Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Innovative Use For Compost --  Many of our loyal blog readers and former radio show listeners may remember the many times I've highlighted the benefits of composting, composting organizations and companies, how-to compost, compost systems, and how some companies have high-tech set ups where they are able to encourage and collect gasses released from the composting process that are used as fuel to heat buildings, create electricity and so on. Today I'd like to talk a little about one really interesting way for at-homer's to use their compost in yet another way. As most gardeners know, composts can generate a lot of heat. Some gardeners place a compost pile next to their greenhouse for the winter months, others will put a compost inside the greenhouse with a pipe for ventilation. The heat from the compost will help the greenhouse compete with the colder days of winter, and I suppose it would be pleasant to venture into a warm greenhouse to dump the kitchen compost...

-- World of Writing --  Neal James began writing in 2007 when a series of short stories found favor on a number of international writing sites. Since then, he has released five novels and one anthology. He has appeared in both the national and local press, and has also been a regular at branches of Waterstones and local reading groups and libraries in his home counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Find out more about Neal James and all of his writing on his website:  www.nealjames.webs.com Q: How have your books gotten published? After self-publishing a selection of my short stories using Lulu, I began looking around, in 2007, for a publishing house prepared to launch my first novel. I came across Pneuma Springs after failing to grab the attention of any of the usual literary agencies and publishing houses, and have remained with them ever since. Pneuma are a publishing company operating in Kent, in the south east of Eng...

Whew - OK - so "a few days" ended up being a week, before I could get back over to this blog. After dozens of jars canned, containers frozen, jams jarred up, and many meals and sharings with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers... we have caught up to the supply. We had a horrific wind yesterday that knocked down a beautiful ornamental sunflower in the garden - it split at the base as if a saw went through the stalk. I grieved for that plant - it was so lovely, so bright yellow, so tall, so many flowers on it yet to bloom, such an attractive plant that brought lots of pollinators... and today it is wilted, lying on its side. Sad.  Thank you for your patience in this regard. I hope you enjoyed scrolling through the archives, though, viewing posts and following the many links they offer.  Today I'd like to share with you a link that my eldest brother sent me (thanks, Larry!): -- Prank It Forward --  MediocreFilms "pranked" a homeless shelter - by ...

Apologies to our readers - I've been inundated with processing harvests from our garden and neighbor's generosity, canning, freezing, making soups and casseroles, jams, jellies, sauces, etc. As such I've been taking a few days off from the blog and hope you understand. Please do scroll through the archives though and hopefully enjoy anything you've missed so far. I'll be back soon! In appreciation - your friendly blogger, Lillian

4 Types of Online Advertising Strategies Every Business Should Look Into * Today's article was contributed by Tiffany Olson who works full-time at Optimize Worldwide, a Northern California  marketing company specializing in online advertising , SEO, and website development. Creating more powerful results for their clients. In a world where the average person uses the Internet for a good part of their day, whether it’s for business or for pleasure, companies must adjust their marketing efforts if they want to be discovered by consumers. While traditional advertising with magazines, newspapers, television and radio may never go completely out of style, there is definitely a growing need for businesses who really want to stand out from the competition to incorporate online advertising strategies into their plans. Those companies, in particular, that are working with smaller marketing budgets can often see their dollar go a lot further on the Inter...

 -- Quote of the Day --  "And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. " ~ William Shakespeare -- Green Business --  * Today's article was written by Nick Adams - the Service Manager at ReachTEL, an Australian based direct marketing company. ReachTEL specializes in modern marketing strategies including SMS alerts , voice blasts and email marketing plans. Businesses are increasingly being held accountable by consumers for their impact on the environment. Governments are also mandating reductions in carbon emissions and will likely continue to enforce new environmental regulations on businesses. Consumers are choosing "green" companies more than ever. Email, SMS and Voice communication solutions enable your business to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your day to day commun...

-- Quote of the Day --  "A sensitive plant in a garden grew, And the young winds fed it with silver dew, And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light, and closed them beneath the kisses of night." ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Sensitive Plant,” 1820 Such a touching quote. I so love spending time in the garden. Now that the early potatoes and the garlic have been harvested, we are taking out the nid-season potatoes soon - and space is once again opening up in the garden. As the areas are cleared and cleaned, I've been adding some amendments (green sand, alfalfa pellets, kelp meal, etc.) and forking the soil over with a little extra peat since the beds are still a little too heavy with clay despite all the work we did and compost we put in etc. earlier. Next - it is long past time to plant in the fall beets, carrots and so on... and still leave enough room for September's garlic plantings. We had some good rain on...

 -- World Of Writing -- * Today's guest is author Maggie Tideswell , who lives with her husband, Gareth, and their cat, Felix, in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have 3 grown-up children and have been blessed with 2 grandchildren. The paranormal has always interested her and she finds ghost and questions like why some people linger after death and others not fascinates her. Alternative religions has been of particular interest to Maggie. For these reasons, South Africa and particularly the southern Cape region, paranormal and the craft all have a place in her writing. Tideswell has 2 published books, Dark Moon in 2011 and Moragh, Holly's Ghost in 2013. There are many more to follow. Find out more about Maggie via: http://maggietiedeswell. blogspot.com/   - & - https://www.amazon.com/author/ maggietideswell      Q: How have your books gotten published? I was looking for an agent when I heard that it was easier to find a ...

-- Quote of the Day --  " To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. " ~ Helen Keller Eco-Village - Attempting to create a natural balance for the environment * Today's article was written by Stuart Hopes who shares information here about how an eco-village is kind of like a mini society that focuses on permaculture, ensuring a balanced relationship with nature, micro-systems, human traffic, community, buildings, and more.  Further information can be found at: http://ecovillage.com With the aim of creating and presenting to the world an outstanding example, of what it means to be alive in contact with nature and in a sustainable way, then in this regard the global eco-village network concept is developed. This helps in auditing and provides the measuring rods for every individual and also for the existing villages and for communities, in comparing their current st...

-- Gardening events --  Growing Vegetable Seed in Northern Ontario Thursday August 14, 2014 Thunder Bay, ON Integrating Seed Production into Market Gardens Wednesday August 20, 2014 1350 Highway 54 Caledonia, ON For information check out http://seeds.ca/events

--  Book Marketing Guide --   Some of you may recall that Dave and I have a published book marketing guide available that discusses virtually every aspect of marketing and promotion, offers tips, ways to save time and money, avoid mishaps and a myriad of resources and quotes from people in the industry to help writers feel less alone and comforted when stressed. ** Look for part 1 of this discussion published on August 11th. Purple Snowflake Marketing - How to make your book stand out in a crowd A Word About The Media - Part 2: Doing a little research about what people go through in various positions in the media via online publications, reading a few articles, joining a few forums and discussions or listening to a few interviews via audio (podcasts, videocasts, online radio) is well worth the investment of your time. Knowing their time-lines, the publications needs, specific requirements and guidelines and also the contact's name are key to any ...

-- Quote of the Day --  "Contemplation often makes life miserable. We should act more, think less, and stop watching ourselves live." ~ Sébastien-Roch Nicolas -- Positive News --  In our Trash Talk - It's Easy To Be Green book series we have a section that focuses on clothing... there are so many ways to reuse, repurpose and even recycle clothing! And as a consumer we can buy used or buy new clothing with recycled content. I was recently reading an article (  http://tinyurl.com/q95mmg6 ) about the Die Kop Swop Shop  a new business that focuses encouraging recycling through a clothing and stationery exchange. The store staff and volunteers show participants a variety of items that are made from recyclable products, creating dialogue about the importance of recycling. Women and children bring in recyclables that they've spent time collecting around their homes, streets and neighborhoods and in exchange are given blan...

--  Book Marketing Guide --   Some of you may recall that Dave and I have a published book marketing guide available that discusses virtually every aspect of marketing and promotion, offers tips, ways to save time and money, avoid mishaps and a myriad of resources and quotes from people in the industry to help writers feel less alone and comforted when stressed. I'm going to share a brief 2-part excerpt here today (August 11th) and the 2nd part on August 13th. Purple Snowflake Marketing - How to make your book stand out in a crowd A Word About The Media - Part 1: Publicity through the media is actually the most affordable and a fairly effective marketing endeavor. "Media" can come in the form of print publications (magazines, newspapers, newsletters), online publications (e-newsletters, blogs, e-zines), and audio/visual (radio, TV, you-tube).  Newspapers usually have various columns that discuss websites, businesses, press releases, events and bo...

-- Used oil and its effects on the environment --   * Today's article was written by: Greg Chapman of Greg Chapman Motors - a knowledgeable and leading provider of used cars, trucks, and SUV’s. Since 1959, Chapman Motors has supplied reliable used cars in Austin and the surrounding . For more information please visit www.gregchapmanmotors.com .   Motor oil leaked from individual vehicles—or outright dumped by homeowners and commercial garages inevitably finds its way into local water bodies. Topsoil and natural vegetation would ordinarily filter many of these pollutants out, but the impermeable pavement that covers much of the surface where these pollutants originate carries it right into storm drains and into streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean where it can poison marine life—which we might eat—as well as entire riparian or coastal ecosystems. This pollution also finds its way into underground aquifers that supply our drinking water, s...