Living the Dream

This oil painting isn't really Ron's farm. I just liked it. You can find it here.

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“Hydrant's frozen”

“It won’t start”

Buck barn isolated,

Drifting snow ate our truck.

2 am, checking for newborns,

so cold eyes burn, fingers tingle

the snow crunches, but ghostly quiet.

all is well, living the dream.

Thanks and a tip of my warm, fuzzy hat to Ron Klein of Windshadow Farm & Dairy in Bangor, MI for this.  He posted it to a list I'm on and graciously gave me permission to reprint it.

And they said it couldn't be done...

This photo of two year's worth of one person's trash is from a 2/12/15 article in EcoWatch.

After reading this there was really nothing better to do than straight-up share it. So here it is, just click here.

Local Investing Update

This organization was referenced in a blog post on January 10, 2015 .

Last month I started my local investing journey. Here's an update.

(Well, there was an update here until February 25. I was contacted by LocalStake and asked to take my post down. Apparently it was in violation of some type of something even though it didn't have any financial information but just very general business descriptions of the three firms I was interested in.

I'm still interested in them and sorry I can't share them further. To learn more about what LocalStake offers, you'll just need to go there and see for yourself.  Back to what was originally posted...)

So far I have three potential investments that I found on LocalStake. It would be great if more people needing funds were aware of them,  particularly those who fall into my area of interest, local food in Michigan and Indiana. But new ideas take time to spread. These firms are collecting interest from investors and with enough interest shown, will be available to actually invest in. Hopefully this brief update will help.

If these seem to be the types of businesses you would be interested in helping, take a moment to look at the LocalStake website (localstake.com). New businesses are added all the time. Or maybe you're a business looking for funds. Take a moment and see if this platform would be a way for you to raise the money you need from people who want you to succeed.

As has been said elsewhere, it's time to slow money down from flying around the world in electronic pulses being invested in who knows what. It's time to reclaim the connection between where we invest and where we are. It's time for a truly local stake in economic outcomes.

More Than Enough

Recently I came upon a quote about gratitude. It knocked me down and picked me up. It was:

Gratitude turns what we have into enough. 

Why, yes it does. Maybe that's why those meals that are scraped together from whatever is around - some veggies and a little bulgar left to marinate and then sauteed - are some of the ones I enjoy the most. Unplanned tastes mingle together and may never be created exactly the same way again. Nothing is written down. It is just done and enjoyed. Ah....

I don't need "more." I need "better." With better I can make do with less because I truly enjoy whatever is better - the vegetables, the wine, the balsamic vinegar in the marinade. More is simply more. Better is better. And better trumps more every time in my book. 

I am grateful that I am able to live a simple life. That I have work that is meaningful to me. Even today's grey sky that keeps me inside and focused. Some things I'm grateful for I have worked hard to bring about; some happened with no input from me. But gratefulness is my conscious choice. 

Enough is enough. Not too much, not too little. Enough.