Net Zero

Finally! We toured a platinum level LEED house! (The highest level in "green" building you can get.) I didn't even know people in Texas cared about this stuff and I've been dying to see something in person. The tour was awesome and the information just reinforced our many ideas and feelings on the matter.

Net Zero means the house provides as much energy for itself as it uses. It does not mean it's completely off the grid. They collect electricity via solar panels (which are coming way down in price by the way) and collect rain water to feed the landscaping. And the house only has 2% leakage. Woah.

Below is a photo of the back. I have always loved architecture that wraps around nature as this does here—leaving the trees to provide beauty and shade. Also, most of the windows are on this side, allowing the maximum amount of light to enter the house with minimum heat. It's all about which way the house faces, of course. The windows are all placed strategically for what my dad calls "the art of air flow."
Below is the front with minimum windows. This is the hottest side of the house. The roof is metal and won't need much maintenance for at least 50 years. Adam and I had already decided we wanted this kind of roof, so learning more about it was awesome.
Below, Dad Moon standing on the back porch. Below right, see those two black steel pipes? There are several of them holding up the patio trellis It is piping used from oil drilling. So resourceful!
Below, the toilet has two buttons marked 1 for #1 and 2 for #2 for smart water usage. Also, notice the floor. It's all stained concrete. Adam and I have been discussing this for quite a while but hadn't seen it in a home yet. After seeing it here, we are in love. (We hate carpet, it's so filthy! And sticking with cement is so cheap!)


And I know, some people are turned off by the cost of a project such as this one. But I still feel that we are responsible to learn all we can and implement what we can. Knowledge is ALL good— no matter what the subject, no matter what your income level.
In all, we enjoyed the tour. The project leader was knowledgeable and his team resourceful. I just knew there were people who used their brains in this industry, and it was a pleasure to hear what these top notch problem solvers had to say.

There's a lot more to this project than what I've posted here.
If you'd like to read more and see videos and pictures of this house click here.

NaNoWriMo Update

I stopped writing. Sorry NaNoWriMo. Sorry friends who thought I would be a multi-millionaire novelist so that I could share the money with you and put your name in the front of the book. Sorry teachers who taught me better.

All the funny pep talks and encouragement from our dear Chris Baty couldn't blind me to the fact that my novel about a rock climbing shape shifter who craves apples and throws up after eating fast food, ought not to be written. I fell 10,000 words to my death. And now I know I am capable of writing pure drivel—check that one off the list. Next time, I'll have a plot and a plan and utilize that multi-thousand dollar education I am still paying dearly for....

Escape or Die Trying

If you want to catch up on my little vermicomposting experiment click here for the first part, and here for the second part. Below is the third part.

So last you heard, I had a dilemma. Here is what was decided:
Being too disgusting to keep the bin inside, all the bugs were moved to and have been thriving on the porch. The worms grew quite large. And we watched the BFLs go from to pupae to Soldier Fly. For a while we had Soldier Flies keeping us company on the porch and a few followed us inside. Oh joy.

But recently the bin has been too wet for the worms and their numbers have been slowly declining. I put more dry foods in the bin and more bedding so the worms would be a bit happier (bedding=shredded paper and chunks of cardboard.) But the gluttonous BFLs keep eating the bedding. And there were so many of them, they began to bother the worms. The BFLs have multiplied dramatically—the Soldier Flies laid more eggs around the air holes of the bin.

Long story short, the other day I think I had maybe 25 unhappy worms left. It got really cold that night and the next morning there were several dead escapees on the porch. Now, I can't find a single worm in the bin.
Currently, this is what it looks like. As the BFLs keep eating and re-eating, the compost is drying out and the BFLs have begun moving very slowly (they move better when it's wet.) But, it stinks. Every time I open the bin I start gagging. It's not the same kind of compost I would have gotten had the worms had a fair go at it. So I'm not sure how usable this type of compost is in this stage.

I am getting a lot of compost tea though! In fact, the tea saved the life of my bonsai tree, so the stuff does work.

I suppose I will probably keep adding food to the bin because it is still a better alternative than throwing kitchen scraps away. But I will have to do some more research to find out if the BFL by-product can be mixed with soil or if it needs to go through some other process.

Recommendation:
If you are thinking about composting with worms, dish out the cash. Buy a composting bin (above) made for worm farming with trays and a spout. It's worth it. You will be much happier as will the worms. Harvesting your compost and tea will be much easier. Otherwise, when it comes time to use the soil, you'll have to separate your worms from the compost by hand. (Image found here.)



Same goes for the BFLs, I found this composter made just for them. It's got a little ramp so the BFLs can crawl their way up and into another compartment making harvesting much easier. (Image and product found here.)

If you are thinking about composting with both worms and BFLs at the same time . . . I'm not sure what the best container would be.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

I Make Bees Mad

. . . but not on purpose.