Happy Birthday to Me!

Tags

Freedom, fun

What a great week!  I have now embarked on my 49^th year and it was sure a sweet birthday.  I got lots of calls, including the official Birthday Song call from Mom and Tom and a lovely call from my brother Rob.  FB was full of happy wishes and it’s so nice to see all the wonderful people thinking of me, people I think of often as I see their posts on social media.  It’s amazing how big the Social Media world can be and while I’ve probably wasted more time than I should on Candy Crush, I really appreciate being able to connect with so many people all over the world.  And I got some nice cards (a handmade from Momma Chris – she’s the bestest!) and a few gifts too – 5 books (they know me!), some cash (always come in handy) and a couple adorable family photos.  I am feeling so loved.

I also began Knitting!  Mom brought me an afghan a couple months back that was in need of repair – she was sure that Char and I could fix it back to good.  It’s a beautiful melba peach color and I would love to have it whole again as it’s really pretty.  I actually ended up working on it with Bernis at Knitting Club, first taking off the ruined part back to one level, and now adding back a finishing edge.  It’s tough but I’m getting used to the process.  It will take some time but I can soon add Knitting to my list of crafts.  I will admit to trying to impress Dan Saturday evening and realizing I just could not be sure about how to start that next row… so the impressing will have to wait!  I’m sure with the strong encouragement from the Knitting Ladies, I’ll be getting the hang of it soon.

And I joined the Garden Club.  Got started with these folks at their March Seed Swap – another early birthday gift?  I will say YES.  I scored dozens of seeds and look forward to getting them planted as we start our gardens here at the Harn.  Met some really great folks here, including Jeff and Angie from Split Oak Farm who have invited me to come over and see their “kids” (baby goats!).  I plan to stop there often when I’m heading to Bagley as they are expecting baby pigs any time now as well.  Everyone was friendly and it was a fun way to spend an evening talking about plants and phenology.  What’s Phenology?  It is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.  There were a bunch of great reports: lots of swan sightings (including Trumpeters); pussywillow, rhubarb sprout and crocus sightings; and my favorite first hearing and sighting of Sandhill Cranes.  My neighbor Connie (new Garden Club friend) and I both heard them – she is around the corner but her back yard and mine are closer than our driveways.  I got a lovely offer for some lily starts which I will surely be taking her up on this spring.  Oh, plus I met a Death Doula (Lorrie).  How cool is that!?!?  Can’t wait to spend some time with her.

I share this birthday week with some friends and Dan and I were able to gift one of them with a present on her big day.  The other I had gifted with her present weeks earlier but I will from now on be sure to give her a gift on or super close to her actual birthday as it’s really special to have the specific day recognized.  This year having so many wishes truly made my day special.

Dan and I are keeping busy with helping friends in the neighborhood and getting to know more of the locals.  It’s really feeling like “our town” the longer we’re here.  Only a few more days until he’s here for good!  I am enjoying getting settled and look forward to lots of fun the more people and plants we get to know.  We had the neighbor from around the corner stop by… his wife had said to him, “That driveway has been getting lots of use!” So he came by to introduce himself which made me happy, happy, happy as I’ve been meaning (for months) to take a walk over to their place.  It will be an easier decision to head their way now that I have a standing invite to visit.  They are home bodies like us.

I spent most of a day with Anne to look at possible cabins and that was a bunch of fun.  We hit every resale shop along the way and I scored BIG finding not only a couple good books I have wanted (Mists of Avalon, Lee! And Cutting for Stone, KP!) but also a new set of 8 ohm speakers for Dan ($3) and a replacement crock for my crock pot ($2.50).  I also scored a nice pair of new house shoes for Dan ($3) and some ribbons and fabric (of course).  Anne took me to her favorite place in Grand Rapids for lunch, Sammy’s.  https://sammyspizzagrandrapids.com/ and I took her to my favorite place (which she LOVED)… Aldi’s! https://www.aldi.us/  They have a brand new store in GR and it’s the biggest Aldi’s I’ve ever seen – yes, I think it’s even bigger than the St. Cloud one which was the biggest in the state.  Now if they will just get one put up here in Bemidji…  I truly see them as life savers because they bring affordable and quality food to the area.  I was talking with a couple in front of us in line who have been astounded at their food bill reduction, which really helps having 5 kids.

I will say, the best part of the trip with Anne was probably Nigig running from the house with her arms spread wide.  I thought she was so happy to see Gramma home and I was smiling big as we watched her approach. But at the last minute, she came to me!  I got the first Big Hug!!  Just made my heart burst!  I think to her I’m this lady that shows up unexpectedly but it tickles me that she’s so happy to see me when I visit!  Later I taught her how to swing herself on the porch swing and told her she is powerful.  I think that’s a pretty good trade.

We had a visitor from Mann Lake Bees [They’re having a big sale but it ends soon! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/]. Our friend Patrick showed us a couple good places for bees.  It was great walking the land with the warm sunshine!   We will need to put up an electric fence for the bears but I think we’re gonna start with bees this year. This will be a good fit as we don’t have anyone close by doing honey.  We have egg people, meat people, yarn people, and flower and veggie people, but no one we know for honey.  This will make a great product that we use a LOT and give us something to give for gifts.  I have friended a couple bee people here locally online and hope to learn a lot from everyone.  Patrick was interested in the Rocket Mass Heater so we gave him an explanation of them and had a fire and some conversation.

The highlight of my birthday week was Sunday evening.  I did a writing workshop with Jamie Lee (not Jamie Lee Curtis as I reported to Anne the day before…) at Farm by the Lake (https://www.facebook.com/farmbythelake/).  You can find out more about Jamie Lee here:

• www.jamieleeonline.com (blog)
• www.thebeadpeople.org
• www.patriciajamielee.com (consulting/training)
• www.manykites.com (publishing)

I was full of writing ideas by the time we wrapped up and I’ll have lots to practice as I continue to pursue my writing.  I may yet publish a book as Mom foresaw when I was young.

I was also able to get in a visit to new friends Jeff and Angie at Split Oak Farm in Bagley on the way home.  They gave me a tour of their sustainable farm with pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese.  Oh, and cows (who we didn’t visit… next time!). Their goose eggs are HUGE!  And they just had baby goats so I got to hold the little girl and she was so soft and sweet.  I’m really looking forward to their little piglets which should be here any day! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009080365262&hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf  They’re super fun and we had a great time chatting.  The only thing that would have made it better is if Dan was able to join us.  But that will happen soon, I’m sure.  He moves up here this week!!!

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Finally… the Harn is Home

Tags

Freedom, planning

Well Spring is seeming to come early, though we’ve had little re-freezes these past few weeks.  And with the onset of Spring, we are gearing up for lots of tasks at the HARN (shortened lexicon for House-Barn, which beats the crap out of Shed-House (Shouse) where you might need a trap or… some toilet paper).

Some of the work is repair from the winter:

• Removing the cracked garden cistern.  We hope to be able to use this for ponds once we cut it apart.  Really a bummer of a loss this past winter – we should have drained it completely at the end of fall. 😦
• Digging out under the porch door to remove frost heaved areas that prevent full door swing.
• Remove frost heaved dirt under the pallet porch to allow the porch door to open.

Some just infrastructure repair/modification/upgrade:

• Filling in holes to flatten the side and back yard areas.
• Adding insulation to the ground on North and East sides (then covering it with dirt) to push out the freeze line.
• Digging ponds and swales for water flow from the South facing roof.

Some of it is prep for the new gardens:

• Creating Hugelkulture mounds.
• Building an herb spiral near the door.
• Planting herbs, perennials and annuals for food, nitrogen fixing and dynamic accumulation and to draw pollinators and predators and ward off herbivores.
• Planting 75 trees from Clearwater County Soil & Water Conservation District.
• Planting several berry bushes from Honeyberry USA –  We’re still working to determine how many types we will plant and how many overall bushes we will need but this is important as it takes a couple years for trees to become productive.
• Planting some apple, pear, plum trees – we need to consult on this still as well but I imagine this will be about 5-8 trees.

And some things for our final move to the Harn are just now coming to fruition:

• We moved the Bed to the Harn – it’s finally really Home now.  So much more comfy than that futon!
• Getting the furniture in place – and finding room for it all – now that everything is here.
• Finishing the kitchen countertop that has been planned for years now.  I got all the bottle caps in place and now the epoxy just needs to be poured.  I tried a small project first to be sure it works and it does!  I think I have WAY too much epoxy to I see more little projects once the counter is done.  We’ll likely have to wait for a span of nice warm weather so we can open the windows or do it outside – it’s a little stinky!
• Working on the decluttering, the downsizing of stuff, to make things easy to find/manage/complete.  It seems like every time a flat surface opens up, it’s filled with something else!

I’m amazed at how little things can bring big change.  We’ve seen it this past season with the some of our projects:

• Prior to adding the deer carcass, we had almost no bird activity, even with a heated water bath and sunflower seeds.  But once we hung the carcass, we immediately saw a HUGE influx of birds.
• Worrying about heating with wood as I watched our supply dwindle faster than expected was quickly eased with the addition of a space heater.  Using this backup heat, while costing a bit on the electric bill, gave great peace that I would have enough wood for heating and wouldn’t be too cold. I still keep things much cooler when Dan isn’t here.  There are also a lot less lights on when he’s not here! 🙂
• I have been collecting wood this past week – just the deadfall from the trees.  It really stretches the remaining logs I have and I’m feeling good about what I have in reserves.  Those few pieces can really make a big difference!
• Being able to turn on the sink to wash hands – so much easier than pouring water from a jug.  And I use less water too!
• Even just a few days of warm can result in large quantities of snow melt!  The cisterns remain pretty much full, even with my current water usage.  We had rain steady most of Thursday (yes, when we moved the mattress north) and that will help as well.

I am really excited about Dan being here full-time.  It’s been a long time coming and will be a big season of work ahead of us so it will be nice to work together on everything.

Hope you have some exciting spring projects.  There’s always some kind of adventure in life, eh?

Public Hearing on the Enbridge Line 67 Border Crossing

Tags

activism, communication

The Department of State held a Public Hearing in Bemidji last week.  I attended along with hundreds of others.  I heard there were Enbridge representatives present, though I wasn’t aware of any.  The majority of those present were in opposition to the approval of a border crossing for Line 67 (previously called the Alberta Clipper).

Earlier in the afternoon, dozens of people met at Rail River Folk School where there were several speakers including Brandy Toft, Lindsey Ketchel, Jason Edens, Erica Bailey-Johnson, and Winona LaDuke.  The final speaker – apparently ad hoc? – was Marty Cabenais but I was astonished to see him on stage as I’d met him the previous night but had no idea he was a pipeline guy (or I’m sure we’d have chatted away quite a bit more – mostly I was cooing over his new grandchild).  I found out later that he’s also my mailman.  Small world in rural parts!

While I knew Winona was going to speak – really wish I’d heard her and hope there is a link to hear the earlier talks – I arrived just in time to hear a portion of Marty’s sharing.  It was really wonderful to see the large group of people who braved the cold to walk from Rail River to Sanford Center – a 2 mile walk in blustery cold winter winds.  Sylvia and I drove to Sanford hoping to be able to walk back to meet the group and return to Sanford with them but we realized it was quite cold and we’d be walking into the wind.  We decided to drive to meet the group and see if there were any people who needed a ride to finish their journey.  We didn’t get any takers and we were amazed to see how quickly they made their way on this route.  I was excited to be able to film them coming into Sanford.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufR-qTMZeH8

There were some chants and callbacks along the march to the event and on arrival. But the real treat was seeing the jingle dress dancers and hearing the singing and drumming. Varied spontaneous chants began from a number of people with everyone joining in as we caught the pattern. We were quite cold so headed inside to see the Hearing Room.  There were a few dozen people from Duluth/Grand Rapids and close to or over 100 from The Cities there to speak their concern regarding this pipeline.

The format of the meeting was posters with representatives to answer questions which really limited the information sharing to a few people at a time with much repetition.  There was no overall communication where all participants would hear the same information.  There were a few tables over which the presenter could show papers or the Environmental Impact Study while discussing questions but most stations were simply a standing place with a poster on an easel.  There was a video presentation with a couple dozen chairs and about 12-15 round tables with chairs for people to gather and relax.  You had to wander the room and figure out who could answer what questions by looking at the poster they stood adjacent to.  Oh, and some of the representatives are actually consultants.  Security from the Department of State in DC was also flown in for this hearing.

The event had no real format other than citizens milling about seeking answers.  The only announcements were when the event was opened and when it ended.  There were displays by the people in opposition to Line 67.  There was a Native circle dance, there was a film-crew recording, several news people doing interviews and filming the crowd.  Many felt like the State Dept people were uninformed/evasive/overly positive about pipelines.  I had some disturbing experiences with a couple reps – VERY UNINFORMED & VERY DEFENSIVE – but also some good interactions.

The attorney representing on the Presidential decree seemed to have a VERY limited understanding of the issue.  She looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about the legality of the switcharoo. http://www.oilandgas360.com/alberta-clipper-pipeline-faces-opposition-keystone-xl-vote/ https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140917/state-department-draws-fire-allowing-tar-sands-pipeline-detour   When I explained that this was the Line 3 border crossing which was used to get line 67 crude across the border prior to getting approval for its own border crossing, she said she had no idea what I was talking about and backed away from me like I was a witch or goblin, like she was so uncomfortable as to not want to be in my presence. She truly looked frightened. It was so over the top I struggled to comprehend her fear.  She said she didn’t like the way the conversation was going and she didn’t want to talk with me any longer.  I asked if, as the attorney in the room, she might have an understanding of the legality of the happenings upon which this whole event is based and she said she “only knows about the Presidential Permit”.  Then she basically was able to read the poster.  [I had several people share with me that they had a similar experience with her where she had no answers and was very defensive.]  I decided to cut bait and find a better informed and more willing representative.  I found a woman who seemed to have a level of authority in the room and she directed me to the Engineer whose company had written the Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) for the border crossing.

I spent quite a bit of time with the Civil Engineer and consultant company Project Manager, Fred Carey, from Potomac-Hudson Engineering, Inc.  He was being challenged by three people when I arrived.  And I was piling on.  He got pretty defensive but described himself as “objective”.  I think he was in a really tough situation but stayed pretty calm and definitely answered questions, though would not answer our questions about his personal beliefs on the pipeline.  Fred was able to review the SEIS and direct us to areas on which we had questions.  The big question was how does Enbridge monitor areas that are remote and inaccessible.  There was not a real confident answer to this question.  When questioned whether he’d walked the pipeline, whether he’d been to any of the remote areas, he agreed he’d not.  It was stated that, without seeing the property where this pipeline runs, there is no way he can give an accurate appraisal of the effect it will have on the environment.

Among multiple participants, we all agreed he was probably the best person we’d found that night that was willing to try to answer questions.  About the only person really.  Mary Hassell – how’s that for a name? – is the State Department Project Manager for this work and she was the only other person who seemed willing and capable of answering questions.  She came across also as nervous.  It was really strange to see so many people exhibiting fear and pleading ignorance in this Public Hearing which you would assume to be filled with confident, well-spoken, forthright, well-informed representatives from the US Department of State.  I mean, they flew in dozens of people it seemed.  And there was a massive security presence – always a cop or USDoS officer in view. But this didn’t appear to quell fear in the visiting representatives.

I did meet John Enger from MPR News – he was preparing to talk with Winona LaDuke and I asked who he was with as he had a large microphone in his hand.  Told him I LOVE MPR and would listen for him now that I had a face with the name.  Another older woman (Emily) also came up about the same time to greet Winona and when she realized we were both in line, she started to walk away but I told her to stay – she could be after John.  So when Winona freed up, Joe grabbed her for an interview.  Emily and I chatted and I found out that she actually lived in Noblesville for 2 months when her husband was on a 2-year stint as the Director of Connor Prairie.  Small world!  I had shared with her a neat story of Winona that she really loved. As Winona wrapped up with Joe, I called to her so Emily could say hello and I walked on to my next adventure.  I ran into Winona later and she asked me to tell her the story too.  Pretty exciting for this Groupie!

Had an unexpected encounter that was a real joy. After seeing her three times and thinking, “I know this girl” (but feeling unsure as she was not with the normal associates I see her with)… I was elated when Brandy Toft came up and gave me a hug.  I asked where her partner was and she reported that she was here on official business – turns out she is a Leech Lake Environmental Advisor.  [As you highly observant folks will remember from above, she was one of the Rail River speakers.  I was doubly sorry to have arrived late.]  It was a great joy to introduce her to Sylvia who was sure Brandy would be a great contact for Sadie, her daughter who is studying oil issues and will be stateside soon.

All-in-all, I felt a vibe of not really seeing how the public viewpoint was really going to matter much.  I think there was a feeling by many that this was more a dog-and-pony show than anything that will truly be considered and possibly make a difference.  But it was good to feel the solidarity of the crowd, participate in the shout-outs and see some media presence.  It was good to see so many people participating in civic responsibility.  I did ask every representative with whom I spoke that night, “What does all this matter really? If 90% of us all say we’re in opposition, will it truly change anything?” and what I got in response was a lot of cheerleading for the process.  “This is the most exciting part of our work.” “It’s so important to have citizen input.”  “There will be a response to every one of the public comments.” [I found out later it’s every “unique” comment.  So only every topic will be addressed, not every comment.]  No one would commit to whether or not the public comments would really make a difference in the decision made by the US Department of State.

Here are several links regarding the event:

http://www.honorearth.org/bemidjiclipper

News Coverage of the event:

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/08/hundreds-protest-proposed-alberta-clipper-oil-expansion

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/4230774-pipeline-opponents-supporters-gather-bemidji-meeting-enbridge-expansion-request

Fun fact: I think I was the last person to submit public comment via the computers at the event which were logged in to www.Regulations.gov.  The gal providing tech support was Jamie and I noted that I was also Jami.  A third gal came up while we were getting me set to make my comment – she had a question – and it turns out she is Jaime.  We had to take a photo.  That’s Jaime, Jamie and Jami. 🙂

Here’s the comment I posted as the evening came to a close:

Agency: U.S. Department of State (DOS)
Document Type: Nonrulemaking
Title: Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.: Proposed Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership Line 67 Expansion Project; Public Meeting
Document ID: DOS-2017-0009-0001

Comment:
With everything there is some level of risk. And this study is geared to assess the risk. Having not yet read it in detail, I will make general comments here.
What do we know for sure? We know that we got the run-around from Enbridge in using Line 3 to work around the fact that they did not have approval to cross the border with Line 67. This deception should clearly show the lengths to which they are willing to go to make a dime.
We know that water is essential for life. And we know that oil pipelines tend, more and more of late, to leak. We also know that this oil in Line 67 is some of the worst of the worst, the most corrosive of products, the most energy intensive from which to gain energy. Are we truly considering how much energy goes in to getting a product to make energy? Are we at the point of insanity where we’re expending more on this than we’re gaining?
And we should all see the changing and worsening effects on our climate to the carbon we continue to pump into our atmosphere. If we listen to Bill McKibben and Do the Math (Rolling Stone article denoting the risk of continuing to add carbon to our air), then we will see that the risk of approving this pipeline crossing, only so they can pump more and more oil out of the ground, is too much.
We also know that this oil is basically going from one country, through our land, only to be exported. We have no gain in this and only risk of losing the cleanliness of our water, the beauty of our environment.
Because we also know that, once the oil does leak, it’s impossible to contain. It’s impossible to clean up the mess. Look at Kalamazoo. Should we blame Enbridge for hiding the fact that they weren’t really cleaning up but covering up? Didn’t they have an impossible task? If you can’t truly clean it up, why not try to cover it up instead? It’s more cost effective. Have we incorporated this deceit into the report? Or are we turning a blind eye, pretending they didn’t really do that?
So, to be truly complete, this study needs to consider that we need LESS carbon in our air. We need to KEEP IT IN THE GROUND.
I don’t know that we can stop the powers that be. The big corporation that wants to make money from selling oil, no matter how cheap it gets, making those profits smaller and smaller. The thirst of the world, with America being a huge portion of the problem, for oil. The addiction we have to a fuel that makes everything so much easier.
But this is my small attempt to give voice to Mother Earth. To stand for the Water. To stand for the People whose land will be destroyed if we continue this madness.
I am hopeful that we are truly considering, in their full impact, the above concerns as the decision is made on whether this pipeline crossing is approved.

(One typo fixed from addition to addiction.)

I encourage you to also post a comment should you feel so drawn.  You can do so here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOS-2017-0009-0001  I plan to read more deeply into the SEIS and post further comment as is necessary.

BTW, here’s some totally unrelated but really good news of people power.  http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/defunding-police-how-antiracist-organizers-got-seattle-to-listen-20170309?utm_source=YTW&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20170310

Reading Goal for 2017 On Track

Tags

books

So I set a goal to read 144 books this year.  At first this seemed reasonable.  I mean, I’ve got all this time at the Harn on my own.  That’s only 12 books a month and I can include some kids books to pump up my numbers, right?  Well, I’m also reading some pretty hefty tomes – think textbook level reading – on Permaculture, Forest Gardening, and the like.  Those kid books are REALLY gonna come in handy!

I started thinking that, in the summer there’s more work to be done outside… so I need to focus on getting ahead of the goal in winter, right?  I figured I needed a few extras in January & February.  So how am I doing?

Books read in January:

1. The Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood  – Good but a bit predictable
2. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly – Fun Juvie read.  Looking forward to reading the second book now.
3. The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka – Excellent.  A Master of Growing.
4. Re-Creative: 50 Projects for Turning Found Items into Contemporary Design by Steve Dodds – Lots of cute ideas for when I get a break from reading.
5. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton – Sweet and timely.
6. Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber – Good encouragement for kids to have confidence and see that we’re all a little vulnerable.
7. I Miss You: A First Look at Death by Pat Thomas – Well done.
8. Rising Strong by Brene Brown – Must read.  Again, I’m a huge Brene Brown fan.
9. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley – Lots of science here and it was a good story – though I felt a bit overwhelmed at times with the details.  Glad to check one off the Authors to Read list.  Still need to get to Still Life…
10. Zero-Waste Home by Bea Johnson – Wonderful, challenging book.  Everyone should read this as we all generate too much waste and can do with some culling back on our consumerism.
11. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – Again, love this author.  Terrific story though a tough subject.
12. Two if By Sea by Jaqueline Mitchard – Good story – sucks you in.  Goes in a lot of directions and enjoyable but don’t know if I’ll read another by her.
13. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – SUPER FUNNY about Hard Stories.  She is really vulnerable in here and I am sure this book will make you feel a little happier and less crazy, no matter how crazy and sad some of us sometimes feel.  Bought it for a friend – it’s in paperback!
14. Time, Love, and Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior by Jonathan Weiner (Heavy Science)  – NFBC Read – Good look at genetics and really shows how geeky scientists are human too.
15. Lucia and the Light by Phyllis Root – Lovely folk tale type read.

Good – 3 ahead! Those 4 kid books really helped!

Books read in February:

1. Edible Forest Gardens Volume 1 by Dave Jacke (Textbook!) – Excellent read with loads of details and technical stuff but also some really good case studies.  This is the theory volume.
2. Sacred Balance by David Suzuki (Heavy Science) – Great overview of lots of science and how us humans are intimately connected to the earth, our planet, our home.  Wonderful closing stories of people making real differences.
3. Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – Great look at slavery and some of the BS that was involved.  But there are beautiful heroes too.
4. Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts – Inspiring book about how each of us can bring the artist inside to life.  Really terrific demos on How-To make art like hers. You can read the first chapter on her website – it might suck you in like it did me… http://www.kellyraeroberts.com/
5. Locally Laid: We Built a Plucky, Industry-Changing Egg Farm – From Scratch by Lucie B. Amundsen  – Excellent book on the trials of taking on a huge challenge and winning.  Tons of funny stories about her and her husband.  You gotta check this one out – plus it’s by a Minnesota Author!  https://www.facebook.com/locallylaid/
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell – Classic.  This was a timely read.
7. The Iron Heel by Jack London – You may remember this from last week’s blog.
8. Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane – Beautfully illustrated and a fun Halloween tale.
9. Gracie and Grandma and the Itsy, Bitsy Seed by Iben Sandemose – Cute.
10. Farming the Woods: An Integrated Permaculture Approach to Growing Food and Medicinals in Temperate Forests by Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel (Textbook!) – Way more data-oriented and mushroom-focused than I’d like.  But it did have good photos of a guy I LOVE on YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/user/EdibleAcres
11. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking – A fun look at Danish Happiness with complete details on how you can join in the fun.

Man, one short!  Even with 2 kid books.

I am currently reading:

1. Early Retirement Extreme: A philosophical and practical guide to financial independence by Jacob Lund Fisker (done!) – Loved this book (Oh, you can also read his first chapter for free at his site too!) and am now enjoying the forums at his blog… http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com/index.php?sid=27dc4fee105c5df4d0c2aa72882f1d4b  You should check out his page if you want to quite being a wage slave. http://earlyretirementextreme.com/ Which will lead you to this –  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development – very interesting to consider as we look at the 45 Administration.
2. The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno – Again, this guy is very vulnerable but also confident about justifying the criticism he gets. I like the concept,  lessons learned, and it’s just short of preachy.
3. Living with Less so your family has more by Jill Savage – just couldn’t so this – way too churchy for me. A little obvious with many of the lessons.  I skimmed through the whole thing but couldn’t read it word for word – just to much scripture.
4. Sepp Holzer’s Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale Farming and Gardening* – LOVE Sepp Holzer.  He is a genius and I’m about halfway through this one.  Lots of great info, though some re-reading is required, possibly due to translation.
5. Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway*
6. Edible Forest Gardens: Volume 2 by Dave Jacke (Textbook – even thicker than Volume 1!)
7. Calm Surrender by Kent Nerburn*
8. Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood*
9. All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister – for NFBC

• Some of these have been in the works for a while…  I’ll eventually finish them!

So, only being a couple days into the month, I’m doing OK for March.  But I’m gonna have to step up my game or start reading lots of Pre-K books to make the goal!!