For those of you who might want to keep an eye on what is happening on the site, today I set the stakes of the corners and curve of the Phase One area. All posts were set by a method called triangulation where one point is determined by measurements from two different locations.  A partial circumference is measured from each base stake and where the two intersect is the point where the stake is driven in.

It was a very windy day in Ripley today so holding the 200 foot measuring tape and painting the markings on the ground was quite a feat.  I was by myself today.  But the excitement about the start of construction drawing near was just too much for me to stay away. 

The Township has been working on the walkway from Park Street East to the historic Lewis Cemetery and the Pine River Watershed group have been feverishly planting trees along the east side of it.  They are small now but with tender loving care, it will grow into a lovely inviting walk as part of the trail system in and around Ripley. 

Construction of the Garden walkways is scheduled to start on the site on June 18th.  Stay tuned!

Yesterday was a perfect day at the Kincardine Waste Management Centre.  It started out to be crisp but the sky was clear, the land was dry and so were the mattress and box springs.  Six eager and non-stoppable workers  attacked the pile of units awaiting us and worked straight through til noon. 

Interestingly, the word was out. A sincere thanks to radio stations MyFM 95.5 and CKNX AM 920, news press (Kincardine Times, Kincardine Independent, Kincardine News, and the Lucknow Sentinel) , Community 6 TV, Sleeper's Bed Gallery of Kincardine advertising and word of mouth from supporters for advertising to make it happen.  Mattresses and box springs were delivered by the droves!  We had approximately 20 units brought to the site on Saturday alone to add to the over 60 units already on site. We  actually ended up with more units than we could deconstruct in the time we had available.

Andrea and Bill Zimmer, Councilor Ron Coristine and wife, Jennifer Coristine, and Gerry Taylor PREDC Executive Director had a chance to roll up their sleeves and get to know each other while cutting, pulling, ripping materials off of the units and dragging them to their separated piles.

Andrea is an artist (who we are hoping to have at the Best of the Bottom of the Bruce EcoArt Show in October) and she was doing some reclaiming of her own!  It's a surprise but you'll really want to see her work as she commemorates her trials at the deconstruction event through her work.

We've learned something valuable through all of this though. One product that requires Council's consideration for recycling is foam rubber. Although there may be opportunity for us to use the foam as a water bladder to hold rain water and release it as the soil dries, there is so much foam in mattress construction that could be recycled.  Recycled foam rubber is used mostly in the manufacture of various grades of carpet underlay and shoe insoles.

Once again Heather and I and all of our participants have to thank Carlsun Energy (North Bruce), Weber Supply Company Inc. (Hanover),  and Ideal Supply/NAPA Auto Parts (Port Elgin) for their equipment sponsorship of the deconstruction events.

(Below from Left: Bill Zimmer, Andrea Zimmer, Heather Pletsch, Gerry Taylor, Ron Coristine, Jennifer Coristine The R.I.P sign was in with the mattresses! Nice hat Ron-I feel a new fad coming on!)
Second Below: Kincardine Councilor Ron Coristine examines copper frame of very old spring...is there gold in them thar hills, Ron?)

I've had a fun and entertaining email conversation with an interested visitor to this site over the word "wheel barrel" as used on our WANTED! page.  It started with his question "What is a wheelbarrel?".  My response was "same as a wheelbarrow...like tomatoe, tomato."  This exchange of comments led me on the trail of the REAL DIRT on the term wheelbarrel.  I've always called it that. It also seems to be used heavily in the States. However, my use of the word may go back to my Grandmother-a woman who lived permaculturally and a woman whom I have admired my entire life for her naturally sustainable lifestyle among her other wonderful grandmotherly attributes.

My 'Granny' spoke both English and German and it may be there is some grounding in language and translations that creates a variance in the words we use.  Indeed, Adam Sachs writes on Random House's The Mavens' Word of the Day:
The form wheelbarrel is an example of a folk etymology. A folk etymology is a modification of a word to associate it with a more common or easily understood word. For example, the word bridegroom was originally something like bridegome, the second element being the Old English word for 'man'. When "gome" fell out of use, "bridegome" was changed to "bridegroom" on the analogy of the common and familiar word "groom," which is at least a plausible substitute."  He goes on to explain, "the "barrow" element is rare in modern English, and "barrel" makes some sense--the trough of a wheelbarrow does resemble the inside of a barrel--so the word was changed to "wheelbarrel." Though the correct "wheelbarrow" is so common that a lasting change is unlikely, the "wheelbarrel" form represents a historically common process."

In the end I judge that our reader wins!  So as not to confuse the issue, we still need a wheelbarrow or a wheelbarrel...whichever you might wish to donate! (Now, is that one word or two?)

Thanks RM! Still smiling!

The Bruce Botanical Food Gardens is as much a social project as it is an agri-tourism and environmental project.  We hope to bring opportunities for personal fulfillment and gratification to the people who interact with us.

So with that in mind, here's a challenge for you to help make the daily world in which we live a happier and more supportive place to exist.  Have you seen the movie "Pay It Forward"? If you haven't , it's one with an important social message. The concept is that the good things we do in life, if repeated by those we have done them for, will have exponential effects.

So, here's the challenge. Once a month, or once a week, or once a day, make a point of taking a few moments of your time to say something positive and supportive to someone with whom you've interacted.  It could be a waiter/waitress who has been especially cheery, a store clerk who has made your decision easier, a grocery clerk who has handled your groceries with special care, someone who has an outfit on that you think is especially nice...you get the picture

Here's a 'for instance'. It's tax season.  Nobody likes tax season (except perhaps the tax preparers and thank heaven for them!).  I had to obtain a form from my bank and could only get through to a bank call centre. I got  bounced about a bit, however, the woman I finally connected with went out of her way to provide me with the information required. I asked for her employee number and said I wanted to write the bank to express my gratefulness.  In the end I was able to speak directly to her supervisor.  Not only was the employee shocked that I would ask such a thing, but you could actually hear the smile of her supervisor through the phone.  Both were extremely grateful and thanked me repeatedly for taking the less than 2 minutes it took to arrange to make the comment.  Three people felt really good that day...the third being me for knowing that I had made some small difference in someone's day. 

If those 2 people pay it forward by doing the same to two other people, and they turn around and do the same, after 5 levels of paying it forward, the one action becomes 120 acts of random kindness, then 240, 480, 960, 1920....you get the picture.

Make your own day by making someone else's.  You'll enjoy the sunshine and you can watch something else grow-your community.  Please feel free to submit your comments on how the challenge is working for you.

The Bruce Botanical Food Garden’s Spring Has Sprung event couldn’t have
seen better weather than Saugeen Shores enjoyed April 12th. Sixteen hard working, fun loving
souls participated in the Great Mattress and Box Spring Reclamation project at the Southampton
landfill today and deconstructed approximately 150 units.

Carlsun Energy of North Bruce, Weber Supply Company Inc of Hanover, and NAPA Auto Parts of
Port Elgin stepped up to the plate as event sponsors providing safety glasses, face masks and
utility knives. Carlsun Energy had two staff members helping with the work. Kerri Meier, Waste
Management / Environmental Coordinator for Bruce County Highways Department was also on
board. Bruce County Social Services’ David MacDonald brought a crew of 3 strong workers with
him, and Hambleton Contracting and Design Services from Southampton arrived making 5 more.
Saugeen Shores councilor, Marcel Legault didn’t hesitate to get right to work as did individual
helpers who gave of their time and energy to make the event a huge success.

“The municipal staff where incredible.” said the BBFG’s Heather Pletsch. “The project was
immediately supported by Stuart Doyle, Director of Public Works and during the day, as we
needed more mattresses, operator Randy Robillard would just show up and deliver a new load”.
The event started around 12 noon and wrapped up by 4:00pm after roughly half of the
Municipality’s mattress trailer had been emptied and deconstructed. Steel mattress springs will be
used for fencing, felt as an alternative to landscape filter fabric, nylon netting for fruit protection,
wood for signs and donor boards were reclaimed.

Lynne Taylor, the Bruce Botanical Food Gardens’ president said, “We were a bit worried that we
wouldn’t have enough people participate to get the work done but Heather Pletsch, our
community project facilitator, proved the true value of her community networking expertise by
pulling the team together. It’s amazing how people in this community spring to action, so to
speak, on a well-presented request. It speaks volumes of the community’s spirit.”
The next deconstruction event will be held in the BBFG’s host Township of Huron-Kinloss’ Ripley-
Huron landfill (as close to an Earth Day Event as possible) on Saturday April 21, 2012 from 12:30
to 4:00pm. The Municipality of Kincardine will follow at the Kincardine Waste Management Centre
on Saturday April 28, 2012 from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon. Brockton and Hanover events are to be
announced.  REGISTER  or LEARN MORE.