I am sure that some of the big farms on the edge of town knew something about water runoff pollution. After all, they were the main culprits and they were the ones using huge amounts of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. By the time we found out about it, our kids had been exposed to it for years. A water quality laboratory came into town one day, tested the groundwater and found out that our aquifer was hopelessly contaminated. There was arsenic, lead, trace sewage, various pesticides and countless other environmental pollutants. If you have never been in the position of knowing that your water is polluted, you can not imagine what it is like. Water pollution problems are really devastating. Suddenly, you can’t even trust the water you drink or the food you eat. It really shakes your confidence in your own safety.

Most of the people in town had to pay for expensive water filtration, that wasn’t enough. Water pollution from fertilizers can be easily filtered out, but trace element pollution is a lot more difficult. Although we knew our water quality was better, no one was saying exactly how much better. Was it safe to drink, or would it still cause our children to develop developmental disabilities and learning problems?

Rather than sit back and watch the government do nothing, we got involved in clean water activism. We may be  a very rural town, somewhat isolated from the rest of the world, but we are not passive people. We care deeply about our community and we wanted to see it protected from the effects of environmental pollution. Although it took awhile, we made sure that the big polluters paid for cleanup of the aquifers. These days, we don’t have to worry about water pollution anymore. We’ve made sure that you can’t get away with polluting our water!

Through the years I have gone on dozens of road trips. Some of them have been for a few hours and others have been for a few days. The main criteria I have for road trips are that there is no planning involved. This means that there is no hotel rooms reserved and no itinerary set. Sometimes I go on road trips with a friend or my husband and other times I go on my own. There is something very liberating about getting into your vehicle and just driving. I will stop along the way to check out a store or restaurant that I may have passed by many times. I will also pull over to read historical markers and to take pictures at scenic over looks. It has been during these road trips that I realize how many times I have driven a familiar road and have not taken the time to really notice what is along the way.

Two weeks ago I had a Friday afternoon off. The weather was cool and raining so I used the time to do our laundry, dust and vacuum and go grocery shopping. When we woke up Saturday morning the sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. I told my husband to get dressed for one of my road trips. I went into the kitchen and made coffee. I dug out our travel mugs and thermos so we could have our morning coffee along the way.

There was a gentle breeze blowing from the west so that is the direction I drove. We went down a road that we had both traveled many times, yet we each discovered things that we had never noticed before such as a flower garden in a yard, or a name on a mailbox or a location of a building. We stopped and had breakfast at a café that we had driven past many times. The food was home cooked and delicious and the owners were very welcoming. I am sure that we will stop in again in the future. We went into a ceramic shop that is based in the artist’s home. We stopped at a park next to a lake and went on a walk along the lake on a paved path that we had never noticed before. We drove for a couple more hours then had lunch in a small town that we had never stopped in before. After lunch we decided that we needed to head back home. We had great memories of another one of our successful road trips.

It was a patio professional charcoal grill, really nice and perfectly designed to fit into our backyard. The term  professional charcoal grill is really a misnomer, all kinds of different grills are used by professionals. For the most part, there are a few things that distinguish  professional grills from the rest. They tend to be better designed so that the charcoal can burn more easily. Many charcoal grill designs are made in such a way that most of the charcoal just sits on the bottom, not doing anything. You have to continuously douse it with lighter fluid to get even a spark. With professional charcoal grills, air can come through the bottom grate, allowing much easier and more even ignition of the charcoal. Besides that, they are a little bit better made and easier to clean as well.

This professional charcoal grill that we were building was pretty fancy. In retrospect, I probably should have started with an easier project. It was a kit that you could build out of bricks and metal grating. Working with bricks and mortar looks deceptively simple, but if you have never done it before, you are in for a few surprises. We couldn’t get anything to fit evenly and my small daughter accidentally dropped her teddy bear in the cement. By the time she pulled it out, it was completely ruined. Worst of all, the professional charcoal grill looks lopsided and uneven. The pieces don’t fit very well together and we can’t really get a consistent flame. Because I had put together a lot of different projects, I assumed that I was up to this one. I guess I was wrong. We still use our portable charcoal grill for barbecues. The professional charcoal grill sits, unused and slightly embarrassing, in the corner.

A potting table is the gardener’s dream come true. When you’re planning next year’s garden, you need a space to make those dreams come true. During the rainy months, there’s not much you can do to till the ground or set up beds. This table gives you a space to plan for tomorrow, or at least for spring. A potting table serves you well in mid-season, starting seeds and potting up your next generation of plants. The potting table is a nourishing refuge for plants to come.  For indoor gardeners, a potting table in the garage or basement helps save a mess in the house and makes a handy place for storing potting soil, fertilizers, spray bottles and the like.

All that’s required for a potting table is a space about four feet long and two feet wide. You can purchase one or it can be a DIY project if you’re handy with tools. It’s not a difficult project. Your potting table can be as simple or elaborate as you please.  Plans for building these tables abound on the net, from simple workbench style tables to potting tables with all the bells and whistles.

Some have a shelf below for storing pots, bags of soil, fertilizers, rooting mediums and the like. The lower shelf is handy because it keeps these supplies off the ground and away from insects, who may otherwise take up residence in your supplies.  Table designs may also include a shelf above, handy for gardeners who do a lot of potting. This allows the upper shelf to be used for bottles, boxes and jars of fertilizers, rooting mediums and other such gardeners’ “condiments”, leaving the lower shelf for soil bags and pots.

Yet another available feature is a strip of wood across the upper shelf which is equipped with hooks from which tools, like hand held spades, pruners and bulb planters may be hung.  The surface of the table may also be used as an “incubating” table for spring seedlings. Just put a heating pad, especially designed for seedlings available at the nursery, on the table and set your seedling trays on top. You can set the temperature that’s right for the particular plants you’re growing.

Whether you buy or make your own potting table, this gardener’s tool will keep you organized with many a happy plant to boot! For those of you with gardening friends, this type of table makes a terrific gift at any time of year.

That’s not how it works. Beginning two years prior to the actual voting date, well heeled people already prominent in political circles begin by announcing their candidacy. Following the announcement, rounds of fund raising parties are held to build up the coffers of the candidates, who essentially nominated themselves. Independents and unknown people, while potentially superbly qualified, don’t stand a chance. Why? No one will give them money. “Who’s he?”

Political campaign strategies seem to first rely on name and face recognition. This seems to fly in the face of our basic American values. When we apply for a job, the employer generally doesn’t know or recognize us. The employer is looking for the best qualified person for the position, not a household name. So why doesn’t this fairness and diligence extend to the highest office in America?

So, on to step two. When the candidates have gathered sufficient funds to launch their campaigns, they seem to put a metaphorical wet finger up to the breeze to gauge the American sentiment. What are the big issues? What does the public really get riled up about? Last year, Iraq was large in the mind of the public, as was senior medical care. The Katrina disaster, so representative of the crumbling infrastructure, was already fading as a kitchen table topic. So the candidates went with what resonated with the public and formulated their initial political campaign strategies.

In the previous Presidential election, negative political campaign strategies became a big no-no with the public. So this season’s political campaign strategies avoid such shenanigans like the plague. Discontented voters won’t vote for the person with negativity.  It does seem that political campaign strategies are formulated to please the greatest number of voters. Truth and conviction often take a back seat to expediency.

To be fair, some candidates do stand on truth and their solid convictions, much to their detriment. Political campaign strategies live and die on the turn of a phrase or the number of television ads placed. Somehow, this doesn’t seem to be the best approach to elect a President worth his or her salt.  This year, Iraq has begun to fade from the public’s mind for lack of television exposure. Now, we hear a more generalized call for change, which forms a loosely defined catch all box for the current political campaign strategies. What’s an ordinary voter to think?

It seems that there are a multitude of New York City events from which to choose every single day of the week. New York City is a large, vibrant city that has people from all races, ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations. This can make for some pretty interesting events. If you like something that you cannot find in your own community, chances are good that there will be a few New York City events that will cater to exactly what you are looking for. As long as you know when to go, you can go and have the time of your life.

There are many places to find out about New York City events. I have a friend who lives in New Jersey and she knows a lot about the things that I like. If she finds any New York City events that she thinks I might be interested in, she shoots me off an e-mail or calls me on the phone to let me know. She knows that many times I will not be able to attend, but she also knows that I appreciate her letting me know what is going on. In many ways, it is almost like having my own New York City tour guide.

If you don’t have a friend like I do, you may have to find another way to find out what is going on in New York City. Luckily for you, this is quite simple. A quick search online will give you more results that you know what to do with. Because there are so many New York City events, there are just as many web sites and online publications that list times, places and suggestions. Once you find a site that gives you what you need, make sure you bookmark it so you can return there in the future. This will cut down on your confusion. Also remember that if you are going to go into the city for any events that you call ahead to make sure all information you have found is correct.

Both my grandmother and my mom used mason jars they had used before, but they always had to end up buying more. The grocery stores in my area always had jars for sale because many people where I grew up canned food for the winter, and they wanted their business. I don’t find this as much as I did when I was a child, but on occasion I do come across a display in a local store and it reminds me of my childhood. Funny how something as simple as mason jars in a store display can bring back pleasant feelings from long ago.

Mason jars aren’t just for canning though, there are a lot of people who have found a new use for them. I have a friend who makes and sells candles, and a lot of her candles are in mason jars and other glass containers. They have a homey look to them and many people prefer this type of candle because the mason jars can be closed.  This type of candle is all around cleaner and easier to take care of. She has a large assortment of mason jars in her garage and she will end up using every single one of them. I have quite a few of them in my house and I love how they can be stored anywhere and used at any time.

If you need a large supply of mason jars for any reason, you can get them at a good price. They are generally not very expensive and if you buy large amounts at once, you can save even more money. If you can’t find them locally, you can look online for good deals. In most cases, you will find ads in your local classifieds. People cleaning out attics, garages and basements may be looking to get rid of a bunch of them and you may get an amazing deal that way.

Most farm owners tend to think of safety only with machinery and wouldn’t consider smaller livestock equipment as being a safety risk, but unfortunately accidents can happen because of things not being in their proper place. Having livestock equipment such as brooms, rakes and pitchforks leaning against the wall instead of in a rack is an example of a safety risk. Loose tools and livestock equipment can be trip hazards and sometimes a fall can be just as dangerous as getting kicked by an animal.

There are all sorts of gadgets to help clean up your shed or barn, but even small, creative ways can get tools and accessories out of the working path. For example, if you own a stable, you’ll know that many people just leave their lunge whips leaning against a wall. People can trip on the long accessory, or worse the whip could fall over near a nervous horse and noise can be dangerous. Clean up these pieces of livestock equipment. Attach a section of PVC pipe to a wall and you’ve got a handy holder for those lunge whips.

Find homes for other loose items as well. Use buckets and pails to store smaller items, and build or buy racks for larger things. Go for a walk on your own facilities and sweep your eyes around to try to spot everything that’s on the ground. Chances are, the item could find a better, safer home on a shelf or in a cabinet. Livestock equipment that can tangle, such as halters, chains, ropes or leather straps, should be sorted and hung on hooks. Anything with a blade, tine or sharp edge definitely needs to be secured on a wall or put away on a shelf.

Minimizing risks in an already accident prone occupation is a good way to make sure that when accidents on your farm happen, they didn’t occur because someone was careless or because something wasn’t put away. There’s no reason for livestock equipment to be the cause of someone receiving a bad cut or getting bumped on the head. Once you’ve cleaned up the livestock equipment kicking around, your facility won’t only be safer, it will look better as well and everyone working there will want to help pitch in to keep that tidy look all the time.

I never gave Jeep mud flaps much thought until I was in college. Back then the “mud flap girl” was the hot new design on these items. I mentioned these sexist flaps to my sister within earshot of her soon to be fiancé. They were everywhere on the highway it seemed at the time. His ears perked up when he heard me talking about the Jeep mud flaps.  His interest wasn’t so much in the image of the girl, it was more focused on the image of the vehicle. He talked about wanting to buy an off road vehicle one day and he also mentioned wanting to have someone to take along on the trips. My sister bought him Jeep mud flaps the following Christmas and he asked her to marry him on the spot.

She used to go on the four wheeling adventure weekends regularly up until she became pregnant with their first child. After that, she was content to see him off and look at some pictures and videos of his weekend. I really think that she spent time on the trips just to be with him. She still likes to buy him Jeep mud flaps every so often.  I wondered why they would invest in something that needed to be replaced so often, but when I realized how inexpensive Jeep mud flaps really are I figured that it wasn’t much of an investment. I know that the off road trips do a lot of damage to the vehicle, not to mention the accessories that go along for the ride.

When we were shopping around for the auto parts and accessories I noticed Jeep mud flaps with the icon of the girl that used to be everywhere in the early 1990’s. I joked that my sister should pick up a set for her husband for old time’s sake. She just laughed and said that he already has those Jeep mud flaps.  Actually, I was pretty surprised that he owned a set after all of these years. Then my sister explained that he never used the Jeep mud flaps that she bought him for Christmas on the year they got engaged.

My cousin is a perfect example. As a contractor, fuel mileage plays an important role in his everyday life. He has always loved driving big trucks, both because of his appreciation of their looks and also because they are great for building contractors like him. But lately, he has become completely neurotic about fuel mileage. He actually bought a device that automatically logs business gas mileage. At first I thought this was neurotic, until he explained how much profit gas eats up. It is quite a bit more than you would expect, especially if you are frequently required to drive an hour or more to your job site.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make a good informed decision about alternative fuels. They have simply not been available for that long. Bio-diesel sounds good in theory, but in the end, won’t it pollute just as badly as gasoline? As for electric and hybrid cars, although there are a few working examples, they are still far from taking over the market. In the past, many of us imagined that electric vehicles would be ubiquitous by this day and age. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened.

Short of switching to bio-diesel or some other alternative fuel, there is a lot that you can do to try to keep track of your fuel mileage and improve it. One of the best things to do is to switch to a more conservative driving style. Although this may look like a stop gap measure, in fact you can do a world of good. Just slowing down a few miles an hour during the morning rush can save you hundreds of dollars of gas a year. Defensive driving isn’t only safer, it is also better for the environment and for your pockets!