I have officially moved! Please visit me at www.cambreenotes.com Join me at my new place for more neat post relating to health, beauty, and living.

Thanks for the visit.

- Cambree Elise

The photo above of dragonfruit farm taken by tk yeoh of flickr. Notice how the fruits are wrapped in bags. Possibly to protect them from birds, bats, and other natural elements. Dragonfruit farming has been very popular in Asia, from the Philippines to Malaysia. They seem to grow pretty easy and are also grown in San Diego greenhouses. The plants are also available for purchase from Florida. Some day I like to make a trip to these farm and see the real fruit tree. Preferably at harvesting time!

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“The light green leaves of a colony of A. attenuata contrast in this combo with the nearly black rosettes of Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’.” – Sunset Magazine. I like the contrast of green and deep purple in this garden.
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Concerned homeowners and avid gardeners may want to look into finding ways to conserve water. But I have mostly desert plants that are in pots, so it won’t be much of a problem for me. My mom said she may cut down on what she will be planting this year too. The latest idea suggest replacing the common lawn and yards with native plants. This idea is termed “naturescaping”. These two front yards are good examples of naturescaping. Photos were taken by City Steward of Portland, Oregon.

There are many benefits for naturescaping and to growing native plants. A great landscape design practice also located in Portland, Oregon named Plant Native gave us 6 good reasons. They are listed below:

1. Low Maintenance - Native plants evolved to grow in local conditions and to predictable sizes. They do not require watering (except during establishment), chemical pesticides and fertilizers, or frequent cutting.

2. Public Health (lowers cancer rates) – Traditional landscaping uses large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, some of which are suspected carcinogens. During rains, these chemicals often run off into public water supplies. Traditional landscaping also contributes to air and noise pollution.

3. Saves you Money – The cost of maintaining a naturescape is dramatically less than that of a traditional landscape because a naturescape essentially takes care of itself. Naturescapes also save you time – and how valuable is your time?

4. Water – In the West, 60% of consumed water goes to lawns; in the East, 30%. This water diversion harms the environment, kills fish, and returns polluted water to our streams and rivers. It also costs you – on irrigation system installation and maintenance, and on your water bill.
5. Song Birds – Our song bird populations having dropped steadily – 5-10%, per year!, depending on the species – for the last several decades, and there is no end in sight. The loss is primarily due to habitat loss. Adopting naturescaping is critical if song birds are to remain.
6. Enhances Livability – An ecologically functional landscape offers so much more than a sterile, static landscape. It offers imagination to our children, and color, sound and wonder to all of us. It is cleaner, quieter and healthier, and may increase property values.

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Photo: Cute piggy bank from Marie Claire Publications.

I finally decided to sign up with them last week. It was very easy and the bank representative was very friendly. In order to get the $100, you have to deposit $100 first and keep your account open and active for 3 months. There are some really neat things offered by WAMU that I did not know of before.

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Le Jardin des Chats was born out of necessity by Amandine and Arnaud. When they needed to travel, they didn’t want to put their cats in small caged kennels surrounded with barking dogs. That just wouldn’t be very comforting to cats. Amandine also didn’t like the ideas of asking friends or relatives to check on their cat too often.

These cats are from the homepage of Le Jardin des Chats. The one in the middle looks just like my cat!

The process took them five years to put together. They had to get permissions to build the cat hotel in their back garden.

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Photo of dried soap nuts from ECO-CAN news.

I’ve never even heard much about soap nuts and decided find out more about them. A few nuts can be placed in a cotton drawstring bag, then add to your wash. It can even be reused several times. Soap nuts are safe for washing silk, woolens and other delicate fabrics. Anything soap related to me is fun, especially ones that grow naturally on trees.

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This will be the first movie project for Laika Animation Studio in Portland, Oregon. The movie was filmed using stop-motion animation. This is where the hands and every other part of the characters (puppets) in the movie are manipulated frame by frame. This is done to achieve movement and expression and to tell a very realistic looking story. I am a big fan of claymation and am looking forward to seeing how this movie will compare. Other features in this movie people will notice is that some theatres (including one near our city) will offer 3-D screenings.

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Since it’s time to shop for another comfortable walking shoe, I’ve decided to get something made by Simple. They are an interesting green company that was started in Santa Barbara, CA back in 1991. Simple Shoe company is committed to making their product 100% sustainable. Finding materials and processes that make the products sustainable is a method called “Green Toe”. Some of the products found in their shoes are listed in the colorful bubble drawings here – from hemp to bamboo.

The company follows the Deckers Ethical Supply Chain Guidelines. I’ve never heard of it until I came across Simple’s website. It’s a good concept and more companies should strive to do the same. You can read more about it here. A little excerpt below:

“Deckers Outdoor Corporation respects internationally recognized human rights and environmental standards and places them at the core of our business practices. We believe that no business should ever be complicit in human rights abuses. We promote greater environmental responsibility and we encourage the development and use of environmentally friendly technologies.

We are committed to a process of continuous improvement. We recognize that our own business practices can impact our business partners’ ability to implement these Guidelines and we commit to addressing our impacts that are related to these Guidelines. Business partners agree to take responsibility for their business impacts, to correct problems when they are found and to build management systems that prevent problems from reoccurring.”

Pictured here are two styles I had to decide between, the Carousel or the Macaroon.

In terms of comfort and price, I decided to go with the first style “Carousel” in light blue color. I like it better without the double straps and makes it easy to take on and off. Especially when I take my shoes off when I am inside the house. When the weather gets warmer, I will be replacing my winter boots with these.

A little more info on my new Simple Carousel shoe from Zappos.com.

Product Information:

• This ecoSNEAKS™ shoe is part of Simple’s Better Category representing one more step toward a more sustainable global environment.
• Ships in Simple’s totally state-of-the-art/back-to-the-future post-consumer recycled box.
• 100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms.
• Hemp upper.
• Vulcanized rubber sidewall, toecap and heelcap.
• Organic cotton lining is soft and breathable.
• Ortholite®/recycled car tire pedbed for all-day comfort.
• Water based cements are employed for bringing the shoe together.
• Recycled car tire outsole provides grip and traction.
• 3/4″ heel.

The popularity of roof gardens have grown in many other cities in the United States as well. Even people in Vancouver, B.C. are joining in on rooftop gardening too. From hotels, restaurants to local organizations. I think that is a great use of extra space and a way to add a bit of green space. It may even help clean the air too.

Photo credit: Risc’s Rooftop Garden.

Another successful rooftop garden comes from England. The one pictured here is of Risc’s edible roof garden. The garden is complete with over 120 species of edible and medicinal trees, shrubs, vines and plants from around the globe. You can read more about the place here.

Rooftop gardens are usually seen as ornamental gardens, but the idea of growing your own food is gaining popularity. A great organization based out of Vancouver, B.C. by the name of City Farmer’s has a collection of stories about their work in Vancouver, Canada, and about urban farmers from around the world.

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