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These days we’re feeling weary and broke, and we think a lot of it is Brent’s fault.  

If you know your market terms, you may have guessed that we’re talking about Brent Crude, and the appalling cost of fuel.  And while it’s painful for consumers to fill the gas tank, we can comfortably say that those in business, particularly agriculture, have been hit hard.  The cost of oil impacts nearly everything in a farmer’s world, and many are finding it difficult to stay afloat.

So today, we’re going back to a simpler transport time (and putting all of our references into one hull).  Emma Foster from Hudson River Maritime Museum takes us on a tour of one of most finely crafted museums we’ve visited (though to just call it a museum falls a bit short in describing this delightful place).

By the way, in the intro you’ll learn that Brent has a goose, and the goose is British.  Aren’t you curious now?

Links:

https://www.hrmm.org/

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Love him or hate him, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, mostly known as FDR, was a person known for many things -- being the longest serving President; being born into the wealthy elite class, yet remembering the little people; defying expectations by running the country from a wheelchair; marrying extremely well by bagging Eleanor, a much-loved lady; and the alphabet soup of social programs that put people back to work during the dustbowl, Depression and dark gloom of World Wars.  The New Deal, The TVA, SEC, AAA, WPA, CCC and FLSA, among others, are on his list.  

And if you don’t think any of those letters might apply to you in the current age?  If you collect Social Security, are entitled to minimum wage, or have more banking confidence from the FDIC, you might want to read up on this guy.  Or you can listen in today, as we visit with Park Ranger Kevin Oldenburg.

And the funny part?  The title that FDR said was most satisfying…is "Tree Farmer." 

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

https://www.fdrlibrary.org/

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/presidents/franklindroosevelt

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Look Sharp, people!  Dr. Frank Sharp, that is, a Longhorn rancher from .  This guy not only is integral to the Cattlemen’s Texas Longhorn Conservancy (CTLR), but he also knows his stuff, as he “wrote his doctoral dissertation on Texas Longhorn cattle, his research focusing on Texas Longhorn history, symbolism, genetics, and preservation.”  We hope you follow our links to visit the CTLR’s website, to learn more.

This week we go back in time to 2001, and the Backyard Green Films adventure we called “The Mas Vacas Tour.”  We came away from our Texas filming trip with a better understanding of the rugged piece of agricultural history known as the original Texas Longhorn.  And this time, that critter has a bigger anniversary than the little one we celebrate -- over 500 years of adaptation and rugged survival.

Links:

https://www.ctlc.org/about/leadership/sharp-frank/

https://www.ctlc.org/texas-long-horn-conservancy/history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorn

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I love Canada!  That’s been the refrain in the car on this trip.  We’ve been Milling About on the Emerald Isle, our new co-opted name for Prince Edward Island, the Canadian province.  We stayed in Belfast (the PEI one, not the other one), and enjoyed a phenomenal week touring the gentle green fields of potatoes, birdwatching and shell finding, chatting in yarn shops, learning the ins and outs of spot welding at the Belfast Mini Mill, and eating Haddock daily, served by wonderfully hospitable locals (did we mention we love Canada?).  

We also had a reverence- and awe-inspiring tour of MacAusland’s Woollen Mill, from Monica MacAusland herself.  This business started producing woolen yarn in 1902, and is still going - famous for the MacAusland Blanket.  

We stepped back in time for this one, and hope you join us for a visit to a production facility that feels more like a church.  Just what we expected from Oh, we love Canada.

Links:

https://www.macauslandswoollenmills.com/

https://latlonconnect.app/

https://www.tourismpei.com/ 

https://minimills.net/

https://www.tourismpei.com/attractions/selkirk-scottish-cultural-and-heritage-centre

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"Shire" and "guild" refer to a wide variety of subjects, ranging from Tolkien's fictional hobbit homeland to real-world administrative districts in the UK, video game factions, and even historic trades. But, today we are talking about CNCH, otherwise known as Conference of Northern California Handweavers. Don't let the name fool you.  According to their website, The Conference of Northern California Handweavers, Inc. was founded in 1953 to further the art and appreciation of the craft of handweaving.  Today the member Guilds of CNCH embrace all fiber arts associated with weaving.  Our membership includes not only weavers, but also dyers, basketmakers, and spinners.

Today, Susan is going to tell us all about the guild, the yearly conference, and what all they offer. So, sit back and enjoy The Shire!

Links:

https://www.cnch.org/about-2/

https://www.cnch.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild

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We all know that water is precious, and that the soil is important, but do we really know what happens when we take both of them for granted?  We should know our history, because the Dust Bowl occurred less than a century ago.  We might start treating the Ogallala Aquifer like the source that waters 25% of the agricultural production in the entire country, instead of like a drinking fountain in the school cafeteria.  We might also remember that conservation is self-preservation, and not just a hashtag.

As the Dust Bowl has shown us, soil and water and the interactions between the two are critical.  Lauren Drum is here today to talk about it.  She works for the Dutchess County Soil & Water Conservation District doing testing, program implementation, and education for the Hudson Valley community.  After all, New York takes its Black Dirt deposits very seriously.  All that lovely, fertile muck took aeons to get there, .

Links:

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depopulation_of_the_Great_Plains

https://lacusveris.com/The%20Hi-Line%20and%20the%20Yellowstone%20Trail/The%20Buffalo%20Commons/From%20Dust%20to%20Dust.shtml

https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Data_Visualization/Commodity/index.php

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dorothea-Lange

https://depts.washington.edu/moving1/dustbowl_migration.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migrant_Mother

https://www.britannica.com/place/Dust-Bowl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains

https://topostreets.com/top-10-largest-aquifers-in-the-world/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ludlum_bibliography

https://grokipedia.com/page/Black_Dirt_Region

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We just returned from Iowa, after attending the Farm to Film Fest. Our film "A Connecticut Farmer and the King's Cow", was selected as one of the films to screen over the weekend event. The thing that stood out us, while in the town of Washington, was that it's obvious at this festival and the town itself, is that they love the arts.

You know we gotta say it "Are we in Heaven?  Nope - We're in Iowa.

Links:

https://www.farmtofilmfest.org/

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I just returned from my journey to Scotland and loved every minute that I spent there. From the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, to the Glen Cruitten House, and of course my workshop with Moy Mackay. I'm so excited to share my stories with you on this episode.

Links:

https://glencruittenhouse.com/dev/

https://www.moymackay.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh

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We’re back in Texas!  For Texas Wool Week, mind you, but that’s not the focus today.  Our topic could be almost anything, because Texas is a place chock full of people filled with fortitude, gracious hospitality, and a reverence for the history they’ve lived in full color.  They take pride in combinations of peoples and cultures like almost no one else does, and their trails and parks and location markers can make a history buff cry tears of joy.

But how do most of us picture that history, when we talk about the old west?  We had a moment of revelation about our own preconceived ideas when we went through the Cowboy Capital of Bandera, dove into the facts behind the story of steadfast Deets in Lonesome Dove, and had a conversation with a man whose face is stamped on a statue at Fort Bliss.  

Taylor Sheridan brought Bass Reeves into the limelight, but way before that, there was a man named Bose Ikard, the dear friend of Charles Goodnight, and a brave cohort of men known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

Links:

 https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/exhibitions/black-cowboys-an-american-story/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Griffin

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ikard-bose

https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/bose-ikard-cowboy-lonesome-dove/

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rudeness+in+a+man+won%27t+tolerate+it&t=newext&atb=v419-1&ia=web

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cowboy_%26_Western_Heritage_Museum

https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/keep-texas-wild/vaqueros-and-cowboys/texas-cattle-drives

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonesome_Dove

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose_Ikard

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/projects/african-american-texas

https://texastimetravel.com/directory/buffalo-soldier-memorial-el-paso/Links: 

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Susan has some exciting news to share in this episode. A new program with her students and a trip of a lifetime to the Highlands to study with renowned fiber artist Moy Mackay.

Links:

https://www.moymackay.com/

https://plymagazine.com/about-us/meet-the-team/

https://plymagazine.com/

https://glencruittenhouse.com/dev/

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