Weekend Fun!

The 20 new chicks are all alive and well. Growing fast. Attached is a picture of a few on the roosting bars that I built for them out of scrap lumber. I also built them a nesting box. I still have to build their "chicken tractor". A chicken tractor is a mobile chicken coop with an open bottom so they can free range while still being protected from predators.

Ryan caught a big bass in our pond on Saturday night. We also have big catfish and big sunfish, but we thought we only had little bass. He was very excited.Our new neighbor, Lou, brought by a TON (4 flats) of strawberries on Saturday afternoon. I guess she knows the local fruit growers well and they give her the extra berries they don't sell. I made and canned 19 jars of strawberry jam and 7 jars of strawberry lemonade concentrate. Both turned out awesome!!! For the strawberry lemonade concentrate I had to juice 32 lemons!

Soon it will be time for blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries! Can't wait!

Don't Eat Red Meat

Not only is red meat the least healthy meat to consume, but red meat is responsible for ~2.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per household per year, while fruits/vegetables and cereals/carbs are both responsible for <1 metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions per household per year. Chicken, fish, and eggs are responsible for even less.

According to a recent study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, foregoing red meat and dairy just one day a week achieves more greenhouse gas reductions than eating an entire week's worth of locally sourced foods. That's because the carbon footprint of food miles is dwarfed by that of food production. In fact, 83 percent of the average U.S. household's carbon footprint for food consumption comes from production; transportation represents only 11 percent; wholesaling and retailing account for 5 percent.

www.waterfootprint.org
A new website has compiled data on how much water is needed to produce consumer goods ranging from tea to T-shirts. It is also home to a water calculator that helps users figure out their overall water footprint. The beverage that uses the least water is water itself. One cup of coffee requires approximately 140 liters to produce. In contrast, one kg of corn requires 900 liters of water to produce and one kg of beef requires 16,000 liters of water.

Saturday was Amanda's birthday and we spent the weekend celebrating and taking it easy. On friday night, we went to a Sushi Party that was actually a going away party for our good friend Dana. It was a fun event and it got all our close friends together.

Several months ago Amanda was asked about what she wanted for her birthday and her response was, " A sewing machine and a shotgun." Now thats the woman that I love; now you can all see why I married her! Anyway, she was fortunate enough to get both gifts for her birthday. The shotgun came from Bob. He gave her his old gun from when he was a boy and the sewing machine was a gift from Ryan, Bob and Rosie. Below are some pictures of Amanda working on her first project: seat cushions for the chairs on our front porch.





























In other news, I got one hell of a haircut this week. Amanda was nice enough to give me a free haircut with our set of clippers. The only problem was that we underestimated exactly how short the attachement would make my hair. It wound up a little shorter than we wanted, but I like it. I don’t think Amanda is a big fan, but its much cooler than the mop I used to have! What do y’all think? Yay or nay? (leave comments if you would like).

Gone Canoein' / Gardenin'

Two weeks ago we got a new canoe and took it out on Cedar Lake for the day. The maiden voyage was a success!!! We explored some areas of the lake for possible camping sites and didn't tip over once. Special thanks to Bob and Rosi for getting us the canoe as a wedding gift!

Later that day we planted our garden. This year we will have several kinds of peppers, tomatoes, cumcumbers and some herbs. Amanda's herbs actually made it through the winter, so we didn't have to replant. You can see the monsters at the right in the picture.

The Saber-tooth puppy

I just had to put this picture up! Dash runs around the house like this....with part of a deer antler she chews on hanging out of her mouth. We call her the 'saber-toothed' puppy. You all probably don't think it is nearly as funny as we do.

CFPs in southern Illinois

Ryan gave his thesis presentation today and did a FANTASTIC job. Numerous people said it was "the best" graduate work/speech that they had seen in the Forestry department. He still has a lot of work to do in finishing his thesis, but this was a big step for him. I am very proud of him and we are celebrating tonight with Vo and frozen pizza!

Killian's Irish Run

Last weekend we participated in the River to River Relay. The race course is 80 miles long and spans some of the most hilly terrian in all of southern Illinois. Each runner completes approximately 10 miles of course divided into three legs (or sections). This year, our time was the best to date: 9 hours, 51 minutes. This is our 3rd year in the row to enter the race, our team name is Killian's Irish Run.

Part of the 'River to River' experience is traversing the course in one of these big white vans. To limit traffic on the course and make the race possible, race officials limit teams to one vehicle. Most teams opt for one these big white rental vans and decorate the van with there team name and other motivational sayings. Some of the vans have pretty ridiculous decorates (e.g. inflatable dinosaurs and women's underwear).






This is the famous 'Oh shit' hill. Accurately named by our teammate Jen the first year we did the race. I think the name speaks for itself. Although not the hardest hill on the course, this is one of the most intimidating. Hills like this one are typical of most legs of the race.






In this picture I am handing the baton to our teammate Sarah. You can see the exhaustion in my face from the 4.05 miles of hills I just ran. Teams must carry an official baton through the entire race and cross the finish line with it. The biggest mistake you can make it dropping the baton during an exchange. Our team has a flawless record.
Every year at the end of the race, the baton is given to the member of the team that has put forth the greatest effort. This year the baton went to Dennis for running the hardest leg of the course, leg 22, which has a nearly 2 mile long uphill climb.


Here is Amanda after finishing her last leg of the day. It is such a great feeling to be done!!! This year, Amanda was the 2nd runner to be done. I ran the final leg of the race, so I was not done until we crossed the finish line at 7pm. It was quite a feeling to cross the finish line holding the baton!

Here is our team on the banks of the Ohio River after finishing the race. This picture was taken facing east, but to the west was a beautiful sunset. Every year, we are worried that we will not make it to the finish before dark.......made it this year!

Our team (starting at left): Craig, Jen, Bridget, Dennis, Sarah, Amanda, Kevin, Ryan.

For more info on the River to River Relay visit: http://rrr.olm.net/index.html