I previously visited the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm in January when it was snowy. Visiting in Summer is beautiful and it was great to see and interact with the fiber animals again. I’m currently hand-knitting a cashmere sweater from cashmere fibers of this farm. The cashmere is grey, a mix of black and white fibers from…
Tag: environment
From Watershed to Fibershed
“Fibershed” is a term coined by Rebecca Burgess, it represents regional fiber resources from plants and animals such as sheep, goat, or alpaca, manufacturing mills that process raw fibers into clothing, and a local market. To understand this term, it is helpful to consider better known watersheds, bodies of water that link up to larger bodies…
Nature in LA!
These are some photos of nature in Los Angeles: And our wonderful dog Tummy! ❤
Development of a Sustainable Design Aesthetic
Developing a strong design aesthetic requires acknowledgement of the mind’s creative potential. It has taken my twin sister and I over 10 years to develop distinct design aesthetics. Both of our aesthetics are geared towards sustainability, but they are distinguished by the way we approach thinking about design. I will focus on communicating my sister’s,…
Value Farmers give to their Sheep, Alpaca, and Goats
Intellectual capital is defined as: knowledge, innovation, creativity, imagination that fosters the creation of new knowledge and discoveries -Yellow Wood Associates People who own farms with sheep, alpaca, goats, and other fiber animals have extensive knowledge about their animals. Farmers give value to these animals beyond just the fibers they produce for yarns and clothes….
nature: appreciation & excitement!
The complexity of nature is compelling. Trees themselves provide rich services to our ecosystem and contribute to our livelihoods by providing oxygen. Trees also carry their own personal histories that are shaped by their specific geographic location. They each encounter distinct experiences and no tree is alike. Similar to the notion that all people are…
Revisiting Ithaca’s True Spring!
Now that Spring is in full bloom, I thought I’d post photos of Ithaca’s spring! I expected flowers to grow on thin, expanding branches of trees, but I was surprised to see flowers growing directly on the tree. It was so charming to see this because it looks like the tree is offering a small…
Ag Day! Celebration of Agriculture
Yesterday there was a wonderful event that celebrated the diversity of life in Ithaca. Animals and plants were brought to the Ag Quad on the Cornell campus and many students got the opportunity to interact with adorable animals. Lisa, a fiber farmer I visited in January was at the event and she brought three of…
Creative Fashions Highlight the Value of our Waterways
The Finger Lakes are sprinkled throughout central New York and aquatic species are an inherent part of our ecosystem even though we don’t live next to the ocean. Ithaca is at the tip of Cayuga Lake, one of the larger Fingerlakes. Cayuga Lake is full of wonder and mystery at first glance, especially since the…
Reflective Construction @ Cornell
Every Tuesday and Thursday I walk by the construction zone of the soon to be Bill and Melinda Gates Hall that will house Computing and Information Science in January 2014. Every time I walk by, I notice the reflection it gives of its surroundings. In the photo, it is reflecting the image of clouds, but…
Preservation of Voices, Culture, and Land
With population growth, there is greater need for basic resources. Energy is a basic resource that is a part of our everyday lives. In Los Angeles, I experienced a few black outs, but electricity returned within 3 hours. In Davis California, I experienced one and remember using a flashlight so that I could do my…
Water Pollution in the name of Progress
As our demand for resources escalate, more community members are realizing the trade offs that come with living in the modern industrialized world. A small suburb town Mayflower, Arkansas is witnessing the consequences of “progress.” The Pegasus pipeline, which is associated with the proposed XL Pipeline in Canada has covered residential land, forest area, and…
Grazing Across Lands and Among Species!
I am in great anticipation for the Ithaca Spring and Summer. The Fall was so beautiful and my first Winter in the east coast was not as bad as I expected. I was very excited to see a pair of Canadian geese grazing this afternoon. I was so excited, it reminded me of a visit…
Loving Alpacas while Gaining Ecological Knowledge
I was very excited to visit the Alpaca Cass Farm in Davis CA. It will be interesting to compare the information I learned here with information I will learn from a visit to an Alpaca farm in NY in a few weeks. When I first entered their area, the Guard Llama, shown in the photo…
Parallels in Ecosystems
In a recent visit to California, I was very excited to see the Spring. In a previous post about Beebe lake in Ithaca, I noted that there is a harmony in nature, specifically through the photograph of the 2 geese in the center of the photograph. Observing the geese travel in pairs was heart warming…
HELEN TREJO 