Friday, September 3, 2010
We've Arrived ...
Our move to Maine is complete. Internet access is still not established in the house. The extremely hot weather and approaching heavy winds and rain of Hurricane Earl are making it necessary to harvest the garden. So we've been busy with that and not focusing on settling in yet. More about the Homestead in future posts.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Save the World's Seeds
Alert! Join Seed Savers Exchange in helping to save the Pavlovsk Station from development
A Russian court recently ruled that one of the world's most important seed banks near St. Petersburg, Russia may be destroyed in order to make way for a housing development. If allowed to stand, this decision will have a catastrophic impact on global plant diversity. Called a "living library", the Pavlovsk Experimental Station is widely considered the crown jewel of agricultural biodiversity, since 90% of the collection's varieties are not found anywhere else on the planet.
Join scientists and concerned people around the world in petitioning President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin to overrule the court decision. To learn more about this issue and to sign the petition, click on this link to the
Global Crop Diversity Trust
A Russian court recently ruled that one of the world's most important seed banks near St. Petersburg, Russia may be destroyed in order to make way for a housing development. If allowed to stand, this decision will have a catastrophic impact on global plant diversity. Called a "living library", the Pavlovsk Experimental Station is widely considered the crown jewel of agricultural biodiversity, since 90% of the collection's varieties are not found anywhere else on the planet.
Join scientists and concerned people around the world in petitioning President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin to overrule the court decision. To learn more about this issue and to sign the petition, click on this link to the
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Why Move Out of the City
Our move from the city to the country has stirred many emotions and broken many ties. Distance from family members stirs many emotions. Leaving the concentration of population strains and breaks many ties. The excerpts taken from Eric Andrews' essay describe the ties we choose to change in our lives and hope our move will facilitate. The whole essay is published online on Of Two Minds.
taken from an essay by Eric Andrews entitled
TRUE CONFESSIONS (on Liberty and The Republic)
"Remember the phrase “Be the change you wish to see in the world”? Yes, that’s Mohandas Gandhi. So what did our Founding Fathers just tell us, what did promise to uphold? That true power lies NOT with the Federal Government, but with the People of the United States. So why are we looking to the Federal government to save us? When there’s a disaster, who do we look to for help, who do we blame? The Federal Government. When somebody spills oil in International Waters, which then washes ashore in State waters, who do we look to? The Federal Government. When somebody smokes in a restaurant, throws their taco wrapper on the streets, talks too loud, will or won’t hire you, pay you, promote you, doesn’t like the look of your jib, who do we want to pass a law to make the men with guns come down and stop it? The Federal Government. When stocks go down instead of up, who do we cry to for help? The Federal Government.
I thought the Federal Government, the concentration of money, power, and influence was the problem. So why do we look to the Federal Government for the answer? Not only do they not have the answer, they are specifically prohibited by the Constitution from acting on almost any problem you can name. That’s YOUR job, people. YOU are supposed to fix the stuff you want fixed. That’s called “Liberty”, the poor lady who’s been banished from our coins and now all but banished from society. “Liberty” is Freedom, but with the addition of restraint not to hurt others, and responsibility to work and do what must be done.
America was not founded on Freedom and Democracy: America was founded on Liberty and Republic. Freedom is when the strongest do whatever they want unless you have the power to stop them; Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner. Liberty demands the strongest are restrained by justice and due process, and Republic restrains the 51% from doing whatever they like to the other 49%. I regret to say that presently Freedom and Democracy have free reign in the United States: Freedom for the Strong to do whatever they please, and for any privileged group to vote to themselves the rights and property of anyone who can‘t defend themselves.
And you look for this government to save you? You’re looking for it to reform itself? Liberty asks that if you want something done, YOU do it. You don’t pass a law to force your neighbor to do it.
Liberty asks, what am I going to do? What is my duty, to myself and to my country? And what are my limitations, so that other men are able to live free without being oppressed by me?"
LESSON: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi
taken from an essay by Eric Andrews entitled
TRUE CONFESSIONS (on Liberty and The Republic)
"Remember the phrase “Be the change you wish to see in the world”? Yes, that’s Mohandas Gandhi. So what did our Founding Fathers just tell us, what did promise to uphold? That true power lies NOT with the Federal Government, but with the People of the United States. So why are we looking to the Federal government to save us? When there’s a disaster, who do we look to for help, who do we blame? The Federal Government. When somebody spills oil in International Waters, which then washes ashore in State waters, who do we look to? The Federal Government. When somebody smokes in a restaurant, throws their taco wrapper on the streets, talks too loud, will or won’t hire you, pay you, promote you, doesn’t like the look of your jib, who do we want to pass a law to make the men with guns come down and stop it? The Federal Government. When stocks go down instead of up, who do we cry to for help? The Federal Government.
I thought the Federal Government, the concentration of money, power, and influence was the problem. So why do we look to the Federal Government for the answer? Not only do they not have the answer, they are specifically prohibited by the Constitution from acting on almost any problem you can name. That’s YOUR job, people. YOU are supposed to fix the stuff you want fixed. That’s called “Liberty”, the poor lady who’s been banished from our coins and now all but banished from society. “Liberty” is Freedom, but with the addition of restraint not to hurt others, and responsibility to work and do what must be done.
America was not founded on Freedom and Democracy: America was founded on Liberty and Republic. Freedom is when the strongest do whatever they want unless you have the power to stop them; Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner. Liberty demands the strongest are restrained by justice and due process, and Republic restrains the 51% from doing whatever they like to the other 49%. I regret to say that presently Freedom and Democracy have free reign in the United States: Freedom for the Strong to do whatever they please, and for any privileged group to vote to themselves the rights and property of anyone who can‘t defend themselves.
And you look for this government to save you? You’re looking for it to reform itself? Liberty asks that if you want something done, YOU do it. You don’t pass a law to force your neighbor to do it.
Liberty asks, what am I going to do? What is my duty, to myself and to my country? And what are my limitations, so that other men are able to live free without being oppressed by me?"
LESSON: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Big Green Move
Moving stuff...personal stuff...functional stuff...necessary stuff...can be a huge job. But deciding what to do with all the stuff - stuff you no longer want to keep or do not have room to keep - now that's a HUGE job.
Here are some ideas:
Recycle paper, shred personal papers before recycling
Recycle plastic
Return bottles for deposit
Return plastic bags to the market
Recycle light weight cardboard
Divide metal items by element and sell by the pound
Recycle books
Recycle vinyl records, video tapes, DVDs
Donate clothing and shoes
Donate furniture and useable household items
Advertise on a local bulletin board - free items
Advertise on Craig's List
Contact a local auctioneer
Visit a local antique dealer with items to offer
Contact relatives to take memoribilia and photos
Have a garage sale
Hire someone to come clean out your basement or attic
Advertise larger items - cars, boats, snow blowers, etc. in appropriate local papers
Check with a local school or day care center to see if they need supplies
Donate food to a local pantry
Some methods are individual, for instance, I gave a crafty friend my left over remnants of fleece fabric. She assembled them all into a quilt and gave it to me as a retirement gift! Nice.
There must be more avenues to use to place unwanted items. Any ideas?
Here are some ideas:
Recycle paper, shred personal papers before recycling
Recycle plastic
Return bottles for deposit
Return plastic bags to the market
Recycle light weight cardboard
Divide metal items by element and sell by the pound
Recycle books
Recycle vinyl records, video tapes, DVDs
Donate clothing and shoes
Donate furniture and useable household items
Advertise on a local bulletin board - free items
Advertise on Craig's List
Contact a local auctioneer
Visit a local antique dealer with items to offer
Contact relatives to take memoribilia and photos
Have a garage sale
Hire someone to come clean out your basement or attic
Advertise larger items - cars, boats, snow blowers, etc. in appropriate local papers
Check with a local school or day care center to see if they need supplies
Donate food to a local pantry
Some methods are individual, for instance, I gave a crafty friend my left over remnants of fleece fabric. She assembled them all into a quilt and gave it to me as a retirement gift! Nice.
There must be more avenues to use to place unwanted items. Any ideas?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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