BuzzEgo: Read the news you WANT to read!!!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of buzzego for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

 

BuzzEgo is just about the coolest idea since sliced bread in my book.

Wanna know why??

'Cause I can read any type of news or articles I want that I am interested in and I don't have to see things I don't like or have no interest in. This is particularly handy for me because I have some pretty strong OCD and for me, I have a real problem seeing/reading about violent/agressive news. Heck, I work at a library and when I'm shelving I have a hard time putting away certain titles that have the wrong *words* in them. Get the picture? I got it bad. That means most news sites are a no-no for me, because I never know what I'm going to see. 

Not so, with BuzzEgo. This website is kind of a mashup between stumbleupon and pinterest in that you are given all kinds of options on the style of information you want to learn about, the theme's you are interested in,  and in turn it gives you what you want to see. 

When I signed up, I saw all the themes they had to offer for the type of "Panda" that I picked. Oh yeah, you gotta pick a panda (or panda's):

Once the panda was picked, they tossed out all kinds of themes of articles and posts at me and I could follow or unfollow certain ones; in essence arranging my news how I like it. Perfect!!!!!

You can see the theme's I have chosen so far and get a general sense of the website from this:

I can click on any of the images of articles above and go to a separate window which will take me to the site. Am I going to give the wild woman with the food a thumbs up??? Probably not. The cool photography?? You betcha.

 It's very cool beans in my opinion.

I totally reccommend BuzzEgo. 

I KNOW I'll be getting my news from there. 

buzzego

 

A Visit to Webb Family Farm and the Marvelous Mess Party!!!!!

Webb Family Farms has a special place in my heart, and not just because I grew up shlepping through the woods and fields around it. I love Webb Family Farms because of the old fashioned, hardworking, farmers who run it and HOW they run it so carefully, organically, with respect to their animals, their land, and their consumers. The Webb Farm is in their 3rd and 4th generation now of stubborn Webb's running the operation.

I helped out recently at a school trip to the farm to visit their maple sugaring operation. 

They were nice enough to let the elementary school kids come to visit and learn about how maple syrup is made..... and what it's like to live on a farm. The Webb's live remotely enough that the bus couldn't actually make it down their driveway, so the kids got have wagon rides to the farm. I think that alone could have been a great field trip!!!!! The smiles on kids faces were magical. 

Then they got to see the sugaring operation:

 They also had a little vanilla ice cream with some real maple syrup on top. Holey moley, that stuff is good. 

After seeing the sugar house they moved on to the goat barn to see some adult and young (some very new!!!) goats. Kathy Webb told me she was fairly certain each child got a chance to hold a baby goat. 

 Can you believe the little sweater on that baby goat???!! Serious cuteness factor overload. 

The kids were totally thrilled. The real kids from the school, that is. I'm fairly certain the goat kids in the barn hightailed it with their moms just as soon as they could to get away from all the children wild on ice cream and maple syrup. 

They all got a wagon ride back to the bus, and I followed in a car. But before I made my way home I wanted to stop at their dairy barn. You see, maple syrup isn't even the biggest product the Webb's provide to the community; the Webb's also run a successful Organic Dairy Farm.

They sell their milk, unpasteurized, at their farm store onsite (along with the organic grains and organic beef) and they supply to MOOMilk, which stands for Maine's Own Organic Milk. MOOMilk is so essential to the survival of the organic dairy farmers of Maine, and 90% of their profits go back to the farms. Look for their in your local grocery store (HERE is a map where you can find them now) and if you don't see the product, don't forget to ask the store manager if it is something they can supply in the near future. You can find MOOMilk on FACEBOOK as well. 

Here's my favorite cow, Cocoa Cream:

Seriously, that light isn't doing anything for the beauty of the face of this cow. I would have loved a better photo, but a cow barn can only be so accommodating when it comes to lighting.  

Another great way to grasp the feeling of this family run farm is to watch a new Documentary out this year called, Betting the Farm. The film follows several different organic dairy farmers as they join and grow the MOOMilk company. It is the story of the survival of small farms when faced against big companies with even bigger budgets. I think it looks fascinating and plan on buying it on itunes. 

Here is the trailer for what looks to be an incredible film:

Betting The Farm TRAILER from Pull-Start Pictures on Vimeo.

Please consider sharing this video, this post, and most importantly BUYING MOOMilk from your local grocery store or requesting it as a new product. You won't regret it. 

Don't foget, you can find the Webb's here:

Webb's on Facebook

And, MOOMilk here:

MOOMilk Facebook

MOOMilk Website

As well as the the documentary Betting The Farm here:

Betting the Farm Facebook

Betting the Farm Website

Like them ALL and share them, will you please??????????

Now, did you come here for a Marvelous Mess Party too?????

Here it is:

How to go on an Easter Egg Hunt: Buddy and Chloe's Perspective

It's Easter morning. 

The sun has risen. 

The eggs are well hidden. 

The noses are extra long:

And, oddly short. 

There are two ways to start the hunt. One could scan the horizon in search of pastels.....

Or destroy the landscape, running willy nilly, hoping your nose will lead you in the right direction. 

With the wisdom of one extra dog year, Chloe takes the time to smell the flowers:

And

 perhaps the worms.....

And

maybe slurp one up. 

Of course, they don't taste very good. 

 But, oh, the lengths some Boston Terriers will go to maintain their beauty.....

Meanwhile, the more youthful pup tears up the horizon. 

And finds the perfect..........

..................

stick.

Close enough. 

The frozen ground is thawing, their tracks from yesterdays playing still printed on the ground. 

One wonders if the lessons from this Egg Hunt will stay as imprinted in their brain.....or thaw as well over time. 

For now, one worm and one stick seem to be the best prizes of all. 

Happy Easter Everybody!!!!!

Here's the new sidebar spot winner from the party:

Alphabet Match Game from Artsy Fartsy Mama. How could I not feature someone who has the word Fart in their blog name??!!

OH!!!!! I just realized my brother-in-law (who is, coincidentally, Russian) has just begun his own blog and his first post is out. It's about his visit to a Ukrainian restaurant chain. His blog is called Mr. Comrade. 

Check it out HERE!!!!!

Now, join up to the party!!!!

A Wittle White Easter Bunny

I just finished this wittle bunny last night, whilst watching episodes of the Dog Whisperer.....and let me tell you, not only am *I* calm and assertive.....this bunny is too. 

She's is made entirely of wool roving and has been needle felted by me. She currently works as a temptation to any child who visits my house and to my dogs who would like to eat her. But, she'd rather be in your home.......

Here is the link to my etsy page so you can order one for yourself:

White Easter Bunny

A Marvelous Messy Party and Maine Maple Sunday!!!!!

Maine Maple Sunday is always a fun day to get out and learn about (and of course *sample*) some of the great maple syrup made in the state. This year it was held on March 24th. We have gone to a couple different farms in the past (there is even a small Sugar House owned by my extended family). This year we ventured to Sidney, Maine to Bacon Maple Farm. 

Bacon Maple Farm is a six generation family owned operation. It started out as a dairy farm with Maple Syrup as a supplement, but it is now primarily Maple Syrup based. 

After waiting in a fairly fast moving line we got a get a tour of the sugar house. They have a truly efficient operation with all the members of the family involved in every part of the process. 

While waiting in line I met a man, never even got his name, but we chatted a lot about sugaring. He's got an operation of about 200 tree's. I laughed and told him we had 4 going right now, and that was *more* than enough for us. I wanted to show you his picture because that man right there..... he is a Mainer. He embodies Maine spirit to a tee. He waited the whole time in line, not to see the process, but to buy some sugaring supplies from the Bacon Farm store. 

 This man just keeps feeding the fire. And he's full of information.

On top of having some delicious vanilla ice cream with a dabble of maple syrup on top, they were also selling Maple Syrup Cotton Candy!!!! What an awesome idea. It was so  good. The tour led us right into their store (such a bright idea), where just about every size jug of maple syrup could be found, along with whoopie pies, sugaring supplies, maple candy, and I even saw some maple wine. The store was partly manned by some young entrepreneurs:

Who were also seen driving around the Kawasaki Mule with the collection tank in the back. 

That's Maine for you, right there. If you're lucky enough to be born into a farm family, you are part of that process from sun up to sun down. 

All in all, I was truly impressed with this sugaring operation. Bacon Maple Farm is the biggest one I've seen yet and it still maintains that charming family farm atmosphere. If you'd like to visit their website and learn more about them and the entire sugaring process, you can find them HERE.

They are also on FACEBOOK.

On the way back to the car we saw a Mallard and his mate sliding around on the ice, finding the holes where they could stick their beaks down and get something to eat. Spring is coming people!!!!!

....................

I also wanted to let you know who I'm going to be featuring on my sidebar for the next week for their project they added to my Marvelous Mess Party:

Nature Birds by An Idea on Tuesday

Congrats!!! Don't forget to grab my button on the sidebar!!!

Now, please do add your latest to the party!!!!!

A Marvelous Mess Party ~Link Up Your Crafts!!~ Maple Sugaring Tutorial

Spring is tumbling into Maine much faster this year and in response to it, we've all tumbled out the door in search of patches of grass, bulbs peeking through mulch, and lots more sunshine. With those warmer days (and still cool nights) comes my favorite part of spring.....Tapping the Maple Trees!!!!!

If you want to learn more about Sugaring, I've got a post from a while back about how we do it on a very small scale HERE.

We have had some awesome crafts linked up to the Marvelous Mess party.
Here are my fave's:

How To Make Grippy Socks from Brown Thumb Mama. What an awesome idea. Kids flying around on socks on hardwood floors tends to stress me out quite a bit. I would be so much more comfortable with them having these on!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!

If I featured you, don't forget to grab a button from my sidebar and display it proudly!!! :-)

Now, on to the Party!!!!