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December 2009 Blog Posts (17)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Zoobirders! We'll all be thinking about times gone by and the coming year today. Zoobird has grown to hundreds of members this year. Thanks for all the content. We've got the whole healthy, organic lifestyle represented here. If you see something missing that you'd like, just let us know.

My favorite parts of Zoobird have been the new fiction, the fun I've had telling about Great Days in the Garden, and all the things… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 31, 2009 at 11:00am — 2 Comments

War Is Over, If You Want It: John and Yoko, 40 Years Later

Thanks, Shmal - The Nation: "“WAR IS OVER! IF YOU WANT IT” – a full page ad in the Sunday New York Times Dec. 27 must have puzzled many readers. The ad marked an anniversary: it was 40 years ago today that John Lennon and Yoko Ono launched their “War Is Over!” campaign, with billboards in New York, London, Hollywood,… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 28, 2009 at 3:33pm — No Comments

A Great Day at the Garden

What a beautiful afternoon! Click on the photo above to see some gorgeous pix of the garden.

My jalapeno peppers yielded a few hot ones for the weekend. There's nothing better than fresh picked peppers. These aren't too firey hot, but they're a lot hotter than Poblanos or… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 27, 2009 at 12:30am — 4 Comments

So Many Songs in My Mind

Holiday time can be miserable, especially if you're on the street. Extreme conditions can be euphoric, too. I interviewed Richard Emerson on Swampcast one day at Lake Eola in Orlando. You can hear the euphoria in Richards… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 26, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Gratitude is a Sickness Suffered By Dogs...

Elephant Journal points us to an article in the NYTimes entitled "Now Sending | Dictator Cards". It's good to remind ourselves of the ways various people… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 25, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

A Great Day at the Garden

The birds were singing, the breeze was blowing and you could smell the rosemary in the garden the other day. I've been all over the place the past few weeks and had finally a chance to drop by my patch to tend the plants.

That's McRorie community gardener Nick in the photo above. He and I chatted and I hope you all get a chance to meet him virtually here at the Zoobird community. I wrote about this latest Great Day in the Garden on Elephant… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 23, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Xmas on it's way, year coming to a change -- time to wrap up 2009

Hello all fellow-zoobirders!

I hope you are all fine and feeling good.

My 2009 has been a good one. Work has been good, new ideas and development and more responsibilities.

Bike has been riding all year round - only four (4) days I have commuted to the office with something else than a bicycle. Plus the long summer ride from Helsinki to Joensuu that I mentioned earlier.

Musically it has been a quiet year - only 10 gigs (with 5 different groups) plus… Continue

Added by pete korhonen on December 21, 2009 at 3:55am — 2 Comments

Snowy ride this morning!

It has been a winter for a week or so in Helsinki too now. Temperature well below zero (centigrade...), and there is snow. Pure white snow. And it is snowing some more!

-pete-

ps. and oh, the brave people doing the ice fishing -

less than 2 weeks ago, this place had still no ice at all… Continue

Added by pete korhonen on December 21, 2009 at 3:30am — No Comments

The Omnivores Dilemma and Everything Else...

Whenever I begin a blog post with the title "...and Everything Else...", I'm going to do some free associating. So brace yourself.

It's a sunny day here in the Swamp (as I affectionately call Florida, where I live now). Here I am, minding my own business and just piddling around. I really should be outside, riding a cool, red bike I just got. Click the photo below to go to the Bike Zoo and read along with me… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 20, 2009 at 3:00pm — 2 Comments

A Favorite Winter Solstice Ritual by Flash Silvermoon at Moonhaven

A Favorite Winter Solstice Ritual by Flash Silvermoon at Moonhaven

Flash Silvermoon shares her thoughts for the Winter Solstice.

Along with jumping over the fire to affirm one's new path, which is a wonderful tried and true ritual, I have created a fun and third eye opening ritual for Yule.

Tell all who come to your circle to bring a wrapped gift of something that they want to pass on. It needn't be new but it can be and not too expensive... just something you… Continue

Added by Flash Silvermoon on December 19, 2009 at 2:00am — No Comments

Community Supported Agriculture

Before we begin, please set the tone by clicking on this music video* and smile while you read this, because it's going to make you feel good!

What is community supported agriculture (CSA)? CSA's are farms that operate on the community's promise to support them, sharing the risks. Magnolia… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 17, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Want to work on an Organic Farm? Magnolia Farms is calling...

Magnolia Farms is in Live Oak, FL and serves Gainesville and the surrounding area. So, if you're local, you can sign up - it's CSA, community supported agriculture.

Darlene and Mike McElwee need helping hands at our farm in exchange for food shares. How cool is that? They also… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 16, 2009 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Copenhagen Calling Brown COP15

This just in from Avaaz:

“We just got word that the UK’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown would like to update Avaaz members on the Copenhagen summit and answer some questions from us TODAY (Wednesday), before he sits down with Barack Obama, Germany’s Angela Merkel, China’s Wen Jiabao, President Lula from Brazil and other top leaders.

Details -

A conference call with the UK Prime Minister at 5.30pm European time (4.30pm GMT /… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 16, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Some more on the Ganja Boogie Band in Nogo Arkansas

BUILDING MY CABIN

New Mexico was sort of our training ground for getting us into the frame of mind for what we wanted to do in Arkansas. In New Mexico the hippies had adobe models for building their homes, but in Nogo, like I said, we were freer in building our houses. I had never built anything before, hence some of what I built was pretty primitive and basic, but worked. At least when I, with some help from Eloise and Lance, built my cabin, no one could tell me it didn’t meet community… Continue

Added by Sh'mal Ellenberg on December 11, 2009 at 3:24pm — 2 Comments

Friend of the Devil

Ian sent me this photo of a snake he discovered in Texas. Can you tell what kind it is?

...Later

Yes, indeed. It's a diamondback rattlesnake. Beautiful and deadly. Best to admire these sleek creatures from a safe distance. Thanks, Ian!

Added by Michael Levin on December 8, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

let the white house know

Dear Friend,

Somehow a top official from CropLife -- the powerful chemical industry

trade group that went after Michelle Obama's organic garden -- has been

nominated to serve as America's chief agricultural negotiator for

international trade. If confirmed by the Senate, Isi Siddiqui, who has

spent the last several years of his career fighting various restrictions

and bans on environmentally hazardous pesticides, would bring that

inappropriately… Continue

Added by Sh'mal Ellenberg on December 3, 2009 at 2:00pm — 1 Comment

Scattered Notes

Beautiful tree in Cochabamba, Bolivia on Twitpic

Eknath Easwaran's Thought for the Day made me feel so good I had to share it with you:

"December 2

If your heart were sincere and upright, every creature would be unto you a looking-glass of life and a book of holy doctrine.

– Thomas a Kempis

The pure in spirit, who see God, see him here and now: in his handiwork, his hidden purpose, the wry… Continue

Added by Michael Levin on December 2, 2009 at 7:00am — 2 Comments