Rosie Bou

I've read quite a bit about phenology, but central Alabama weather is so erratic I have no idea how to make use of the information that native plants are telling me. It can go from winter to spring and back to winter multiple times around here. Dandelions bloom and even make puff balls here multiple times from January on with short periods of hard winter in between.

Our daughter worked on an automobile assembly line for several years. They had very strict rules about the kind of work boots they could wear. A traveling company came to the plant on a regular basis and they had plenty of very sturdy women's boots in several styles. Maybe there is a similar workplace nearby that you might be able to connect with their supplier??

This is a subject we are very interested in. After years of separating all our recyclables and having a place to take them - we have lost almost all our easily reached recycle bins. It pains me to put this stuff in the garbage. We compost the few food scraps we have, as I do vermicomposting with all appropriate scraps. That outdoor compost heap is now receiving all our cardboard, but it will be a long time before it all degrades (since we don't add that much green to it). Most of my clothes are from thrift stores, and when we do buy anything new I try to be sure it's well made. I look forward to reading what others have to say about their progress toward zero waste.