So long and thanks for all the fish

Blogs have been getting rarer and rarer on this site. Recently I've had to accept that living The Green Life is taking up so much time that I can't find time to blog anymore. So, for the foreseeable future this site will be on pause. Hopefully it will be unpaused in the future but for now I hope you've enjoyed my mussing over the years on everything from English wine to litter.

Fairly Normal

Yesterday started national Fairtrade fortnight but due to sickness the blog is a day late. I've blogged about the huge variety  of Fairtrade products that are now available in previous years. Why not have a look at my blog from 2012 here.

From earnings to bananas Fairtrade is becoming more and more normal. What new Fairtrade product will you discover in the next 13 days?

Meat and Two Veg (or a few more...)

I've no idea what I'll be getting for dinner this week, but my shopping is ordered. I know I'll have milk, cheese, some fruit, some veg and some meat but it will be a surprise what exactly arrives.

Over the past few months we've converted to ordering Riverford's "Fruit and veg box plus meat" each week, and we add onto that the extras of milk and cheese. Of course, I can find out what will be delivered but often I don't bother until it arrives when I bring it in from our doorstep on Thursday mornings.

We've enjoyed the variety the boxes give us. Rather than our usual habit of chicken breast, beef mince, peppers, onions, apples and potatoes we have bee eating turkey mince, venison stew, Jerusalem artichokes, grapes, blueberries as well as all the usual staples. It does mean occasionally we have to think about what we'll eat with what (do parsnips go better with venison or turkey?) but we've also discovered new favourite dinners including beef stir fry, chicken harrisa skewers and home made burgers. The variety of fruit and veg has also made eating more interesting as the veg becomes more a part of the main event rather than  just being a filler on the plate.

It's not the first time I've blogged about Riverford veg boxes (see here, here, here, here, here and here). Over the years I've picked them up and put them down again depending on how it fits with life but I always come back and since I discovered their (relatively recent) addition of a veg AND meat box (rather than seperate boxes that don't always suit a couple without a freezer) I can't see myself stopping again for a long time.

The ease of ordering, excellent quality of taste and longevity of produce (most of our veg will be fine a fortnight after delivery) are all reasons to keep going. Another is the cost. Three types of meat (including a joint for two), five types of veg and two types of fruit along with milk and cheese normally adds up to about £40 a week, which for the quality of food (even the not too fussed husband says the veg tastes really good) is fantastic.

So, I've found a love of food again (I never really lost it...) and each Thursday morning is a mini Christmas of opening boxes to discover what exciting food we'll be eating over the next week. Mid week dinners still feel like a chore, but with good ingredients they're more interesting and much tastier than in the past.

Honestly the fact that the food is organic, local and ethical is an added bonus that I often forget, but it's a very nice one all the same.

Grey Ghost

Last Friday I had an incredible visit to an incredibly cold nature reserve with three of my four favourite people. This week's blog was going to be about that visit but one of my companions has got there first! So because father knows best here's my Dad's description of our visit to the brilliant Nene Washes. With hot chocolate and two new species of bird to add to my life list. Possibly a perfect day.

http://markavery.info/2015/02/09/nene-washes/

Winter Walks

Last week turned out to be too much fun to fit a blog in! I even failed to complete my Big Garden Birdwatch. While visiting Norfolk with friends over the weekend we discovered our holiday house didn't have a garden. And it seemed rather unscientific to use the only view from the house which looked out onto The Wash. So I'll wait for next year.

The holiday did give us a chance to visit the RSPB's Titchwell reserve and enjoy the gorgeous reedbeds, a flock of avocets and more greenfinches than I've seen for years. 

This week has been another busy one, but with time for a walk along a Leicestershire canal seeing bullfinches, buzzards, redwings and black headed gulls. A cold walk but with sunshine and birdsong in the air a welcome hour.

Sothe message for this week is get out and into nature whatever the weather as winter's got some magical moments to offer!

Peddle Power

Winter can be a hard time to get outside. It's dark, it's cold and (at least in the South West) it's often wet too; not the most appealing conditions. But as much as I'd like to I can't  hibernate at home (except for the occasional glorious frosty walk) for the whole season so go outside I must.

It's a 30 minute walk for me to get to my office and an hour walk for the husband (his extra time, he reminds me, is up a massive hill too) and although it's a very pretty walk along the riverside with the chance of kingfishers, long tailed tits and cormorants we often find ourselves easily convinced to walk the five minutes up to the bus stop instead. Despite the bus having a higher top speed with waiting times and so much traffic in Exeter this journey actually isn't any quicker for  me than walking!

One week last November we realized that we hadn't walked once, in either direction. So five days ended without any exercise worth mentioning, and having spent roughly £16 (£1.60 each way) each on unnecessary transport. Enough was enough, that Saturday we visited our local Halfords and spent some of our wedding gift money on new bikes, helmets, high-visibility jackets, lights, panniers and locks. I'm very pleased with my new helmet; it's high-vis green!

I won't pretend that this was all cheap. There are some things you don't want to be stingy about (for most of the safety equipment and locks you get what you pay for) but while we took the easy option of buying everything new and off the shelf a quick Google search of "second hand bikes Exeter" reveals loads of places where starting cycling doesn't have to break the bank. See here, here or here. Also, we found that when we compared the price of bikes to how much we would be saving by not taking the bus it didn't take long before we were breaking even!

So with all this new kit and the excitement of my first brand new bike since I was ten the initial few days were easy. Speeding down the riverside looking out for wildlife we were amazed as how much quicker our journeys were. I quickly gave up taking a change of clothes to the office, as the extra 5-10 minutes it took to get changed meant I was still leaving as early as if I'd walked and after a week or two I wasn't really sweaty or out of breath enough to need to change. It only takes me 15 minutes to cycle now so we also get an extra 30 minutes each day which means more sleep and more spare time in the evenings.

Since the new year we've been tempted by the buses twice. Once due to extreme weather (so windy we were literally peddling to stay still) and once because we were going out in the evening after work and didn't fancy cycling home separately (it's hard to chat on single track paths). But that's not too bad. We're getting 30 minutes exercise most days and although cycling actually uses less calories than walking at the speeds I'm going at least I'm doing the activity rather than sitting on a bus. The fresh air makes a difference too. We've both found that cycling home helps us clear our heads, when walking or busing found us still mulling work problems over dinner.

It's not the first time I've blogged about cycling (see here and here) but I've already kept it up for longer than ever before and after two months we're both still firm bicycle fans. We've been adventuring along the local cycle routes at weekends too discovering that pubs and favourite nature spots are within easy reach and most have cycle racks which we'd never noticed before. I've even found that cycling to my local choir is quicker than sitting in evening traffic! The speed, fresh air, cheapness and small amount of exercise cycling provides all add up to a great reason to swap the bus or car for the bikes this winter, and if you can get through the winter enjoying the outside just think how good spring and summer will be!

Speaking of the seasons, this weekend is the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch and I'll be spending an hour with friends discovering the wildlife in a garden away from Devon. Come back next Monday to find out where we were and what we saw. Don't forget to count the birds in your garden this weekend too!

Energy Without The Guilt

How much energy we use has always been a heated topic in our house. My husband has reasonably normal requirements like being warm enough not to be shivering when inside and having enough light that you don't need to feel your way around the house. If left unchecked my habits however become a little fanatical in terms of saving energy. When home alone for the day I'll normally be found either wrapped in jumpers and quilts insisting there's enough light ( until a light is turned on and I'm amazed how much better I can see) or tucked into our tiny kitchen which is kept toasty by our washer/dryer.

The reason for my refusal to use more energy than that needed to keep the pipes from freezing is partly concern for fossil fuel use, and partly habits left over from student days when an extra light being on was a considerable cost.

But recently I've had to reassess my mantra of ' turn that light off, it's killing the planet' as we've switched to Ecotricity. With 100% renewable energy leaving a light on only hurts my pocket ( still bad enough) not the planet. The husband is enjoying my new found confusion as for the first time in my life a house full of light has no green guilt. I'm finding it hard to adjust but it is nice.

Ecotricity is slightly more expensive than our previous provider EDF, it will probably cost us about £50 more a year; really a very small amount compared to our annual bill. Also when we joined Ecotricity gave a £60 donation to the RSPB as part of a promotion, so I'm happy to pay the little extra it costs. When deciding to switch; a friend, who'd already done it, explained their choice this way

" I see it as paying my normal cheap energy bill and then the extra is a donation to a company developing green energy, as all profits Ecotricity make go back into expanding the business"

This made real sense to me. Choosing to pay more for energy feels counter intuitive but for to options of 100% renewable rather than 13.5% with EDF is worth it. The amazing customer service is an extra lovely bonus too!

A Fresh Start

Well, after a seven month break for my wedding and then Christmas I'm finally back blogging and it's the start of a new year.

The last few weeks have been spent happily in the company of friends and family; giving and receiving home made gifts, storing away this year's wrapping paper and ribbons ready to use next year and testing out last year's berry brandy liquor and elderflower champagne (both delicious).

From now on though blogs will be back to normal with a new blog appearing here every Monday. Over the next few weeks you'll find blogs on green energy suppliers, the joys of cycling, my veg box and the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch (if you haven't registered yet click on the link ). As ever I'll be looking at how I can green my life without missing out on the best bits.

A Swift Break

As some of you may have noticed there haven't been many posts recently. Between wedding planning and work commitments the summer is only going to get busier and so this blog will resume  once I have free time again in mid  September with stories of a green summer, DIY weddings and tales of autumn wildlife.

In my few hours spare I've been enjoying our local open air (solar heated) swimming pool and hearing my first swifts of the year screaming overhead. I'll be back in September once the swifts have gone, so for now why not get off the computer and go out and enjoy the amazing wildlife we have this summer. Have a great summer everyone.

Busy Baking

This week I've been so busy that I almost forgot to blog, and I'm still busy so it's a short one today. Bread tastes best when it's home made and that's what's filled my time today. It may taste better but it takes a lot longer than a trip to the shops.

Here's my first attempt at bread rolls. Only 4 out of 6 survived to the photo but the first two were delicious!

Two by two

I haven't seen the new Noah film but the adverts have made me notice all the animals that are pairing up after this winter's floods.

From our flat I've seen goldfinches, blackbirds, robins, great tits, wrens and dunnocks singing and finding mates as well as the usual flock of noisy house sparrows. The most interesting thing this week has been the resident blue tits (who are using our feeder and nesting nearby) furiously fighting off a pair of long tailed tits that were visiting the feeders opposite us. For such small birds all four were fighting with huge energy and noise.

It's that noisy time of year. Nature is looking for mates and it's often a matter of life and death. Thankfully us humans can just sir back and watch. My new bat detector is ready on the windowsill. Soon I'll know which species the local bats are. That will be another species to add to the huge list of residents on our street along with the bees, butterflies, swans and other birds, foxes and of course the humans.

Still Drinking Local

This week has been full of sunshine which is a nice change from the rest of the winter.

And a sunny March afternoon was the perfect setting for wine tasting on the rivet Dart. We visited Sharpham Vineyard to test out red, white and rosé English wines; all of which I would happily drink again.

While British wines are still higher in price than your cheapest European or new world wines they compared well with mid range options from overseas. With almost any speciality, locally produced product there is a premium for buying close to home from small independent growers. But it's a premium that I think is worthwhile.

The whites we tasted were a lovely range of flavours from dry elderflower and gooseberry notes to deep creamy vanillas. I learnt lots about how the vineyard adapts its vintages from year to year, and how depending on the weather whether grapes end up being used for red or rosé wines.

This tasting was also wedding preparation as we're trying to source as much local produce as possible to feed our guests this summer. The Summer Red was a particular favourite and since affordable English red's are an unusual find we stocked up. I just hope the bottles make it until the wedding, they're very tempting sitting in the kitchen!

As well as local wine we we're surprised to find delicious local cheeses to taste on site too. The staff were very knowledgeable and the price of a (gold) tasting which included three wines and two cheeses at £9 per person was very good value for a great afternoons entertainment. Especially if your party pick different wines to taste! We managed to end up swapping between us and trying about six wines in the end.

So with the warm weather hopefully here to stay there are many reasons to look up your local vines and try a bottle from near you. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Drinking Local

Buying locally cuts down on food miles, we all know that. But I rarely think about buying local for drinks other than beer, cider and fruit juices. What about my morning tea or (occasional) evening glass of wine?

Tea and wine aren't often thought of as English products. Most people still haven't ever tried an English wine despite there being loads of good vineyards across the UK. There's even one in Yorkshire! For tea I've recently discovered that it's being grown in Cornwall. This Cornish tea is as tasty as any other I've tried and perhaps is a sign of our changing climate.

Next week I'll be blogging more about Devonian vineyards but for now I'm off to find one of them for a tasting to try it out!

Train Of Though

On Saturday I travelled a long way by train. Seven hours from the sunny south west up into the north east; old friends, veggie pasta bake and laughing until it hurts are worth it.

For once the train was cheaper, and probably faster, than driving. I do love it when the green choice is the cheap choice. I couldn't have had a 2 hour sleep mid journey and I wouldn't have seen half as much of the country if I had driven.

Through the somerset levels a quiet came over the carriage as we all watched the waters, still covering most of the visible land, either side of the train. It may not be in the news at the moment but the impact of sever weather is still being felt. We must get better at water policy and planning for flooding. In the future we're likely to see more not less of this.

Throughout the journey I saw deer, buzzards, daffodils and newborn lambs. You can't mistake the season. I'm getting soft in the south and while it may be march and officially spring now getting off the train up north didn't feel warm at all!

I saw a white horse carved onto a hillside I'd never seem before, a rainbow and there seemed to be more stubble fields left unploughed this year compared to normal. Maybe another sign of the wet weather as almost every field on my journey had at least one flooded corner.

Mostly I enjoyed the journey because it was time spent thinking and watching. Just like a long woodland walk I saw the beauty of our countryside, some wildlife and had nothing else to do. It was relaxing. I arrived feeling fresh and rested rather than tense and tired which is what the drive would have done.

Others may not agree but for me it's a lovely way to spend a day. Hurrah for train travel!

Chic(k) Homes

We've just seen the end of national nestbox week (14th - 20th February). But as I sit in bed listening to a noisy crowd of house sparrows rioting as they decide who will nest where in the eaves this year  I wonder what they'd make of the stylist nest boxes that are being auctioned at London Fashion Week. The 11 boxes have been dreamed up by prominent designers and proceeds will go towards creating more homes for nature through the RSPB's work. The money will definitely create more homes, and in a more traditional style than the boxes but I wonder who the lucky blue tits or sparrows will be to have such high culture homes for their new families. Bidding is still open so go to the website before noon today to take a look. Click here for chick chic.

Flowing Fast

There's been a huge amount of water around the South West recently. Thankfully Exeter has been lucky and the city's flood defenses have held. The river is still high though with the weir and flood overflow near our flat still pretty much full. So, this week I thought I'd share a few pictures of the power of water.

The river Exe high against nearby gardens

Foamy waters beneath the weir, whose normal drop of a few feet between water levels has become only a few inches

A small wood that is slowly rising out of the flood waters again, we saw a little egret happily fishing and some snow drops reaching up out of the pools

The flood channel, doing exactly what it should

A weir in wet times, a nice path across the grass in dry ones. It's amazing how weather can change the local area

All Aflutter

It's cold and wet in Devon at the moment. But today, for a while, the sun was shining and it felt like spring. Flowers are beginning to open and I've seen quite a few bees and insects out and about even in this horrendous weather we've been having. I haven't seen any butterflies yet though.

Even thought it's only February butterflies will be appearing soon. Peacock butterflies hibernate over the winter, sticking it out through the cold weather until spring arrives. There was an interesting programme on these amazing creatures on Radio4 this weekend. Living World is on at 6:30am on Sundays and so I haven't come across it before. But I'll definitely be catching up on this episode over the next few days and am very pleased that Butterfly Conservation popped it into their February edition of their e-newsletter all aflutter.

Also in the newsletter was an appeal for donations to the Match Pot Appeal.  Almost two decades ago a tax on landfill operators was introduced to encourage recycling and waste production. This money is then used to support environmental projects which I think is a brilliant idea. For charities to be eligible they have to raise 10% of the funds for a project themselves, then the rest is donated from the fund and this is what Butterfly Conservation need help with. A one off donation of £1 will mean £10 goes towards saving amazing places for butterflies and moths.

While reading the newsletter I was multitasking by booking an Aquafit class for tomorrow at my local pool. The class costs £5 and gives me an hour of fun and exercise. But that £5  could be turned into £50 (£62.50 with gift aid) and would mean some really amazing things for butterflies and moths. So I decided that I could afford to buy butterflies an Aquafit class too (or the equivalent cost) to help their populations return to better health. I might even get some exercise running around looking at them next summer too.

What could you give nature this Valentines day? It really needs our love at the moment. Take a look at the Match Pot Appeal here. 

Change The World For A Fiver

A few years ago a friend at university gave me a book. It wasn't a particularly thick book but it was a brilliant book. Created by the we are what we do  organisation (they also create the I'm not a plastic bag campaign!)  Change The World For A Fiver contains 50 easy actions that will make you happy and make the world better.

Over the years I've rediscovered this book again and again and it always makes me smile. There are lots of days when the news is filled with so many problems that it's easy to think there is just to much to fix, but this book reminds me that everything we do has an impact and can make a difference.

 I'm determined to try all 50 actions this year but let's start with the first 10 for now (I've got all year!). So what have I already done and what have I got left to do? Here we go...


1. Decline plastic bags whenever possible

This is already an obsession for me. Normally I remember to bring old bags with me, but I have been seen walking out of supermarkets with pockets full to bursting and arms laden whilst insisting a bag isn't needed. I politely refused a bag today in fact, in Boots, and the lady gave me a big smile when I did; maybe she hates plastic bags too.

On average every person in the UK uses 134 plastic bags each year and each bag can take up to 500 years to decay. There's no sensible reason not to really.

2. Read a story with a child

This is tricky since I don't know any children locally. But I'm sure I can find someone who wants to hear a story. It's one to work on over the next few months.

Reading with children is fantastic. They learn to read and discover amazing stories, you feel warm and fuzzy and won't stop smiling for hours.


3. Fit at least one energy saving light bulb

When we moved into our flat we made sure all the bulbs were energy saving. Did you know over a bulb's lifetime an energy efficient one could save you up to £65 compared to a normal one? Then there's all the good it does for the planet too...


4. Learn basic first aid

Unfortunately I can't "do" this one this year as I already know first aid. But I can refresh my knowledge regularly.

Helping a stranger in trouble is a powerful feeling; knowing how to put your housemate in the recovery position when they suddenly collapse is ever better. Statistically you're more likely to perform first aid on someone you know than a stranger so get learning and get your friends learning too. You might need each other one day!


5. Smile and smile back

I smile a lot in the job I do. Sometimes I smile so much that I come home and my checks ache. But it's worth it.

Smiling actually releases chemicals inside you that make you feel good too. It's cheaper and safer than alcohol or drugs so give it a try. Why not smile at the next person who serves you at a till in a shop, you never know who needs a smile to cheer up their day.

6.Take public transport when you can

I think I do this most of the time. I always look at train routes before driving somewhere (sometimes it's impossible though!) and the buses around Exeter are great.

A double-decker bus carries the same number of people as 40 cars, and you can practice smiling at people or read to a child while you're travelling!

7. Plant a tree

I need to think about this one. Included on this page of the book is a packet of Scots Pine seeds so you can grow your own Christmas Tree. But we have no outdoor space so I'm not sure how big our tree would get. Maybe I should try it anyway and if it gets too big I can give it to a friend as a gift.

Each tree planted will provide oxygen for two people for the rest of their lives, that's pretty good for a tiny seed.

8. Have a bath with someone you love

I have done this in the literal sense, but being almost 6ft baths aren't always long enough for me on my own, let alone with someone else. So instead, in the same spirit, we regularly share a bath but one after another. It saves water, saves time and saves us heating two baths rather than just one.

Sharing a shower is even more water efficient because a two minute shower uses less water than a bath.  So share a shower too, but make sure you don't linger...

9. If it says 30mph, do 30mph

I agree completely with this. We've all seen the advert. At 35mph you are twice as like to kill someone if you hit them than at 30mph. Also, it's the law. I can't complain about people breaking environmental laws (that I care about) if I ignore other laws myself.

10. Turn your thermostat down by 1 degree

I don't have a thermostat as all our heating comes from electric radiators in each room of our flat. But in most of the rooms we don't have the heating on at all. In the living room we only have it on when it's essential; and when we're already covered in woolly jumpers. But maybe it's time to turn it to 5 rather 6 six when we do have it on.

If you do have a thermostat and you turn it down a degree you can save about £25 a year. What else could you spend that on...

So it's looking pretty good for the first ten, I need to find a child to read with and plant a tree. Both of those sound quite exciting. How many of these do you do regularly? Are there any that have slipped off your done list? We'll see how the nest ten look in the not to distant future. For now, I'm off to find some soil.

The White Stuff

With a new year comes new resolutions, quite a lot of which relate to food. Eating less of it, eating better things, making more from scratch and thinking about how what we consume affects the planet. 

Last year I tried to kick start myself into having at least one veggie day a week. It worked quite well, but I don't think it made me eat more healthily. Evening meals of macaroni cheese or home made pizza are delicious (even if I say so myself) but swapping lean meats like chicken for dairy products like cheese probably won't make me any leaner. 

But the reason for trying to cut back on meat was mainly for environmental reasons not the health benefits. According to the Vegetarian Society's website eating less meat will reduce my carbon footprint, save water, save land and protect the seas. Sounds pretty good! At the moment, I'm having roughly 2 veggie days a week, which isn't fantastic in green terms but is better than nothing. However, is my switch from meat to dairy products really any better for the environment?

As long as I'm consuming animal products the animals still need to be grown, fed and given water to survive. It's common knowledge that animals use more land than plants to grow, and lots more water too. According to vegetarian author John Robbins it takes 60, 108, 168 and 229 pounds of water to produce one pound of potatoes, wheat, maize and rice respectively. A pound of beef needs more than 20,000 pounds of water and to produce one litre of milk it takes nearly 1,000 litres of water. That's a lot.

So, should I be cutting out dairy products, or even all animals products too?

I'm not ready to go vegan or fully veggie yet, but for the environment I can see that we need to eat less meat and probably consume less dairy too. But it doesn't have to be one after another, I don't have to tackle full vegetarianism before I can move onto cutting back on other animal products.

So that's the new aim, keep up two veggie days a week, but start to cut back on milk, cheese, butter and eggs as well. 

In some ways this is quite easy. Nice healthy salads for lunch rather than my normal boring cheese sandwiches actually feel like an improvement tastewise as well as for health and the green credentials; while cooking vegetable soup on cold January evenings is warming as well as healthy (it's amazing how few calories mushrooms and celery have!). 

Breakfasts is where it gets harder. A nice bowl of British grown oats with some dried fruit and milk is a great start to my day and it keeps me full right up until lunchtime salad. But what about that milk? 

Over the last week I've been trying out soya milk (sweetened and unsweetened). So far, it's a success. It adds a nutty taste to my cereal (oats really don't taste very exciting) and while I was very wary about using it in tea it turns out to taste different, but good. I've bought a carton of almond milk too, to try out over the next week or so. We were surprised to find similar levels of calcium in soya milk compared to cows milk too, even if artificially added it still gives you what you need.

So, cutting back on dairy as well as meat might not be too hard after all. Keeping away from cheese and butter will definitely be healthier too! But there's still a niggling doubt about soya, and that's the rainforests.

I've always heard that rainforests are cut down to grow soya for milk and other products. I'm careful about what else I buy if it affects the rainforests, so does swapping to soya milk really do more good than bad? I'm not sure yet. But a vegan friend pointed out last summer that there is far more rainforest cut down for meat than there currently is for soya farms. Whatever we eat has to be grown somewhere and hopefully soya will need less land to grow than dairy milk. 

Cutting back completely is obviously the best solution, but a diet of UK grown organic veg and pulses doesn't fill me with excitement. So for now its one veggie day and one vegan day a week with less cheese and butter, and soya over dairy milk whenever I can. We'll see how it goes!

Spring In My Step

Even though it's still January it's beginning to feel a lot like spring already. A bright sunny walk along the Exe floodplain on Sunday morning gave some beautiful views, sights of kingfisher, even buds and flowers on the trees. 

With the hawthorn coming into bud (even before it has leaves) it's not surprising there are catkins all over the place too. I love the range of colours they appear in, purple right through to greeny yellow; covering the trees like leftover fairy lights.

 As well as all this new growth there's the reliable gorse still in flower. Looking bright and cheerful these flowers can be used to make a delicious ice cream.

With all this wonderful seasonal change it's time to get outside and rediscover nature. This weekend is a fantastic time to do it too with the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch happening all across the UK. Count the wildlife that's counting on you and help to give nature a home this year. It only takes an hour and will definitely bring a smile to your face as you spend an hour watching nature. I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend!