What Kind of Chickens Lay Brown Eggs?

from Life123.com
By: Gene Rodriguez, III, Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered what kind of chickens lay brown eggs?

Although white and brown eggs are available at your grocery store, you’ll pay more for the brown kind. Although you may think that organic chickens produce brown eggs, the truth may surprise you.

On The Farm

White and brown eggs—they sit on the shelf next to each other in the grocery store, as different as night and day. Or are they? Here’s the straight story on why chicken eggs are different colors and who’s responsible for those brown eggs in your grocer’s cooler:.. read more at Life123.com

"To be born on a farm is the greatest good that can befall a human being. To live on a farm and enjoy all that it has to offer is the greatest good that can be attained by a poet or philosopher." - Peter McArthur

Greyhound Canada Announces Select Route Closures in Ontario

TORONTO, January 8, 2009 /Canada NewsWire/ - Greyhound Canada today served notice to the Ontario Highway Transport Board of its intention to end service of its inter-city passenger bus operations on a select number of routes across Ontario as of April 11, 2010.

"The average number of passengers per trip on those routes targeted for closure is less than seven," said Senior Vice President Stuart Kendrick. "Greyhound Canada takes this decision with great reluctance but with such low ridership, the financial case for maintaining service simply does not exist."

The route closures will affect service in Eastern, Central and Southwestern Ontario. Notwithstanding the closures, in most cases, access to Greyhound Canada's passenger bus service will remain within a 40 kilometer radius and often less.

To view a table detailing the specific routes and communities affected, please go to http://files.newswire.ca/845/Greyhound.doc.

Greyhound Canada emphasized these changes will merely allow the company to break even on its Ontario operations based on current estimates.

"The long-term future of Greyhound Canada's cross-country operations including Ontario will rely upon the outcome of the federal-provincial-territorial Working Group that is due to recommend regulatory and policy changes in September 2010," concluded Kendrick.

Outhouses, Backhouses and Privies

Growing up on a farm in the 1960's was still an outhouse experience.

The simple privy, now resigned to cottage country, was an essential part of growing up in a rural environment and there were many Halloween pranks played at the expense of this facility.

Our outhouse at home was attached to the attached garage (read storage area)with access from the summer kitchen. One fall my dad and I got the brilliant notion that if we cut a door through the back wall of the garage (there was space in the outhouse for this manouver), we would have rainy day and wintertime access to the facility without venturing outdoors. It worked and and for years saved cistern and well water in the indoor bathroom.

I guess that the demise of the common outhouse was the precursor of the demise of the Eaton's catalogue...'nuff said.

Urban Shepherds Help Save the Fields

from TreeHugger.com
by Bonnie Alter, London

When Brighton council advertised for volunteer shepherds they never imagined that they would get hundreds of applicants. It's not the greatest job description: no pay, lots of walking on quite steep, uneven slopes, duty in all kinds of weather including the winter and checking fences. But the idea struck a chord and now the first of the group of 80 trained urban shepherds is out on the downs (fields of grasslands) checking the sheep to make sure they are healthy and not... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Thunderstorms: The Dark and Stormy Drama Between Heaven and Earth

from TreeHugger.com
by David DeFranza


In ancient Rome, it was believed that thunderstorms were caused by the god Jupiter, who created lightening by hurling great bolts forged by Vulcan. The Norse believed that Thor's crashing hammer created sparks that rained upon the earth as lightening. Some Native Americans believed that thunderstorms were caused by the coming of powerful birds, servants of the Great Spirit. Though we have different ideas about the formation and behavior of storms today, we are no less captivated by their drama. Indeed, scientists and amateur photo... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Types of Radiant Heat

from Life123.com
By: Gene Rodriguez, III, Staff Writer

There are many types of radiant heat that provide an efficient alternative to traditional forms of home heat. Radiant heat is similar to the type of heat you feel when you point your face toward the sun.

What Types Of Radiant Heat Are Available?

Radiant heat has a number of advantages over baseboard or forced air heating. Radiant systems are generally more efficient than traditional alternatives. Radiant systems also don’t rely on moving air, making them perfect for allergy sufferers. Some types of radiant heat systems use very little electricity or use electricity only during off-peak hours. Here are the major types of radiant heat systems:... read more at Life123.com

Outrun Global Warming By Moving 5 Miles North in the 2010s

from io9.com
By Tim Barribeau

It turns out you can outrun global warming - if you move your ecosystem about a half-mile closer to one of the poles every year. A new study suggests you scoot your farm slightly north or south next spring.

The overall trend of global warming is pushing climate bands gradually further away from the equator, and ecosystems are struggling to keep up with their moving favored temperatures. The research team - involving scientists from Carnegie Institution, Stanford University, the California Academy of Sciences, and the University of California, Berkeley - combined data on the current climate and temperature gradients globally with predictions for the next century, in order to map the "temperature velocity" of the planet. This velocity is a measure of how far and how fast temperature zones are moving across the planet, and how quickly plants and animals will have to move to stay with them... read more