September is Hunger Action Month

During the month of September people and communities are encouraged to fight hunger, be it by advocacy, fund raising or volunteering.  Even in the world's breadbasket 1 in 10 people are food insecure. That figure is as high at 1 in 6 of our region's children. This means families are missing meals and might have to make the difficult decision as to whether to pay for food or their electric bill, food or their rent, food or their medication.  Hard choices!

Second Harvest Heartland West staff

One way in which people are drawing attention to this issue is to wear orange. Another great way to develop hunger awareness is by taking the SNAP challenge, and living on a food budget of just $4.50 per day.

Locally Bremer Bank is doing a "Double Down Challenge; donating $5 for every hour people volunteer at Second Harvest Heartland's food bank, up to $50,000. Many volunteer shifts are available and can be easily accessed through the volunteer opportunities website.

More information is available from Second Harvest Heartland's website.

PS  An article, Food insecruity, in today's StarTribune notes that at some point during 2012 there were 49 million Americans who didn't know where their next meals would come from.

Watch out for the rabid Stand Your Ground Squirrels

Have you noticed those increasingly common rabid Stand Your Ground (SYG) Squirrels? You know, those crazy squirrels chasing other squirrels in yards filled with acorns.  What gives, you might ask? 

Squirrel hiding from a SYG Squirrel

They are defending their territory under vast oak trees. These trees provide more than enough acorns to last them well beyond the next year, but being highly possessive of the land to which they claim ownership, these SYG squirrels fend off others who even dare to look at their abundant and vast supply of acorns.  Theirs is a scarcity mentality, this despite the fact that most of these SYG squirrels claim allegiance to ancient squirrel scripture that identifies claims of ownership to the creator, and requires generous sharing with those who have little.  These SYG squirrels will literally kill another squirrel who attempts to take even one acorn from their over abundant grounds. 

Know, however, that these SYG squirrels are not selfish and greedy through and through. These territorial squirrels loathe when others from their neighborhood come onto their property, or even eye their acorns from above. Yet they will occasionally host a tea party for others like them, just so long as they are not seen as a threat, like those who aren’t quite so blessed as they believe themselves to be. 

Despite claims of ownership and self made prosperity, these SYG squirrels are living under fruitful trees, which they themselves didn’t plant, and on earth where other squirrels lived for centuries.  The previous stewards of this property would never have dreamed of “owning” something so sacred as the land, trees or even acorns. 

So if you see one of these SYG squirrels chattering with their cheeks full of acorns, warning others to stay away, know that this too shall pass. Every last acorn that they stored will one day either go to other squirrels or return back to the earth as mulch. They too will find themselves a part of the soil that will feed the trees that will some day nourish other squirrels. 

Great Blue Heron fishing

Bumble bee in action

This bumble bee seems to reflect the colors of the sunflower pretty well, don't you think?

Yellow on yellow

Flowers by the edge of the pond at Bassett Creek Park.

Sad state of the labor movement in the United States

Seems the labor movement has been getting crushed in this country.  Outsourcing continues to increase while declining wages and benefits for those still fortunate enough to have employment, are on the decline.  Although the Red Wing boot pictured above, size 638 1/2, was made in the USA, some their shoes and boots are now being manufactured in China.

An article in MPR news, Report finds steep drop in MN median income, notes how when adjusted for inflation the state's median income fell by 18 percent between 2000 and 2010.

You can read more about the widening gap between the poor and wealthy in Minnesota and across the this nation from the Crime and Justice website article, Widening economic inequality in Minnesota: Causes, effects and a proposal for estimating its impact in policy making.

Flowers by the edge of the pond at dusk