It may have looked like we vanished looking at our last entry, but we’ve just been busy! To find out more about what has been happening you can visit the About Us portion of the site for an update. Meanwhile, with spring arriving, a great way to support our local economy and our health is by shopping at local Farmers Markets http://www.communityfarmersmarket.net/ or supporting a local CSA http://www.boistfortvalleyfarm.com/. Many markets including the Chehalis Farmers Market also accept food stamps.

Fresh locally grown produce is higher in nutrition and you can’t beat the flavor. If you have never tried produce fresh from the field, you’re in for a treat! Concerned about higher costs? Try to buy more than you need when it’s in season. That’s when you’ll get the best price. Fresh produce has an amazing refridgerator life, much longer than conventional grocery store items traveling extensively before reaching your store. You can also freeze or can extra produce for later use http://www.henrysmarkets.com/h/Canning_&_Freezing/.

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One of the easiest changes you can make to help our environment is the switch from disposable plastic and paper grocery bags to re-usable bags. Americans use approximately one million plastic bags a MINUTE. To make it easier to incorporate this change;

- make sure you have more than one re-useable bag. Take the bags back to your car right away after unloading groceries so they are there for your next trip.

- Place your wallet in your bag to take into the store instead of bringing your purse in.

- if you forget to bring your bags in… Go back out and get them! Having to make an extra trip to the car will help you remember!

- These bags work for all types of shopping! Challenge yourself to see how long you can go without taking a disposable bag!

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Looks like spring is right around the corner! We’re hoping anyway…. We are adding several new things this summer such as yoga classes and science club, so keep checking our site for upcoming events. We are also adding new resources on a regular basis so check there as well.

New Tips to Help the Environment, Your Time and/or Your Pocketbook;

Tired of matching up your socks? Try safety pinning together before washing! It will save time!

Trying to reduce your carbon footprint? How about going back to cloth napkins? To reduce the need for washing them unless really dirty, buy different style napkin rings for each member of the family. Then you can use until washing is REALLY necessary!

Are slugs a problem in your garden? Instead of using nasty chemicals, try oyster shells around the plants you wish to protect. They are cheap and harmless to humans, animals and the environment. (and good for your chickens!)

Contrary to office legend, turning off your computer at night when you go home does no harm. The good it does according to a study from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is substantial–one workstation (computer and monitor) left on all night for a year is responsible for one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Switching it offat night and setting it to sleep when idle during the day can reduce energy use by 80 percent!

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Our youth looking at career options as well as those in mid-career looking for a change, may find work to be passionate about in environmental fields such as ecotoxicology, marine biology, pollution prevention, and urban forestry. Go to www.environmentalcareer.com for a directory of related job opportunities!

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Did you know that liquid fabric softeners may contain derivatives of ammonium chloride (harmful to some aquatic life and a trigger for allergy and asthma symptoms)? Keep it out of our wastewater by substituting one quarter cup to one  cup of white vinegar. This softens your clothing without leaving behind any scent. Or you can try dryer balls. These can be purchased at many large stores such as Target, or on line. Just type in Dryer Balls. Over time these alternative methods also save you money as well!

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Fight frost the natural way: to prevent ice and frost from coating windows, wipe the inside of the glass with a salt water soaked sponge then dry. You wont see it but the residue will stay to inhibit ice formation. For extra ice fighting power, spray the outside of the windows with 3 parts white vinegar to one part water and wipe dry.

Use earth-friendly De-icers. Avoid rock salt and urea based products. They pollute habitats, water supplies and kill plant life with their run off and can also corrode concrete. Use sand and if needed, calcium chloride, which may still hurt vegetation but is free of cyanide.

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Welcome to Blue Earth Farms new site and blog! We hope this is the beginning of fruitful and inspiring conversation for all of us. With the devastating floods hitting our area this Christmas season, it got us all thinking about what we can do to help. This thought led to “Angel Connections”. It is our hope that we can begin to help families in need with families that wish to help but don’t know exactly where to begin. If you are one of these, contact me at kari@blueearthfarms.org. We will also be adding other resources that are currently available as we become aware of them;

www.lcfloodhelp.typepad.com

www.chronline.com

www.homeschoolblogger.com/Washingtonstate/442037

Tonight, Tuesday December 25th there will be Christmas Dinner served (No Charge) at the Lewis & Clark Hotel from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Transportation will be coming by the local hotels to pick up those who need a ride at approximately 4:30 pm. The designated drivers will have a piece of green paper on their dash. Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas from Blue Earth Farms! Our present on the 23rd of December was a batch of 37 eggs from our new flock of laying hens and one rooster! Thanks ladies, for all the hard work! If this is their winter laying levels, we’ll be flooded in the summertime. If you’re looking for fresh eggs, contact us and save your egg cartons! You can bring them to us at classes! Be kind, do something nice and share!

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Without the generous support of our community as well as the following groups, Blue Earth Farms would still be just a wishful thought. You all have helped to make this happen!

Washington Health Foundation

Trans Alta

Washington State Department of Early Learning

Beechers Farms Flagship Program

We would also like to thank; NW Pediatrics, Centralia Community Colleges ECEAP Program, The Cooke Family, The Gluck Family, Michelle Deanda, Joe & Connie Thomas, The Flynn’s, Jerry Matzen, The Calkins Family (both of them!) The Hallams, Don & Marylin Winsor, Connie Kline you are amazing, Double Oasis Farms, and all the many wonderful families that have stuck with us through our learning curves! And where would we be without Sam Mitchell and Penny Cooke, part of the 3 legged stool? Not very far… We look forward to a long and fruitful friendship with you all. Wishing you the very best this holiday season and a wonderful, healthy, happy 2008!

Interested in getting involved? Contact us!

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OK folks! I know some of you were at the “Grape Squeeze & Honeybees” class in October. We touched briefly on a Fit Family Life Competition. Since the class was so full of activities we feel we didn’t give you a good enough explanation. Plus with the holiday season upon us and thoughts of healthy food flown out the window, we thought we would give us all until January before actually starting the competition.

For those of you who weren’t at the class, here’s a brief outline of the competition;

1) Increase Whole Food consumption to a minimum of 5 a day. Whole foods assigned the following point system per serving; veggies-5 points / fresh fruit-3 points / nuts-3 points / hard boiled egg-2 points / yogurt-1 point / cheese-1 point

2) Increase Water Consumption, 3 points for every 8 ounce glass

3) Increase exercise, 6 points for every mile

We tried to make the point system “encourage” those things that are not normally what we want to reach for… If there are suggestions or comments on how this is currently set up, feel free to let us know! We have until January to get things in order! Oh…. and by the way, did we mention prizes????? Yup, I think we did… A sneak peak of what your family could win your choice of;

A day at the Seattle Science Center…. Wild-waves…. Northwest Trek, or Point Defiance Zoo with a complimentary awesome picnic basket put together just for your family by the Blue Earth Farms Team.

There will be other prizes awarded as well, hope to have you all on board!

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