I took the plunge and got a Tesla Model Y.  I love it!  So many really cool features I didn't even know I would be getting.     I recently drove to Florida and it was effortless to be driving an EV.   I plugged in my destination and my car's navigation system took me from charging station to charging station.   I have a range of about 300 miles.  This had been one of my biggest concerns so I was very happy to have this not be an issue for me!

One of the cool features in my car is "PET" mode, which means that I can leave my dog in the car while I run into a restaurant and not worry about his "climate" as it keeps the interior climate controlled.  That actually was a great relief.    

Four months after I got my car I got a charging station installed in my garage.  Until then, I just used a normal outlet in our garage and if I was headed on a trip and my battery was low, I headed to a supercharger before taking off.   

I am very happy to have an EV. 

It was really easy for me to dispose of some prescription drugs recently.   I thought I might have to wait for an official collection or put them in my trash. I know I'm not supposed to flush them as that's problematic for our water supply), but I found two collection points that are available all the time here in Medfield.   There is one in CVS near the prescription counter and one in the lobby of the Public Safety Building.  I used the one at the Public Safety Building as it's such a nice building and I always like checking out what is in their lobby.  So easy and convenient.

I just started composting this summer. I put it off for many years because of various personal factors (moving, no counter space, no compost bin, etc.) but mainly because it sounded so complicated and I had no idea what I was doing! After listening to Stephanie Seferian's podcast, Sustainable Minimalists, I gained the confidence to JUST DO IT. In episode 81: Composting for Beginners at Home, Stephanie and her guest promote products for helping to minimize kitchen smells and speed up the process of composting. However, to keep myself from buying new, I just started my own compost pile in the wooded section of my backyard. I put my produce scraps, coffee grounds, and eggshells in a lidded take-out container (extra points for reusing a non-recyclable plastic item!) and take it out to my compost pile (mixed with leaves, grass clippings and lots of worms) on a regular basis. That helps to keep the smell out of my kitchen and my trash. It also helps to keep organic materials from being incinerated, which releases harmful chemicals and pollutants into the atmosphere.

I joined Tangerini's Farm's CSA ( community sustainable agriculture) this year and received a Main Season Half Share and an every other week Fruit Share. Each week I would pick up an abundance of seasonal produce, grown just 1.5 miles from my home! It was a fun challenge to cook foods I'd never heard of before, and I even found some new favorite recipes in the process. One of the best part about visiting the farm is getting to meet all of the furry and feathered residents!

I thought I would add a testimonial since I just got this report from Eversource.  Love the solar panels!  

Many years ago, I thought that having a lush green lawn was the most important aspect of home ownership, along with a desire for perfection. What I didn’t consider back then, were the numerous negative aspects and after years of managing the process, I eventually determined it wasn’t worth the time and effort nor the negative aspects to the environment.

The regime was comparable to a patient on life-support, requiring chemical therapy, hydration, and around-the-clock care, while providing little to no ecological benefit to the living earth, example: seed it, feed it,  poison it, water it, cut it, bag it, dispose it and repeat, frankly a waste of time.

Something had to change and after doing some reading and consulting with eco-minded landscape professionals, it was confirmed that conventional yard-care was destructive to the eco-system, harmful to people, pets and wildlife. For example: if I poisoned the grubs, birds were likely harmed by eating the grubs and worms, by using chemicals to achieve green grass, storm water runoff and by extension drinking water becomes contaminated.

According to some estimates in the United States, lawns cover 10 to 16 million hectares, (each hectare equals 2.47 acres) which is more than the US combined land used to grow barley, cotton and rice. Imagine converting 50% of these hectares to habitats that can provide benefit for biodiversity. Imagine the money saved from not having to maintain in such an intensive way, the water we would save from not having to irrigate in dry climates, the energy we would personally save from fewer mowers and the time we would save from not having weekends centered around maintenance. And finally, imagine the biodiversity we could cause to blossom by designing our spaces for nature.

Moving towards a direction of reduced impact I implemented new practices, such as, replacing lawn area with native plantings, stopped lawn irrigation, eliminated use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer, began hand raking only and finally planted pollinator supporting trees and plants.

Every yard is a work in progress regardless of methods but, the benefits of a low impact yard include: lower maintenance costs, cleaner air to breath, (no leaf blowers), improved visual appeal with no secondary poisoning to pets, people and wildlife while supporting biodiversity of the living earth, and the satisfaction of helping rather than harming. I am convinced that nature will thrive and our health will improve if we change our approach to land use, I think about that as I consider my choices.