Sept. 8, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff
SEED FEEDER
Love the birds, hate the housework. Anyone who has hung a bird feeder in hopes of attracting everybody from a tufted titmouse to a rose breasted grosbeak knows that the feeder eventually needs a major cleaning overhaul. Mold, mildew and damp-sprouted seeds always seem to pack down in the bottom of feeders, and it's hell digging that concreted conglomerate out. Enter the EcoClean, seed tube feeders that are embedded with antimicrobial material that keeps the damp at bay.
Sept. 8, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff
SEED FEEDER
Love the birds, hate the housework. Anyone who has hung a bird feeder in hopes of attracting everybody from a tufted titmouse to a rose breasted grosbeak knows that the feeder eventually needs a major cleaning overhaul. Mold, mildew and damp-sprouted seeds always seem to pack down in the bottom of feeders, and it's hell digging that concreted conglomerate out. Enter the EcoClean, seed tube feeders that are embedded with antimicrobial material that keeps the damp at bay. The heavy duty plastic feeders also feature an easily removable bottom, which makes them a snap to clean. Add in a lifetime guarantee and you've got one dandy feeder for your feathered friends. Starting at $35, at Wild Birds Unlimited; call 993-2473 for more info. - Mary Tutwiler
LOST AND FOUND
Eighty percent of New Orleans' pre-Katrina population has returned. The culture never left. That's the gist of New Orleans: What Can't be Lost ($30, UL Press), a rhapsodic collection of essays, poems and fiction fragments that celebrates the Crescent City's unique, indestructible culture. The contributions - from residents and expatriates, most of them writers by vocation - are accompanied by as many black and white photographs spanning the '80s to the present by Christopher Porché West. From Chris Rose's raw, funny, post-K epistle to America from the city's diaspora, "Who We Are" ("...once we get around to fishing again, don't try to tell us what kind of lures work best in your waters. We're not going to listen. We're stubborn like that."), to Rick Bragg's "New Orleans and All That It Implies" ("If New Orleans was a woman, and some say she is, she would seize your heart, break your heart, steal your money, ruin your reputation - as if that needs any help - and leave you penniless walking through the French Market looking for an orange to steal."), the 88 contributions to New Orleans: What Can't Be Lost are varyingly beautiful and heartbreaking, brutally honest and fantastically whimsical. None is more than a thousand words long, most shorter than a few hundred. They are as faceted as the jeweled bowl between Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi, and as beguiling. - Walter Pierce
ALL SHOOK UP
Drinking at breakfast is one of the great joys of life, when the day opens out before you with all its gently buzzed possibilities. The French Press offers the perfect combo: eggs, boudin and these two beautiful cocktails to bookend your brunch. Start with a yet-unnamed cocktail (which I dubbed Watermelon Man in honor of Herbie Hancock, another great aural way to start your day) concocted by sometimes bartender Jason Walker. He shakes up fresh watermelon juice, cucumber, ginger vodka, orange juice and orange bitters for a gentle nudge into the morning light. Once you've satisfied your hungover hunger with some boudin, follow up with a spirited Parisian Blonde, a rum and Cointreau combo. You'll feel ever so much better all day long. $8 at the French Press, 233-9449. - MT