My truck 

The landing 

The bird 

Helicopter logging 

Christmas Wish List

This is my Christmas list from last year and added a few comments.

CD player and speakers for my ever-dependable Honda at 193,000 miles and 15 years ...ok maybe not a Honda this year.....but for my new F150 would be nice.

Barnes & Noble or Starbucks gift certificates to get me through 15 final weeks of classes...none of these please...these fine stores dont seem to exist in WV

Master and Commander DVD, the one with the cool case – not that I have a DVD player but one day...still on!!!

Cell phone…. maybe someone will be offering a deal or something for the holidays .....dont talk to me about cell phone..let's just say that is out!!

J.Jill clothes(black pants and other lightweight winter clothes) or just the whole store (size 12 tall) .....always!!!

A forester can always use boots...in fact a life's supply would be nice(shoes size 11 womens but mens fit much better as I have fat and annoying feet so size 9 1/2 in mens) ...change that to 10 womens....9 mens... .guess my feet shrunk too

The Shitake Growers Handbook by Przybylowicz and Donaghue(those names had to be made up) ..would still love to try this

Winter coat – something nice that I could wear out on the town…you know all those times I go out on the town…but anyways at least to church .....still on!!

Wendell Berry books (really any of them but the novels…even the ones I have read I’d like to own) ....still on!!
Books by Jo Robinson….these include Why Grassfed is Best, When Your Body Gets the Blues, and Pasture Perfect ....and stilll!!!

The Biological Farmer by Gary Zimmer ...hey why not!!

Subscription to AcresUSA ..try http://www.acresusa.com/ ...nope..got that for myself!!

Subscription to MotherEarth News, Inside Agroforestry, The Temperate Agroforester, Permaculture Activist, or other cool alternative agriculture magazines ..... twould be nice

Earrings and other girly items that I may need to go out on the town in my nice coat ...hmm well may be nice..but hard to find time to use girly items

F250 ...Hahahaaha..bought that myself..ok, well close anyways..F150

A job .....hmmm....one is enough thank you.

The moon and the stars....always!!

As if this isnt enough, Beka would also like someone to be her personal organizer and shopper. I HATE shopping!!!

Yes Im back in the blogging business. Bunch of capatalists taking up all my time here in WV. I swear if I have to hear another word about money, I'll scream!!! Ah, to be back doing some real work in Mississippi or on the farm.
Luckily, "there is something more than the world out there."

But, instead Ill let the coal trains scream by my apartment. Maybe they are mad that I have taking over their old stop. Hey, a girl has to have a place to sleep.

The "normal" life

I think all I need to do now is go to Maine ;) in the next month or so..... then Ill have covered the Eastern United States this fall. I returned to Blacksburg some two weeks ago on Tuesday only to turn around the next day for South Carolina. After packing up and saying good bye, I went in reverse back to Virginia...just a little farther west. Saturday through the next week, I hung out and watched over the farm while the parental units were on vacation. I felt like I was on vacation. The barn is painted red now and nothing died.
While I was just enjoying my life on the farm and hoping for another spontaneous adventure, I made the mistake of going to an interview. Well I thought I had it made, I couldnt possibly have made a good impression....I wouldnt have to settle into a "normal" life. Only somehow I did fool someone. I was offered the job only 15 minutes after leaving the interview. I agonized over the decision of taming the wanderer or finding a home. Well I suppose good sense did come over me . I accepted the job offer on Thursday only to return to Bluefield, WV on Friday for paperwork.
So here I am on Tuesday thinking about buying a bed and other such big furniture that wont fit in my car. It is a sad day. After tomorrow morning I will have my name on a lease to actually be living somewhere and the next thing I know I will have more stuff than will fit in my car (won't be coming from Wal-Mart though!).
I do hope though that life here will have its own adventures, I'll be looking for them everyday. And someday I know a crazy streak will again come my way.

VDOF Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Hey all:
I finally have internet access. For those unaware, I joined a special team of wildland firefighters to work in the Katrina recovery efforts in Mississipi. We recieved our orders on Saturday, September 3 and left the following morning out of Roanoke. We arrived in Ocean Springs, MS on Monday afternooon.
The incident command post for our assignment is at the Gulf Island National Seashore near Ocean Springs. This park and town was located in the direct path of the storm.
My crew is composed of 17 men and 2 women., We are sent out to park employees houses to help them clean up and try to sort through belongings. This is used as a starting point to help others in the community.
Stories I am hearing form the locals are almost unimaginable. One woman was telling me as she stood in her house at the start of the storm she had a few feet of water flood into her house. Then the eye came through and there was quiet. Then the other side of the storm came over and her house flooded so high she, her mom, and daughter had to stand on stools to keep their heads above water. As we carried out all her ruined furniture and maggot filled refridgerator(the power had been off for over a week by this time) she thanked the Lord for sparing all of their lives. A few houses down the road, nine unidentified bodies had been found in a ditch.
Another single woman, Faye, was almost in tears as we hauled out the majority of her belongings to pile in the front yard as trash. She tried to monetary value on sentimental items. She had some 6 feet of water in her house.
One man's home had been some six feet under water. Most of his possessions were destroyed. Luckily he had gone to higher ground at as friend's house just before the storm. He came back to his house the next day to find 5 trees laying on his roof.
It is hard to comprehend the devastation in these people's lives. They live in houses which we can barely stand to enter because of the stench of mildew and rotten food. They have been relying on food and water delivered to them by charitable organizations, military reserves, and national guard.And yet, even in their exhaustion and frustration these people have been thanking us everywhere we go. we have been invited to come back to homes after they are restored for dinner, a picnic, or just a place to visit.
We are camping in tents in an areas near the beach that was under 26 feet of seawater. They trees are burnt or dead...everything is brown. We are slowly getting some luxuries as things are organized. We can shower every night now, had some laundry done recently, and recieved some cots to sleep on.Up at 5, we have 30 minutes to get ready for the day in the dark( stars still out). At 5:30 we head for breakfast and get back to the command post at 7 in time for briefing. After this we head out into the community to work. The work is hard and tiring but rewarding. It is amazing how fast the days go by though. But by 7 when we head for dinner we are almost ready for bed. We get back to camp around 9 (never seeing the camp in the daytime). Usually off to bed by 10.
Continue praying for these people that live here. Health is still a major concern as well as making a living. Pray for this crew to work as hard as we can for the next week that we are here.

Birmingham, AL

Roughin' it at the Holiday Inn Express in Birmingham, AL. Should be on the Mississippi coast sometime tomorrow. Lots of equipment on the road headed south..lots of people headed north.

Ill be headed to the Gulf Area sometime within the next few days. The Virginia Department of Forestry has set up a team of 20 firefighters to send as soon as a orders are arranged. We will be leaving the Roanoke airport and will be on assignment for 2 weeks. If I have time before leaving I will try to post where we will be and what assignment we have been given.

Smitty's Boss

Today I went to a auto repair shop to pay a bill for Jen. I met an older man outside and asked him if Smitty was around. Upon handing Smitty the money he immediately handed it back to this older fellow. While heading back to the truck, I was held back as the man begun telling me war stories. "Three wars I have been in and let me tell you that is no place for a woman. Women are too petite for that kind of work( as I stand over him) ......and let me tell you about when I was in...(hand goes on shoulder)". I humored Smitty's boss for some 20 minutes until finally he recieved a phone call. Unfortunately Smitty's boss was in the middle of a story. He told the other end to hang on ...lowered the phone...and finished his story. Finally I was free and jumped into the truck as he started on the next victim.

The Beauty Sense

The Beauty Sense adds so much to the joy of life that it is not easy to see what danger attends it. But, perhaps, Exclusiveness is the Daemon that waits on a too keen sense of the joy of Beauty, whether in music, painting, one's own surroundings, or even in natural scenery. Exclusiveness gets the ear of the Prime Minister and convinces him that nothing else is necessary to complete the happiness of life. In vain does Intellect invite to new fields of research; in vain does good and necessary work present itself; in vain are duties clamorous. The person who is given up to the intoxication of beauty concieves that Beauty and Goodness are one and the same, and that Duty is no more than seeking one's own pleasure in ways one best likes. People, too, become excluded.
Instead of accepting the relations, friends, and neighbours that God sends us in the course of our lives, the devotee of Beauty chooses for himself, and cares to know only those people whose views of life are the same as his own. So with regard to places, he cannot tolerate for a moment things which are unsightly and unlovely, so does he not go where working people and poor people have to live. In the end, he misses the happiness to which the Beauty Sense was meant to minister. For happiness comes of effort, service, wide interests, and, last and least, of enjoyment; and when people put enjoyment, even of beautiful things, in the first place(and indeed in place of all else), they miss the very thing they seek, and become enfeebled in body and fretful and discontent in temper.
But we need not let fear of evil keep us out of that paradise of pleasure which the Beauty Sense is meant to open for us all. Of two things we must take heed. In the first place, we must not lat any better-than- my-neighbor notions get into our heads; and in the next, we must make it out business, as much as in our lies, to bring Beauty to places where it is not. Bearing these two cautions in mind, the Daemon of Exclusiveness need have no terror in us.
- Charlotte Mason in Ourselves

To break a door down....use your foot(not you shoulderor body) and kick at the point where the lock is mounted.
To find water on a deserted island...look for bird droppings.
To fool a lie detector test...breath faster than normal on the pretest and bite your tongue. Do not anticipate questions, sit completely still except for one subtle, regular movement. Maintain eye contact and display confidence while thinking relaxing thoughts.
To survive quicksand, put a pole under your hips and then slowly pull out one leg at a time.

Why are beggars despised? — for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether work is useful or useless, productive or parasitic; the sole thing demanded is that it shall be profitable. In all the modern talk about energy, efficiency, social service and the rest of it, what meaning is there except ‘Get money, get it legally, and get a lot of it’? Money has become the grand test of virtue. By this test beggars fail, and for this they are despised. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich.
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Ziploc Bag

Yesterday, Jen found a note on her truck. But this was no ordinary note from an ordinary person. Some neighbor had taken the time to type out a nastigram on his/her computer, print it out, place it in a large ziploc bag, and put it under the truck windshield wiper. He/She was angry that the truck was parked in front of his/her house and guests could not park there(public parking and all). Anyways I found this incident blogworthy for no particular reason other than we have a nice big ziploc bag now. I can think of all kinds of uses for that.

Lost

I can drive the rural backroads of SC back into the depths of the South where rebel flags fly freely and the road signs are on the wrong side of the post and yet I do not get lost. Then I come back to the big city and go for a 10 minute walk in the evening but proceed to get myself lost for an hour on the "backroads" of this fine southern neighborhood. I estimate I walked 2 miles trying to find my way home. I was tired...needed a post to lean on. But I was afraid my landlord might see me.

The Adventure Continues....

Cardate Sunday 16:20 - Beka stops near Danville to fill up on gas. Beka locks keys in car. Beka tries all her old tricks to try to break in and then going to extreme measures of calling for help. Beka works for an hour trying to get her keys while waiting on help, forming blisters on her now soft office hands. Finally a man in a van offers his assitance and unlocks the car in minutes. He tells me to spread the kindness as in the country song. Can't remember the name of this song, but it is about a man stopping to help a woman change her tire and how the kindness is spread from there. Well....I think he may have jinxed Beka.
Cardate Sunday 17:20 - Good ole Honda goes lame. Beka pulls out jack, spare tire, and tools and starts to set up jack. More help was on its way...a motorcycle pulls off to help Beka (even the rider helped out) .
Cardate Sunday 18:00 - After the tired is changed Beka goes on her way to Greensboro NC to find a place to get a new tire as the old one is shot. Everything is closed. Finally finds a auto parts store that is open but they have no tires. One man calls other stores while another gets his buddy to run home and see if they have a spare. Six different men were helping Beka out....well at least trying to. This day I was glad for kind people. But even with their attempts nothing could be found.
Cardate Sunday 20:00 - Beka gets a hotel room and waits the night out to get a new tire in the morn. Beka acted as if she was a tired traveler with a lame ride, staying at an inn for a night....oh wait...she was!

Wanna imagine something extradordinary. Think of Beka sitting at a desk shuffling flat processed wood products. Then imagine her using this ....well...stuff! called " tacky-finger" for people with dry finger syndrome and a high tech letter sealer that could be made out of a cattle vaccination syringe and an overused sponge!!! Amazing what the world has come to!!

Girls Night Out

Girl walks in. Has engagement ring.
Other single girl grabs hand, says "THEY DO EXIST!"
Another single girl asks when the wedding is. Engaged girl says "Next June". Single girl says, "When I get one of those things, there isn't gonna be no year long engagement. He isn't gonna get to claim ownership and 'try' me out for a year!!"

Hey Jen- this is for you - "some people make a career in finding out things we do wrong because we are the 'big dog' " -IP legal advisor

Congaree Swamps

Today, around 2 oclock, after going crazy in the psuedoworld, I decided to hit the Congaree Swamp National Park via kayak. Thinking I could relax a bit while getting out in the real world, I set out on Cedar Creek to make my way through the muck. Well this real world proved to be just as stressful as the psuedoworld of the city. I had to keep my eyes open for those slick critters without legs and the fuzzy critters with too many legs. I tried to tell them they should try exchanging..slickeness for legs... they both might get around better in that mess. They refused to listen. So instead I took some pictures(posted whenever my computer decides it will work again.....It doesnt listen to me either.... I am starting to see a pattern here). So continuing on my way, I relaxed and worried less about what those critters were thinking of me. The creek soon became boring...all swamps look the same. Luckily when I turned around to head back downstream the water was swift enough to call fun.

Shantyville

'Nother day of slackin on the water. Went out to Congaree Swamp National Park but it was flooded so high I decided it wasnt safe for a lone, blonde kayaker....might get lost. For you in Virginia this means the swamp wasnt just a swamp anymore it was a lake with tops of trees sticking out.
So instead of the swamp, me wents to the Congaree River. Found a boat landing and was about to get in the water. Stopped by a local me was. He told me of the good fishing spots on the lake. Also informed me I was in Shantyville due to all the shackboats on the lake.
Finally got on the water. Paddled as far away from the fishing boats as I could. On my way, I saw a beaver. I quietly paddled towards it but noticed it did not panic. As I approached I realized, this is no beaver!! It was an aligator! I was slightly nervous for a bit after that. Soon I was over it though and had a good ramble about the bald cypress. Oh, and just in case you ever need to know, tap an alligator on the snout or ears to make it back away. If attacked, go for the eyes and nose first. If it has your foot, tap it on the nose.

Rapids, Smokes, and Striped Bass

This fine evening as the rain clouds opened up for a few hours, I went on a mission to find the notorious rapids of the Saluda River. As I had heard from a park security guard, one must park at the zoo and walk down to the river. So to the zoo, I went. I had no plan on how to find these rapids other than this. But these crazy kayakers make it pretty darn easy. All I had to do was park near all the SUV's that had kayaks strapped to the top. A group of 10 or so crazies stood around drinking. I was a snob and didnt talk to them. Wasnt really intersted in drunkards. From here I followed the sounds sound of rapids. Well, so I walked past a bunch more drunkards along the edge of the river and finally seemed to get away from them in some thickets and trashy woods. Here I found a nice big rock to sit on and listen to the sound of water and trains. The rapids were enormous..me would die if I set out in those. But they were fun to watch. Suddenly, interupting my deep thoughts, I thought I heard a voice..turned around i did..and the guy standing there didnt say "do you have a light" but instead "want a smoke?" Well of course I accepted....... just kidding. After abandoning this pothead, I came out into a little more open spot and sat down on another rock..as I sat there watching two black guys fish I saw they had a huge striped bass. So... of course, I had to go over and check it out and talk fishing with them. Robert and Tony were their names. They informed me that they come there every evening and, in fact, would be out there at 4 AM tomorrow morning. I dont think Ill make that somehow. But I did tell them I would try to make it out sometime to get some pointers from them. The fish was offered to me but cleaning it I did not feel like.

Is it a sign??

Well yesterday I noticed a attention-getting business name somwhere down in south south South Carolina. I dont know exactly where I was but it was somewhere south. Anyways the name was "Speedy Jail Release". Im not sure why the sign caught my attention to begin with but it brought a brief, momentous laugh. Then today, as I decided to try to discover a new way home from work I found two more of these apparently much needed business in SC. One was "24-7" and my personal favorite so far, "Easy Out". Ill now be on the lookout for these places and maybe if I ever get a digital camera Ill even post pictures. Meanwhile, I plan to avoid their services.

Ice Cream !!!

On the hunt for the best ice cream in Columbia...South Carolina, that is. Found one cheap joint that is nicely located on the way home from work called the Dairy Bar. But tonight I heard a ice cream truck. I tried to find it..i walked and walked and walked. The music went farther and farther and farther. I could never seem to quite reach it. Finally I ran into Columbia's famous strip of bars called Five Points. It doesnt get five points with me..no ice cream!!!!

Myrtle Beach

Back from Myrtle Beach for spring sister's weekend 2005! We were suprised/thrilled/entertained to find out that it was also Biker's Week 2005. We had the experience of sharing the beach with 250,000 bikers. We tried to fit into the crowd by buying black t-shirts...doesnt quite have the same effect as leather...oh well. As soon as my computer is connected to the internet madness, me will post pictures!!!

Scenes from Sisters Weekend in Myrtle Beach

Wagon Wheel Castle construction

myrtle beach bums

Myrtle Beach '80's Rockers

Graduation day!!!

The force of the B.S.

Three stooges??

Do I know him???? 

Happy beef! 

NEW BABIES!!! 

Useless facts...except in the event that they are needed

1) In the case of a severed limb, use fishing line to tie off arteries.
2) In the case of a tarantula bite, don't panic, they arent poisionous.
3) In the case of drinking at a bar in Australia, dont turn your glass upside down...unless of course you DO think you can take on the whole bar.

Post-graduation syndrome

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going
without ever knowing the way?"
- Fastball

IM DONE!!!! All classes, all exam, all papers are done!!!! Im free!!!! Im an official kayak bum now!!! Had a few days of practice of river bumming. Sunday - scouted the New River, Monday - fishing on the New River, Tuesday - Salem to buy kayak, Wenesday - tested out the "water boat", Thursday - likely to test boat again!!!

Coming soon...the last class of my undergrad education!!!! Tomorrow...the last exam of my undergrad education. Next on the agenda...the life of a kayak bum!!

SHOOTIN PAPER!

Oh yeah! Im so sososososossosososo close...this close..im singing...one track mind.....kayak...graduation comin. Ill be free..Oh yeah!! Cant get enough of this!!!!! My paroxysm of mirth is too much! Fishin! Paper free! Bummin! If ever I get the urge to return...shoot me.

Thuhmarekinpeople

Told that his meat was not fit to eat, Robert Blackwell, the famous breeder of "improved" fat livestock at that time(19th century), replied tartly that he did not produce meat for the tables of gentlemen but for laborers. Presumably, laborers could not afford good meat and didn't know the difference anyway. One can't help but note that Blackwell's attitude is reflected today by the factory meat industry, which in spite of universal protest from nutritionists and health-minded consumers, continues to provide fast food resteraunts with mountains of fatty, corn-fed meat because "that's what 'thuhmarekinpeople' want'. - Gene Logsdon

CARS AND COMPUTERS

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with theauto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like thecomputer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got1,000 miles to the gallon."
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be drivingcars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have tobuy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. Youwould have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart!, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvre such as a left turn would causeyour car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,five times! as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on onlyfive percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would allbe replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation"warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you outand refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle,turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learnhow to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

THANKS JENNIFER!!!!

Leslie Gray wrote an fun article called Whole Foods Economics 101. She kept a detailed account of her purchases and found that buying organic and preparing foods at home only cost 15% more compared to when she bought processed industrial foods. She pointed out that there are hidden costs we pay when we buy cheap industrial food. These costs include deteriorating physical and mental health, environmental degradation associated with mega-factory farms, and the economic destruction of our local food systems and rural communities. How did she pay for this 15% increase in the cost of health giving foods? She gave up expensive hair care and cosmetic products since her new traditional foods diet gave her fewer wrinkles, great complexion, shiny hair, and a radiant glow of health. She is still waiting for the Kombucha (a refreshing and nutritious lacto-fermented drink) to turn her gray hair brown.
- taken from Traders Point Creamery newsletter

Graduation Wish List - finally

1. A good digital camera such as dads
2. Black dress coat for next winter- I managed another winter without
3. Oh yes, and a carhart jacket like Em's - see I really did get through winter without
4. CD player and speakers for car
5. Dell Inspiron 9200
6. F-250
7. Sheets, pillows, and anythign else a normal person is supposed to have on their bed- oh, a size....twin
8. Pink work boots :)
9. Paid trip to New Zealand, Germany, and other parts of Europe with good sustainable farming/forestry practices
10. Paid trip to Alaska

all right all right...Ill give you some realistic ideas
12.Sport sunglasses
13.Suncreen
14.Dry bags for boating
15.Fishing gear
16. Camp sleeping mat
Getting the idea????

17. Books from my amazon.com wishlist. You dont have to get them from there though. Support local business.
18. Small omelet skillet- a lightweight one would be nice so I could use it for camping as well as home
19. A pillow - wouldnt that be something, to own my own pillow
20. A car rack for my new KAYAK!!!!!!!!!!

Playing hooky!!!

Last night at around 11 oclock I remembered why I had entered forestry. To avoid the human race. Unfortunately as I am one of this race, I am destined to live a life trying to avoid the inevitable, dealing with it. So I did. I ordered my fishing license online and printed it out around midnight. Took off fishing in the morning and had a grand time not even thinking about classes or work and anything else that is "important". I even made it back to my last class of the day! I have decided to take this on more often. I think it is a habit I can live with. And as I only have 14 days of classes left, so can my grades. Alaska here I come!!

Natural Liquid Detergent

OK so maybe dirty is good..but not dirty dishes!

Get dirty..stay dirty

Finally someone agrees with me....dirty is good for your health!

Check out this interesting site from the UK.
http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/index.shtml

nik the forest tech 

If anyone know what these "little green things" are, please let me know. Spring always has suprises!! 

Take a look at this tree. Nik, Olivia, and I were out on the capstone property and came across this 41 inch diameter northern red oak. That means the trunk was over 3 1/2 feet wide!!! It had apparently been blown down in the windstorm of last week (same night I had been camping). It was amazing!! And probably had a good 3 logs in it!!

Recent Letter to the Editor

This is a letter I recently submitted to the VT independent newspaper.

While I admire those that have the devotion and determination to maintain a vegan lifestyle, I wonder if this is really the way to be fighting the problems of factory farms.
I agreed with Megan in her letter last week concerning the way animals are treated on factory farms. Yes, these animals suffer cruelties and atrocities that we should find shameful. Yet, I think an important alternative is to veganism can be found by active involvement of the meat market. We can seek reform to the meat industry by supporting local, sustainable agriculture.
As agriculture essayist Wendell Berry says, “Eating is an agricultural act”. By this act, we are able to tell the producer, the farmer, what we consider important. If consumers are willing to pay for these products, economics tell us that more farmers will be interested in the business. These sustainable farms are more efficient, use less fossil fuels, have less impact on the environment, and produce healthy food for us. These farmers care about the health and comfort of their animals partially because they know that ultimately this leads to the health benefits and quality of their product. Let us have a positive impact by supporting this competing market. Look for reform of the industry by “voting with our mouths”.
Finally, let us not count on more government regulations to control how our meat is produced. Instead investigate what has been produced safely, humanely and environmentally “friendly”. Visit local farmers markets, even if no one is selling meat, they are likely to tell you where you can find this locally grown meat. Visit local farms; sustainable farmers love to have consumers that are interested in what they do. For a humorous approach to the problem of factory farms, visit www.themeatrix.com. Support the local farmer!

Cows hitting the News!

Colombia, long the world's murder capital due to drug-related deaths, now has violence spreading to farm animals. RCN Radio reported that a Holstein cow stepped on the trigger of a loaded rifle left in a field by a farm laborer, and shot another cow in the head. The injured cow is listed in critical condition at a nearby veterinary hospital.


A cow jumped off a 10 meter cliff onto a major highway just as a commuter bus was passing. The driver braked at the last moment, thus avoiding the cow. The said bovine landed on the asphalt, did a parachutist roll, got up and continued running. The stunned passengers got out of the bus and watched the cow canter into the sunset.
This is apparently not an isolated incident. The road passes by unfenced grazing land, and cows striving for freedom have made the leap several times.

taken from http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Marina/8106/cowtrivia.html

JOB!!!

Just a note to all that I officially accepted a position with International Paper as a Land Management/Wood Procurement Intern in Eastover, SC. I will have responsibility for a few main projects but will work with other foresters on other various activities. Could include reforestation plans, supervising harvesting operations, monitoring post harvest sites, GPS mapping, cruising timber, marking boundaries, creating maps, planning future harvests, timber acquisition, sale contract administration, budgeting, and possibly helping with a high maintainance harvesting equipment study. Sounds like Ill be busy. And HOT!!!!

Graduation soon

OK, I know its coming. "So, what do you want for graduation?" In fact, it already has and the only good thing I can come up with is 50 acres and cows. So if you happen to have either of these lying around anywhere that would be great. But for those of you that would rather give me something all pretty and packaged and wasting alot of plastic products I will be developing a list. Just give me a little time cause as a poor college student you tend to forget about material things and what it is like to own them. But if all you have is cows..that'll be fine. Ill find a place to keep them later.

My present work

Click here to see me the PhD student I am working for and her project.

My past work

Hey ya'll : Click here to see the grad student I worked for and the project we worked on the past year.

HORSEWOOD

FREE YOUR MIND!!!

Book Wish List

Wish List:
Just cause it is getting close to graduation and no special occassion, I made a wish list on Amazon. Maybe it is also in anticipation of being able to read what I want to read. So check it out on www.amazon.com

new email

Hey ya'll :
Due to a problem with my Virginia Tech email account I have opened up a google account. The account which you should now send email to is: cowsap@gmail.com. I will still be checking my old account for now as I expect to hear from potential employers but please try to use the new one to make it easier to save your important emails.

I still love what I know.
I love to ride alone and sing a song and listen to the radio.
Some folks seem to think I only got one problem.
I can't find nobody as crazy as me.

Happy Easter

Monday, February 28, 2005

Because of weather conditions, the Virginia Tech campus will open at 10 a.m. today. Classes will begin at 10:10 a.m.


Please visit the Virginia Tech homepage for updates (if necessary) and for snow and ice traffic emergency procedures

LET IT SNOW....LET IT SNOW...LET IT SNOW

150 foot Yellow Poplars....measured twice just to make sure!!!! Can't get any more awesome than that!!! 

Here lies the final step to my college degree. The farm which I onced dreamed of owning, I now can have a small part in, as my team mates and I design a plan for the 250 acres. Saturday I walked close to the entire acreage, only taking 8 hours. I was reminded why I became a forester as I wandered, observed, and discovered. I remembered that just existing on this earth, even when alone, is enough to live on.  

My slightly confused team members. Thank goodness someone knows what she's doing. ;) 

Marriage with paint in the eye

This weekend I am visiting the youngest of the troublesome four and her finding. We, the youngest troublemakers, take him, the youngest's finding, his dinner at work. We sit down with him and the youngest says to her finding," I bought a toilet cleaner today. It wasnt't the one we wanted to get but....." I just ask of you, if ever need be, remind me what im missing. Ill understand.
...I proceeded to try to paint my left eyeball.

Bits and Pieces

Anyone know of a good deal on a computer. Maybe one that will never die...will write papers....read books....and take exams.... Please contact me after 9 or on a weekend....can't be payin for those minutes ya know. Oh and 12 weeks till graduation!!!! Oh, so also, if you know of any jobs....that might be a good thing to have in 85 days.

Quote from my latest extra-curricular reading

..it is incumbent upon us to devote all necessary attention to developing a sysytem of farming based upon human needs, rather than upon the ease and convenience with which crops can be grown." -Edward Faulkner in A Second Look

I'd add to that farming system, that is should resemble natural systems (or "as nature"). For as we allow our system to become "as nature", rather than fighting it, we will eventually find it easier and more convenient.

Milestones

Party time! Well at least have a shot or a glass of champagne for the trusty ole Honda....today at the intersection in front of my apartment it reached a milestone..200,000 miles. I dindt have a digital camera to take a picture..not even a can of spraypaint to mark the spot. But the memory will always be there. And the ole car didnt even stall. May it last another 100,000 or at least till fuel is too much for the common man.

Hello to all at Nextra!!!! Hope you get to see the sunshine someday.

Recent Dialogues

David: "I'd grow a beard if a girl wanted me to."
Beka: "Yeah, well I wont do that."
David: "Well, I don't think many guys would ask you to do that, Beka. Most guys don't want their girl to have a beard." :)

Beka: You are getting me flowers, right ?
Sean: Why, did you die ?

You Know Your A Nerd When....

As you print out a paper, you decide that a 12 point font size does not look "professional" so you change it all the way down to an 11 point!!! Hmm....did I do that ????

You are sitting in wildlife class not paying a bit of attention to the lecture, as you try to determine in your head the graphical relationship between a human weight and the amount of food needed. From this it must be determined what weight size would be most efficient, you thinks.

After working for a legal review office for two weeks, you have estimated that you can click 1,000 times a minute with a mouse.

January Lexicon Additions

Ubiquitous- seeming or being everywhere at once
Octagenarian-someone whose age is in the eighties
Consociational- pertaining to an alliance
Purposive- advancing ones goals or objectives; with purpose

Another Shot at Local Growers!

Jan. 25 -- New regulations, which go into effect at midnight January 25, address food safety concerns for in-home processing of milk and milk products. The regulations were proposed by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), adopted by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and supported by majority members of the dairy industry. Opponents of the new regulations say the change unfairly hurts small farmers and will prevent families from consuming milk from their own family milk cow.
According to John Beers, VDACS’ Office of Dairy Services, the intent of the new regulations is not to prevent a family from consuming dairy products produced on their own farm. "The new regulations include what I would call 'commonsense legislation' to require that people who sell milk and cheese products to the public have to pasteurize the milk," said Beers. "If they are making cheese, they either need to pasteurize the milk or age it more than 60 days." Beers said the issue is basically a safety issue to cut down on the number of pathogens that can be present in unpasteurized milk. “Unpasteurized milk is the perfect food for humans, animals, and bacteria,” he added.
"This is only for those people who sell their products to the public," he stressed. He emphasized the new regulation will not impact farmers with a family milk cow who want to drink their own milk. "If you have a farmer who has his own goats or cows or any kind of milk animal, and the farmer and his family want to drink the milk unpasteurized, of course they can still do that," said Beers. "But if they sell to the public, then they are subject to these new dairy regulations."
The new regulations differ from current laws in several ways. Currently, cheese processors come under Virginia food laws, and this will move them under a series of dairy regulations. The new regulations will require that people who make milk and cheese products and offer them for sale must be inspected and must meet requirements for basic sanitation and temperature control. They will need to have a dedicated kitchen for that purpose when selling to the public rather than use the family kitchen. The area of processing doesn't have to be in a separate building and need not be anything elaborate but still must meet all sanitary requirements.
“In short,” said Beers, “these new regulations protect the public from practices that could promote the presence of harmful bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes or E. coli in their milk products.” -copied from http://www.onthefarmradio.com/Farmnews.htm

VERY SPECIAL PIZZAS

So I recently made new friend. Actually I dont know if he is a friend or foe. Akhmed is his name; pizza is his specialty. He owns a business named Akmed's Deliverable Pizza's. Well this poor soul did not run a very managed business. He didnt even have a formal menu. All he knew was that he had "special pizza" and that you had better accept the bill for it. So I developed a menu for him(along with the help of family) and he is doing better than ever. I hear that he actually has people calling to order pizza instead of him calling people to insist they buy. I am very happy that he is doing so well and may be able to increase the variety of pizza's. He does have a bit of a problem with temperment which may come from his stressful lifestyle. Below is a taste of his menu:

AKHMEDS DELIVERABE PIZZA'S
"The bomb"

MENU
Hiroshimo- Akhmed’s ultimate supreme pizza loaded with all the fixin’s even if you dont want ‘em
Anchovie Explosion - A fantastic yet simple delicacy
Infidel Special - Loaded with ham and pork sausage from the devil hisself
Oozie Doozie - A wonderful four cheese pizza for those times you need some extra ammo
Chicken Allah Akbar - a specialty of Akhmed’s in which chickens are diced and loaded onto your choice of crust
Suicide - you gotta try this one. You’ll die! Loads of pickles on top of a peanut butter sauce
Pearl Harbor - take a flight to the islands by experiencing the sweet and sour taste of Akhmed’s pineapple and bacon pizza
Basket of Bazookas - 7.25 breadsticks
Jihad Family Pack- 2 medium pizza’s (Akhmed’s choice..no exceptions)
1 basket of bazooka’s
2 liter of Coka Cola


Prices vary for ethnicity.
No credit cards accepted. All payment expected in cash immediately on delivery.
No responsibility for ebola, anthrax, influenza or other biological infections are accepted by Akmed from consumption of these very special pizza’s.
In case of internal combustion please contact your local aid.


SUPPORT THE CAUSE!!

LEXICON

Altruist-someone who makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being; im finding it amazing and downright joyous to see how many people are of this nature at this time
Ambidextrous- ambi comes from the Latin meaning both, about, or around; dextrous means skillful in physical movements, so generally means being able to use both hands at once it seems likely that it could be used for doing many things at once such as the popular term of the day: multi-tasking
Mezzanine- an intermediate floor just above ground level but which came from the French meaning middle...(credit given to Davey Ray for introducing me to using this word in its French original sense)

I'm having the urge to measure some loblolly pines.

Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize I've waited for
Now as the hours passing
There's nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger

Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
In this world of purchase
I'm going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities

(Collective Soul)

NEXTRA EXTRA MADNESS!!!

There is something unnatural with working in an office. Anywhere that you have to walk around aimlessly every 30 minutes just for sanity and back's sake has to be designed by aliens to drive the human race to madness.

Time, time, time
See what's become of me
While I looked around
For my possibilities I was so hard to please
But look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Madness..its all madness!!!!!! Running two computers in a single moment or two computers running my single moment.

To deflect and counter a sword blow: step up and into the blow, with your arms held against your body. Push at the blow instead of trying to absorb the blow. If the blow is aimed at your head have the sword parallel to the ground and above your head. Always move out toward your opponent, even if you are defending and not attacking.

You may need to know this if you ever travel back through time and have to fight Sir Gawain. It is possible ya know ...soon...through quantum physics. If this is the case we will have a new issue to deal with. Should we change the past? But would be able to change it or rather would we merely attempt to but because we existing in the future we would be futile in our efforts. Our efforts to change the future seem normal and we often feel like we are changing things but maybe we are not changing anything that would already happen. This is a depressing thought that we could never change things. I would rather think I could change the future. We often say we can change the future but not the past. What if we could change the past? We once said we couldnt fly and look now. Theories abound and are never proven but does this make them less true. Even today most of what we take as "real" or "scientific" is being bombarded and questioned. Science is often proven wrong. Art changes science while science changes art. But hey really the only way new theories are formed is by someones creative thinking. We laugh at people's theories but Newton only had an idea and Einstein, Da Vinci, ............ Soon these crazy ideas were "proven" as fact. What can be proven? Only what we choose to believe.

OK..so Ive been sitting at a desk for too long!

SHITAKE LOGS 

SHITAKE INOCULATION 

VAPORIZED!!! 

A NEW YEAR!!

New Years Eve Day
9:30 AM - Left Columbia SC headed for Meadowview VA
11:00 AM - Begin to wonder what I would do for the bringing in of the new year
11:10 - Decided MD would be a good place to go
11:15 - Made plans via the brain cell destroyer with friends in MD for the evening
11:20 - Diverted path to MD's eastern shore with one tank of gas and two pieces of pizza
5:00 - Crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel for the first time ever
6:30 - Entered Salisbury MD
7:00 - Had dinner with Amanda, Phil, and David and caught up on water consumption
9:00 - New Years Eve begins
10:00 - Dancing begins
12:00 - PARTY DOWN!!!!!.......CHAMPAGNE!!!!!......more dancing......more loud music
1:00 - Stupidity sets in
2:00 - Removal of juniper bushes from host's front yard using David's F350 and a chain
3:30 - Crash

New Years Day
12:00 - Hoops and YoYo go to Starbucks and try to drink off (coffee of course) the hangover(from staying up all night of course)
1:00 - Hoops and YoYo go to the mall
3:00 - Hoops and YoYo go to the beach
6:00 - Hoops and YoYo watch movie
9:00 - Hoops and YoYo crash

Day after New Years Day
Sadly head back to VA after a fabulous weekend on the shore.
Happily look forward to seeing the mountians and old and new friends in SW Virginia.
Selectively choose a pit stop along I-66 in DC.....these are hard to come by especially after a large coffee an hour beforehand.
Pestered the older brother-in-law who will be turning 34 (your welcome TODD) via the brain cell destroyer.
Made it home by 11:30 PM.