Today I learned that a friend of mine is going to have treated sewage deposited on six acres of his farmland. What a great thing!! The sludge is coming from a local treatment plant, and he'll be paid by the ton deposited. The sludge will be spread out over the field and left to compost for a year. These fields were used to grow hay before, now they should yield several times as much hay per acre after the rich compost settles into the ground. Part of the deal is that the soil will be tested several times each year-I would expect only rich hummus to result.
Civilizations have used this practice for millenia. It is still used in China. Read all about it in the wonderful book The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins. It is past time for us to start being responsible for how we treat our wastes. Why dump everything in landfills when we can reuse it as compost for vegetables and flowers and who knows what else?
In our times we need to be creative about how we live. Mother Earth is too precious for us to keep treating her this way. Instead of hiring some company to pour poisons on your lawn, why not plant a few tomatoes and peppers? Even in cities you can keep a few chickens! Be responsible for what you eat and what you do. Your children will thank you for it.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Kitten ADHD
Well! The kitten is just wild! Guess we don't remember how active they can be. lol Hopefully he'll be ready for a nap soon. Lisa has decided to name him "Strider"...although she swears he has ADHD!! He's adorable though. He has decided he is going to drink out of the "big boys" water bowl, which is an old dog bowl on a stand. The others just stand up there to drink; he's too small so he LEAPS up onto it and lands in the water every time! There is water everywhere, but unfortunately he doesn't seem to care!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
2 Years Later...
Been awhile since I blogged! Lots of stuff has happened...Lisa is working in Lancaster, and I got my social security disability approved after 3 years. What an ordeal!
We're up to 6 house cats (all rescues) including the newest- a white kitten I got Lisa for her birthday yesterday. The other cats don't seem too impressed, although they like the kitten food. Sigh. The 7th cat is Sam-who lives in a ditch down the road and refuses to come inside where it's warm. He does show up for meals 2-3 times/day though.
Most of the cats are named after Lord of the Rings characters-except Hera who is our only female and named after the Goddess of Mischief. The kitten doesn't have a name yet, but he looks Elvish so he'll probably get an Elvish name. Right now he is watching me type this from my lap.
In the spring we're getting chickens! We have the hen house ready, but still need to do some (okay ALL) fencing. We're getting abut 25, including a few guineas, and "easter-egger" chickens that lay colored eggs. Can't wait!!! More on that to come.
Stay tuned for all the news -and feel free to leave me a note!
We're up to 6 house cats (all rescues) including the newest- a white kitten I got Lisa for her birthday yesterday. The other cats don't seem too impressed, although they like the kitten food. Sigh. The 7th cat is Sam-who lives in a ditch down the road and refuses to come inside where it's warm. He does show up for meals 2-3 times/day though.
Most of the cats are named after Lord of the Rings characters-except Hera who is our only female and named after the Goddess of Mischief. The kitten doesn't have a name yet, but he looks Elvish so he'll probably get an Elvish name. Right now he is watching me type this from my lap.
In the spring we're getting chickens! We have the hen house ready, but still need to do some (okay ALL) fencing. We're getting abut 25, including a few guineas, and "easter-egger" chickens that lay colored eggs. Can't wait!!! More on that to come.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Right to Work
Ohio is a right-to-work state. Sounds great doesn't it? When I first heard the phrase, years ago, I thought is was great to be living in a state where our right to work was guaranteed by law!! Silly me.
What it really means is that you have a right-to-work-as-long-as-you-are-willing-to-take-whatever-cr ap-the-company-dishes-out. If you're not willing to do that, we will get rid of you and you have no recourse.
Friends and friends-of-friends have been running into this more and more in the last few years. Age and sex discrimination? OK here. Hostile work environment? OK here. Wanna be called the n-word all day? Come to Ohio; it's okay here!
And if you want to take off ONE DAY for a parent's funeral-well go ahead but then you'll get fired for not showing up for work. What? You told your boss you had to have a day off? So what?? This is a RIGHT TO WORK state and we have the right to force you to work, regardless. And don't think you can go to unemployment afterwards because if you're not willing to work, you can't draw unemployment.
I've also learned that you shouldn't report any hazardous work environments to OSHA. Locked in the building all day with no exit in case of fire? Too bad. Fumes getting to you? Too bad. Because OSHA will 1: not take you seriously if you don't give them your name and 2: they will tell you your name is CONFIDENTIAL. But #3 is that they will tell your employer anyway and after your (former) HR departments posts the OSHA poster in the lunchroom (that is required by federal law) you will get fired and they won't make any other corrections because the troublemaker is gone and no one else will take the chance of losing their income, so no one else will report them.
So, go to the attorney who practices employment law and give it a shot. First, no one here will do a "free consultation" because attorneys have to make money somehow-so they will charge you a fee upfront before they will talk to you. Then they'll tell you that yes, you work for an asshole and there's nothing you can do about it because...Ohio is a right-to-work state!!! Yeehaw. And then you will see on a 'documentary' on tv about how Appalachians are depressed and alcoholics and you will wonder why. This is why.
(Don't call the unions either. They don't call back. It sounds really good to think you can get a union rep down here and unionize the god-company. Then we can all be protected and be able to work and pay our rent and buy food for the kiddies. Sorry-they're not interested either.)
It is a feudal society where only the kings and queens rule and classism is rampant. I wondered for the last few years why no one was talking about this. Where is the anger? The questions? The will to stop it?
I think all that must have been crushed years ago. My grandfather had the union in the coal mines and that is what saved his life. His granddaughter is wondering what happened to the notion that working people deserve not only a job, but a little human dignity to go with it.
What it really means is that you have a right-to-work-as-long-as-you-are-willing-to-take-whatever-cr ap-the-company-dishes-out. If you're not willing to do that, we will get rid of you and you have no recourse.
Friends and friends-of-friends have been running into this more and more in the last few years. Age and sex discrimination? OK here. Hostile work environment? OK here. Wanna be called the n-word all day? Come to Ohio; it's okay here!
And if you want to take off ONE DAY for a parent's funeral-well go ahead but then you'll get fired for not showing up for work. What? You told your boss you had to have a day off? So what?? This is a RIGHT TO WORK state and we have the right to force you to work, regardless. And don't think you can go to unemployment afterwards because if you're not willing to work, you can't draw unemployment.
I've also learned that you shouldn't report any hazardous work environments to OSHA. Locked in the building all day with no exit in case of fire? Too bad. Fumes getting to you? Too bad. Because OSHA will 1: not take you seriously if you don't give them your name and 2: they will tell you your name is CONFIDENTIAL. But #3 is that they will tell your employer anyway and after your (former) HR departments posts the OSHA poster in the lunchroom (that is required by federal law) you will get fired and they won't make any other corrections because the troublemaker is gone and no one else will take the chance of losing their income, so no one else will report them.
So, go to the attorney who practices employment law and give it a shot. First, no one here will do a "free consultation" because attorneys have to make money somehow-so they will charge you a fee upfront before they will talk to you. Then they'll tell you that yes, you work for an asshole and there's nothing you can do about it because...Ohio is a right-to-work state!!! Yeehaw. And then you will see on a 'documentary' on tv about how Appalachians are depressed and alcoholics and you will wonder why. This is why.
(Don't call the unions either. They don't call back. It sounds really good to think you can get a union rep down here and unionize the god-company. Then we can all be protected and be able to work and pay our rent and buy food for the kiddies. Sorry-they're not interested either.)
It is a feudal society where only the kings and queens rule and classism is rampant. I wondered for the last few years why no one was talking about this. Where is the anger? The questions? The will to stop it?
I think all that must have been crushed years ago. My grandfather had the union in the coal mines and that is what saved his life. His granddaughter is wondering what happened to the notion that working people deserve not only a job, but a little human dignity to go with it.
Woodpeckers and Cougars and Bears-Oh My!
My mother asked me the other day if I knew what to do if I saw a bear. "Get my camera" wasn't the answer she was looking for. But it is what I'd do-hopefully. Apparently there's been a lot of bear and cougar sightings around here- and the park rangers are doing workshops to teach people what to do. (put your hands in the air and back away slowly...sounds like a cop show.)
We don't have a newspaper here, so we don't get to read about all the local happenings.Everyone on my road has seen "our bear" except me. (and you wonder why I'm depressed-lol) Sometimes I hope he will come eat the extremely noisy neighbor's dogs-okay I don't really hope that. But they are loud and have driven away some of my wildlife...sigh. And I'm starting to suspect she's an irresponsible breeder, but that story is for another time.Haven't seen any cougar tracks either.
I did hear the pileated woodpeckers yesterday and this morning-but no sightings yet. They usually only come up from the woods twice/year- early spring and late fall. The first time I saw one I was just in shock at the size and beauty-so I look forward to seeing them every year. If it doesn't pour down rain today maybe I'll get a glimpse.
We don't have a newspaper here, so we don't get to read about all the local happenings.Everyone on my road has seen "our bear" except me. (and you wonder why I'm depressed-lol) Sometimes I hope he will come eat the extremely noisy neighbor's dogs-okay I don't really hope that. But they are loud and have driven away some of my wildlife...sigh. And I'm starting to suspect she's an irresponsible breeder, but that story is for another time.Haven't seen any cougar tracks either.
I did hear the pileated woodpeckers yesterday and this morning-but no sightings yet. They usually only come up from the woods twice/year- early spring and late fall. The first time I saw one I was just in shock at the size and beauty-so I look forward to seeing them every year. If it doesn't pour down rain today maybe I'll get a glimpse.
Sea Shepherd
I watched Whale Wars on Animal Planet last year and still think about it a lot. I really like this organization who put their words into action. You can volunteer as part of the crew and work the oceans to stop Japanses whalers. If you didn't see the show, catch it in reruns.
Paul Watson is the captain and head of the organization. He used to work for Greenpeace, but realized that direct action was the better course of action-letter writing only goes so far, and whales were still being slaughtered. He and his crew disrupt the whaling ships so they can't hunt. What other organization encourages you to work with them, instead of just sending money??They are at sea again now trying to stop the hunt. You can follow their progress on their blog. www.seashepherd.org
Paul Watson is the captain and head of the organization. He used to work for Greenpeace, but realized that direct action was the better course of action-letter writing only goes so far, and whales were still being slaughtered. He and his crew disrupt the whaling ships so they can't hunt. What other organization encourages you to work with them, instead of just sending money??They are at sea again now trying to stop the hunt. You can follow their progress on their blog. www.seashepherd.org
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Rain
It has been a drizzly week. Consistent rain and fog and very cool temperatures; haven't even been motivated to get out the camera and I usually love rain pictures!
I did see the Baltimore Orioles a few days ago-but not since. Unlike all of the literature, they seem to ignore the orange slices, orange 'juice' etc. and drink the hummingbird sugar-water and eat a few seeds. My oranges will rot again, as usual.
I suspect the wild cat has had her kitten (s?) She looks thinner this morning-but we haven't found them yet and so we don't know if they're living. Perhaps she just had a miscarriage as she wasn't that big to begin with. We need to concentrate on capturing her and get her spayed. Joy.
Time to go get dressed...
I did see the Baltimore Orioles a few days ago-but not since. Unlike all of the literature, they seem to ignore the orange slices, orange 'juice' etc. and drink the hummingbird sugar-water and eat a few seeds. My oranges will rot again, as usual.
I suspect the wild cat has had her kitten (s?) She looks thinner this morning-but we haven't found them yet and so we don't know if they're living. Perhaps she just had a miscarriage as she wasn't that big to begin with. We need to concentrate on capturing her and get her spayed. Joy.
Time to go get dressed...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
