Dennis Sallans

I spent the afternoon reading about electric cars. I have been thinking about getting one for years, but I have a working car and could not justify the expense.
I know people are often surprised at the cost of installing a charger. This is something I researched last year and since we recently updated our electrical panel to 200 amps, I know we will be able to accommodate a level 2 charger.
My research today focused on different types of cars. I want to get a SUV or crossover. Last year, I was interested in the Bolt EUV, but they are not being made anymore. I am considering cars that have the highest range (about 400km) and lowest cost (under 50 000). There are two cars that stood out. One is the Chevy Equinox which is new and not yet available in Canada. Being a new design, I would like to wait to hear if there are any problems before I seriously considered it. The second car is the Hyundai Kona. The 2024 Kona is getting rave reviews. It is described as roomier, with better performance than previous years. It also has a heat pump to help improve winter driving range. I want to test drive this car. I know it will preform well, but I am curious about how well I can see around the car when in the driver seat.
Ideally I would like to take advantage of the federal rebate, which will likely be cancelled after the next election. However, it all comes down to asking myself how can I afford it?

I've checked this off, but it is not yet complete.
I use to have a worm compost. I made a worm "hotel" with 3 layers, but I found the worms only stayed on one level. This time, I'm only going to use one bin. Also I did some more research and think that I was feeding them too much and the soil got too acidic (worms wanted to escape). So, I have learned and think this time will be better. I plan on using the compost ("black gold") in my vegetable garden.
The reason it is not yet complete is that the temperature has to be above freezing for a couple of days so that the worms can be mailed. I found a few places that you can order worms from. I plan on getting 1/2 pound, and the cheapest place I found was in Kitchener https://www.motherworms.ca/ ($30). There is another place in Kitchener
https://wormwrangler.org/ where the cost is $40, but that also includes worm bedding.https://wormwrangler.org/. Mailing cost is about $25 dollars extra.
With the warm weather, I just tried to order and found out these two places are currently "out of stock". I will keep watching and have my compost soon.

Today I participated in a Winter Walk with Friends of the Second Marsh. The hike was 2 hours but I recorded 30 minutes of walking. There was lots of stopping and talking about nature along the way. One thing I learned was that "invasive species" term is starting to be replaced with "introduced dominant species".

Today's walk took me to the grocery store. It is great to be within walking distance of groceries and other amenities. The only downside is having to walk beside a major street with all the car fumes.

First day of the challenge...it's early, but I am off to a good start.