Please click the link to go to his you tube channel and check out one of his summer holiday projects.
This is my eldest boy.
Made by my son. Pretty amazing job.
Old House and the mysteries they contain
This summer one of the biggest jobs on the house we are doing is the renovation of our eldest son's bedroom. It has ALWAYS been the coldest room in the house and it is significant a job to repair.It is on the second floor....which makes re insulating it a question of doing it from the INSIDE... which entailed him to move out of his room temporarily.
So now the summer holiday's are here the job has begun. It is already turning up some interesting discoveries and as we thought .... the explanation for it being so much colder is revealed.
Packing up his equipment to take it out......
The tear down begins and the crowbars go into play........ Drew and Patrick attacking the sheet rock.
Well now..... isn't THAT interesting! Looks like a squirrel nest but one can never be really sure.... ewwww.
Not only evidence of rodents of some description but also BEE'S.... no creatures it was an abandoned hive... but we saved all the bee'swax to reuse for different projects in the future... there was quite a significant amount.
So now the summer holiday's are here the job has begun. It is already turning up some interesting discoveries and as we thought .... the explanation for it being so much colder is revealed.
Packing up his equipment to take it out......
The tear down begins and the crowbars go into play........ Drew and Patrick attacking the sheet rock.
Well now..... isn't THAT interesting! Looks like a squirrel nest but one can never be really sure.... ewwww.
Not only evidence of rodents of some description but also BEE'S.... no creatures it was an abandoned hive... but we saved all the bee'swax to reuse for different projects in the future... there was quite a significant amount.
Behind the sheet rock and the decomposing insulation there were holes to the outside vinyl siding!!!! Yeah that would DEFINITELY explain the lack of tightness in winter. Now it can be repaired.
The boards to the outside are wide - about two foot ..... amazing.
So with all the sheet rock removed..... then the internal insulation such that it was removed outside and bagged up..... the next stage was to remove all the old nails and staples and repair the external wood.
Once that was done..... it was time to insulate and we had some two part spray on insulation foam for the job.... not only does it insulate but it provides a barrier to animals and insects and..... it was free. So we used it.
Now we have an air tight and structurally sound external wall.... today we begin the second outside wall....
Redreaming Blinky Bill
I have begun a spoken word project to read Blinky Bill and record it for my grandson Hunter. HERE is chapter 1. If you haven't heard of Blinky Bill before .... go here
http://soundcloud.com/wendy-bandurskimiller/blinky
While telling the adventures of Blinky Bill, a naughty little boy in the form of a koala, the stories also present messages of conservation. Blinky Bill is known for his mischievousness and his love for his mother. His friends include his adopted sister Nutsy, his kangaroo friend Splodge, his platypus friend Flap, Marcia the marsupial mouse, and his mentor Mr Wombat or Wombo, as Blinky prefers to call him. In general throughout the stories he does things that are realistic for koalas as well as things that child readers would like to do. Wall tells the stories directly to the children and Blinky often interacts with the readers in an introduction. Her dedications are often to 'All the Kind Children', with her own son Peter and other common Australian names of the 1930s appearing. The books are also fully illustrated by Dorothy Wall herself.
There is also a copy of the book for those interested at project Gutenberg
I will add subsequent links for the next chapters on this page or follow me on soundcloud.
CLIMATE CHAOS AND FOOD SECURITY
The connection between climate chaos and food productivity seems to be a subject people do not like to talk about or even understand completely. This video is worth watching in that it explains very clearly the significance for all of us.
http://www.climatechange-foodsecurity.org/
Sadly, the risks and impacts of global climate change on food security are not on the agenda of UN climate change discussions or negotiations. Most of us aren't aware that today with already committed temperature increases all populations in all regions are losing future in food production. Food production globally and then in all regions will stop increasing and start decreasing. Certainly, the public isn't aware of this a dire emergency!
Finally, there is no risk assessment of food security under global warming and climate change. This site uses the documented effects of climate change and crop yields to give an indication of the risks. This should make us all think, be proactive and take action in pushing our governments to rapidly reduce emissions !
http://www.climatechange-foodsecurity.org/overview.html
So of course with all the information available what should one do? I suggest growing a significant amount of your own food if it is possible in your situation is a helpful and healthy response. It is without doubt food is going to be more expensive to everyone and there are going to be shortages and access matters. Growing your own food has massive benefits for the self... and brings food security into the conversation and makes it an important element of family life.
It is never too late to learn something new.
May i also suggest subscribing to this you tube channel.
http://www.climate-change-emergency-medical-response.org/ignored-climate-science.html
Ignored Climate ScienceOften ignored but essential aspects of global climate science explain why today's global warming of 0.78ºC is actually twice what we think it is. Published research indicates it is three times today's increase or 2.4ºC. (Ramanathan, Feng, On Avoiding Dangerous Interference Climate Interference with the Climate System. 2008).Today's level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thencommits the world to a warming of at least 2ºC by 2100 which is beyond dangerous by any definition.(confirmed by computer models, 2007/2008).
Normalcy Bias... and today, tomorrow and the foreseeable future.
Normalcy bias is really a bit of a serious problem in trying to develop a more resilient and reflective and durable life style. It stops us from doing what we MUST and what we KNOW we need to do.
What is it?
Seems to me the only way to mitigate normalcy bias is through education. Learning about the threats to us all is a good start. The next time someone tells you something along the lines of "you are crazy to be worried about something like that" ask them why they think the threat is so small? That way they have to bring to the conversation the facts that they have.... and opens the doorway for them to bring forward the facts they do have....and also allows you to bring in the concept of "normalcy bias".
What is it?
A quirk of the human condition is for the mind to desire 'normalcy' so intensely as to consciously or subconsciously DISREGARD KNOWLEDGE that is disruptive to a pre-conditioned reality. This phenomena is an important part of crisis management and future planning. The consequence of a normalcy bias is that warning signs of a potential crisis go unnoticed or are interpreted optimistically.... When a crisis occurs people are so overwhelmed by events inconsistent with a desired reality they lose their ability to make decisions.
Another way to put it is this:
Researchers believe when the mind encounters an entirely new experience or event it attempts to match that reality to relevant experiences from the past. If there are no matching experiences the mind enters into a kind of feedback loop resulting in passivity. This lack of action as a response to risk is called negative panic1 and it culminates in a dangerous inability to act assertively in crisis. In essence, the psyche struggles to come to terms with what is really happening. Paralysis follows.
Having a strong 'normalcy bias' will prevent someone from preparing or planning for a disaster. This is particularly important when *normalcy bias* might be preventing you from moving forward on plans to increase your resilience and to prioritise what needs to be done.
Subjectively making decisions regarding prepping for a more sustainable and reslient lifestyle means to
approach the subject by focussing on FACTUAL information and preparing for a BROAD range of possible
futures. Kinda like home insurance..... you might not live in a place where forest fire's are 'likely' but that
doesn't negate it as a possibility.. would you consider not considering and acting on it as wise?
Further reading.
Normalcy Bias also infects the media.......tell me why this is not THE NUMBER ONE International news item?
Seems to me the only way to mitigate normalcy bias is through education. Learning about the threats to us all is a good start. The next time someone tells you something along the lines of "you are crazy to be worried about something like that" ask them why they think the threat is so small? That way they have to bring to the conversation the facts that they have.... and opens the doorway for them to bring forward the facts they do have....and also allows you to bring in the concept of "normalcy bias".
Strange Spring.
Without too much effort those that spend a lot of time outside and in the natural world will find this year's spring is without doubt one of the least predictable seasons ....for me personally.... of all time.
The numbers of records broken and the number of unexpected and dramatic events has escalated and become much more visible. No I am not just talking about 'weather' either.
As a food grower it is given me some sense of foreboding in that every day now i see evidence that leads me to believe that runaway climate change is much further along than is commonly discussed.
It has certainly changed my BEHAVIOUR in my planning for the season to grow. To begin with i have completely abandoned my idea of focussing on cold frames and changed priority to water harvesting and back up plans for keeping my crops alive over an unpredictable season. With such a significant snow pack reduction and the ongoing lack of rain i believe my concerns and experiences with the signs of drought will unfortunately be justified.
Already we are experiencing red flag fire danger warnings and watches. Here. In March and April. Stunning.
I observe that the carpet of sprouted seeds normally visible under the dogwood and under story in the forest is bare earth.
I notice that all the creeks and drains are barely damp in the bottom..... and the waterfalls are sadly significantly slowed down. I also notice that the flush of bright green as the tree's begin to leaf out is a much more sickly yellow than it should be. I also notice an increase in wind events and the Maple Syrup harvest was abysmal.
This is just in my own local area but the story is being replayed all across the North East of the USA.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/09-5#.T4NbQsS48Ew.facebook 
Will add more images later.....
But just to emphasise the point.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
Rainfall departure from Normal.
There's No Tomorrow (2012)
Must watch!
A 34 minute animated documentary about resource depletion and the impossibility of infinite growth on a finite planet.
Red tailed Hawk. A series of images from an encounter in Ithaca NY
I had the privilege of getting up close and personal with a Red Tailed Hawk in Stewart Park in Ithaca on Monday. It was one of those really moving experiences where life is real and right in your face. The Hawk was feeding on a Canadian Goose (which surprised me a little considering how large they are). I used stealth and a telephoto lens to get close. Of course the hawk knew I was there but was obviously considered small risk compared to the benefits of staying with the kill. In fact it turned out there were two separate individuals... at one stage i left to get Jye to witness the whole thing and two hawks had a screech at each other and a different (i would say female) came down to eat the second time. It was not obvious until i came home and downloaded the images that the second series was in fact a different bird. All in all it was an amazing sight and I am well pleased with the photos.
SEMPRONIUS ENTERPRISES PRESENTS: WINTER ART EXHIBITION:
SEMPRONIUS ENTERPRISES PRESENTS
“Winter Art exhibition”
Patrick Miller and Wendy Bandurski-Miller
Invite you to our fine art exhibition of paintings and photography
Saturday November 26th 4pm- late
2661 HATHAWAY ROAD SEMPRONIUS
NEW YORK
yellow two story house on the hill.
Paintings can be previewed online.
Contact Wendy for pricing at
redreamer@live.com
For online purchases look to the right and you will see the paypal option. Select the work you want to purchase from the drop down selection then click ADD TO CART.
For online purchases look to the right and you will see the paypal option. Select the work you want to purchase from the drop down selection then click ADD TO CART.
$50
12 X 12 x 1 inch box canvas
12 X 12 x 1 inch box canvas
$100
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