Jul. 19 2007
Let’s set one thing straight: gardening is right up most kids’ alleys. There’s dirt, water, bugs, weeds to pluck and sunshine. As long as it’s introduced in an appealing way, kids will grow to love gardening. But how do you make gardening appealing to a toddler or young child? In fact, gardening with your kids is a fantastic way to get them outdoors, teach patience and sensitivity, instill an appreciation for the natural world, and to provide a gateway to a healthy lifelong activity.
Grow your vegetables
Perhaps surprisingly, many children take great interest in growing vegetables. Give them a sunny plot for a veggie patch, and they might even in eat the vegetables they grow. After all, what child wouldn’t be proud to say about her dinner, “I grew this!”?
Vegetable seeds are affordable way for kids to get into gardening try:
* growing the best-ever spaghetti sauce: basil, oregano, onions, carrots, tomatoes.
* radish seeds for near-instant gratification. They germinate in three to 10 days and can be harvested within a month.
* planting carrot seeds in the shape of your child’s first initial or other simple shape.
* growing your own bean stalk. Scarlet Runner is often recommended for children. And with good reason: Tasty and ornamental, its quick-growing vines can create a living teepee or green-up a playhouse wall. (It makes a great privacy screen for adult’s porches, too!)
Themed gardens
Themed gardens are ever popular with children. How elaborate you get is up to you and your child. Follow their lead: they may want dedicate a section of your yard to their favourite colour, planting all yellows or purples. Or to the family cat, planting cat grass and catnip. Here are some other fresh ideas:
* A chocolate garden: Try chocolate-scented plants such as Chocolate Cosmos, Chocolate vine, Five-leaf akebia, Chocolate Mint and Bird’s Eyes.
* A fairy garden: Find a shady corner and build a house for fairies to visit. Pebbles can be used as stepping stones leading to a tiny door in a tree. Plant small-leafed groundcovers like creeping thyme and mosses. Cup- or bell-shaped flowers such as fritillaria or campanula also make excellent beds for fairies.
* A soft-and-hairy garden: Combine plants that are interesting to touch, like fuzzy lamb’s ear, wooly thyme, bristly strawflower, Allium “Hair,” and texture-rich ornamental grasses.
* Scented gardens: try a perfume garden (lavender, rose, mock orange, gardenia, camellia) or perhaps a tea garden (mint, chamomile, lemon balm).
Tags: Themed gardens, Vegetable gardens
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Jul. 18 2007
Brighten up wooded areas. Engage the eye with a mix of color, height and textures. Grow these plants in soil that dries out between waterings. These plants prefer to grow in dry shade soil or in areas near tree roots:
Bellflower
Bears white or violet bell-shape blooms.
Bishop’s hat
Has spurred flowers of white, yellow, pink or purple in the spring.
Creeping Myrtle
Long-lasting evergreen leaves make a lovely groundcover.
Deadnettle
Forms a low growing mat ranging from green to silver to gold.
Goutweed
Covers the ground with variegated leaves.
Tags: Bellflower, Bishops hat, Creeping Myrtle, Deadnettle, Goutweed, Dry Shade Plants
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Jul. 17 2007
Turn Shadowy hollows into showy gardens making the most of shade. These plants prefer to grow in consistenly moist (not boggy) soil:
Astilbe
Blooms in summer with plumes of white, pink, red and purple.
Caladium
Fabulous foliage plant in a wide range of colors.
Coleus
Exciting range of colors and leaf shapes.
Goatsbeard
Tall feathery plumes of tiny white flowers bloom in spring and summer.
Monkshoo
Deep blue flowers from mid-to-late summer.
Tags: Astilbe, Caladium, Coleus, Goatsbeard, Monkshood, Moist Shade Plants
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Jul. 13 2007
Seen in the windows of Soho vintage shops, cloth covered bangles from Karina Matias for only $8 each. They’er not terribly expensive but they’re terribly cool!
Senhor do Bonfim, “Bon Fim” means “Good Ending”. It refers to the colorful ribbons from the state Bahia in the North of Brazil. Locals believe that the ribbons attract good luck and ward off misfortune. Brazilian people believe that Senhor do Bonfim cures diseases and fulfills desires. Great original look for summer! Try on multiple bangles!
“They’re an amazing combination of colors, style, and sophistication. You can see them more and more in the USA.” Karina said. “The same piece can be worn by women with completely different fashion styles. It only depends how you wear it. It’s all about the statement you want to make.”
Tags: cloth covered bangles, Karina Matias
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Jul. 12 2007
Storm King Art Center & Exhibtion Space is the largest sculpture park in the United State
s. View over 120 masterworks of contemporary sculpture on 400 magnificent acres of rolling hills and woodlands. The focus of Storm King Art Center’s distinguished permanent collection of American and European modern sculpture is on large abstract welded steel works from the 1960’s to the present, although figurative works are also on view. A core group of thirteen sculptures by David Smith anchor a collection of outstanding works by modern masters such as Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, and Louise Nevelson. The Art Center also has superb works by many other contemporary sculptors, including Magdalena Abakanowicz, Alice Aycock, Mark di Suvero, Robert Grosvenor, Nam June Paik, and Ursula von Rydingsvard.
At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. The grounds are surrounded by the undulating profiles of the Hudson Highlands, a dramatic panorama integral to the viewing experience. The sculptures are affected by changes in light and weather and is beautiful in all weather conditions. Sculptures have different charms when seen in bright sunlight, in the soft light of a cloudy day, or even in the changing light of a slight rain. Every weather condition gives a different character to the works and adds new dimension to the outdoor visual experience. No two visits are alike.
Storm King Arts Center is located in Mountainville, Orange County, New York. Currently Louise Bourgeois has a Special Exhibition which will be displayed in the museum building at the center. Ms. Bourgeois has been among the world’s most consistently innovative sculptors, creating works in a stunning variety of materials and forms. Works in bronze, marble, latex and fiberglass, aluminum, and steel, ranging in date from the late 1940s to 1996, highlight Ms. Bourgeois’ focus on the psychological and emotional effects of human relations. The exhibition will remain on view through November 15, the end of the 2007 Storm King season.
Tags: Storm King Art Center, sculpture park, Picnic
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Jul. 11 2007
Perennials have a life cycle of 3+ years, as opposed to “annual plants” (1 year) and “biennials” (2 years). Using life cycle as a criterion dispels 3 myths about what makes plants perennials:
Myth #1 It’s true that, if you’re successful at growing certain perennials in your region as perennials (i.e., they live 3 years or longer), then they must be hardy in your zone. But if you live where it gets cold in winter, many plants from warm climates that are properly classified as perennials will not last more than a year for you. But this doesn’t change their classification as perennials. They are merely perennials whose life cycle has been cut short.
Myth #2 Some perennials do die back in winter and return in spring. But that characteristic is not, per se, what makes them perennials. Woody perennials do not behave in this manner. They do not die back.
Myth #3 Just because you see “the same” plants in your garden year after year, they’re not necessarily perennials. They could simply be re-seeding.
Butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) are perennials. Many people consider them shrubs. Mulch butterfly bushes in the fall, then prune the plants back to the ground in late winter. This perennial will re-emerge from its roots in spring. Blooms tend to be larger and more prolific on butterfly bush’s new growth, giving you incentive for pruning it. You essentially want to treat butterfly bush plant as if it were an herbaceous perennial rather than a shrub.
Tags: Perennials, Butterfly Bush
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Jul. 10 2007
Whether you’re playing “at home” or in a casino, continuing with some basic poker etiquette, here are a few additional things to note and follow:
Don’t Be Rude: Whether you’re having a bad losing or great winning streak, it doesn’t give you the right to curse other players or be rude. It’ll win you neither pots nor friends.
If You Show One, Show All: If you win a hand before the showdown, don’t show your cards to the one player to your left or right. After all, why should only the lucky players next to you get to know what you were holding?
Do Pay Attention: If you’re in a hand, don’t make everyone remind you that it’s your turn — keep up with the action so the game keeps moving. If you are distracted or need “a rest”, sit out a hand and be quiet, but if you’re in — be just that, in when it’s your turn.
No Cell Phone Calls: Taking non-emergency calls annoys everyone at the table and effects your play in the long run. Again, if you’re in — be just that, in when it’s your turn. Make and take calls when you’re not playing and can be less distracting to your fellow players or you may find yourself “calling around for a card game.”
Tags: Texas Hold’Em Etiquette
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Jul. 6 2007
Go Green! Change a Light! Fact is, the average home can cause more greenhouse gas emissions than a car. Reducing energy consumption at home cuts back on power plants’ greenhouse gasses, and helps alleviate global warming–not to mention saves household costs. If every household in the U.S. exchanged its five most frequently used standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, greenhouse gasses would drop by one trillion pounds. CFL bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than standard light bulbs, saving nearly $60 in energy costs over the life of each bulb. Count the bulbs in your home–the potential positive impact of CFLs is enormous.
The smallest things can add up to a real difference. We encourage you to change out the light fixtures or bulbs at home that you use most with ENERGY STAR qualified models. If every American home replaced their 5 most frequently used light fixtures or the bulbs in them with ones that have earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save close to $8 billion dollars each year in energy costs, and together we would prevent the greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars.
The energy used in the average home can be responsible for more than twice the greenhouse gas emissions of the average car. When you use less energy at home, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and help protect our environment from the risks of global climate change.
Here’s an opportunity to help the environment, reduce global warming, and, best of all, keep some extra change in your pocket. Do it today and start saving immediately.
If you’ve made any “ecology-oriented (green) ” changes, Valleywise would love to share them. Leave a comment.
Tags: fluorescent light, greenhouse gases, global warming
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Jul. 4 2007
Whether you’re playing an “at home” game or playing in a casino, there is basic poker etiquette that any player should know and follow:
Don’t Play Out of Turn: Have a good hand? Wait until it’s your turn to raise the pot. Same goes for folding hands, if you jump the gun, it gives other players information they shouldn’t have and can confuse the action.
Don’t Talk About Your Cards While the Hand is Still Going On: For instance, if you had a 7-2 as your pocket cards in Hold’em and the flop comes 7-7-2, if you blurt out that you would have had a full house, everyone will know that it’s unlikely that any player still in the hand has the full house, making it hard to bluff and represent that hand.
Don’t Show Your Cards (Until the Showdown): When you fold, don’t flash or flip over your cards as you toss them into the muck. Unless you are all-in and heads up, there is no reason to show or expose your cards until the showdown.
Don’t Make String Bets: The string bet is when a player says “I’ll call your 500…. and raise another 1000!” Once you say “call,” that’s all you can do. If you’re going to raise, say raise and the amount right away and don’t toss your bet in a big mess in the center of the pot. That’s called “Splashing the Pot”, and it makes it hard to tell how much you’ve bet. A better way is just to stack your chips neatly in front of you to bet.
Tags: Texas Hold’em Etiquette
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Jul. 3 2007
Local Farmers’ Markets offer many Hudson Valley farmers and producers a reliable local outlet for their astonishingly wide array of goods. You can find everything from traditional Hudson Valley crops such as apples, tomatoes and sweet corn to more unusual fare including goat cheeses, Asian greens, honey and salsas.
Food shopping at farmers’ markets bring direct contact between consumers and farmers. Some even take county food stamps, making fresh food available to every economic level. A trip to the local market is a fun way to spend a weekend morning. Shop early, don’t go with a list, see what looks best and plan your meal around the freshest possible foods. Try something that is new to you. Ask questions of the people who grew and know the food best. Bring your own bags or baskets; no carts to push around. Browse around! You will find more than one vendor offering those tomatoes. Plan to stop at home before running any errands. Don’t leave fresh produce in a hot car. You may find your corn cooked and your tomatoes stewed, which is far from what you want. Be sure to get these fresh goods home as quickly as possible.
Farmers of the Hudson Valley are finding new ways to live and share with their neighbors. They are finding new ways to sell their goods. They are finding new goods to produce. They are finding new ways to think and talk about what they do, and to bring their neighbors to their farms to learn and play.
Shopping at the farmers’ market supports local agriculture. It supports the health of the land in the Hudson Valley, and maintains a reliable source of good food for our families. In other words, farmers’ markets are about something that matters.
Tell us about your local markets and we will share the info with our readers.
Tags: Local Farmer Markets, Hudson Valley
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Jul. 2 2007
Orange County Audubon Society, in Middletown, New York, meetings and field trips are open to the public free of charge. Their field trips, although designed primarily for bird watching, are intended to create interest in flora, fauna, and all natural beauty in Orange County and vicinity. Most outings are on Sunday for a half day (unless otherwise stated) and normally around one mile in walking distance. All trips are canceled in case of rain or bad weather. The public is always welcome. Their next one is coming up on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 7:30 a.m., Stewart State Forest. A variety of birds due to the different habitats available. They will meet at Weed Road parking lot on Rte 207 near Beattie Rd. The Leaders for this trip will be Kelly and Scott. Call Lynn for more info 845-744-6047.
This will be a great field trip for a family to learn more about the birds of the Hudson Valley and the Orange County Audubon Society would love to be the one to help you see the birds. Too often we let these opportunities to learn as well as share quality time with those we love while we’re in the process. You just may have found a time where you can do both, and come away with something you’ll look forward to doing again in the future.
Contact the Orange County Audubon Society, PO Box 836, Middletown NY 10940, 845-744-6047, for information about what you’ll need to bring, besides a camera and binoculars.
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Jun. 29 2007
No one knows where puppetry first began, although most scholars seem to agree puppetry, as an art form, started in China with the introduction of the shadow puppet. However, that is only one particular kind of puppet and one kind of puppetry. Puppetry seems to have existed in many other countries, in many other art forms, long before the formal introduction of the shadow puppet and shadow theater in China.
Puppetry is an extension of one’s self. It may be motivated by the need to explain, explore, embrace or critique the human condition. It is still one of the safest ways to act out, act up, entertain, educate, commiserate, wonder out loud, unburden yourself or release your feelings. Playing with puppets brings people to a wonderful place to find peace of mind and spirit.
At Museum Village, 1010 Route 17M, Monroe in Orange County, there will be a “Puppet Making” program from August 6-10. Participants learn about puppetry, make various puppets, write a script, and build a stage. The week culminates in a performance!
Today, Museum Village still pursues the vision of educating generations of Americans about the work and life of their ancestors. Through educational programs, hands-on-exhibits and special events Museum Village is dedicated to exploring and interpreting 19th-Century rural life as well as inspiring an appreciation for the evolution of industry and technology in America.
Come see, come explore, come learn. It’s fun!
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Jun. 26 2007
Want to find out what the odds are for winning a particular poker hand against another or the odds of a certain hand winning at all? Try one of these excellent free online poker odds calculators. They help you understand how hands stack up against each other. Determining the odds in a game like no-limit Texas Hold’em can require some complicated calculations. There many poker programs that can calculate poker odds. Most of these poker simulators use a general purpose algorithms to perform the poker odds calculations. Here are some that work and are free to download.
- Poker Stove Odds Calculator: PokerStove is a poker calculator for Texas Hold’em. It is currently available free of charge, with no spyware, spam or other annoyances. Download and enjoy.
- Pokerlistings Hold’em Odds Calculator: A Texas-Holdem-only calculator that lets you see the odds of up to five hold’em hands against each other, before the flop, after the flop, and after the turn and river, too.
- Twodimes.net Poker Odds Calculator: While this calculator isn’t graphically based as the ones above are, it has a much wider range of poker games it can calculate odds for. You need to type in all the hands and board cards, as well as dead cards, but if you have a hand history, it’s just a matter of cutting and pasting.
Tags: Poker odds, Texas Hold’em, calculator
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Jun. 25 2007
Jobs, jobs, jobs. Even some of the largest U.S. chains have incorporated preserving the Earth’s natural resources into their missions. Think hybrid cars. Think biodegradable coffee cups. Think solar panels. Think organic foods. As a result, eco-friendly jobs are becoming more easily obtainable, because where there are green companies, there are green jobs.
Here are five mainstream categories of green employment: environmental careers, renewable energy careers, green building careers, green products careers and green services careers. There are many work opportunities within these categories, including some new twists to jobs that haven’t been “green” traditionally.
Some of the Green careers college students are majoring in are: Hydrologist, Environmental engineer, Conservation biologist, Science teacher, Toxicologist, Ecologist, Economist, Forester, Environmental attorney, Community affairs manager, Landscape architect, Environmental chemist, Corporate Waste Compliance Coordinator, Urban and regional planner, Agricultural inspector, Wildlife biologist, and Pollution control engineer.
While just a short time back, computer technology, computer analyst, and computer software engineer were the careers that were up and coming, today unless your computer is biodegradable and made of “green” the college students are being steered toward a much different path for jobs and careers that are going to put green in their pockets and help the public enjoy a “greener” environment.
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Jun. 22 2007
Though the master never made it to the United States, some of his best-known works did, and they are housed in the permanent collections of several U.S. museums.
The one thing most people know about Vincent van Gogh is that he cut off his ear. But the fascination with his paintings goes far beyond shock value. Whether he was painting a wheat field, the night sky or an acquaintance, every surface of the canvas radiates an electric energy. Vivid colors and short brush strokes convey his intense emotional attachment to landscape and his heartfelt connection with rural people.
One of the largest van Gogh collections in the United States is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street in New York, opens 9:30 a.m. every day, closed Mondays, and Starry Night, probably the best-loved van Gogh painting of them all, is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Take the family, spend some quality time together and enjoy a master. Having seen his work during a special showcase of his time in Arles, France, along with letters he wrote to his brother Theo, I have to say that the memory, 20+ years old, still resonates in my mind like I’d viewed it yesterday afternoon. This is one artist’s work you don’t want to miss.
Tags: Vincent van Gogh, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art
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