At Edison Beach

Overcast, but an absolutely beautiful day.

A quick lunch today on the beach south of Edison with my sister and our pup. Lovely day. Perfectly crisp air. Almost-empty beaches. October is beautiful here.

Today is Tuesday, and the tail end of a four-day weekend — the last busy one Montauk will see before Memorial Day next summer. On our short walk back up from Edison Beach, I of course pick up a few "leftovers" presumably left behind by weekend beach goers.

Today's yeild:

1 potato chip bag

+ 1 small piece of plastic coated wire

+ 1 piece of unidentified hard plastic (a beach shovel maybe?)

+ 2 plastic cups

+ 1 plastic knife

Saved today from the Great Atlantic Garbage Patch: 6 pieces of plastic.

Total saved: 35

My new mentor: Jane Goodall

(This photo snapped by my lovely sister who happens to be in town.)

I have been volunteering during the Hamptons International Film Festival all weekend, and one of the movies I got to see was a German film called "Jane's Journey." Jane Goodall doesn't know it yet, but she is going to be my mentor.

I knew of Jane Goodall as the woman National Geographic had featured, way back when, for her work with the monkeys — and until seeing this film, I had never heard of her out of that context. Of course, I had no reason not to think of her as an extraordinary woman, but I just had no idea about all of the other things she's done and has continued to do beyond that one point in her life.

Jane Goodall is a fascinating, frank and inspiring woman who is committed to conservation and preserving what is left of this fragile world for future generations. And I can only hope to do a quarter of the good she's done in her life in my own.

If you get a chance, see this film.

Trailer here:

Learn more about one of Jane's latest endeavors at www.rootsandshoots.org.

Adventures in Composting, Day 1

Today, I officially started composting. I used this technique recommended by Sunset magazine to build the bin. Then layered in my greens and browns.

The bin.

The "greens."

The "browns."

Here's hoping this goes OK.

Making dirt (a.k.a. Adventures in Composting)

Bought some materials to start composting today — and, by that, I mean some wire mesh. I'll fashion that into a cylinder and start filling it with equal parts "green" and "brown" materials. Simple enough — especially as fall is in full swing, so there are plenty of "browns" (dried leaves, etc.), which might be hard to come by in other seasons.

It costs $5 to go to the dump here in Montauk. And besides unused veggie bits, coffee grounds, and eggshells, I really don't produce a lot of trash. Most of the other trash I produce can be recycled and it still doesn't amount to much, so I figured I could save some cash by composting — and maybe even give back to the earth a little.

The composting bin in the hardware store was about $100, and plastic — so no way that was the one for me. I found the plans for a beautiful wooden one on Sunset magazine's website. But that would still have cost me some money for lumber and some serious labor. So I opted for the mesh, which will serve the same purpose — keep my compost contained — and only cost about $10.

More to come on this. Stay tuned.

Beautiful October.

'Meatless Mondays' maybe?

Eggs — vegetarian or no?

I am no vegetarian — let me just get that straight.

But I think I officially had a "Meatless Monday" today.

There was no meat in the house, so the decision to try wasn't difficult — although I did ponder whether eggs counted as meat as I scoured various "vegetarian" recipes that included them. Personally, I think eggs and honey are a little different on the vegan versus vegetarian scale — the eggs edging a little further into the meat category.

I've briefly considered going vegetarian in the past — for environmental reasons mostly (the greenhouse-gas emissions that commercial cattle are responsible for are astounding). But I have never been able to commit: Lentils and tofu just aren't meals in my book. And get out of here with your "vegetarian chicken."

Also, I grew up in the South, so every time someone mentions bacon (I can't actually remember the last time I ate it) or pork (I very rarely actually eat it, even though I love it), I just can not fathom the idea of never EVER eating it again, so I completely give up on the idea of going vegetarian. I always sort of felt — whether it's true or not — that I need meat in my life.

When my cousin was here last week, she told me about this "movement" — Meatless Mondays — that many restaurants are now even starting to incorporate into their menus. So says Meatless Mondays, "The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide ... far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend."

I can not, for now, commit to being a vegetarian, but I can, I think, at least try it out one day each week.

In the end, I didn't eat the eggs, but I know I was lacking on protein today. I'll have to get some good recipes for next week. In the meantime, 101 Cookbooks is a good source for vegetarian recipes, if you are so inclined.

25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

Come to find out that yesterday was annual International Coastal Cleanup day, and my brush with becoming a crazy trash lady was particularly timely.

More here at Ocean Conservancy.