Of Mice and Men . . . ?

I love decorating at the holidays. How about you?

I traced these little mice out on thin foam sheets and then cut them out. Then I glued little wiggly eyes on and used poster gum to put them up all around the house.

I even put them out on the stairs and porch outside. Last year I cut them out of black construction paper but the rain ruined them. The foam will work well in Portland, Oregon's wet weather-I hope. There was only one problem with my plan, Sasha (my puppy) went around the house eating the little rodents. She didn't understand that they weren't real. Oh well, at least I'll never have to worry about being over-run by rodents - not with Sasha on guard.

OF MICE AND MEN - Earth-Friendly Friday

So are you asking what Steinbeck has to do with being Earth-friendly? Well, maybe a little or maybe a lot.

Steinbeck’s claim to fame was his story Of Mice and Men. And, I’m not one to question authorities on subjects – oh, wait, maybe I am. But, to be honest, I’m thinking he may have gotten it wrong. Calm down all you Steinbeckies out there in cyberland.

All I'm saying is that we shouldn’t be thinking of Mice and Men. We should be thinking of Worms and Men.

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, that’s good. I’m talking about being green, eco-friendly and earth-friendly all rolled up into one EZ-Smeazy concept: Worm Bins.

What is a worm bin and how much does one cost? Well you can check them out here. But they range in price from about $60 to $80. Of course if that pricetag is too steep, you can always build one yourself.

Worms are picky.

There are some foods you can't put into a worm bin: cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli and no citrus goes in the bin.

And the worms will suddenly become homing worms if you don't keep their environment pleasant. Ways to build a good home for your worms is to add paper, egg shells and chopped up food products to your top tray. You also need to spray water into the bin to keep it moist.

After a while you will be able to harvest your worm tea - a.k.a. worm pee.

If you're curious about where you find your worms, relax. You don't need to dig them up and steal them away from their happy homes. You can visit Findworms. com where you can buy a pound of worms for about $30 per pound.

So let's not do a little - let's do the most
Let's grow a worm bin - let's all compost!