Whiteley Creek Homestead Bed and Breakfast Brainerd Minnesota

earth day 2012

How encouraging is this article from Mother Earth News?! Did you know that you can support the wind power initiative by signing up with your local power company to donate money (you decide the amount) to be added to your billing statement each month? You won't know exactly which wind turbine(s) you are funding, but you can be proud to know that you are part of the solution towards less reliance on fossil fuels. Dick and I have been doing this for five years now. Maybe, just maybe, we can change the course of the short-sighted, destructive path we are on and collectively reap the benefits by individually doing our small part to alter the bigger picture. 

Dear Friends, For Earth Day this year, we're excited to share an inspiring new report about the remarkable shift to renewable energy that is now under way across the globe. While much of the news we hear about the environment is doom and gloom, in this article Lester R. Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, outlines how rapidly renewable energy options are developing – especially wind and solar power, but also electric vehicles, hydropower and geothermal resources. Brown demonstrates that a transition is now well under way from an economy built on fossil fuels to a world powered by renewable energy. In the long term, this is great news for reducing air pollution, slowing climate change and building an economy that is independent of ever-more-expensive imported oil. And the global renewable energy boom means thousands of new jobs in the coming years. For example, most of the electricity in the United States currently comes from burning coal, which is a major cause of climate disruption. But as astonishing as it may seem, Brown points out that coal use is already on the decline. The United States is actually burning less coal than we were just five years ago. Meanwhile, the growth of wind power is astonishing – electricity from wind turbines is increasing by 40 to 50 percent a year! If we make a full commitment to renewable energy, Brown writes, by 2020, the world could produce all our electricity from solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal, and we could phase out fossil fuels. "For the first time since the Industrial Revolution began," he says, "we are investing in sources of energy that can last as long as the Earth itself." Click here to read Brown's article. Happy Earth Day! Cheryl Long, Editor in Chief For the MOTHER EARTH NEWS team

chicken of the woods mushroom

A sweet, young couple shared this photo of a "chicken of the woods" wild edible (see note below) mushroom that they discovered while walking our property during their stay at our bed and breakfast Labor Day Weekend.

 

I was so excited to learn that it is growing in this second location. Dick and I first stumbled upon one on the opposite end of our acreage a year ago on July 14, 2010. I was saddened when I learned that Dick had unintentionally pushed the decayed log it had been growing on to the side of the wooded path with his big end loader. Happily, it reappeared this summer on that same log.

According to americanmushrooms.com, "The chicken (aka sulphur shelf) mushroom is especially common on large oak trees, logs, and stumps." If they are growing on oak trees, they are safe to eat. However, if they are "growing on any conifer tree (e.g., pine, hemlock, spruce, fir, larch/tamarack), eucalyptus, or locust trees, they should not be eaten." They can be found growing spring through fall. They are best to harvest when they are young before they begin to dry out. When you cut into them, a little liquid should come out. "Often, only the actively-growing edges of the caps are tender enough for the cooking pot… though slow, wet simmering can have a good tenderizing effect on the tougher, more fibrous parts."

Northland Arboretum in Brainerd, which covers 540 acres and encompasses a former 40-acre landfill that closed in 1972, offers a mushroom identification class in the spring and fall. I plan to be a student in this outdoor classroom.    

cloth sandwich bags and stainless steel straws

Yesterday, from my Seward Co-op outing, I came away with these two reusable waterprooof cloth sandwich bags with velcro closures and a pack of four stainless steel drinking straws.  

 

The bags can be purchased from the creators, 3 Green Moms, at lunchskins.com. How fun!

eco cup

 
During an online search for refrigerator storage containers to extend the freshness of my pastured hen eggs, I discovered these fun eco cups and just had to order a pair for early morning hit-the-road outings... a brown one for Dick's morning coffee and an orange one for my tea. They look every bit like a styrofoam cup from your local 7-Eleven, but they are not. They are ceramic with a flexible, removable, insulating band that tightly grips the cup.

 
The cup's covers are made of some sort of flexible rubbery material that are clones of styrofoam drink container covers.

   

As I write this post, the 1.6-cup size is on sale for $3.99 (regular price $6.99) here. Enter promotion code EMAIL30LNL for 30% off the sale price (valid until March 10, 2011). You end up paying $2.79 per cup! If you add an additional item priced at $2.00 or more (why not add a 3rd eco cup as a gift for an eco friend, breakage replacement, or when it's in the dishwasher) so that your total equals $10.00 before factoring in the 30% off promotion code, you get a choice of 1 of 4 free items. I chose the foam bottle cleaning brush. I absolutely love it for cleaning the jars that I use for my dairy culturing before I toss them in the dishwasher. It's a pretty lime green color. Although the eco cup's cap and band is made of non-toxic silicone, I plan to remove the cap when drinking from the cup. 

mushroom

After playing the Wildcraft Board Game to learn to identify healing herbs and their uses, my two oldest grandaughters and I took a hike on our property in search of stinging nettles. Look at the amazing, unexpected surprise that was alongside the wooded trail attached to a fallen, decayed tree trunk...

 

an impressively beautiful "Chicken of the Woods" wild mushroom!

 

and walking through the meadow... time out to make a wish.
  

healing herbs identification game

The outdoor adventure component of what I planned for my grandkids visit started out with playing a board game called Wildcraft.

I will share more about this board game. I am a "wee bit" busy this week making memories.

bags that feed children

A gift I received this Christmas from my daughter Jessie will, as they say, "keep on giving." A third of the proceeds from the sale of each 100% cotton and burlap collapsible FEED bag feeds 100 school children through the United Nations World Food Program. The bag's concept and design is the brainchild of presidential niece Lauren Bush. It can be purchased at Whole Foods Markets and online at FEEDProjects.org. It just makes so much sense.

 
 

Eat Local Challenge

Sign up for the Eat Local Challenge the week of August 2-8, 2009 in observance of National Farmers Market Week and receive a free "I BUY LOCAL! Minnesota Grown" bumper sticker. It's simple... all that's needed is your name, mailing address, and email address. You'll receive your bumper sticker in the mail within two weeks. If you'd rather not clutter your bumper with stickers, why not post it in your kitchen as a reminder to shop farmers markets, pick berries from patches in the area, buy or barter for eggs, garden bounty, meat, maple syrup, honey from neighbors... you get the idea. There is so much to be had within a minimal radius of home. It contributes to the local economy, you enjoy peak freshness, it's a fun outing, you get to know people in your community, transportation costs are drastically reduced, and the list goes on. It's really a very pretty sticker printed in cheerful yellow and blue colors.

You might want to read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle A Year of Food Life. It describes her challenge to strictly eat locally produced items for one entire year throughout all four seasons. The book is life-changing... a must-read.  

2009 Living Green Expo

This is a photo of the entrance to the Living Green Expo in the Grandstand Bldg at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul that I attended today. I will not be sharing an interior shot because, despite being thrilled about the huge attendance, I do not relish large crowds. I much prefer the solitude of a quiet trek through the woods or my own backyard. I completed my volunteer duty inside, cruised through the vendors, sampled some food at several booths, and attended two workshops then I was outside to enjoy what remained of the most perfect sunny spring day with temps in the high 60s.

These are some purchases and freebies I picked up at the Living Green Expo today at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. To align my practices with my leaner greener lifestyle, I was very selective about what items I chose to bring home with me. I purchased the Fizzion stain remover because it's supposed to be very effective, but I was impressed by its concept. It is an empty spray bottle that you fill with water then drop in the two tablets attached to the label. When shipped, there is no water weight... just a lightweight reusable bottle. Somebody's using their brain. The Blue Sky Guide is jam-packed full of coupons for groceries, restaurants, entertainment, healthy living, travel and recreation, yard and garden, and home. The guide, which sells for $20.00, was given out free to the first 100 or 150 people in line when the expo opened at 10 a.m. I was the 3rd person in line at 8 a.m. which required that I roll out of bed at 3 a.m. to depart my home in Brainerd (Minnesota) at 4 a.m. You're right... I'm stupidly crazy. Target gave out the pretty red fabric bags with the trademark bullseye logo artfully arranged as as trees printed on both sides of the bag. The oversized bag from Whole Foods is made from recycled plastic bottles... perfect for a trip to the grocery store. The only other item that I purchased was a bottle of Shaklee Basic H for a fruit and veggie wash. It only takes a couple drops in a bowl of water. 

  

To round out my freebies, I came home with a biodegradable peat pot filled with compost and two corn kernels... such a little insignificant thing, but I will nurture it throughout the season like the runt in a litter of puppies because it holds a memory... a snapshot of a moment in my life. I also picked up a few "$2.00 off any one Organic Valley product" coupons and two bookmarks with cartoony-type drawings of  wind turbines from a company named Windustry.

The two workshops that I attended were both scheduled at the very same time, so I had to split my time between the two. One was about setting up a small wind turbine and the tax benefits, rebates, and grants available. Dave Winkelman, the presenter who owns a business called Eco Domes LLC located 10 miles S.E. of Brainerd, is extremely knowlegeable if you are interested in setting up a turbine on your property. At his business, he has many other eco things going on... a very interesting place to visit. The 2nd workshop's presenter, Marty Bergland, discussed open pollinators/heirloom seed saving which covered drying, fermentation, storage, seed viability, and germination. I have been gradually planting more heirloom seed varieties, so I have a deep interest in seed saving.   

May 3, 2009

Today's mileage: 1-mile walk

Total mileage for May: 5 miles

Bible reading? No.

green ideas

This weekend is the Living Green Expo at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. If you're unable to make it, or even if you are planning to attend, you can get a jump on some green ideas by clicking over to my daughter Jess's blog for information on a biodegradable paint tray made from recycled pulp fiber, read her critique of the product, and find out where you can purchase it. 

While you're at it, check out her vintage sewing themed packaging idea and a gift packaging kit using "sewing pattern tissue that is a green alternative to store-bought tissue" in addition to other creative gift packaging ideas for Christmas, a baker/cook, and a child's birthday. She has generously provided detailed instructions for how to create your very own gift packaging kit... so very cute and unique! Now all you need is something to wrap up for a gift. Jess has that covered, too. On her other blog, The Gift Enchiridion, she has categorized gift ideas with descriptions and links to web sites where the items can be purchased. Now you just need to think of a special person in your life to surprise with a little gift. No need to wait for a special occasion. The just-for-no-reason-at-all gifts are the best kind of all.

May 1, 2009

Today's mileage: 2-mile walk

Total mileage for May: 2 miles

Bible reading? Yes.