Barack Obama loves young farmers

Okay, that may be a bit of an overstatement....but he does say this on his web site, as part of his Rural America Plan:

Encourage Young People to Become Farmers: The average age of a farm operator in Iowa is 54, and there are not enough young people entering farming. Becoming a successful farmer is a lifelong endeavor. Barack Obama will establish a new program to identify the next generation of farmers and ranchers and help them develop professional skills and find work that leads to farm ownership and management. He will help our land-grant university system and the cooperative extension services work closely with organizations such as 4-H and FFA to identify and prepare candidates for this program.

Barack Obama will also provide a capital gains tax break for landowners selling to beginning family farmers, and a first-time buyers tax credit for new farmers. These incentives will make it easier for new farmers to afford their first farm.

So get out there...and get 'er done.

maria

Get off the couch and VOTE!

Make your voice be heard and VOTE! Fight that urge to be lazy or not to care....we have to turn things around this year! Don't believe everything you hear, do your own research, and learn about the issues... keep the positive energy going!!

Info for Washington State Voters: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/2008.aspx
Barack Obama/Joe Biden Official Web site: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
Environmentalists for Obama: http://enviros.barackobama.com/
John McCain/Sarah Palin Official Web site: http://www.johnmccain.com/
Environmentalists for McCain? Nope....still haven't found them yet....and probably wont...

Here's a short video on Obama's New Energy for America Plan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtYAPkOKEP4

Peace,
maria elena

Noto Antica and le Concerie August 2008

While staying in Noto, I was able to visit Noto Antica and le Concerie. The town of Noto was completely rebuilt following the total destruction of the old city after an earthquake in 1693. Noto Antica is the site of the old city left as it was after the earthquake. There’s an eerie silence about the place, and some bits of walls and houses are still standing, and trees and shrubs have grown over all of the rubble. Within Noto Antica is the Concerie, which is an old, well-preserved tannery that was completely carved out of the rock in the hillsides during the time of the Arab occupation of Sicily, from about 827 to 1061 AD. For years this area was so overrun with debris and thick shrubbery that it was impenetrable, but the forest service has recently cleared out an area so people can go down and explore the many rooms of the tannery. When I went this day I could see that the systems still function even now. I saw that many of the carved out basins contained fresh water, which shows the system still carries water from the nearby stream into the tannery, after so much time! Here are some pictures of both Noto Antica and the Concerie…enjoy!

Trip to Pantalica…Ferragosto 2008!

This summer I spent my Ferragosto at Pantalica in Sicily, near Ferla. Ferragosto is one of the most popular holidays in Italy, celebrated on August 15. The holiday was celebrated during the Roman Empire in honor of the gods of fertility and ripening…now Italians usually spend it at the beach during their summer holidays!

Pantalica is a very large necropolis with over 5,000 tombs dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC. The rivers Anapo and Calcinara form a deep valley, where the square tombs carved out of the rock can easily be viewed. My friends and I camped out here overnight along with a bunch of other Italians and celebrated by singing traditional Sicilian folk songs until the early morning. The next day we swam in the lakes formed by the rocky rivers…it is such a beautiful place! I had heard so much about this site, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby city of Siracusa.

Enjoy the photos!

Arrival in Noto…and a Sicilian wedding! August 2008

After leaving Taormina, I travelled to Noto, close to Siracusa in Sicily. I visited this area last year in November and this time I decided to come back and visit friends I had made and enjoy the last of the warm summer days in beautiful sunny Sicily! I stayed on a farm in the area with olive trees, almond trees, citrus, and two beautiful horses who roam free! During this time I took many trips around the area, visited different beaches and places of interest like Pantalica, Noto Antica, and Le Concerie, which I’ll post some pictures from in a bit. But one of the most exciting things was the day I arrived! A friend's mother was getting married and I was invited to the wedding and reception! The bride and groom were swept away on a traditional Sicilian horse carriage (which I got to sit on!) and the ceremony and reception were beautiful! The reception was held at L’Ancora, a restaurant on the beach in nearby Avola where the groom works. We ate, and ate, and ate….for at least four hours in one sitting…it was amazing! And although I don’t eat much fish I was plumb full at the end of the night with antipasti of veggies in oil, two types of pasta, a bit of fish, and delicious wedding cake! The bride and groom were absolutely stunning, it was a great festa with lots of family and friends…a great way to start my stay in Noto! Here are some pictures of the festivities and downtown Noto…

Taormina, Sicily and my Birthday!! August 2008

So it was pretty hard to leave the Pescosolido Summer Camp, especially since some great friends I had made were staying behind to hike up to the top of a nearby mountain…but I had to get going in order to get down to Sicily for my birthday! I met up with a wonderful friend of mine in Taormina, and spent two days just relaxing and spending time together and going to the beach! I spent my birthday with her and one of her friends…at the beach at Isola Bella, then a delicious dinner at a restaurant in Taormina called Tiramisu. And the tiramisu was great! I had a really nice time there, and the center of Taormina is so beautiful, even if people say it’s too touristy. Here’s a few pictures:

Pescosolido Summer Camp, Abruzzo National Park July 2008

So I’m still updating with posts about my travels this summer…. after visiting my friends in Perugia, I headed to the Abruzzo National Park for the 2008 Pescosolido Summer Camp, hosted by a great guy Antonello Siragusa, who runs the Italy Farm Stay agriturismo and Eco Village projects in the area just outside Pescosolido, a short drive from Sora. The next five or so days were amazing!! The mission of this meeting is to “celebrate the beauty of life and nature”…… I had never heard of a summer camp like this one before, I learned that they hold them in different countries at different times, a lot of the people who came found out from the Couchsurfing website – which if you haven’t checked out….you should! It’s an amazing community of people all across the world who offer their places to travelers, or just meet up to chat and grab a drink with people travelling…it’s a great resource for meeting really great people all around the world to host you while you travel. All the people I met at this camp were amazing! Just really beautiful souls…with interesting stories and things to share.

Anyway, for the first few days we stayed at Antonello’s Eco Village and then moved to the meadow of Pescosolido to camp out, spend time together, hike, be in nature, sing around the campfire, and just basically live and experience this little piece of beauty and nature. I took numerous trips to the other farm nearby, the agriturismo nearby, which Antonello runs with his parents. What a beautiful place!! I was all set up to come back in September and volunteer for a month…and then I hurt my foot! So that obviously didn’t happen, but I’m truly hoping to go back and stay and work there sometime soon. Antonello’s father Giuseppe showed us around the farm and stuffed us full of their wonderful organic fruit and their delicious homemade wine, and told us all about the agriturismo, his life….what a great soul! He was so deeply passionate about sharing these stories with us, and I was so touched to be there and experience that.

I was also able to go on a 2 hour horseback ride to transport some horses, meet the beautiful farm animals, go on a hike to a freezing waterfall, sleep under the stars, cook amazing meals outside as a group, practice yoga out in nature, go to a local festival with live music and dancing, and just spend a few days with some great people. And the whole thing is free! Wow. It is a beautiful memory that I have and I do hope to go to more of these meetings in the future! And the area of the Abruzzo National Park is so beautiful, words just fail me in describing this magical place…

Here are some links about these different projects….check them out!! And then below are some pictures from this beautiful experience…enjoy!

Italy Farm Stay http://www.italyfarmstay.com/
Eco Village http://www.italyecovillage.com/
Pescosolido Summer Camp http://romesummercamp.ilbello.com/
Couchsurfing http://www.couchsurfing.com/