Blogs

Back in September, I wrote about our frustration in trying to follow Consumer Reports' guidance in buying appliances, including a dehumidifier (pictured at right).  Then in November I reported on the energy consumption of our appliances, including the dehumidifier, which was

We didn't notice when we bought the house that the entire back yard slopes toward the house.  Nor that several of the neighbors' yards are higher than ours.  The result is that during a heavy rainstorm, like the one last night, the neighborhood's water wants to get into our foundation.

The most common question that Jessie and I got about our house during the winter was, "What exactly are you doing in the front yard?"  They'd never seen anyone intentionally bury the yard in 6-12 inches of leaves before.  Here's what we were doing, and why, and what worked and what didn't.

I like to dry laundry outside whenever possible, but Jessie's not into scratchy towels, nor ragweed, and the weather doesn't always cooperate, so we wind up using the dryer about half the time.  Our high-efficiency dryer is fantastic, but it can whip up a lot of static.  My anti-static gun was not helpful -- you'd need at

1. A potato.  In somebody's lawn, by the sidewalk.  Not a potato plant, just a potato.

Many of my friends in Fairfield, Iowa, are in an uproar right now about a new cell-phone tower that, unlike the existing two towers on the outskirts of town, is near homes and a few blocks from an elementary school.  Here's some of the existing press about the controversy:

Last night the Emporia Area Local Foods Network (EALFN) held a class on "high tunnels" -- unheated, plastic greenhouses large enough to walk through.  Attendance was unbelievable -- some 70 people for a 3 1/2 hour class at dinnertime!  After an introductory video, we had two speakers from K-State's high tunnel project, http://hightunnels.org .  Here's what I learned: