I love reading Mother Earth News and look forward to getting the magazine in the mail every couple of months. Well, I stumbled upon an article on their Facebook that put into words the longing I have to be away from the 9-5 and live on a self-sufficient plot of land (…I know, I know, sounds good in theory until I have to get up at the crack of dawn to feed animals… I am sure I would have to toughen-up a little…).
Anyway, check out the article… via Barnheart: Yearning to be a Farmer.
Disappointed with the care at Women’s Health in Elkins, we have decided to switch to Women’s Health of Morgantown… we figure the extra 1.5 hr drive is worth the better care (I will see if I have the same opinion when I am in labor in the car for 2.5 hrs). We had our half-way point ultrasound and everything showed up “within normal limits” which is great and the baby is weighing in a 9-0z. The doctor explained this is within the normal range for baby’s age, although he/she is a little on the light-weight size. Funny enough, the doctor said this was probably because I was skinny… Chad and I both looked at each other with a smile and I thought “In comparison to what? A baby whale!” I haven’t been called skinny in a while. The ultrasound tech did take some gender pics but enclosed them in a big envelope, not to be opened until the baby shower allowing all our friends and family to find out together! Some of ultrasound pics are below.
On January 25, 2010, Pocahontas County WV experience flooding in lower lying areas of the county. More info here. Various pics below from friends.
I wanted to say congrats to the Huntersville Traditions Day Festival for taking three awards at the West Virginia Association of Fairs and Festivals Convention in Charleston on January 8-9, 2010. Awards received including: 2nd place for Most Environmentally Green WV Fair / Festival, 2nd place for Communication – Newspaper Advertising, and 3rd place for Communication – Brochure. I am thrilled to say that I had the honor of designing the brochure and some newspaper advertising for the Festival, working with some top notch festival organizers! I am looking forward to this year’s advertising and even hope to participate in the Festival this year with a small beekeeping demonstration.
Brochure cover, place 3rd.
So, I have decided that it’s time to name our “farm” and begin selling our products… which right now is limited to honey… but we hope to expand this summer. We only have a little left from last year’s harvest which we are giving away as samples to family and friends. We are going to expand our apiary this spring and hopefully harvest gallons and gallons of honey next fall. We plan to sell honey at the Autumn Harvest Festival and Huntersville Traditions Days and maybe in a few local shops. I would also really like to do extracting demonstrations during the festivals. Until then we have created a fan page on Facebook and a WordPress blog. Check us out!
On December 27, Chad and I hopped along to Women’s Health in Elkins for a monthly check-up. Not to much news to share… everything still looks good. My not-so-friendly Doc did give me a little scare when she could not find a heartbeat on the fetal heart monitor and just proceeded to make strange faces for a couple of minutes without sharing any reassurance. In the end, the heartbeat appeared strong on the ultrasound. Apparently the little dude/dudette was just swimming around my spine away from detection. On January 21st we have another ultrasound scheduled and at that time, if we so chose, can find out what gender we should expect.
I just received my stack of 2010 Treasure on the Mountain tickets to sell. $10 of each ticket I sell goes to benefit the Humane Society of Pocahontas County. Last year, we benefited $500 which was put towards spay / neuter clinics. This year we are hoping to triple our ticket sales; that money will once again goes towards spay / neuter and also into the “building fund”, our savings for a new county facility which we hope will come into physical form in 2011!
If you are interested in purchasing a ticket you can find me at the Pocahontas County Tourism Office on Second Avenue in Marlinton (800.336.7009) or email me at m.erin.coleman@gmail.com to arrange a ticket pick-up.
Treasure on the Mountain $250,00 Raffle – held Saturday, August 7, 2010.
So we survived Blizzard 2009…
Over the weekend we here in Pocahontas County got dumped on… 20+ inches to be exact. The ground is still covered in 15+ inches of snow, so I will assume we will have a white Christmas as well, which is nice. Other than lots of snow and 8′ killer icicles hanging off my front porch, the only major hassle is the fact that my car is frozen under two feet of snow until spring. The poor Civic probably won’t even start when I do dig it out. But Asterisk and I are enjoying the snow while it last. Merry white, snowy holidays everyone.
…oh, and I hear Ice Storm 2009 is quickly approaching! Batteries, bread, and water everyone!
Only 176 more days until things get really interesting! Why? Because Chad and I are expecting are first child… and we could not be more thrilled!
Due Date: June 16, 2010
*Funny note: Just in case we didn’t know that was a baby, the tech labeled it for us.
I have lived years in Green Bank, WV and never visited the Artisan Co-Op. After coming on board with Pocahontas County Tourism a became aware of this gem and try to promote it whenever I can. Our local artist are so talented… and their items make great gifts.
