All Blog Posts (695)

(from http://greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com/2012/03/lets-make-sips.html

What a great idea! Take a 2-Liter plastic bottle, cut it in half and use little strips of cloth to wick the moisture from water to irrigate your plants, especially if you aren't around to water them yourself.…

This tiny hummingbird was having a feast on the nectar from brightly colored flowers in the Haile Plantation, Gainesville, FL Butterfly Garden.

Click …

(Photo from Irish Times)

Continuing on the rampant bike theme...I like everything about this bike. It's super cheap ($20) and made from recycled materials. When it wears out, you can turn it back in to recycle it into another bike! …

This is Eric's Independent. According to Eric, it's a Boston, MA, USA built steel bike with state of the art carbon fork and components that will make you drool (if you're so inclined ;-) It's got vintage, classic touches like the deep V rims and the Fizik saddle is nice. I'll let Eric fill in the details. He'll drop by,…

Hello, Zoobird! I hope you all are doing well! I thought I'd just throw out some random updates and let you all know how I am doing personally, not from so much a Zoobird standpoint but from a Michael standpoint. Where to begin?

My most exciting news has to do with a new bike ride I've worked into my day. There's a park called Kanapaha nearby and a…

Birdsongs (click the link to listen!)

Every morning here in Gainesville we wake up to a menagerie of birds. They sing and sing! I know there are some of you out there who either don't have the luxury of having birds…

Groovechamber is a graphics art, animation and film making company "In a country called Canada". That's from their FAQ. They do some absolutely amazing animations and games, and the music accompanying is fun, too. I keep thinking of them, then forgetting their name and losing contact with the site.

It's fun to watch "Field Guide to Snapping" and "…

You gotta love the Instructables. What do you think of this bucket pannier idea? I'll say one thing. They sure will carry more than your run of the mill panniers.

 …

I was told that the chapter on Training the Mind in Sogyal Rinpoche's "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying" was a great intro to meditation. The nice thing is that you can read a lot of it on the web here at Google Books.…

(Photo by Charlie Reiman)

I was reading in Wikipedia about Michael Chabon because he's got a collection of short stories new novel out…

This is a super quick and easy hot dish you can whip up whenever you want something fresh and filling with a little kick. The basil I grew this summer is still alive and well. Yesterday, I harvested a big bag of leaves. Lunch time rolled around today and I intended to make Thai stir fry basil, but I didn't have any celery. So, I…

(Photo by Katie Best)

Beautyberries are in full swing here in the Swamp. They're edible, contrary to what many people say.

(Photo by Michael Levin - click to see more from…

Here's an original tune by Nahko. I love the way the Nahko's voice soars up and down several octaves. His guitar tuning beckons me to try it out. Transcribe the lyrics and just play it, because it keeps ringing in my ears days after I first heard it. 

If you can't see the video, just click…

You will love this music, the guitar is so beautiful (isn't it?) and the scenery will make you want to drop everything and go to the mountains. Be sure to watch beyond the end of the song and see many plants from the area. Enjoy! Here's a direct link in…

Ola, dear Zoobird readers! The Zoobird bookshelf is becoming a lot of fun, so I thought I'd take a minute to talk about it. Powell's Books is a bookshop in Portland, OR. It's one of the largest best independent bookshops in the world. Bigger isn't necessarily better, so I rethought that…

Solar Energy Education: Wildcat Creek Educational Center, Inc.

Why teach solar energy to our young people? The volatile market pricing and limited supply of fossil fuels will continue to have a negative impact on the world’s economy. Political instability in oil rich nations and environmental concerns in the ever more challenging recovery of limited deposits of oil requires the US to rapidly shift to renewable sources of energy. Recently, Germany’s solar power plants produced a record…

Hello Zoobird gang!

I live in Florida and summertime is HOT here. Hot and balmy - you might say humid. You'd be right. But, these days early in the morning, I can tell the seasons are changing. I can feel it in the air. Autumn is coming. 

 …

I went to our local weed and seed the other day looking for sprouts and ideas for my garden. The guy there helping me suggested I wait until the hot weather subsides before planting anything else. He also strongly suggested using some of their fertilizer on my patch. 

Our community garden is organic, so we use mostly horse manure, bat guano and worm…

(photo from Amazon)

For those of us living in the country (or the woods in our case), keeping the wildlife from consuming your produce before you do, becomes something of a constant vigil. So, you might think wildlife netting sounds like a harmless solution. Think again!

My wife bought some to protect a tiny mulberry tree she had planted. Something was…