Frugal Prosumer

John taking kids for a ride Any one who knows me, knows that I have used bikes as a major part of my transportation for much of my life. I supose this comes from living for over 25 years in Taiwan and Japan where bike riding is  not a sport but a form of transportation. I own a dozen or more bikes. One for each occasion. As well as have 1/2 doz bike trailers. Both commercial and ones I have built. As a experment in Japan I  onces did a house move using nothing but my bike and bike trailer I had built. Yes, even for the Japanese this was extreme and did get me strange looks. My son on way to his painting job People often ask me what about generating electricity with pedal power. I tell them I'm going to start an exercise gym. Instead of people just "throwing" away their energy I'm going to charge them to generate my electricity as they loose pounds. Of course this would never work because as soon as they found out I was going to sell what they were throwing

Two different stages. Poison ivy in the spring As I often say on my walks. "Poison Ivy is one of the hardest plants to learn how to consistently recognize because it takes on many different colors and forms. It can be dark or light green and change colors in the fall like trees do. It can grow as a vine, up tree trunks or fenceposts. It can also grow as a bush. Most people's interactions with Poison Ivy are negative. Poison Ivy rashes are very uncomfortable, and can even be serious for people who are highly allergic. However, many consider Poison Ivy's foliage to be beautiful, especially in the fall. Some people plant Poison Ivy in their gardens or along forest edges to add color. Poison Ivy can also attract many songbirds and deer. Deer like Poison Ivy so much, it may keep them from eating other garden plants.   The following link has more good pictures of Poison Ivy to help you identify it.  Poison Ivy