• Computers
• Fluorescent bulbs, and compact fluorescent bulbs
• Old TVs, stereos
• Appliances

What's the problem one might ask?  Well they all contain lead, perhaps mercury, and many toxic materials and chemicals.  Check the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) for more information. For a cute synopsis of home much toxic byproducts there are from our high-consumer society, it is well worth 20 minutes to watch the video from The Story of Stuff.

So, anyway, we joined the local group that is organizing a day for locals to bring their 'stuff' to a central place where they will be collected, carted off to Anchorage, and disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.  We'll help publicize, identify donors for prizes, collect goods, and thank the sponsors.  When you are considering a new purchase, check out SVTC's Consumer Report Card to see which manufacturer's will help you dispose of the products in the best way for the environment.

Speaking of NOT Recycling - Alaskan towns, being sort of at the end of the 'supply chain' find themselves with old cars and nothing to do with them.  Homer, and many like communities are strewn with abandoned cars and trucks because there are no salvage yards around and it is not worthwhile to take them to Anchorage or other big city.  Thus, the woods are littered with abandoned cars - owners tend to drive them until they die, and then drive them into the nearest set of trees, take off the plates and walk away.  There has been some effort on the part of the borough to collect them, but hundreds of them are out there.

Another Wildlife Warning - Bears in the birdfeeder - Go Figure!  It hasn't happened to us yet but last night's news brought us a warning that the bears are waking up a couple of weeks early this year, and that we should bring our birdfeeders inside since they LIKE SEEDS!  Ours is on the second story so it might not be too attractive but we'll have to be on the lookout.

And on the Global Warming Front - A recent magazine article pointed out there is more evidence of a warming trend - the hardiness zones for plants in the US have migrated north, although not by a lot.  Check out the Arbor Day's website to see the effects.

If it isn't Moving, Paint It! - That is the philosophy the Judi is following - and it keeps Faizel and I on our toes!  She has made wonderful progress in painting the apartment, from selecting subtle tones of colors for the various rooms to learning new techniques for dealing with our 'textured' walls.  When the boat was sold, Judi thought she was finished with varnish - but not so!  Bob keeps building wood furniture needing varnish so Judi is back on varnish detail again!  The bathroom and bedroom are done, the kitchen is taking shape and living room is almost done. So the projects, and progress, to date are:

Visitors on the way - We have just heard from great friends in Virginia that they are going to hop on a cruise ship to Alaska and visit for a while in June - we are thrilled since we haven't seen them since we crossed from Bermuda to the US back in '90.  We hope to have a good time trading stories.

Impeachers Party - Sunday was devoted to sharing a meal, drinks, and good times with some of the Homer residents who have been lobbying for Bush's impeachment.  We shared our living room for the event and Judi put on a great party, as always, and the food brought by the quests was outstanding - Bob was still licking his fingers from the Key Lime pie and Cheesecake 4 days later!

Faizel reports: Another thing they didn't tell me was the size of the birds around this joint.  Here I was snoozing on the porch this afternoon, getting up now and then to give the jay birds a fright (all they do is hang around and eat our seeds and bread, a job I could do if the birdfeeder were a little lower).  And after one of my forays there was suddenly a dark shadow zooming across the porch - that got my keeper's attention!  It was one of the local bald eagles - probably on a reconnaissance flight to see if he could lift me! He must have liked what he saw 'cause he went to a nearby tree and parked himself there for about an hour waiting to see it he could get a clear shot.  My keepers are so chicken, they made me come inside 'just in case' - I'm sure with the pounds I've put on this winter he could not have lifted me!
 

Eagle Lady - On the end of Homer Spit lives a lady known locally as The Eagle Lady since during the winter she collects frozen salmon and feeds the bald eagles.  Well, eagles are no dummies and when a free meal is on offer they come from miles around, hundreds of them, waiting for their chance to share in the spoils.  As you can see to the left, they congregate like something out of Hitchcock's 'The Birds', but these guys are much bigger than crows and sea gulls.  A local ordinance forbids anyone feeding eagles before 20 December (so as to not bias the bird count performed then), but Jean regularly ignores this and locals regularly report her to the police - one of the fun aspects of living in a small town in Alaska.  As we walked the nearby beaches we felt that the eagles cruising overhead were checking out Faizel - "Doesn't he look like a tasty morsel" they cawed to each other.

Impeachment progress - After several months of collecting names on a petition and waving signs at the local park and making speeches at the City Council meetings we got one of the city Councilmen to sponsor a resolution to urge Congress to act.  But on the day (or night, actually) two of the council members were absent and the remaining ones did not want to get involved ("not a local issue" despite the fact that over $6,000,000 of local funds have gone into the Iraq war so far) so the resolution died on the vine.  This is not the end of our efforts - Judi will be organizing a PARTY to drown our disappointment! 

Police Beat (Homer Police do good work but the public does their best to make it interesting):

• Mar 1 - A caller told police a moose was in her yard charging her dogs. Police advised her of her options.

• Mar 1 - A caller told police 2 men were too close to a moose. Police advised men to keep their distance.

Think moose might be an issue in Alaska??