooo!

I fed a few of the wigglers last night and will make my way out to the larger bins this afternoon. I'll sprinkle a layer on top and give them a yummy treat. So next time you have some artichokes, feed the scraps to the wigglers. I didn't rinse mine to remove any of the stuffing, not there was a lot left after I got through with them.

What I'm trying to say is...Don't worry if there are remnants of stuffing. Go ahead and feed them to the Red Wigglers. A little bit won't hurt them. Everything in moderation!

Bob and Lucy! My furry sidekicks!

Hey Everyone!!! Meet Bob and Lucy.

Bob is on the left! Lucy is on the right, and my hubby, Carlos, is holding the two!

We just adopted Bob from the pound in Madras on Saturday and bought Lucy from a breeder when she was a pup. She's 4 now. We think they are about the same age.

I usually brag about my Red Wigglers being the best sidekicks out there, consuming and transforming usable waste into rich, organic compost. Today's a day to write about Bassets. Basset Hounds are really mellow, loving dogs which make really cute and cuddly sidekicks! I've written about wanting to hug a wiggler and thank them for all that they do for our planet. I know that's gross and not possible. It's actually rather weird....but hey so am I!

Soooo, I am going to hug my Bassets along with my family and thank them for all that they do for me! I look at these two cuddly, sweet dogs and smile! How could you not??!!!

Here are some books about Bassets!  Claude the Dog is a sweet, sweet book about a Basset at Christmas!  This was my first intro to Basset Hounds, and I have loved them ever since!  I have not read The Hound from the Pound  but seeing it reminded me of Bob since we rescued him from the pound!  I am sure you can find these at your local bookstore or library, but if you can't click below!

Neighborhood Collection Bin

My neighborhood is cool, especially my block. I live about a mile from downtown which is an easy walk to restaurants, shops and the beautiful Deschutes River. We are on a busy street, but looking at this picture you really couldn't tell. That's because this is the back alley. A place where the kids ride their bikes, scooters and skateboards, and the parents can let them without worrying about traffic. This alley has hosted many parties and gatherings in the warmer months and sled and snowboard races during the winter months.

I also have some really sweet neighbors. Yeah, they are sugar and spice and everything nice, well some of them (just being honest here), but what I mean is... they are sweet.... as in "cool". Most of them know I am the Wonder Worman and have hoards of Red Wigglers on the side of the house. They tell me they don't mind! Some actually think it's pretty cool and some, well.... are a little "grossed out."

Some have their own compost piles and others bring their food scraps to this blue bin located by the alley. They are helping to keep my sidekicks happy and healthy. I am thankful for their waste and am happy to see them do what is right for our planet!

I think this type of Neighborhood Drop Off Waste Collection Bin (I just made that up as I am typing this. LOL!) could work in many neighborhoods. If you have a worm bin and have neighbors who are not into composting, you could start a collection bin. Give it a try! Then after a year of feeding the wigglers, you could share the castings and beautify your flower beds in the neighborhood.

Just a thought!

Happy Wormin'

Leaves for Lavabelles

Yesterday, Little a and I raked the front yard so she could do the anual dive into a crunchy pile of leaves. I am pretty sure these are Maple leaves. The colors were beautiful last week when they were still on the trees. After being on the ground for a week, you can see they are turing colors. The once vibrant reds are now various shades of brown. The colors are still pretty cool!!

I remember diving into piles of leaves when I was Little a's age. I always thought it would be like jumping on a mattress and so did she. After the first landing, she was done! It ain't what it used to be!

So, what's next for this pile? Well it was bagged and sent off to winterize the first worm bin of the season.

Lavabelles is shutting down their composting operation for the season. Fall and winter are not very busy, and we decided to pick it back up in May when they have more vacation renters.

As you can see, these leaves make a terrific 3inch layer of insulation and will also provide a feast for the Red Wigglers over the next few months. About one inch of leaves were placed underneath the newspaper blanket and the rest were placed on top. I will feed the worms during the winter, especially the rotting pumpkins after Halloween.

Something's wrong! Red Wigglers and The Bunny Poop

the result of doing "it"

See that little tiny yellow speck that looks like a mini lemon. See it? See it?

Do you know what it is? huh? huh? come on do ya? do ya?

If you have a worm bin, maybe you've seen it before.

Well if you're still at a loss and you've never laid eyes on it in your entire life, I bet you have an idea...just by the title of the blog.

It's the result of doing "it", making whoopie in the worm world. Red Wigglers, as with other worms, are hermaphrodites. They have both male and female parts and need each other to reproduce. I have seen this in action, and it is really cool. They actually form a love knot. After doing "it", they each leave behind a cocoon.

After 3-4 weeks, about 5-10 worms will hatch from the cocoon. Then these babies will be reproducing new compost eating, earth saving creatures in 2-3 months and the cycle will start again.

Thought it would be cool to share this with ya! and don't worry you won't have worms crawlin' out of your bin...they self regulate their population. They determine their space and reproduce accordingly!

Happy wormin'