You can't shit in the Grand Canyon

Yesterday I did a story about three GP guys who are going to be kayaking the Grand Canyon in August. Since the Grand Canyon is protected, you have to enter a lottery in order to be allowed to kayak its river system. One of the GP guys has been trying to get on the river for 14 years, and his ticket was finally drawn this year.

Anyway, we were talking about all the conservation involved. Apparently, anyone using the river system is required to accept a regulation container to pack out their excrement. This group will consist of eight people, who will be on the river for 8 days. That's a lot of shit to carry out.

(For some reason, I found this really funny)

My new job

Most people know this already, but I seem to have a multitude of readers who I don't actually know, so-

Here's my news-
I'm moving (again). I will be leaving Grande Prairie at the end of July to move to Edmonton. In Edmonton, I will be working for "Alberta Farmer Express", covering agriculture for Edmonton and the surrounding counties. "Alberta Farmer Express" is a provincial bi-weekly newspaper that goes throughout rural Alberta. I'll be working out of a home office, and am allowed to freelance as I see fit. I'm really excited about my new position, but will miss the people of Grande Prairie and my job here. Still, I'm looking forward to being in a larger centre, and being closer to my parents, who are still in Saskatoon. My decision to take this job is also part of a decision to start specializing in agriculture. There are few agricultural reporters, and I foresee a lot of demand for good reporting on the topic, as the food crisis and food issues continue to grow and develop. I'm really excited about the possibility of combining a knowledge in agriculture with my background in international development. In order to improve my knowledge, I'll be enrolling in a distance education course on Food security,hosted at Ryerson University.

Marketing strikes again...

I just went to the local Safeway, where I saw posters and signs advertising their new campaign to raise awareness and money about prostate cancer. Now, I'm all for supporting awareness and funds for prostate cancer, but their marketing is hilarious.

They were selling blue cookies and the posters had a blue tie on them. So basically, we've gone from the pink ribbon for the blue tie. This makes me laugh.

In other news, my coworker interviewed 18 year-old r and b star Sean Kingston a few days ago. Kingston was quoted as saying, "I want to start a foundation to help kids, in Africa or Tokyo or Asia or overseas."

I'm sure the kids in Tokyo and Africa have the same needs and issues. This made me laugh and laugh.

My agricultural life

In the winter, farmers take holidays or go to meetings. In the summer, they're busy celebrating, having parties, and hosting fairs. As a result, I've been really busy this past week. On Tuesday, I joined members of the Agriculture and Food Council as they toured the Peace. I managed to meet a lot of people from all over the province, which was really cool. We took an airconditioned bus to a number of outfits in the area. The first stop was Red Willow Gardens, home to the world's best carrots. I have known both Eric and Carman for a while, but had never been out to their farm before. They own a market garden farm, and grow all kinds of vegetables. They have a gorgeous property, right on the banks of the Red Willow river. It's absolutely beautiful and it was a treat to walk around and see their land and hang out with them.

Yesterday I went out to First Nature Farms . I've talked to the owner, Jerry, many times on the phone and in person, but had never been out to his place. Jerry was the second farm in Alberta to become a a WWOOF Canada farm. WWOOFers (which include my friends [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]) are world wide workers on organic farms. It's a good way to see another country, meet local people and learn more about agriculture. Jerry's farm is awesome. He had baby turkeys (really weird looking), bison, chickens that just walk around completely free range, a few cows, and pigs and piglets (so cute!). He told me about some of his past Wwoofers, including a guy from Tokyo who had never been out in the country. Apparently WWoofing can be absolutely life-changing for some people. THen I talked with his present Wwoofer, a young guy from the Netherlands. The Wwoofer and I then went to check on a young calf. I'm not a big fan of cows (they're not too bright), but I love calves because they're so flipping cute.

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Tomorrow I'll be heading out to Beekeeper field days. Saturday I'll be taking in a tea party with llamas, as I tour Starbright farm which specializes in agricultural entertainment for families. I told my coworker that I am possibly one of the few people who has had tea with both llamas and lamas.

Next week, I'll also be viewing a "hinny". The hinny is the counterpart to a mule, as it is the offspring of a stallion (horse) and a jenny (donkey). Hinnies are extremely rare. I'd never heard about them until this woman phoned to tell us that one had been born on her farm. While doing a little Internet research on the hinny, I learned that the offspring of a zebra and a donkey is known as a "zedonk" or a "zebrass." These animals are possibly the cutest things I've seen in a while. I want one.