Oppose the release of genetically modified Alfalfa!

The following is taken from the web page of the Western Organization of Resource Councils.


"In its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), issued on December 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims that there is no evidence that consumers care about genetically modified (GM) alfalfa.

Furthermore, USDA has completely dismissed the fact that GM contamination will threaten farmers domestic and export markets and organic dairy and meat products. USDA’s preliminary determination is to once again deregulate GM alfalfa without any limitations or protections for farmers, consumers or the environment."

You can read the entire article on the WORC website here and if you'd like to give the USDA an idea of just how much you do care (and I oh so hope you do!) you can do that here. GMO plants just do not belong on our earth!

My Very First Blog Award!

Barb over at The Big Red Barn was lovely enough to pass this award over to little 'ole me! If you've never visited Barb and Steve you should definately check them out. They're currently living in Illinois during the week and in Wisconsin on most weekends to work on their farm. It's one of my favorite blogs!

The rules of accepting this award are:

Put the logo on the sidebar or within a post

Pass the award on to 12 blogger's who brighten your day

Link to the nominees within your post

Let the nominees know they received this award by commenting on their blog

Link back to the person who gave you this award, as a way of showing your appreciation for being appreciated.

So here are the blogs I think worthy of this award!!

3 Flat Acres This blog and The Big Red Barn are a lot alike!

Adventures in Voluntary Simplicity

Cage Free Family
Down---to---Earth
Moon Dreamer
My Year On The Grill
Octoberfarm
Simple Green Frugal Co-Op
Tales of My Impoverishment
The Organic Sister
Wisdom of the Moon
Walk Slowly Live Wildly

I'm so very happy to be able to share this award with these lovely people. They are all truely amazing blogs and I HIGHLY suggest you see what they are all about for yourself! There are a few other blogs I thought worthy of this award.... but they've already gotten it!

Another Giveaway from All Natural Mama!

Penny is at it again! This time she's giving away a 2-pack of handmade paper bookmarks with embedded organic lettuce seed! Be sure to check it out!!

Outdoor Kindergarden

I just watched this video on outdoor schooling and I feel like I should watch it again. This is really one of the best ideas I have ever seen! One thing that scares me about having children is the public school system. When/if the time comes, I would love to be able to home school my little one(s). Even though I don't have children of my own I am just disgusted with how kids are treated and the methods that are used to teach. Did you know that a lot of schools are taking away P.E.?? Kids need to be outside. They should be outside. I would put my child in an outdoor school a thousand times over! We should really adopt this and make it the norm. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did!! It's really that wonderful.

The owner of the video has embedding disabled, so you will have to hop over to YouTube and watch it there.

What I've been up to

I've made several things lately, but for some reason just haven't taken the time to share! All of these things are/were for swaps.

Oh and Smittenheart... if you're looking at this CLOSE THIS SCREEN NOW!!!! :)

This scarf is made with cotton music note fabric and corduroy. I was an angel in a swap for a girl that lives in Nova Scotia. It's not warm enough for her to wear now, but I think it will be a nice accessory in the cooler Spring months. It's about 6' long! I also made her a tie-dye polymer clay incense holder and an ocean themed bookmark, but I can't find those pictures! Oh, and that's neighbor Ted, my model! LOL!

I'm also just finishing up a Frugal Living Swap over at Craftster. I've sent, but my partner hasn't received so I hope this doesn't spoil it for her!! Not only are most people trying to be frugal, but also going a bit "green" in the process. It's funny how those two are so intertwined! These are some washable paper towels, rags or can even be used as place mats. There's four of them, 12x12 each.

I also made 16 (I think that was the final count!) washable napkins. My partner has two young boys and I thought they would like the bright colors and fun veggies on these! Along with the napkins is a matching picnic blanket inspired by a post at Sew Mama Sew! The pockets I'm holding out are for small rocks (or something with a little weight) to keep the blanket from flying up in the breeze. I have no idea just how big it is... I think I used a yard and a half of the fabric.

I also decided to make her an apron to inspire home cooked meals! In a house full of boys, pink is a welcome break, so I took that and ran with it. I had a pattern from Vanilla House Designs that I had never attempted and thought this the best opportunity. It's their Friday Night Apron, modeled by my co-worker (and yes, this picture has made it to more places than just here!!)

I sure hope it fits her better than it does him!! LMAO!!

Somehow I missed turning this picture around, but it at least shows the detail of the pretty, pretty fabric. The colors are much truer than in the first picture.

I was also in a bookmark swap, but I don't have pictures of the metal or cross stitch bookmarks that I made. This is the one I got in return!
This is the photo of my little puppy that my partner used for inspiration. Doesn't it look just like her?!

Last day for a giveaway at All Natural Mama!

Like cooking with cast iron? Want to try it out? Then head over to All Natural Mama's blog and sign up for her giveaway of an Emerilware 12-inch cast-iron skillet! I love mine and wouldn't mind having another one.... or another five! Do be sure to check out the rest of her blog, too. It's one of my favorites!

Migrating Guests

I caught these two guys in our field on December 27, 2009. Sandhill cranes are large birds that live in open grasslands, meadows, and wetlands. Mating pairs stay together with their young in tow, so I'm guessing these guys are empty nesters! They feed mostly on seeds and grain but will occasionally indulge themselves in small insects.

We see them migrating in large flocks each year, but oddly enough we had never before seen them settling down in one of our ponds. The photo below, courtesy of Ohio.gov's Department of Natural Resources, shows the tracking of a female Sandhill Crane on her journey back to the North. The red line goes directly over our house. This must be a normal route for the cranes as we see thousands upon thousands passing through on any given day during the migrating season!

I took a video of their call on my digital camera. It's crappy visual quality (I was afraid they would be gone by the time I found our video camera) but the sound of their call is pure.

Have you seen Sandhill Cranes in your area?