I took a look at my blog and gasped when I realized that so much time had passed since I last posted. Yeesh, where does that time go?

Looking back on September and October a ton has been accomplished. I, with my landlords, who happen to be friends of mine, decided to install a dog poo composter! With three large dogs doing their business in the backyard, the poo sure adds up and fast! We both did some research and used the instructions from City Farmer with a few amendments.

The Three Poopers

How We Did It

First we dug a large hole to fit the 3.5 ft high plastic garbage can.

I should clarify about the hole. I only dug a small part of it as there were so many roots I gave up hacking at them with my dull axe, which I should have sharpened. However, it would have required me to navigate the garage, that isn’t mine, and dig out some tools, that aren’t mine, so I threw in the towel.

Next we, actually Chris, drilled 1 inch holes a few inches apart in rows going down the garbage can around the entire can including the bottom . Drain rock went into the bottom of the hole.Then in went the accumulating poo, it filled 1/3 of the can. A lid went on the top and there it sat. Our dog poo composter.

I added a package of Septonic, a septic tank enzyme that breaks down sewage. Over the next few weeks I continued to add poo until we got to 1/2 a can.  A half a can of poo? Surely that wasn’t supposed to happen.

I got online and did some research and found that if the composter is not working properly there is generally not enough water and possibly not enough septic tank enzymes. I breathed a sigh of relief.

So I added water (a fair amount) every time I added poo. Then I added additional ezymes weekly and it started getting smaller!! It was working, it was fabulous, it was exciting!

It may seem a little silly to get so excited over a dog poo composter, but until I started putting the poo all in one spot it was really hard to tell how much waste really does come out of our pets. Now there are tons, well perhaps pounds, of poo being kept out of the landfill.

We are just going into our third month of operating our poo composter and everything is running smooth, literally.

What do you think about composting dog poo? Is this something you would consider installing in your own back yard?

So I launched off September by volunteering for SOUL at the Main St. Mid Week Farmers Market. What a great atmosphere this market has. We met some amazing people, and there is a great sense of community, not to mention fabulous farm fresh veggies.

Lora and Trish at the SOUL table

The farmers market is at the Main St skytrain station, just in front of the train terminal, they are there every Wednesday from 3 PM to 7 PM until close to the end of October. I definitely recommend checking this one out, bring your dogs!

Mia and Jules at the Main St Farmers Market

UPCOMING EVENTS

• White Rock Farmers Market, Sunday September 13th from 9am – 1pm. I will be with the Pesticide Free Group table taking in pesticides and herbicides that people need to get rid of.
• Can West Horticulture Show, September 23 & 24th. I will be working with the SOUL group at their table, come out and ask the organic master gardeners your gardening conundrums. It should be an inspirational and educational show for all.

I am looking forwards to working with the Ban Pesticides Group and with the SOUL group this next season. Stay tuned for the new Ban Pesticides Group website.

September has arrived, and even though it is closer to fall, I must admit I am pretty relieved the craziness of August has come to an end.

I have welcomed a new furry member to my family dog pack and so here is Mrs Mia Wallace! (Goes by Mia).

Anyone other than my close friends know where the name comes from? Hint, my other dog is Jules.

Jules and Mia excited to go for a drive.

I love having dogs in my life, and as odd as it sounds two dogs are definitely less stressful than just having one dog. More work, but they keep me grounded in a way that nothing else ever has. Dogs are emotional creatures and they sense every nuance of emotion in my own life.

What does that mean to me? I must continually work on having a calm and patient demeanor because when I am anxious, frustrated, worried or stressed the dogs feel it and react by not listening. It’s a great daily reminder to be patient and calm and the best part, I get reminders  at least 30 times a day.

In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semi human.  The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.  ~Edward Hoagland

My life lessons last month are; open yourself to the possibilities of life and dreams. Be patient and calm to accept the gifts.

And so I welcome September and it’s new beginnings, the restart of community events, planning and the best part of all, fall design projects!