I’ve written about composting before but here I am again. I love it so much I just can’t stop. The idea that our old banana peels and coffee grounds makes this rich garden soil is so amazing (and so is the price tag: FREE). I use this compost to fill up all of our containers of flowers and herbs every spring, with only a small bit of store-bought soil to smooth over the top.
This weekend it was finally time to check the backyard composter and get it going again. I tossed in a bowl of fruit peels and vegetable scraps and gave the whole thing a good turn. The scraps break down with the help of both aerobic and anaerobic kinds of bacteria (meaning, bacteria that needs air to survive and another that does not). The bacteria which needs air is faster at breaking down the compost, so that’s the kind I want to encourage by regular turning and poking of the compost. Water is important too, but in order to help keep the bacteria population healthy the compost pile can’t be soaking wet.
I was surprised that the leaves in our compost bin were crunchy dry after the long winter, so I dumped in a bucket of water right after I took this photo:
In a month or so I’ll scrape out the dirt that has been brewing at the bottom of the composter and it will be SO SATISFYING. I just hope our green bin won’t feel too neglected for the next while.
… share it with the whole world, of course. :)
I wrote about family social media accounts awhile back on MediaSmarts.ca and I wanted to post an update on what has become a truly enjoyable project: our dog’s Instagram account.
Each family member was invited to manage Piper’s Instagram account. At the outset we all agreed on the premise: this is Piper’s account (and we were only posting on her behalf) so everything had to be from her perspective: photos, comments, and follows. What would she show her friends? What would she say? What point of view would she take on this issue?
Out of the four of us I’m the one who contributes the most, but everyone is reading and enjoying the project all the same.
Piper is almost at 500 followers now, and they come from all around the world. Some of the comments from her fans are truly hilarious and adorable. It’s a never-ending source of amusement for us, and it continues to be a really great shared family project.
Every once in awhile I like to look at Piper’s collection of photos as a whole. Although I know full well that WE are the ones who are putting words in her mouth, she is such a funny little creature. Her feed is full of fun and family jokes. Add to that the comments and the interaction… it all makes me so happy.
Some dog accounts have a staggering number of followers: ichaity, thiswildidea, tunameltsmyheart. Not that I expect Piper to ever reach those kinds of numbers but I am amazed at what we’ve reached at this point. I’ve been thinking about how and why pet accounts get to be so popular. Some of these have fabulous photos, others have endearing story lines, but I think it comes down to the subject matter. Dogs are lovely and innocent, and people love their dogs unconditionally. Perhaps it’s this love that forms the basis of the wild success that is #dogsofinstagram. Is there a pet account you follow? If so I’d love to hear about it!
