New Years 2001-2002

And for one that sums up the event...

Beware the Yule Cat

Is all your autumn spinning done???

I was doing some reading about old solstice and yule celebrations and came across the Icelandic Yule cat. Apparently, if you don't get all your autumn wool spinning done by the winter solstice, the Yule Cat eats you in the middle of the night.


So, you've got about 20 days...

You all know the Yule Cat
And that Cat was huge indeed.
People didn't know where he came from
Or where he went.

He opened his glaring eyes wide,
The two of them glowing bright.
It took a really brave man
To look straight into them.

His whiskers, sharp as bristles,
His back arched up high.
And the claws of his hairy paws
Were a terrible sight.

(More here)

Bill and I are off to purchase a spinning wheel this morning, so we can avoid this freaky feline.

This sounds like New Years

...but with more goat.

The 36-Hour Dinner Party

Turkeys!

Getting bigger...

 

 

Chickens are cuter than snakes

Milk Snakes

Guess what I found in a pile of slate? A gaggle (5) of milk snakes, about 6" long! The kids, mostly Thomas, thought they were pretty cool. He is still looking for them. They are pretty cool, once you look them up to make sure that they are not massaqua rattlesnakes. Kelly did not appreciate a tangle of snakes so close to her kids, poisonous or no, so we relocated them to the neighbors yard. And no more piles of slate in direct sun exposure next to the house. And no more compost heap within 300 yds of the house.

I can't wait to tell my mom, she won't come near our house until Christmas.

The bestest most funniest T shirt I ever saw

In perusing the site of a local hop farm, from whom Jon and I wish to procure new rhizomes, I came upon this little gem at the bottom of the following page: http://www.pmihops.com/products.php

How appropriate given our lenten season, No?

Floating Island Commune

I can't decide if there is something wrong with this idea but right now outside all the snow melted and Syracuse looks like it was just ejected from the bowels of a creature with amoebic dysentery and I just got back from a beautiful week in the sunshine state so this is looking pretty good...

http://www.why-yachts.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl4sbM_O_WA

Who is with me?

Interesting take on national debt

Debt seems to have taken a front and center role in politics (again). While reading this very interesting article on gold, I came upon this little gem of a factoid:

"If you’re worried about massive deficits, recall that our country was founded with debt, debt that was ultimately paid back."

Honey Oatmeal Soap

This weekend we made honey-oatmeal-goatsmilk soap, in a wooden mold.

This is the soap mold.

These are the bars of soap after they are cut up.

Now we have a lot of oatmeal soap... any volunteers to try it out and give feedback?

(We made a 4 pound batch...)

Ingredients: lard, coconut oil, olive oil, goat milk, oats, honey, beeswax, lye

More sunshine

So nature has created smart plants, like the sunflower, that will follow the sun's path through the sky. Well, what about a house (and more season verse daily)? Check this out!!!

New Paltz, NY is where it's at!

This poor, neglected blog...

Needs some sunshine.

 

 

 

 

This sucks

Why do we even bother creating our own environmental laws?

http://www.chinahush.com/2009/10/21/amazing-pictures-pollution-in-china/

pomplamoose

funny

For all you cheese makers

I just read an article about using CLEAN men's handkerchiefs instead of cheesecloth for cheese making or any other form of fine straining.

Woolch

What’s Woolch Mulch?

Woolch. Made from 50 percent wool (a bi-product from yarn and blanket making industries) and 50 percent toothpick-size wood shavings (a bi-product from sawmills), woolch was developed by the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Makers Association and tested at the University of Minnesota. This combination of wool and wood shavings has been used on perennial fruits and vegetables such as strawberries with great success. Woolch prevents weed growth on top and below the mulch, retains soil moisture, keeps the soil cool, and lasts longer than other organic mulches such as straw. For strawberries it even allows the daughter plants to root themselves through the woolch material. The lightweight, felt-like mats of woolch can be cut to fit any fruit, vegetable, or perennial garden patch and generally lasts for 2 years in the garden before degrading in the soil.

For more information :

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLNewsMay152009.html#art1

Remember Stumpy Tunes?

I have songs to share! And I am craving new music.

Any interest/ suggestions in a music swap? We had that email address a billion years ago...is there a better or easier way to share some music in 2009?

Must have music.

Crazy $, but cool...

and I bet I could make one! Wooly "hammock" for plants!

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/gardening/woolly-pocket-gardening-company-089775?image_id=212731

Rural America

USA Today has an article about a shrinking NH town that includes some stats that I've never considered before about rural areas.

• 17% of Americans live in rural areas (that seems so small to me!)
• Only 4% of rural Americans make their living farming

The general idea of the article seems to be that governmental policies and funds for rural America are focused on farming and therefore neglect the majority of the people and industries in those areas.

In the grand scheme of things, I'm not sure what this is all coming to...thoughts?

Dont Move Firewood

With the Emerald Ash Borer recently discovered, just across the Niagara River-

I thought this website does a nice job of getting the message across-
Check out how many people in NY (or your state) have made the pledge not to transport firewood....

http://www.stopthebeetle.info