Annual 'Heart of Winter' Art Show Seeks Submissions

Macsherry Library slated its 11th Annual Heart of Winter Art Show and Chocolate Reception, which will take place  Saturday, Feb. 14, in the library's community gallery.

Art in any medium representing aspects of winter in the north country is welcome. There is no fee, and the show will be on display through Feb. 28. Written works, including poems and essays, will also be accepted. There will additionally be a craft table for the creation of Valentine's Day crafts. Chocolatiers are also invited to bring in their delicious creations for a friendly chocolate competition.

The public votes for their favorite artworks, written works and chocolate desserts. Bragging rights are the prize! 

To submit artwork, email sehb@hillwoman.com for a contract and further information. Deadline for admission is Feb 4; all work must be at the library for hanging by Feb. 11. 

Macsherry Library is located at 112 Walton St., Alexandria Bay NY.

Movie Night: 'Fed Up' Screening 12/18

We're kicking off educational movie night season at Better Farm at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, with a screening of Fed Up.



This documentary takes a scathing look at the sugar industry, exploring how our brains and bodies react to sweeteners, why the calories-in, calories-out method of dieting doesn't work ,and the truth behind low-cal, low fat-foods. The film ventures that everything we’ve been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. Fed Up is the film the food industry doesn’t want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar-winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and director Stephanie Soechtig, Fed Up will change the way you eat forever.

There is no charge to attend Better Farm's educational movie nights. Please pre-register by emailing info@betterfarm.org. Learn more about Fed Up here.

Better Radio Wants YOU!

BetterArts is seeking reporters, musicians, show anchors, volunteers, story tellers, gardeners, savantes, and local personalities for its new station, Better Radio WBTS 88.5 FM.

The low-power FM station, set to go live at the annual Better Festival June 20, 2015, is getting ready for its launch by archiving content throughout the winter months.

Better Radio will feature an NPR-like format that showcases everything going on in the North Country; from original music to gardening advice to fishing and hunting reports, conservation efforts, news and weather, political roundups, health and wellness programming, and much much more.

A series of workshops will be slated throughout the winter to offer free training to any interested volunteers in the basic mechanics of sound engineering, editing, uploading, and syncing files for use on-air. Anyone interested in renting a recorder to create sound files (original music, funny jokes, personal narrative, or interviews) is welcome to do so free of charge as long as he or she has had a basic training session in how to use the equipment.

Here is a list of programming planned so far. If you have interest in contributing as a guest, musician, interview subject, reporter, sponsor or otherwise, please email

info@betterarts.org

. Until we go on-air in J

une, we will be pre-recording segments, renovating o

ffice space to s

erve as station studio, and creati

ng connections with local organi

zations. This is a great time to get in

volved

with th

is exciting new project! We are also accepting

betterArts res

idents

interested in

New Me

dia, broadcast journalism

, or sound engineering. Musicians applying to the residency program additionally now have the opportunity to host their own show

during their

time here or contribute their music to the station for airtime.

Daily Programming

•  
• “On the Spot” interviews and coverage of local events
•  
• Upcoming events listings for area organizations, school performances, etc.
•  
• “On This Day in History” tidbits
•  
• Daily Farmers Almanac
•  
• Weather
•  
• News

Music Exchange

•  
• Local bands' original tracks
•  
• Trade our local music with music from other LPFM stations and artists around the world

Better Health & Wellness

• Eating local and in season
• Recipes
• Diet and lifestyle advice
• Herbals, homeopathy
• Encouragement, Inspiration

Spirituality Programming

• Worship services
• Yoga sessions
• Guided meditation
• Inspirational stories of synchronicity and coincidence

Outdoor Show

•  
• Interviews with reps from outdoors-based organizations in the North Country
•  
• Fishing/Hunting Report
•  
• Water temps in local lakes, river
•  
• Survival/wild edible plants/foraging

Kids Broadcasting

• Naptime storytelling/reading children's books
• Interviews with children
• Programming for kids(sing-a-longs, re-aired public use kids' segments)

Open Mic

•  
• Recorded poetry readings
•  
• Interviews with Local Authors
•  
• Storytelling/Personal tales
•  
• Jokes, puns, listener quetsions and call-ins
•  
• Interviews with local artists

Love Line

•  
• Dear Abbey Advice
•  
• Call-in advice with guest panel

Green Thumb

•  
• Interviews with gardeners
•  
• Interviews with farmers for growing tips and tricks
•  
• Guest speakers from Cornell Cooperative Extension, local nurseries, etc.
•  
• Composting
•  
• Planting Guides

Better Gift-Giving: Annual Shopping Guide

Holiday shopping is upon us in just two little days; and there's no shortage of jacked-up consumerist sensibilities. But while there are inevitably going to be items each holiday season you're compelled to buy—like that video game your kid's dying to have, or a new flatscreen for the home, or a certain tie/dress/sweater/coat/fill-in-the-blanks that your spouse/cousin/parent/etc. has specifically asked for—there are also plenty of other gifts you're going to buy this season. You've got stocking stuffers, little gifts for people you love, the obligatory gift for your boss, co-workers, mailperson, dry cleaner, sanitation worker, and child's teacher.

So why not do something different this year? How about, instead of buying mass-produced stuff, you use your money to make a difference?

There are millions of ways to make real change with your money this holiday season. Whether you want to support artisans, shop local, or buy from organizations that will use your money to help people (

or animals

) in need, gifts this year run the gamut from sending young women to school to purchasing handwoven baskets from an underpriveleged person in Nepal. You can donate to a non-profit you believe in on behalf of someone you care about or in memory of a loved one; or simply buy a from a company you believe has ethical business practices. Here's a short list of some of my favorites this year (full disclosure: shameless plug for

Better Farm gear

to support sustainability outreach is of course included in the roundup):

• Better Farm—All sales support sustainability and arts outreach
•  
• Amy's Smart Girls — Nearly 3 billion people around the world lack access to financial services that the other half of the world takes for granted. Through Amy Poehler's Smart Girls organization, you can supply a business loan to your choice of business start-ups (we recommend the "green" sector!).
• Dragonfly Pottery—Ann Donovan makes beautiful, handmade pieces that can be shipped anywhere. Check out the Facebook page here.
• Etsy—Hand-crafted items supporting artisans of every ilk
• The Gentle Barn—This group rescues, rehabilitates, and gives sanctuary to severely abused animals; then supports interaction between them and children who have suffered similar traumas. Animal and child share an extraordinary healing process
• Gifts With Humanity—This is the retail component of Global Fair Trade Crafts, a web-based business designed to support individual artisans around the world
• Global Girlfriend—This online shop helps women worldwide gain economic security. The fair-trade products are made by women around the world suffering from disadvantages that can be turned around by an income stream
•  
• Global Goods Partners—This non-profit works with almost 40 artisan groups employing more than 3,000 women in close to 20 countries
• Kari Zelson Robertson — BetterArts board member Kari is an accomplished potter who has a gallery space outside her Rutland home. She will ship pieces anywhere and is happy to do custom work!
• La Mia Designs — Stephanie DeJoseph has run two upcycling workshops at Better Farm and excels at repurposed textiles and needlework.
• Little Dresses for Africa —  You can go to this website to print out templates for dresses that you make and send in for distribution to girls in African orphanages, churches and schools.Or, you can make a donation to support the creation of dresses.
• Soko — Soko is an online store that connects online consumers to global makers and handcrafted jewelry from the developing world. All items are made with natural and upcycled materials.
• The Shop for Change—An online marketplace enabling disadvantaged sellers around the world to sell online and sustainably grow their livelihoods
• Ten Thousand Villages—The founding organization of the Global Fair Trade Movement, this store has got tons of amazing gifts for everyone on your list
• ThredUp —  ThredUP is an online consignment shop that resells once-worn, practically new kids and women's clothing unbelievable discounts. You can also sell your like-new clothes to them for cash.
• World Vision—This Christian humanitarian organization provides support to individuals and families worldwide regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. From their website you can purchase goats or chickens for families in need, supply a village with seeds for gardens or money to dig wells, or furnish a school with supplies

Any individual retailers and/or artisans are encouraged to leave their own website/store information as a comment below for holiday shoppers.

Four-Season Farming: Greenhouse-Chicken Synergy Experiment Underway

Chickens enjoy a warmer climate where they can still scratch on the ground, while the plants get a heated home in which to grow.

We've utilized cold frames, mulching and greenhouses in the past at Better Farm to extend the growing season for our produce; but have had yet to stumble upon something that would truly allow production to continue year-round for our use and the use of the people we serve.

A recent partnership between Redwood's food pantry, Hearts for Youth, the Redwood Neighborhood Association, and Better Farm utilizes Redwood's Community Greenhouse to cultivate food that will be donated to the food pantry for disbursement to those in need. That greenhouse was moved to Better Farm, where the people staying here have agreed to tend to the garden and provide daily care for the plants as they grow.

Community greenhouse.

But how to contribute year-round to the food pantry?

I began looking into ways to heat greenhouses year round and found a ton of information on heaters, solar panels, fans and insulation. But all potential solutions fell by the wayside when I discovered Anna Edey and her work on Martha's Vineyard with her Solviva Greenhouse.

A basic Solviva greenhouse design, as found at Backyard Chickens.

Anna, who has been an organic farming pioneer since founding her business, Solviva, in 1984. One of the most stunning project's she's worked on has been a combination greenhouse-chicken house, where chickens heat the space with their body heat and manure (which is composted along with hay). Rumor has it that on 0-degree days, Anna's greenhouse is a lovely 80 degrees.

Awed by this potential, I brainstormed ways to protect plants while keeping them in the greenhouse with chickens. There are a lot of added bonuses to this chicken-greenhouse setup besides the plants, of course. The chickens also enjoy a break from all the cold and wind, which will boost their egg production throughout the winter. Plus, all the bedding and compost will be perfect to shovel into the garden come spring.

To prep the greenhouse, a few things had to be done first. The outside of the structure had to be wrapped in chicken wire to prevent predators from simply scratching through the plastic:

A trap door was added next to the front door to allow birds access outside on manageable winter days (accomplished here without having to leave the main door open and potentially subjecting plants to a chill):

Plants (broccoli, radishes, peas, spinach, lettuce and beets) had to be covered with protective netting so plucky chickens wouldn't damage the produce:

And lastly, the birds needed a protected space to sleep and lay that even a weasle can't get into in the middle of the night:

All the materials we used for this project were upcycled scraps of chicken wire from the herb gardens, handles from a kitchen demolition project on Fishermans Rest Island, and plywood scraps leftover from a construction project in June. We pulled a ramp from one of the other chicken coops, moved the water dishes and food to the greenhouse, and began catching birds we found huddled up outside. They couldn't be happier to discover there are still some places with green grass:

 

The project is officially underway.  In the coming weeks we'll be tracking overall temperature in the greenhouse to determine whether the birds are able to produce enough heat, along with passive solar, to keep the greenhouse above 60 degrees all winter long. If early findings are promising, we'll be adding shelving in the greenhouse to fill it top-to-bottom with yummy plants for food pantry patrons.

Want to design a Solviva Greenhouse of your own? Get in touch with us at info@betterfarm.org.

Get Crafty with Gratitude Trees this Thanksgiving

BetterArts this Saturday will create gratitude trees with children at Hospice of Jefferson County in order to express the youngsters' thanks to people they love who are no longer with us.

The arts 'n' crafts project is part of an annual partnership between betterArts and Hospice of Jefferson County, in which the two groups come together to provide a holiday party for children whose loved ones have passed away. This year's holiday party comes during the Thanksgiving season; so it is a fitting time for the children to focus on the gifts left behind by those who have passed away. These gifts may be in the form of memories, stories, life lessons, surviving family members, or anything else the children can imagine.

Those at the event will also be given the option of recording their fondest memories of their loved ones; a project undertaken by betterArts latest initiative, Better Radio. Those who opt to participate may have their memories burned onto a CD; or even broadcast on-air.

Here's some information on the healing power of gratitude, as published at the Chopra Center: Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don’t. In comparison with control groups, those who cultivated a grateful outlook:

• Felt better about their lives as a whole

• Experienced greater levels of joy and happiness

• Felt optimistic about the future

• Got sick less often

• Exercised more regularly

• Had more energy, enthusiasm, determination, and focus

• Made greater progress toward achieving important personal goals

• Slept better and awoke feeling refreshed

• Felt stronger during trying times

• Enjoyed closer family ties

• Were more likely to help others and offer emotional support

• Experienced fewer symptoms of stress

If you want more happiness, joy, and energy, gratitude is clearly a crucial quality to cultivate. It is a fullness of heart that moves us from limitation and fear to expansion and love. When we’re appreciating something, our ego moves out of the way and we connect with our soul. Gratitude brings our attention into the present, which is the only place where miracles can unfold. The deeper our  appreciation, the more we see with the eyes of the soul and the more our life flows in harmony with the creative power of the universe.

- See more at: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/cultivate-the-healing-power-of-gratitude#sthash.f6jPMFkv.dpuf

Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don’t. In comparison with control groups, those who cultivated a grateful outlook: - See more at: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/cultivate-the-healing-power-of-gratitude#sthash.f6jPMFkv.dpuf

Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don’t. In comparison with control groups, those who cultivated a grateful outlook:

• Felt better about their lives as a whole

• Experienced greater levels of joy and happiness

• Felt optimistic about the future

• Got sick less often

• Exercised more regularly

• Had more energy, enthusiasm, determination, and focus

• Made greater progress toward achieving important personal goals

• Slept better and awoke feeling refreshed

• Felt stronger during trying times

• Enjoyed closer family ties

• Were more likely to help others and offer emotional support

• Experienced fewer symptoms of stress

If you want more happiness, joy, and energy, gratitude is clearly a crucial quality to cultivate. It is a fullness of heart that moves us from limitation and fear to expansion and love. When we’re appreciating something, our ego moves out of the way and we connect with our soul. Gratitude brings our attention into the present, which is the only place where miracles can unfold. The deeper our  appreciation, the more we see with the eyes of the soul and the more our life flows in harmony with the creative power of the universe.

- See more at: http://www.chopra.com/ccl/cultivate-the-healing-power-of-gratitude#sthash.f6jPMFkv.dpuMany scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional well-being and physical health than those who don’t. In comparison with control groups, those who cultivated a grateful outlook:

• Felt better about their lives as a whole

• Experienced greater levels of joy and happiness 

• Felt optimistic about the future 

• Got sick less often 

•  Exercised more regularly 

• Had more energy, enthusiasm, determination, and focus 

• Made greater progress toward achieving important personal goals 

• Slept better and awoke feeling refreshed 

• Felt stronger during trying times 

• Enjoyed closer family ties 

• Were more likely to help others and offer emotional support 

• Experienced fewer symptoms of stress 

If you want more happiness, joy, and energy, gratitude is clearly a crucial quality to cultivate. It is a fullness of heart that moves us from limitation and fear to expansion and love. When we’re appreciating something, our ego moves out of the way and we connect with our soul. Gratitude brings our attention into the present, which is the only place where miracles can unfold. The deeper our appreciation, the more we see with the eyes of the soul and the more our life flows in harmony with the creative power of the universe.

Gratitude trees are a great project for you to embark on solo; but they also make wonderful projects for the whole family. Here's all you need to make your very own!

Wall-Mounted Gratitude Tree

You'll need a roll of colorful paper, construction paper, and markers or paint (whichever you like, or both!) Simply cut a big tree with a bunch of limbs out of the paper and adhere it to the wall with double-sided tape. Cut leaves from the construction paper and write one thing you are grateful for on each one before sticking each leaf to the branches

Gratitude Tree in Vase
You'll need a vase (betterArts will be using vases donated to  by the Whimsical Pig in Watertown), pebbles or marbles for the bottom of the vase (optional), small branches collected from outside, string and construction paper. If you like, you can even tie a ribbon around the branches to hold them together. Put the branches and pebbles in the vase, add the branches, and then cut leaves from the construction paper. On each leaf, write one thing you are grateful for. These make terrific centerpieces at Thanksgiving!