Northwest Wisconsin Sustainable Living Fair

I'm back home, safe and sound, from my trip to the Northwest Wisconsin Sustainable Living Fair. I'm grateful the weather was gorgeous and that I made the trip without mishap. The fair was very nice. There were a number of vendors exhibiting all sorts of things from solar, wind, and geothermal systems, to all things homesteading bookwise, eco-botanical personal products, honey and maple syrup, and handcrafted Native American bows and arrows. There was a guy there making pizzas in an earth oven he had in the back of his pick-up truck that I thought was cool. He said it weighed about 1,000 pounds! I bought some beets from a woman and a couple of baby aloe plants, and from another vendor I finally got some composting worms for my worm bin that I've had waiting for worms in the basement for about a year now. We'll see how I do at raising worms! I hope I don't kill them.

I was surprised at the number of people that came to my seed saving presentation; I guess there may have been about 50 people. The crowd seemed interested in what I had to say -- I hope I didn't say too many "uhs" and "ums". For the most part I stayed on topic (I know I get sidetracked easily) though I forgot to keep the slide show up with what I was talking about. Still, I had some good questions from people that I was happy I was able to answer, and the number of people who wanted to talk to me after the show was surprising, too. We had to leave the building to talk outside so the next speaker could give his talk. Mr. Sanderson seemed happy with the talk, and the people seemed to like the handouts I gave them -- I didn't see any tossed in the garbage. One woman said she knew the talk was going to be good because of the handouts I had made. I must have talked with people for a good half hour answering questions. One guy said I was a "wealth of information" and several people thanked me for giving them sources for heirloom and open pollinated seeds: I recommended Horizon Herbs, Fedco, Baker Creek, TomatoFest, Seeds of Change, High Mowing Seeds, and Johnnysseeds -- all companies I have satisfactorily bought seeds from. It was great to have been given the opportunity to meet so many people interested in seed saving; it gives me hope that many heirloom and open pollinated seed varieties will continue to exist.

Bravo to Messrs. Sanderson and Olive and Ms. Aleisha Crowe for their efforts in putting on the fair. It may be a fledgling effort, but I think the endeavor is both noble and worthwhile!