The Alarm

One of my favourite bands - great video my mate Mark in England passed on. Mike and the boys in action in Milan back in 2003. Enjoy!

Hello!

House finch
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

We have had lots of visitors to the feeder over the weekend, including this house finch. Other guests have been house and song sparrows, a juvenile cardinal and red bellied woodpeckers. And the ever -present squirrels get the fallen seeds.

China - one way you can help rebuild...

All eyes seem to be on China - either with anticipation of the Games, concern for human rights, and of course, concern for the terrible loss of life and infrastructure caused by the recent earthquake. It's easy to feel helpless when wanting to respond to this tragedy - what can we do to make any difference? Our good friend Billy, part of Communality in Lexington, KY, recently sent the following email with a tangible way to express solidarity and love for one village. Read on, and then, maybe, act...

Friends,

I hope that you are all doing well. I wanted to let you know about a project in which our foundation is currently engaged in Sichuan Province, China. We're trying to help rebuild a primary school in the village of Bai Hua in the aftermath of the earthquake that leveled hundreds of schools and killed thousands of children. Through our investment director Jon Carnes we have already held talks with the provincial government and expressed our desire to help rebuild the school. Jon's company Eos Asia (who manage our endowment) have a large investment in a commercial cement company in the village and thereby a long-term commitment to the area. We want to help this village rebuild and attain healthy functioning. Anyhow, we've completely revamped our website over the past couple of weeks in part to prepare for this effort. We've got it set up so that people can learn more about the initiative (and our other work) through the site and even make donations online if they so choose. As much as anything the people of Sichuan Province need your prayers. This project gives us one way that we can also act together in a direct manner. We'll be posting updates on the progress of the project on the site once it commences.

Thanks so much for your consideration and for all of the hard work that you do for the cause of justice in the small ways that matter most. Keep going in it......

Billy

We've added the link to the 'Destinations: Sites' list below. Stop by for more info - and maybe leave a gift.

Peace,
Sean

garden produce

garden produce
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

I went to the community garden this morning after a 1/4" rain yesterday and picked this bounty. The first ripe cantaloupe and heirloom tomato are the highlights...

Seth

Seth - liking his slick hair
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

Just had to post this - Seth's curls are out of control, so when we brushed his hair after a bath the other night, he kept checking himself out in the mirror - and obviously liked what he saw. He has his mum's hair and eyes - but unfortunately his father's teeth. Still, he's a good looking lad!

Community gardening

'Gypsy' peppers
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

We're having mixed success in the community garden at the moment. Some of the pepper plants are doing great - others put on lots of flowers, but little fruit. The tomatoes are huge - but are being assaulted by some kind of larvae. We're spraying them with a bacteria recommended by 'Urban Harvest' that is supposed to only attack the larvae - we'll see. The beans are on the way out - squash has already been uprooted and composted. We have lemon cucumbers finally - yup, cucumbers that look like lemons, but taste like...cucumbers. And canteloupe. We have big canteloupe. Although the two largest 'disappeared' while we were gone at Chapelwood's family retreat over the weekend. The sunflowers are towering and beautiful, and we continue to enjoy an abundance of fresh cut zinnias around the house. See 'Flickr' for more photos.