Dazed and Confused

Compost!

A few months back I bought my little kitchen composter.  I decided I'd like to leave a smaller carbon footprint (especially since I don't have all that many Green lightbulbs in my lamps.  There's something about the frequency of the fluorescent bulbs that hurts my eyes--especially when I read).

I've been very happy with this little composter.  I dutifully toss in my peelings and even corn husks (I do cut them up first, though).  Instead of throwing nasty lettuce leaves into the trash, they go in the little white cannister.  And let me tell you, the carbon filter does an excellent job of keeping odor at bay.  It's been a tad warm here, and when I went to dump it yesterday -- well, let's just say I've smelled sweeter vomit.

And that's what the big news is today.  I finally have a real composter.

Okay, it's not a commercial composter, because the ones I saw online were about $300.  But when I posted that I wanted to have a compost pile, my friend of many years, author Lee Rowan, suggested I get a black garbage can with a locking lid, drill holes in the bottom, and use that as a cheap composter.  So, off to Home Depot I went.

That was a bit of an adventure in itself.  "Where are your garbage cans?"

"Inside the main door, to the right," says part-time high school girl at the garden shop register.

There were none.

Ask again--this time someone a bit less bimbo-ish.  Find them, but they're kept outside, apparently in the bird poop zone.  I had to do a lot of searching to find one that wasn't covered in ... do-do.  I decided to get a smallish one, because I wasn't sure I could create a lot of compost; I got a 20-gallon model.  (And if I decide to move up, I can always just buy another one, right?)  Lee was right, it wasn't a huge outlay of money.  Just over $12.   

Home again, home again!  Drill holes in the bottom, fill with garden weeds (which I just happened to pull yesterday), empty into it the contents of the kitchen composter (and the really disgusting zuchini I found in the crisper drawer) and voila!  I'm composting.  Hubby is happy because there's no unsightly pile messing up the backyard, and I'm making use of my kitchen (and garden) waste.  Lee tells me if I leave the can in the sun and tip it around a bit, I'd have compost in a month.  I'm not that eager.  In fact, next spring will be soon enough for me. 

At least now I feel like I'm doing something really green.  And my veggies will thank me for it next year by giving me a stupendous yield of tomatoes, beans, and potatoes.

Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Compost!

Last Christmas, my mother gave me money for Christmas. Not a fortune, but it was $$$ to treat myself to things I'd really like.  So I bought some DVDs and the last of it sat in my little stash jar since about March.

I couldn't decide what to do with it and then it came to me.  I'll use it to buy a composter!

The problem is, most composters are big deal things.  We're just two people and four cats, and the cats don't eat a lot (any) veggies, so we don't create much to make compost with.  Still, I want to go greener (and according to an article in USA Today most people my age are getting the urge to do the same).  So last week I decided the time was right and I whipped off an order to Amazon, which was selling the thing for cheaper than anyone else.  And best of all, I had to spend only 5 cents more and I'd get free shipping!  (And let me tell you, this sucker is HEAVY.  Of course, I bought a $7 book, but I wanted to buy it anyway.)

New York State has decided that Amazon is making too much money off its citizens.  So as of June 1st, Amazon MUST collect sales tax from New York residents.  (They've told every major business the same thing.)  Mind you, Amazon has no physical presence in New York, which has been the precedent for tax collection.  So I have a feeling my Amazon orders will fall off as of now.  I can order a book from Barnes & Noble and pick it up at my local store, and though I have to pay state tax (and the gas to get there), I can get at least 10% off the cost of the book (because I have a B&N saver card).  I'll miss ordering on impulse from Amazon and I resent that New York is yet again sucking me for more tax income. 

There's a reason there's a mass exodus of people and businesses from this state.  We pay too much and receive too little in return.  Too bad I can't dump my compost on my local elected representative.