ColumnA down and dirty guide to a night of pickled herring and aquavit.

It’s summer solstice this week, which means it’s high time for Swedish midsommar, the best of holidays. Why? Because it’s a classic Swedish tradition that celebrates the longest day of the year, with food and drink at the center. In other words, an event to celebrate the sun. Put good food, a few glasses of aquavit and a table of friends together and you have yourself a party.

I’ve got Evert Taube on the stereo this week and pickled herring marinating in preparation, because if you have an ounce of Swedish in you, you simply can’t miss this holiday. And any self-respecting foodie wouldn’t turn down the chance for an aesthetically pleasing, minimalist Scandinavian event now would they?

Fortunately, you don’t have to be in Sweden to celebrate midsommar; throwing your own midsommar party is easier than putting together an IKEA cabinet will ever be. All you need are some key components, which is why we’ve put the Swedish Midusmmer 101 Guide.

Let’s kick things off with this video by the Sweden.se:

What

A celebration of the summer solstice. In Swedish this is called midsommar. The real celebration take’s place on midsommarafton, Midsummer’s Eve.

When

Midsommar was originally celebrated on June 24, but in 1953 was moved to the nearest Saturday – after all, good parties are always thrown on Fridays.

Drinks

You will need some nubbe or snaps, otherwise known as the alcoholic drink that goes with pickled herring and other traditional celebratory foods. If you’re going the full Scandinavian route, be sure to pick up a bottle of Aquavit. You can get the imported stuff, or you can check out two artisanal brands stateside, North Shore Distillery in Chicago, Illinois and House Spirits Distillery in Portland, Oregon. Pair your nubbe with a light beer, and be sure to put a few bottles of sparkling water on the table as well.

Food

Swedish midsommar essentials are potatoes, salmon, pickled herring and any dessert that involves ample amounts of strawberries and whipped cream. There’s always a basket of hardtack on the table along with some cheeses, and you might as well throw in some cardamom for good measure.

Sample menu:

• Toast Skagen
• Boiled fingerling potatoes with dill
• Several varieties of pickled herring
• Gravlax (dill cured salmon)
• Marinated cucumbers
• Swedish strawberry meringue layer cake

Songs

No midsommar celebration is complete without a few snapsvisor, songs that are specifically meant to be sung in conjunction with the consumption of nubbe. If you can only commit to one (Swedish isn’t the easiest language to master in just a few days) opt for Helan Går, which goes a little something like this:

Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley
Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley

Och den som inte helan tar han inte helle halven for

Helan gor sjung hop for a la la la la ley

Confused? Here’s a video to help.

Phrases

Now that you have mastered the singing, you will need some key Swedish phrases that relate to midsummer.

• Glad midsommar! Happy midsummer.
• Mer sill tack. More pickled herring please.
• Finns det mer gravlax? Is there more cured salmon.
• Jag tar gärna mer jordgubbar. I would love to have some more strawberries.
• Är det svensk snaps som vi dricker? Are we drinking Swedish snaps?
• Jag älskar Sverige! I love Sweden.
• Ska vi lyssna på ABBA ikväll? Are we going to listen to ABBA tonight?
• Skål! Cheers.

Now find a farm table, a group of friends, a Swede or two, flowers to turn into head crowns, a good supplier of pickled herring and you’re good to go. Skål och glad midsommar!

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There’s the trove of holiday gifts for loved ones in the cabinet that has been assembled at the ready since June…of 2009. Then there’s the one person on my list I inevitably forget: say, my own mother. I’m working on this, I really am, but if you’re like me and have yet to check off that last special someone, join me in the quest to save some face with something lovely. If you order any of these gifts by 2 p.m. EST tomorrow (yes, the clock’s ticking uncomfortably fast – we’re slacker shoppers, remember?), you’ll have your present in time for Christmas with standard shipping. And they’re all under $100 (most are under $50), so no sweat, sister.

So go. Done! Whew.

For your fashionista friend or new pal:

Montmartre fingerless gloves, handmade and organic, just $29

Kids and your favorite savers:

Glass piggy bank, $39

For your best friend:

Believe necklaces, prices vary by piece, $19-59

For the hostess or the boss:

Organic lavender caramels, (spring for the 12-piece, you), $29

For the guys:

Living ecosphere, $89

For mom, because you’d never really forget:

Reversible silk throw, $98

(Items shown in clockwise order from top left. This post is sponsored by green retail partner VivaTerra.)

The post Slacker Shopper? Last Minute Gifts You’ll Get in Time appeared first on EcoSalon.

Osteoporosis is a big deal for women. But there’s more involved in keeping your bones strong and healthy than just eating plenty of calcium. Weight-bearing activity (exercise on your feet that works your bones and muscles against gravity) is crucial to building and maintaining optimal bone mass. Here’s why:

• Bone density refers to your reserve of stored calcium. This is what determines the strength and health of your bones.
• Bones are living tissue and need to be used to be strengthened.
• The best time to start doing weight-bearing activities is during the teen and early adult years when bones are still growing. But it’s never too late to start!
• The more bone density you have, the less negative impact there will be after menopause, when bone density begins to thin out with the loss of estrogen.
• Higher bone density means stronger bones that are less susceptible to fracture or breakage.

So ladies, listen up: here are some activities you can incorporate into your lives to build up bone mass and stay strong.

• For starters, lift things! No need to go overboard, but carry your groceries to the car and don’t be shy about picking up boxes. Just make sure you protect your back and do it safely.
• Jogging is good for building bone, and so is walking uphill, but a regular walk around the block won’t do much for you.
• Vigorous gardening and housecleaning – move a lot, stretch and lift heavy things!
• Skip the elevator and climb stairs instead.
• On your walks and hikes, wear a backpack. Fill it with water bottles and other things to add some weight, as this helps build bone.
• Weightlifting is very good for your bones. There are weightlifting techniques that help build lean muscle mass, and plenty of bone while you’re at it. Here are tips to lift weights without bulking up.
• For more active types, try jumping rope, team sports (basketball, hockey, soccer), and high impact aerobics.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original post can be found here.

Image: glitter feet

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1. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. Why settle for a throwaway culture? This book is a must read because it inspires elegant design solutions, stating that every single product must either go back to the earth or back into industry to be made into something else. A revolutionary way of upgrading the Industrial Revolution – talk about life changing.

2. Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison. The classic text on permaculture design (which is not limited to gardens, but can also be used to design homes, communities and societies in general). An excellent introduction for the aspiring student or someone who just wants to know what it’s all about.

3. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. What exactly would happen to the earth if human life disappeared? The author explores a few different scenarios in great detail (including a suddenly depopulated Manhattan). Absolutely addictive reading.

4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. A great read for the locavores. The author spends a year eating only from her garden, or that which is locally grown or raised. A foodie’s delight, this book proves how richly one can live off the land.

5. Eating For Beauty by David Wolfe. Leading raw foodist David Wolfe takes that old adage “you are what you eat” to a new level. He describes how what you eat literally creates who you are, and which foods will create the most beautiful you – in body and in spirit.

6. Lifeplace: Bioregional Thought and Practice by Robert L. Thayer, Jr. In a world gone insanely global, this book takes us deeper into the microcosm. A bioregion is defined by nature, not by politics, and having intimate connection with your home means living within that context – historically, geographically and culturally.

7. Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies by Eric Corey Freed. Written by the founder of organicARCHITECT, this book is a comprehensive guide to green building materials and techniques, energy and water systems, and the pros and cons of everything. Check out a sample chapter here.

8. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by James Lovelock. First published in 1979, this book sets forth the Gaia Hypothesis, stating that our planet is more than a sum of its resources, but rather a fully integrated living being, with systems of life more complex than previously imagined. I wonder what Gaia’s thinking about us now?

9. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. Follow a McDonald’s meal back to a cornfield in Iowa. Learn about the differences between large and small organic farms. See what it’s like to hunt and gather for oneself. Food is what builds our bodies – we ought to know what it takes to build our food.

10. Ecovillages: A Practical Guide to Sustainable Communities by Jan Martin Bang. Documenting some of the successful Ecovillages around the world, the author shows us how groups of people have come to together to live out the permaculture model in both rural and urban environments.

11. Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves by McCamant, Durrett and Hertzman. If you think intentional communities are too much like communes, but typical modern housing creates too much isolation, cohousing may be the answer you’re looking for. Explore these European neighborhoods built with the aim of fostering community while simultaneously respecting each family’s personal space.

12. The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Man and Nature in Cooperation by The Findhorn Community. The founders of Findhorn were guided to begin growing a garden (including tomatoes, roses and tropicals) on an infertile, sandy plot in cold coastal Scotland. The quality and quantity of what they grew stunned horticulturists around the world. Enjoy this photo-filled book and learn the surprising secret of their success.

13. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus. We’ve thus far created a modern world based on artificial ideals, but nature, which runs on sunlight and creates no waste, holds the solution to many modern problems. This isn’t a “back to nature” book, but rather a book proposing thoroughly modern technologies that copy nature’s best traits.

14. Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield. A great read for businesspeople and managers – particularly those in charge of large areas of land. This book views people, economies and the environment as interconnected. Using holistic management techniques, we can make decisions that take all factors into account, for both short and long term. I’d like our government leaders to read this book.

15. Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. Living with less “stuff” can mean living with more purpose, balance and connection. Here’s the inspiration you need to scale back on material goods and make more room for the priceless things that money can’t buy.

16. Beyond Fossil Fools: The Roadmap to Energy Independence by 2040 by Joseph M. Shuster

If you’re on the fence about peak oil and the idea that we can “drill baby drill” our way to energy security, this book will be your wake-up call. The advice is practical, well-researched and very well-documented. It’s the kind of book you’d want everyone in Congress to read too, not to mention leaders all around the world.

17. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg

Until you read this book, you may not realize how the words you choose contribute to conflict. You think you’re explaining your feelings very clearly, but to the other person it sounds like an accusation. Nip misunderstandings in the bud, communicate more effectively and watch as you do a little soul searching to boot.

18. Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World by Alan Weisman

The ultimate intentional community that literally sprung out of nowhere. Deep in the impossibly barren savanna of Columbia, a community of brilliant, creative and visionary people (including scientists, artisans and ex-street kids) decided to do the unthinkable: create a self-sufficient village and invent the right technology (wind turbines, solar collectors and soil-free crop systems) to make it happen. If you hear anyone say “it just can’t be done,” give them a copy of Gaviotas and watch hope spring eternal.

19. Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce

Living a simple life – that sounds good, but what does it really look like? What does it mean to implement simplicity in a hectic and complicated world? Read the stories of over 200 people – urban and rural – who have done just that.

20. Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf

Too much, too much, too much stuff, that’s what this culture is all about, and it’s making us sick. Affluenza is more than just overflowing landfills and obesity – it’s a deep spiritual illness and the root of many of the social problems we have in the world today.

21. Hope’s Edge by Frances Moore Lappe’

Author of 1971’s groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet, Lappe’ again explores the issue of food, but in the contemporary global world of the 21st century. She explores the way food is grown and the way communities thrive – or fail – around the world. Lappe’ busts corporate myths, gets to the core of truth and gives practical advice (and vegetarian recipes!) for creating a wholesome life in a better world.

22. One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

For the many among us who find gardening both a grounding and spiritual pursuit – and realizing that the two are not mutually exclusive – One Straw Revolution will likely improve your crop yields, lessen your work load and nudge you further along the road to inner peace. This is farming so radical, so simple and so passionate, you’ll be hard pressed to keep from creating an abundant patch of your very own.

23. Blessed Unrest: How The Largest Movement In The World Came Into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken

Word of mouth, grassroots and very likely Twittered, the (r)evolution is happening. With no leader, no headquarters and no media coverage, there still exists what can be called the largest gathering of people on Earth. And you’re very likely part of it.

24. A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure, More Humane Existence by Ferenc Mate

The author’s views might be radical, but someone has to say it. After all, if no one pushes the envelope, we might never change the status quo. Kind of like a smack upside the head to wake you up out of a bad dream – the American Dream.

25. The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost by Jean Liedloff

Perhaps it’s obvious to you that our culture has a big, gaping hole of unhappiness that we constantly stuff with material possessions (think Affluenza), but how did we get this way? Liedloff’s fascinating observations on child-rearing, both in the modern world and among tribal people of the Amazon, shines a bright light on the issue. How we treat our babies makes a huge difference in how they treat the rest of the world later on. This is the book that sparked the babywearing trend in the United States.

26. The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann

Loss of tribal culture, overpopulation, the end of our excessively affluent petroleum-fueled lives; sounds like doom and gloom, but what next? This book presents the case passionately, then provides real options for future hope and change. But caveat emptor, the solution will require more than buying a Prius and switching to fluorescent lights – ultimately, we’ll need deep and systemic change. Think establishing communities, empowerment of women, turning off the television and reconnecting.

27. Sacred Commerce: Business as a Path of Awakening by Matthew & Terces Engelhart

Some people start a business simply to make money. Others want to provide valuable goods and services to the community. But have you heard of people starting a business as a way to move further along the spiritual path? The creators of Cafe Gratitude explain how this is possible – and even imperative – for the healthy future of commerce. Managers, this is your chance to create a quiet revolution in the workplace.

28. The Food Revolution : How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World by John Robbins

The title says it all. Whether you’re just beginning to understand the connection between diet and our environment at large, or if you need a well-documented resource to gather your own statistics and quotations, this is an essential book for the conscious eaters among us. Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, breaks down industry jargon and propaganda and presents the truth about what you eat, how you feel and how it all affects the world. Clear, concise and accessible.

Now if all these books were printed on tree-free paper (like Cradle to Cradle) with soy-based ink, we’d be another step towards true sustainability. Otherwise, the audio or e-book will suffice. However you do it, you’ll be inspired. Let us know any other books that are on your list of eco essentials.

Each week here at EcoSalon, the editors choose a post from the archives that we think you’ll love. The original posts can be found here and here.

Images: kimota, Lissalou66

The post 28 Must-Read Books That Will Forever Change How You See the World appeared first on EcoSalon.

We do love our green gadgets. But though we do profess more than a passing degree of eco-acumen, the reality is (shhh!) it sometimes takes an inordinate amount of time for us to truly understand what we’re talking about. (I’m talking about me, really, but I’m passing the buck here to the entire EcoSalon team. Again, shh.) So I’ve found a book for “us”! Green Gadgets For Dummies.

Part of the now classic “Dummies” series, the book covers “everything from iPods to energy-efficient home entertainment devices to solar laptop chargers and crank-powered gizmos.” It’s written by New York Times Green Inc. blogger Joe Hutsko, who’s also contributed some seriously non-dummy stuff to Fortune, MSNBC.com, Wired, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, Macworld, PC World and others. His personal blog, JOEyGADGET, is also pretty cool.

The book’s basically a primer on researching and purchasing green gadgets, and also provides pointers on using what you already have in smarter, more environmentally friendly ways. It includes info on financial savings, reducing your carbon footprint and even ways to avoid “greenwashing” – being deceived by BS green PR and marketing practices. There are also chapters on green lifestyle, computer energy savings specific to both Mac and Windows, mobile phones and recycling.

The book is now a part of the EcoSalon reference library, for all of us (well, for me) to use when needed.

The post One for the Reference Section: Green Gadgets for Dummies! appeared first on EcoSalon.

Maybe it’s time for a tech break? A day-hike, maybe? Perhaps even an overnight in the woods, out in nature with no TV, no computers, no emails or phone calls. Ah, yes, leave that iWhatever behind, break out those boots (could it be they’ve never once been used? Not once?) and hit the trail. Shouldn’t you do this more often? You know, get more familiar with the local flora and fauna and – wait, isn’t there an app for that?! Ugh. Yes. Of course there is.

To help you with what probably should come naturally, MyNature has just launched its MyNature Tree Guide which helps you identify trees by answering a series of 15 questions (as many as you can, anyway). The app will match your answers against its database of 200 North American trees to find the one that most closely resembles what you’re encountering “in the field.” Once identified, you can see photos, range maps and profiles to learn more about the tree in question. For the drill-drown, you can access images of leaves, needles, fruit and bark, as well. There’s also a “MyNature Journal,” in which you can record the trees you’ve found, along with the location, weather conditions and whatever other musings you want to jot down to remember that not-quite-tech-free day when you encountered that killer oak.

As for the fauna, MyNature has you covered there, too, with its tried-and-true MyNature Animal Tracks application. This guy has a searchable database with track sizes and shapes in seven easy-to-place-what-you-see search categories. Like the Tree Guide, Animal Tracks features a ton of pics and drawings – even sound (.wav) files of animal “vocalizations” – that’ll help you figure out what’s what. You can check out a demo vid over at Treehugger or at the MyNature Site.

So add these apps to EcoSalon’s top 10 green things you can do with your iPhone and 10 green apps. Both are iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad ready and require iOS 3.0 or later (Animal Tracks is also available for Android). At $6.99 they’re not cheap, but c’mon, what is it worth to have access to the knowledge you need when you finally go for that tech-free day out in nature?

Just you, the fresh air, the birds and your smartphone. Mmmm.

The post Master Your Outdoor Domain with MyNature Flora and Fauna ID Applications appeared first on EcoSalon.

Did you know that global livestock production is responsible for more greenhouse gases than transportation? According to Mark Bittman, eating less meat could have a greater affect on the environment than reducing the mileage we put on our cars!

As the Food Revolution’s grumblings grow louder, more practical guides to eating are becoming available to help us make sense of all the food and health information we’re bombarded with. Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating is one such book, written by Mark Bittman – a food journalist, culinary aficionado, and cookbook writer, who is perhaps best known for his cookbook, How to Cook Everything, first published in 1998.

Focused on making sustainable, lifestyle change, Food Matters includes a practical guide to eating with specific meal plans and simple, daily recipes to follow. Additionally, the book discusses agriculture, food and American eating habits, the environmental impact of our eating culture and a brief history of how we got where we are today.

Written as a personal account and journey about changing his own eating habits, Bittman makes a compelling argument as to why the rest of us should follow his lead. After all, who wouldn’t want to lose weight, be healthier, save money and reduce global warming? Count me in!

The post Better Health and Greener Living: Mark Bittman on Food Matters appeared first on EcoSalon.

Soot, screeching sirens and forbidding skyscrapers; is this your definition of the big city? Think again. The urban landscape might seem like the epicenter of everything that’s wrong with the world, but in fact cities are where some of the most interesting components of the green movement are currently taking place.

With everything from urban farms and electric cars, large cities are surprisingly livable, and now there’s another trend on the rise: urban hiking. Living the city life has long been equated with staying indoors and neglecting to feed our human need for spending time in nature, but the onslaught of urban hiking tours is showing us that it is in fact possible to get outside, be active and explore new places in the process.

What is Urban Hiking?

Forget the days of mindlessly jumping in a taxi to go from point A to point B. Urban hiking is all about planning, executing and enjoying the journey, another great example of slow travel. According to the Urban Dictionary, urban hiking is “the exploration of diverse urban environments on foot.” Conservation and travel groups alike promote urban hiking, as it not only gets people outdoors and active, but also allows them to explore the ins and outs of urban landscapes.

Choose a Theme

The key to a great urban hike is planning. Pick a theme to your hike so you can choose specific points of interest to visit. This allows you to explore a certain aspect of the city you’re in and makes it easier to plan an itinerary. Here are some possible themes to consider:

1. Local food – Find three restaurants or cafes that all focus on serving local food and plan for an appetizer at each.
2. Markets – Markets abound in big cities – Paris and San Francisco in particular come to mind – and offer everything from local foods to crafts. Pick out a few you want to explore and track your route.
3. Parks – For a more natural experience, explore the green spaces that your urban environment has to offer. Choose a few within a walkable distance and pack a picnic item for each.
4. Architecture – Explore the designs and spaces that make the city that you’re in unique. Cities like Los Angeles have already started offering architecture-inspired guided urban hikes.
5. Art galleries – If you want a chicer urban hike, give it an art theme. Many cities offer an Art Walk on a certain night of the month. This is a great chance to plan a quick and easy urban hike itinerary. Plot out some of your favorite galleries that you want to check out and end the evening with a glass of wine at a local bistro.

Planning your route

Easy tools like Google’s pedometer will help you track how far you will be walking. Plan realistically; if you’re going with a group of friends, you’ll go at a slower pace than you expect. Assume you’ll cover about one or two miles per hour. A great day trip could be 5 or 6 miles with several stopping points incorporated, keeping you active but also ensuring that the day is enjoyable.

Be sure to bring

Just because you’re in the city doesn’t mean you can throw traditional hiking rules of thumb out the window. Carry a bottle of water and some healthy organic nuts or dried fruit to snack on.

If you’re planning on making stop off at a cafe, bring your reusable thermos or mug. And just in case you come across a to-die-for item in an unknown corner boutique, make sure you’ve got a reusable bag on hand.

Resources

If you’re looking for urban hiking suggestions, tourism websites are a great place to start, and many have suggested routes if you don’t want to plan your own. Guidebooks that have walking tour routes are also a great resource.

But remember, the best part about urban hikes are that you can tailor them to explore all the things that you’re interested in, so don’t be afraid to break out of the box!

Do you have a favorite urban hike? Tell us about it!

Image: brartist

The post The City Girl’s Guide to Urban Hiking appeared first on EcoSalon.

As the housing remodel industry anxiously awaits a recovery and the soothing sound of pens signing work change orders and hammers pounding roofs, homeowners like me are taking ladders into our own hands with DIY repair jobs. Being underemployed seems to allow that extra time for doing what we’ve put off for years.

“Yeah, I’m looking around and seeing that leaky ceiling in the kitchen and hole in the floor and figuring I better do something before the house collapses,” says a friend, Gary Hauser, a self-employed graphic designer, who inherited the Fifties-era San Francisco home he grew up in, and has been able to remain fairly conservative over the years in financing the upkeep.

Much of the home remains intact, from the understated linoleum kitchen to the mid-century geometric print drapes hung in the family room. But a leak is a leak and if you can patch it yourself, there’s more money for school, groceries and the mandatory evenings out with other adults. “This is the year of deferred maintenance,” Hauser laments.

My own husband is also strapping on a tool belt these days, ushered into the job of handyman after the last straw in a string of deferred maintenance snafus – the collapse of my 10-year-old’s Ikea bed.

The modern maple frame had been cracked for months and finally gave way with a loud thump the other night when my darling girl hurled herself on the mattress in yet another exuberant display of bedtime frolic. Told you, so, Lauren. Now we have a busted bed, in addition to a farting and anemic kitchen faucet, broken grill fan switch, loose glass door knobs that lock us into our rooms and a dryer with a dysfunctional thermostat that makes a tedious chore that much more tedious.

The question remains what can we afford to farm out to professionals and what can we take on ourselves. It’s $50 for a visit and estimate for the Thermador fan and the 15-year-old Maytag dryer, and god knows how much for parts.

Still, it turns out many of the deferred maintenance issues we face involve the cleaning of the appliances. They simply don’t work as they should when they are caked with film, their hoses blocked by debris, their coals drenched in grease.

I know this because a Maytag repair man did visit my house this week and said there was so much gunk that the 15-year-old dryer is not heating up and doing its job. It also needs a new board so that it won’t run endlessly and require constant monitoring. The good news is I can put off ordering a new washer-dryer for a little longer. I was hoping to get an Energy Star rated brand and a rebate, and will eventually when things pick up.

Patrick Langan, a Diamond-Certified Handyman with a construction company in the San Francisco Bay Area, earns much of his income from fence and deck work. “If you can own the average $1 million house in San Francisco, you are not going to be doing it yourself,” he asserts, guessing that homeowners with money don’t like to get their hands dirty.

He is right in the case of a friend, whose husband is a banker and insists she take care of all maintenance issues because he works hard and makes the money and should not have to lift a finger around the house. I should add that he’s a real horse’s ass. Still, she does it and is pretty good at fixing most things.

“People can tend to the landscaping themselves and I suppose paint areas pretty close to the ground,” Langan suggests. He says he has had to lower his bids this year to get jobs like the 120-foot fence he is currently rebuilding for a family in the outskirts of the city. The job costs $2,000. I think I saved a lot with Edwin and my brother-in-law rebuilding ours.

According to home improvement blogger Dennis Seeley, there are four basic steps moonlighting handy men and women should take before strapping on those belts:

1. Talk to a Pro and see how much it would cost for the repair based on a description of your problem.

2. Use the web to search about the repair at hand.

3. Figure out the tools required for tackling the job. Do you have them?

4. Take photos of the the beast and go forward with the confidence of a certified pro.

Seeley says he learned how to do small repairs when he could not afford to hire someone to fix his car air compressor or install Automatic Pool Cleaner for his pool.

Main Image: Vincha

Images: Luanne Bradley; Plangan Construction

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Buzzzzzzzzzz. These little pollinators are a boon to gardeners, helping edible crops and ornamental plants flourish – and while they may send you running for the house, they’re way more interested in nectar than in you.

It does take time and effort, but the rewards of keeping bees are sweet. Almost too sweet – many backyard beekeepers end up with so many gallons of honey, they don’t know what to do with it all. But who doesn’t want another excuse to make sticky baked goods like honey buns?

So, why not come up with a plan bee? Even beginners can get a hive up and running within a few months, and before long you’ll have busy little bees working hard in your yard. These basic suburban beekeeping tips will help you get started.

1. Check your local ordinances and if backyard beekeeping is legal in your area, determine where you’d put your hives. A sunny spot that’s not directly situated next to a recreational area like a picnic table or playground is ideal. It’s best to plant a hedge or put up some kind of barrier around your bee colonies to prevent vandalism, protect the hive from wind and induce the bees to fly upward when leaving the hive (rather than through your neighbor’s yard.) Speaking of neighbors, you’ll need to talk to them about your plans. As long as none of them are allergic to bees, a little bribery with some honey should put them at ease.
2. Avoid a buzzkill by reading up on all things bee prior to ordering or building any equipment. It’s important to understand how colonies work including biology, social order, behavior patterns and potential problems like mites, colony-killing pests and intruders from other hives. A gentle, well-kept colony won’t bother your family or your neighbors. Don’t be too intimidated – the bees will do most of the work.
3. Find your own queen bee – a local beekeeping expert, that is. Take a course or visit a beekeeping farm or an experienced backyard beekeeper and ask plenty of questions. Many areas have amateur beekeeping groups where you can talk to other hobbyists and get the 411 on what it’s really like to keep bees in the city.
4. Consider your options in terms of equipment. TheFarm.org has a rundown on what you need for a conventional set-up, which includes supers, frames, a bottom board, a hive body, a queen excluder, inner and outer covers, a feeder, a smoker and protective clothing. BeeSource.com offers free plans for building your own hives, or you can purchase them from a recommended list of suppliers. Top bar hives are a great option for beginners, since it’s an inexpensive way to produce smaller quantities of honey.
5. Get your buzz on! Find a local source of bees if possible, or order them online. Honeybees are usually shipped in two- to five-pound packages containing about 9,000 – 22,000 bees. Once you’re accustomed to handling bees, you might be ready to capture a swarm that has branched off from another colony. “Beemaster” John Clayton has tips on how to find, inspect and gather swarms and acclimate them to your hive.
6. Prepare to be stung. It will inevitably happen every now and then, but there are a few tips to keeping your bees calm and happy. The University of Kentucky’s entomology department recommends that you avoid passing directly in front of a colony of bees, working from the side or back instead. If you are stung, remove the stinger by scraping it with a fingernail and wash the area so the scent of venom doesn’t get the other bees excited. If your colony consistently displays aggressive behavior, re-queening with a queen of gentle stock can help mellow them out again.
7. Get into the groove of seasonal honeybee management, feeding and medicating during the first two months of the year and inspecting the hives for growth and disease symptoms in February. By mid-April, your bees will begin gathering nectar and you can watch your supers fill with delicious honey over the summer.
8. Harvest that sticky, succulent honeycomb. While expensive honey extractors are available, there’s an easier and much more frugal way for beginners. Just cut chunks of honey-filled comb from the frames and wrap them in plastic or put them in sterilized containers, and enjoy the bounty of your buzzing bees!

Image: Don Hankins

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