Dear Diary,

Today is Arbor Day. Arbor Day is today! Yay! Plant a tree in your yard, plant a tree at your school, plant a tree with your neighbors along the street, plant a tree in the town square, plant a tree every where!

There are all kinds of trees that need love and a home, what better way to help make the Earth a healthier place to live for all of us, and plants, and animals too, plant a tree today!

Today I looked out my window with my nature periscope and counted bees flying from apple tree to pear tree, to cherry tree. The bees float across the sky around the beautiful flowers like little bright flashes of light. The bees make me smile when I see them, I know some of honey bees are probably from Kirby’s bee hives. Bees help fruit trees make fruit by pollinating the flowers, that is why they are so important to farmers.

Have you heard of permaculture? Apple trees are a good example of permaculture.

Can you think of other examples of permaculture?

Dear Diary,

Here are five easy ideas for celebrating Earth Day every single day that my friends and I came up with.

1. Do not rake your leaves if they are under trees, and not do not look ugly. Old leaves make a great natural mulch, and trap carbon from being released into the atmosphere. Old leaves are Mother Nature’s mulch! Worms love leaves, and help make them into beautiful soil for your plants!

2. Do not use mulch for your garden or yard. Mulch requires a lot of energy to make and transport.

3. A good idea for water conservation, water your outdoor plants in the morning or evening and not in the afternoon when the sun is high in the sky. Water evaporates less from the soil when the sun is not high in the sky. The more water in the soil the more nutrients your plants get the less you need to water them.

4. Fix not throw out anything you have that is broken. If a shirt has a small rip sew the rip up or find someone who can sew. If a cup has a broken handle glue it back together if it is safe to use.

5. Use bags only if you have a lot of things to carry. If the things you buy in the grocery store can all fit in your hands then tell the store cashier you do not need a bag. I have big pockets on my clothes and always put things I buy in them.

Thank you!

Dear Diary,

Happy Earth Day! Yes, it’s Earth Day which was started in WISCONSIN and is now celebrated all over the world. People in Wisconsin, in Vermont, in Puerto Rico, in China, in Japan, every where on our planet are planting trees and cleaning rivers and streams to protect and honor our home called Earth.

For Earth Day, in the prairies on my farm we made trees out of old horse yolks and water pumps. At the end of each branch on the tree we tied box kites with very long kite string. These box kites are very special because they use the wind to lift into the sky above all the trees around, and collect energy from the sun. Each side of the box kite is a solar panel made from old camera film! Not only does the box kite make electricty from solar but inside each box kite is a small propeller which turns as the wind blows. The spinning propellers also create electricity! We tried to make these box kites last year but we could not find enough old camera film. We were so excited to launch 24 box kites in celebration of Earth Day!

—————————–
Can you think of something small you would like to do to honor the planet we call Earth? Maybe you can start a compost program at your school with your class mates.

Dear Diary, today in class I presented my report on my hero Gaylord Nelson the founder of Earth Day, and a Wisconsin native. As you know Earth Day is in just two days!! I can’t wait!! The chickens and I are looking for creative ways to upcycle old things we found in one of the barns. One idea Ophelia had was to make an old horse yoke, collar into a stick. She said you could use the yoke to point at things. Horace the muskrat said Ophelia’s idea was not her best effort to date. Horace frowned briefly, and said the horse yoke would be better as a post for a mailbox or part of a fence.

I am just glad Ophelia and Horace are speaking to each other again after some (domesticated bird to remain nameless) burned the green bean casserole. The casserole was for the dinner when we were hosting the honorable Tamshing the Binturong from Bhutan. He came to Kickapoo Valley to speak about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness index at our Earth Day conference held in Ironwood log #12.

————————————–
What is a Binturong? A binturong is also known as the Asian bearcat, but is not a bear, can climb trees and looks more like a cat.

Dear Diary,

I have not written in you for over a month. Why? I forgot where
I put you. I think the last time I wrote I had to give Myles a bath
before I went to bed. I also had to brush Myles’ fur and when I put away his brush I also put you away in a closet where we keep the dog supplies.

I am happy to find you diary. You must have missed me. I found you just in time for one of my favorite months April. April is one of my favorite months because people around the world celebrate Earth Day
and Arbor Day!

         Dear diary,
         Today I went to school with my friends Cecile and Edna on my
         new igloo ICE boat. We sailed along the very, very frozen Kickapoo          river and through the farm fields of our friends to commute to          work. Eric, who is a timber wolf, came with us in case we ran into          any problems with a rough gang of squirrels that hangs out          near the forest on Krebson’s farm close to the school. Ophelia the          hen sat at the front of the boat as our look out.

         My ice boat is of course made of ice. But all parts on the boat are          upcycled from other things we found in our barn. I use an old          ski boot on a ski to steer the ice boat. The ice boat has four big old          skis so it moves quickly through the snow. The sail is made of          antique, empty, grain bags, and the wood is all from a
         broken barn.

Can you think of different ways you can get to school without using a car?

Today after dinner the doorbell rang. My mom looked at my dad, my dad looked at me and I looked at Myles who was on the floor by my feet. “Who could that be at this hour?” my mom asked my dad. My dad got up from the couch and went to the front door to look. “Hmm it looks like it is someone for Beatrice” he said.

I jumped up from the couch and Myles ran with me to the front door. When I opened the door I saw Kirby’s steam powered, robot named Watt standing with a arm full of flowers. “Happy Varen..ti-n-duh” Watt said. “I am sorry Watt I don’t understand what you are saying.” I said to Watt. Watt was quiet and then repeated the same thing “Happy varen ti-n-duh.” My dad walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said “I think Kirby’s robot is saying happy Valentine’s Day.” “Ooh how sweet.” my mom said. “Thank you” I said to Watt as he handed me the flowers and said “no thank you.”

Kirby wanted Watt to give me the flowers today because he knew that it is already Valentines day in Tuvalu. Since Tuvalu is in the Oceanic time zone it is already Tuesday, February 14th, Valentine’s Day. “How clever and thoughtful of Kirby” my mom said I turned my face away from her because I was blushing.

———————-

WATT THE ROBOT is a steam robot that gets energy from the sun via solar panels and mirrors on his back, arms and head. The sun hits the robot’s solar panels & then heats the water so hot in Watt’s metal stomach that the water becomes steam! The steam then goes through metal pipes and pushes pistons which then turn the gears of Watt’s engine creating electricity! The electricty powers Watt’s brain, arms, legs and voice.

A solar powered steam engine first premiered at the Paris World’s Fair (Exposition Universelle) in 1878! Inventor Auguste Mouchot’s solar powered ice maker made quite a stir for the crowds visiting the fair that year!

Do you like robots? Send Beatrice your favorite robot story. If she posts your story you will get your very own Beatrice sticker set.

“I am not a ground hog” my friend Wilfred T. Woodchuck said. “Put me down” Wilfred said to the humans dressed in black suits and top hats. “And stop calling me Jimmy” he said as he jumped down to a wood stump near the men with hats and ran to his hole in the forest.

Wilfred is a a graduate from Kickapoo Valley Community College in meteorology and works for *NOAA. He always wears the very stylish, regionally appropriate Stormy-Kromer hat made in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. He told me that with his European, climate computer models he can predict the weather five days into the future, and that seeing your shadow or not seeing your shadow is just silly and “has nothing to do with serious meteorology.”

I did not want to tell Wilfred that as a Marmot or relative of the squirrel his species has so many names like whistle pig, land beaver, woodchuck and ground hog!

*NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Actually root vegetables are my favorite vegetables because you can make so many kinds of food with them. Soups, salads, baked things, lasagnas, pies, empanadas, smoothies made from root vegetables are all very delicious!

So which root vegetables are the best in the whole world? It is obvious that these five are the top of all top vegetables: 5. Turnip 4. Radish 3. Carrot 2. Diakon 1. CELERIAC!

The best thing about root vegetables is that you can buy them from a farm near you! These veggies are very strong and last very long time when you store them in a cool place like a root cellar. So buy some now!

What are your favorite vegetables? Do you visit the farmer’s market in your town?