Sea Turtle Walk

There is still time to see a turtle make a nest this week. Through this last week of July, a special guided walk at Edisto Beach State Park offers an informative program and hike down the beach, in search of nesting loggerhead sea turtles. The South Carolina location is a high-density nesting site with 60-90 nests laid annually within a small area. The park rangers protect the nests and educate people about turtle conservation efforts.

The nesting loggerhead sea turtle program is designed for ages 11 and older, and requires walking several miles. Advanced registration is required for a maximum of thirty people. Call (843) 869-4430 to make reservations. The remaining walks are Monday, July 28, from 9:30-11:50 p.m., and on Tuesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 31, from 9:00-11:45 p.m.

These marine reptiles are migratory, and can travel long distances before they return to their birthplace to lay their eggs. The loggerhead image above is from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site. Turtle Time provides a nice video presentation about marine turtles, too.

Happy Thyme

With more hot, dry weather still ahead, we are replacing some of our flowers or part of our lawns with less thirsty plants. Here's some advice for our area.

Water-wise suggestions from Southern Gardens include this tip: for a dry garden, look for foliage that has gray or silvery leaves. Tiny hairs on the leaves and stems reduce the need for added water. Succulent plants like yuccas, sedum, and agaves are examples. Ornamental grasses are also recommended.

Another reference I looked at was Best Garden Plants for North Carolina. There weren't special listings for "drought-resistant" plants. In browsing, however, I found an herb collection. Herbs, they said, all like well-drained soil. "Well-drained" was in bold. In case you might have too much water, they advise grading the bed so that rainfall will run off.

I can do well-drained. In fact, one of the herbs I found described was a great friend of mine -- thyme. It's a bright green mass, about 3 to 4 inches tall. It tolerates being ignored, winters over, and looks great in the heat. It fills in to make a thick mat and does not travel too fast. At left is a view from the top, this photo from VeggieHarvest.com. I have received so many compliments about how lush it looks, while the flowers beside it droop, that I decided to find out more about it.

There are over 400 varieties of thyme. They don't need much watering or care, and don't do well in soil that is too rich. Creeping thyme plants, like mine, are low growing and don't require mowing, so they are very suitable for ground covers. This plant is often placed between the stones or bricks in garden paths. Ed Hume Seeds gives us many reasons why creeping thyme, Thymus serpyllum, is one of their favorite plants. First, it is low maintenance and can take a lot of abuse. It can even be walked on. I don't think I would want to walk on their pretty example, in the photo at right. But I can see it as a lovely edging in my garden.

Worldometers and Energy

Worldometers provides real-time, constant updating of some fascinating statistics about the world. Amazing to see a whole-world view in numbers, zooming by.

Among the surprising are the energy numbers. The figures are measured in metric tons. No matter what energy is produced or consumed, the amount of solar energy striking the Earth's surface is three digits larger. Wow! I hope we can find better, more efficient ways to harness that.

Weekend Watermelon Festival

Yes, we love a festival that celebrates our area's beauty, natural resources, and culture. We like to celebrate, and we like watermelon! Let's go to the 100th anniversary of Pageland, SC, at the 2008 Pageland Watermelon Festival this weekend. Starting Friday evening, July 18, and offering events through Sunday, the festival brings live music, and entertainment, amusement rides, a pageant and a parade, crafts and classic cars, and fun foods. Yum!

Catch A Fox

How is your wild life? We have been recently visited by two small box turtles, and found it interesting that their species name is Terrapene carolina. Deer visit the yard, and munch on whatever is convenient. A red-tailed hawk with a nest nearby perched on my bird feeder, looking for an easy meal. A crow family has also been nesting here.

The Carolina Wrens are funny in choosing nest sites. This year, they made a nest on the porch between the wall and two folding chairs which were leaning there, waiting for the boys of summer (in baseball games). I'd think they could pick a sturdier place! They have already hatched the eggs and flown, leaving only a few feathers behind in the nest, at left.

A fox has also appeared a number of times, venturing to the yard in the evenings. They are shy, but if you catch a glimpse of the fluffy red tail, you can't mistake it for any other animal. We'll sign up for the August fox class at McDowell Nature Center to learn more about them.

Thinking about the fox reminded me to ask a friend if she was viewing this blog in a newer browser. She was reading this in Explorer. If you are, there's a lot you are missing, too! Mozilla Firefox is a better and faster web browser, with higher security features. You can download it free. Try it out and see how much better the web (and this site) looks.

A Beer in the Breeze

Aubrey Davis of the Outer Banks Brewing Station says that America’s first wind-powered brew pub is breezing along with the 10kw wind turbine in their backyard. Installed and started on April 22, the Bergey Windpower turbine is saving the restaurant and brewery about $250 to $300 per month on its electricity bill. Because they make their own brews there, they need a good bit of power for refrigeration.

Davis plans to attach a computer and weather station in the fall to the wind turbine. Then we will be able to go online and see the wind speed and the energy the turbine is producing. Cheers to the crew at the Brewing Station for their persistence in promoting a healthy, sustainable environment. Now, that's a cool one! I can't wait to sample it...

HD Recycles CFLs

If you've been using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), you have probably been saving some money. The average household using them reduces its energy bill by $12 to $20 a month, according to estimates. But they contain a very small amount of mercury, so they need to be recycled when they're worn out.

Now it's easier to find a place to recycle them. All 1,973 Home Depot stores are accepting used CFLs for recycling, no matter where you bought them. Signs going up in the stores, left, will promote the new recycling program. Home Depot saw the need when their sales climbed to 75 million CFLs last year. If a compact fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, though, a safe clean up procedure is given by the Environmental Protection Agency. Many other businesses are starting recycling programs for CFLs as well. Check with your local hardware store for more information.

Festival for the Eno River

The July 4th weekend is a party on the beautiful Eno River. The Festival for the Eno on July 4-6 in Durham will have 100 music performers on five stages. There will be 85 craft artist displays and many other fun activities (including wading) at the river.

The Eno River Association, which organizes the event, works for the preservation of the nature, culture, and history of the Eno River basin. It's a great place to cool off in the summer. The photo here was taken at Bobbit Hole, by Dave Cook.

This year’s 29th annual event will feature an expanded Sustainable Home and Garden Expo located on the Festival site, around the historic West Point Mill. We must also applaud this Association for offering a "Trash-Free" Festival for the Eno since 1992. Great work in community fun and environmental awareness!

So Much to Save

Going to see the Dave Matthews Band? Appearing tonight in Charlotte at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and tomorrow night at Raleigh's Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek.

These North Carolina venues are the first to participate in the DMB's new "So Much to Save" Recycling Program. Every person that recycles at the special Bama Green recycling stations will be eligible to vote for the songs to be included in a live album to be released at the end of the summer. The program, named after the DMB hit single, "So Much to Save," rolls out tonight, according to Lucy August-Perna, a volunteer coordinator.

The "Greening of the DMB Tours" is an element of the Bama Green Project. Check out the many ways that the DMB is taking it on the road. See you tonight!