Hope Springs Eternal

November 4, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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The Dandelion will not be denied it's "glow"

This Dandelion will not be denied it's "glow"

There are opportunities to learn important lessons every day. We just need to be open and pay attention.

While out on our first walk of the day, the FurrButts and I, we came across that dandelion in the picture. It made me smile, stop and think.

I thought about how this little dandelion decided that despite the fact the it’s November, the leaves have all fallen and the growing season is over, it would not be denied it’s chance to bloom and have it’s day in the sun.

It’s a great lesson don’t you think?

My little life teachers!

My little life teachers!

Origins of Green ~part two

November 3, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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A wise woman known as Oprah, you may have heard of her, has often said,”When we know better, we do better.”

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Custom Made Entertainment Unit-Craig's List $100

I’d like you to apply this to yourself and your level of green.

What I’m saying is that there is no bad level of green.  Don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by all the green speak and washing you are being bombarded with. Anything you do that contributes is worthy and you may actually be greener than you think.

Chances are, for instance, that during the past couple years you’ve tightened your budget against the recession. If you did, then chances are also very good that you’ve adopted some green habits without even realizing it.
Have you started taking your lunch to work? Eating more dinners at home? Using refillable water bottles and brewing your own coffee and filling a thermos? Start growing some of your own veggies?

Any and all of those habits are green and help to benefit the environment.

If I think about it for too long, (being …

Our Big Fat Green Build ~ part two

October 30, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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Red Tail Hawk

Red Tail Hawk

Our first non-traditional buys for the barn was at a building reuse it/recycling place in Astoria, Queens. We went to look at a commercial used fridge that had been already sold.

What we did find was nine, 8’ x 3’ brand new un-hung, primed interior doors. They were selling them for $35 each and I managed to talk them into selling them to us for $30 each. We will be using them as pocket doors to retain as much wall space and flow as possible.

This really peaked my interest in what kind of savings could we reap by buying gently used or unused new materials for the build. Unless noted, they were found on our beloved Craig’s List.

Barn ~ First Floor

Barn ~ First Floor

If I could find this Craig I would give him a big hug and a kiss!

We scored a barely used gas generator from a woman who was getting divorced. It will …

Our Big Fat Green Build

October 29, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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Autumn Glory

Autumn Glory

When the first seed of the idea of building our own house took hold and began germinating it was innocent enough. I compare it to when you start imagining having your first child.

All you imagine is a sweet little, smiling and cooing cherub. You picture pink cheeks, chubby hands and feet.

You don’t picture and or smell the dirty diapers, endless laundry, screaming into the night and sleeping on a hard floor next to a crib that holds your restlessly, sleeping sick baby.

Our little house build has turned into a 14 acre, self sustained farm project of the green kind. This would be no big thing if we were very rich and could just ask, buy, hire and pay.

Not the case at all.

We found and bought the land while we still had the NH house. We had to wait for the house to sell before we could turn the land loan into a construction loan. That finally happened a year ago….

Morning Mist on the Pond

October 2, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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Morning Mist and Geese on Sheffield Pond

Perception is nine-tenths of the Problem

October 1, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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How we look at things can make all the difference in the world. Our own personal world *bubble* as well as the big picture.

I was sitting in my car, stopped due to road works, just outside the high school in my town recently. I was being a good doobie and had not blocked the car parks exit. I was happily waving folks out who couldn’t see to pull out and head down the other way, feeling all my karma points racking up when bliss turned to confusion.

A male adult, sitting in his new Toyota was lightening his cigarette with a match and tossed the spent match out onto the pavement. How curious, I thought, his lighter doesn’t work in his shiny new car?

He was taking great care to hold his cigarette far away so no ash would fall on his car and exhaling his smoke streams out the window as well and it hit me.

He doesn’t want to dirty his pretty new car. Not even the bloody lighter, let alone the ashtray.

This makes me irritated. While sitting with my irritation …

Making Yogurt sans Maker

September 29, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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I have been wanting to buy a yogurt maker for some time now but couldn’t settle on one. The ones with good reviews have plastic jars and I really would prefer to use glass jars. While researching yogurt makers online I found that you can make yogurt a number of ways without actually buying another appliance.

You can make it in your oven, crock pot, crocks and in a thermos.

A THERMOS! Who doesn’t have a least one of those buried in the back of a cabinet somewhere. In my case, a storage trailer sitting at Cill Dara.

I also have a small one that I had bought for DK’s work lunches before he moved up to Troy. It holds only about 10 ounces so I bought a second one that holds 16 ounces.

On Saturday night I made my first batch using, organic skim milk from Hannafords and a bit of Stonyfield’s organic Greek yogurt for the starter. Sunday morning I opened up the thermos’ to find that I had a total FAIL. I did use the most simple recipe/how-to out of the …

Putting Food By

September 27, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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Which means preserving fresh food to have at a later date and can consist of any of the following; freezing, canning, drying and root cellaring.

Dried Berries

Dried Berries

The CSA and Orchard Share programs I joined this year have given me plenty of opportunities to do just that.

I have kept it mostly simple as that is what works for me. For instance, instead of spending an entire day preparing, cooking and canning tomato sauces I washed and froze whole Roma tomatoes in small batches after bagging them in my FoodSaver. I was given a tip a couple months back that if you intend on cooking with the tomatoes, freezing them whole allows the skipped step of dipping in boiling water to skin them. After they thaw, the skins slip right off. Then I’m ready to make marinara, chili sauce and salsa when needed.

Romas to freeze and dry

Romas to freeze and dry

I did the same with fresh sweet corn on …

Thieves 1 ~ Doc 0

September 25, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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I made up a fresh batch of Thieves’ Oil today. It’s widely considered an effective defense against the cold and flu including the swine flu.

Getting My Mad Scientist On

Getting My Mad Scientist On

I figured it couldn’t hurt to use Thieves’ Oil since I have no plan to partake in the flu shot. The one and only time I did have a flu shot was when I was pregnant and my doctor told me to do so.

Heaving my guts out for 12 hours over a five month pregnant belly was seriously horrid.

So in this case I’m putting my health in the hands of the Thieves’ instead.

Sorry doc.

2009 Dawn Marie Kelly all rights reserved

Origins of green ~ part 1

September 25, 2009
 | by EcoAngel
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While speaking to a dear friend on the phone yesterday, I was told I was not of this time. That I must have lived before in an earlier time period and it trickles out into this lifetime.

My Homemade Body Butter

My Homemade Body Butter

She was referring to all the earth loving, natural health/healing, food growing and gathering I do. It’s not as simple as all that, but you get the picture and I get what she’s saying.

Container Gardening

Container Gardening

Some of what I do comes from how, when and where I was raised. By crazy, un-self aware parents, during the first oil crisis in the Northeast. During the peak of that oil crunch my mom was a single parent and the thermostat usage went from being turned up just enough to stop pipes from freezing to turn it to whatever you want– can’t get blood from a stone. Or in our case, heat from an empty tank.

We learned from an

…

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