Pets · Eco-Chick

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21 New Additions to the Family!

Do you remember the article on my bug fetish, “What’s Bugging Summer Rayne,” I wrote years ago for SASS Magazine, as per Sean’s request?

Well, I just got a whole new troupe of arthropods in today, which is cause for great excitement. My friend, Jake and I were preparing the terrariums all weekend. There were a few mishaps along the way. Jake fell off the ladder while hanging up some plants and put a foot straight through one of the glass cases. He cut himself up pretty badly and we had to go get peroxide and bandages because he was a bleeder. Right after that, we had to go back to the pet store to get another terrarium.

Then this morning, UPS never delivered the blasted insect package because the plane had been delayed. Finally, UPS came back, but only on a whim because the shipper misspelled my street name. Thank goodness they found me–otherwise I would have had a box of fried cockroaches!

Right now I have two terrariums: Forest terrain and desert terrain–to accommodate the different habitat preferences of the species. I’m in agreement with Jake: The desert terrain is pretty damn sweet. I have a number of succulents and a coconut hut, the latter which has been the hotbed of insect activity. I think the Madagascar hissing cockroach (who is more suitable in the forest terrain, but had to separate him from the female roaches for obvious reasons) is shacking up right now with a desert millipede in the hut. That inspires me to actually create a new terrarium with little coconut huts with signs like, “The Roach Motel,” “The Bug Bar,” “Centipede Shoe Shine”….you know, the usual hang-out joints for beasts like these.

I have a lot of new insects that I haven’t raised before, like the red-backed darkling beetles and common darkling beetles. I was actually surprised that they do headstands as a defensive mechanism, which is pretty cool. They’re related to the blue death-feigning beetles, (which I have raised before), and who actually roll over and play dead. Well, at least I know they are pretty agile–maybe I should start a coconut hut-gymnasium.

Another newcomer is the absolutely stunning show-stopper of a bug: A female Hercules beetle. She has not removed herself from the organic banana and kiwi slices, but graciously shares them with the Black African millipedes (my favorite) and the red-backed darklings. This will provide endless hours of enjoyment for me…Just wait until I start walking them in Bryant Park… ;o)

A female blue death-feigning beetle on a succulent

Check out more from eco model Summer Rayne on her blog.

insects, pets, terrariums, urban insects

Green Goes to the Dogs

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by Starre Vartan · 04/10/08

I already have an Earth Day outfit picked out for myself (vintage jacket, organic cotton 7′s, recycled jellies from Melissa), but what about my faithful hound dog? I adopted my gorgeous cocker spaniel from a local rescue group three years ago and he loves nothing more than a day outside. But after a winter of fluffiness, I just had him shaved down in anticipation of warmer weather, but while we’re waiting for it (!) he has been a bit chilly, necessitating a fleece jacket in the morning, and sometimes a t-shirt in the afternoon.

Since Earth Day in in a couple weeks, the weather might be warm enough for him to romp au natural- or not. You never know with Spring, so I’m going to be prepared!

This doggie t-shirt is part of a whole collection of Earth Day tees at Cafe Press printed on American Apparel stock (so it’s fairly made but NOT organic).

This kimono from Sckoon is made from organic cotton and with the red/white/blue color scheme it can be worn again for the 4th of July.

These tees from Scratch are made from organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles!

cotton, dogs, Organic, pets

Why Greenfest? Here's the Answer

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by Starre Vartan · 11/23/07

by Guest-blogger Katherine Cure

Katherine Cure sipping organic fair-trade coffee from one of the second-hand mugs that were available for use during Greenfest

“Greenfest? What’s that?” the tanned middle-aged East Bay native eating next to me asked, as I outlined to him my reasons for coming to San Francisco for the weekend. So I briefly cultured him on the green, before my mussels arrived. I explained what was about to happen: a three day festival that would display products, media representatives, fashion designers, energy producers and builders, all with green on their label. San Francisco, a known promoter of sustainable and environmentally safe practices (including bans to the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam takeout containers), was the chosen venue for what would be the last green fest of the year. “You should come,” I said, and indulged in my Italian dinner.

Little did I know, even after attending the same event the past month at the nation’s capital, what I was to encounter the next day. Multitudes of San Franciscan and East Bay residents invaded the premises, packed the aisles, and even had to be forced out (myself included…) from the organic beer and wine stand, at 8 o’clock, when it was time for closure. San Francisco’s Green Festival was a success. Good news for organizers Global Exchange and Co-Op America, who with this one, finished a series of four green festivals around America. Good to see the green spreading.

Zach the Poet

Be them hippies or more conservative looking types networking for their companies and local eco-initiatives, I was lucky to encounter a number of very interesting personages. One of my favourites, although I could not really see the environmental in his initiative, was Zach, a poet who sat with his blue antique typewriter and wrote poems about everything with the most beautiful smile. A poem about falling in love, he made for me. Green or not, his presence is the epitome of the immense variety that gathered at the festival.

The anti-plastic bag brigade

Products on display represented pretty much every possible marketable category: food, beauty products, baby diapers, accessories for pets, eco-fashion, building materials and even medicinal mushrooms! Tasty samples of organic farmed produce, fair trade coffee, tofu, multigrain crackers, chocolate, cheese and the powerful drink maca (intense stuff), guaranteed a healthy bite and a full tummy. Eatwell Farm a California-based organic lavender farm selling fresh lavender in bundles and in little cloth packages (that reminded me of my grandma’s closet) as well as oils and hydrosols, was one of my favourites. The extremely creative aisles of eco-fashion representatives clustered in the upper right level, was another one of my faves. Features included colourful displays of clothes and accessories with guaranteed sustainable materials and fair trade products whose profit will reach the communities that made them, instead of some retail store.

The Hippy Gourmet Team

Vibes were loving and energetic; people smiley, switched on and empowered. Puppet shows, reggae bands, live percussion and a couple of wanderers performing skits, culminated the green experience. Once you passed the front door, where I was stopped more than once having of course forgotten my badge somewhere, you were inevitably immersed in the environmental wave.

Jennifer Horning and Kirsten Muenster

The greatest acquaintance at the festival, (other than Coicoi and Ninka, my girlfriends from Berkeley), ends this tale. Jennifer Horning and Kirsten Muenster, the first one a lawyer and the second a jewellery designer, approached the E Magazine booth where I was volunteering, to talk to me about Ethical Metalsmiths, their initiative for delivering sustainable jewellery. A lot of issues are behind the rings we wear and that beautiful necklace we covet. We might be unaware, especially in underdeveloped countries, of the poor work the gold, emerald and silver mines that provide designers with raw material for their creations, under inhumane conditions. Not to mention the environmental impacts of mining. But rather than refuse jewellery (thank god!), supporting empowered women like Jen and Kirsten who wish to find fair and eco-friendly solutions to these issues, might be the answer. By recycling existing pieces, getting certification for the materials used, or just helping in making mining practices fair, these loving, knowledgable and fashionable ladies, to whom I give my ten, are striving to make a difference.

For more on Ethical Jewelry, see this E Magazine article.

accessories, Baby, bags, Beauty, beauty products, clothes, coffee, design, designer, designers, eating, Eco-Chick, Energy, environmentally safe, ethical, Fair Trade, fall, farm, Fashion, Food, health, Jewelry, Lavender, liver, local, magazine, media, News, oil, oils, Organic, pets, plastic, plastic bags, produce, Recycling, solutions, sustainable, sustainable materials, Tea, Wine, women

Your Pets on Green

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by Starre Vartan · 06/21/07

A totally gratuitous pic of my pup, Basil. You might recognize him as the model in this pet-friendly post from awhile back.

No, I’m not talking about replacing Jackson’s face on the $20 bill with a picture of Mopsy (though that would be so cute, no?) but a great blog I happened upon called This Green Life.

In honor of Friday being national “Take Your Pet to Work Day” (see details about what that means here) I figured I would give This Green Life a shout-out.

It’s filled with pet news and information, from the latest on converting pet poop to methane gas, to homeopathy for cats, to how to deal with pet smellies naturally.

There’s only one problem: I’m sure one day I’ll come home to find my ‘blogging kitty’ Penelope, who offers editorial commentary while I write from the comfort of my lap, online and checking out the latest news. And then we’ll have to have a catfight over who gets to use the computer!

Eco-Chick, farm, gas, Home, model, News, pets