My Christmas Wish List

I tell my girls (my staff) that one of the hardest things I had to learn was to ask for help. It can be humbling, embarrassing. (I choose those words over humiliating and shameful.) I tell them how letting people know there is a need to be filled allows others to become a blessing. If others don't know there's a need, how can it be filled? 

As most of you know I'm on a very low, fixed income. I have learned to carve a life within those boundaries, but there is very little wiggle room. When an unexpected expense comes up, such as an ongoing expensive medication that is not covered by insurance, or a staff member accidentally breaks a dryer in the laundry room and I'm financially responsible, or the van needs more than just an oil change, etc., I have to go without the more "frivolous " things. I never go hungry, but eating healthier can be more expensive, so I have to choose carefully, plan ahead, and/or gratefully make use of the food shelf. Eating out becomes a treat. Rent always comes first. I'm safe, and fed, and cared for--and very grateful. 

So, (taking a deep breath here) I put forth my Christmas wish list in hopes that a need/want can be fulfilled. Some will judge this inappropriate - I honor that and hope you will be kind. 

I have a number of friends on here that are in the same situation. They work hard but receive less than a living wage, while trying to raise kids. The “working poor”. Perhaps they will find the courage to make their wishes known as well. 

MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST 

**Gas cards so I can pursue MN Master Naturalist volunteer opportunities elsewhere ($ for workshop fees as well), or visit out-of-town friends, or go see the Christmas lights, or go to the Cities to see ol’ college friends, or go visit out-of-town family, etc.

**Subscription to the local newspaper 

**Postage $ to send things to my grandnieces, etc. 

**The rechargeable batteries to go with the charger I was given 

**Subscription to Ancestry.com, and/or a DNA test so I can continue the quest to find my paternal grandmother's people. She came out of an orphanage. 

**Print cartridges for my printer 

**$ for the medications/medical supplies that are not covered 

**Archival framing of my mother’s childhood dress and provenance

  

**Digitize 16mm/8mm family home movies 

To all the angels who have been there for me over the years, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope you are blessed tenfold in return. You will be forever in my heart. 

Merry Christmas all!

A New Adventure Begins

As many of you know, I am out every single day, during the warm months, in my power wheelchair down by the local river, my beloved river, on the river trails. I have often wished I knew more about my surroundings than I do, and now is my chance. I have begun studying to become a Minnesota Master Naturalist. It's offered through the University of Minnesota Extension Office. This particular class is called "Big Woods, Big Rivers" and concentrates on the area of the state from approximately the Fargo/Moorhead area in the northwest corner of Minnesota and angeling through the middle of the state down to the southeast corner of Minnesota. The title of the textbook reads "Big Woods, Big Rivers--An Introduction To The Natural History of Minnesota's Deciduous Forests".

My first education into the environment in which we live was when I was in 10th Grade. My homeroom teacher was also my biology teacher and he started a class called "Ecology". Although I had grown up at our lake cabin deep in the woods, this was my first journey into the education of what I was seeing around me. That man's name was Roland Johnson, and he started something called "The Ecology Site" down by the Crow River (named after the Sioux leader Taoyateduta, also known as Little Crow) just across the street from the high school. This was in the early '70s.  Last summer (2017) the site was dedicated to Mr. Johnson, and rightfully so. I remember during that class we were each given a one inch patch of grass outside the building. We were to observe and make a record of every different thing we saw, from a blade of grass, to bugs, to mosses, to dirt quality, etcetera. All in a one square inch patch of earth.. From that one inch patch he taught us how everything is interconnected and that if you change one thing, you change everything. That tiny little patch of grass expanded wider and wider until we could see just how much we were affecting our planet Earth.

Now over 40 years later, I get to learn even more about this world around me. As a part of the program we are required to do 40 hours of volunteer work, spreading the word about environmentalism and conservation and trying to light new little fires in our young ones. I'm not sure what my project is going to be but I think I'm probably going to use this format to pass on what I've learned, perhaps using pictures and videos as well.

So, week one I have two chapters to read. The first chapter is an introduction to the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program.  The next chapter is entitled "Rocks, Ice, and Dirt--Geology of the Big Woods. Minnesota is located right on the edge of what has become known as the Big Woods, and the tall grass prairies.

I really am quite excited about this. I feel like I can use my brain again. I can begin to pass on what I've learned on my own, and when I've finished this class, I will try to teach the next generation of environmentalists and conservationists  just how important their surroundings are and that what they do affects everyone and everything around them. I hope to try to raise awareness of how important our environment is and that the biggest changes start at the smallest levels, in this case our babies.