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Welcome! Our blog focuses on environmental conservation, education, green living & wildlife rescue! We have put together links to resources, books and information to help you and your children learn more about these topics. Please feel free to comment on any items posted. Rate or review us on NetworkedBlogs (Facebook app) & Blogged. Tell your friends about us. Follow us on Twitter and other sites listed on this page. There's a banner & widget if you would like to include us on your webpage. All we ask is that you please keep any comments here G-rated for the kids!

NOTE: The birds & squirrel pictured at the top of this page and in the slideshow below are just a few that I have helped rehabilitate.
WARNING: Please do not touch a wild animal, especially the young ones. If you remove a baby from it's home, sometimes the mother is just off getting it's baby food and will be back.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Happy Turkey Day, a bit early

My Beautiful BBB Turkeys;
now THIS is how a turkey is supposed to look!
(If I do say so myself, lol!)


Amongst the recalls and rumors, here it is almost Thanksgiving and I don't have too much nice to say about the turkey industry, I'm very sorry.  I know that the poultry industry really started out with good concepts, but it truly has gotten out of hand.  Antibiotics were once used to treat infection; not prevent it.  Hormones are a dangerous thing no matter how you look at it.  If they are medically called for as is sometimes the case in the aid of recovery for human beings and they should be scrutinized very carefully.  But who in their right mind wants to eat that stuff???  Not me.

The more I read, the more it convinces me that I am doing the right thing by raising our own food (or even hunting) , trying to buy local whenever I can and to really notice where my food comes from if I do have to buy it from the grocery store.  There are a lot of ways to go local folks; even at 9,000 feet in elevation.  You don't necessarily have to grow the stuff yourself.

You can buy direct from the farmers, at a drastically reduced price.  You can go online and buy from someone like Door to Door Organics; which obviously brings the stuff right to your door.  Or there are a couple of great websites dedicated to the eating local movement.  Eat Local Challenge is "a group weblog focusing on the importance of locally and sustainably grown food".  But the best one to get the whole family involved in is Eat Local.  It has a great animated feel to it that the kids will love and a down to earth way of explaining why it is so important to buy locally.

So come on Rebels and GSO readers, let's send those government cronies a message and tell them we chose to eat locally and sustainably.  Let them hear your message through your purchases, tell your friends to do the same, that is where we hit them the hardest...in the wallet; quiet and peacefully.


Have a great day!
JJ~

Monday, November 14, 2011

Putting the garden to bed for another winter

'Tis the season - not the shopping season, sillies. 'Tis the season for putting the garden to bed. I'm a little late this year because of cataract surgery. I was either in surgery, recovering from surgery, or on restrictions related to surgery for the majority of October. Some of the restrictions included bending from the waste or lifting anything more than ten lb., so digging up the garden and spreading compost were, well, out of the question. I managed to find a few mornings when I wasn't restricted and took out the tomato supports and the boards that become my stepping path (can't call them stones, now can I). Two weeks later, with pressure behind the eyes settling and the miracle of a warm day, I did more raking. The silver maple that towers over our yard is still dropping its leaves. I raked for an hour Sunday morning, dumping the leaves on the triangle garden plot to insulate it and decompose atop the soil.


We brought in the herbs and set the shelves in the sunniest part of the living room. This spot is also rather drafty, so I might put the greenhouse covering on the shelves. Readers, what do you think? Will my herbs do better in the house if they're sheltered a bit? The water might not evaporate quite as quickly, and they might stay warmer. It's certainly worth a try.

If I don't have another chance to work out in the yard, I've accomplished enough that my garden beds will live through the winter and be ready for spring. Spring... it seems so far away!

Now, I'd better get to that holiday shopping.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Meet (or is it meat?) The Meatrix....


Go ahead, I dare you to check out this funny video about modern day meat production....no blood or gore and it really gets the point across!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Welcome Double J!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the newest member of the family...The Double J Ranch!  You can find us at dbljdotorg (soon) and dbljdotorg.blogspot.com (NOW!).

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Join us Rebels, Tell the FDA to regulate GMO foods!

Good Morning Rebels (GSO readers, that is what I call my regular readers over at The Royal Ranch site, in case you were wondering-ha!)!  Happy hump day; hope you are having a wonderful week; but even more importantly I hope you will join me in signing this all important petition.  It is high time we know exactly what we are eating; and that people who are not yet even aware of how deeply GMO foods are embedded into our everyday diets, become aware and knowledgeable about what they are putting into the mouths of their beloved families!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Top Ten Reasons to Walk to Work

10. The streets in the neighborhood are beautiful, especially in autumn.

9. I spend most of my day in a cubicle in a chair; walking lets me stretch.

8. Driving less often reduces my family's dependence on gas and saves money.

7. Walking home provides thoughtful "decompression" time after a busy day.

6. I enjoy the fresh air.

5. Walking is good exercise.

4. I lower my carbon footprint by leaving the minivan in the garage.

3. Driving less often saves wear and tear on my aging minivan.

2. Parking at my workplace is limited, to say the least.

1. This is the view of my favorite easy-out, shady parking spot after the latest storm went through.

Yeah, the aging minivan would have been toast. I wasn't working that day, luckily.