Thanks to
Melissa for the
warm welcome to all the Great Lakes APLS in the bushel! I'd like to take a quick moment to introduce myself as your regional go-to-girl for the APLS group. I'm the
eco 'burban mom, an APLS located in Michigan, a lovely, yet sometimes chilly Great Lakes State.
Are you a fellow APLS hanging out in an orchard just across the Bluewater Bridge in Ontario, Canada? Or maybe you are an APLS ripening in the rolling hills of Ohio or a hearty Indiana APLS enjoying all the bounties farm country has to offer. You might very well be sweet Wisconsin or Minnesota APLS sending me all that lake effect snow November through April and boy, do my sons thank you for those snow days! Or, you could be a big city APLS from Illinois enjoying all the sophisticated Chicago fun. We all may be different kinds of APLS, but living here in the Great Lakes region we have so many of the same characteristics.
Are you concerned about the rising water temperatures in the Great Lakes causing lake fish, critters, shore lines and plant life to change right before our very eyes? Are you looking for some innovative local food sources, like rice? Yes, you read that right, rice! It does exist right there in Michigan and
Manoomin rice dates back to the original Native Americans. You might be looking for someone to commiserate with when the temperature is 10 below and your kids are stuck inside and you need to crank that furnace up just a smidge. Do you have a great green book or gadget you want to pass around? Well, then, you are in the right place!
If that all sounds good to you, maybe you might be interested in meeting a local APLS for coffee or planning a meet up. Hey, all those cool kids on the west coast are getting to know each other in the
Northwest and in
California, so let's not get left out and start something of our very own. Even if it means we'll be wearing mittens and scarves instead of flip flops and bathing suits. We will send those warm weather dwellers pictures of our lumpy and bundled up bodies so they can laugh and see how
global warming affects us cold weather APLS.
I look forward to getting to meet each and every APLS growing right here in the Great Lakes region! Make sure to check back here on a regular basis (or add us to your blogroll) to see what's new or to find out who else has joined our group. There will be an updated list on the sidebar under our very own Great Lakes icon (designed just for us by a green
superhero) to quickly tell you what's growing locally in our region on the APLS blog. I already know for a fact there is an APLS in Illinois that would love to show you the
giant pumpkins growing in her neighborhood and I, for one, would love to
borrow your dehydrator! So, do you want to swap recipes? Need to find a great green book? How about trading around a Kill-A-Watt or swapping some canning supplies? Well, let's do that and a have a bushel basket of fun while getting to know each other!
Email me at ecoburbanmom (at) gmail (dot) com to find out more, to be added to our regional group or check out my
blog to find out about living in the 'burbs of Detroit and going green with four boys, two dogs and a husband. Leave me a comment right here and let's get this party started!
WELCOME Great Lakes APLS! We're so glad you're here!
Got Apples? I do. Lot's of 'em. That's sort of a common theme here in the Great Lakes region. They're cheap, they're delicious, they're local and they're very kid friendly. How are you all preserving your apples for winter? I for one and planning to can applesauce, freeze apple pie fixings and try to create some kind of root cellar. But how? We are still experiencing some warm days here in Michigan. Our nights are pretty cool but when the sun is out, our day time temps can reach into the 70's and that's not root cellar cool.
