On Saturdays I work at Bell Gallery, a small art gallery and studio located in Denver. On my first day at work I learned about dung bunnies when Susan Bell, artist, gallery owner and creator of the eco-sculptures, handed me one. Shocked by the lack of manure odor and taken back by its cute appearance, I learned that these sculptures are garden-friendly because it slowly decomposes in yards during the course of a year.

Bell came across the idea for eco-sculptures when she felt inspired by Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary (1999), which was encrusted with elephant dung. The controversial piece sparked Bell’s creativity and she began planning her own form of “shock art.” However, her “shock art” was not so shocking due to its environmentally friendly use.

Photo courtesy of Susan Bell.

Bell sculpts small animals such as frogs, birds and bunnies, out of manure she collects from her horses. She spent months developing the right kind of mold out of the right kind of materials and eventually found the perfect combination—using plasticine would shape and hold the manure in place. So that the dung remains odor-free, Bell constructed composting bins out of wire mesh where she mixes the material a few times a year. Because the texture has to be of a certain weight, the process takes roughly two years.

The eco-sculptures range in both size and price, costing anywhere from $8 for a small snail to $28 for a large cat. They can be purchased online or at the Bell Gallery.

What do you think about these dung bunnies? Do you have something similar in your yard to help fertilize the soil? Let’s chat about it; drop me a comment or email me at snelson@ogdenpubs.com.

Last week I was reading my favorite Herb Companion blogs Samurai Sage and The Herbalista. Editor-in-chief K.C. Compton’s post, At My Place: Spring Vegetable Gardening, and associate editor Allison Martin’s post, Kitchen Vegetable Gardening for Beginners, made me think of the various herbs, flowers and vegetables I wanted to grow in my own backyard. Shortly after, I took off to my local nursery.

I asked the owner of my local nursery for some advice and which plants they recommend for my area. The owner suggested a few books I should read, one of which was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Harper Collins Publishers, 2007) authored by Barbara Kingsolver and her family. I had already read this book last summer because I was so excited to pick seeds, watch things grow and become affectionate toward my garden.

Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle documents Barbara and her family’s year of eating local food from their own backyard, farmers’ markets and neighboring farms.

Barbara, her husband, Steven L. Hopp, and their two daughters, Camille and Lily, wrote the book as a family. Barbara wrote the main narrative while her husband contributed sidebars focused on the food industry and food production. Camille wrote about meal plans, seasonal recipes and important nutritional information. The youngest in the family, Lily, raised their chickens, turkeys and helped with the farm work.

This book is at the top of my “Favorite Books List” for a few reasons. First, I enjoy the concept of living off of the land and becoming a localvore. Since reading the book last summer, I’ve tried to eat local, in-season foods and grow my own handful of herbs. Second, I enjoyed the family's collaborative effort to follow through with their goal to eat locally produced food. The family proved that with enough planning and preparation, eating local doesn’t have to be limiting or expensive.

Here are a few tips from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle on becoming a localvore:

•  Eat in season. Find out what season your favorite produce grow in and plan accordingly—this will vary for each Zone.
•  Start a community garden or, if your community already has one, join in.
•  Attend farmer’s markets—who knew you could support local farmers while enjoying delicious, fresh foods!

Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Are you a localvore? If you have any tips or suggestions for eating local or growing your own food, let’s chat about it. Leave me a comment or send me an email at snelson@ogdenpubs.com.