Category — Blog

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Want to get in shape? You don’t have to spend a fortune on gym memberships or exercise equipment. Check out this fun video Farmers’ Almanac reader Alicia Doyle, of Wales, Maine, sent us of the backyard workout she does with her kids. It’s a bit long, but filled with inventive ideas.

What creative strategies do you have to motivate yourself, or your family, to exercise?

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Ever see a headline like “Man Bites Dog”? How about “School Closes for Nice Weather”? This story caught my attention. When you think of the Pacific Northwest, one conjures up lush green lawns, beautiful mountains and gray skies. Last Friday, administrators in the Bellingham Christian School decided enough is enough. Bellingham is located 90 miles north of Seattle. Roughly speaking they average 150 days of rain a year dropping 35+ inches. One can expect it to be partly cloudy 92 days a year and cloudy another 226 days.

Last Friday, there was a decree “SCHOOL CANCELLED DUE TO GREAT WEATHER!!” That’s right, the sun was out in all its glory and Principal Sampson decided the students should get out and enjoy the weather. For those of us in the Northeast who monitor school cancellations for snow have to chuckle about the concept of closing school for good weather. Then again, we do that for three months each summer.

Good call, Mr. Sampson!

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The word grey is just so grey, isn’t it? It doesn’t conjure up any excitement nor does it give me any extra energy or motivation. It certainly isn’t my favorite type of weather day. It’s grey today. And it’s Monday.

I try to deny the fact that weather has an affect on my attitude, but it’s true, I have a much better outlook when the skies are blue and the sun is shinning. This past weekend was gorgeous here–blue, blue skies, sunny, warm with a little wind. I can’t complain, as I know people are suffering with too much rain and never-ending spring snow, but today is grey.

Now I’m not saying that I wouldn’t get bored if the weather was always sunny with blue skies, but my least favorite weather days are grey ones. If it’s going to rain, let it rain. Or in the winter, let it snow. I really don’t mind an occasional rainy day, especially after a warm stretch of summer weather, and snowy days are one of my favorite. But grey days I could do without.

Does anyone list their favorite color as “grey?”

Our previous editor had it right when he came up with his tombstone engraving – “May it rain just enough.” Here’s to less grey days in the future.

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Spring means that everyone, young and old, can take advantage of lake fishing. You will find many pieces of good fishing advise on our website including our own Fishing Calendar for best days and times. There is something special about catching “the big one.”

Last week, a friend and his son, Luke, went out for a quick fish one evening and pulled in a 20” wide mouth bass. With waters still ice cold here, I am told that bass are particularly active. This was a catch and release, so Luke can get him again when he is 22” or larger.

Luke also plays hockey. So, I asked the obvious question: “If you could be the greatest hockey player of all time or the greatest fisherman, which would you choose?” Without hesitation, he said, “A fisherman, of course.” Smart boy.

If your children or grandchildren catch a nice fish, send the photo to us via our Facebook or Twitter pages. Tell us a whopper – share what state and lake, and any other specifics you feel comfortable divulging. Bragging goes with the sport!

In the meantime, enjoy this article about how the Hook Kids on Fishing!

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Spring is a wonderful time of year. Everything seems to wake up from its winter slumber. The grass turns green, trees start to bud, and our wild neighbors (really wild) start venturing out from their winter hibernation.

For the past 3 weeks right at 6 am, the songbirds have come back to sing their songs and wake me up. The first few weeks is always an adjustment period when their songs tend to keep me up, but then by mid-summer they are part of the scenery, part of every day life. The pesky groundhog, which makes its home under my shed, has been spotted as have the grossly annoying stinkbugs and the crazy carpenter bees.  And the bear. I haven’t personally seen one around my yard, but friends in the area have been talking about and posting pictures of the bears in their neighborhood who wake up this time of year, and start searching for tasty garbage us humans leave out.

The deer in my neighborhood are out and about. We have a herd around here of about 15 and I bet there will be more in a few months. They’re not as bad as a bear in the neighborhood, but they really do make it hard to garden.

What types of wild neighbors do you live among?  And is spring finally showing its colorful side in your neck of the woods? It seems that April has been quite an interesting weather month for many areas including our extended Farmers’ Almanac associates in Minneapolis who have been dealing with snowstorm after snowstorm, and one that has been dealing with the downpour of rain in Illinois.

Happy end of April.

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Spring is in full swing across much of North America, and while that means sunnier skies and more green, it also means that tiny tick nymphs are emerging from their eggs.

These ticks, which can easily pass for no more than a freckle on the skin, are notoriously difficult to detect, but are no less dangerous than their full-grown counterparts when it comes to spreading Lyme Disease, a serious and often debilitating bacterial infection.

Protect yourself and your family this spring – and all year – with these important tips:

Ticked Off! – A guest blog by Lyme disease survivor Janet L. DeCesare, complete with tips for avoiding infection.

Timely Tips About Ticks – Advice from the CDC on removing attached ticks.

Lyme Disease: What You Need to Know – Warning signs that you may have contracted Lyme disease.

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Today is Earth Day, a day to celebrate the many gifts our wonderful planet offers us, and a day to remember that we need to take care of Earth, respect her, and maintain her for future generations to enjoy.

In the past we have provided many stories and ideas on ways to reduce and recycle your garbage, and live life in a more harmonious, earth-friendly manner. I think one of the biggest things everyone could do is to think first about the amount of trash we produce on a daily basis and figure out ways to reduce it, even if it’s on a small scale. That cup you bought your morning coffee in, the bag that your lunch is in or will be in when you buy it later, and the water bottle you buy to quench your thirst today – are the reusable? Will they wind up in the trash or recycling bin?  In honor of Earth Day why don’t you try something a bit different to help reduce the amount of garbage we all produce, or if you are already doing that, share your ideas with us.

Here are a few links to various articles we’ve run in the past about reducing, reusing and recycling:

Garbage Free Gardening

Zero Waste Tips for the Kitchen

Reduce Garbage When Shopping

And in honor of Earth Day why not spend a little time outside today just to look around and realize what this wonderful planet has to offer. Happy Earth Day.

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I was able to spend a week in Haiti – a continuation of my earlier efforts to rebuild a school/ church post earthquake. I have addressed this in previous blogs so here is this year’s update on Haiti. My efforts are in Delmar/Port-au-Prince, the capitol. My church has been building a multi-story school for nine years. The rebuild started in April 2010 and we are making progress.

So how is Haiti and how are the Haitians doing? In both cases, there are some tremendous improvements.

• There is a new terminal at the airport. My first year, we were swarmed by people asking for one dollar, now you arrive much as you do at any city and are able to get bags and move around comfortably.

• We have gone from rubble to new construction. For the first time, I am seeing Caterpillar earth movers. Prior to this people were dismantling buildings by hand. Now, we are seeing concrete construction. There are supermarkets, hardware stores and normal commerce.

• Road and traffic is nothing like it is in Maine (maybe anywhere else) but there is some modest roadwork being done. People fly by in Tap Taps, motorcycles, pickup trucks and earth movers. 3,000,000 people are moving at a frantic pace. There is a purpose to life.

• Raw sewage is no longer evident.

During my stay, I had a delightful visit with our U.S. Ambassador Pamela White, who is a native of Auburn, Maine. It was comforting to hear about the US efforts to help Haiti. She is a 35-year state department veteran who has tremendous organizational skills and expertise in handling US projects in many poor countries. She is relatively new to Haiti, but very much in control of the U.S. presence there.

I am still not certain what the UN does. Troops in full battle fatigues ride in trucks, and hundreds (maybe thousands) of others drive around the streets with one person in each vehicle. Regrettably, they don’t report to me, and I just haven’t seen the benefit of their presence. It may have been law and order initially, but now …? I think I read it is a $500+ million expenditure.

Haiti will most certainly remain a poverty stricken country until the infrastructure changes. Water, roads, and power have to be upgraded and this is everywhere in the country. Education has to be core to every person. Currently, many only go to school for six years.

The greatest gift we get from Haitians is their positive and passion for life. Through all the hardships – and there are still tents cities dotting the landscape – they remain happy and engaged in their lives. Even with the lack of comforts, they have great faith, and that is comforting to me.

The one thing I have trouble with is sleep or lack thereof. For most of my life, I have happily existed on four hours of sleep a night. In recent years I am going on binges. I can go two weeks averaging an hour or two per night, then get two to three nights of good sleep. So, when I got to Haiti I started with an hour of sleep the first night. I soon realized that power was spotty, and that I could never have a fan on me unless I took drastic measures. So, on day two, I went to a hardware store and got a generator for the home of our host, Pastor Nathan, all so I could sleep. It worked – the next night was pure heaven. Good thing, because we did not have any electricity for the next three days. For those of us who flip a switch, living in the dark with no refrigeration is tough to take.

I am fortunate. I know that the money I donate through the South Lewiston Baptist Church goes directly to Pastor Nathan. Having spent time in Haiti, I encourage anyone who has a church or organization doing direct work in Haiti to be supportive. It is the right thing to do, and the benefit and gratitude is like nothing else.

Here are a few pictures that offer a look at improvements.

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Maine has always had a unique connection to Massachusetts. We were part of the Commonwealth until 1820. We are the only two states that celebrate Patriot’s Day as a state holiday. The Boston marathon is an international event but has special meaning as many Mainers either run, volunteer or just attend the event to cheer the runners. One of my dearest friends was working the starting line while her son was at the finish line. Both are safe.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who were impacted by the bombings. I just returned from Haiti and I have mentioned this in earlier blogs but what always strikes me about disasters in not the evil as much as the way humans respond to the “needs” – the good. Yesterday, while some people were escaping the immediate vicinity of the bombs, others instinctively ran toward the scene to help the injured. Runners who came across the finish line, continued to run another mile and a half to donate blood at Mass General. Today, the news has dozens of examples of heroics and for this I am grateful to be an American living in a country that rallies around those in need.

Our authorities will sort through what happened and determine responsible parties. Today, we pray for the injured and maintain our resolve to live in a free country.