Author: c-ville-abode

Hey, neighbor

Question for Josh Blanthorn, co-owner of Out of the Box: What are some inexpensive ways to make a porch or patio more private?

Answer: Start by thinking about screens and shades, says Blanthorn. They come in every material from fabric to teak, from bamboo to woven wood, and your choice will determine your cost. A bamboo panel can set you back as little as $60, though as Blanthorn says, “It doesn’t operate or move. You’d tie it back if you wanted it open.”

For “more of a tropical look,” Blanthorn says, invest in some hanging plants. You can opt for faux ones, which “won’t fade, and won’t have to be watered.” Or go for the real deal—large ferns or philodendrons that you could bring inside to a sunporch or hang near a window when the winter comes.

Not a plant person? “There are also creative ways you can use accessories to create a substructure,” says Blanthorn. Many decorative or art pieces that you could hang on a wall can also be hung from the edge of the porch roof, for a screening effect.

Finally, if you can live without most of your view but you don’t want to lose the breeze, consider a premade lattice. One company, says Blanthorn, makes lattices from scraps of teak reclaimed from its furniture-making operation (jewelsofjava.com).—Erika Howsare

Stirring read

No matter how you shake it there’s no denying cocktails are cool, and delicious. Personally, I blame “Sex and the City,” but The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics is pretty sexy too. Its authors, Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz, are the bartenders of San Francisco’s Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, and as the title suggests, it’s a little less measurements and pour counts, and a little more art for drinking’s sake. Good solid information aside, it’s the colorful and trendy presentation that makes this book a winner. That, and the hangover cures at the back.—Lily Robertson

When to fold ’em

An antique folding screen, like these from Helen Storey Antiques, will make any room swoon. Think of the romance enabled by a fine piece of furniture whose exclusive function is to hide a person, but only partially! Is it getting hot in here?

What’s on your browser?

This month’s surfer: Peter Loach at the Piedmont Housing Alliance

What’s on his browser: hud.gov

What it is: The official site of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Why he likes it: Although Loach admits it can be a fairly “cumbersome” site to negotiate, it has everything under the sun you could possibly wish to know about the housing market. The feature he uses most generates fair and current market rates, an indispensable resource for both regular joes and housing pros.

Shop shuffle

Quite a lot has happened in the local retail home furnishings scene, and it’s a bit confusing, so pay attention. First Alana Woerpel, who owns custom fabric business, Alana’s, as well as the entire Downtown Design Center building, moved the showroom part of her shop to the backside of the building. Next, Andrea Wynne, who owned Posh Home (the spin-off of the former combined store called Posh from Wynne and clothing partners Victoria Gardner and Janice Wood), moved her store to Alana’s old front location and changed her business from vintage and antiques to high-end reproductions and some vintage and antiques. The new store is called Andrea Wynne Fine Furnishings and Accessories, and the bulk of the inventory is English reproductions from North Carolina-based furniture-maker Lloyd Buxton.

Finally, Anita Davis, owner of contemporary fine bedding store Pillow Mint, moved her eight-month old store to the old Posh Home spot from her former hard-to-find location in the back of the Glass Building.

Andrea Wynne Fine Furnishings, formerly Posh Home, in the former Alana’s space. Follow?

Got all that? O.K., then two more bits of news: 2 French Hens, which used to live in the Design Center and then moved to South Street, has closed and a new discounted furniture store called Furniture Promotions has opened temporarily in the old Goody’s space at Barracks Road. This store sells furniture manufactured in High Point, N.C.—often stuff that has been liquidated from other going-out of-business-retailers—and it’s only here until a new long-term tenant takes over that space in a few months.—Katherine Ludwig

Basement brewery

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Whether or not you already agree, the only way to truly experience the divine potential of beer is to brew your own. Fortunately, it’s easier than most sacred pilgrimages—your average frat boy can figure it out, enjoying un-pasteurized and naturally carbonated “live” beer in as little as a fortnight.

Here are your CliffsNotes of brewing: Malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the malt sugars, the malt sugar solution is boiled with hops for seasoning, the solution is cooled and yeast is added. The yeast ferments the sugars, releasing CO2 and ethyl alcohol. When fermentation is complete, the beer is bottled with a little bit of added sugar.

The whole brewing process can take from two weeks to several months. There are infinite varieties of beer kits available, from IPAs to Stouts and even “clones” of commercial brands like Sam Adams, with prices ranging from $27 to $45. Brewing equipment ranges from $75 to $99. Go online to locally based Appalachian Brewing Supply (absbrew.com) to find equipment and support. Or call up Buck Island BBQ (872-0259) and you’ll likely be invited to come on down, browse the brewing kits and pepper owners Bob and Helen with suds-related questions.—Lily Robertson

Have a seat

Bet you didn’t think about this last time you sat down: Irwin Berman’s current show at the UVA Art Museum aims “to question our ecological, ethical, and sexual beliefs and practices” as embodied in the humble and functional stool.
 
Berman is a UVA grad who began his adventures in art-as-social-commentary with painting, but more recently has focused on sculptural forms. Like any good homeowner, his interests lie in the connection between design, function and fine arts, and the exhibition blurs this relationship by tweaking our conventional vision of what constitutes a stool. By manipulating and transforming a variety of diverse mediums, Berman manages to successfully prove that you can sit on an architectural construction of Perspex and baseballs, or an amorphous mass of distressed metal.

High-concept seating will be on view at the UVA Art Museum through mid-June.

The show, entitled “Sedentary Pleasures: Uncommon Stools” at the UVA Art Museum (May 3-June 15), will showcase 17 sculptural pieces in a variety of media and one video piece. A selection will also be on display at Les Yeux du Monde.—L.R.

On the importance of fine print

The first time we ever did any tiling—well, O.K., the only time we’ve done any tiling—we went for broke and tackled a major project: the shower surround in our only bathroom. The tiling itself was preceded by several weeks of wall framing, wallboard installation and plumbing, all of which I’d rather not talk about. Actually putting up tile promised to be a lot more fun.

We’d gotten a lot of advice from an Internet tiling forum about what kind of thinset mortar to use and how to apply it. We had our trowels, our rented wet saw and, of course, our tile—basic white subway tile, which we’d install in a brick pattern.

Finally, we had spacers—the little plastic pieces that you slip between tiles to ensure even spacing. Apparently, in the olden days, tilers had to pry these things back out after the thinset had partially dried, or the grout would crack. But we’d found a package of spacers, in our preferred 1/16" size, labeled HOLLOW LEAVE-IN SPACERS—a great time-saver.

Spackled Egg also used the tile spacers temporarily to make a slightly larger gap and bring tile rows into line with the neighboring wall. Hey, people, no one said she was an expert.

Putting the tile up took one solid weekend for us newbies. It was exhausting but fun, watching the tiles climb the wall. In the last hour of the project, my husband was waiting for me to set a tile so that he could take a measurement, and he started idly reading the back of the package the spacers came in. And guess what? It said that, in the 1/16" size of the hollow leave-in tile spacers, the spacers are not hollow and should not be left in.

It was a moment of, shall we say, black humor. The next day, I took the package back to the local tile store, where the flustered salesman agreed with me that this was fairly outrageous flaw in packaging design, then assured me that we did not have to chisel out all those spacers.

That was a year ago. So far, no cracks in our grout.—Spackled Egg

Quote

“Moderately priced homes in Albemarle may have a tough time competing with similarly priced homes in other counties—other counties offer more house for the money.”
—Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors (CAAR), in its first-quarter market report for 2008

Hand off

“Where’s your best friends?” a chef instructor at cooking school used to chant; he referred to tongs (in the dominant hand) and a dry kitchen towel (in the other hand). 

The ideal set of tongs should be loose enough (in their action) so as not to cause hand cramping; the ‘teeth’ of the tong should be fluted (for traction) and click gently together. Longer tongs are best for sparing arm flesh in high-heat situations; shorter tongs are suited to tossing salads, flipping bacon, and pulling asparagus out of blanching water. For the best buy in tongs (just under $3 a pair), check out Charlottesville Restaurant Supply (984-3663).—Lisa Reeder

Sprout shout

What’s related to the garden lily, takes three to four years to be harvestable, may make your urine smell funny, and is a harbinger of spring? That’s right, the noble asparagus. We eat the slim, new shoots; if the plant is allowed to mature, it grows to 4′ and has ferny foliage and a crimson berry. Oddly enough, the thickest sprouts will be the most tender, while the thin “pencil” asparagus is crisp and crunchy.

Some foods pair classically with les asperges—lemon, fresh farm egg, chervil, and aged cheese like Everona Piedmont. If you manage to be an early bird at the City Market over the next few weeks, you may get your hands on truly local asparagus; enjoy them steamed to preserve the unparalleled flavor. Otherwise, several stores carry regional asparagus grown in the sandy soils of Tidewater and should have them through the end of May. As for the smelly urine? Authorities have told me that some folks lack the enzyme that creates the telltale wee; my curiosity ends where another’s urine begins.—L.R.

Crema di Asparagi

This classic spring soup comes from Ristorante al Dente, soon to sprout in a new Ix Building location. Here’s to all that’s green and hopeful.

1/4 cup butter
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 bunch fresh asparagus, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 glass pinot grigio or other white wine
1 cup milk
1 qt. heavy cream
fresh grated parmigiano cheese

In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter over low heat and add whole cloves of garlic. Sauté garlic for about one minute. Add asparagus, salt and pepper (to taste) and sauté over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Add wine and stir until evaporated. Add milk and bring to a boil. Add heavy cream and allow to simmer until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and press the mixture through a strainer. Return to heat and bring to a soft boil. Serve hot with fresh grated parmigiano cheese. Garnish with a few stalks of fresh boiled or steamed asparagus if you like. Serves 3-4.

Almost frostless

The average last day of frost for Charlottesville generally occurs in mid-April, but out here in the hollow we sit in a frost pocket—a low spot where cold air settles—and can get nipped as late as the first week in May. Cool crops like lettuces, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli thrive with spring freezes, but the fruits of summer don’t like it chilly. Tomatoes, peppers, marigolds and zinnias sulk in cold soil even if it doesn’t freeze, so you don’t really gain any time by putting them out early.

Go ahead and buy plants now to get prime pickings from the garden centers’ first spring eruptions, but unless you’re willing to go the extra mile by laying black plastic to warm the soil or covering plants with lightweight floating row covers on frosty nights, you’re better off keeping them watered in their pots until the first weeks of May while the sun settles into the ground and soil temperatures rise.
 

When setting out young transplants, the prime directive is to keep them from drying out, so pick a cloudy day later in the afternoon when the wind tends to die down. Be gentle with the roots and after tamping the soil around them and building a small berm to keep water from running off (release your inner child); muddy them in by saturating each little planting hole with a watering can or slow hose.

The one persnickety garden chore I perform, in memory of the great plant hunter, E.H. Wilson, who brought the bulbs out of Szechuan, China, in the 19th century (surmounting a broken leg, gangrene and mule trains picking their way along precipitous trails), is covering the Regale lilies. It’s the least I can do.

By late April, the feathery stalks have poked up three or four inches, but there’s always one more good frost to come. If their plumy fronds get burnt, they won’t flower in June. Row covers like Reemay don’t weigh down the plants and are simply draped over them, but since I use old sheets, I have to support them with stakes so they don’t break the tender lily stalks.  

Most of the herbs in my half barrels weathered the winter well. Chives’ tender foliage and plump purple flowers were up by mid-April; lemon, variegated and English thymes were cut all winter for the kitchen; the sages got a good hard cut back to basal foliage. The rosemary in the barrels closest to the creek burnt, and have been cut back, but the one planted higher up against the potting shed’s south wall came through fine.

Once warm weather settles in for good, we can relax and succumb to the pleasures of late spring, one of which is the first flush of roses before the inevitable black spot and Japanese beetles storm Paradise. Monticello’s Center for Historic Plants at Tufton Farm has an open house Saturday, May 24, from noon until 4pm (984-9816) that features its rose, iris and dianthus collections in full glorious bloom. Bring cuttings from mystery roses to confound the experts.

Local rose lovers will be sorry to hear that Sherando Roses (sherandoroses.com) in Lyndhurst will be closing its doors in June. Long a local repository of roses grown on their own roots along with an array of clematis vines to clamber through them, this nursery has occupied a valuable niche. It will be selling plants at sale prices through June, so if you’re intrigued by perhaps the most persnickety flower of all, this is your chance to start off with the best.—Cathy Clary
   
Garden questions? Ask Cathy Clary at garden@c-ville.com.

Beantown basic

Many people shy away from the Boston fern because of the attention these plants require to remain green and healthy. But they’ve been a houseplant favorite since the Victorian era and are great-looking when happy and healthy.
 
Their propensity for humidity makes them highly suited for porches during the summer months. But don’t be fazed if they don’t flourish so well indoors during the winter. To maintain the illusion of humidity, spray with water or place ferns in a pebble tray with water.

Ferns flourish when root-bound, so only re-pot them if they are spilling out of their current residence. Organic peat moss is the best type of soil because it allows proper drainage while staying moist. Although they breed through spores when outdoors, with indoor plants it is more effective to divide new shoots or clumps by hand and re-pot them.—Lily Robertson

May in the garden

Wait for soil to warm

Muddy in transplants

Smell the roses

Craftsman is big these days among the builders and buyers of brand-new houses, and it’s not hard to see why: The first generation of these liveable, finely made houses stand out in older neighborhoods for their solid forms and friendly details. Consider this specimen, which we spotted in the JPA neighborhood, exhibit A. And get a load of that porch!

A fool for April

Everyone’s a sucker for spring in Virginia. What’s not to like? Pale confetti flowers shower from cherries and crabapples onto candy-colored drifts of azaleas, daffodils and tulips all surrounded by that jazzed-up green that nature saves just for April.

The lawn care industry uses such idyllic scenes to sell products that poison the Chesapeake Bay with excess nutrients and pesticides. Turn your head from those insidious commercials and strike a blow for Earth Day by refusing to join the lawn zombies in their annual ritual of dumping bags of pre-emergents and nitrogen into the watershed (a lot of those little pellets roll into the street and down the drains).

April’s the time to luxuriate in lilacs. After the ecstasy of bloom comes the necessity of maintenance: dead-heading, for the sake of next year’s flowers.

Warming temperatures and spring rains green everything up just fine. Save fertilizer for the fall when roots can use it. The best thing you can do for your turf right now is to get the pH right with soil tests and lime, mow with sharp blades, and leave grass cuttings to decay into natural nitrogen. Fight the power, baby, and learn to love the dandelions and violets.

The third week of the month, April 19-27, Virginia Garden Club (vagarden week.org) offers tours of Casa Maria and Blue Ridge Farms in Greenwood. Both sport gardens designed by esteemed Richmond landscape architect Charles Gillette during the early 1920s and epitomize the classic Virginia garden.

Along with dogwoods and azaleas, the lilac is indispensable to that picture. For smaller spaces, there are dwarf varieties like “Miss Kim,” but for my money nothing beats the common Syringa vulgaris for deep musky fragrance and a range of colors from pure white through pinks, lavenders and blues. They’ll tower up to 12′ over the years and make a bold hedge if there’s room.

Lilacs like a sweetish soil, with a bit of lime or wood ash worked into the top few inches every year or two. Their wont is to sucker up in colonies, so let them run and over the years cut out older trunks to make way for young ones, as is nature’s brutal way. Give them the most sun and best air circulation, and after they bloom, you should dead-head religiously to ensure a good bud set for next year.

In July and August, they can flag and the thick blue-green leaves look sad and mildewy, but these are mere superficial blemishes to be politely ignored during this difficult season. They don’t need to be sprayed; perhaps a deep watering if possible, and topdressing of leafmold or compost. Pair them with butterfly bushes and sunflowers and Mexican hyssop as distractions.

Cleopatra swore by the healing power of aloe vera.

New mulch has become as much a harbinger of spring as daffodils and Scott’s Turf Builder. Millions of happy homeowners wander about murmuring, “I love the smell of fresh mulch in the morning.” Last month I inveighed against volcano mounds around trees and made the case for fluffing up and raking out instead of just piling it on year after year.

We turn now from quantity to quality. Those who can afford aged shredded hardwood, have no fear. You’ve got good mulch there that should last for at least a couple of seasons, hold down weeds and conserve moisture. Pine tags, leafmold and pinebark are other organic mulches that add nutrients and texture to the soil as they decay.

Beware of saving money on cheap mulches from unknown sources (we will not speak of the abominable orange material). Unless you know your supplier and what they’re selling, you may be getting insects like the deadly ash borer or acidic newly chipped wood that burns plants. There’s more than one way to lose your head in April.—Cathy Clary

Garden questions? Ask Cathy Clary at garden@c-ville.com.

Burn baby

A Mediterranean native from the lily family, aloe vera might not be a blooming houseplant, but it is a botanical medicine cabinet boasting the ability to cure sunburn, gastrointestinal complaints and wrinkles.

Aloe vera plants flourish on neglect. They only need water once a week, and only if the soil is completely dry. Be especially careful not to overwater during the winter months. These shallow-rooted plants like a very well-drained potting mix; use organic kelp fertilizer or worm castings.

Remove new shoots, since they can crowd the mother plant. To grow new plants allow the shoots to reach about 4.5" and then remove the whole plant and separate them by hand so as to get sufficient roots.—Lily Robertson

April in the garden

Mow with sharp blades

Take a Garden Week tour

Enjoy the lilacs

I screen, you screen

Summer is almost upon us with days full of sunshine, long languid evenings, barbecues…and bugs. No one likes a party crashed by insects, so now is the time to make sure your screens are in tip-top condition.

Cat got your screen? You can probably repair it yourself

The first place to check for damage is the frame. Look for loose joints, broken hardware, or corrosion. If a hole is close to the frame, it will cause the screen to sag, so it is better to replace the whole thing than to try and patch it. Otherwise, only if a hole exceeds 3" will the screen need to be replaced: smaller than that and you can patch it yourself.

Patches should be at least 2" larger than the hole to ensure complete coverage. Excess can be trimmed later. To repair with a patch, unravel some strands two or three rows into the patch and then weave them into the edges of the hole, making sure to bend them and/or seal them with household cement. For small holes, simply weave the loose strands together and apply household cement. Fiberglass and plastic screens are harder to patch and more often need to be replaced completely.—Lily Robertson

Almost-personal chef

It’s your turn to host book club, but your signature dish—chips and salsa—just isn’t going to cut it for a discussion of Pride and Prejudice. What do you do? You could call Ashley Hightower, chef and owner of Dinner at Home catering company.

Hightower—a UVA graduate who started catering in 2003 after cooking school in England and stints at the Ivy Inn and the Clifton Inn—specializes in small affairs at your home (get it?). She can do everything from plated dinners (for approximately $35 per person, depending on the menu) to heavy hors d’oeuvres (for about $20 per person). And she can either leave the serving to you (so you could pass it off as your own; although, Elizabeth Bennet would not approve of such pretense), or she can provide serving and clean-up staff.

Ashley Hightower’s a caterer, but small home affairs—not weddings for 200—are her specialty

Hightower is flexible with the menu, and she uses local, seasonal and organic ingredients as much as possible—“I don’t want to make it, if it’s not how I would do it,” she says. Hightower could also conduct a private cooking class at your party, and really, who actually talks about the book at these things anyway? Contact Dinner at Home at 296-4514 or chef@ashleysdinnerathome.com.—Katherine Ludwig

…And they will come

A recent Saturday saw five kids, assorted parents, two dogs and a single lady with knitting attend an open house hosted by Blue Ridge Cohousing (blueridgecohousing.org), one of over 100 groups across the country (including Blacksburg and Abingdon) that are dedicated to environmental and community development.

Idyllic, no? The ideals that Elizabeth Hoover and other Blue Ridge Cohousing members go beyond aesthetics to community-building.

How’s it work? Eleven families have purchased six acres in Crozet running down to Parrott Creek from a charmingly ramshackle 19th century house sitting atop a picturesque ridge. They plan to build 26 houses, leaving four acres for woods, gardens and trails. The old farmhouse is being renovated as a commons.

Equity members join the LLC and can select one of 26 sites and one of four house models (including “universal design” accommodating wheelchairs), which range from $200,000 to $400,000 with several units set aside for affordable housing.

Their agreement is the same as a homeowners’ association, with a similar monthly fee, but what people are really buying into is the idea of ready-made community, ecologically designed, with neighbors happy to share meals and help with kids, pets and quotidian emergencies. “That was how Crozet felt growing up out here. We had chickens. It’s something I’d like my kids to grow up with,” said one young woman.

Find out more at an open house, held each weekend day 2-4pm, or call (540) 250-3262.—Cathy Clary

Art for the starving

It’s not often that a passion for art and a passion for the Internet come together in such romantic harmony as at 20×200.com. Don’t expect to find any classical still-lifes in the selections; rather, founder Jen Bekman seeks to promote new, contemporary talent. She adds two new pieces per week to her online wares—one photo and one print. The result is a unique collection of bright, modern and dynamic art for your bare walls.

Darn good art—including Tema Stauffer’s “Palm Aire,” shown here—is featured on 20×200.com for shockingly low prices.

The name derives from the fact that each print comes in three sizes, priced accordingly. The smallest size constitutes the largest batch (200) and goes for $20. Next size up is the $200 size with a batch of 20, and then just two at the big $2,000 size. So even if you are spending less on art than you might on groceries, it still feels almost exclusive. Keep a keen eye on the site, as the smaller two sizes sell out pretty fast.—L.R.

What’s on your browser?

This month’s surfer: Jackie Binder, owner of Circa

What’s on her browser: www.auctionzip.com

What it is: A comprehensive site providing nationwide auction listings

Why she likes it: It’s a go-to website for Binder when she’s looking for something new. The site asks for your ZIP code, the distance you are willing to go, and provides a calendar of all the auctions in your area. Categories range from automobile to wholesale auctions, and each listing provides an inventory of items plus photos. Bidder’s heaven!

Quote

“It occurred to me that there was no challenge in building an aesthetically perfect palace if you could spend a million dollars on it. The trick was getting results for a tenth of that price.”

—Karrie Jacobs, from The Perfect $100,000 House: A Trip Across America and Back in Pursuit of a Place to Call Home

Mixed media

Got a book you want to bid goodbye, and a CD you covet? Here’s one solution: swaptree.com. The idea on this site is to list what you want to trade, then list what you want, then put your feet up and let Swaptree do the rest. It works by matching your “haves” with someone else’s “wants,” sometimes even facilitating three-way trades—all for free. The site itself has a slick, sophisticated feel—a high-tech alternative to the old-fashioned yard sale, and one offering a greater chance that your old books, DVDs, CDs and video games will find good homes and avoid the landfill.

Tower of CDs weighing you down? Rather have a full bookshelf? Check out swaptree.com.

Hover your cursor over one of the listed items, and a second list appears of all the available swaps to be made. For David Sedaris’s Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim you can get the Legend of Zelda (or one of 302 other items). Quite the deal if you ask me—and Swaptree will print accurate postage too.

The only potential drawback? Swaptree operates on an honor system: Just like eBay, they can’t personally guarantee that an item will be sent. You’ll have to bank on the idea that the ethically minded are also honest citizens.—Lily Robertson

Fiber forward

If you’re familiar with eco-friendly clothing, you might know of Tencel. It’s a natural (100 percent biodegradable) fiber made from wood pulp cellulose that’s harvested from sustainably farmed trees and manufactured with minimal environmental impact and energy use. Tencel is becoming available for applications in the home, and that’s good news because Lenzing Fiber, the sole U.S. manufacturer of Tencel (the brand name for lyocell), claims this is a “breakthrough fiber.” They say Tencel is “soft as silk, strong as polyester, cool as linen, warm as wool and as absorbent as cotton.”

Unfortunately, we can’t verify any of that for you, because we can’t get our hands on the stuff! Several local fabric retailers told us they don’t carry it or never heard of it. As per usual, the Europeans seem to be ahead of us in the enviro-friendly game—they’ve been using lyocell for blankets, sheets, towels, fiber-fill and upholstery for a while now, but the home textiles use of lyocell is just starting to hit the U.S. market.

We predict that Tencel will be readily available in short order. In the meantime, you can contact Lenzing Fibers at (212) 944-7896 for commercial swatches or check out the Joseph Abboud Tencel sheets ($99.99 for a king set) at Costco.com.—Katherine Ludwig

Earth Day greetings

To bring Earth Day down to earth, so to speak, we asked three locals with environmental cred what they would suggest the ordinary human do to wish our planet well for the holiday.—Cathy Clary

Ryan Jacoby, Director of Special Projects with Habitat for Humanity
“Earth Day is a great time to reconnect with nature by hiking the Rivanna Trail or a nearby natural area,” says Jacoby. Oh, and while you’re at it, he says, give some thought to recycling and composting, if you don’t already.

Volunteering in our local parks is a fitting way to mark Earth Day—or you could just screw in a light bulb. (The energy-saving kind.)

Amy Predmore, Co-president of Earth Week, earthweek.org
“It really doesn’t take much to do something that makes a difference like changing a light bulb, buying local food and walking and cycling more,” says Predmore. A good place to get ideas? Earth Week’s Earth Day fair, 10am-3pm on Saturday, April 19, at the Charlottesville High School practice football field.

Michelle Prysby, State Coordinator for Virginia Master Naturalists
Prysby sees Earth Day as a time to get some outdoor education. “If you want to do something outside your own home, try volunteering with our local parks (parkvolunteers@charlottesville.org) to help build and maintain trails or battle invasive weeds that threaten natural habitats,” she says.

Go on tour

Belvedere will be part of the EarthCraft tour at the end of April.

Want to get tapped into the local green scene? The EarthCraft Tour, a 17-house circuit slated for the last two weekends in April, is becoming an important annual event for builders to connect with eco-minded homebuyers. It’s also a great way to get educated about the latest green building techniques, since houses are featured in various stages of construction. (For more on green building, including some of the properties on the tour, see this month’s cover story on page 19.) Specifics on the tour (April 19-20 and 26-27) are at the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association’s site, brhba.org, or you can call 973-8652.—Erika Howsare

Diners for the bird world

The wrens and robins are the first to welcome spring. More than song, though, birds play an essential role by pollinating plants and dispersing seeds. These easy-to-make bird feeders provide a nice haven.

The author made this feeder from part of a Christmas tree. Joy to the bird world!

—Cut a 2 1/2" diameter hole 3" from the bottom of a quart-size cardboard milk carton. Poke a foot-long twig below the holes for a perch. Fill with bird seed. Hang with wire or heavy string.

—In cooler weather, roll a pine cone in peanut butter, then oats or black sunflower seeds.

—Decorate a tree with horizontally sliced oranges and apples hung with raffia.

—For something more rustic, take a felled tree trunk and saw off the bark in five slats 2" thick. After drilling pilot holes, nail four sides onto a wooden platform. Use two branches to hold the roof with the final slab. Nail into place. Hang with sturdy eye hooks.

As for pesky squirrels, purchase an aluminum baffle: a saucer-like object placed above or below your feeder.

Finally, Larry Bishop of Wild Birds Unlimited dispels a common myth. Feeding birds won’t make them dependent on us. “Eighty-five to 90 percent of their food still comes from foraging in the wild,” he says. Humans help supplement the bird’s diet, while enjoying the view.—Teri Kent

By the numbers

120,000

That’s how many people lined up to tour solar-powered houses built by teams of college students at last October’s Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., according to a recent local presentation by Richard King, director of the decathlon. King described eager crowds pressing their faces against the windows of the sun-smart abodes. (Must have been trying to get a glimpse of the future.) The next decathlon is in 2009.