In effort to be green...

Funny story about this weekend.  It was an extended weekend due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  So, we had to keep ourselves busy.  One project for Tim was to add insulation to our attic.  It's currently insulated, but no as up to par as it should be.  The insulation up there is something from the 60's.  We decided we would get "Green Fiber" which can be blown in, or dropped in by hand in selected areas.  It's completely recycled material...basically looked like pocket lint.  Why didn't I think of that?  Anyhow, I was taking a shower.  I heard Tim up in the attic and a big noise, but thought nothing of it.  Well, Tim knocked on the bathroom door to inform me that his foot slipped and that it when careening into the attic floor, which happened to be the ceiling in our kitchen.   I looked on the floor, there was a pile of the old insulation on the floor.  Then I looked to the ceiling, where there wasn't a clear break, but obviously sustained some damage due to his foot slipping.  Thankfully, he didn't come crashing through the ceiling, but the work that came next would have been pretty much the same.  Since the ceiling was cracked Tim had to cut it out and replace the hole with drywall.  Nothing like looking at the ceiling in your kitchen and seeing right into the attic!  As an after thought I should have taken a picture of the damage, but all I have is a picture of the drywall replaced, taped, and putty.  Now Tim has a week long project of finishing off the ceiling.  Funny!  It's laughable now, but neither of us were very enthused about it in the first place.

Whatever happened to anti-litter campaigns?

I have a recollection of some anti-litter campaigns, maybe in the 80's?   Maybe some of you readers remember.  I specifically have this memory about  learning about cutting the plastic of six-pack beer or soda rings so that they six-pack rings don't get washed out to waterways and strangle birds and fish.  Seems like I haven't even seen those plastic six-pack rings in ages.  I also haven't seen many environmental campaigns as of late, including anything about not littering.  

Lately I feel like I've had this extra awareness about what littering does to the environment.  I have the benefit of working on the East River, where I watch fish, waterfowl, woodchucks, squirrels and some feral cats enjoy the environment.  However I wonder how much they are enjoying the environment since I also have watched plastic bags, balls, shoes, and a Labatt Blue cooler float up and down the river for the past year and a half since I've worked at my window.   At home, we live on the Fox River, where we've had deli containers, balls, styrofoam, toys, and other junk wash up on our shoreline.  Yesterday on the East River I saw a dead goose float by...maybe it was a natural death.  

Today, I was more disturbed.   I had a half day at work and I decided to take the dogs for a walk mid-afternoon down our road which parallels the Fox River.  About halfway through our walk I heard some fluttering from above.  I looked up and gasped.   I saw a bird's nest and hanging from the bird's nest was a blue jay, completely wrapped up on fishing line which was wrapped around it's head.  It was flapping it's wings, but couldn't go anywhere because it was  being strangled by the line.  I looked like a bird had made a nest in spring, partially with fishing line instead of grass.  The blue jay was by the nest and an unfortunate comedy of errors took place.  I didn't know what to do.  I'm not sure if somehow cutting it down would allow it to survive?  It was in a tree in someone's yard and they are people I don't know.  I continued on the walk just a little more and turned around to go home and call the village offices.  Upon calling the village, I explained the situation and she transferred me to the police department.  They said they would send someone out.  I'm not exactly sure what they ended up doing, but I did see the police drive by.    If some idiot wouldn't have littered fishing line behind, this situation never would have happened.  

In present time humans are littering in ways beyond the obvious.  An obvious way of littering is leaving your trash behind, or throwing something out the car window.  We can see the result of this.  Now, we even litter in ways we are unable to see (and have been for a long time).   We recently watched a PBS special about a nonprofit that treats sea lions and seals  that are left to die on the California coastline.  They have researched these animals that are coming in with similar problems like seizures and brain damage and have found that all that exhibit this behavior have a levels of an acid (that develops by chain reaction) which is essentially caused by fertilizer and sewage that flows into the ocean from area rivers, mostly along the shores where the seals lives.  It is just absurd that although fertilizers are clearly deemed as hazardous chemicals continue to be legal, consumed by people, and dumped all over the environment.  

I wonder what it will take for people to realize this planet is not invincible. For people to realize, this is not OUR planet...we share it will all kinds.    

Winter - On the Fox

It's here!  A shot of our backyard upon waking up this morning.  We didn't even know snow was in the forecast.  This is the first snow of the year that's stuck, just 3-4 inches.  What a beautiful surprise.  Outside it was warm, 32 degrees, and so silent.  Peaceful.

Go Further

Go Further is a movie that was made in 2003 starring Woody Harrelson.  Tim and I just completed watching it.   The movie is a documentary focused on the idea that a single person can make large-scale change.  Basically, Woody and some friends rode their bicycles followed by a biofueled bus down the west cost from Washington through Oregon and California and stopped at local colleges along the way to raise awareness about the environment.  Although it wasn't a big learning experience for me, it was great to see people who have positive mindsets about how to save our environment.  Some of the topics explored were paper, meat, milk, renewable energy, vericomposting and organic farming.  The whole trip they ate following a raw food diet (yum, lots of fresh veggies and fruits!)  I found much about their eating to be inspiring.  I mean really, some of the food we consume we can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label!  And supposedly 2/3 of all the food on the shelves at the grocery store has some sort of genetically modified ingredient(s)...and it's not even required by law to label them saying so.  Scary!    In the Extras of the DVD,  Woody read a poem that he wrote that I think is nicely done.    The poem is too long to post here, but here is an excerpt:

Thoughts from Within by Woody Harrelson:

..."I sit on the grass under a tree 

dreaming of the way things used to be 

Pre-Industrial Revolution 

which of course is before the rivers and oceans, and skies were polluted 

before Parkinson's, and mad cows 

and all the convoluted cacophony of bad ideas 

like skyscrapers, and tree paper, and earth rapers 

like Monsanto and Dupont had their way 

as they continue to today. 

This was Pre-us 

back when the buffalo roamed 

and the Indian's home 

was the forest, and God was nature 

and heaven was here and now 

Can you imagine clean water, food, and air 

living in community with animals and people who care?"

...

On spending...

So, we all know the economy is in the pits. Lately, I've been hearing the media pushing people to get out, start spending for the holiday season, and give the economy the boost it needs. Although I understand the reasoning for this, I'm not sure it's quite the final answer. I do know I won't be "playing along." Each day, I am surrounded by people who believe that the holiday is about gift giving, and gift giving means spending money. I just think that if we will be spending money this holiday season, we should be aware of where and how we are spending it. First off, if you believe that shopping will give the economy a boost, please SHOP LOCAL! This doesn't mean driving to your nearest wal-mart. This means supporting the shop who's owner lives on your block. If you want to gift a tool, instead of going to wal-mart, go to Bob's Hardware. Bob lives in your town, and therefore you are supporting your local economy. Or, what about gifting a used-item? I know, this is absoultely absurd!! Heaven forbid we RECYCLE rather than demand for greater production of cheap plastic crap (equaling greater consumption of energy, resources, etc.). If you know someone who likes teacups and saucers, would it be wrong to find unique one at the local thrift shop rather than buying one from Macy's that is just like the other 500,000 teacups being sold at Macy's all over the country? Personally, I would prefer the unique one that shows, "this made me think of you!" Here is a last idea. What about instead of buying gifts for people, decide with them use the same amount of money to donate to your favorite cause. That way you avoid spending $20 on a crappy gift for them and they avoid spending $20 on a crappy gift for you. This year at work my department (3 of us) are chipping in $10 each to purchase hats, mittens, and scarves at Goodwill that we will donate to underprivledged kids who don't have these needed goods for the winter months.  I'm glad we are doing this rather than a secret santa type of thing.  What's the point of basically trading up money for something you probably don't want from someone that doesn't really know you? I just don't understand. If you do have to participate in a a secret santa, what about donating the $ to some special cause (like a local society that raises money for children) under the secret santa's name?

This holiday season we are limiting our spending and we are staying local with our purchasing. Between Tim and I, we will chose to spend time together rather than buy a gift for each other. This is always nice, and more memorable.

I recently learned about an initiative that a group in the UK has. A coliation group in the US called AdBusters also has run a similar thing. It's called Buy Nothing Day. Although this is an interesting campaign, it's not practical. Today, we live in a mode of ease and immediacy. I can't imagine the buy-in for Buy Nothing Day is very good.

What are you doing for the holiday gift giving? I think it's hard to break out of the excessive gift giving rut, but a few of us can help break the cycle. This year Tim and I have 1 thing on our list. A year pass to the Wisconsin State Park system. -L

Learning about Permaculture

As Tim and I continue to realize our dreams of someday having a large property where we can be mostly self-sufficent, we have been researching many things, as well as learning them by doing them. We have several reference book about homesteading, country living, gardening, land management, and so on. Through the reading and research I've recently been introducted to the term "permaculture." One of my goals for the next months will be learn more about permaculture. What is permaculture? Well, in a nutshell I guess you could describe it as the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds. However, permaculture entails much more than just food production. Energy-efficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land stewardship in general are other important components of permaculture. The key is sustanability and harmony with the land. You could call it earth ethics. We hope that someday we will be able to practice the type of land management that is suitable not only for the earth, but for us! Right now, we do it on a small scale...consider it practice!

Seasons-a-changin'

We sit here helplessly as winter ushers itself in.  Only a few remnants of fall remain and that's the wet leaves on the ground and a few trees that franticly hang on to their last brightly colored leaves.  We have done the majority of the work to get prepared for winter, including pulling the garden out, bringing in all the patio furniture and we still have some pots to bring in.  Strangely, I have 1 geranium that refuses to let go, it's hanging on with 30 degree weather and frost, I can't believe it!  Tim is outside winterizing his motorcycle and the lawn tractor.  Friday night and Saturday we had snow, but nothing stuck.  Now, there is a flurry coming down again. Although I truly love the first winter snowfall that sticks to the ground, I hope we have a mild winter, at least not one with the amount of snow we had last year!  -L

Fall On Your Knees

I'm not exactly sure how to describe the feeling, but it is always heartwarming to finish a good book.   I just finished reading a well written story called "Fall On Your Knees" by Ann-Marie MacDonald.  This is the book that I started on our Minnesota trip and wanted to finish it during that trip too...that obviously didn't happen since it's two weeks later. :)   The book was wonderful, in my opinion.  The author developed characters that were engaging and real.  The story has many twists and turns, all within 5 generations of one family.  All the way to the end, secrets are revealed and as the reader, I felt more and more involved.  This isn't the kind of book you can read a little of here and there.  You have to sit down, and read large chunks at a time, it reads like an epic novel.   If you are interested in reading stories about the human condition, family ties, and tragedy, I would highly recommend this one.  It is 500+ pages of small text, so be ready for a commitment to it!