Posted in Country Life, Family, Food, Gardening, Homesteading, Sustainable Living on Wednesday, 4 June 2008 | No Comments »
The day started out with a strawberry picking marathon. We picked about two gallons and it looks like this will be our last major harvest this year. Two things in life make me REALLY sad. The last strawberry in the spring and the last tomato in the fall. At least right [...]
Posted in Food, Gardening, Homesteading, Sustainable Living, World-wide Food Crisis on Wednesday, 4 June 2008 | No Comments »
Lesotho gardens relieve food crisis
As delegates at the UN food summit in Rome tackle concerns over food production, the BBC’s Peter Greste visits Lesotho, one of the countries most at risk from climate change and global food and fuel price rises.
Don’t have stacks of rock around to build the containers? Wondering what needs to [...]
Posted in Conservation, Country Life, Family, Food, Home, Sustainable Living on Saturday, 31 May 2008 | 1 Comment »
I had one of THOSE moments today. I was cleaning and decapitating 3 gallons of strawberries. Unfortunately, the were a bit over-ripe and started to grow mold on the top. As I was sorting the good from the bad, I could easily see how much I’ve changed in the last eight years.
In the 20th century, [...]
Posted in Conservation, Family, Life, Sustainable Living on Saturday, 12 April 2008 | No Comments »
Posted in Homeschooling, Homesteading, Sustainable Living on Sunday, 16 March 2008 | 1 Comment »
Back Home Magazine
I stumbled upon this gem completely on accident. It was one of those LLLOOONNNGGG nights in town that I forgot to bring a book. I also happened to have a hankerin’ for a cup of smooth Starbucks coffee. Perfect recipe for a trip to Barnes & Noble. I’d already read Mother Earth News and [...]
Posted in Radical Living, Sustainable Living, reduce reuse recycle on Wednesday, 9 January 2008 | 2 Comments »
Why are we committing not to buy anything new? There are many reasons, each which is important in its own right.
Reduce our garbage
Step outside the consumerism that wants to engulf us
Model for our children a more sustainable lifestyle
Save money
“Planned obsolescence” enrages me. Every time my stupid iron breaks down (and they always do, within a [...]
Posted in Conservation, Radical Living, Sustainable Living, reduce reuse recycle on Wednesday, 9 January 2008 | 3 Comments »
It all started with a late night conversation about kitchen cabinets. Dh and I have talked unceasingly about The Day. That would be The Day when we remodel our 1980 horror of a kitchen. We have done zero, zip, zilch, nada in that room since the day we moved in, because… after all.. we’d be [...]
Posted in Sustainable Living, reduce reuse recycle on Tuesday, 1 January 2008 | No Comments »
Where does trash go?
Ari Derfel leads a trashy life. He just wants to remind everyone else that they do, too. The 35-year-old Berkeley, Calif., caterer said he saved every piece of trash he has generated over the past year to see how much garbage one person creates. In his case, it was about 96 cubic [...]
Posted in Country Life, Food, Sustainable Living on Monday, 24 December 2007 | No Comments »
I’ve been composing a post about this very subject in my head for months, but haven’t been able to get the words on paper exactly the way I want. In the meantime, my friend Susan has written a great post on that very subject.
Of particular note:
Every now and then, I think it might be better [...]
Posted in Conservation, Sustainable Living on Tuesday, 27 November 2007 | 3 Comments »
Vote: Are wind turbines beautiful or ugly?
I am all for individual windmills, but square miles of windmills across formerly beautiful green earth is so hideous, it makes my heart ache.
Virginia Robin
Taylors, South Carolina
Mother Earth News reader
Ms. Robin’s letter to the editors of Mother Earth News sparked them to do a survey about our opinions of [...]
Posted in Conservation, Country Life, Sustainable Living on Sunday, 25 November 2007 | 3 Comments »
Otherwise known as the Great American Contradiction.
We act as if we’re personally independent and can make our own decisions our own way; in reality, most people are entirely dependent on others for food, fuel to cook it, water, heat — in short, anything they really must have.
Doris Janzen Longacre, Living More With Less, p. 141
I [...]
Posted in Country Life, Politics, Random Thoughts, Sustainable Living on Monday, 29 October 2007 | 2 Comments »
Biofuels ‘crime against humanity’
by Grant Ferrell, BBC News
A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.
Although I don’t have time to write much, I thought this was an interesting and thought provoking article. If you have time, please share [...]
