SUSAN SAYS Springing into spring activities

Our thoughts always turn to gardening in the spring. We really enjoy growing fresh vegetables and we’re hoping to save some money on the grocery bill.

Our early crops are doing well and Jim has already picked a few stalks of broccoli. He planted beets, green beans and a mixture of radish seeds last week, including an heirloom variety new to us, a black Spanish round radish. We visited Sleepy Hollow that afternoon and bought several plants. The next day we put out 42 tomato plants, a few peppers and four eggplants. We were very relieved when the prospect of hail didn’t materialize on Thursday. Despite some nasty weather last week, the onions and potatoes are growing and a few strawberries are blooming.

Several exciting events are happening this month. The local farmers’ market opened on Saturday, and offered some good quality fresh spinach, eggs, plants and tasty baked items on its first day.

Earth Day will be celebrated this Friday, and I encourage everyone to do their part to keep our earth green. One suggestion is to take cloth tote bags when shopping at the grocery store or farmers’ market. I’ve read that the petroleum used to make 14 plastic bags could fuel a car for one mile and U.S. consumers use about 100 billion plastic bags a year. As gas prices rise we should all attempt to save.

A group of ladies from our quilt class had an outing on April 8. We drove to the Centerton Inn for lunch and then on to the county fairgrounds. There we attended the “Tomorrow’s Heirlooms XIII” show, sponsored by the Q.U.I.L.T. Guild of Northwest Arkansas. We had quite a time viewing the many quilts in the show and several special exhibits. These included some beautiful antique quilts, Quilts of Valor made for wounded veterans, and a memorial exhibit of quilts made by seven Q.U.I.L.T. members who recently died.

Last Saturday the Gravette Public Library hosted an open house for the public. Several people dropped by to tour the library, listen to local musical groups, sample the delicious refreshments and sign up for nice door prizes. If you missed this event, remember the welcome mat is always out at the library. Drop in and let one of the friendly staff members show you all the services offered. Instead of buying expensive books, save money by checking them out from the library. Make the most of earth’s limited resources by passing your unwanted books and CDs on to others or donating them to the library for its collection.

Gravette’s citywide cleanup was held the first week of the month. We hauled a pickup load of unwanted items to the dumpster and helped to spruce up our part of the community. Don’t forget recycling trailers are available now beside the police station.Take advantage of this opportunity and recycle everything you can. U.S. consumers use about 68 million tons of paper and paperboard annually. That means each American uses the equivalent of a 100-foot Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products each year. One way to help is to begin paying bills online. The average family can save about 6.6 pounds of paper a year that way.

Storm sirens sounded Thursday night but, fortunately, the severe weather bypassed our immediate area. We did get a little rain overnight and into Friday but not as much as we had hoped for the garden.We’re running behind on annual rainfall already but not as bad as some of our neighboring states. A cousin visiting from Texas last week reported their area is in a severe drought. According to the EPA, the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water a day. Water use is another place where we can save valuable resources. Be sure to repair those leaky faucets and that toilet that runs all the time.

The grandkids came by last Friday evening to bring some items we’d ordered from their fundraiser at school. We always enjoy their visits. Alyssa has lost a tooth right in front and says she looks like a hillbilly.Matthew is recovering after burning his hand on a hot burner on the stove. We’re proud of A.J. for making the honor roll again this quarter. These youngsters are another good reason to help conserve earth’s resources, so they might inherit a cleaner, greener place to live.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 04/20/2011