A Day in the Life of Burdock

A few days ago while viewing Stephanie's blog Adventure in the 100 Acre Wood, I noticed an interesting blogging challenge started at Owlhaven. The concept is pretty basic, just share some photos from a typical day you have. Well, me being the challenger that I am, I decided to play along. The day I chose was Sunday, Feb 25th. Below are some of the highlights, if one can call them that. Afterall, my life isn't that exciting, but it's good enough for me.


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A typical Sunday, hardly. I woke up at 4:00 am to do my Sunday rural paper delivery (this job sucks, but it pays a little and I can still collect unemployment until I find something better) and discovered that a snowstorm was in the process. I managed to make it into town, no thanks to the zero visibility on a stretch of HWY 2 by Lake Superior-which they closed soon after. Then I dropped off some movies we rented, and picked up my papers. Then the fun began. The next four hours consisted of cruising the backroads of Northern Wisco on unplowed roads. Luckily the snow was pretty fluffy so driving through it was possible. I can't imagine trying to drive through 8 inches of wet soggy snow. Still, delivery took me about an hour longer than usual. For a reward of a job well done I treated myself at the Black Cat Coffee house for an americano and cinnamon roll.

When I got home I relaxed for a bit, helped out with KIA and took a cat nap around 11:00-1:00. When I awoke I had some cereal for lunch and took the dogs out for a walk around the property. It was lovely out. The snow was still falling, but not at the rate it was earlier. Back at home, the rest of the day consisted of helping out with KIA, birdwatching ( a new bird showed up that I am not quite sure of), keeping the fire stoked, working on my tree vision cards for KIA (more on these in another post), getting dinner ready, and couple minutes of reading.

After a dinner of tuna casserole blueberry muffins, and squash, Moh and I played a game of Carcassonne-my favourite board game, and fed the dogs. Then I spent some time on the computer while KIA was in the swing. After awhile I took KIA in the bedroom for a feeding and fell asleep. What a day.

What's In The Refrigerator?

Well the thought of taking a photo of my refrigerator seemed innocent at the time I mentioned it on Cheryl's blog Free Range Living. But then she actually followed through with the idea, so here I am showing my unorganised refrigerator (I didn't cheat and try to straighten up or remove items). Oh, and all of those yougurt and cottage cheese containers have leftovers in them-We're not surviving on a dairy diet. I use them in place of tupperware. I also use old bread bags for cheese and vegetables that have been partially used (notice them in the drawer).


I have decided to only choose 2 victims. They are GTR of Raising Frolic and El of Fast Grow The Weeds.

We Are What We Drive Part 2

Growing up in a small town in Illinois wasn't very exciting. It was the desire of most teenagers to want their own car. A car meant we could find or create our own fun. We didn't want to have to ask our parents to use their Bonneville or Mercury- we wanted our own freedom. I especially needed a vehicle because I lived about six miles out of town. It was tough to get my friends to spend precious gas money to come pick me up.

By the time I was 15 I was already shopping around for the perfect car to buy. Of course my parents would have to help because I only had a little money saved up. I searched the classified and tooled through the used car lots with my older driving friend. At the time I liked old classic cars from the late sixties. I thought an old GTO would be perfect. My parents thought differently. When the day arrived for a car, my money already spent on concert tickets, my father bought me a 1977 Impala for $400. The car was the ugliest thing in town. Lime green cracked vinyl roof, rusted avocado green body, torn bench seats, Am/FM radio with blown out speakers, but still it would have to do. I stuck some Grateful Dead stickers on it, bought a tape deck, wired up some old stereo speakers, pinned-up the sagging roof fabric, and placed some blankets over the seats. It was good to go.

Looking back the car was an environmental nightmare. It leaked and burned about a quart of oil a day and got around nine miles to the gallon. My friend and I actually drove the thing up to the UP of Michigan to go camping when we were sixteen. I don't even want to think about how many gallons of gas we consumed on that trip.

In retrospect, for $400 the car took me many places and gave me some good times- concerts, road trips, awkward romantic experiences, and of course freedom. So what did the car say about me? Poor? Whitetrash? Hippie kid? Yeah, the innocence of youth.
The only picture I could find of the beast. Taken during a camping trip to northern Wisconsin with my friend when we were 16, in June 1993.

Finally....The Snow not the Baby

We woke up to a little bit of snow this morning which continued all day. Still, we have a lot of catching up to do to meet the normal snowfall here in the Northland. I am envious of those Coloradoans or Coloradorites? You know who you are.
Home Sweet Home

Driveway Sweet Driveway

The View During a Walk in the Woods

In other News I have been tagged by Monica at Small Meadow Farm. So following the rules I present 6 weird things about myself:

1. I have only one first cousin and come from a very small family.

2. Even though I love the outdoors and canoeing, I can't swim. I don't like being in water.

3. I love board games, especially Ravensburger products.

4. I don't have a cell phone or television...and never will.

5. I want to live in a bus in the Mountains this summer.

6. I used to have bright green hair, but still have my nose pierced.

I'm not going to tag anyone right now, so anyone who wants to be let me know. Happy Gregorian New Year Everyone.

Books of My Adolescence


I have been reading a lot of posts about books lately. Some are listing their top 10 or 15 favourites others are simply reviewing books. Well I would like to speak of the all-important junior high /high school reading era. This is the age that we are highly impressionable and eager to seek out philosophies, dabble in new religions, and have a fascination with the taboo. For me, there were some books that gave me a new perceptive on life. I have read books since, such as the Sandcounty Almanac, that has been meaningful to my outlook, but the books of my adolescence seemed so monumental at that point in my life. Here is my list (In no particular order):

1. Illusions by Richard Bach- I have reread this book since, but with little enthusiasm. When I was 15 it seemed so significant.

2. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn- I thought this book was the truth.

3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath- Plath was my favourite poet. After being denied reciting Ginsberg's Howl for English class I did Plath's Daddy. Quite the change from other student's Frost and Silverstien poems. Her novel was a great rad for me.

4. The Stranger by Albert Camus- I still have the Sterling High School copy. I guess I "forgot" to return it.

5. On the Road by Jack Kerouac- Perhaps this book helped shape my traveling fetish-well being a sag helps too.

6. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger- I thought I would name my child Holden.

7. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse- The riverman part still sicks with me.

8. Nineteen Eight-Four by George Orwell- The gloom seemed so real at the time

9. Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman- Another pseudo spiritual journey

10. Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach- Helped shape my love of the Northwest and the environment.

11. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous- Drugs really weren't that fun

12. Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Kiersey and Marilyn Bates- Psychology was fascinating for me.

13. Selected Poems 1956-1968 by Leonard Cohen Religion, death, sex, and war....wow.

14. Magritte edited by David Larkin- Art was my life in high school and the surrealists were my idols

15. Dali edited by Max Gerard- see number 14.

Other notables were A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Now I am entering a journey in my like of seeking out books on parenting, nature, nutrition, and agriculture-but I still enjoy a thought provoking novel.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Forest Ranger Like Ranger Rick



Well at least that's what I thought when I was seven. Now I am thirty and have less insight on what I want "to be" than when I was a child. Of course this indecisiveness has always been with me to certain extent. In highschool I was sure I wanted to be an artist. I dropped most of my accelerated preparatory classes and took mostly art classes, literature classes, and study halls. Then, before I graduated highschool, I took off to Oregon with a friend and we lived out of his car. I thought being a street kid may create more inspiration on an artistic level, but I was wrong. All that happened was I got homesick and depressed. Before the rainy season hit, I headed back to Illinois, finished highschool and started working in a factory. I quickly decided that I wanted to go to college because the monotany of the factory started to get to me. So three colleges in three different states, seven years, four majors, and 20 grand in student loans later, I have a bachelor of science degree focused on environmental studies. I have done two internships in environmental health, but neither were entirely what I was looking for. I have contemplated getting a masters degree in library science because I have worked at so many different libraries. I would really enjoy working for a University library. But that means more school. teaching has also crossed my mind. Even nursing. Agriculture? Keep pursuing environmental related jobs? I really don't know anymore. I guess I never did.

Sacrificing Ones Values To Get By

My last post spoke a lot about making choices that have positive implications. I believe we all feel better about doing good. That is why recycling has caught on with so many people. It gives us a warm fuzzy feeling. However, we are also faced with decisions or choices where we are not forced, but left with few alternatives. One such example is work. The fool has a couple photos on one of his posts from a German Ad campaign about "Life's Too Short For The Wrong Job". Indeed. But how many of us have been in a crumby job because we need the money? Then to make it worse, what if the job goes against our morals?

Well, I have been fairly lucky to have jobs I have either enjoyed or felt like I was at least doing some good. I have worked for several libraries, done some community support work, and worked in the environmental health field. I have also worked in a plastic factory.....and it was only a year ago. I was out in Oregon and in really a tough bind. It was the rainy season so we could no longer camp. We had to pay the rent. The job market was very competitive and there were few jobs to be found. It was in a town where more than 50% of the population had a bachelors degree or better, so was just another jobless grad. I ended up at a temp service that set me up with a job packaging accessories for electric toothbrushes for $7.90 an hour. I had a really hard time accepting what I was doing. I was creating disposable, totally unnecessary objects for a multinational corporation. My only consolation was that I often biked to work and I spent a lot of my money at the co-op buying local food. I worked there for a couple months until they began laying people off-in which I volunteered for. Luckily, shortly afterwards I ended up working for the library and the co-op.

Still, how many people out there are doing jobs that either demoralizes them or goes against their morals. So in response, this post is dedicated to the independent-minded showgirls, the vegetarians working at grocery store deli counters, the pacifist soldiers, the anarchist factory workers- I feel your pain.

Please feel free to share your compromising jobs.

I Can't Believe I'm 30

As Gina pointed out the other day, Sunday was my birthday. All I can say is "what happened?"

I Should Be The CEO of ADM

Earlier this year ADM named Patricia A Woertz, a former senior executive at Chevron, as their new CEO, while Allen Andreas held on to his Chairman of the Board post. Allen never had the political clout or flamboyance that his uncle Dwayne Andreas had. An Andreas has run the company for the past for 35 years, so it only makes sense they should have went with me. After all, my last name is Andreas, I'm from Illinois, like former CEO Dwayne Andreas I have a mennonite family background, and I'm not very tall. There has to be a relation there somewhere. The name Andreas isn't very common.

On the other hand, isn't ADM one of the biggest recipients of corporate welfare? 43% of their profits are from heavily subsidized products, including ethanol. Not to mention they are responsible for high fructose corn syrup being in everything. They are actually responsible for keeping sugar prices high ensuring soda makers use HFCS instead of sugar. It is also into procesing cocoa, buying much of the product from low wage slave like labor suppliers.

Then there was that price fixing thing a couple years ago where 3 ADM, including an Andreas, went to jail for charges of price fixing lysine, a corn feed additive, which overcharged US purchasers between $155-166 million. The company was fined $100 million, the biggest anti-trust fine in US history.

So actually, ADM, you can keep your 9 figure assets. I'll go on being against everything you stand for. Even if we are distant relatives.


Dwayne Andreas and Myself as ADM CEO










Allen Andreas and Myself as ADM CEO







Here are a couple good links on ADM's corruption. One from the CATO Inst. and one from Mother Jones.

Industrial Meat and My Fast Food Experience

Well I'm beyond the industrial farming section in the Omnivore's Dilemma, but I am still haunted by how bizarre our food system has become. I knew large amounts of antibiotics and estrogen were being used to treat factory livestock, but I was not aware that they were blended with liquefied fat (which includes beef tallow) and supplements to be dumped in the feeding trough continuously. Apparently, without the daily dose of antibiotics large feedlots would never be able to operate.

The CAFO Poky Feeders in Kansas where Pollan visits

Why do the cattle need so many antibiotics? One answer is corn. The digestive system of cattle is not designed for a strictly corn diet, they are grazing animals. The stomachs of cattle and other rumen are fairy neutral, opposed to our acidic stomachs. The corn makes their stomachs more acidic leading to bloating, diarrhea, ulcers, rumenitis, and liver disease. In fact, it is estimated 15-30% of all feedlot cows have abscessed livers. Basically these poor animals are barely kept alive long enough to be slaughtered. There is no way they would be able to sustain long-term conditions like a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation).

To conclude the industrial food section Pollan eats a meal from McDonald's in his car- the perfect end to following the planting of commercial field corn in Iowa. Pollan once again describes how fast food is entirely the result of food scientists and is all processed. Most of the food contains soy or corn, especially high fructose corn syrup. But this was McDonald's, I knew their food was fake. What about other restaurants. Well, I drove past a Culver's yesterday, a fast food restaurant that started in Wisconsin and now has spread throughout the Midwest. I had eaten at one a couple years ago and it seemed a cut above most fast food joints. So I went in. I had to.

I rarely eat processed foods anymore and I can't remember the last time I had eaten fast food. I gave it up more for health and ethical reasons than taste. So I wondered, did it still taste good? I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and soda. Then I grabbed their allergen chart that was sitting by the napkins. They were out of nutrition guides so I asked the lady at the counter if they had anymore. She finally dug one up by the drive through window. Well for the curious here is what I found:

*According to the allergen sheet the only food listed that do not contain soy or corn are their classic lemon ice, strawberries (for sundaes), raspberry vinaigrette dressing, dill pickles, unsweetened and hot tea (which oddly contain gluten), a carton of milk, mild and spicy mustard, picante sauce, and green beans (which contain dairy). Even the nuts for toppings contained soy, perhaps because they were produced in the same factory that used soy.
*None of the sandwiches or burgers contained under 600 mg of sodium. Most contained over 1000mg.

As for the meal? It wasn't tasty at all. Everything tasted like salt. There was no way I could finish my soda. I made sure to try and savour the food to bring out any flavour, but there was little to be brought out. A perfect quote from Pollan regarding fast food is this, "The more you concentrate on how it tastes, the less like anything it tastes. So you eat more and eat more quickly, hoping somehow to catch up to the original idea of a cheeseburger or French Fry as it retreats over the horizon. And so it goes, bite after bite, until you feel not satisfied exactly, but simply, regrettably, full."

To make matters worse, about an hour later I had a mild case of indigestion. Pollan suggests that one and three children in the US eat fast food everyday. I guess they have built up an immunity to it better than my stomach. I feel better after a triple-americano than that food.

And of course another relevant Onion article.

Locations of My Soul (part 2)

Goldbug Hotsprings outside Salmon, ID for healing

One of the several pools at Goldbug
What could be more healing than soaking naked in a natural hotspring high in the mountains? Not much. Goldbug is one of those special places that my mind returns to in order to feel the hot healing mountain water. The springs are located in a fairly steep canyon. The hike is pretty short, maybe two miles, but steep. I visited there in April of 2005 (also when these pictures were taken). It was a chilly day, but once in the 100 degree plus water, I warmed right up. The pools are fairly private because of the steepness and shrubs, so it makes for a nice private soak even if there are a couple other people up there. Natural hotsprings are one of the things that I miss most about living in the west.
Emma on the trail up the canyon
An old building skeleton next to the trail

Locations Of My Soul (part 1)

Porcupine Mountains, UP Michigan for calmness
Lake of the Clouds-the heart of the park

I believe that our experiences add to the depth of our personalities. Where we have traveled, whom we have known, what we have learned all become part of our lives forever. Locations are especially important because we remember them for the profound experiences we had while there. Categories of the positive experiences tend to be memories (like the spot of first kissing ones lover), spiritual epiphanies, or just being overtaken by natural beauty. These special locations become part of our soul. They are especially important for me because I find myself returning there in my mind in times of turmoil to find solace. I use different locations to achieve different feelings.

The Porcupine Mountains State Park in the UP of Michigan is where I go to find calming energy. In the case of this week, I literally went there to find calmness (hence the idea for this post). I rented a backcountry cabin on Lake Superior for the evening. My partner was planning to go, but decided against it at the last moment. I guess hiking back to a little cabin in below freezing temps being seven months pregnant ended up not being appealing. Anyhow, the area was so quiet I was able to focus on nature and myself. I did a lot of reflecting on the upcoming birth, my job hunting and all of the other stressors I am currently experiencing. The experience was so healing for me that in the future I will be able to focus on the certain spots in the Porcupine Mts. to help me through times of chaos.
Lake Superior just below the cabin I rented

The Cabin through the Birch Trees

The Big Carp River

Emma on the Government Peak Trail