At Home On Earth

SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES

It’s nesting season! Though our new bird columnist, Ilene Klein, writes from Southern California, she introduces us to birds common around the hemisphere. By late May in most parts of the country, the “cheerful house finch is hard at work” building nests, Ilene tells us. You don’t have to look far to see them — they’re in suburban settings across North America (along with open woods, fields, and deserts). “The males,” Ilene writes, “unmistakable with their rosy red heads, fill the air with chatter as they converse with their companions, creating a melodic soundtrack for our backyards.” Finch couples are raising their broods right about now (they can produce up to six “clutches” of eggs per season). Read on about how to spot and help protect their nests.

“I was struck by the recurring sensation that, when I am sensing a tree, I am not alone. The deeper the silence of the lockdown, the heavier the weight of this realization. I began to observe how their roots, their trunk, their branches, and their leaves have a presence that can be felt inside my body. What began as an experience of seeing trees led to noticing how I was also, at the same time, being seen by them.”
– Raffaele Rufo, an Italian artist who works with “ecosomatic” approaches to dance. He has written that he believes that “ecosomatic arts can work as a catalyst for ecological awareness and social responsiveness.”

It’s an astonishing claim, that we’re being “seen” by the trees around us. But Rufo’s observation was recently echoed by well-known environmentalist and writer Paul Hawken who shared a story about the redwoods that grow outside his home in California. “I live in a redwood country, have about 20 redwoods between myself and the carport,” Hawken said recently on a podcast promoting his  latest book Carbon: The Book of Life (available on Amazon or Bookshop). “And I’ve been walking back and forth for years. And I love the redwoods. And then I read the work of many botanists … [doing] this amazing analysis of plant perception, plant intelligence. And they pointed out the plants have 20 senses, we have five. And one of the senses plants have is … They can see movement like if you were moving past, you know, it’s just sort of fuzzy black and white, you know, they see that, the tree sees that. … And then I walked out from my home, the house, you know, and then I’m walking by these trees. And I realized they’re noticing me …”

Incredible, yes? But maybe, when we really think about it, not so surprising. Should trees have rights? Many think so. At the very least, these old giants should be catalogued and protected.

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• Artichoke Sandwiches on the Grill

• Abandoned Highway Turned Hiking Trail

• Elizabeth’s Guide to Memorial Day Sales

• Dear Dot: Popular Questions (and Answers) 

• Turning a Comic Eye on the Climate Crisis

• It’s Finch-Nesting Time!

• Should Trees Have Rights? 

• From Drilling for Oil to Producing Geothermal Energy

• Bluedot’s Picks for Beach Gear

FEATURED STORIES

BIG IDEAS AND LOCAL CHANGEMAKERS

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If you’re a homeowner, you know unexpected expenses are par for the course. One way to help shield your finances is to get a home warranty. Unlike homeowners insurance, which covers natural disasters and theft, a home warranty could help safeguard you against costly repairs of eligible essential home appliances and systems due to normal wear and tear. Check out Money’s list of the Best Home Warranties and take the sting out of appliance breakdowns.

 Bluedot Living Kitchen

Grilled Artichoke Sandwiches

Get outside and fire up the grill this Memorial Day weekend! Vanessa Seder’s Grilled Artichoke Sandwiches are a flavorful, vegetarian and vegan-friendly option. Prep the spread and veggies ahead of time and quickly assemble sandwiches for a backyard cookout or beach day.

Get the recipe.

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A Cheat Sheet for Less Meat

Eating a more plant-based diet has significant environmental benefits over eating meat, even if you don’t cut it out completely. But it can be difficult to know where to start. In her Cheat Sheet for Less Meat, Bluedot contributor Annabelle Waugh put together 10 easy plant-based swaps to help you ditch the animal protein. Refer to it for everyday meal ideas and preparation tips. 

Elizabeth’s Guide to Memorial Day Sales

Marketplace Editor Elizabeth Weinstein whipped up this roundup of great Memorial Day Weekend sales from sustainable brands. There are great values in everything from pizza ovens and backpacks to organic bed linens and seaweed-based skin care.
Check it out!

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Dear Dot: What’s More of Your Popular Advice?

Dear Dot,

A few months ago, you posted your most popular advice for the past year, promising that you would do a second installment. How about now?

– Dot

Dear Dot,

Why yes, I did promise that. And I shall deliver — along with relevant updates to my original answers. As I’m working away on a handful of new questions (is “green hydrogen” a sustainable option? How can I avoid ingesting microplastics? What’s an “atmospheric river”? and more), let me present the second installment of Dot’s most popular advice of the past year, ranging from how to source solar panels not from China, how to humanely evict a gopher or groundhog, whether it’s safe to eat from a bulging can, and more. (If you’re looking for the top five questions, they are here.) 

Keep reading. 

BUY LESS/BUY BETTER: Eco-Friendly Beach Gear and Sustainably Made Swimsuits for the Whole Family

If you make a purchase through our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.

Supportive, American-Made Flip-Flops

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Towels That Free Up Your Beach Bag

Nomadix makes lightweight, compact, quick-drying towels and beach blankets out of plastic water bottles diverted from landfills — over 17 million to date!

Shop today or read our review.

A Cooler That Won’t Throw Your Back Out

Out of the Woods sells hip, lightweight coolers that make it easy to pack — and haul — a picnic. They’re also a great deal, with prices topping out at $59.

Shop today and save 15% off with code BLUEDOT or read our review.

The Keep-This Handbook

Want to water your garden or wash your car but your hose didn’t weather winter too well? Let Mr. Fix-It show you how to repair a garden hose to eke a bit more life out of that outdoor staple.

The Great Outdoors

My husband and I grew up in cities, went to college in cities, and raised our daughter in a city. We are city people to the core; when we’re deciding where to live, we judge houses by how long it would take to walk from our doorstep to a coffee shop (and if it’s more than 15 minutes, forget it). But somehow, whenever we start to plan a vacation, we gravitate toward places surrounded by natural beauty. In recent years, we’ve traveled to Zion National Park in Utah, Volcano National Park in Hawaii, and Humboldt County in California (three times). In each place, we transformed into avid hikers and wildlife spotters. This summer’s destination is Juneau, Alaska, where we plan to hike along Mendenhall Lake (for views of the glacier!) and hope to spot a bald eagle or two. 

Wherever you’re spending this Memorial Day weekend, I hope you get outside and enjoy nature in whatever way you like best: birdwatching, camping, hiking, or just lounging by the ocean. 

Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you in two weeks.

–Robin Jones (and Emily Cain, Leslie Garrett, and Jamie Kageleiry)

Write us at editor@bluedotliving.com

Leslie Garrett has been covering climate stories for close to two decades.  She makes her home in Canada, west of Toronto. She’s still figuring out her favorite spot but it’s definitely near the water.

Jamie Kageleiry, a longtime magazine and newspaper editor from Martha’s Vineyard, says her favorite spot on earth is out on a kayak there, looking at birds.

Robin Jones is a Southern California native who served as an editor at Westways magazine for more than a decade. She lives in Long Beach and teaches journalism at Cal State Long Beach.

Emily Cain is a recent graduate of California State University, Long Beach, where she wrote and edited for the university’s award-winning magazine, DIG.

Sent to: _t.e.s.t_@example.com

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