German Town Produces 321% More Renewable Energy Than It Needs!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Largest Solar Power Plant in World": Might interest:
http://wakeup-world.com/2012/07/03/german-town-produces-321-more-energy-than-it-needs/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzc77Lqkldk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildpoldsried

http://inhabitat.com/german-village-produces-321-more-energy-than-it-needs/wildpoldsried-germany/

http://www.alpconv.org/en/climateportal/territorialexamples/wildpoldsried/pages/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Paddle Race in Capitola June 22, 2013

There is a 2-mile and 12-mile paddle race in Capitola (sister town of Santa Cruz), Calif. on June 22, 2013. It's in honor of surfer Jay Moriarty and has divisions for different ages and for regular paddleboards and standup boards.
Click here.

The Pax is the iPhone 5 of Vaporizers

This in from Anonymous:

"By this I mean a real breakthrough. Elegant, small, stealthy. When you press down on the mouthpiece, it pops up and activates a subtly pulsing purple light. In 20-30 seconds, this turns green and vapor is ready.

When people seem shocked at the $250 price, I ask them what they think their lungs are worth.

Read about here on Cool Tools."

Twin Babies Have a Blast Playing With Rubber Bands!

From Lew Lewandowski

Learning Carpentry and Eric Marth's Photography

Hi, Lloyd,
My name is Eric Marth, I'm writing in from Virginia.  Thank you for all the work you've put into Shelter and your great blog.…This morning I was catching up with your blog and found a post I'd first read in the fall about starting out in carpentry (It's here). Since the fall I've been working full time for my friend Jason who owns a small construction business here in Fredericksburg. I'd worked for him off and on for a few years, a day or two here and there, while also working in a great used bookstore in town before joining the crew. In my case it was the meeting of my interest and the good fortune of knowing someone in the trade. I'd known Jason for a few years before starting to work with him. I'm still green, but have gone from pushing a broom to wearing a tool belt. The work has been great and satisfying and I haven't been happier. I live here in town and have the rare pleasure of coming home for lunch each day, eating from the garden and taking a short nap. It seems like this sort of thing has all but disappeared from most of our lives.

Insect Hotels

Click here.

From Anonymous.

(This Inspiration Green is a wonderful website from the UK.)

How About a Flock of Quail If City Will Not Allow Chickens?

Sent us by Anonymous:
http://wakeup-world.com/2013/04/05/city-farming-with-backyard-quail-an-alternative-to-raising-chickens/

Swanton Berry Farm

Stopped here on our way down Highway One Saturday to see Aine and Will and one-day-old grandson #2. If you ever travel to Santa Cruz from San Francisco on the coastal highway, I recommend stopping in at this wonderful farm/store/cafe/museum. Union workers, organic strawberries (and shortcake), good coffee, vintage photos of the area 100 years ago. Totally good place. Plus the honor system of payment.

Art Prints by Jennifer Ring

"The starting point for each image was an original drawing of a bird or animal which I matched with various papers, some with personal meaning, such as a friend's handwriting; a typewritten letter from a time now past; my grandfather's yellowed medical chart from WW1..." http://jenspen.ca

Vancouver Allows Small-scale Chicken Flocks

http://www.bcliving.ca/garden/the-10-things-to-know-about-keeping-a-chicken-coop

A Ton of Living Roofs

Click here.

From the same Anonymous

A Ton of Things To Do With Recycled Doors

Click here.

From Anonymous

Chop Chop Compost

From Darren (Green Change) 

Jen's 78 Sq. Ft. Brooklyn Apartment

"Thanks to some really innovative, intelligent and inspired design choices, Jen Chu's 1/2 bedroom apartment radiate's positive energy and manages to feel comfortable instead of comfortably compact. http://www.jenchudesign.com/"
See our posting last month of a 78 sq. ft. Manhattan apartment here.

Plans for Lightweight Dinghies

"The Stasha is the World's lightest nesting dinghy weighing in at about 10 kilos (22lbs) making it child's play to launch and retrieve. The Stasha is an elegant design and is a delight to row and great fun to sail. Despite it's light construction it is surprisingly strong. The Stasha is made of two halves with a simple locking mechanism allowing it to be easily assembled on deck, on shore or even in the water. As it's made from so few materials it doesn't cost much to build."
These little boats (4 designs) have Dacron skin. Click here.

Boston woman pays $560,000 for 2 parking spots

Associated Press - June 13, 2013

"BOSTON — Parking is such a precious commodity in Boston that one woman was willing to pay $560,000 for two off-street spaces near her home.…"

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Click here.

From Anonymous

Dust My Broom/Elmore James

Way to start a sunny beautiful morning!

Home Made Helicopter and Homemade Jeep with Bicycle Wheels

I was poking around on the blog Root Simple -- Low Tech Home Tech the other day and came across a post titled "Saturday Linkages: I’m tired of doom, let’s garden and make things…" It was a great bunch of links, including these two inventions in Africa (apparently the helicopter hasn't really made any substantial flights yet, but, hey…).
   Happy and useful links on a happy and useful blog. Click here.

Chicken Hawk/Cedell Davis

Take me up Hawky baby,
Take me up in the sky,
I'm just a little bitty chicken ,
And I don't know how to fly…

Tiny Home of Recycled Materials on Trailer

“My partner and I were traveling a lot and wanted to figure out a way to create a home space that we could take with us as we explored different places and communities,” Maret told Gizmag. “Small spaces and simple living have been an interest of mine for a long time. I love treehouses, boats, and all sorts of other small spaces. So having the opportunity to try my hand at designing and building my own tiny house was very exciting to me.”
   Passionate about sustainability, Maret hand-built the home using primarily salvaged and raw materials. The home features a trailer base, frame and a colorful rustic exterior made from local and up-cycled hardwoods. Creating a tiny home also meant that fewer materials were needed, which resulted in less waste. “Trying to find 2,000 square feet [185 sq m] worth of reclaimed or salvaged flooring for example would be difficult and/or very expensive,” said Maret. “But finding 100 square feet [9.3 sq m] is relatively simple. There are many more sources and options for low or no-impact materials at this scale.”
From Gizmag, lots of photos, click here.