Tag: conservation

Girl time and a great place to visit!

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Every summer around the time of my Grandma’s birthday the women of the family choose a place in Ohio to spend a night or two together.  My Grandma will be turning 87 any day now and us gals spent Thursday night in Cumberland.  We were missing one  of our cousins who always comes, but gained a friend, for a total of 13.  This happens when the women are so wonderful 😉

gals 2009

This is us at the cabin in the wilds that we rented for the night.  I always enjoy the girl-time and come home every year appreciating my family more.  And I think most of us granddaughters (she has 10) know that we have the best possible Grandmother and we are blessed.

Now, on to THE WILDS!  I cannot possibly recommend this place enough for any kind of family trip.   It is located in SE Ohio, but you would never know it once you drive onto the 10,000+ acres of land that was gifted to this non-profit conservation group by the power company after it had been used in surface mining.  This group has turned it into an amazing place for research and the public.  We took a 2 1/2 safari yesterday on an open air bus.  Have a look at a few of the many, many different animals we saw…wilds giraffejuly 2009 149

wilds rhino

And yes, many animals came right up to the bus.  I could add so many wonderful photos, but The Wilds is not just about the animals, it is equally about the land and living in harmony with nature and using land that is good for nothing else for something worthwhile.

There is one lodge on the premises, where we stayed that had 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms and a private lake with boats and a canoe.  They also have newer smaller places near the visitor center that sleep two. 

If  you are within a few hours drive (took me 2.5 from Cleveland) or are driving through on your way someplace else, you cannot go wrong with stopping here for a few hours.   I had a fabulous time on my Ohio Safari!  Visit the website here.

Green Goes With Everything, by Sloan Barnett

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Cover ImageFinished 12-15-08, rating 3/5, personal/environmental health, pub. 2008

Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet

This is a guide to help you clean up your life.  It covers dirt and germs, babies and everything associated with keeping them healthy, food choices, water, air, energy and more.  Barnett was inspired to become educated in the green movement when her son faced a life threatening asthma attack and she was convinced it was due to environmental triggers.  The chapters contain studies and science back up as well as many websites to help you further your knowledge.

I am not a green zealot, but the small things do irritate me.  Things like rinsing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, bottled water, and not recycling are like nails on a chalkboard, and yet I am terribly remiss is turning the TV off (I like the noise and constant stream of news).  This book does a great job of pointing out some of the big things we miss in our lives that have an impact on our health and the environment.

The main problem with the book is a big one.  Barnett is the wife of Shaklee’s CEO and she makes no apologies in recommending their products at every turn.  The only times she does not recommend Shaklee products is when the company does not have a comparable product.  She did provide studies showing the Shaklee products were best in some of these areas, but it was distracting, annoying, and made me question her judgement when she kept pushing Shaklee.  It seemed odd for a book that wants you to make better choices to give you only one in many areas.

On the whole, I think this is a good book.  I took 2 pages of notes and plan on checking out some of the websites mentioned.  It also had tips for around the house that I plan on trying.  Some of the things I already knew – buy organic, read labels, buy new pots and pans… – but it is always good to be reminded  as I seem to get too busy to pay attention and fall back to some bad habits.

I checked this out of the library and that is my recommendation to you, unless you are not familiar with any of these issues.  Then I’d recommend picking up a copy, just be willing to read a lot of hype about Shaklee products.