“This study shows that conventional wisdom — to eat everything in moderation, eat fewer calories and avoid fatty foods — isn’t the best approach.” Full article here, highlights below. - Foods that contributed to the greatest weight gain: French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meats and processed meats, other forms of potatoes, sweets and desserts, refined grains, other fried foods, 100-percent fruit juice, and butter.
- An increased intake of dairy products, whether low-fat (milk) or full-fat (milk and cheese), had a neutral effect on weight.
- Weight loss was greatest among people who ate more yogurt and nuts, including peanut butter
- No significant effect was found among those who increased their intake to one glass of wine a day, but increases in other forms of alcohol were likely to bring added pounds.
The lawn on the left is heavily fertilized, herbacided, and watered daily. My lawn on the right gets one treatment of organic fertilizer in early spring, no herbicide, and rainwater only. It hasn't rained for a month and has been over 90 degrees for three weeks.
So how come my lawn looks greener? I think my grass is greener because...
1. Summer fertilizer grows grass blades, not roots. Summer fertilizer actually weakens the plant.
2. Much of the green in my lawn is "weed". Many weeds, such as crabgrass, thrive in the warm season. Neighbor uses a selective herbicide that kill everything except for the cold season turfgrass. Cold season turfgrass prefers to go dormant in the summer.
3. I overseeded last winter with red fescue. Compared to rye, fescue is more drought tolerant (deeper roots).
4. They rake their clippings, I mulch mine.
5. They cut low, I cut high.
6. I have more shade trees.
7. My soil holds water better and cycles nutrients more efficiently because it is not dead.
Sometimes less is more.
Weather is crazy out here. Weeks of drought, then several inches in a few hours.
Congratulations Mom & Dad! Married on Derby Day, 1961
Matt & Dana, Marilyn & John, Dan & Judy, Marylynn, Lisa & John, Elaine & Tade, Lucy & Bode, Reece & Eli
After a hard fought battle, Santa brought us a Francis Francis X8 espresso machine. I'm not a big fan of single use plastics and will continue to use the drip machine. Angela pointed out that by not driving to Starbucks, we are using far fewer hydrocarbons so its actually a greener and more economical option. Debatable. I might try one tomorrow. Slippery slope. belief system < happy wife, perfect coffee, easy cleanup, and precious stay at home moments
The Indianapolis Department of Waterworks (DOW) is asking customers to stop watering their lawn through Sunday, July 24, in the wake of this week's high heat and lack of rain. Previously, DOW requested customers to perform lawn watering on an every other day schedule. However, water consumption across central Indiana has continued to increase steadily since last week. Indianapolis Water, the region's largest drinking water utility, pumped 215 million gallons (MGD) of water yesterday, compared with an average of 140 million gallons a day. Consumption is on track to top 220+ million gallons today. "We are asking our customers to curtail lawn-watering activities in order to maintain adequate water pressure for our customers and firefighting activities," said Matthew Klein, executive director of the Indianapolis Department of Waterworks, owner of Indianapolis Water. Due to increased demand, some Indianapolis Water customers may already notice low water pressure. The utility will reevaluate this request to cease all lawn watering on Monday, and may return to the odd/even schedule if the excessive demand subsides. Customers are also asked to voluntarily practice the following wise water use guidelines at all times: - Repair or replace leaking water fixtures;
- Run water appliances, such as clothes washers and dishwashers, when they are full;
- Turn off the water while brushing teeth or shaving;
- Use a higher lawnmower setting to provide natural ground shade and promote the soil's water retention;
- Wash cars with a bucket of soapy water and use a nozzle to stop the flow of water from the hose between rinsing;
- Cover swimming pools to reduce evaporation; and
- Retrofit low-performance fixtures with high-performance WaterSense-labeled fixtures.
The Department of Waterworks owns and manages Indianapolis Water, which serves nearly one million people in central Indiana, including Fishers, and contracts the system's operation to Veolia Water Indianapolis.
Took some water quality measurements today after I read this article about how the heat wave is causing toxic algae blooms. I measured the Reservoir and a stream that drains into it. Here is where I measure. The readings... Temp Nitrate/Nitrite pH Dissolved Oxygen Phosphate Stream 24C 5/0 7.5 5.5 0 Reservoir 30C 0/0 8.0 5.5 0 Analysis:The temperature of the stream is much lower than the reservoir. This is probably because of the riparian cover and the source is ground water (most via retention ponds and sump pumps). I suspect the lack of nutrients is because everything available was consumed by the algae. Or, maybe my kit is broken. The high level of stream nitrate is interesting, especially because we have not had much rain lately. Guessing this is lawn fertilizer runoff. I suspect once nitrogen gets into the Reservoir it gets consumed by plants? I dunno. Not sure if the DO level is good or bad. pH is in the normal range. Need an expert to help with the data review.
One of the reasons I started a garden was to get my kids interested in fresh vegetables. Now they take the vegetables, sell them at the bottom of our driveway, and use the money for ice cream. They charge a premium because the food is organic and fresh picked.
Dill attracts beneficial parasitic wasps. Wasps like to set larvae on aphids, beetles, caterpillars, flies, sawflies, scale insects and true bugs. As the larvae develops, it destroys host insect. More information.
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