It's Earth Day - Hug A Tree!

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Trees

by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

I THINK that I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

I don't consider myself a tree hugger, not in the sense that is typically associated with the term anyway.  However, I have been known to put my arms around and delight in a few trees on Otter Hill.  My favorite of all is the Madrona tree that sits in the very center of the property like a regal queen amongst her subjects.  She wasn't always so beautiful though.  When we acquired Otter Hill, Miss Madrona was very sad and neglected.  Previous tenants had built a bonfire at her base and she is badly scarred.  The wild blackberry bushes were encrouching and strangling the life out of her.  With tender care and gentle hands, my husband and my mother nurtured her back to life.  Now, Miss Madrona sparkles and sings her praises to heaven with her outstretched arms.  The animals take delight in her.  Our guests take delight in her.  Every day I sit and enjoy her beauty, and occassionally I give her a big hug.



With each passing day that I take in the breath of life, I am more and more in awe of the God's creation - this planet we call Earth.  Living a country life on the Island has a way of putting one more in touch with all of God's living things.  I suppose with age also comes maturity and new appreciation for the many blessings received.  I no longer take Mother Earth for granted.  I respect her and her offspring - even a simple Madrona tree. 


Madrona twins (left)
A Hawthorne tree, right outside of my studio, is believed to provide a portal for fairies.
Pine twins (right)

My resolution at the start of this year was to be a better steward of the many blessings Our Lord has bestowed on me - to waste less, to live life more fully, and to be a blessing to someone each and every day (see original post here).  Today, Earth Day, I reconfirm my resolution to honor God by living a more sustainable life - to move from a consuming economy to a conserving economy - and sharing my learnings with you.


Vintage fruit trees that bear delicious apples and pears.
They are favored by the coyotes and deer.



A grove of pines and cedars that provide a canopy over our fire pit.
Jacob's tree (below)



Tall, old-growth majestics frame the snow-capped Olympic Mountains in the distance.
An eagle sits high above overlooking the bay.

Rejoice in God's creations - Hug a tree today!



But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In His Hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.  - Job 12:7-10 NIV



Are You Prepared? - Part 1

Pin It With all of the recent destruction caused by the various earthquakes and other severe weather across the globe, emergency preparedness is at the forefront of most everyone' s mind - my family included.  So it's a good time to review your Emergency Readiness Plan (ERP).  Today's post is the first of a series to provide information and resources that I have come across as I review my family's ERP.

The first step in taking the proper steps in an emergency, is to know that an emergent situation is occurring.  I know you are probably saying, "Duh!", but how many times have you heard a news report of some campers or hikers or boaters losing their life because they had no idea the weather had taken a turn for the worse? 

Step 1:  First things first - make sure you have working fire and carbon monoxide detectors in your home. The time just changed last weekend and if you didn't check those batteries when you were turning your clocks ahead - shame on you.  Go do it - right now.  Here is a link with instructions to test your smoke alarms.  Your smoke detector is likely to be the first thing to alert you that an emergent situation (fire) is developing.  Make sure it is functioning properly.

Step 2: Make sure your weather radio is functioning properly.  What?  You don't own a weather radio?  You don't even know what a weather radio is?  Let me enlighten you.

Weather Radio

Weather Radios offer two significant functions. First, they are designed to receive the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) service's broadcast of weather status and forecasts, providing regular, around-the-clock weather information. Second, they are designed to respond to the FCC's Emergency Alert System (EAS), which has replaced the older Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), and the alert signals sent by the NOAA Weather Radio service. When the weather radio receives an alert signal, it will respond with an audible alarm to attract attention. Many weather radios also provide a display that indicates what type of alert is being sent. This allows the user to be alerted to any dangerous situation as soon as possible.

Here is a good example of a weather radio.  I like this model in particular because of its extra features that would be helpful in case of loss of electricity - crank battery, built-in flashlight, built-in USB cellphone charger, etc.  I also like the portable version of this radio (below) to keep in the car just in case.










If you have a family member who is deaf or hard of hearing, check out the National Weather Radio's website (here) for more information on simple systems that can be used for these special needs.


By the way, NOAA also has a pretty cool all hazards monitor available at http://www.noaawatch.gov/.  They have an experimental email notification system underway that you can sign up for if you are so inclined.

Step 3:  Check with the Department of Emergency Management for your local municipality. Many municipalities have a website with many listed resources and links. In checking with the Jefferson County EMD, I learned that they have a mass notification service and all you have to do is sign up for alerts.  Does your local municipality (city, township, county or state) have a notification service you can sign up for?  How about your neighborhood block watch or homeowners association?

Note-Worthy Notification Services

NIXLE - Mass Communication Service 
Nixle a mass communication service providing a free commercial grade text-based notification platform to almost 5,000 agencies across all 50 states.  Check out their website to see if your municipality uses NIXLE services.

After creating an account at nixle.com, register your cellphone to received alert messages by texting your ZIPCODE to 888777.  Multiple zipcodes can be entered if for example you have multiple homes or areas of interest.


The Emergency Email & Wireless Network
Similar service as NIXLE above.  They claim to be the 3rd largest breaking news provider.  It appears that municipalities in all states use their service.  Again, you sign-up to receive email or text messages to your cellphone.


USGS Earthquake Notification Service (ENS)
An earthquake notification service provided by the US Geological Survey.  Subscribe for email notifications for earthquake alerts.  You can customize the alerts you want to receive (by location around the world, magnitude, time of day, etc).



Tomorrow, I'll be reviewing what's in our Disaster Supplies Kits for the home, car and office.

Be safe and God bless,



2008 Poet's Leap Riesling

Pin It Some exciting news showed up in my mailbox today and I just had to share it with you.  My stepson, Andy, has been studying enology for the past six years or so and working with many different wineries on several continents.  From 2007- 2008, Andy worked with the esteemed private cellar Long Shadow Wineries in Walla Walla, Washington.  While at Long Shadow and under the direction of winemaker Armin Diel, Andy produced several wines including the 2008 Poet's Leap Riesling.

Now for the exciting news ...  Last week, President Obama hosted China's President Hu Jintao at the White House State dinner and served Long Shadow's 2008 Poet's Leap Botrytis Riesling!  At the request of the Chinese Delegation, the White House arranged a "quintessentially American" evening, complete with menu, decor and entertainment that reflected some of the nation's most recognizable offerings.  The 2008 Poet's Leap Botrytis Riesling was one of only three wines poured that evening, and was served for dessert with old fashioned apple pie and vanilla ice cream. 

Just last month, I served this same wine with Christmas Eve dinner - Paella to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  It's truly a delicious wine - one of my favorites.  The winemaker's tasting notes: Freshly peeled grapefruit, an appealing minerality, and a hint of ripe pear define the 2008 Poet’s Leap Riesling. Bright acidity gives the wine its vibrancy and a clean, underlying touch of sweetness contributes to a lengthy finish.



2008 Poet's Leap served for the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
The bottle had been signed by Andy (wine-producer).



Andy enjoying a fresh tasting directly from the barrel.

A private tour and lesson on the art of wine-making.
Who knew a couple of years ago that these grapes would be served at the White House?!

Andy and his Dad on the first day of his enology studies.

If you haven't discovered the Walla Walla wine country of Washington State, I recommend you plan a visit this summer.  It's a lovely little town with fabulous wineries.  You will not be disappointed.

Cheers!

My Morning Cup of Tea

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Every morning I wake up to this - a lovely cup of hot black tea.  My husband makes me a cup of tea every morning and has since our first day of marriage nearly nine years ago.  On the weekends, he serves me my tea in bed with a slice of toast and jam.  I think he must love me!

Seeking His Guidance

Pin It In the first posting on January 1st, I mentioned that my new year's resolution is to be a better steward of the many blessings Our Lord has bestowed on me.  I am turning to scripture seeking guidance on how to be a better steward.  Although I frequently engage in a daily devotional, often using inspirational readings from Christian authors, I have never been able to get through the entire Bible.  These authors of the various devotionals that I used provided wonderful thought provoking text.  This year, I'm seeking God's Word without going through any one's filter - quietly listening for His guidance.

The  One Year Bible NLT is commonly used as an easy guide without commentary to read through the Bible in one year.  This website provides a free One Year Bible Reading Plan (printable 3-page pdf) if you prefer to use your own Bible (click here: One Year Bible Reading Plan).  A Kindle version is now available for you lucky ducks who own a Kindle (click here: One Year Bible NLT).

So, how do you find Our Lord's Guidance?  Does it come from a daily devotional?  Does He speak to you in your dreams?  Does He gently guide you on your journeys or rather knock you off of your feet in an effort to gain your attention?  When He opens doors have you been prepared for those new opportunities?  Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

May Our Lord bless you today with the desires of your heart.

A Sunset Hike

Pin It What a beautiful day to live in the Pacific Northwest!  The Olympic and Cascade mountains that surround the Island were in their glory today - singing their praise to God! They look so majestic with their snow-capped peaks glistening in the sun and even more regal with the blue waters of the Puget Sound in the foreground.

Although a bit nippy in the shade, it was quite pleasant in the sun (as evidenced by the thermometer hanging on the window - yes, you read it correctly - 80+ degrees in the sun).  A perfect day to grill out - grass fed beef and Alaskan salmon.  Unfortunately all of our homegrown potatoes are long gone, so we settled for organic Brussels sprouts from the market (my mother's request).

After dinner, we took a sunset hike with Maggie along Isthmus Beach and the South lagoon.  This is one of the prettiest but less discovered hikes around.  It's one of those hikes that gets 10 stars for pleasure but only one star for effort.  We were on the lookout for otters as just yesterday Doug spotted an otter eating clams near its den.  We were entertained by hundreds of ducks.  The two most common in the lagoon were Northern Pintails and Goldeneyes.  Now, if you are like me, a duck is a duck - right?  Not so.  As I was informed by the resident VMD, there are two major categories of ducks - Dabbling Ducks and Diving Ducks.  Dabbling ducks are found mainly on smaller ponds and marshes in shallow water.  They feed at the surface by dabbling their bills in the water or by upending to reach deeper (I love when their duck tails stick out of the water!).  Their legs are placed farther forward on the body so that walking is easier, and they are able to take off directly from the water without running.  The Northern Pintails are dabbling ducks.  Diving ducks on the other hand are generally found in deeper water and feed by diving underwater.  Their legs are placed far back on the body making walking difficult, and most require a running start to take off from the water.  The Goldeneyes are diving ducks. It should be noted however that dabbling ducks can dive and diving ducks can dabble if necessary.  Now you know.  You can learn more about these beautiful ducks at http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/.

Enjoy all of God's little creatures today! 

A New Year - A New Blog!

Pin It With the start of a new year come New Year resolutions.  My resolution this year is to be a better steward of the many blessings Our Lord has bestowed on me - to waste less, to live life more fully, and to be a blessing to someone each and every day. For some reason, I felt compelled to start this blog as a means to share my learnings, insights and blessings. I hope you enjoy the postings and learn something along the way.

Enjoy your day and fill it with laughter!