Tiny Houses for the Homeless Volunteers graduated into social/political activism via Occupy Madison [Wisconsin] have been working to deal with homelessness in their community. What they’ve come up with are tiny houses of 98 square feet. The Madison Common Council – city council – voted to amend the zoning code to allow the tiny houses, …
Written by
wiseadmin
Land Mines in the 2013 Farm Bill
Every five to seven years a re-vamped farm bill makes its way slowly through the U.S. House and Senate in slightly different versions, to be later reconciled and presented to the full Congress for vote. As usual, there are provisions, proposed new rules, and industry-sponsored riders slipped into the bills on both congressional levels that …
Politicians Harming Americans. Again.
Major Issues in Farm Bill Negotiations After costing the nation plenty to pointlessly shut the U.S. government down for two weeks beginning October 1st, the Republicans in the House and Senate are now back at their job of desperately seeking ways to hurt as many Americans as possible. Seems nobody was impressed by the shutdown …
Secrets to An Effective Financial Plan
Tracking your money is a crucial part of owning and operating a business. Without knowing where your money is coming from and where it is going you’re slowly creating problems that will become insurmountable if you don’t address it immediately. A good business owner creates a financial plan even before the business starts and that …
A Simple Guide to Renting Out Your Country Home
A country home is one of those real estate properties that everyone wants to have. Unfortunately, not everyone has the financial capability to buy or build a country home. If you are one of those people who have been privileged enough to own a country home, then congratulations are in order. Country homes are sought …
Energy: The Good News, The Continuing Struggle
First the good news. The Boston Globs reports this week that Massachusetts’ largest utilities have signed long-term contracts for wind generated energy from six wind farms in Maine and New Hampshire at a mere 8 cents per kilowatt hour. Which is actually cheaper than electricity from coal [10 cents/kwh], nuclear [11 cents/kwh] and solar [14 …
Wild Herbs Endangered By Poaching
[Slide show of poachers from Mountain Express] My southern Appalachian homestead was originally purchased more than twenty years ago as the high country standard of “13 acres more or less, graded.” That means they took an overhead map (probably one from the USGS with elevation lines), put a 1-acre grid over the top of it, …
Poultry Project 5: Duck Eggs… Yum!
Easter’s downy ducklings are now grown, and have begun producing eggs. Beginning three days ago we were finding one or two chicken-sized eggs in the coop when letting the ‘kids’ out in the morning from their secured night quarters. In fact, we amassed a total of 5 eggs over the weekend, began to wonder if …
“Protect America’s Pollinators Act”
H.R. 2692; 2013 The extermination of our priceless honeybees is proceeding apace, with devastating ramifications. Back when CCD – [Colony Collapse Disorder] first hit the news in 2006/7, it was reported that we were losing a third of our honey bee colonies every year [33%]. Today that figure it up to 45.1%, nearly half. Many …
Cider, Salsa and Peach Pie
The photo on the left is of my 3-year old volunteer peach tree, taken just this afternoon. You can see that it’s growing right next to my recently-moved compost bin, from which it volunteered. I have no idea exactly what kind of peach it is, but it was one we ate three years ago and …