Holy **** it's raining!

Since leaving Florida in August 2008 to move back to the desert Southwest of Tucson, AZ, it feels like it just didn't rain in Tucson EVER. I kept telling Kirsten and the boys that we just missed the monsoons when we came to Tucson in late August in 2008 and to just wait until the monsoons hit during the summer of 2009... well wasn't I made a fool by the weather that summer. For whatever reason, (I'm sure it's directly related to global warming and associated climate change) we just didn't get any monsoon rains during the summer of 2009. It was sad and very disheartening for this water-loving family, 3/4+ pure Floridians and I felt like quite the idiot :(

Well, January and February 2010 have brought some welcome salvation from my idiocy! Tucson had the 8th wettest January in history this year... then February came along and we are now in the 4th wettest year in recorded history. Here are some pictures of what the precipiation looks like on the mountains (for good Spring water supply) and the kids LOVING the rain in the yard.

This is still highly uncharacteristic for desert rainfall patterns, but we'll take it!

Rodeo Days

In Tucson, there is a large celebration of the rodeo every February.
This includes two days off of school and a parade every year. Emmett and his classmates were encouraged to dress up as cowboys and cowgirls the day before their "Rodeo Vacation". Emmett got into it, along with quite a few other boys in his class (the one shown is Adam in the same kinder class)... the girls were more reticent. Harrison chose Kirsten's snow hat and a favorite sweatshirt in perfect three year old fashion :)

We missed the parade this year because I had too much work to do and the boys decided they didn't want to get up and get going that early on a special day off. I think we'll try harder to make it to the parade next year, Emmett seems particularly interested right now.

First steps toward rainwater harvesting

We planted our Spring garden in late January, hoping for some good lettuces, onions, carrots and even some snap peas in March and April. It just so happens that we have a downspout located near the raised garden bed... so, we splurged at the garden store and bought a rainbarrel made of recycled plastic that had been shaped and dyed to look like a terra cotta pot. It works perfectly!

Last summer, Kirsten made a connection on Craigslist who has a steady supply of beverage syrup containers (think Dr. Pepper, Coke, etc. in the convenience store fountains). The containers are sturdy, watertight, and a pretty blue color. Once we had the sample rain barrel installed, Kirsten finished altering the blue beverage container to make yet another rain barrel. In the first storm after the rain barrels were ready, they both filled up within the first 10 minutes! Then we brought all of our five gallon buckets and other "containers" to the catch the overflow. We were so happy to have the rain and capture it for future use in our garden and for our fruit trees! I think more retrofitted beverage syrup containers are in our near future... right Kirs?

gifts of sustainability

This year our Valentine's Day gifts to each other reflected a huge shift in our priorities towards living a more sustainable life. One of the things we have been working on is establishing a sort of "permaculture" at our house. When we moved into this house, there were already two pomegranate trees, a grapefruit tree, a lemon tree, and a key lime tree. We now have six laying hens, have started composting on-site, grow our own herbs in a beautiful large pot in the front yard, and have a raised vegetable garden bed in the backyard. For Valentine's Day, I gave Kirsten a gift of more permaculture. We had two more fruit trees planted by a local nursery (Civano's): a Pink Lady apple tree and an Asian Pear tree. With all the rain we're having this month, they might just fruit next year...

Another thing we've been working on is reducing our waste stream. This was started with recycling first, then adding our non-meat food waste to the compost, now we are working on "pre-cycling" where you don't use or buy things that are packaged excessively or with materials that are non-compostable or non-recyclable. To that end, Kirsten gave me a very cool gift. A stainless steel "to-go food" container. Similar to this, although I'm not sure where she ordered my actual gift: I love it! It's perfect for to-go situations, and even just for taking a lunch or snacks on the road. Awesome gift honey!

Valentine's Day kisses

Happy Valentine's Day! The boys got candy lip thingies that made them look so funny, I just had to post this pic... so cute!

Supporting Henry Elementary

Our local elementray school is Henry Elementary. It is walking distance from our house and is located on a beautiful piece of land that is spacious and well-maintained. There are many devoted staff members at this school and a number of devoted families, as well. BUT... the school is struggling. Struggling with a limited funding pool that has to make the impossible decision between having a full-time principal, lower class sizes, and adequate supplies for the teachers and office requirements. Struggling with a number of children whose parents are unable or unwilling to support their children or the school. Struggling within a school district (TUSD) that has the worst $ to student ratio in Arizona due to declining enrollment and a slow to respond bureaucracy. Struggling within a state that is now coming in dead LAST in funding per pupil in the entire country... LAST (I'm so sad and embarrassed to live in a place that devalues children and education so much).

For the 2009-2010 school year, Emmett and Harrison started attending Henry Elementary. Emmett is in the kindergarten class with Ms. Woolen. Harrison is in the ABLE program with Mr. Bob, Ms. Donna, and Ms. Arlene. Our family has quickly become an integral part of the Henry community. This community is in an important transition time, looking to bring a smaller, near-by school into the fold. We are hopeful that the new resources, new devoted families, and new staff members will help revitalize Henry so it can reinvent itself. Kirsten and I are hoping to help with this by bringing energy, devotion, good ideas, steady attendance and attention, and most importantly a focus on the tenets of attachment parenting with all the children we encounter and all things sustainable. Please send us energy for this thankless and seemingly insurmountable effort. Also, please consider sending paper and glue sticks for the classrooms... we have three months left in this school year and are just about out, with no additional funding in sight for at least another 5 years.