Green Expo Saturday April 23rd.

The Coon Rapids/Blaine Green Expo ( https://mngreenexpo.org/ ) is Saturday and we will be hosting a table there.  Anyone that is interested in sharing your take on Transition with visitors that stop by is welcome to come and sit at the Transition table as your time allows.  

The event is at the National Sports Center Campus located 1700 105th Avenue NE in Blaine.  Doors to the public are open from 9 am to 2 pm.  

I will be setting up our table and misc. stuff around 8 am and taking stuff down at 2 pm.  If you have something that speaks of your take on Transition that you would like to share, feel free to bring it along.  There will be some extra table space if you need it.  

I plan on bringing along an extra table, my box of free seeds to give away, maybe some examples of books I like that relate to Transition (and three slightly used ones that Bob is giving away as door prizes), the table poster backdrop Bob made that I added some new stuff too, maybe a garden plant or two, a clip board with email signup sheets, and a couple extra chairs (should be four total for us and visitors to rest in).  

No obligations to show up, but an open invite to anyone that is interested to come when you can and leave when you need to, and join in what I think is a fun time to meet and greet our neighbors, visit some of the other exhibits, just stop by to say hi, or share a little bit about what we do.   

April 11 Meeting Notice and Upcoming Events

Our next Transition meeting will be tomorrow Monday  April 11th from 6:30 to around 9 p.m..  It will be held in the community room of the Cub Foods located at 2050 Northdale Blvd in the Village 10 Center in Coon Rapids.  The community/conference room is located up the stairs located to the left of the checkout lanes as you enter the store.  Mary will be sharing with us her ideas on the fine art of making yogurt. 

 

We will also be finalizing plans for the April 23rd Green Expo that will be at the National Sports Center in Blaine on Saturday April 23 with doors opening from 9 am to 2 pm.  See more info here:  https://mngreenexpo.org/.  If you can’t make the meeting, let me know if you are interested in helping out with a tabling and/or have ideas you would like to share with folks during the tabling and we can work you into the working the booth schedule. 

 

Emily also suggested sharing the events pasted below with our group that came to her via the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation.  Check them out as they do look interesting.

 

Urban Pollinators

Thursday April 21st, 2-4pm

Ramsey County Public Works, Marsden Room 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive, Arden Hills, MN 55112

This event is centered on conserving native and managed pollinators in urban areas. I'll be focusing on bumble bees, including their amazing biology; conservation status; and ways you can improve habitat for these animals in your landscape. Other speakers include Dr. Marla Spivak (University of MN Bee Lab), Heather Holm (Restoring the Landscape with Native Plants), and Victoria Reinhardt (Ramsey County Commissioner). Thanks to the Ramsey Conservation District for organizing! More information here:  http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/April-2016-Pollinator_Final.pdf 

 

 International Migratory Bird Day and Pollinator Party 

Saturday May 14th,

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge: Oak Savanna Learning Center,

1/4 mile west of Refuge HQ on Sherburne Co. Rd. 9.  

Don't miss this fun, family-friendly event at Sherburne's brand new Oak Savanna Learning Center! Bird tours begin at 7am. I'll be speaking at 10:30 am about native pollinators and what you can do to promote them in your own landscape. More information here: http://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/IMBD%20and%20Pollinator%20Party%20Flyer%202016.pdf

 

 Bee Monitoring "Refresher" Field Day

Sunday May 15th (rain date Sunday May 22)

Fish Creek Natural Area, Maplewood MN

This field day is open to participants who completed our “Bee-come a Bee Monitor” native bee identification and monitoring training workshop last September.  We will be practicing our ID skills and the monitoring protocol in order to prepare you for the monitoring season ahead. Please contact Maplewood Nature Center for further details and to register. (651) 249-2170. If you are interested in being added to our wait list for future Native Bee Monitoring training workshops, let me know!

Monday March 28th Meeting

Our next Transition meeting will be tomorrow Monday  March 28th from 6:30 to around 9 p.m..  It will be held in the community room of the Cub Foods located at 2050 Northdale Blvd in the Village 10 Center in Coon Rapids.  The community/conference room is located up the stairs located to the left of the checkout lanes as you enter the store. 

 

During the meeting we will be watching the third part of the film Permaculture Skills, A Cold Climate Applied Permaculture Design Course.  The film will cover:  herbal medicine, food forest fundamentals, whole systems design, homestead infrastructure, rope knots, seed saving, stone construction, wood splitting, and uncommon fruits. Length: about 2 hours.  No need to have seen the first films to understand the concepts covered in this one.  See the following link for more on the series https://www.permaskills.net/content/.  Thank to Sharon for sharing her DVD’s with us!  

Quote for the day

"I do not allow myself to be overcome by hopelessness, no matter how tough the situation. I believe that if you just do your little bit without thinking of the bigness of what you stand against, if you turn to the enlargement of your own capacities, just that itself creates new potential."
 ― Vandana Shiva

Monday March 14 Meeting

Our next Transition meeting will be tomorrow Monday  March 14th from 6:30 to around 9 p.m..  It will be held in the community room of the Cub Foods located at 2050 Northdale Blvd in the Village 10 Center in Coon Rapids.  The community/conference room is located up the stairs located to the left of the checkout lanes as you enter the store. 

 

For this meeting how about we have a show and tell night.  Bring along an idea, book, event, project, practice, or something else related to how you have, will, or would like to transition to a more local/sustainable way of life.  This could be related to growing or obtaining local food, making or repairing items instead of purchasing new, energy saving practices, community creation events, spiritual practices that help you stay centered, etc. 

The 7 Guiding Principles of Transition

(As adapted from Transition United States available here.  )

1. Create Positive Visions.  Our primary focus is on creating positive, empowering possibilities and opportunities that go beyond dependence on fossil fuels. 

2. Provide People Good Information and Trust Them.  We raise awareness of peak oil, climate change, the downfalls of economic growth, and related issues in an enthusiastic, empowering, and honest way.  We respect each person’s ability to make a response that is appropriate to their situation.

3. Foster Inclusion and Openness.  We appreciate diversity and welcome all community members to join us. 

4. Enable Sharing and Networking.  We share our personal and communal successes, failures, insights abilities, and connections to build a collective body of experience.

5. Build Resilience.  We work towards increasing the capacity of our communities (which includes our ecosystem) to withstand and adapt to shock, and change as needed – in particular as it relates to our food, economy, and energy uses. 

6. Be Aware of Inner and Outer Transition.  We become more aware that the challenges we face are not just caused by our technologies but are a direct result of our world view and belief systems.  We journey together through the fear, grief, and denial that this awareness can create by following our passions. 

7. Encourage self‐organization.  Decision making is allowed to occur at the most appropriate, practical and empowering level, and in such a way that it models the ability of natural systems to self-organize.

Love to eat, eat to love

I absolutely LOVE to eat. Anything spicy, sweet, umami, salty, sour, maybe not always bitter, pretty much anything. Love to eat, eat to love, right? Food is our life source and food has life. Love is life, Life is love. Eat, Live, Love. Repeat.

I have a big flock of food in my backyard that I just love so much. My flock of ducks bring me so much joy and happiness, just to watch them waddle and splash around. When they beg for treats, I provide for them. In the dead of winter, I provide a bath for them. What a pleasure! They also provide me with delicious eggs and yes, a roast duck from culling. I recently learned how to render their fat! I respect and honor them by using every bit of "life" they can provide for me. I provide them with the best life I can give and in return I receive life.

Relaxing with my ducks this past summer.

Circle of life. Yes, I heard that mentioned in the Lion King. I get it, or so I thought. I heard the concept, I could understand it, but only to an extent. I was and am still not entirely aware of my circle of life and how I fit in, but now that I am trying to be a part of that circle, I am understanding much more. I  have been on a journey to understand and know my life source. To raise it, care for it, process it, and continue its circle of life. If I want to live to the fullest, what better way to understand life than to know your source of it? What gives me life? What gives you life?

Bones from stock drying to become bone meal for my garden, finished stock ready to be canned,
rendering fat in the small pot.

I once read Wendell Berry's poetic essay about the pleasures of eating. Beautifully written about what we can do. I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already. It is a very short 4 page essay with some pictures, so not really 4 pages.

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/dallasfortworth/pages/articles/spr09/edibleNation.pdf