Do It Right! LA City Christmas Tree Pickup and Recycling

My friend, Keri Dearborn, over at Animalbytes has pointed out this great information for City of LA residents about Christmas tree pickup, dropoff and recycling.

In the past, many Christmas trees were simply dumped curbside, on lawns or in empty lots. They would often site there for a month or more until someone decided to clean them up.

The best action to take, of course, is to cut up, or chip/shred your tree for use as mulch in your garden or compost pile. While I have the ability to do that here, I realize some other city dwellers might not be equipped for such things.

If you can't mulch or compost your tree, the City of LA has 3 different ways to dispose of your Christmas Tree.

1. Cut it up and place it in your standard green garden bin
   
   
2. Leave it curbside, if it is too big to fit in the bin (or you are unable to dismantle it)
   
   
3. Take your tree to a long list of drop-off sites around the city incuding various Parks and Recreation and Fire Station locations. This is a limited time option, though. You will only be able to do this on Saturday, January 2, 2010 and Sunday, January 3, 2010.

Here is complete information on City of Los Angeles Christmas Tree Recycling Program. Dispose of your Christmas tree properly!

Photo Credit: Flickr picture by Shira Golding

Audio: Live Reading of "A Christmas Carol" - 4th Annual

Yesterday, we held our 4th Annual LIVE Reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and the audio is now available for your holiday pleasure.

I think this would be great listening while steaming your Christmas pudding, cooking your Christmas goose or enjoying that refreshing "bowl of steaming bishop!"

Listen to the 4th Annual LIVE Reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" from DouglasEWelch.com

You can also watch the video captured live on uStream.tv.

Watch the 4th Annual Reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

I hope you enjoy it!

Opossums in the Garden this morning

My son grabbed this video of 2 opossum in the garden this morning with our new Flip MinoHD. It does a pretty good job, even those these were not exactly right up close.

I had heard noises in the night at about 1 AM this morning and after seeing them, I would guess they were the ones making all the noise. We regularly see opossum here even though we are in a very urban area.

iPod Ready Video

Elsewhere Online: Garden gift guide: Planthropology

This book is going on my "To Read" list... - Douglas

Garden gift guide: Planthropology:

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

The one book you should buy this year for anybody who loves gardening is Planthropology by Ken Druse (Clarkson Potter, New York, 2008). What a book: as the subtitle says, it's about the garden's myths, mysteries, and miracles; and because Druse is among the best living garden photographers, it’s a visual treat as well."

Read the entire article

Elsewhere Online: Get a live tree!

My friend, Keri Dearborn, continues her Holiday Green Action series with today's article on keeping a live tree for Christmas.

Holiday Green Action #11

Go Live. Bring a living tree home for the holidays. A live tree in a pot speaks your green intentions louder than your voice ever could.

Read the entire article