Julie Harrell, Adventures in Living

I have waffled long enough

2012-01-25T09:11:00.002-05:00

Everyone who reads Tripping with Gabrielle loves it. As much as I really don't want to bow down to industry pressure, as much as I want to support local bookstores...I am going to sell my books on amazon. Just like facebook, I am officially sucked into the machine. So, folks, to buy both A Woman's Bike Book, and Tripping with Gabrielle, just plug my name into amazon.

It's llama land!

2012-01-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

After reading blogging asking friends and watching Bobra Goldsmith's DVD "Llama Training," I was able to successfully and without a fight go into the catch pen and halter Arpeggio. I can't believe it. The slow haltering style actually works! Thank you Bobra, you are the best.

The secret was to retrain myself, as Peggio is a good llama and he didn't act up around my friend Ally, he only does it around me. Therefore, I am the llama to be trained.

It's been real folks

2011-11-22T07:20:00.002-05:00

Between the bike, the hike and the cliffs, I have enjoyed many an adventure this season. The garden is sort of sleeping, along with the bees, but that doesn't mean the work is over yet. We have been working on the trails and riding them (yahoo! expert only!) while I've also skulked around with my rifle hoping for a deer. Woofers a plenty are calling wanting to come work so yes, I put them to work, happily. The quanset hut will become a greenhouse in the spring, and the greenhouse is currently without plastic as I have to replace that. More wood to haul, cabbage to harvest, still enjoying the kale. Life is sweet here on the farm.

Today I'm riding my skateboard :)
The adventure continues...

There's snow then there's pavement

2011-11-03T08:27:00.000-04:00

I've enjoyed cruising Albany on my Kracked Skulls longboard....wish there were other 50 something women out there who also liked to skate in preparation for snowboard season, which is not far off... this is some great vid, I am just a cruiser ...

What climbing is all about. Falling.

2011-10-18T10:33:00.003-04:00

And having your climbing buddies catch you. Wow. This is amazing footage, a great message and a wonderful story about a group of guys who are ice climbing when fatigue sets in and the leader just can't clip the anchor. We have all been there. His miraculous fall of 60 feet caused some damage but he walked away and is fine. I was very touched by the message, the music and the climbers themselves. Bravo!

http://vimeo.com/cabinone/fall

What's been happening?

2011-10-13T07:15:00.000-04:00

Put some 28X700c tires on both road bikes and I've been getting in a loop every day. Really sweet, those puppies don't even notice the potholes and crevasses on Route 22. Taking yoga of course at Kripalu, including the recent Annual Yoga Teacher Conference. Then there's a Gabor Mate seminar in Albany, plus I'm teaching yoga at the Rensselaer County Mental Health Clinic. Probably going to do some more technical writing at some point also.

At this very moment, I'm finishing up a book review for the Meridian, a publication of the Mountain Rescue Association. At some point it's time to go around to all my favorite bike shops and replenish their copies of A Woman's Bike Book, which seems to be selling well. The Coop Scoop Gardeners Diary is finished for this month, starring Ticks, Mold and Fleas. If you are a ski patroller or are a rescue person, you may enjoy this MRA book review.

75 Search and Rescue Stories

Shaun Roundy, a Utah County search and rescue professional, writes poignantly about the many events he’s participated in, by foot, sled, motorcycle, ski, rope, ATV, boat, belly (in the caves) and underwater, diving for body parts. Shaun is the kind of guy you just want to hang out with and swap stories, knowing all the while that by the end of the evening he’ll be still telling more while you are quietly listening, in awe of his experiences.

And it can get gross at times. When he describes the rotting faces of bloated waterlogged corpses whose arms may fall off you have to cringe a little. When he talks about the little girl’s body that is caught in river debris, at least you already know she’s dead because otherwise you’d be heartbroken like the rest of the rescuers. Lots of kids die in Shaun’s book, in fact, lots of people die. Several also survive, although as he says, most of the time the SAR groups don’t even know if their patient lived or died unless they come back and tell them.

Shaun is no stranger to death and destruction. He sees it all the time, and writes about it in a way that puts you there with him. All throughout the book, you will see many photos of different rescue scenes, and some photos of SAR folks just having a good time. It’s important to remember that SAR is almost always volunteer, and as volunteers we have to have a good time once in a while. Speaking of which, there was the time Shaun had a cute chick out for a date on the lake when his boat capsized. He was forced to call for rescue, which we all know means he’ll never hear the end of it from his SAR friends. The cute chick pretty much ditched him for his rescuers, but at least he can laugh about it now. As, I’m sure, does the rest of his SAR team.

Vignettes of what it was like to develop the motorcycle contingent of Utah County’s search and rescue really made me want to go out and buy a motorcycle. You can personally experience how hard they had to push those bikes straight up gnarly rooted paths late at night. I still can feel what it must have been like for the guys to feel their bikes rear up in front of them, and have to somehow get them back on the path again without falling to their deaths way down below. The motorcycles speed up rescue and recovery, and are fun too. Still, a high level of skill is required to ride where you once hiked, and Shaun certainly takes you there in his book.

When Shaun says 75 stories, he’s not kidding. This 214 page book is jam packed with stories, photos and discussions of what SAR life is like for the average person who also has a job and a life to juggle. At one point, Shaun is about to sit down with slathering hungry jowls to Thanksgiving dinner prepared by a friend when of course, right while he’s piling his plate with food, the pager goes off. The two rolls and slice of pie provided by the host at the last minute give Shaun and another rescuer some food while they are stuck high on a mountain cliff, freezing cold and bivvying for the night. Those two rolls and pie sure tasted good, I can feel them in my stomach all the way here in upstate New York.

I admit it, rescue stories are a favorite. Right now, Accidents in North American Mountaineering 2010 is sitting on my desk. I had to put it down to devour Shaun’s book for this review. If you don’t have a copy of 75 Search and Rescue Stories in the mail to your address right now, I highly recommend you get one. This is the best rescue book by far that I’ve ever read. Get your fix and get it now at: http://ucssar.org/search-and-rescue/rescue-stories/

Breath~Body~Mind Level I Teacher Training at Kripalu

2011-09-03T09:16:00.002-04:00

Breath~Body~Mind

I am now fully certified to teach this wonderful breathing and body work. Please see my blog www.yogafortrauma.blogspot.com for more information.

Jules

Climbing in the Gunks

2011-07-25T11:38:00.003-04:00

Hot and still beautiful! I love a good hanging belay.

Today we tried to capture a swarm of bees

2011-07-21T00:13:00.001-04:00

My neighbor called..."Jules your bees are swarming at my house!"

I checked the hives, nope, all bees are snoozing in the garden. "Must be a swarm from another hive," I told her. After calling my good buddy Joe Hess who wasn't around, I called the godfather of bees, Vilnes Mattison, a wonderful gentleman who really knows everything you need to know about bees. After quickly conferring with him, I drove into the back forty with ATV to grab the extra hive I kept in the apple orchard. I guess this post is really for Cherry Plain Farm blog but anyway, we put the extra hive up on some ladders with some queen scent and hopefully those swarming bees will move in. It's a long shot but like my neighbor said, "There's not enough honey bees in the world..."

They do love their flowers :)

Kripalu Yoga Teacher and PTSD training

2011-07-18T11:21:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone. I've been a tech writer forever yet my heart is in working with underserved populations. This is why you'll see on this blog stories of helping animals and people.

Having had PTSD, I understand what trauma is like and where it begins. As a ski patroller I also believe that every second counts, and if I can help someone calm down, and feel relief by just breathing with me, then I have done a good service.

By mid November I will be certified in both Breath~Body~Mind breathing techniques with Dr. Richard Brown and as a Kripalu yoga teacher.

Here's a description from the Have a Healthy Mind website:

http://www.haveahealthymind.com/kripalu-training.html

Breath~Body~Mind Training is a fusion of ancient and modern mind-body techniques designed to rapidly restore balance to the stress-response system by optimizing brain, heart, and lung function.

In this 5-day trauma-sensitive training, participants will learn how to use this practice for self-care and healing others. Didactic sessions will cover neurophysiology, current research, clinical issues, and teaching methods. Experiential training will include movement, breathing, meditation, and practice-teaching under supervision. The unique techniques taught in this workshop serve to calm the body's central fear-processing networks and reduce the physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Developed and researched by medical doctors Richard P. Brown and Patricia Gerbarg, Breath~Body~Mind methods have been used successfully to work with military veterans as well as survivors of mass disasters, including the Southeast Asia tsunami, World Trade Center attacks, earthquake in Haiti, and war in Rwanda.

Here's a description of Kripalu yoga teacher training. http://www.kripalu.org/study_with_us/305

Once I have both certifications, my goal is to reach homeless shelters, rape crises centers and prison inmates with a message of hope, breath, and yoga.

Right at this moment, we just returned from SolarFest in VT, where I presented an interactive bike repair workshop. I'm currently working with the Rensselear County Sheriff's office to assist them in giving away their unclaimed bicycles to our local population here in Berlin, NY. Last winter I worked with the Albany Police Department to help give away their unclaimed bicycles. In each case, we target lower income kids who just need a bike. We teach safety and also forge a new friendship with the police.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have questions or know of a group that would benefit from the breathwork/yoga work I am doing in the winter (in addition to ski patrol). Thank you for reading.

Jules

Tripping is here!!!

2011-07-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

500 beautiful copies straight from the printer in Georgia, MarketSource. They are just awesome. If you are interested in reading a really fast and crazy story...buckle your seatbelts folks...

By the way, the garden is a blooming! Even our bees are smiling these days...click the image if you want to see her close up.

Peace and climbing,

Jules

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

2011-06-23T10:56:00.000-04:00

I originally hoped to become an acupuncturist, but time is of the essence so I have shifted gears. Based on my experiences teaching local residents yoga at the Stephentown Library, I have decided to focus on yoga and breathing rather than the entire Masters of Acupuncture.

This is where I'm going folks. This fall and winter, in addition to helping out with OEC candidates who wish to become ski patrollers, I will be training for crises intervention through Kripalu yoga (hope to cert. Nov 2011) and Breath~Body~Mind© Training for Trauma (cert. Sept 2011).

I am particularly concerned about our growing population of people who suffer from PTSD, enduring overweight bodies, and hurting psyches. My dream and goal is to reach out to as many people as possible and help them lead happier more satisfying lives. My book, Tripping with Gabrielle, is a story of addiction, PTSD and finally happiness. If I can get there so can you!

Om Shanti Om
Namu myoho renge kyo

A Woman's Bike Book

2011-06-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

Want to know how to repair a flat? Love to read stories about other people's mishaps? Enjoy color photos of strong smiling women who aren't super model skinny? Check out A Woman's Bike Book, my second bike book for women. I support my local bookstores. If your bookstore doesn't stock A Woman's Bike Book, buy it directly from me here. Om Shanti Om, and happy pedaling!

Tripping With Gabrielle

2011-06-21T10:05:00.002-04:00

Yay, she's finally at the printers and I found out why my template wouldn't allow spell check or search and replace....with a 330 page manuscript that has survived multiple edits since 1989 you need search and replace and spell check.

Well, Tripping was written on a Macintosh, I discovered from my expert computer friend Donnie, and Macintosh in 1989 didn't have features. This carried over into Framemaker and that's why I took so long to get this book out.

And now it's ready for you, my dear readers. Take a trip on the wild side.

Here's an excerpt:

Lots of otherwise normal seeming people around Southwestern City College saw little men that year, I was to discover, not just Lura O. Justine. I never saw them myself, being unable to I suppose, but a young nursing student, Mary Ellen, who took me in and rescued me from the lawn of Lura that evening, was a visionary herself. Before I began my transient existence, back in the old days when I was welcome in the dorms, Mary Ellen rushed into my room one night, screaming “They're after me! Let me in the room and lock the door, hurry!” She panted, she heaved big sighs, she collapsed on my bed, barely missing conking her head on the speaker.
I looked up from my book and said, “So like, what's exactly after you, Mary Ellen? Having nightmares about your organic chemistry exams tomorrow?” I was just too smooth and self-controlled, I was buzzing on some great grass and mellow as a tabby cat overdosed on milk. Nothing could faze me out of my dream that night, or so I thought at the time. “Drink a little too much coffee? Popping those uppers again?” I snidely inquired. Hah! I was invincible, I was unafraid, I would protect Mary Ellen from her little fantasy. I droned on like a good doctor, ready to shut the door to subconscious terror, ready to brave the 'elementals.' “You know as well as I do that there are no little men outside my door, I'm going to open it now and show you...”
Sauntering over to the door, I made as if to unlock it to the horrors that awaited us outside, not expecting her reaction, inexperienced in the reality of those little creatures as I was. She freaked! “No, close the door,” she whispered. “Don't let them get me, they followed me here from my house,” she panted. “Please, don't let them get me!”
Out of breath but not out of strength, Mary Ellen bounced off the bed and pleaded with me, pop-eyed with terror. By now, she was sweating and hysterical. I mean, this girl was seriously ill, and had me convinced (almost) that there were really little men outside my door. Then, the mood changed, and things got really weird. Smiling calmly, she wiped the perspiration from her fevered brow, and said, “Gabrielle, you can let me out now,” with a calm, cool exterior. “They're calling me, everything's all right now, and all is forgiven.”
You be too strange, sister.
“You wanna go out now?” I asked.
“Move Gabrielle.”
“But I'm trying to help you, Mary Ellen.”
“Move now, Gabrielle.” Shit, that girl was dead serious! I still didn't quite get the picture, but I would, soon. Mary Ellen gave me an unearthly glare, and moved toward the door, which I blocked. She became disgusted with our banter and said, “I need out, now. Let me out!” Advancing stomach to stomach, she pushed me out of her way, nearly knocking me to the floor. I became a bit unsettled, losing my cool. Was this the practical nursing student we all knew and loved, member Phi Kappa Phi, lady with the straight and narrow life, highly evolved study habits and Catholic upbringing? I couldn't believe my eyes!
“There's nothing out there,” I tried to say, still barring the door to her Great Unknown World. I peeked around the corner down the hall, and didn't see anything, Praise the Lord. “See?”

She said with a slight snarl, “Get away from the door or I'll run right through you to get to my friends.” I believed it by that time, and moved aside, looking one more time for little men outside my door. Mary Ellen spoke to someone, and soon vanished into the night. If I hadn't opened the door to let her out, I would have gotten bulldozed, lambasted, mutilated, so off into the night she went, much like Barnabus Collins in Dark Shadows, much like an Alabama tornado in the spring, much like a vampire out for some blood-sucking—that's the impression she left me.
She was outta there, and I was worried.

This lady was one hefty woman with a mind like a steel trap, good grades, and in good graces with the Dean of Women. If she saw weird stuff, surely there was something amiss in Waterford, Oklahoma, and I thought maybe I was in trouble. Well, the fact of the matter is, I was. Don't forget, I was soon homeless and at the mercy of every Tom, Dick, and Harry who might molest me in the night, and I was damn lucky Mary Ellen liked me. She invited me home to her haunted castle, the little house on the prairie behind the big sorority house, 'studio' living at its most efficient, a one room wonder that left little room for intrusion by outer forces (ah, but the inner forces were hard at work as I would soon discover to my chagrin and dismay).

Yes, it's true, Mary Ellen saw little men.
There was a day when we both were off to do laundry or shop or something mundane like that, and I specifically remember leaving the shoes lined up neatly, with a bucket full of warm, soapy water in the center of the floor which we were using to wash the windows. I distinctly remember all this because the house was so teeny tiny that every aspect of living had to be closely monitored to make room to walk in. The one room servant's quarters was abused beyond description when we returned, though. The shoes were scattered and water was everywhere, all over the walls like it had been thrown. Mary Ellen and I had the only keys. All the windows were locked. She looked at me with a glint in her eye, smiled and said, “They're back...”
Things got bad then. Things got really crazy. I lost my mind entirely and well, that's what the rest of this story is about. Are you surprised that an impressionable young woman who's already sort of heading astray would jump ship, leap into the unknown, and pretty much disappear from the world which she had called home?

I decided to withdraw into my own little microcosm of a world, and quit society. Did I say withdraw and quit society? If that means proceeding to flunk out of biology because of non-attendance, giving up on any semblance of reality or friendship with the farm girls and nursing students in City College, the answer is yes, unequivocally yes!

Chapter One
Where the bee sucks, there suck I,
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on
the bow.
Prospero: “Why that's my dainty Ariel!”
William Shakespeare

Women refuse to accept the fact of being castrated and have the hope of someday obtaining a penis in spite of everything.
Sigmund Freud

*Grounding first*
I am a refugee from the sixties, a leftist with no Marxist leanings, a bleeding liberal, an animal rights activist, a person who cries endlessly over the stupidest things, an athlete who runs to fat at the wink of an eye, a mystic with very Christian leanings, a woman found in Germany as an infant with no home except an orphanage, and a happy soul at heart. Now that that's over with, how do I begin without sounding smarmy and boring you to tears?

I still remember the second time I went to Germany, this time happily ensconced in the home of my adoptive parents, readily available to whatever mischief might lurk nearby. My first acquaintance with the nasty F word occurred soon enough. I wondered about that mysterious scribbling I found upon the sidewalk on the way to school, right up until I spelled it out for Mama at dinner that night, and she nearly choked on her sliced tomatoes. Oh. It's a bad word? What does it mean, Mom? Add that to my growing vocabulary, and you have the beginnings of delinquency.

I was only seven years old at the time, but the roots took hold and the little weed quickly grew enormous and started its slow decline into seed. The playground should have been a good memory, but I hated the playground at our school in Germany. When Mom and Dad threw me out of the car that cold, cloudy day, demanding I stay at school, I sat on the swings in the fog and drizzle and bemoaned my lonely boredom. I felt no joy at returning to my homeland; Europe was a drag. To me, life on the swing set could certainly do with some improvement. So, I soon teamed up with my neighbors, ruffians every one, and we set out one bright sunny day not to school, but to steal vegetables and fruit from a Deutsch farmer. We stole a rabbit, too.

The scent of cherry blossoms wafting on a light breeze led us into gardens blooming with tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, and cucumbers. Our young senses were accosted with vivid colors of bright orange and red, emerald green and purple that were soon converted into the most magnificent bounty we had acquired yet. The only problem was, what to do with our loot? We hid the unripe peaches and still green veggies in an old cellar, and set forth to obtain our heart's desire, that lovely bunny rabbit who lived nearby.

As my cronies climbed into the top of the rabbit hutch via an overhanging tree to grab an overfed but coveted bunny, I became slightly alarmed at the consequences: who would get the bunny? Could I explain its sudden appearance in our family life to Mother? That question and many others weren't answered, because as we trooped en masse along that winding cobblestone road, here came Herr Farmer, pissed as hell and out for blood.

Driving his crusty old tractor toward one little boy with snot running down his nose, who had tripped on his shoe laces, the farmer cried, “Halt! Das ist mein Kaninchen! Ami-Schwein Kinder, du bist Spitzbube! Mensch...” He looked at me, I looked at him, and then I screamed, “Oh fuck, we're caught!”

Looking around furtively for my fellow thieves, not terribly into self-sacrifice or torture, I knew the only course of action was to disappear from the scene and not get caught. Yes, it's true, the others got caught. “I'm getting the hell outta here, guys, gotta go, see ya!” I'd never make a good soldier, especially a German one.

I escaped behind some trees. I was lucky. The old fart slammed on his brakes while his ancient vehicle practically rattled apart; he leapt out the door and grabbed the boy with the bunny, pulled him onto the seat of his rust bucket tractor, and rolled wobbily off into the pastoral sunset. What a bucolic scene it was, cows grazing peacefully nearby with only a faint haze of dust to show the passage of bunny, boy, and angry farmer. My my, was that ever a close call.

Home beckoned. I really wanted to surprise Mom with an armful of fruit and veggies for our dinner, but something told me it might not be wise. Besides, I was very, very late for a seven-year old girl who lived in a foreign country. Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen, her arms submerged in soap suds. I knew I was screwed when she took her hands out of the dishwater, dried them, then gave me her full and undivided attention.

“Gabby, what were you doing stealing rabbits with that Smith boy?” she rhetorically queried, already ascertaining my guilt by her tone. Mom had only a mere touch of grey in her hair at this time, and her back wasn't yet stooped with the age that only a troublesome child can bring. Her bright, sky-blue eyes shone fiercely as she towered over me, all five feet and ten inches of mad Mom. Doomsday had arrived. “You know better than to go seven miles from the yard, you're not even allowed off base!” Was it really that far? I wondered.

“I'm hungry, Ma,” I said, my tummy not wanting to stay for chit chat.
“Don't change the subject,” Mom interrupted. “Well, where were you?”
Yup. She knew something. I fidgeted nervously, while Mom continued her tirade of questions. “And what were you doing out of school?” She wiped her red hands on the green and blue plaid apron she always wore when washing dishes, then began to move toward the hall closet.

The Belt lived in the closet.

“I was out of school?” I asked innocently, already knowing the answer to that one. I tried to console myself, fear gripping my heart. No way, she couldn't know about that, too, could she? Mom wasn't making my supper, and Dad hadn't come out of the living room. Something was amiss, and it wasn't anything friendly, either.
“I'm getting the Belt,” she hissed, getting madder by the minute at my lies. “Come here right this minute and don't back talk me, young lady, I've had just about enough of you today!” Moving over to the closet to get the Belt, Mom's face was thunderous. She wrapped that black serpentine Nazi Belt around her wrist, and I yelled, “Mama I didn't do it honest!”

She didn't look convinced. Rhetorical questioning got me nowhere fast, but I tried. “Why would I steal a rabbit, you know I wouldn't do that.” It wasn't working, so I tried a different tactic. “You taught me better than those Smith boy’s, Mom, you know you can trust me, really Mom, don't hit me please... waaah!” Quite lost that particular argument, but what's a mere battle if you can win the war? A few licks here and there are a small price to pay for adventures.

That night was another typical evening at our house. My brother Gerhart was safe from all harm, because he was such a model child that he was even above suspicion. Watching me grow into a mini-tyrant had taught him that the best way to get what you wanted was to be nice to Mom and Dad. He snickered as I ate my dinner, and pinched my ear.

“Cut it out, asshole,” I said. “Just because you stay such a goody two shoes all the time doesn't mean shit to me.” Gerrie, his short, sandy blond hair and cherubic eyes dazzling every adult he encountered, wasn't even miffed at my poor attitude. After all, I was a delinquent and we knew where delinquents ended up.
“Get over yourself Gabby,” he chortled. “And while you are at it, get a life.” Gerrie left the kitchen after grabbing my cornbread, and went to his room to work on his third grade math. I would have told on him for taking my food, but Mom wouldn't have believed me, and he knew it.

When questioned again about the day's events, I had survived interrogation successfully, and none of my friends told, either. Sure, I got a whipping, but everyone knew I was guilty, so all in all, I considered this little attempt at fun attractive, and bragged about my rabbit-stealing exploits often to my gang of thuglets.

We planned to steal again, and soon.

I used to want to go around without a shirt like all the other heathen German girls. I had this weird scar on my solar plexis, acquired somewhere between birth and adoption, but it didn't disturb my desire for exposing my bare chest. Somehow, the German tradition of nakedness appealed to me, so much in fact that I approached Mom one day to ask permission to run around the yard without my shirt.

My new favorite medium...Maureen Hancock

2011-05-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

http://www.maureenhancock.com/

My husband, the bee keeper

2011-05-17T09:04:00.003-04:00

By the way, our bees are so docile, the gloves are not needed.

Honey bees!

2011-05-07T12:08:00.002-04:00

We have our brood, two queens, two swarms, three hives...some pheremones...Come on bees, come live with us.

Pics will follow.

Jules

What it's like

2011-04-18T09:08:00.002-04:00

What it's like is spring finally. Yes the radiation is leaking all over us, yes, we are missing birds and bees and all wild things, but yesterday we saw a moose! That's right, a moose. And I found some bear poop in the woods near the house so we know he's near. I'm riding my bike, climbing in the Gunks again and today we have blue sky. The patch of snow by the tipi is almost melted LOL. The dogs cats goat llamas are happy. Life goes on...

Jules

Llama Life and Garlic

2011-01-21T13:25:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday was a momentous day on the farm. Fellow gardeners, feel free to have a laugh on me because I finally planted my garlic. The day started off with serious llama work as Babby, my boy llama who I still can’t help but call a “she” needed her eyelashes trimmed and her eyes cleaned out. This type of work requires more than one set of hands because as you can imagine, llamas do not like having their eyes cleaned out. Well, neither do most humans. I planned ahead for this day, asking a vet friend for some prescription eye medicine, and prepared shots of Ivermectin for all four llamas, and one shot of Duramycin for Babby with the runny eyes. The Ivermectin is for parasites and the Duramycin is an antibiotic. After catching all sorts of hay and stuff in her long luscious lashes, Babby’s eyes really looked infected so I was worried about her. John Conboy of Schoharie Llamas has a chute, and since I really still can’t handle my 400 pound spoiled brat Arpeggio who was going to have his feet trimmed, I called John to assist me. Farmers know that if you call the llama guy you might as well do all the llamas at once.

Meanwhile, my garlic was languishing in a bucket in the basement, waiting to be planted. All my friends and neighbors planted their garlic weeks ago, but me, I put it off for just way too long this time. I had prepared the garlic beds, finally, with lots and lots of llama poop. A month ago, I dug up the peas I had planted, expecting to use them for mulch over the garlic. It was getting so cold that every time I even thought about planting the garlic my hands hurt. I even asked a gardener friend if I could plant my garlic in March but she didn’t think it would be optimal. Of course it’s not optimal, I just put planting off way too long. Today, I promised myself, after the llamas were done I’d get that garlic in the ground.

For those of you who think winter farming is easier than summer farming, you are right in some ways, because there are only a few plants to deal with, but the animals require just as much if not more care. John Conboy came, he set up his chute and we went about gathering and haltering the llamas. I actually think they enjoyed being handled and I really was pleased that not a single one of them spit even after being fully restrained in the chute. One by one, we gave the llamas their shots and they all had their hooves trimmed. Babby, always the smartest and least likely to be caught, was finally lured into the pen not by grain, as were the others, but with broccoli plants that still managed to retain some green. She does love her veggies.

While John soothingly held Babby’s head, we washed out her eyes and cleaned her face. He trimmed her long luscious lashes, somewhat wistfully, saying “Wow, most folks want longer not shorter lashes.” After an hour spent working Babby over, we discussed skin problems in llamas and got out our llama veterinary books and compared notes. Yes, we agreed, Babby needed more zinc in her diet. John was amazed that Babby never spit or cussed or even said one swear word while he held her head and we cleaned her eyes. He said he’d never seen a llama that calm before in such a situation. Babby, being a skittish rescued llama, knows that she’s loved and it shows.

John finally left with a hefty check for his services, much less than a veterinarian visit would have cost though, and I found something to do on the farm other than plant the garlic. By 3pm I knew that I would have to finally either do it or stop talking about it, so I went out to the patch and with freezing cold fingers that nearly turned to bricks, I planted at least 100 cloves of beautiful garlic for the spring, which is about 300 less than I planted last year. I gave the rest of the cloves I’d prepared for planting to the llamas. What is the moral of this story? The early bird with the warmest fingers plants the most garlic. And that, my friends, is life here on the farm in the wintertime.

[Published in this month's Honest Weight Food Coop newsletter]

We love you Tony Hindes!!!

2010-12-16T08:48:00.003-05:00

Our beautiful angel friend man ... you have joined our Creator in Heaven again. Thank you for sharing your life with us, sharing your light and your sweet joy. Oh how we miss you. You danced into our lives and spread your angel wings with love for us. You are in our hearts forever.

Albany Bike Project

2010-11-20T09:49:00.002-05:00

Hi bike folks and interested hoodies,

Well it's official. The Albany Police Bike Project has officially launched in its own quiet way. We have received a lot of feedback from people who would like a bike or know someone who needs one. To make it easier for folks who may not be able to attend one single event, it will be an ongoing project. Please contact Janet Parker if you know someone or are interested in a bike and financially cannot afford one. Her cell is: 518-331-1512.

As you may already know, I have been working with the Albany Police Dept Community Outreach Unit (along with Troy Bike Rescue) since the summer to organize bike giveaways of stolen bikes that the APD periodically receives and that they can give away. We finally have reached an agreement about this bike giveaway, who will coordinate it, and how it will work.

After much discussion and reflection it was decided (by the APD) that the bike giveaway would be best served by remaining independent of local bike rescues while still supporting their efforts. Through the generous assistance of Troy Bike Rescue, we've been able to
pull this together so far, and we hope that TBR will continue to remain
a peripheral resource. Albany Bike Rescue is also welcome to join in our efforts and we will support theirs should we have the opportunity to work together in the future.

At this point, we don't have a name for our organization yet. We do have an unofficial storage space in Albany through March. The APD has agreed to deliver the bikes to us, and its up to us to get them repaired, which as you know, requires a lot of hours and usually some parts. Right now I'm on my own and have been fortunate to have several folks come forward from multiple organizations and help work on the bikes we've received so far. Thank you!

Basically, the APD Bike Project (temporary name) works like this: We collect and repair bikes, and identify youth and adults in Albany neighborhoods who are in a financially tight situation and could not otherwise afford a bike. Identifying people is not always easy. Parental sign off is required for minors, and the people who get a bike must show up in person.

The APD will give them a bike, a helmet, register their bike, and share some safety information. They can then remain in contact for future events if the recipients chooses. For example, the APD hosts bike rodeos and rides in the summer to teach kids about safety, plus give them a chance to get their bikes tweaked if a bike mechanic shows up to help. Hopefully some of the kids who have gotten a bike from us will attend a bike rodeo or a bike ride with us in the park.

The goal is of the APD is to share the stolen bikes, and also promote safety in the neighborhoods. The goal is specifically to provide bikes to an underserved population that isn't already working with a bike rescue. Ultimately, I would like to send these same folks who we give bikes to their local bike rescue so that they can help other people who may also be in the same situation, and also learn to repair their own bikes. That would be a really great step forward for the bike community and I hope we can make it happen.

As of yesterday, I have somehow stepped into the role of co-coordinator with Janet Parker and the Community Outreach Unit for this project. Up until now, we were not really clear whether this was to be a long term project and how it would work. We were discussing turning it over to a bike rescue for several months, but ultimately the APD decided that it was not a bike rescue project.

To be clear, the APD Bike Project is governed under the auspices of the APD. It is up to them to decide who gets bikes, and they are making these decisions based on a person's financial situation. We have tried to have set times and places in the past, but it looks like for now we'll be giving away bikes on an as needed, individual basis going forward, rather than all at once. Their hope is that having a bike will improve that person's living situation in some way, by providing needed transportation, or recreation.

I still have about six bikes that need to be repaired, and I expect we'll get another load of 20 or so within a few months. If anyone would like to work with us on this project going forward, please contact Janet Parker (APD) at: 518-331-1512. You can also drop me a line here.

Thank you all who have helped in the past, and will work with us in the future. If you need your own bike repaired, headset adjusted, wheels trued, etc, or you want to learn how to repair bikes, we can help each other. There's lots of work ahead and even if your mechanic skills are not great (yet) they will improve :)

Albany Bike Project

2010-11-20T09:49:00.000-05:00

White Flowers and the Lone Pumpkin

2010-11-01T10:38:00.007-04:00

This farm tale starts, like many a modern farm tale, with a phone call. My good friend and sister Wendy called from California with a simple request: Would I be willing to create a small five day altar consisting of an apple, a white candle and fresh white flowers, and continue her angel blessing prayer for three people across the continent? Well, my first reaction was, sure, I’ll do it for my friend. Wendy works hospice, and her elders seemed to live for years once she begins their care. Everytime I went to Wendy’s house in Stinson Beach, I always heard bells from *somewhere* out there. My only real concern was, where in the heck would I ever find the requisite white flowers? It’s officially Fall and O dark thirty here in upstate NY. I kind of figured all the white flowers have faded. I have never bought flowers, preferring to grow them myself (cheaper!). Still, I was committed to somehow finding a way to make this happen without a visit to the flower store. Did I take a really close look at what was growing in my gardens? Of course not.

While I’m waiting for my miraculous white flowers to appear out of thin air so I can do this very special angel blessing for a really old friend, the lone pumpkin in our yard finally turned a beautiful shade of orange. This big mambo pumpkin began life as an unwanted seedling in an otherwise nasturtium, garlic and carrot bed. I saw the little leaf peek out and at first had no idea what plant it was, but decided since it appeared relatively near the cattle panel hoop trellis, I’d go ahead and see what it sprouted. Pretty soon we had lovely flowers that looked kind of squash like, then all of a sudden a beautiful monster green striped pumpkin appeared. This pumpkin got so big that we were all amazed that it managed to stay on the side of the cattle panel hoop trellis. The tenacity was amazing, and made us wonder what was holding it on. Finally, after close inspection, we realized that it was also growing a thick vine to accommodate its, well, hind quarters. The big mambo volunteer pumpkin came into the world on its own volution, almost got weeded, then against all odds, grew its own support system. That’s pretty poetic, and certainly fits into the cooperative model of living.

Meanwhile, I’m still wondering what to do for white flowers. I drove to Ada’s Spiritworks Botanica which moved to way out in Latham near the Toyota dealer so I could get the proper white candles from a sacred store. This is during a big rainstorm so I didn’t go check the garden. On the way back my 50 year old brain is trying to conjure flowers for the angel altar which was to be located inside the tipi if and when this slacker ever made it happen. I go home, go to sleep and dream that a sweet, wonderful, unnamed person gave me white flowers specifically for the angel blessing. I woke up knowing I had white flowers coming to me. Even though three days had gone by since the angel blessing request, it was going to happen soon. While driving (I get my best insights driving evidently) I realize that the other plant volunteers, five beautiful nicotania sylvestrious tobacco plants who appeared this summer in the asparagas beds would provide me with numerous fresh white trumpet flowers. These volunteers started out as two little plants from the Coop Garden Shop years ago. Why I never looked in the garden for these white flowers is beyond my understanding. I assumed the flowers were all gone but in fact, they were waiting to become part of a five day angel blessing for three people.

And the pumpkin stands alone, with its strong support system holding the world steady. Blessings to you all this fall. May we who remain close to the Earth always be fed.

What a week!

2010-08-08T18:47:00.001-04:00

In only one week, my truck was stolen and returned, I tracked a bear to his bed, and we fermented some veggies.

Here's the truck story:

Friday: My truck was stolen today. It was taken right out from under me. I barely stepped away, I locked the doors, left the window barely open, and sure enough, it was stolen. 2009 Toyota Tacoma truck, 4X4 with access cab. Black. In case you see it. Also has a black shell on the back.

I consider this a serious setback as I have to buy another truck if it is not recovered. My insurance company is only willing to pay what I owe on the truck to the lender. I am praying that it returns with all my bike tools and other valuables. First and Federal Street, downtown Pittsfield. Middle of the day, between 1:30 and 3:30pm. Within spitting distance of the police station by City Hall.

Hard to believe. Watch yourself in Pitts. It's getting dangerous evidently.

Sunday:

My truck has been returned to within two blocks of where it was taken.

No damage, everything in it, nothing missing. It was found at 8am this morning by the Pittsfield Police Dept.

The police are confounded. I prayed for the people who stole the truck, sent them good vibes, love and forgiveness. I also talked to them (psychically) telling them I felt bad for them, that their mother loves them, and that I'm a nice person who they shouldn't steal my stuff from because I would be nice to them.

The people who stole it must have gotten my message because everything was in the truck, including two checkbooks, my two best knives, bicycle tools (worth a lot!) and you name it. A beautiful bear necklace, handmade from silver, on African trade beads. CDs. Mail, Netflix. Everything was in it.

I have the keys to my truck as I had locked it. They must have gotten a key because they didn't even jimmy the ignition.

Spirit moved on this one. Wow. Amazing Grace. I feel like Spirit used my truck to teach these people something...

Albany PD, Troy Bike Rescue and a bunch of kids

2010-07-28T21:55:00.011-04:00

So tonight in Albany we had a little event in Washington Park. The Albany Police Dept, Troy Bike Rescue and myself gave away some bikes and fixed others for local children who needed bikes. We will be doing this on an ongoing basis. Honest Weight kicked in some snacks and The Downtube gave us water bottles. We had free helmets from the Brain Injury association and Albany PD PAL program. Lots of fun! Living a life of service to others is what it's all about. These cop friends work very hard to bring bikes to inner city Albany communities. They are so happy to see the kids happy. Thanks to Janet, Kelly, Matt and Rick (Muscles). You guys are the best and I really am honored to be part of your work. It was also fun riding down the stairs with you today in Washington Park.

Remember this

2010-07-08T12:39:00.001-04:00

http://joanocean.com/whalecrisis.html#anchor90545

©LISA H. DENNING

WHALES IN CRISIS
BY JOAN OCEAN, MSc.

Thousands of hours in the ocean with whales has led me to deep communications about their life on Earth: their roles, their intelligence, their migrations, their attitudes, their sensitivities, their greater purposes on our planet. The whales are deeply spiritual, highly intelligent entities. Their wisdom exceeds ours by thousands of years. We can barely relate to who they are because their understandings of Earth and humanity comes from a vast point of view taking us beyond three dimensional earth time. They know the Big Picture. If you ever doubt this, just spend some time with them in the ocean and you will feel their harmonic sounds and heart-centered transmissions. It is communicated directly into your own heart, your own higher intelligence. Peace settles over you in their presence. Vibration is their expertise and they involve you into it. Since we are also vibrational matter beings, we can receive their frequencies and change our lives due to these advanced frequencies.

One of the messages from the whales is that they value Life. They cherish life and the Earth. What does that mean? It means that they always make decisions in their personal ethics that supports keeping life alive. The life of humans, the life of all sea and land animals and mammals, the life of the Earth including the eco-systems that preserve the Earth such as the plants, birds, reptiles, insects, barnacles, plankton, etc., etc.

Because of this, their behavior when examined closely has a larger plan to assist humanity to also care about all living things. And the whales take action to bring forward these tendencies in humans. Entering our hearts with love, they hope that people will be so appalled by the killing of whales and dolphins, that our race will rise to the challenge of protecting life on earth and prevent these deaths and the subsequent deaths due to all the species that will become extinct if the cetaceans die.

Here is a message from the whales as an example of what they do:

THREE WHALES UNDER THE ICE

In the fall of 1988, the entire world came together, in peace, for a wonderful cooperative experience. Two adult whales and one baby whale were entrapped by approaching ice in the Bering Strait. For a few miraculous days, rescuers from Russia, the United States, Norway and other countries, worked together as sisters and brothers to save these whales.
Representatives from many countries offered ideas about how to keep the whales from suffocating beneath the freezing ice. A hole was cut in the ice so the whales could breath. But how could we tempt the whales away from that one breathing hole to another one and another one so they could again enter open water and be free and safe? Before the whales were freed, the baby whale died from extreme exhaustion.

The whales said that they triggered this event to raise awareness that international unity and cooperation were possible.

We are interested in you. We brought the world together for only a short time but it was worth it. We even gave up a life for it. It was worth it.

Look what you (the human race) did. You did not kill us, but freed us. You all came together for LIFE, not for technology, but for life ----- not for gain, for politics or money, just for life. That was enough.
What you did was wonderful. It was exactly what we hoped for.

The baby (whale) did not mind leaving. The baby whale did not mind flying. The baby will be back. The baby did much. He wanted you to know that we were serious.

The baby was part of our effort to accelerate peace in the world. Every event in time changes irrevocably, countless other events. If that had not occurred exactly as it did, then other things would have changed. The movement towards world peace and unity would have decelerated.

(Note: Glasnost followed that event with the liberation of Eastern Europe in 1989-1990.)

We knew and we were teaching you. You were teaching us, too. It was wonderful. If you can be together for one day, you can be together for many days. And if you can be together for many days, you can be together always. Do you understand what we mean? We wanted to show you it can be done. And you saw that it can be done. It can be done for us.
You can all come together for living things - not for money or ideologies, but for life, for the pure holiness and sweet sacredness of life. For that you can come together. You can be idealists and realists. You can change. You ARE changing. You are being changed. We beam information to you all the time. We influence you. This is our freedom. This cannot be done without your permission. Thank you for your Call. We share this freedom together.

The Little People of Oklahoma

2010-07-08T12:11:00.002-04:00

I wrote about these little people in my book, Tripping with Gabrielle, and can verify that what you are about to read is a common story experienced by many people in Weatherford, OK, near Anadarko, OK where this story is set. I have heard the scary scratching sounds (slept in my car that night), seen the clawmarks (next morning all around the car) experienced the destruction of personal property (my own), and finally left food out every night in desperation.

There you have it, a bit from my past life in Oklahoma during 1978-1979, the same time as this story. A quote from Tripping with Gabrielle about my roommate "Yes it's true, she saw little men..."

The Little People of Oklahoma
BY GALEN PROSE

Not many people have heard of the "Little People" before, because most know them by the names of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti or Skunk Ape. But where I come from, we call them the Little People. I am from the Caddo tribe, and the governmental headquarters for the Caddo Nation are located at the Binger Y, which is about halfway between Anadarko and Binger, Oklahoma. The encounters with Little People my family and I have had took place there.

The reason Caddos call the Little People little has always puzzled me, because to everybody else they are described as huge. It may be partially out of respect, I think, because I wouldn't like it too much if others identified my most defining trait as my giant feet! But strangely enough, even though in most sightings in the area they are almost always small. I mean, their given name is not irony in the slightest. But why are they so short? My mother and I have collaboratively theorized that the Little People are juvenile Bigfoots.

When my mother was about eight years old, she and her grandma and grandpa had driven all the way from Norman, Oklahoma to camp overnight in a little house my family owned on a hill in a densely wooded area that overlooked the dance grounds at the tribal complex at the Binger Y. They were planning to stay overnight for the dance or pow-wow and leave in the morning. They hadn't had the time to unpack the car and put all of the stuff in the little house before they had to leave to go somewhere.

But when they returned, they climbed the hill and the car doors were open. It was a mess and looked as if the car had been ransacked! My mom's grandparents inspected the damage and found interesting evidence. A bag of Fruit Loops -- my mom's favorite cereal at the time -- had been ripped open and the colorful rings had been scattered about the car like it had burst open. It wasn't torn apart by claws or teeth, but pulled apart... ripped by hands from each end. A trail spilled from the car and led into the forest.

On top of that, the car smelled awful. And the Fruit Loop thief must have been there not too long before for the smell to still be there. My mother asked my great grandma who broke into the car, and she told my mom that the Little People had done it. Who would've known Bigfoot liked Fruit Loops?

That happened in the late 1970s or early '80s. What happened to me occurred in 2007 when I was 11 years old. I was at a summer camp down at the Y that they hold every year for one week in June, where Caddo descendants go to reconnect with their heritage. Campers came from a ton of different states. A thunderstorm rolled in the wee hours of the morning early in the week. Shirley, the head honcho at the camp, moved all of the campers to the roundhouse (also called the community building), even though it wasn't raining that hard, because a bunch of the kids didn't have rain flies on their tents. And the non-Oklahoman campers weren't quite as fearless and accustomed to the tornado alley weather. So we moved all 60-some teenagers to the indoor arena.

Well, it didn't ever stop raining all week. It never calmed down enough for us to move back to the campsite. One night, several campers complained of hearing slow scratching on the metal doors of the roundhouse. Nobody could see anything outside of the small, rectangular glass windows because it was so dark. "It sounded like nails on a chalkboard," my cousin said. "And I tried covering my ears, except it was so loud and the scratching didn't stop."

The next morning, my cousin and some other campers who had heard the scratching checked out the door. There were tiny scratches in the paint near the bottom... like sharp fingernails clawed at the door. It was real. We were all scared, but we didn't know what it was. Shirley feeds the Little People dinner leftovers every night. (I think this is creepy, personally!) But that particular night, she forgot to set out the food for the Little People. They had come out of the woods and begged at the doors for food. (Which I find even creepier!)

But then I started thinking: If the Little People could open a car door, why not a building door? I'm just glad the doors of the roundhouse were locked! It's a rule at the camp to not go into the woods. It doesn't need to be enforced, exactly; the forest around the complex is scary enough without the added bonus of Little People. (Who apparently like Fruit Loops....)

There hasn't been any Little People activity at the Y for the past couple of years, because they are fairly shy folk. But since then, the roundhouse doors have been repainted and Shirley still feeds their youngsters leftovers every night.

Previous story | Next story

girls, strawberries, llamas, farm

2010-06-22T11:01:00.006-04:00

We lost our sweet boy cat

2010-06-22T10:56:00.002-04:00

As you can see, he's very friendly. We are hoping he's in someone's house eating large. My other thought is that he was eaten.

Book Reviews!

2010-06-09T21:21:00.007-04:00

A DIY Bike Book for the Gals: Julie Harrell's "A Woman's Bike Book"
June 09, 2010

Julie Cruiser just came out with a new bike book for women. But it's good for anyone to read. It's an expanded new edition of her earlier bike book. She's published it herself. It's intended as a personal view of one gal's life in bikes and the way that she's learned to share what she knows with other women. She's worked many years in bike shops and knows her way around wrenches. Her attitude is what gives her a great entre' into all the various outdoor sports that she's involved with. She's gungho and willing to make mistakes. She's not afraid to mix it up with the guys. At the same time she's learned that there are definitely helpful things for women to keep in mind out there in the land of dudes and machinery.

It's 6" x 8" and 115 pages of text and 30 pages of color photos. The photos show a wide range of ladies and their bikes in their natural settings and in some dandy shops. Book price is about $15.

Jules is also a snowboarder, ski patroller, EMT/S&R, kayaker, climber -- the works. She writes on these subjects as well, at her blog and elsewhere. Her blog is "Julie Harrell, Adventures in Living" at http://photonicgirl.blogspot.com/

She's into yoga, gardening and metaphysics. She's 50-something, married, has kids. Been around the block. Knows a thing or two.

In this book Julie introduces us to the common range of gungho bikes you're likely to run into and the reasons for each type. She shows you the mindsets behind the styles of riding that they fit in with.

Then she has Diet and Yoga sections to help riders get ready for the experience and to be able to build and keep a lifelong connection to fresh air action like cycling.

She ties her advice and info in with related stories of what she's gone through as well as made-up case profiles of various ladies whose situations help illustrate her points.

The book has a, to me, hilarious lady aspect to it in that *shopping* takes on a bigger role than I've ever seen it in a bike book. !!! But, hey, this is a woman's bike book. Literally, it's *a* woman's view. Julie lets you into her world. We all have our relationships to shopping. She has hers! And I'm betting that more than a few ladies will be able to relate to it.

Stand-out sections include the "how to ride with dudes" chapter. Now, all male riders aren't the gungho types she inclines toward but a lot of them are and if you're high-energy yourself you may gravitate to fast-paced group rides for at least some of your outings. Such rides will tend to be made up mostly of guys. How to handle it?

Julie doesn't get overly introspective but she gives a lot of basically helpful info, such as how their quirks are not personal, it's just the way guys get in hammerhead-type groups. You might get dropped and no one even looks back. You might hear remarks that are in code or show no sympathy. This can provoke you to ditch the group OR there might be a way to figure it out and be prepared in a way that lets you thrive and get your foot on the inside of the scene. She also includes the hot tip to NOT date within the pack, along with a few examples of what she means. Adventure pals are one thing, dates are another. The net result of abstinence is a group where you'll keep your welcome.

I'd like to interject my own two bits along these lines and expand a bit on what Julie brings up. I know it's beyond a review but what the hey. I'd like to note that there are a lot of group rides out there that are NOT hammerhead-ish. They're becoming more popular all the time and they're a great place for moderate riders of any gender to hang out and get exercise along with socializing. Urban outings tend to go along these lines (unless they're Alleycat events). Advocacy rides also are very welcoming and diverse.

The recent push to vintage and Tweed Ride action works, too. Everyone can get tired of hammer-riding and it's good to mix it up. I suppose a truism would be that the slower a ride is the more diverse it is. I note that even a racer needs to ride easy at least once a week. But even in such settings there are likely good things to know about "riding with the guys." But, again, the slower a ride is the more it'll just be like normal socializing. As a group ride becomes more intense the "Mars" aspects come on stronger and need a bolder heads-up attitude to deal with.

Another superstrong point of the book is the way she makes wrenching accessible. Lots of people are afraid of machines, tools and grease. Julie leads the way with an easy-going approach. She covers the basics. And she covers the social side, too. No one can fix everything or know it all, if they're regular folks, so how to relate to the bike shop? To the backroom mechanic? They're people, too. And there's a culture there. Julie shows us how to fit in.

Now, she plays fast'n'loose with a lot of concepts in this book, but that's her style. She's found ways that work for her and she's just sharing them. You might have a different way. The rule book might have yet another way. Right at the start she says this is just her way and to get official manuals if you really want to do things like wrench right. But if you just want to get the feel for it all and get over your fear of flying this book is a great way to do it for anyone.

Jules talks the language of the gungho outdoor ladies. It reads pretty easy to me. But it is a different language! There's code in there, which I don't always get.

It kinda relates to the fact that there can be a ski tour up north with a picnic afterward and 50 guys and 5 gals will show up, but if there's a Ladies Tour with some special food stops along the EXACT SAME trail then, like, 500 women will show up and rock-party the woods. It's like they're out there but they're waiting for an event with the right tone to it to show up. This book has that tone. So join the party. ...But don't forget to invite me! (My rides are no-drop. If yours are, lemme know!)

[Note: If you click this link and buy her book, or anything else on your visit to Amazon, OYB gets a percent. Thanks! --JP]

Check these guys out here: Out Your Backdoor

Here's one from ADK Sports and Fitness:

A Woman’s Bike Book by Julie Harrell

CHERRY PLAIN – A Woman’s Bike Book, written by local author Julie Harrell, is the second edition to the original shorter version, A Woman’s Guide to Bikes and Biking
(1999).

Julie’s goal for this new book, which includes all relevant text from the former book, is to “open our cycling circle to women of all shapes, sizes, ages and personalities who are sitting on the sidelines, wanting to join us.”

She has illustrated A Woman’s Bike Book (Owl Publications) with composite characters of women you may know and love. These women contact each other, ride their bikes together and have picnics.

The stories of their lives entertain as they demonstrate what it’s like to live a biking lifestyle. They have “the racer babies, the big boned ladies, the sporty girls and the busy moms, all squeezing in time on their comfort bikes, mountain bikes, downhill bikes, hybrids and road machines.” A Woman’s Bike Book is “a positive take on sometimes muddy, dirtbag cycling, with pig-out stories, cycling mishap anecdotes, a little bit of yoga, and easy to understand explanations” woven throughout to help women find the bike they want.

The book is barely technical, including the repair section where you can read about what the author did wrong along with how to fix your bike. She has added a section on “riding with the guys – and not riding with the guys you date.” This chapter includes information on internet dating sites that are meant for dating,
and which sites are meant for adventuring. The fit section is quite specific, as fit is what she considers the most important aspect of enjoying a new bike.

This bike book for women is about “ladies out having fun recreating on their bikes.” A Woman’s Bike Book also covers supporting independent bicycle dealers in your community, “because they are our link to that fabulous beast, the bicycle.”

Julie encourages women to email her, because she’s looking forward to hearing your stories. The book is available at area bike shops or online. Visit: photonicgirl.blogspot.com.

And last but certainly not least, Bicycle Retailer Industry News even gave me a little blurb in their May 15 print edition.

Thanks ya'll!!!

Message from the Grandmothers

2010-06-02T11:59:00.001-04:00

Please send this out as we all can do this without going anywhere or spending money. Bless you, Love Mariam

"You Are Desperately Needed"

Today the Grandmothers woke me with this message and asked me to send it out. Please forward it on so we reach as many people as possible.

"We ask you to cast, anchor, and hold the Net of Light steady for the Gulf of Mexico," the Grandmothers said. "This crisis is affecting the entire world, and humanity is asleep. Wake up!" they cried. "Animals are dying, plants are dying, and your Mother is writhing in agony. If you hold the Net of Light steady at this time you will help stave off further catastrophe.

"You have been lulled into a false sleep," they said, "told that others (B.P.) will take care of this problem. This is not so," they said. "And this is not the time for you to fall into oblivion. Determine now to stay awake, and once you have made that commitment, think of, cast, and hold the Net of Light. Hold it deep and hold it wide. Amplify its reach to penetrate the waters of the Gulf and dive deep beneath the crust of Mother Earth. Anchor it at the earth's core and as you hold it there, ask it to unify with the mineral kingdom of this planet. It will do this and will harmonize with all the solid and liquid mineral states on earth-including oil and gas. The Net of Light will call these minerals back into harmony. Men have wreaked havoc. They have abused the kingdoms of life on earth for many years, but this time their destruction has reached crisis proportions.

"Whatever human beings have damaged, human beings must correct," the Grandmothers said. "This is the law. We repeat: This is the law. You cannot sit back and ask God to fix the mess humanity has created. Each of you must throw your shoulders to the wheel and work. We are asking for your help. Several years ago we gave you the Net of Light so you would be able to help the earth at times like this. Step forward now. This is the Net of Light that will hold the earth during the times of change that are upon you," they said.

"First move into your heart and call on us. We will meet you there. The Net of Light is lit by the jewel of your heart," they said, "so move into this lighted place within you and open to the Net of which you are a part. Bask in its calming presence. It holds you at the same time that you hold it.

"Now think of magnifying your union with us. We, the Great Council of the Grandmothers, are with you now, and all those who work with the Net of Light are also with you. There are thousands, even millions now connected in light," they said. "Along with this union, call forth the power of the sacred places on earth. These will amplify the potency of our joint effort. Then call on the sacred beings that have come to prevent the catastrophe that threatens to overwhelm your planet. We will work together," they said, nodding slowly.

"Think of, cast and magnify the presence of the Net of Light in the Gulf of Mexico. See, imagine or think of it holding the waters, holding the land, the plants, the sea life, and the people. Holding them all!" they said. "The Net of Light is holding them steady; it is returning them to balance. Let the love within your lighted heart keep pouring into the Net of Light and hold, hold, hold. Calmly and reverently watch as the light from your heart flows along the strands of the Net. It will follow your command and continuously move forth. As soon as you think of it, it will happen. We ask you to practice this for only a few minutes at a time, but to repeat it throughout the day and night.

"We promise that this work with the Net of Light will do untold good," the Grandmothers said. "We are calling you to service now. You are needed. Do not miss this opportunity. We thank you and bless you."

Sharon's note: To learn more about the Grandmothers and the Net of Light, go to grandmothersspeak.com.

To love an animal child

2010-05-05T09:01:00.007-04:00

She's a teenager, 15 years old, love of my life. She's filled with light and beauty and new concepts that are way over my 50-something year old head. I listen to her sing, and talk, and see her smile. Within that world that she inhabits is so much lighter thought than we can imagine.

Can you love an animal child? Mine has dreadlocks, she has henna, she has smiles for all. Her cats protect her at night from the scaries, while during the daytime she spends her time at school, learning about science and history and math. She hosts tipi parties here on our farm where she says, her friends come to bond. Sometimes I am lucky, and she asks to go with me on one of my business ventures. Increasingly she wants to be by my side. Even yesterday, she asked to ride road bikes with me.

On Christmas day, my animal child presented me a song she wrote, and sang it for me on piano. I cried of course. Wouldn't you? This is her song to me, her Mama:

Momma, Makuahine

I was once a little girl, didn't know a thing but you told me I would change the world. Then Momma all I know was Sona, I never thought of hate, maybe I grew up too late. Amma, you certainly changed the way I would ever say Makuahine. And I just wanted you to know our bond will never end Momma. You are my best friend.

Bike ladies

2010-04-30T12:19:00.000-04:00

VeloHello Instructors:

http://velohello.com/the-instructors/

A Woman's Guide to Bikes and Biking, and A Woman's Bike Book

2010-04-30T12:07:00.005-04:00

For your reading enjoyment, I have provided an update on the former 1999 bike book. I have a new book available now, please see the links to A Woman's Bike Book to your right. The former book is still for sale on amazon and elsewhere.

Here's the case:

Cycling Author’s Case Moves Forward

NEW YORK, NY (BRAIN)—A U.S. district judge ruled on Tuesday that a copyright infringement lawsuit between Cycle Publishing owner Robert Van Der Plas and cycling author Julie Harrell will proceed to a pretrial conference.

Van Der Plas’ attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the case or transfer the case from New York to the Northern District of California. The judge rejected that motion on Tuesday and set a hearing on April 24 to discuss a case management schedule and settlement.

The case was filed last September by Julie Harrell, who claimed Van Der Plas republished and sold an unauthorized copy of Harrell’s book “A Woman’s Guide to Bikes and Biking” over the Internet and in bookstores in the U.S. and internationally.

According to the complaint, Cycle Publishing obtained the rights to publish the book in 1999, but in 2006 relinquished all rights except for the limited right to sell and keep in stock the current version of the book.

In 2008, Harrell allegedly discovered that Cycle Publishing had created and published a revised edition of the book containing new photographs, captions and text, and began selling it through its website, as well as Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

The selling price was marked up and the quality poor, the lawsuit said.

Van Der Plas countered that 30 percent of the book was his work including maintenance instructions, table of contents, bibliography, captions, bike cleaning, disclaimer and several photographs.

He also argued that the case should be moved to California, where his business is located, as there is no connection to New York.

Harrell is asking Cycle Publishing return all originals and copies of the book, recall all copies of the revised edition from bookstores and pay Harrell for all profits from sales of the book.

—Nicole Formosa

There's more:

Author Wins Attorneys’ Fees in Case

NEW YORK, NY (BRAIN)—A New York judge has awarded cycling author Julie Harrell more than $65,000 in attorneys' fees stemming from a copyright lawsuit she won earlier this year against Cycle Publishing.

On Tuesday, Robert Van der Plas and his company Cycle Publishing were ordered to pay Harrell $65,314 in attorneys’ fees—taking into account a reduction of 15 percent for elementary or clerical tasks—and $624.97 in litigation costs.

Last June, the judge ruled in Harrell’s favor awarding her $7,500 and directing Van der Plas to turn over the remaining copies of the book in question “A Women’s Guide to Bikes and Biking” to Harrell.

Harell said the outcome of the case, and Tuesday’s ruling for attorneys’ fees, was the “best case scenario.”

“I write for a living and I need my name to be clear,” Harrell said.

Harrell sued Van der Plas and Cycle Publishing in September 2008 for reprinting an unauthorized copy of “A Women’s Guide to Bikes and Biking” and selling it online and in bookstores in the U.S. and internationally.

Cycling Publishing originally obtained rights to publish the book in 1999, but in 2006, relinquished all but the limited right to sell and keep in stock current versions of the book.

In 2008, Harrell discovered that Cycle Publishing was selling a lower quality version of the book without her permission. She sued after Van der Plas refused to stop selling the book, Harrell said.

Although Harrell won the case, she said the book remains available online because Van der Plas sold a large order to the distributor Ingram before the judge’s ruling.

“It’s sad. I would like to say to everyone: Do not buy the current book on Amazon. It has crappy text; it’s not the original, which was fairly well done. The 2008 version is not worth buying,” she said.

Van der Plas’ attorney did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment on the case.

—Nicole Formosa

I call her Zukie Boo cos she's a Sweetie Poo

2010-04-26T17:10:00.003-04:00

Seeds and Strawberries

2010-04-26T17:09:00.001-04:00

Seeds and strawberries

Hi Everyone.

Welcome to spring at Cherry Plain Sanctuary Farm. This year, we are planning for expanded strawberry beds, more berries from our little blueberry bushes, and third year asparagus. The grapes gave us presents last year, this year we hope for even more. The kiwis are slowly twirling around the cattle panel trellis, growing each year. I’ll tell you about my organically compatible bug fight plan in next month’s issue.

We have built our microfarm using cattle panel scraps, throw away lumber, windows salvaged by the side of the road, and dumpster-dived odds and ends to create a living, breathing wonderland of bee and hummingbird-friendly annual and perennial plants. Using fresh llama droppings, combined with old washed out soil, we built this garden step by step and now provide insect sanctuary along with food for our human and animal family for much of the year. We freeze, can, ferment and compost our produce, with nothing going to waste.

Spring 2010 means purchasing new Fedco seeds, and for some of us, spring also means completing the gargantuan task of seed inventory and planting, including putting 100 new babies into their nests. After cataloging all our old and new seeds, it is time to transform my pile of stuff in the basement to a beautiful seed apartment complex. For potting, we prefer to use organic soil and kelp from the Coop. Forgoing a sterile seed environment, I throw in a few llama poop pellets with each seed.

The strongest little Brassicae and lettuce babies are safely in our greenhouse now, where they can germinate in cooler temperatures. More will follow as it warms up. Okay, seeds are done, what’s next? Time to work on the clean up. We have all raised beds, mixed with rich humus, composted cattle poop, mixed with llama and goat poop. It's pure poopy! And the plants just love to eat. I see the nettles beginning to perk up; soon there will be fresh greens for us to eat, along with nettle tea. Our arugula and kale plants went perennial last year too. I’m ready for spring! First, there’s more work to be done.

Let's talk about strawberries...I'm a fan of letting them run wild. Isn't that what we all really want to do anyway? Why not plants too? The strawberries are currently covered in snow and leaves, courtesy of Mother Nature, which keep them all cozy through the winter. As the snow melts, the little green runner plants emerge. Soon, I will be trimming out the old, and making room for the new growth to begin.

In the winter, the happy plants naturally die off and/or go to sleep. Springtime rolls around, many of them come back to life, the old ones just continue to compost, and I have a whole new crop of strawberries everywhere. There is some work involved. In order to thin plants in spring months, I dig up each new green emerging plant, place my trowel carefully under it, then transplant the delicate greenling to a new home. Each summer strawberry plant sends out new runners. I periodically remove these from where they shouldn’t be, such as in the bed paths, and move them to new homes with their friends (and my friends).

Originally, I bought a total of maybe 20 strawberry plants at the Honest Weight Garden Shop, including ever bearing and summer strawberries to include fruits from early, mid and late summer. Since my first purchase several years ago, we have probably 400 plants growing and I have given away probably two hundred plants to friends in the summer. As all my friends know, I give away plants every year. Starting with only a few plants and one bed, we now have five happy strawberry beds that also include a few garlics and perennial flowers.

There is literally nothing else to do with strawberries. It’s that simple.

How does this magical abundance work? Back to my original plan, you let your strawberries run wild in the summer. Let them die off in the winter. Then transplant them in the spring. If there are wild strawberries growing nearby, so much the better. Every one makes friends, and the bees share pollen between plants. Subsequently, my strawberries are all multi-racial.

Some people may find radical country approach to growing strawberries too free flowing and prefer to limit their strawberry patches with black plastic, which also seems to work. All of us grow strawberries differently, yet I am guessing that we all agree on one thing: The first strawberry of the season that we grew in our own little patch is the most delicious of them all.

Trips for Kids

2010-04-10T08:47:00.005-04:00

A Woman's Bike Book is published and currently being sold through 20 shops, including two independent booksellers. I am also a proud supporter of Trips for Kids, see below.

Click this link: Check them out. Create a chapter near you. Share the love.

I will be presenting bike workshops at Bike!Bike!, Hello Velo, and Solarfest. Come on down and check us out.

Yo!

As for order of importance, if you have limited time, click some of the animal rescue sites below, talk to Canada about their seals, or do something positive for your community. If you've done all that, check out my women's book. Support the cause first, feed the rat second.

Peace to all, and to all a good life.

Jules

Finally! Back on the bike

2010-03-22T13:56:00.005-04:00

It's a beautiful day, we are out on a 15 mile mostly offroad loop from our house with lots of climbing. The Taconic Valley, including More Hill road, an unmaintained woodsy windy hilly climb is SWEEET! Today I am riding my American Breezer classic mountain bike, with oldstyle handmade WTB parts, a short cage XT rear derailler, and some fat Specialized Armadillo tires that will go anywhere, do anything. It's still too muddy and frozen to ride the trails, but a mostly dirt ride means high speed downhills with plenty of climbing. Oh yeah.

Spring is here!

2010-03-18T13:32:00.002-04:00

Get your bike out and go for it. Greenery is just around the corner. Oh how I am ready to start riding again!

Bike Shop Talk for Women

2010-03-11T22:43:00.003-05:00

An amazon blog where we discuss all things women and bike related.

A Woman's Bike Book is now back on amazon. If you email me I will match their price. Two books gets you free shipping.

Check it out.

Jules

A Woman's Bike Book

2010-03-03T08:53:00.005-05:00

Folks, today is the day I receive the proofs and we go final on the printing of A Woman's Bike Book. This has been a long time coming, but what perfect timing! Meanwhile, I'm setting up an amazon account (again) for this book and Tripping, even though I much prefer to not sell on amazon. The fact is, it's the best way for people to find me.

Here's one of my blog topics on amazon

Check out Janet Bike Girl

To give you all a taste of what this book has inside, I'm posting some excerpts and photos here.

Introduction
“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live.” Introduction to Taming the Bicycle
—Mark Twain

So you want to buy a bike. With so many styles to choose from it can be confusing at first, especially when you are differentiating between a comfort mountain bike and a race-ready hybrid, a road bike and a city bike, 26 inch wheels and 700c wheels (with almost identical tires). Let’s not even talk about price! What makes this $300 bike different than the $500 bike? Should you buy women’s specific models? Or should you just buy what the salesperson, your neighbor, your husband, your son, your uncle, your cousin tells you to buy? You might ask yourself who will ride the bike the most, and take it from there.

The good news is, the bicycle industry has rapidly changed in the past ten years, and the change is in your favor. Bike shops are now catering to the woman cyclist. More and women are buying bikes these days, and riding them wherever they please. You see them everywhere, riding down the streets, driving with bikes on their cars, hanging out with their girlfriends at the coffee shop, bikes parked nearby. You could be one of them.

If you can sit on a bike, you can ride one. You can ride five miles or a hundred miles, it’s really up to you. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t in perfect shape, because many women are carrying a few extra pounds. In fact, even if you are carrying more than a few extra pounds, your bike will help you get stronger, and might even decrease your appetite. We’ll provide a few tips on what foods go down well when you are riding, and how to do a little yoga to stretch out those tired muscles. You’ll feel confident as you walk into the bike shop, describe the type of bike you want to the saleswoman, and proceed to test ride and buy the bike of your dreams.

Sorting out those many bike styles is a piece of cake once you read this book, because it’s all about what kind of riding you want to do, where and with whom. You might want to just take a little cruise down the flat bike trail behind the mall where all those other people are riding. You might have a gnarly mountain bike racer girl buried deep within your heart even though you are a grandmother. You could be a new mom who wants to pull her kids in a trailer and needs a bike that can handle dirt roads and potholes. Guess what! You are not alone. There are literally hundreds of thousands of women out there just like you, and once you get yourself the right bike, you might even decide to ride with some of them on the trail and on the road.

First, let’s start with the basics of safety. We’ll help you narrow down your bike choice, then help you get more comfortable within the bike shop. You’ll find a bike that truly fits your body using our proven techniques, learn about proper cadence, which is efficient peddling, and finally, we’ll teach you how to perform simple repairs to your bike on the road. At the end of the book are many resources to assist you in locating bike clubs and organizations where you’ll meet nice people who also love to ride.

To make our experience more delightful, I have created a friendly group of composite characters to populate this book so that you can find your way into the lives of women cyclists like you and like me. Jules, even though she is a composite character too, is mostly me, as recognized by numerous goofy antics. The friendly women in this book are all sizes, shapes and colors, with varying degrees of physical fitness. Some are skinny vegetarians, others are husky women with robust appetites. To address the whole diet fitness thing, and to ensure that everyone starts on the same page, I’ve included two chapters that cover diet and yoga. These chapters are for those of you who may have a few extra pounds or a more than a few tight muscles. If you are interested in learning about what I’ve done in my personal life to overcome 40 pounds of excess non-muscle matter due to a former life of junk food addiction, these chapters are a great way to start where you are.

Now, whether it’s raining or snowing or sleeting or otherwise acting up outside, I invite you to sit back and relax with your favorite cuppa, enjoy this book, laugh with us, cry with us, join us as we enter the twilight zone of women’s cycling from a personal point of view. Yes, that’s right, this book is personal.

Contact me if you can't afford the cover price of my book. I'll help you out.

Jules

A Woman's Bike Book is at the printer

2010-02-22T09:39:00.002-05:00

Hi all, it's been a long wait, but the book is now at the printer's. I use a U.S. based printer because I believe in buying American. Don't you? I did not want to sell this book on amazon, however I have to reach the women's market out there. Like it or not, we shop on amazon.

I will primarily sell the book in bike shops and independent bookstores. The reason for the long wait is because I was engaged in a federal copyright lawsuit and I ultimately won a judgment. My work, both past and present, is now freed up and ready for your enjoyment. A Woman's Bike Book includes a 36 page color photo essay of women and men from North America (we have a Canadian) having fun on their favorite machines. I also include lots of bike shop photos, from men's recreational mountain bikes to lovely road bike candy, shop interiors, mechanics stations and all the stuff you might look for in a good shop. I hope you have a great time with this book. Should be available in a few weeks for mailing out to you.

Stuck in DC

2010-01-24T18:18:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone. I am returning from a grueling three weeks of caring for and burying my lovely mom, Grace Ethel Ehmer. Her photo is posted above. While in OK, of course I visited the lovely Wichitas, my "other" mountain home.

I have been asked several times about the ETA of my two books, and I want to let you all know that I am focusing on getting them out.

Meanwhile, I have ski patrol and settling of affairs. Plus a new microscope for all you geeky closet veterinarians, I'm doing my own fecal exams! Life and parasites just keep on going...

Here's some pics.

Jules

What's been going on?

2009-12-30T14:09:00.003-05:00

Hey ya'll. Well it's been a busy busy season. Working ski patrol at Jiminy Peak and Magic Mountain, plus at WiseWays Herbals in Worthington, MA. Trying to find time to also help my friends out with their work and also publish my own two books. Plus I'm getting the LLC going for Owl Publications. Almost there! Meanwhile, check this out, we are looking for interns for the farm this summer. Live in a tipi for free, haul some dirt, build some beds, trim some trees. Life is good. Go here for more details: www.cherryplainfarm.blogspot.com

You can also see our post on Woofers USA.

Email me

2009-10-20T16:20:00.003-04:00

It's gonna snow! Yippeee! I already gleaned goodies from the garden and put them in the greenhouse, just like Daniel Dog advises on his great article about gleaning at Laughing Dog Farm ...

http://www.laughingdogfarm.com/gleaning.htm

Jules

There's a new tipi at our sanctuary

2009-10-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

For details, go here:

www.cherryplainfarm.blogspot.com

Petersburg Pass, how beautiful it is in the fall

2009-10-20T13:16:00.001-04:00

When she had dreads...

2009-10-19T09:44:00.002-04:00

My books are available directly from me

2009-10-19T08:02:00.001-04:00

I have tried to do business with amazon ...

Owl Publications has multiple titles to uplift the human spirit. We are listed in the New Age section and in the sports section. One of our authors is in the Christian section. Please contact me directly at: photonicgirl at anything dot com for a complete listing of our titles.

Now, my books are really not out of print as amazon says...they are just available elsewhere.

I have tried to do business with amazon ... however, I am printing small runs of books (500 at a time) here in the great U.S.A. as I believe in supporting American industry. My printing costs are noticeably higher than if I were to do business with say, China.

Hence, I am only selling through channels that allow me to make a very small profit. For example, amazon will pay me $7.17 per book that is sold on their site, and I pay shipping.

I charge $15.95 for Tripping with Gabrielle, and $15.95 for the color version of A Woman's Bike Book both of which you can purchase for less directly from me.

My cost for the books is $7.95 for the color version, plus shipping from the printer and shipping to this site. By selling on amazon, I am losing money, big time. As long as I can make a small profit I can continue to pay for my overhead and publish books.

Once we are up and rolling, you can expect to see my books on ebay and www.abebooks.com, a reputable online selling agent. I like abe books, they are simple and do not overcharge to use their site.

Meanwhile, feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about any of my books, and about Owl Publications, soon to be an LLC. Also, you may visit my blogs at: www.photonicgirl.blogspot.com, and www.cherryplainfarm.blogspot.com to see what's happening around here.

Peace, love and happiness.

Om Shanti to you.

Jules

A Woman's Bike Book & Tripping with Gabrielle

2009-09-02T09:07:00.007-04:00

Hello all,

Well after all this time, my two books are now at the printers. I will receive galleys this week and send them out to those of you who have expressed interest. To read about these books and see inside pages, please visit the amazon links I have posted on the right.

Color copies of A Woman's Bike Book (Bike Shop Edition) are reserved for independently owned bike shops and bookstores, while black and white copies can be purchased on amazon.com and through Barnes and Borders.

You can purchase the color version of A Woman's Bike Book (Bike Shop Edition) directly from me for $15.95, plus tax (8%) and shipping ($2.00). If you would like to purchase the black and white version for $13.95, please contact me at: photonicgirl at hotmail dot com.

If you are a bookstore or bike shop and would like to stock these books, please send me an email for 40% off the retail price.

A Woman's Bike Book is 160 pages. Tripping with Gabrielle is 300 plus pages, at $13.95. Both books are trade paperbacks, 5.5 by 8.5.

I am arranging book signings now in NY, MA, and VT. Please contact me if you'd like to order copies of the book or have any questions. To order directly from me, please use the paypal links on this site.

Mahalo,

Jules

Magic Mountain will be open this year!

2009-08-17T19:55:00.008-04:00

Let's support this grand old mountain.

From Jim Sullivan:

We will be offering an early season rate through October 5, 2009 for the price of $379 and thereafter the price will increase to $429.

Contact Magic at: http://www.magicmtn.com/

I will be there on Ski Patrol Saturdays, plus teaching snowboarding. And whatever else they have me doing. See ya there!

Jules

A walk though the garden this morning, and kitties.

Rise up and shine

2009-07-31T14:10:00.002-04:00

These two were headed for the shelter. Click this photo to enlarge, check them out. They live with us now.

It's freaking raining like a tropical summer here in upstate NY. My feeling is that the weather has changed and we are becoming a tropical place here on the planet. Then there's the photon belt...the blue star kachina, things are getting hotter, colder, dryer...are you getting happier or sadder?

The key is no fear. Stay happy. Be thankful everyday. And for those of you who think my prayer (posted earlier) is over the top, go spend some time with the Native Americans in tipi ceremonies. Listen to what they say, and you too will believe. It's not about Christianity vs whatever religion, as all the witches know, it's about bringing peace and unity to the planet. The Christ consciousness is within us all. Our brains can manifest what our souls know is true. Words are just words, they evoke something bigger than us but who knows what the true power of words really is?

Feel your spirit rise up, believe in a higher vibration. Attract abundance by being of service to others. Live a live of service, dedicate yourselves to being helpful to others. You'll see, life is so good for us here, we have no idea what it's like to dig for food in a garbage pile, or to clean rods out of old batteries to resell. There are three year olds who are doing this for work in Asia. Believe me, it's true. We are so lucky, it's time for us to give back and be thankful. Let's count our blessings on a daily basis, on an hourly basis.

All of you out there who believe, good for you. All of you out there who don't believe, that's okay too. Doesn't matter what we think, the Universal laws are in effect on this planet and we are under their control. What are the universal laws?

I'll sum it up:

Be good to each other, and other will be good to you.

Peace, out.

Jules

It's riding time again!

2009-05-28T09:14:00.005-04:00

Yes, we are back on the bikes, when we can find the time in between rain showers, slug hunting forays, ginseng planting and weeding.

If you are a gardener too, you can read more about our farming adventures at: www.cherryplainfarm.blogspot.com.

Life in the fast lane to me means riding a mountain bike with my two best girl buddies. What a happy day we have today. The kind gentleman in the background taking these pics for the new bike book is Jerome Tracy, my wonderful husband and friend.

peace and love,

Jules

The Blood of the Lamb

2009-04-28T12:10:00.003-04:00

Pray this for a new Heaven and Earth here now.

In Jesus Name, I cover everyone on the Earth and in the surrounding Universe in the Blood of the Lamb.

All conflicting and otherwise lower dimensional entities within the Earth and surrounding Universe are Bound in Jesus Christ's Holy Name. These grey entities now float upward to the Light where God and His Angels take them forever for reprogramming.

Amen.

The last day of snow

2009-03-29T08:37:00.006-04:00

We think it's the last day anyway.

Could be another day will still thunk huge snowplates upon our heads. But I doubt it. Ski patrollers know how to have a good time even when the snow is so slushy that you have to surf it to get down the mountain.

What happened was, I radioed in that there was a big puddle of water getting off the lift ... wanted top house to know. Some patrollers said they'd come check it out, you know, since I of course couldn't tell if it was *really* a problem. I think they just wanted to splash in the pretty puddle myself. Then all of a sudden a hord of patrollers ascended. They set up an ambush for those two patrollers who radioed in that they wanted to check the puddle out. I had to watch. When the two patrollers got off the lift, the waiting ambush forced them into the puddle and threw snowballs at them! It was really funny.

And that, my friends, was our last day at Jiminy Peak.

snowboarding on rocks

2009-03-16T12:42:00.002-04:00

Snowboarding rocks at Magic Mountain, especially on the double blacks with less that perfectly (boringly) groomed surface. Oh baby! I love Magic Mountain.

So, what you do to preserve the quality of your board, not that I'm particularly into preserving gear instead of using it, because I'm more of a gear abuser, is you wax the board.

When I say wax, what I mean is, you iron wax into your board for a long time till it soaks in, seeps into the nooks and crannies, and really fills up the base of the board to the point that it kind of congeals on the surface. You should be able to slow iron a ton of wax in, and scrape only a little wax off ...

This takes about 30 minutes, 20 to iron the wax in, and 10 for scraping.

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Magic. I realize it's spring in Albany but here in the farthest corner of Rensselaer County, we still have snow. And in Southern Vermont at Magic Mountain, if we ski patrollers can get a toboggan down the trail, you can come on out and ride it.

Mad River Glen coined the phrase, "Ride it if you can." Magic Mountain, a smaller version of Mad River (and much closer to my house) has the same vibe, and the terrain speaks for itself.

I'll see ya out there.

Jules

Be the first to lose your facebook addiction

2009-03-05T13:11:00.001-05:00

We dropped off the map. You can do it too. Be strong, facebook allows too many people to access your information. Do your friends know your friends who know your friends? Do you really want to know everyone else's friends and what they are doing? Are you spending too much time twittering and twiddling with everyone else about your day? I am, or I'll say, I was. Topple the giant in your mind. Drop off the facebook map.

Life with snowboards

2009-02-25T13:46:00.001-05:00

They take over your house, your gear is strung everywhere, and still you add more each day to the pile. I just bought a new thermos cos I was jealous of Joe Hess's. We went to Magic the other day and he pulled out this fat hot toasty thermos that sat in his car all day, but was still boiling hot with fabulous tea. I knew then and there that there was unbelievably one more piece of gear I needed for my stash.

Then, there are the snowboards...

Ride for Free, Fact or Fiction

2009-02-04T13:15:00.010-05:00

W r itten fo r and published by Mountain G azette

(In their Mountain Notebook Section)

If yo u are a dumpster-diving dirtbag like me, the Northeast is the place to be this year. I know, complaining about lift ticket prices is de rigeur thing to do, especially at the snowboard shop when you are trying to replace those broken Burton Mission bindings on the cheap…gotta pay to play they say. And then you also have a chance to talk about all that great backcountry stuff you did last weekend in the Dacks that took 18 hours round trip including hip-deep powder and a 3,000 feet elevation gain. There’s always that story along with your rock-torn, sand-blasted tree-stomped aging body to prove it. Hey, I’m 49 years old, I can complain about pain if I want to. There’s either free turns, earn your turns, or work for your turns, take your choice. If its liftserve you are looking for, the money exchange can be challenging, even on e-coupon days. Do you buy gas or do you spend your last $20 on a lift ticket? And what about food, cos those granola bars are getting way old.

Me, I like my stuff free or greatly reduced, always have. I used to work in bike shops so I could use the tools I couldn’t afford. Finally, after slowly building up my basement shop by buying used tools from retiring mechanics, I continued working in bike shops to acquire the bikes I couldn’t afford. Then I got addicted to snowboarding after working in a bike shop that sold snowboards. My climbing rack is comprised of free swag found at the cliff, old cast-off cams from friends, and deals from swap meets. Just so you know, before any comments, I do use new ropes. Well, maybe not perfectly new…

My whitewater kayaks are those that the shop couldn’t sell cos they had five years of dust on them and were too big to fit anyone under 250 pounds. Who weighs 250 pounds and whitewater kayaks, anyway? The foam inserts came from a factory dumpster … they almost float. Because of my fabulous volunteering skills, I finally won a new kayak at the Deerfield kayak festival one year in between beers. Stuff just comes my way.

Ya gotta eat right to live they say. I like organic veggies including fancy tomatoes and strawberries, so I grow them myself. Since good fertilizer costs a lot I also grow llamas and scoop their poop. I’m so lazy I fenced the garden next to their favorite poop pile so travel from one to the other is minimal. There’s a really great food coop nearby so I work there and shop with coupons for sale items each week. Not cheap but still, our eggs and cheese come from the next little town, and the apples are local too. Trips to town don’t cost much as our youngest car, a very beat-up purple Honda Civic hatchback with 171k miles uses minimal gas. Staying limber at my age means teaching beginner yoga once a week at the local library so that I can get a free yoga class and some pocket change. Think I’m kidding? You can stretch or die in my world.

It’s probably understandable by now that when it comes to winter, there’s just no way I’m gonna buy a ticket to a liftserve, and true to my lazy nature, I can’t do backcountry every weekend. Besides, I work Saturdays and Sundays, a time when most people play, and I don’t work at an office. Yes, it’s true, I have foresaken all corporate trappings and work at area ski resorts as a Mountain Slave. I am a ski patroller at one mountain and a snowboard instructor at another. Both these titles translate into: Cheap local labor.

The military precision of our incredible ski patrol team at very strict and jam-packed with guests Jiminy Peak in Massachussetts is rivaled by the unlimited tree riding/cliff hucking opportunities at wildly unregulated Magic Mountain in Vermont, where you can even hike up for free and earn your turns with your dog if he’s leashed. I looked at all the resorts in our area (there are many in here on the NY/VT/MA border) and picked the coolest, non-commercial, telly ho mountain I could find to teach at this year. Magic Mountain in Londonderry, Vermont is the sweetest, I love that mountain. I teach a little and play a lot. Last year, I taught full time, Monday through Friday AND holidays at Jiminy so this year my new motto is, don’t make your snowboard your corporate ball and chain.

Getting national ski patrol OEC training was easy, I just signed up and went to classes. Back in September, I thought it was so cozy and warm, sitting in class, practicing splints on other instructors. Drinking coffee. Once you pass the medical exams, ongoing mountain training lasts for a total of nine months. You begin to realize that you are also now officially a Mountain Slave and figure out how much work there is ahead. You start to feel the crunch of what happens when you screw up. Yes, that was my fault and it was a mistake. That was a major screw up and I understand the consequences to our guests on the mountain and to the future of skiing and riding here. Yes, I will attend training to make sure I never do it again.

The payoff is great, however, if you are a dirtbag like me. I can visit other mountains by way of my ski patrol number, some without even so much as a letter of introduction. Mountains want ski patrollers on their trails, anyone can google ski patrol certification and you’ll get gobs of free offers. Just this fall we could have stayed at Lake Tahoe for free and taken ski patrol training. Think about it, wouldn’t you like to ride for free too?

There is a downside to my story. I’ve had to improve my technique enough to hang on ice off double black diamonds pulling a freaking 150 plus pound sled with a 200 pound guy in it. Hey, I’m 125lbs and I am riding a snowboard. It’s below zero windchill, at night, and the breeze has become a tornado. I’m tired, I’m cold, my teeth are chattering and my hands are ice cubes. Still, the patient needs first aid including ABCs and O2, C-collar, extrication from the trees, backboarding, loading onto the sled, then sliding, successfully I might add, down the mountain to Hq. Doesn’t that sound like fun to you? Oh, and did I mention that falling or losing the sled is obviously not an option. It’s happened.

Have you ever tried snowboarding at night with a really big, two-foot long drill? How about carrying eight, six-foot long poles? Maybe you’ve tried refencing a closed trail while riding your snowboard switch. Then, there’s always the student who runs over your board repeatedly till the top separates from the bottom and you have to buy Tips and Tails off ebay to save your gear. The best news of all is, if you get injured on the mountain you get pee-tested! How’s that for fair trade?

As for teaching snowboarding here in the Great North Iced, at Magic the rope tow is no piece of cake so we end up walking up and down the bunny slope while chattering our teeth and freezing our butts off. Ten or 15 laps on the bunny are all the cardio I need for the day, but wait, there’s more! Take the cold kids in after two hours of lessons, buy him/her overpriced hot chocolates and cookies, give them your warmies out of your gloves cos their hands are so cold, go back outside and do it again for another two to three hours, then hand the kids off to mommy and daddy. Explain how great the kids did, blah blah blah, oh that’s okay, don’t mention the hot chocolates and cookies, the kids were hungry, and what do you get? Certainly not a tip.

Then there’s the other mountain where I taught full time last year. Picture this: Me with 11 little four year old kids, snowboards that they have never seen before, missing gloves, runny noses, peed in pants, sometimes even poop, vomit, crying, mom and dad disappeared for the ENTIRE DAY and I am trapped till at least 3:30 p.m. with this mob. It’s six degrees outside, and our bunny slope with the Magic Carpet looks like an ice skating rink. We have to eat hot dogs and mac and cheese together as these are my charges for the day, including potty, snacks, naps and lunch. Shall I say more? It’s not a pretty picture.

When it gets ugly, you just keep breathing, and tell yourself you are getting a free lift ticket this year. What defines free anyway? Free means you can come and go to the mountain as you please, oh yes, let me tell you about the good parts to my story. Free means we have this fabulous Hq at Ski Patrol where I leave my snowboard and gear and can suit up in style. Free means I have private bathrooms at both mountains (well, I admit one of the bathrooms doesn’t lock and the little kids don’t knock). There’s the intructor’s lounge at Magic where we can toss our crap, and the wonder of hitting the slopes at eight a.m. before anyone is on the mountain. Closing down trails at Jiminy with Ski Patrol after 10 p.m. can be really fascinating, especially after it snows then rains. The entire mountain is covered in unseen moguls that you must hop over while searching the trees for a wayward skier/rider who may have fallen off the face of the Earth.

Winter is getting older these days. I get up in the morning at six a.m. and I feel like shit. My rusted up, purple Honda is covered with ice and snow, the llamas are screaming at something that looks suspiciously like a coyote in the woods, the dogs and cats are hungry (again!) and I have to be on the lift at eight a.m. or else. Weather forecast for today is “wintry mix” and we all know that means freezing rain followed by sleet and snow. We’ll get soaked to the bone on the lift, then become shellacked Ski Patrollers with sticks for fingers. There could very well be multiple accidents on the mountain today, with very limited employee parking as over 5,000 people are expected.

Speaking of the mountain, it is half an hour away to where I park then I gotta walk and I’m still lying here in bed. The old man is snoring. Will someone please bring me some hot tea? Will someone go reboot the woodstove, start my car, scrape the snow off, feed the animals, drive me to the mountain, put my boots, knee pads, helmet and radio on, suit me up in my fancy red with a white cross Ski Patrol jacket, haul my sorry ass up the lift and carry those poles that drill those sleds down the mountain for me? I just really want to go back to sleep cos I was on my snowboard last night till 10:30 p.m. then finally went to bed, rode hard and put up wet.

Ride for free, is it fact or fiction?

Here we are at war you know

2009-01-11T22:02:00.006-05:00

My friend Yuval, an engineer writer who happens to be Israeli and lives in Israel, recently sent me an email in Hebrew. I happened to be on his list and dropped him a line, saying hello. We chatted a bit, as we used to hang out together in Global Spec's CR-4 blog room, then he wrote me a beautiful note that expressed so much that I wanted to share it with all of you. Yuval, just an ordinary bloke, said this:

Here - there's war you know. It fills me with deep feelings of sorrow, waste, missed oppurtunities - to live a simple life - isn't it what all people - beyond any ideology - want ?

My sentiments exactly! Yuval, what you just said is so beautiful. I'd like to share it with friends so they know all Israelis are not about war. May I?

Yes of course, but many Israelis (including myself) would never accept suicide bombers and rockets hitting our towns - this is pure barbarism - and many governments in Israel were kicked out for failing to protect the civil population here - the trouble is that politicians rush to use their brutal military power to comply

It is sad that so many civilians who do not support war are forced to take sides....I'm glad to share Yuval's note so the rest of us can take heart: Many of us are united in peace, even when confronted with war.

On the brighter side of things

2009-01-06T00:59:00.003-05:00

I have been emailing my old friend Wes Laraway (Northeast Llama Rescue) about Arpeggio, my biggest baddest male llama. He's five years old now, and getting to the point where his behavior really needs modification. In short, he's a jealous llama, while the lady of his affections, Endante, loves to be handled by me. So, to stop her from enjoying my attention, he gets between us, and lately, he's been actually kicking.

Now, for a llama to kick for no reason is not good behavior. It's not like he's a horse that can actually hurt me, but kicking is just not allowed. So I emailed Wes, and said, Hey, should I spit at him, what should I do? Wes is like, well, just use the old hat trick.

I said AHA! The hat trick, how could I have forgotten so quickly something that works so well? The secret to the hat trick is, you wear your crusty old hat as you enter the llama pen, and when someone does something ill mannered (in my case, only Arpeggio as the other three are just easy wonderful happy llamas these days), you take off your hat and give them a swat. Kind of like swatting the dog on the nose with a newspaper, only you really don't go for the nose of a llama, as that's taking it too far. They are very protective of their faces.

So I saunter out into the llama yard with my favorite crusty old hat on, hoping Arpeggio will try something and sure enough, he kicks up a storm and I take off my hat and give him a swat...on his rear. Well, that's not exactly noticeable by a big wooly llama. I think he may have actually ignored me. But at least I had the satisfaction of responding to his kicking behavior, and now I will wear my crusty old hat each and every time I venture into the llama pen and he'll know that yes, I'll take it off. Big bad me. He does weigh about 400 pounds... compared to my 125, so I guess I'll just have to be big and bad only in my head.

This may not mean much to you, gentle reader, but for me, a llama neophyte even after five years of llama ownership, even after gentling two rescued llamas, one of whom took years to calm down, I still feel like such a beginner sometimes. Having a hat in my pocket of tricks, so to speak, at least makes me feel like I've got something over these intelligent creatures.

Wouldn't you?

Jules

Yikes, a Proposed Cell Tower in My Backyard!!!!

2008-12-29T14:59:00.001-05:00

Dear Eastwick Press:

It is with growing dismay that I have watched our lovely little valley transformed into a cell tower corridor. Is everyone aware of the health risks associated with microwave transmissions? Just because they are not advertised in the US of A, do you really believe we are safe? Now I have found out that a local transplant from NYC is quietly trying to install yet another cell tower in our lovely backyard of Cherry Plain...these people moved here recently and it is obvious by these and prior actions that they do not care about the local heritage that many of us are planning to leave for our children.

I hope the readers out there will take note and fight this latest proposed travesty that could add to the further ruination of our lovely town and Misery Mountain. Town planning meetings are already happening and the proposed cell tower will be covered in future issues of the Eastwick Press. Please help us stop the encroachment of cell companies up on our little valley. As many of you know, once you make a deal with a cell phone company, it is very very hard to get out of it without expending a lot of time and money. Once these towers go up, it will be nearly impossible to get them back down.

For information about health risks of cell towers, one only needs to look at countries such as Germany, who are sounding the alarm and telling their citizens to put away their wireless devices as the health risks are too great to bear. Will you allow your children to be irradiated and microwaved on a daily basis? I for one am all for protecting our health, and to start, we need to stop the further proliferation of cell towers in our valley.

Thank you,

Julie Harrell
Cherry Plain, NY

The Saga of Trace Continues

2008-12-27T22:10:00.002-05:00

Trace entered our life with a splash, spent a month with us enjoying herself, and has now gone back on the road to Judy's place ... why? Final straw, Trace chased our cats too many times, with her muzzle on their necks racing full speed on top of them. It was either let her eat our cats, or send her back to Judy.

Of course, by this time, Judy had decided that I was an unfit mother so insisted on getting Trace back...but that's another story that I will spare you the details of for the moment. Suffice it to say, we were keeping Trace no matter what. In the very beginning, before the news that Trace leaked so much urine that the vet said she couldn't travel, we were promised that Trace was safe around cats. Otherwise, I would have never offered to take her.

I find it interesting now that pre-surgery, Trace leaked so much urine that she never actually squatted to pee, and, a fact stated also in Judy's words, when she wagged her tail, urine flew everywhere. Yet she was going to be heading to us as a fully vetted rescue? Not after the vet saw her! That's where the surgery came in...still, we weren't going to say no, as there were no other takers for poor little Trace. I'm just a mite bit surprised that this was never noticed before.

Let me tell you about Trace:

Trace, due to no fault of her own, was never housebroken. She also still constantly leaks urine, chases cats, and bit all three of our dogs so much (playing very hard, not fighting but definitely being overly dominant) that one of our Weimeraners, Bella, had to get veterinary care for a bite on her eye and face. Bella's still on antibiotics. Brutus and Dante got their ears torn up with plenty of blood, especially on Brutus.

That's a lot to take, right? Still, all dogs seemed to get along, especially Bella and Trace when Bella wasn't being overly dominated by Trace. Trace and the llamas made friends, so they pretty much got along also. Dante avoided Trace, and Brutus played with her a little but avoided her also.

Trace slept with Bella in the basement, and had full 24X7 access to the fenced acre of property in our backyard. She ran with the llamas, the dogs, the cats, and spent much of her time outside, coming inside only to eat, poop and pee. That's right, she spent all that time outside but still preferred a nice warm floor to poop and pee on. She also ate our stairs, the weight bench, ore up more things than I can mention here, and every blanket we put down for the dogs on the floor.

Bella slept on urine soaked torn up blankets every night, as we didn't want to leave Trace alone. Unfortunately, Bella continued to lose weight from the constant playing and cold weather, so we are still trying to fatten her back up.

The final straw wasn't the leaking urine, the bit up dogs, the poop and pee in the basement although I admit that got pretty tiring. It wasn't even when Judy insisted that I give her Trace back, and even got Rhonda involved who I was shocked to discover questioned my integrity and character in one of her emails to me.

As an aside, I refused to give up on a rescue that we'd agree to take because no one wanted her, and according to Rhonda that makes me a bad person. Huh? I have provided homes for many rescues, and I am the type to stick to a plan and find some way to make it work if the animal is happy...which Trace was. She was probably the happiest she'd ever been in her life, racing around the yard with multiple animal friends, and I didn't want to see her go back to Judy's place where she would once again be living her life inside an outdoor kennel with a run that is I'm guessing about 15 feet long if she's lucky.

That's probably why I cried when Stephanie came to take Trace back to Judy.

Anyway, the final straw was seeing how Trace went after our eight year old cats and almost got them. We love our kitties, they are very special friends and they've survived coyotes, owls and fishers, I couldn't stomach allowing them to die at the mouth of a rescued dog. That was when I let Judy know she could have Trace back.

Now, I hope and pray that Judy takes Trace home and keeps her in her own house, as she expected me to do, and deals with the urine, the poop, the pee, the destruction and hopefully, doesn't have cats as I'd really be sad if her cats were killed. Trace seems safe around cats till she suddenly decides to go after them, which is a split second decision, and then it's all over for the cat.

As for us, our basement is mopped again, our dogs are all asleep on their dogbeds in the house, and the torn up bloody ears and eye and face are all healing up.

See you next time, animal lovers.

Jules

Yup, it snowed all right

2008-12-21T14:55:00.004-05:00

These are pics taken by Jerome, who's out there enjoying the new snow. Yahoo! Let's slip and slide on down the mountain, then hike back up and do it again...

In case you are wondering

2008-12-11T09:38:00.002-05:00

All of us somehow managed to pass both our written and practical exams. We are now officially National Ski Patrol "candidates," with all of the privileges of that position (none). Those of us who are at Jiminy Peak will be training on mountain every Saturday through late February, after which we'll take yet another test to see if we *really* know our stuff.

The Eastern Division, Western MA OEC instructors were absolutely fabulous, and their devotion to our cause is greatly appreciated. All of our instructors volunteered many many hours of their time to teach us and help us learn how to respond in outdoor medical emergencies. I truly felt like I got a serious education these past four months.

I am looking so forward to riding the mountain this year, fully equipped to help in any medical emergency.

Whew! Glad that's over with. Let it snow, or shall I say, let it sleet, hail and rain as we are in the Great Northeast.

Jules

OEC Exams This Weekend

2008-12-04T07:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, the day is arriving fast where I'll need to pull all this stored info (I hope it's stored!) out of my brain and put it all down on paper and use it in practical exams.

After the OEC exams are done, my plan is to finally put the Dwelling Portably site up, yes, here on blogspot of course, as well as make some purple cabbage sauerkraut.

It's gonna be time soon to get out the snowboards and head to Jiminy Peak with my lovely daughter Reesa, who's ready to get back on the snow on her all new riding gear and hang with Mommy. I guess I'm officially cool now that I've taught snowboarding full time :)

Anyway, it's back to the grindstone for me. See you at the tipi!

Jules

The Story of Trace, in Letters and Photos

2008-11-24T09:43:00.005-05:00

It all started with an email on one of the many rescue lists I belong to. I saw her picture...and read her story. Trace had been found running down the road with a dogchain embedded up to an inch in her neck. She was a pup, severely undernourished, and barely a year old. Here's the email I saw:

Hi Lisa,

I hope you remember Trace from a couple of weeks ago. Since her email was first circulated, the plan we had for her to go to VT has unraveled, and she is now with me awaiting another option.

Her neck has healed nicely, and pretty soon you wonʼt be able to see all those scars. She has been fully vetted (Rabies, DHPP, bordatella vaccinations, spay, dewormed with 3 days of Panacur, heartworm negative) and is settling into her kennel next to Gracie and Oakley. She adores other dogs and isnʼt interested in cats. Weʼre working with her on leash training, which we were just able to begin after her stitches were removed and her neck started to heal.

Iʼll attach photos of her from two weeks ago and from today. Any assistance you can offer this sweet girl would be welcome. Iʼm still covering the vetting costs to an approved adopter or rescue who absolutely doesnʼt euthanize. Thanks.

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Hey guys, I wanted to fw this to all of you who offered to help Trace. Unfortunately the plan to send her to rescue fell through, and she is now in need of an approved forever family or rescue Please read the email below, from her rescue angel Judy and contact Judy if you are still interested in helping Trace. Thank you so much!!

Rhonda Sims
Coordinator, Freedom Train Animal Rescue Transports
www.freedomtraintransports.com

www.myspace.com/numberoneanmllvr

"A wise man regards the life of his animals, but even the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
Proverbs 12:10

Subject: Seeking no kill rescue/home for Trace - Please crosspost to the ends of the nation

Project Zero, and Trace need your help in finding Trace a safe home. Please help Trace to understand that not all people are cruel and that she 'can' trust in the human race again.

Please contact Judy if you or someone you may know is looking for a soul mate. :)
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At this stage we volunteered to take Trace, and she was all set for transport to our home in NY. Then, the unexpected happened. A last vet check to provide papers for Trace to legally travel across the USA brought bad news: Trace had a urinary defect that would cost $3k to surgically correct, if the surgery worked. We were devastated.

Judy came up with the funds for Trace's surgery and we all held our breath: Would this little dog ever have a forever home?
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All,

Our girl came through the THREE HOURS of surgery better than the surgeons did. Being young and incredibly healthy except for this rare ectopic ureter helped, I'm sure.

Her surgery was Tuesday morning, and they called with updates through this morning, when they said she was safe to come home. Not really. She has umpteen staples, an E collar, and 3 medications that need to be given for 7 days, while she recouperates in a small area without too much option for jumping or running. That ruled out every space I have here, so since I didn't want to pay $50 a day for them to keep her there, I called Dear Dr. Alexander, who is the queen of all vets in my opinion, vet to all my personal pets and any of the fosters who need heartworm or other treatments. She was willing to hospitalize her at her clinic for at least a week and probably the full 2 weeks until she has her staples removed and can come back to PZ.

They cut her from her ribcage to her woo-woo (sorry to use those high tech words :)) and when the surgeon lifted her up for me to see I just cringed for her. He had to dissect the displaced ureter, cut her bladder open for this process and also to put it back where it should have been, so Trace has been through a very extensive procedure. She still has so much puppy in her that except for the goofy looks the pain meds gave her, she was pretty affectionate and tried to play some.

The news is that she was still leaking a little after she recovered from the surgery on Tuesday, but the surgeon said that he gave her 3 times the normal IV fluids to flush all the blood, etc. from her bladder after the process. But when I picked her up today, she was dry for the first time since we've had her-no odor--- and the surgeon said that all day she had accumulated only a couple of drops in her kennel. This means that the surgery was perhaps 100% successful, as while she heals she should leak less and less as the days go by. I saw her squat and pee a huge puddle for the first time since we've had her, and gave her a big cheer for the effort! The surgeon
said she will be in a lot of discomfort, much like having a serious UTI, but the pain meds should keep her fairly comfortable while she heals.

This has been such a blessing, and such an amazing experience. Dr. Alexander has been practicing veterinary medicine for about 20 years and this is the first case she's ever seen of ectopic ureter. These specialists just an hour from here know how to do the microscopic surgery to restore Trace to a healthy bladder function. My dear friend Tom and his unbelievably generous girlfriend Ingrid, donated a significant amount toward the cost of the surgery. I'd luckily been selling snacks at work and taking all our extra change to roll and deposit for Project Zero for some time now so paying for this treatment was not as painful as I'd anticipated.

You've all heard of the six million dollar man. Well, our Trace is officially the $3000 dog-and worth every penny of it! She is a shining example of how animals can be abused and neglected to the point of physical torture, and still have a light heart and loving countenance for all they meet. Trace is a true heroine. She has had constant suffering-with the embedded collar and the leaking bladder and UTI for most of her one year of life---but she forgets the past and lives in this moment, sharing her love and life with us all. It's a humbling experience to be able to alleviate suffering in another sentient being, and to offer her a new lease on what will be a long and happy life.

Thank you all for your part in her relief. I'm attaching some photos here, and will send others separately.

Peace and love to you all,
J

Judy Wyles
Project Zero, LLC
Humane Society of Cherokee County, Inc.
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Fifteen drivers now volunteer to take turns traveling over 1500 miles little Trace from North Carolina to upstate NY:

Thanks to Roena, Jaime, Rhonda, Cathie, Katrin, Rochelle, Anne, Deb, Blythe, Sue S., and Stephanie for sending the cellphone/car info.

Please when you have the time---Barbara please send car info and Susan R please send cellphone and car info---then I'll put this all back into the format that you're used to. I have to work an insanely long day tomorrow and won't get back online until Thursday evening. Trace is ready to travel--health certificate passed today with flying colors.

Notes to all: Trace is a really good rider in a crate. She never makes a sound and just lays down and takes a nap. I have no experience with her riding in a vehicle without a crate. Trace has a lot of energy, but she also is very loving and probably will settle down fine. Just want to let you know this. I see Trace as a high flight risk because she is SOOO inquisitive and for the first time in her little life, feels very good. She bolted out the kennel door today and my hubby had to run to get her, because he didn't put the leash on first (bad Larry!). If you make sure she's leashed before opening the car door---no problem. Trace is leash trained and will walk beside you without much ado. Let me know if you have any questions at all.

I know we all want to make this sweet girl's voyage to her forever home a peaceful and pleasant one for everybody. Bless you all for what you do at your own expense and with your free time that most folks would be spending doing something useless like sleeping (LOL) on the weekends.

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I write a short note to the rescuers, thanking them:

To all of you who are bringing Trace home:

Trace will have three dogs, two cats, four llamas and a goat for animal company. She will have a loving 14 year old girl, and 17 year old boy to play with. She will have over an acre of fenced, wooded yard, a dog door into the basement which runs up to our front door, and a warm dogbed near the woodstove. She will eat regular dogfood along with all the scraps that our dogs get, including brown rice, chunks of steak fat, raw broccoli from the garden, apples and tomatoes. She will learn to guard from our other dogs, and run and run and run and run with them.

Thank you for bringing her home. I will be posting photos of Trace at her new home at Cherry Plain Farm once we have her here.

Jules
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Judy, who's faithfully loved and taken care of little Trace (after vet care in North Carolina, she vanished without a trace) prepares let go into the universe the dog she's fallen madly in love with. Trace and Judy tearfully say goodbye, with tears and hugs and kisses and some sadness in their hearts. As you can see, they both love each other completely.

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Drumroll.....Trace arrives in Cherry Plain and meets the fam. What kind of dog is this anyway, we all wondered. Pitt bull? Actually, she's something we've never heard of. Trace is a part Plotthound pup, bred to take down bears and wild boars. Here's my first email to the gang right after Trace meets the llamas.

Hello all.

We have leaky little Trace and she's no wuss that's for sure. The last thing I expected was for all four llamas to go after her when we let her into our fenced yard, but they did. Instead of running, crying cringing or growling, Trace just took a llama beating (well, not exactly a beating but it would have been) while we humans got our sticks out and yes, we got after the llamas, who also wouldn't budge. It was a four llamas against one dog stand off. My white llama, the smallest rescue of the bunch, was the most obnoxious, continuing to pester Trace, who was happily wagging her tail the whole time, laughing at his fury. He just would not leave her alone and all the other llamas followed his lead. Meanwhile, our three other dogs just watched the show. One of our weims, Bella, gave it up and hid in the basement for a while, certainly not true to her usually bellicose nature.

I did the only thing I could in this situation: I chased the llamas into another pasture, and quickly brought a bunch of llama food and hay inside the llama fence as fast as I could to distract them. It sort of worked. We also blocked off the dog yard from the larger llama yard so that Trace could run around without us worrying about her getting stomped and the llamas could get used to her presence on full bellies, from a distance.

That's when Trace really turned her attention to our other three other dogs, each over 60 pounds, and proceeded to give them all an ass whipping...she's definitely got some pit bull in my opinion and she gave it full force to all of them. What started as friendly but nervous play escalated into something worse. This went on for quite some time. All three dogs, two of them quite generally quite dominant (the weims) quickly gave into Trace's awesome and powerful jaw action, and in a few hours, everything calmed down. There was no belly shown by any of the dogs, but Trace established herself as leader of the pack, top dominant dog, and then we decided that it was time for her to learn to get into the basement from the outdoor dog door. That took several steps, a new step in the dog ladder to the inside, and a few hours of coaxing.

Trace is one helluva dog. Other than refusing to eat snacks such as apples and sweet potatoes (she'll learn), Trace has settled in quite well for the night. I will keep you all informed, but so far, she escaped once outside the door, I grabbed her and brought her back inside. I think after a week or so she'll be here to stay, in her dog mind, as we are the keepers of the food and warm bed.
--
For peace, Om Shanti

Jules

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's happening now? It's been over a week. Judy was concerned but I assured her that the llamas and Trace and the dogs would all learn to get along. Here's what's happening:

As we had always hoped and expected, Trace loves her new 2.5 year old Weimeraner sister, Bella.

They sleep together in the foyer every night, and play together every day. Dante, the old man, is back in his bed in the house, and the cats could care less if there's another dog around. Trace is almost housebroken (basement broken that is) because I followed Judy's advice and it worked.

Here's how: Bella, in a community effort to help Trace understand, demonstrated that pooping outside brings praise from Mommy (that's me), so Trace immediately followed suit and received praise herself. What a smart dog! Now, I let them out in the morning, praise them profusely for pooping and peeing, then feed them. They go back out on their own after breakfast. The basement has remained nearly poop free since that first day and there's only been one pee accident.

Trace guards, she romps, she runs and she has fun. She's learned that rice is good and even apples are tasty. But, her favorite food is.....you'll never guess.

Trace has demonstrated that her favorite food is llama food. Even though, for her own protection, we've blocked off access to the llama yard, allowing only noses to touch through the fence, and some occasional good natured spitting by the llamas (Trace steals their food), Trace decided to take matters into her own hands and somehow squeezed through the fence into the llama yard. It happened yesterday morning.

Jerome discovered her in the llama's catchpen eating Cocobutt's food and witnessed this animal tableau. You have to understand, out here in Cherry Plain, I refuse to have cable tv so everything is about watching the animals. Anyway, Cocobutt, our littlest gelding rescue llama who also thinks he's got the biggest set, was not thrilled to see Trace eating his food, so he pawed her a little bit. Trace ran off down into the field (it's newly fenced) while the other llamas totally ignored her.

I might as well open the dog door to the llama yard and let everyone play together.

I will also post more photos once we get some sun. By the way, she'd already gained 10 pounds with Judy's wonderful loving care, and now I swear she's putting on more weight. I wonder what in the heck she's been eating? Are my llamas really looking skinnier lately? Trace is frequently covered in llama food spit...hmmmm... :)

Update! Trace is happily cavorting in the acre of fenced in woods/pasture, checking out her newfound space. The llamas are, well, totally ignoring her. She briefly considered stealing some food but one look from Coconutbutt told her not to try.

Thank you all for reading, and to the rest of you animal rescue people out there, God Bless Your Souls!

Jules

Wes got his Not for Profit and Obama got elected, yahooo!

2008-11-05T10:51:00.001-05:00

Go Wes! Everyone, you can now donate to this great llama whispering wild animal rescuer at: www.northeastllamarescue.blogspot.com , so please, help him out!

Thank you America, for voting for Obama.

I am so thrilled and excited to finally see a man of color as President of this country. I have a great feeling about him, which my friend Amelia described perfectly. The whole country has come together in this election to vote for change for the better (paraphrase).

Blessed Be! There's a future beyond the horizon and it's definitely a better place.

Jules

October

2008-10-10T10:43:00.001-04:00

Hi ya'll, well the fall is here and it's just glorious! OEC training is happening, along with lots and lots of garden prep, hiking and enjoying the great outdoors. Reesa and I are spending a lot of time on the trails practicing our slingshot so we can rest assured that the local dogs are well-trained. To leave us alone! Here's a couple of pics so you can share in our joy. Peace on Earth. I mean it, we need it. Jules

what's been happening

2008-09-28T09:54:00.000-04:00

Hey ya'll, I know the blog seems un-updated. I actually blogged more but then erased it as I figured out who cares what the heck my daily life is like, right?

Okay, so here goes. OEC training (National Ski Patrol) has been my big focus lately. The book is thick, the questions are many and I have to know all of this for my mid-term on October 10. Then the finals happen in December, both practical and written. So between 10 hours of class at various locations during the week, plus studying usually 200 pages or so, I'm kind of focusing on that for now.

I'm teaching Monday night yoga, then taking yoga classes at Kripalu on Tuesday. Still working in the garden although I've slowed that down considerably. What in the heck to do with all that produce!

Getting a little riding and a lot of hiking in, looking forward to the fall/winter season. Hoping you are all having a great time out there. Pray for peace! I am.

Om shanti,

Jules

It's Feeding Time!

2008-08-12T11:19:00.000-04:00

I don't need no stinkin gas!

Hairy Ho to Row

2008-08-08T10:58:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone. I should rename my blog "The soggy misadventures of a hapless bug farmer."

As you may know, it's rained here in Cherry Plain daily for the past three months. I think we took one day off for sunshine some weekday back in June. Anyway, as the title says, it's been a long hairy ho to row in the garden. My tomatoes are falling off the vines, rotten. The cold nights (50s) are turning the leaves yellow. The cukes have seen better days, and the watermelons are still only thinking of becoming round.

I'd like to say that everything else is doing great but since the Dawn escapade, (see Cherry Plain Farm) the Japanese Beetles are back in strength. The slugs are back as well, although not quite in force as the slug stuff really does work. I have milky spore for the beetles, and in five years or so we can only hope their growth will at least be stunted.

One good thing, I got a new camera, so I'll be posting pics that are a little more awesome than the others. If I can *ever* figure out how to use the camera. There's always a catch. See ya next time.

Bike Book and Garden

2008-07-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

My two obsessions! For those of you who are interested in checking out our garden, click on Cherry Plain Farm to see (finally) some new pics. Meanwhile, the bike book rolls on, and we are nearing the finish line before going to pre-press.

Thanks to the lovely women who have submitted photos, and to the kind folks at The Spoke, Mountain Goat, The Downtube, Plaines and Berkshire Outfitters, I've got some excellent pics to illustrate A Woman's Bike Book.

Blog and description are here, on amazon.

Peace, yo.

Wanted: Pics of Women Cyclists, Sisters and Friends

2008-06-17T13:50:00.004-04:00

Dear cycling ladies of the great northeastern mountains wild and the people who love you.

I'm putting together the second edition of A Woman's Bike Book (first published in 1999 as A Woman's Guide to Bikes and Biking, Bicycle Books). If you are one of those photogenic women who love to ride your bike in all kinds of weather, send me a pic with an accompanying short story and you may be included in my bike book. Stories are one to three paragraphs, don't worry about grammar and spelling. Just tell it like it is. Could be we'll hook up later for a photoshoot with Joshua Daimler, the photog who also works for Bicycling Magazine. It's possible I might want to take a few pics of you too, if we can pull that off.

For now, please do send me your pics. Pics can be of any woman, anywhere, on any bike, as long as the images are of good quality. My goal for this bike book is to open our circle of mountain and road biking to women of all shapes, sizes, ages and personalities who are sitting on the sidelines, wanting to join us. The women's bike book is a positive take on sometimes dirtbag cycling, with pig out stories, cycling mishap anecdotes, a little bit of yoga, and easy to understand explanations woven throughout to help women get the bike they deserve.

There are not too many boring technical details beyond the basics (i.e., this is a story about hardtail mountain biking, this is a story about a city bike, etc). Okay, well, there is the repair section but it's also got details about what I did wrong and don't do it along with how you fix your bike. I've even included a section on riding with the guys, and not riding with the guys you date...ladies you know what I'm talking about here.

In short, this bike book for women is about real people out having fun recreating on their bikes, a lot like stories in the Mountain Gazette. It's also about supporting independent bicycle dealers, and is definitely on the faaar left side of big box retailers. Tee hee!

Please send your comments, questions, stories and pictures to: Jules Harrell, photonicgirl@yahoo.com

I look forward to lots of great pics and stories of your adventures. Live long and sweat hard!

for peace, om shanti

jules

California Dreaming in 1989

2008-06-10T14:59:00.001-04:00

When we first reached the beach after a ten year hiatus, I was so glad to be back. I drove all night from New Mexico into the early dawn of California to smell the richness of the coastal flowers at Big Sur, then walk on the beach somewhere up north.

Greenhouse Plans

2008-06-08T11:04:00.003-04:00

Hi ya'll. Normally as you can see I do not post my email address on this site.

Recently, I've had so many requests for cattle panel hoop house/greenhouse plans that I will send them to anyone who contacts me. Combined with multiple raised beds wedded to permaculture designs, this type of building is the most efficient and least expensive that I've discovered yet. Those who know me know I'm the queen of living green cheap:)

Without question, we all now truly need to start growing our own food. I believe that building gardens in community with each other, even if only through online access, fosters belief and trust in humankind again, something sorely lacking in today's media.

Do you prefer instant gratification? Go here: Greenhouse Plans

If you are building a garden in the city or in the country on a budget and want to know more about how things work here, with some detailed answers to your questions, please feel free to email me at:

photo

nonic

girl

at hot

mail

dot

com

Put everything together and you'll get my address. I've done workshops for the past two years at the AERO Conference in Troy, NY entitled "How to Live Green Cheap," and will happily share with you my tidbits.

Please excuse this primitive (yet successful) effort to prevent spam. I look forward to hearing from you.

Om shanti,

Jules

Suddenly, Last Summer

2008-06-06T10:00:00.002-04:00

Here's a cute pic, taken by my great friend Renee Barr on a hot summer day in Cherry Plain. I just couldn't resist.

Want to know what happened with the slug story?

2008-06-04T11:35:00.000-04:00

I wrote all about it on Cherry Plain Farm.

What's Been Happening?

2008-05-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Hi ya'll. I've been so busy with the garden, working at Honest Weight in the Garden Shop and yes, I admit it, riding my mountain bike that blogging has not been on the top of my list. However, it's time to update everyone...well the garden is pumping. What is it pumping? Obviously food for bugs! The slogfest continues, as I find new and "organic" methods to deal with slugs, bugs and other thugs, which is incidentally the name of a wonderful book I recently found at a used bookstore in Great Barrington.

Armed with my Bug Recognition Encyclopedia, and my natural dealing with bugs books, I am still using the same old standbyes, which are Dawn dishwashing detergent, and diatomaceous earth. What I learned is that you can also use half white vinegar and half water to sprits slugs as they feast, thereby eliminating the nasty task of picking them up and placing them in large buckets of their favorite beer.

What I also learned and I can't wait to try this...is that if you puree dead bugs then add them to water for spritzing, the dead bugs of their species will leave your food garden alone. I considered doing the slugs but my blender shook its head no with a sigh, so I'm waiting to puree Japanese beetles. I will keep you all posted on how that turns out.

Until then, it's the regulars with the addition of supposedly non-toxic but deadly to slugs and thugs iron phosphate, a new remedy I also found out about this spring. Am I skirting the edge of pesticide land with iron phosphate? Not according to the organization who sells the stuff, Gardens Alive.

Please do let me know if you find out I'm just dreaming and the stuff is toxic, I'd really like to know. Have they created a genetically modified seed to withstand multiple applicatons of the stuff, that's really what I want to know, and a true indicator of whether it's a pesticide...

Today's communication takes the place of my garden blog on the other site...I'll have photos up there shortly, as soon as I can figure out this bug thing. Jeeze Louise....it's the dark side of organic gardening.

Until the next rain,

Jules

Tornados and Metal Sheds in Oklahoma, a Firsthand Report

2008-04-15T17:50:00.003-04:00

After a long flight, we settled down to bed and were sleeping in Oklahoma. One thirty AM found us suddenly cowering in the hall with a mattress over our heads, praying really really hard. A tornado had been sighted, and the alarms went off, right outside my mom's house. If that wasn't enough to shake me out of bed, having 90 almost 91 year old mom yelling at us to get into the hallway shot me into action.

I grabbed the heavy mattress off her bed and managed to get it into the hall where we as I mentioned cowered hoping that we'd survive the freight train that was surely coming our way. Welcome to Oklahoma! The weather's been nice ever since, I've visited the Refuge twice already and even got some climbing in this past weekend with some guys from Kansas and OKC.

Yes, it's that time again and we are visiting old mom. Of course, visiting means getting a little extra sun, and also cleaning building creating...wait a minute, that would imply artistry. Let me rephrase that, we are currently building a metal shed out in the back yard. My mom's best friends volunteered their energy and labor at exactly the time we arrived in OK. They already bought the shed and concrete, so after the tornados passed over, we headed for the backyard and got cracking.

It goes something like this:

First there's building of the frame, and the pouring of the concrete. 30 bags at 80lbs each. Doesn't that sound like fun?

The sheds themselves are the most awful things ever invented, with thousands of screws nuts and bolts, tiny and impossible to hold, with required contortions above and beyond anything in yoga class, with slicy dicy metal sheets that bend fold and CUT your hands face head...with the most ridiculous amount of work required to do the simplist thing, requiring multiple people hands drills tools. While suspended precariously above the hot metal frame, line up the holes of three or four layers of these awful sheets then squeeze bend fit one tiny screw into these holes that don't match up...one tiny screw the size of...an anorexic fly. AAAAARARRRGGGGG!!!!!

Tomorrow we'll build the doors, after that, we'll build...the world!

Now it's time to switch sports!

2008-03-23T19:47:00.001-04:00

Hi ya'll.

Well, we still have snow here in Cherry Plain but the good news is, the greenhouse is filled with little bitty baby plants, and so's our dining room.

This is a far cry from the full time office bleeb I once was, and yes, it's a happy change. Permaculture, biodynamics, organics and all the rest. Life is sweet, and Gaia, our Mother, will be pleased with our efforts this year.

I'm a little behind on my yoga but now that my snowboards are parked for the season, I'll stretch out once again...even more.

Hey, want to know about our gardens this year? Here you go. Now that's Devotion!

Om Shanti,

Jules

What's Happening With Farm Animals?

2008-03-04T19:36:00.000-05:00

Farm Sanctuary Offers Refuge to Severely Neglected Animals from Canaan Farm

Leading Farm Animal Rescue Group Aids Citizens Seeking End to Years of Animal Abuse

Watkins Glen, NY - February 22, 2008 - Last night, Farm Sanctuary, which operates the largest rescue and refuge network for farm animals in North America, welcomed five severely neglected sheep and one pig to its farm animal refuge and rehabilitation facilities in Watkins Glen, N.Y. These six animals, along with four other sheep who had already arrived at Farm Sanctuary, including several who are pregnant, were rescued from Red Barn Farm in Canaan, N.Y. by Columbia County citizens who took matters into their own hands-seeking an end to years of animal abuse upon which local authorities had failed to act.

Farm Sanctuary is also working with the Department of Agriculture and Markets in Massachusetts, hoping to locate approximately 24 more sheep from Red Barn Farm who were allegedly transported illegally over state lines from New York on Wednesday night. If the animals are located and still alive, they too, will likely come to Farm Sanctuary.

"The animals at Red Barn Farm were failed by nearly everyone who had an obligation to provide for or protect them from harm, and would not have survived this ordeal if it hadn't been for the compassionate community members who gave freely of their time and energy to give the animals a second chance," said Jeff Lydon, Farm Sanctuary's executive director. "We are relieved that the animals' misery is now ending and are happy to be the ones to give them the help they should have received long ago."

According to Farm Sanctuary, Red Barn Farm-the subject of at least four years' worth of cruelty reports to Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA from citizens who witnessed ongoing neglect of farm animals on the property-came under renewed scrutiny when malnourished dogs from the property killed a neighbor's sheep nearly three weeks ago. Little Brook Farm founder and director, Lynn Cross, was contacted by citizens to help with the dogs and later discovered about 79 farm animals-including more than 40 pregnant sheep-living in squalor with little or no access to food and water. She alerted Columbia-Greene-an agency she has worked with closely on rescues for 35 years.

Originally contacted by Cross to help with placement of the pig, who was reportedly malnourished and posed a risk to other animals, Dan D'Eramo, Farm Sanctuary's chief rescue and investigations officer, visited the farm and allegedly found injured and starved animals in need of urgent care and recommended their immediate seizure by authorities. D'Eramo, following up on Cross's initial cruelty report, turned to Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA for help. The agency twice visited the property and both times refused to seek a seizure warrant-despite D'Eramo's findings being corroborated by Carlene Patterson, D.V.M. of Ghent, N.Y.-continuing a legacy of unheeded pleas for assistance.

Disappointed area residents have confirmed with Farm Sanctuary that they are continuing to seek justice for the surviving animals, even after they were removed from the property by their owner, who last week allegedly sold some and gave others away as payment for outstanding debts. Knowing that the animals needed specialized care, neighbors approached some of the new owners and successfully pled for the release of those who are now newly-arrived at Farm Sanctuary. Four sheep, relinquished to the rescue group by a Canaan resident who acquired them from Red Barn Farm on Sunday, Feb. 17 were assessed by veterinarians at Cornell University who confirmed that these animals were malnourished. The animals who arrived last night were assessed by Cornell vets, as well, and they are also malnourished. Farm Sanctuary is still waiting on word from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture and Markets regarding the approximately 24 sheep-all of whom are likely pregnant-reportedly transported into the New England state on Wednesday. The whereabouts of all the other surviving Red Barn Farm animals are still unknown, but citizens are rallying to find them too.

"The people who are entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the laws created to protect animals must be dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals," said Lynn Cross, Little Brook Farm's founder and director. "Waiting for animals to die first before taking action permits rather than prevents suffering."

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.

Synchronicity

2008-02-28T19:37:00.000-05:00

Yowzah! Man is it cold!

So many cool things have been happening. To those people who are devoted to the art and living of synchronicity, you will appreciate what I'm about to relate.

This morning, I look out my window to see the llamas in their shed, quite a ways from the window, not that they can see me, and I think to myself, I wonder how Babette is doing?

Babette, my sweetie rescue llama, picks up my thought form and immediately sits up from her nap, and stares right into my eyes. Not that she can see me! Oh yeah.

Then, en route to work my friend Helga is on my mind...so of course she calls me. I'm finally at the end of a long day, driving up the driveway, looking at my neighbor's wood stove hut outside of his house, with pine logs ready to be burned, and I'm thinking wow, he was just cutting up that stuff recently, I saw him, and a tiny pine needle branchlet falls on my windshield.

That NEVER HAPPENS!

Oh dear synchronicity, thank you for coming. Since the lunar eclipse, a lot has happened, and I believe we are on the way to a better world.

Namaste, Shanti, Om

Jules

The Ice Show Cometh

2008-02-18T17:17:00.004-05:00

So we drove over Petersburg Pass to check out the snow condition for a possible telly ho...no wait a minute, snowboard trip ... to see would it be like on our favorite backcountry trail.

We got up the the top and the sight was so stunning and astounding that we turned around and drove home to grab the cameras. We were treated to an ice show, complete with rainbows. The snow was crusty icy with powder, suitable for snowshoeing, and the view was absolutely spectacular. Naturally we took multiple photos, of which we will share a few with you. Note the pronated stance of the girl in the red fleece (yes, I'm still a girl) .... for those of you out there who have a similar stance, have faith! Snowboarding is easier by far than skiing if your feet don't automatically go straight. Come to Jiminy and I'll show you how that all works. It's really a balancing act when you snowboard, maybe more like a unicycle than anything else.

That evening, we finally made it home to the Bridgeway Restaurant and Bar for some snacks and drinks. Our little home spot, five minutes from the house and worlds away from New York City.

I also must share this photo of two pups in love.

Dante is an old dog, 11 years, and Bella is only two. She has brought new life into his wintery eyes, a new bounce to his step, a new twinkle to his dance. Two rescues, both loving animals, happy to have a nice home together and a big yard to roam. Sweet loving dogs. Om Shanti

This is what it looks like

2008-02-13T17:49:00.006-05:00

You see I used to ski where I now ride. This is what it looks like going up...

And heading down. Me and the old man, with a few gnarly dudes who are already hurtling down ahead of us. From the top of T Bolt last winter. Oh la lah.
Guess I'm saying goodbye to my old ski self as the tele set up is for sale. Here's a photo of me and the old man again, at the Mt Greylock Ski Club.

Good old rope tows, one step up from earning your turns.

Jules

Spring Has Sprung!

2008-02-13T12:40:00.001-05:00

The unmistakable signs of spring are upon us.

True, it was Arctically cold Sunday through Tuesday, especially here in our elevated region. But I smelt spring in the air last week ... today it came in with a soft whisper of birdsong and a live ladybug in the shower.

Get ready to plant, all ye faithful eaters, and behold, God's mercifully delightful, deliciously muddy, great northeastern weather is soon to be upon us.

Until then, let it snow! I mean hey, President's Week is coming up at Jiminy Peak, and we'd like to have a bunch of fresh pow to play in outside. Just one more week! Or two, or three or four. Doesn't matter how long it takes, we can smell sweet spring in the air today as once again it rains upon a thick carpet of newly fallen snow.

Our friends, the ladybug and the songbirds have spoken.

Om Shanti

Sign This Petition

2008-02-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

If you care about animals. I am serious. The world is falling apart and we ruling humans need to start showing some love fast to the rest of the ecosystem or it is history. There's more to life than cell phones and ipods. Living breathing loving animals need our help and they need it right this second. Here you go. Just do it.

kitty love

2008-02-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

In these cold hard times, we should take a break and remember the animals who are still looking for homes, living behind bars, awaiting either a family or eternity with their Creator. Can you will you could you would you take an animal home today? Give some love back, as we are given so freely by our furry friends. Jules

By the way, our animals are rescues. See how loving they are to a child? Love is the only way to change the world. Love is the power that brings light to this darkened planet. Love is real, love is beautiful. Love is found in the eyes of children and a rescued animal.

I turned it off for three days!

2008-01-27T19:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, that big sky in the Great Northeast is officially my roof. I am so used to looking up and seeing sky, after 45 plus days on the board this season...what a wonderful life! I am so grateful everyday.

Turning off the mini-me laptop and letting it go for books and sleep beside the fireplace is all good. Speaking of friends who have lost touch with me lately, my buddy Dave sent me this pic he says I took of him and my other buddy Paul, climbers, in the Gunks. Both gnarly hard men. Lucky they are my friends. So take a look, here they are after a full days work on the cliffs. Oh yeah. It's gonna be spring at some point, and we'll be hitting the rocks again. Softly I hope, as I need to preserve my aging beauty :) oh well, I'll tell the truth, I love the fun and sun and rocks and dust and cliffs and harshness of nature and pain in my muscles more than personal beauty. Do you understand what I mean?

2008-01-15T20:24:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder what I do in my free time? Aside from sitting around watching Buffy with my daughter Reesa, I spend a lot of effort collaborating with Wes Laraway and his wife Darcy to bring Northeast Llama Rescue to the forefront of animal rescue in the USA.

In addition to llamas, goats, chickens, potbellied pigs and horses, Wes just rescued a barred owl... these animals see him and they just know their salvation has arrived.

For more information about the daily life of a hardcore animal rescue guy with just about every license a man can have, including USDA certification, check out his site: http://www.northeastllamarescue.blogspot.com/

2008-01-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true, we in the Great Northeast do get snow on occasion. You'd think after working teaching snowboarding at Jiminy Peak for five days I'd be interested in taking a day off....not. Had to strap on the stuff and snowshoe up the back forty for a ride down. Glad my daughter got this pic as the "before," because the after pic wasn't nearly so user friendly. I was trashed, got lost, barely made it back. You'd think after 14 years I'd know better, but as always, Misery Mountain got my goat. I guess when you really look at the pic you can tell I'm a little scared. After all, these mountains hold mysteries far beyond my ken. Especially that white orb in another photo that's not shown...is that really snow? Or is it...the Other?

Well, anyway, I had to say bye bye to my sweeties here on the Farm before taking the plunge uphill for some solace and meditation in almost two feet of snow. The pow was really weird as it was fluffy on top and crusty in the bottom .... my excuse for getting lost is that hey, the Spirits of the mountain took hold and shook me up a bit, making sure I got turned around before realizing that it was getting late and the mountain was getting darker the trees were looking unfamiliar...a trek in the woods, the first time in pow. I always get lost out there and find my way home. There's a myth here somewhere should we care to decipher it. The deep dark woods, the Old Old Ones who dwell within mossy tree trunks and ancient rocks. They know us, they can always turn us around if they want to. It's Coyote Magic.

Speaking of those furry big eyed creatures who stare into your soul... I think about llamas all the time, mainly cos I have four of them, snorting and spitting at each other, every time it's feeding time we have a circus in the yard.

Not long ago, Wes and I (he's the director of Northeast Llama Rescue) picked up a couple of very cold llamas in New York who needed a home. This boy has had enough of the trailer, let me tell you. These llamas are now happily in their new home and I'm so thrilled. They were ready for a change and Wes provided it.

What's really important to you, to me, to us? Is is our relationship with the Earth, her creatures, including humans with all our faults and with our inner souls? My feeling is that we all together create our reality, I envision us standing together in soul clusters, sharing experiences in this life, before this life, and beyond.

What say we all hold hands, in spirit, and raise our vibrations? I'm ready...let's head for the sky. Look up! The Great Spirit is upon us today.

2008-01-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll. I have a new plan.

This spring after snowboard season, I'm going to build a greenhouse yurt out of cattle panels. It will have a deck made from recycled (free from a neighbor) cinderblocks with rough cut big fat gnarly hemlock 2 x 12 by 10 foot boards laid on top and full on greehouse plastic. Windows will be flaps that can be tied down from the inside, and I've found a connection for a portable small woodstove that's handmade here in the good old USA. The good folks at Go Yurt gave me the info as I was talking to them about yurt design.

Think about it, a place high in the woods where someone can go and be alone with her thoughts, with a yoga mat, a woodstove, and light, beautiful light flickering down between the trees. Yes, in the summer my little yurt will be hot, but in the winter when I really need it the shelter away from home will be available.

I suspect the girls will play there in the summer, and who knows, I may grow orchids!

Stay tuned. Right now I'm getting out of this snowboard gear and finally chilling out with a beer in front of the fire and watching some reruns. We are on Desperate Housewives at the moment. A little junk for the mind.

Tomorrow is a run down P Pass ... so I gotta rest up.

Peace and tranquility to all and to all a good....evening.

Jules

2007-12-30T17:54:00.000-05:00

Hello folks.

I finally have a little energy after three weeks straight of working at Jiminy Peak teaching snowboarding. I must say, being outside in such a GEM of a place is a wonderful feeling. It's so wonderful to see my students taking off and going up and down the lift ... snowboarding on their own, absolutely beautific smiles on their faces. I have gained alot of confidence on the board too, so I share their happiness.

All I can think of now that I've had two whole days off and time to think...is about farming. I am itching to plant. I have all these great organic seeds, and catalogs for more seeds. I am so excited to know that Amelia will be helping me this spring, and we will sell produce to the Ginger Man. Wow. All because of some visioning way back when. Yes, it's true, I wrote all this in my notebook years ago. Now it has come to pass.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our three chickens are still in the greenhouse, quite happy I might add, the rooster cockadoodle doos in the morning, his hens clucking round him. Since Bella ate Ruth when the chickens first came here, I have to train her not to eat chickens, which requires either a swift three or four kicks to the arse, or a shock collar. My neighbors lent me theirs, which broke their Great Dane from eating the chickens, but its battery is dead so I have to order another.

The chickens will remain in the greenhouse for the foreseeable future till I shock the dog a few times.

I've been again studying the books written by Shankuntala Modi. She's so right on. Those of you out there who believe in good energy know what I'm talking about.

Do you remember your life in Heaven? Have you ever looked at sunlit clouds and seen yourself on them? I have. Come join me.

Om Shanti

Jules

2007-12-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Can I just say... I love snowboarding!

I love winter in the GREAT Northeast, and I especially love mountain folk who brave the cold and sleet and snow and come out to play upon the mountains. Slippery sliding away, enjoying the feelings of yes, surfing the pow. Let's surf the pow...my friends.

I'll be on the mountain, thinking of you.

Jules

2007-12-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

Yeah! Snow! You know what I'm doing today...working at Jiminy Peak as a snowboard instructor! That's what I'm talking about, a gig close to home with all the perks of being:
a) outdoors
b) teaching
c) close to home
d) on the slopes (did I say that already?)
e) they have a huge wind generator!

BTW, these photos are a mix of JP and Petersburg Pass...last winter we had the most awesome blizzard that dumped feet of snow and we caught up with it for some sweet pow. Unbelievable, smooth like butter, rich like vanilla pudding, sliding like olive oil...mmmm good! Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

2007-11-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist publishing this photo of my dear husband and I, enjoying a fundraising dinner for the Woodland Hill Montessori School.

2007-11-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

What's been happening lately?

Well, for one thing, I am....(drum roll)

Starting a new business!!

I have been sooo busy! With really exciting stuff. Between working as Project Manager for Northeast Llama Rescue, creating a blog for The Bridgeway Restaurant and Bar, writing for Global Spec, working at Kripalu in the Healing Arts Center, writing for the Honest Weight Food Coop's Nutrition Committee, and taking care of our own little Sanctuary Farm here in the eastern New York mountains, life has been whirring by at a rapid speed. And soon, we will have some chickens!

I'm actually doing more than the above but since our project is still in the beta version, only a very few people know the exact details. Hint: It's about new books :)

Here's a picture of my little lovebug llama, Endante. Now back to my story:

Plus there's more, I'm now getting more involved in helping people avoid excessive wireless RF and EMF electro-pollution.

So, to keep you informed of some other stuff I'm doing, check out this article, to be published in the December issue of the Honest Weight Coop Scoop newsletter.

As a result of purely serendipitous meetings with cosmic people, I will soon be measuring people's houses and helping them avoid EMF and RF exposure. Yahoo! I'm not just writing about it anymore folks, which I've done for years. I'm now going to step out on a limb and actually do something about it.

Going Wireless?

It started innocently enough.

I was introduced to a small Macintosh computer in 1989 on which I would write my first novel. The electric typewriter got tossed and I marveled at the amazing Mac’s powers, especially that fabulous delete key.

We moved East in 1994, which is when the real electronic addiction began. A student at RPI, I was to spend up to 40 hours per week in the Mac Lab to complete my degree, and gads! I was forced to use email for the first time, literally against my will, to download my class assignments. As I sat uncomfortable and pregnant in the Mac Lab, surrounded by 20 flickering screens and untold EMF waves, I knew this was not the life for me.

Destiny had other plans. Within a year, I was a webmaster and parked with my infant in her sling in front of my own, bigger Mac at home. Email was, by then, my middle name but I still didn’t have a cell phone. That was coming. First there was the pager.

As a newly single mom, I carried a pager to retain contact with my daughter. That worked for a while but as she grew older I rationalized that I should have a cell phone so she could call me directly. I still felt very sick around large doses of EMF of any type, so I positioned myself at work as far away from the large server arrays as possible. We upgraded to DSL at home and began using portable phones, also wireless, in the house.

My email and information addiction steadily grew to gargantuan proportions. To feed the beast, we added a router to our modem, and I got a wireless card installed in my computer. Suddenly, we had Wi-Fi radiation transmitting to every room in the house, and we never turned the modem off or unplugged the router.

Here’s the strange part of my story: you’d think as an always-question-authority, science-writing, healthy, active vegetarian, I would know better. Then there’s the research. I write for an online industry trade website, so far having written a total of 143 articles, gleaned from at least 500 news sources, all related to wireless technology. After carefully scouring through a ridiculous amount of articles every month for something newsworthy, I have come to the conclusion that we as individuals are helplessly embroiled in a huge morass of EMF , radio frequencies, and microwaves. Are they dangerous? In my opinion, of course they are!

There are all kinds of studies that say cell phones in particular and Wi-Fi in general is safe, or that dangers are unfounded, etc, but take a look at what’s happening in Germany. Unlike most European countries, Germany’s Federal Office for Radiation Protection has called for caution. Florian Emrich, a spokesperson for the Office, says wireless technology should be avoided "… because it is a new technology and all the research into its health effects has not yet been carried out.” The Office recommends landlines rather than mobile phones, and avoiding electric blankets and other items that increase “electro-smog.”

The industry, like any strong entity, has rallied, and companies have sprung up to soothe the fears of radiation poisoning, offering protective devices to shield users from harmful effects. Fortunately for us, one of our local Coop shoppers owns a warehouse/storefront located at 809 Madison Ave in Albany NY. He offers products that protect against harmful EMF and wireless radiation.

All you have to do is google “Wi-Fi danger” and you can find out more than you ever wanted to know about this technology. If we are to believe that a country such as Germany may have knowledge that we don’t have, what can we do to mitigate our exposure? I wouldn’t presume to advise anyone so I’ll simply tell you instead what we do in my household.

After a long and heated debate with my loving husband, who has absolutely no fear of anything wireless, walks around with his phone glued to his ear and has said he’d be happy to get chipped, we made some changes around the house. These changes are as follows:

1.Turn off the modem, attached to the router, when the computers are not in use (reduce Wi-Fi).
2.Turn off the power strips to computers, stereo, TV, etc. (EMF).
3.Do not sleep next to electronic appliances (EMF).
4.Leave the microwave in the basement (radiation).
5.Use the speaker option on mobile phones in the house, and on the cell phone when traveling (radiation).
6.Use only LCD screens instead of CRT on TVs and laptops (radiation).
7.Bury electric cables underground (EMF).
8.Do not live near transformers or cell towers (radiation).
9.Shop at Honest Weight all the time (increase joy)

As wireless users, we are still at risk. How shall we as a species survive the increasing onslaught of EMF, radio frequency radiation and microwaves? I wish I had the answers to that question, as it applies to many other issues that confront us today. My thoughts for you are to educate yourself, take safeguards and precautions, go outside, stretch your body, hug your loved ones, help an animal, live green and be happy. Om Shanti.

References:

1. Microwave News: A Report on Non-Iodizing Radiation.
(http://www.microwavenews.com/docs/mwn.1-07.pdf)
2. Federal Office for Radiation Protection. (http://www.bfs.de/bfs?setlang=en)
3. The Place to Buy Gauss Meters, RF Meters, & Shielding. (www.Less EMF.com)
4. How Stuff Works. (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation2.htm)

2007-11-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna miss my garden, yo.

Still picking some brussel sprouts and yeah I built that greenhouse but it's cold outside and beyond hanging with the llamas I'm just not as inspired. The good sweet adventure news, for those who care, is that I saw a nice fat dusting of real snow on Mt Greylock today. I was cruising over P Pass to catch the cheaper W'town gas prices and visit the coop there, Wild Oats. It's a great coop and the new manager actually has lowered prices...imagine! In this day and age, that's quite an amazing accomplishment. I assure you they are taking a cut at the top to achieve this cut for us consumers. I'd call it a selfless act of kindness.

Anyway, it's gonna be a sweet winter this year for snowsports. My mama says. She's 90 and tells me that she has a feeling that winter in Oklahoma will be a cold one. Her instincts are never wrong.

We gonna get some sliding in, way out back into the woods yo.

Peace, om shanti

Jules

2007-10-22T09:46:00.001-04:00

Hi ya'll.

Tell me, where is winter? Looking forward to those first tracks...

The river releases have mostly ended, a little more rain might do them good. When the weather is clear, fall climbing is superb.

Sometimes it's time to hit the trails, other times we are just sitting on our mountain bikes, waiting on the snow.

Jules

2007-09-28T12:01:00.000-04:00

What the heck. Time to blow about the East, as sent to Paul (with a few minor corrections) at the Mountain Gazette, a great mag devoted to the people mountains and communities of the West. If you like the outdoors and microbrews, and currently don't subscribe, you should.

Hi Paul. As usual, I poured over my issue of MG when it arrived. I particularly enjoyed the Dearly Departed story and Mountain People.

I know you guys are all about the West, but let me tell you a little about Mountain People here in New England, of which I am one.

We live on the MA/VT/NY border, on 18 acres of forest, high up a steep driveway, deeply into the snow belt. The temperature drops 15-20 degrees when you drive from Albany, NY heading east to the MA border, which is only 23 miles as the crow flies.

There's still no cell service here on Misery Mountain, which is in the Taconic Range of the Berkshires, and if you get lost up here on the ridge you could die and stink for quite some time till someone finds you, probably a four wheeler if you are lucky. We have moose, bear, wolves, bobcats, foxes and coyotes who share this space with us. Sometimes they surprise us out on the trail, where we take our llamas for hikes along with the dogs.

You can drink water out of the springs here, directly from this mountain. I have been doing it for almost 14 years. One of many mountain bike rides from my house is up the old trail (older than the telephone) to the top of the ridge, which winds up and down till you get to Massachusetts. We call it The Sick Bitch Ride. Don't wreck, break down or otherwise hurt yourself cos it is still wild up there. Read above.

We trad climb in New Hampshire, where you can get 10 pitches of 5.8 and still get off the mountain in time for a swim in the river, The Gunks, The Dacks and even in Great Barrington, MA, where there's some of the best bouldering to be had this side of the Mississippi and a sick 5.10b called Endeavor to Perservere.

In the winter time we strap on our tele skis and snowboards, then hike up the closest mountain to earn our turns. Last year one of our most epic days was spent on Mt Greylock, small at only a few thousand feet, but the site of a 1930s battle between the Nazis and local ski bums for the Olympic medal. That's right, the Olympics were held on a little mountain in Massachusetts, with a top speed of 4 minutes to ski down that steep slope. The day me and my buds went there we took two hours to get down it, dodging trees and laughing the whole way down. Took a lot of beer to kill that cold pain. (Luckily at the top was a community cabin with a fire burning, so we are able to warm up before freezing on the way down.)

Right now we are still paddling whitewater and I just won a new $1000 boat from American Whitewater at the local kayak festival on the Deerfield. I paddled my new boat on the West River in Jamaica Vermont. On the way there, I found six free new windows, which I strapped into my truck with the boats and took with me. We have free signs everywhere here in the East, which means you can really score good on garbage day.

The locals here take care of you. My goat recently died and I gave a call to my friendly farmer, who came over with his pickup and took her to his land to bury her since I don't have a tractor. I gave his brother in law (the divorced guy) a box of veggies and zuchini bread for their efforts. Our driveway washed out, and the farmer's brother with the (undisclosed location) gravel pit brought a couple of tractor loads of gravel over and filled in the holes, no charge thank you.

The local bar in our tiny town of 200 (circa 1800s) is owned by a Salvadoran immigrant who caters to the biker crowd. They recently had another free pig roast complete with huge vats of Spanish rice. One big ugly biker guy came up to the Puerto Rican cook and asked if he was the one who made the dinner. When he said yes, the biker guy gave him a bear hug and said, Thank you! I thought he was gonna cry for a moment there.

I built eight raised beds this summer because my neighborly farmers give me unlimited free loads of topsoil, even loading it up onto my 190,000 miles on it still runs Toyota T100 pickup. Their grandchildren are eating produce from my gardens. Now we have a new greenhouse built out of cattle panels to continue our food production without giving up snowboarding this winter. Next year we are taking apart the llama house and building a huge greenhouse so I can sell veggies to the local restaurants. My friend who owns a CSA told me we can grow kiwis too.

I used to be a writer but these Eastern mountains got to me and now all I think about is being outside with the rest of the animals. Check out my blog if you want to know more about what life is like here in the sweetest of the East.

For Peace,

Jules