I’m Allison, a senior majoring in anthropology at the University of Vermont and I’ll be working with Glenn at Love Earth Always to provide you with a hip prospective on green products, vegan meals, local happenings, new health kicks, yoga tricks, etcetera.

I’m happy to be on this team as the company is progressing.  I hope you find this blog interesting and that you enjoy our website as well.

I’m looking forward to sharing, writing as well as hearing about your ideas and insights!

“Glenn, there’s a big bird over here you’ve gotta see.” I could hear the excitement in Donna’s voice, from 40 feet away. She was pointing into a meadow that was blocked from my view by some black cedars.  I flicked my camera on an slowly walked toward her, hoping it wasn’t  soaring a half mile away like the hawk I spotted yesterday. As I got closer, the bird swooped into view, 10 – 15 feet over the tall grass, tilting, swooping, looking for prey. It was a beautiful reddish brown color, with a white patch on it’s rump, with a two to two and a half foot wing span. What a gorgeous bird!

I adjusted my 70-200 zoom lens and started clicking photos as the bird swooped and soared around the meadow. The light was diffused and over cast but good as I snapped shots of the bird flying at me, tilting, turning, swooping up, down, away. I must have snapped a dozen pics, all the time, trying to steady the camera and keeping the bird in autofocus from only 40 – 50 yards away! It was a dream come true. I finally had GORGEOUS high resolution photos of a beautiful bird in the wild, probably some sort of hawk. He finally swooped into the far end of the meadow and I lost him. I checked my display window to see my images and get a first look at the stills and see if I could identify this beautiful bird.

“No Memory Card” was the text in the display! Oh NO!!! It couldn’t be! I left my memory card at home in the printer yesterday! I calmly put the camera back in the bag, smiling.. Always looking for the bright side, I decided that this would never happen to me again. I would buy a second card at the very least and never leave home without my bag!

What was the beautiful bird? According to the Audubon Field Guide for Birds it was a Northern Harrier

And the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says it is a medium-sized hawk with a long tail, long, slender, rounded wings. white rump. and that it lies low, with wings held up in slight “V.” While the males have a gray belly the females have a brown underside. Yep, that’s my bird. Honest… Guess I will have to make a trip back to her meadow and this time I will have my memory card.

Has this ever happened to you?

Photo: Birdman of El Paso, flickr

We are proud to announce that LoveEarthAlways will have a table at the Spectrum Ride next Sunday! Our goal is to raise hundreds of dollars for Spectrum Youth And Family Services in Burlington. Vermont’s Spectrum Youth and Family Service has been offering shelter and community to at-risk and homeless youth since 1970. They help kids create a plan involving education, job training, physical health and mental health.

Sunday, October 3, 2010 will be a fabulous day of fun with family, friends, and your community, where collectively we ride to make a positive change in the lives of at-risk youth in Vermont. There’s a distance for everyone—10K, 25K, 50K, and 100K routes.

Ride start times: 10K (10:00am), 25K (9:30am), 50K (8:45am) and 100K (8:00am).

Location: Dorset Park, 575 Dorset Street, South Burligton

How can you get involved?

Ride in the Spectrum Ride!

Support a rider here.

Join us at the post event party!

Spread the word!

Volunteer!

Video: SpectrumVT, youtube

Give it to your Congressmen and Women!

The BPA-free water bottle, Glenn Fay

Last spring the Vermont Legislature passed a bill to phase out the use of the toxic chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) from a wide range of consumer products including beverage containers, compact disks, plastic dinnerware, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys. BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, and dental sealants.  The Centers for Disease Control say Bisphenol A (BPA) is also used to manufacture polycarbonate plastics. BPA is also a huge concern in Canada as well. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering a proposal that phase out BPA nationwide.
The U.S. Senate will vote on critical legislation that will affect the safety of the food supply in our nation soon.  Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is proposing an amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act that would eliminate BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups, and infant formula and baby food containers.

What are the most serious concerns from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) ? The NTP has some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A.Are you concerned? If you are, like I am, here is some good advice from the National Institutes of Health: (more…)

Nobody knows for certain how much oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil rig explosion. What we do have are estimates — from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from outside experts, from British Petroleum — of how fast crude flowed out of the sea floor. (From PBS.org)

I have often said that I was attracted to my wife Donna for her soup-making ability and I am not joking! There is nothing like the flavor, heartiness and healthy goodness of home made soup. This squash soup is a perfect example. It is thick and rich, and can be a main course alone. It is made with only the best ingredients, loaded with carotene, fiber and vitamins. I like mine with some crushed stone-ground wheat thins but you may be a purist. As it sits in the fridge the flavors meld and deepen. It can be frozen, to be used later. It is great for a thermos on a cold winter day- on a hike or at work. Try it, you can’t go wrong.

Ingredients: (more…)

Late summer days in Vermont remind us of why we are here. Close to the to of my list are the seasons. It’s mid-September and there is barely a tinge of tint in the higher maple forests. That is usually a signal that we will see a well-timed explosion of brilliant color in the next couple of months. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. These flowers in the dancing light and shadows are too good to let go by unnoticed and are part of our Vermont pictures this week.

These white flowers grow in a tangle of flowers seven or eight feet up a trellis on an east wall of a house by the lake.

The post-peak tinge on these beauties hints at the late season and the lake in the background will extend their lives a few weeks longer…

This patch of Blackeyed Susans was shaded and protected enough in the rich Ferrisburg clay to really put on a show for a few minutes while illuminated by a ray of sunlight.

I recently downloaded a pdf booklet on dragonfly  photography by Vic Berardi that has some simple techniques anyone can follow with any type of camera. Now is a good time of year to do it as they are plentiful. This little beauty gave me many chances to capture his image. Let me know if you would like the pdf file on dragonfly photography, which is free to share.

Sunflowers are some of my favorites, and are loved by birds as well!

Chinese lanterns gleaming in the lazy afternoon sunshine, reminding us of the orange season ahead.

If you like Glenn’s photography, check out our Vermont Landscape Note Cards suitable for any occasion. And don’t forget, we support cold and hungry people.

Our record-setting storms and heat wave this summer have gotten the attention of some of my most skeptical friends. One of the grim realities in play is that the northeast annual average temperature has increased by 2°F since 1970, with winter temperatures rising twice as much.

According to a GlobalChange.gov report, climate change has resulted in many other climate-related changes including more frequent very hot days, a longer growing season, an increase in heavy downpours, less winter precipitation falling as snow and more as rain, reduced snowpack, earlier break-up of winter ice on lakes and rivers, earlier spring snowmelt resulting in earlier peak river flows, rising sea surface temperatures, and rising sea level.

These trends and kinds of events are projected to continue, with more dramatic changes under higher emissions scenarios compared to lower emissions scenarios (depending on our responses to climate change). Some of the extensive climate-related changes projected for the region could significantly alter the region’s economy, landscape, character, and quality of life. Here are some examples:

*Extreme heat and declining air quality are likely to pose increasing problems for human health in urban areas and places that are not accustomed to extreme heat. Metro areas like Burlington, Vermont could end up with 20 days in the humid 90s , with air quality problems where we have seldom seen them before.

*Agricultural production, including dairy,some apples, blueberries, cranberries, and maple syrup, are likely to be adversely affected as favorable climates shift.

*Severe flooding due to sea-level and fresh water risings with heavy downpours is likely to occur more frequently. In the past ten years we have seen epic events result in river flooding that destroy whole towns and produce tens of millions of dollars in property damage.

*The projected reduction in snow cover will adversely affect winter recreation and the industries that rely upon it and will be reduced by as much as one half. This will put billions of dollars in winter recreation and tourism in jeopardy.

*The center of lobster fisheries is projected to continue a shift to the north and the cod fishery on Georges Bank is likely to be diminished. The Lake Champlain fishery will be significantly changed.

To some readers, these points are not new predictions. What can we do to avoid the “higher emissions scenario” that will bring the most extreme issues for our children and grandchildren? Here is an opportunity waiting for you to jump in. It’s the 10-10-10 Global Work Party sponsored by 350.org. If you are a teacher, a leader, a doer and want to work with others to make a difference on Sunday Octboer 10th, you can find a work party near you here or start your own party. This is an opportunity to change the course of the future climate. My town Energy Committee is planning on helping build an underground refrigerator that will simply seal out heat and hold in cold throughout the year! What are your plans for 10-10-10?

This article brought to you by the good folks at LoveEarthAlways. You can support and encourage them when you buy their sustainable Earth-loving products. And remember when you buy our products, we support cold and hungry people.

Photo: Larry Meade, flickr

The Vermont state bird, the Hermit Trush, an unassuming little guy with a beautiful voice, is seldom seen but often heard in Vermont forests.  They nest on the ground or on low branches of trees and prefer conifer forest, which Vermont has aplenty. Vermont Hermits have been known to stay through the west coast winter feeding on berries during the cold and insects once things thaw out. Walt Whitman, in his When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d said that the Hermit Thrush is a symbol of the American voice. See why in this short recording during a walk in the woods.

Video: LoveEarthAlways, youtube

If you walk in the woods after dinner  this time of year you might get caught in the dark! That’ why I always carry a Palm Light wind up flashlight! It is small, light, LED bright and never needs batteries. Check it out here.