One

I have some unfortunate news! I’m sorry to say that Today.com is no longer going to be part of the EntreCard program.  I will be taking down my widget and no longer accepting advertisements, however, I may be keeping my account to participate in the market place at EntreCard.

I enjoyed my brief time with EntreCard and met some really wonderful bloggers through the network, but change is a big part of life and we should embrace it and move on, I hope that you remember my blog and continue to visit on regular basis.  I do want to thank my top droppers for the month of March and send each of them 10 extra EntreCard credits!

Hot shit Form
Picture to People
Tech Blog
Computer Aid
Back 2 School 4 Grown-ups
Life in the Fat Lane
Sadie Skinny
Susans Home
Amy Lilley Designs
Flitting on Fiction

Thanks so much for visiting ONE and I hope that you continue to return! I will be taking down my widget on April 3, 2009 so please leave a comment and I will add you to the list of blogs to continue to visit!

~Wind

UPDATE:  I have just learned that Today.com has changed their minds and we are allowed  to keep our widgets up! (Thanks Melanie!) So…ahem… cancel all of this post except for the many thanks that I sent out to my readers!

There they are…the new members of the family! Today is their two week birthday!
I’ve had so much fun with my new babies that I didn’t blog this weekend…sorry about
that! My better half built their new home from left over 2×4’s and an old rabbit cage, he cut out doors in two of the separators in order to make 2 big rooms instead of 4 small ones, that way when the chicks get bigger they will have more room for growing. He placed a piece of a concrete column in each room to give them a place to hide.

We added a 250 watt heating lamp, since you have to keep the temperature around 95 to 100 degrees for the first few weeks, then you cut back about 5 degrees every week after that, until they are six weeks old. You need to make sure that the bottom of the cage is not slippery, or they could end up with their feet permanently spread apart as a direct result of slipping around the cage (I’m not making this up). They also could get crooked feet in which case you would need to put a band aid around their little feet to straighten them out while they are still young. Keep their food, water and the bottom of the cage clean and that’s it…Chicken raising 101!

The more I learn on this ‘chicken raising journey’ the more I’ll keep you up to date! Self-sustainment is not only rewarding; it is so much fun!!

~Wind

Today I planned on writing my blog on the Earth Hour Event that takes place tomorrow night at 8:30. Before I went to the website to do my research, all I knew about this event was that everyone around the planet will simultaneously turn off their lights for one hour to show support for the Earth.  If you leave your lights on; you’re for global warming, if you turn your lights off; than you are for the Earth.

So…I went to the Earth Hour website to get a better understanding of this phenomena, and it states that in order to make your vote count you should make a video, write a live blog post during the event, update your twitter during this time or take a picture and upload it to flickr during the hour.  Don’t all of those things require electricity? Are we supposed to turn out the lights only? Isn’t this about saving energy?

After a little more research, I found a bunch of sites on things to do during Earth hour! Wow! How sad it is that we are such a spoiled society that we don’t know what to do with ourselves for a whole hour without electricity! I think that instead of sitting in front of our computers, broadcasting the darkness, that we should figure out something that is more energy efficient to do with our time…hmmm…I know!  Let’s use our imagination!

I think we should make Earth Hour once a week!  I think that once a week we should take an hour out of our busy lives and sit outside under the stars with our children and teach them about the earth.  We should light a fire, roast marshmallows and re-learn how to entertain ourselves without the use of modern technology! I’m going to celebrate Earth Hour tomorrow night, but I’m going to do it my way!

~Wind

Ducks, chickens and other birds that are hatched during the spring season, remind us of the promise of new life during this time of year. Therefore, ducks have always been a symbolization of the Spring Equinox and Easter. It is during this time that most people color these symbols of life with vibrant colors and hide them from our children, then we laugh as they run around the yard like maniacs, looking for eggs that later they refuse to eat because they don’t like the ‘yellow stuff’!

But this guy really has the right idea! In honor of the Spring Equinox, what better way to celebrate than to put your duck in your truck and head on off to work!?!

I really couldn’t help but share this video!  So, personally this year, for the Easter holiday, I think we should pick up a duck, take it to work and give it to our bosses in celebration!

Enjoy!

~Wind

Ok..Is it me? Or is this just wrong?!?

Residents of Ft. Lupton, Hudson and other suburbs around the Denver, Colorado area are practicing their “stop, drop and roll” drills!  Extremely high levels of methane gas are being found in the water supply in these areas! Renee McClure noticed this phenomenon in her home when her son went to put a cigarette out under the faucet and the water caught on fire! Roughly two dozen similar incidents have been reported, according to Gavin Clark from Environment Colorado.

One couple, Jesse and Amee Ellsworth live in a small city just north of Denver known as Fort Lupton. Fort Lupton is located within a half mile of eight natural gas wells.  For six months now, Amee and her husband have been able to roast marshmallows in their bathroom sink! (NOTE: I’m not really sure if the couple has been roasting marshmallows in their sink, but I’m pretty sure that they could!)

The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission are still trying to find where the leak is coming from. Director, Dale Neslin stated, “We’ve looked at well compilation reports, taken gas samples to look for a match, done pressure testing and we’ve not been able to find the well that appears to be causing the problem.”

How many of these people were drinking this water, giving it to their children, animals and plants before they realized it was contaminated?  The fear of knowing that you, your house and neighbors could go up like Mt. Redoubt at any moment, has got to be completely overwhelming for these poor people!  It’s just another prime example of changes that need to be made to our environment!  We have got to have some form of effective regulations on the gas and oil industry! We have a big enough water shortage problems, making it flammable (although it looks pretty cool), is not a solution!

~Wind

Timberland, an eco-friendly clothing store for outside recreation and work, is releasing a line of boots and shoes that are made with recycled tire rubber in July of this year!

Green Rubber , a Malaysian company located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, may have gotten some bad rap on an investment deal with Bruce Willis back in November of 2008, but since then, has joined partnership with Timberland and is has developed a method for de-vulcanizing old tires! Vulcanized rubber is made by adding sulfur and heat to regular old rubber and in effect, makes the rubber stronger for uses like tires and car bumpers.  Because this rubber is so tough, it is very hard to recycle, in order to DE-vulcanize the rubber, Green Rubber has created a mixture of chemicals that will release the sulfur bonds from the rubber, which in turn, makes the rubber easily recycled.

The added bonus to these types of rubber soled shoes is that once the soles wear out, they can be recycled again!

~Wind

The eruption of Mt. Redoubt, in Southern Alaska, started to blow around 11:30 last night sending an ash cloud 50,000 feet above sea level!  There has been an official ash fall advisory that is in effect until 8:00 p.m. tonight, if you haven’t picked up any dust masks, you should do it now. Make sure that your windows and doors are all sealed tight. Cover up all your air intakes and open water supplies, and limit your driving as much as possible. The ash will continue blowing to the Northeast and is expected to pass west of Anchorage, according to Dave Schneider, a geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The last time Mt. Redoubt erupted it was in December of 1989 and it lasted until April of 1990.  Remember that the ash that comes from volcanoes is abrasive, not like the ash that you would find at the bottom of a fire pit, inhaling it could cause some serious respiratory conditions.

Stay Safe

~Wind

other related articles
No Doubt Mt Redoubt Could Blow

Today is the day when spring begins and the light half of the year comes with it. Well, maybe not right away, but really soon!

The point in time when Spring and Fall begin are called Equinoxes, when Summer and Winter begin, are called Solstices! During the equinoxes the sun crosses the equator, which makes daylight and moonlight equal times. Today is the day that the sun rises at the North Pole for the first time and will get higher and higher in the sky until the Summer Solstice, when it begins sinking; the Autumn equinox will mark the day that the sun will set again!

 In celebration of the first day of Spring, I will start on my new journey of chicken farming!  I plan on picking up 5-6 Silver Laced Wyandotte chickens this afternoon.  According to my days of study, these chickens will eventually produce brown eggs and are a very easy going breed!

 We have built their new brooding cage and have it all set up and ready for my new little pets!  I was very surprised how easy chicken raising is supposed to be, they appear to pretty much take care of themselves after the first 60 days.

 I will keep you up to date on my progress and my adventures of my future chicken farming days!

 Again, Happy Spring!

 ~Wind

It appears that President Obama and the First Lady will be planting a Victory Garden at the White House!  A victory garden is a term that is given to a vegetable, herb or fruit garden that is planted at a private residence during the War.

As we are all fully aware, growing your own foods is not only cost effective for yourself, but it helps reduce the pressure on the public food supply.  Besides the fact that it just makes you feel good to know that you are doing your part in helping with the economy and the environment!

So…a big “Thanks” goes to the President and First Lady for giving America the example that we needed to show that responsibility starts at home!

~Wind

In 1978 a tiger census was taken on the mystical Sumatran tiger from Indonesia; the outcome stated that nearly 1,000 existed in the wild…by 2003? only 500… today? less than 100!

Without this top predator, the entire ecosystem will become unbalanced! The herbivores will become overpopulated, which in turn will deplete the vegetation, which will cause the animals that depend on the vegetation to survive to ultimately starve to death! There are many factors which threaten the few remaining Sumatran tigers; poaching, loss of habitat and genetic mishaps.

Tiger Hunting became outlawed in the early 70’s, but the poaching and ‘black market’ selling of these creatures body parts continue today!  In traditional Chinese medicine ingredients from different parts of plants, minerals and animals are common.  Therefore, the Sumatran Tiger located on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia are threatened for the use of their eyes, bones, claws and penis.

Genetic complications are being ensued by the Sumatran tiger as a direct result of the small population, causing even more unfortunate deaths of the Sumatran tiger.

The Sumatran tiger is being forced out of their habitats by the agricultural growth that is undergoing on the Island of Sumatra, this loss of habitat is only intensifying the already much needed protection of these critically endangered animals. Although many of these animals have been moved to National Parks to be protected, there are still many more that are being poached due to the ever encroaching environment that is pushing these creatures into the contact of fearful villagers.

Lately there has been a new problem arising for the Sumatran tiger; illegal logging.  Illegal loggers are coming from nearby towns and clearing out millions of acres of Sumatran tiger habitat.  As a result, loggers are being killed and so are the tigers!

I know that there is very little that can be done to save these beautiful creatures from extinction.  However,  a petition is being signed directed to Didy Wurjanto, the head of Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (Nature Conservancy Agency), to take any means necessary to stop the illegal logging that is leading to the death of the Sumatran Tiger.

~Wind