New Addition to Garden: Classic Reel Mower

Now I know that my husband, Brian, is totally sold on going green and sustainable living. He did some research and placed an order for something truly cutting edge which is actually a classic, the Scotts 20-inch Classic Reel Mower.

It arrived today and as soon as we got home from work, Brian busily got working to assemble the mower. As they say, some assembly required. He had it together within 15 minutes and took it right out to the lawn. He actually let me push it up and back a couple of times.

It's easy to push and so quiet. It whispers along as you mow. I am really excited about this change. Our mower was four years old and needed some repairs. It most likely would have cost the same to repair the old mower that we paid for this one. The beauty of this mower is that it of course, requires no gasoline or oil.

Gas lawn mowers are some of the most polluting machines we operate. There are no emissions regulations on mowers, although many communities do have noise regulations which apply to gas lawn mowers.

We will donate our lawn mower to a local charity, Shawnee Special Services, that repairs the mowers and then sells them for a very reasonable price at their outlet.

Another new item for you, I have created a blog for the recipes that I been sharing with you, Joy's Victory Garden Cookbook. I decided it would be easier to search and find the recipes. Please take a look. If you have any favorite recipes you have created for the produce you grow in your garden, please share them at the cookbook blog site and I will be sure to credit to you and link back to your blog if you are a blogger. The goal of the cookbook is to provide some good recipes for garden produce that help us all enjoy our garden or farmer's market produce.

Today's new recipe: Chicken Chili con Queso

Here's a good read about eating locally: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by By Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp. Publisher's Weekly reviewer, Nina Planck, comments, "Michael Pollan is the crack investigator and graceful narrator of the ecology of local food and the toxic logic of industrial agriculture. Now he has a peer. Novelist Kingsolver recounts a year spent eating home-grown food and, if not that, local. Accomplished gardeners, the Kingsolver clan grow a large garden in southern Appalachia and spend summers "putting food by," as the classic kitchen title goes."

Buzz it up