Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

It’s warming up and it is time to take the party outside. I personally think cocktails, appetizers, and lovely desserts taste better when you are enjoying the outdoors. Set the perfect party setting with lots of comfy chairs and tables and beeswax candles. If you don’t have an outdoor space that you can use, invite your friends to a picnic in the park or a BBQ at the pool.

To start, choose a couple of fabulous organic wines, my favorites are Quivira and Parducci, a great organic beer is always a winner for the guys and mocktails, such as Shirley Temples for the kids. You can also jazz up regular water by adding slices of citrus, apples, or sprigs of mint.

For appetizers, organic tortilla chips with organic salsa and hummus is always a good thing. You can also serve fresh fruit and veggies with a refreshing dip.

For dinner, put together your favorite meats and veggies or just veggies and make kabobs. Kabobs are great for outdoor get-togethers because they are simple to grill. You can serve them with a fabulous cucumber sauce and pita triangles. You could also grill homemade pizzas, yes pizzas, pizzas are fabulous when they are grilled on the BBQ.

Serve Smore’s for dessert. Kids and adults alike love Smore’s. Collect twigs or leftover chopsticks and roast marshmallows (or vegan marshmallows) over an open fire pit. Have an assortment of graham crackers and different types of chocolates available. The adults may enjoy exotic or dark chocolate.

What are your green outdoor plans this summer? Send me your pics, I would love to see them and share them with everyone.

Summer is here and with summer comes the rain. Good thing too, we have been dying to try out our new rain barrel. Rain Harvesting has been around since the dawn of civilization and refers to the collection and storage of rain. The rain barrel can be filled with rainwater within a matter of minutes in a good rainstorm. When it rains just one inch, a 1,000 square foot roof area can yield 625 gallons of pure water that can be used to irrigate your garden, lawn, flowers, or wash your car. You can also purify the water and use it as high-quality drinking water. The way that people use purified water to irrigate lawns and gardens, washing cars and flush toilets is a waste of one of our most valued natural resources. Our use of water increases 40-50% in the summertime, so this is even more important in the summer months. Rain Harvesters reduce stormwater runoff which can contain pollutants such as pesticides, oil, grease, bacteria, and debris. Rain Harvesting is also perfect for areas that are prone to drought and water rationing.

How do you harvest rainwater? Simple, really. You can purchase an inexpensive rain barrel that you set up under your rain gutter. Rain barrels are easy to install and even easier to use. They come in great colors and you can almost always find one that will match the outside of your home. We recently received our rain barrel from Rain Harvest Systems and it is amazing. My husband uses it daily to water our gardens and flower beds and my son loves to use the water in the rain barrel to water his Lima beans. It has a flat back so it fits right up next to our house and matches it perfectly. The only tools that you will need to install are a hacksaw, screwdriver, and a drill. It only took my husband a few minutes to install it and it has been problem-free since.

To install, elevate the rain barrel so you can fill your watering can from the spigot, we used cinder blocks to elevate ours. Cut the bottom of your rain gutter off, so it rests just above the rain barrel. (This way the water will run directly from the gutter into the rain barrel.) You can attach a piece of an old hose to the spigot to make filling your watering can even easier and also attach another piece with a clamp to the overflow, that way any overflow can be redirected to nearby flower beds or gardens.

Visit Rain Harvest Systems and check out their complete line of Rain Harvesters. Rain Harvest LLC is there to answer any questions that you have and help you start harvesting your share of rainwater today.

Would you harvest rain?

Join the discussion and leave me your thoughts.