One

You’ve never been Boo’d? Oh, you’re gonna love this!  This is a great Halloween tradition and it’s never too late to start a new tradition!  With the need for localization during this day and time, Boo’ing your neighbor is one of the best ways to strengthen the ties within your neighborhood.

The basic idea consists of putting together a little basket of different Halloween treats for one of your neighbors, and then they do the same thing for a different neighbor and so on… and so on… and so on.

The fun begins with a Boo-Gram!  A boo-gram is a note, more often than not; it’s a poem that you leave on your neighbor’s door with a big BOO! sign, treats for the family members and a bucket or a basket for them to prepare for the neighbor of their choice.  The sign is placed outside of the home to inform your neighbors that you have already been hit, if many people participate, by Halloween you will begin to see Boo signs lined up and down the streets of your neighborhood!

Once you get Boo’d, you must then Boo two other neighbors, just to keep the chain going.  This is always great fun for the kids when they get to chose which house gets Boo’d or if they get to ring the doorbell, leave the goodies and then run away!

If you are not very poetic, you can borrow one of my poems to start you out!

The treats are for you to enjoy as you wish
This game is quite simple: there’s very little risk

Pick two of your neighbors to pass on the BOO
Fill up their baskets with a goodie or two

Keep the BOO in your yard to proudly display
That you have been tagged this Halloween day.

You have 24 hours to join in the fun
Once two baskets are delivered the game has begun

At the end of the game you’ll finally see true
The BOO’s in yards of those that got BOO’d just like you!

This should be started no later than the middle of the month, so it may be too late to start this tradition for Halloween this year, but how about a Gobble Gram for Thanksgiving!!

Over 200 years ago the human race made the decision that machines would make life easier, and thus started the Industrial Revolution!  The need for energy to run these machines has indeed made life easier however, it has made survival harder.  OOPS!

The Industrial Revolution was the start of the need for fossil fuels and by burning these fuels we are releasing gasses into our atmosphere that is heating up our planet.  If we continue on this trend the planet may no longer be able to sustain our species.

Now, many believe that this will not happen, as the scope of the reality is too big, it’s easier just to deny the problem and maybe it will go away.  Not gonna happen!  We, as a species created this problem and we, as a species, need to correct this problem.

By using less electricity we can help solve this problem.  Solar Panels are very expensive but are becoming cheaper by the day.  There are many grants and tax incentives out there that will enable the “average Joe homeowner” to achieve the goal of converting to solar power. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) website can lead you in the right direction for what is available in your state.

Practice the three R’s; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Every time that you send garbage to the landfill you are aiding in the production of methane which is a greenhouse gas.  Use your left over vegetable cuttings for making compost or stock for soups and stews. Be creative and find other uses for little things that you are going to throw away .  An example is your toilet and towel paper rolls, I cut them down and make little seedling pots that can be placed right into the ground! Always recycle; many cities and towns have started a recycling program to make this an easy choice for you, use it!

Purchasing Electric Cars can tend to be a very expensive change.  If it is not one that you can afford, take the bus as often as you can, ride your bike up to the store or walk.  The more we use our vehicles, the more we are heating up the planet.  Plan your trips in a manner that will allow you to use less fuel.

Just by making these few simple changes we can help clean up the mess that we created, for the good of the species.

~Wind

Note:  This blog is part of  Blog Action Day 2009 .  If you have a blog and are interested in climate change join here

Due to Florida’s prominence in the exotic pet trade, many of these reptiles that were once beloved pets have escaped and are running wild through South Florida and the fragile Everglades!  Yes, it’s true….Iguana’s are EVERYWHERE!

The subtropical climate in Florida is a prime environment for these scaly herbivorous lizards to dine on your pretty petunias, reproduce and even stop traffic on A1A in the Florida Keys.  These lizards are growing to such lengths that with their dark color and dorsal spines some Floridians are even mistaking them for alligators!  Granted these may not be the smartest residents among the Florida population…but the facts remain…there has been an Iguana Invasion!

On one occasion, one of these hungry herbivores took a nibble on a 7-year old girls foot from Oakland Park, Fl.  Perhaps it mistook the child’s toe for a juicy, ripe Florida tomato, but never-the-less the young child acquired 23 stitches! This is a rare incident, typically Iguanas are not known for behaving badly and attacking humans.  They are however, ticking off most of the Florida population as they trample through the neighborhood dining on all the floral curb appeal that the residents have tried so hard to achieve.

So, what do we do?  How do we make the Iguana be gonna?  First off, Don’t Panic!  Really…it’s just an iguana…they haven’t come to steal your worldly possessions, kidnap your children or con you out of your bank account, they’re hungry…they’re looking for your flowers.  Therefore, the obvious solution is don’t plant flowers and get a dog!  Problem solved!

Keeping it real!
Wind