On my way to the Adirondacks, I made an overnight stop in Burlington, and at the last minute made reservations for breakfast Friday morning at Shelburne Farms. Check out my photos and first impressions on this special spot.

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In celebration of “Independents Week“, Portland Buy Local circulated several copies of the Declaration of Independents– an opportunity for you to declare your support for the independent businesses that make Portland “a singular city and great place to live”.

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I am going to put it out there that the North Street Community Garden in Portland is the most scenic community garden in the country.

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Last Friday and Saturday I joined more than 500 other business-people and “local” activists from around the country for BALLE’s 6th Annual Conference in Boston, entitled Grow Deep. BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) is a nationwide organization that provides resources to local and regional networks of local and independent businesses working towards [...]

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“Technology that only takes one architect to install…” Rick Renner

Our friend Rick Renner recently completed Portland, Maine’s first LEED Platinum project. It was the renovation of a two story brick building into a first floor office for his architecture firm and a second floor apartment for himself. Rick is a principal of Rick Renner [...]

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Daniel from Sumner Farms in Sumner, Maine wins the prize (bragging rights) for the first farmer at the Wednesday’s Farmers Market for a second year running.
I do have to point out that Simone from Thirty Acre Farms, and Daniel from Freedom Farm have been making bi-weekly deliveries all winter. So they definitely win the year [...]

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As part of PlaNYC 2030, the City will implement a pilot program which will introduce 20 cubic meters of ribbed mussel beds in the Hendrix Creek, a tributary to Jamaica Bay. Like many stories of environmental degradation, there was once an estimated 350 square miles of oyster beds surrounding New York’s Harbor. These beds once [...]

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For the last eight years, the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York has held a competition to transform their outdoor courtyard into a party and event space. In past years, winning entries have evoked beaches and huge blooming flowers. This is the first year that their courtyard will be used to grow vegetables. The [...]

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On December 17th, the City Council in Missoula Montana voted to approve an ordinance allowing city residents to keep chickens, with a 8 to 4 vote. The video below documents the controversy that raged in the City leading up to the contentious vote. I especially love the shots of the chickens in front of what [...]

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In the February issue of Working Waterfront, there are some really interesting articles. And I thought I would pass them along. Working Waterfront is one of my favorite local papers here in Maine, and I always make a point to pick it up when I see it. Luckily, they also maintain a pretty good website, [...]

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Narragansett Beer is back! In 2005 Mark Hellendrung bought the brand from Fallstaff and hauled it back to Rhode Island, its alma-matter. The brewery is temporarily located in New York State, but Mark is hot to bring the brewing back to RI. About four months ago Narragansett began popping up in Maine. Wholly Shit – [...]

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Thorunn Arnadottir, an Icelandic designer, made a clock using a string of beads draped over a notched metal disc. One bead drops every five minutes, marking time in a way that seems to slow it down. If you want time to stop, just remove the beads. Via: New York Times

The Slow Food Movement has [...]

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Well isn’t that nice. The grocery store I love to hate is trying to change before they are forced to. With the plastic bag debate heating up all over the world, Whole Foods is acting before they are required to by legislation banning or taxing plastic bags.
Whole Foods will still offer free paper bags and [...]

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Yes, that’s right a winter farmers market in Portland. If you have not noticed the every other Wednesday delivery of produce and meats in Monument Square you may not be paying attention. This winter a group of farmers have joined together to take pre-placed orders and deliver them every other week to Portlanders.
The farms participating [...]

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One of the highlights of our trip to Baltimore was the chance to frequent our friend Spike Gjerde’s new restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen. All local, all very tasty, and all worth a visit the next time you are in Bawlmer (translation: Baltimore) hon!

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Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot Street, Freeport, Maine
Thursdays: Jan. 24, Feb. 28, Mar. 20, & Apr. 17
6:30 to 7 pm, Reception with Local Food Sampling,
7 pm - 8:30 pm, Main Presentation
For More Information: Wolfe’s Neck Farm, 865-4469
Wolfe’s Neck Farm presents “Food for Thought, Thoughtful Food,” a series of four events for the community to [...]

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When I checked into my room at the cool hotel in Austin, I found a bottle of locally harvested “cloud juice” awaiting me. Richard’s Real Rainwater is bottled in Dripping Springs, Texas, not far from the capital city.
Richard Heinichen and his family started collecting rain water for their home use in 1994, and soon became [...]

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Representative Ted Koffman, a Democrat and co-chairman of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee has a mission, to decrease the amount of plastics used and disposed of in the State of Maine. Everything from plastic shopping bags to plastic diapers is up for debate.
Mr. Koffman, has a long up-hill battle, although Maine and is a rather [...]

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The Building Magazine, a UK publication launched the Sustainability Awards last year which recognizes sustainability excellence in 15 areas. Among the winners this year were BioRegional, a UK based consulting firm specializing in sustainable buildings, products and lifestyles. (www.bioregional.com)
Visit Building Sustainability for a list of the nominees and winners.
(no Amish were nominated, they are still [...]

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Plastic is a bad idea no matter what way you cut it, especially when it is filled with water and transported massive distances to reach your mouth. If you think it is a good idea to use 7 million barrels of oil each year to make having a drink more convenient – you are not [...]

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