Earth Hour 2012

This Saturday, March 31st, starting at 8:30 pm, Mama gnome is looking forward to a romantic candle lit dinner with Daddy gnome, young gnomelets and hopefully millions of humans around the world.

The gnome family are participating in Earth Hour when the gnome house will be quieter, darker, and more peaceful by turning off all the lights and nonessential appliances.

video by earthhour

Mama gnome encourages you to go beyond the hour and keep the spirit of Earth Hour in your day to day way of life.

Peace and quiet around the house, candlelit dinners...Mama gnome thinks it's all good.

Please be romantic and go beyond the hour, and go green.

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

It has been a while since young gnomelets have seen a Mystery Animal and so Mama gnome presents the Mystery Animal of the Day.

This animal feeds with its beak upside down. It is especially adapted to filter feed on blue green algae and very tiny shrimp.

To the ancient Egyptians, this bird was the living representation of the god Ra.

This animal is able to stand on one leg most of the time while it displays its bright plumage ranging from pink to bright red.

If you had guessed the Mystery Animal of the Day is the flamingo, Mama gnome congratulates you and reminds you, Earth Day is coming up on April 22, 2012.

photo by: LadyofHats

There are six species of flamingos.
First, the Greater Flamingos which are found in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Second are the Lesser Flamingos which are found in Africa and India. The Lesser Flamingo has the biggest population of all flamingos.
Third are the James's Flamingos found in the High Andes in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia.
Fourth are the Andean Flamingos also found in the High Andes of Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia.
Fifth are the Chilean Flamingos found in the temperate areas of South America.
Sixth are the American Flamingos found in the Caribbean and Galapagos islands.

Flamingos spend a lot of time standing on one leg and it has been proposed by scientists that they do this to conserve body heat or regulate their body temperature especially when they are standing in water.

"The Asian and southern African populations are partially migratory, with many making regular movements from their breeding sites inland to coastal wetlands when not breeding."

Flamingos are obligate filter feeder and they feed mainly during the night or early morning when the water is relatively calm. They filter the mud and water to feed on algae near the surface.

One cool thing, Mama gnome was excited to learn about, is that flamingos will form a large feeding flock to "create calm water for feeding near the center of the flock." Because of their very precise diet of mostly blue-green algae, they feed in alkaline lakes, salt pans, and saline lagoons, and estuaries.

Baby flamingos are born with gray plumage which change color as they grow older because of their diet.

Flamingos are social birds and live in colonies in thousands which help protect them from predators and to facilitate feeding.

Here is a beautiful video by BBCWorldwide:



According to the IUCN, flamingos' main breeding sites in Africa "are threatened by proposed soda-ash mining and hydro-electric power schemes."

Flamingos are also threatened by "land-claim, water pollution, and disturbance, and there are fears that the population at Lake Bogoria is suffering from malnutrition."

Andean flamingos are threatened by "egg collecting...with thousands taken annually, mining activities, unfavourable water-levels (owing to weather and manipulation), erosion of nest-sites and human disturbance may also affect productivity."

A few years ago, thousands of flamingos were dying along the lakes of Kenya and Tanzania. Researchers said possible causes included "avian cholera, botulism, metal pollution, pesticides or poisonous bacteria."

Mama gnome and gnomelets were terribly saddened by this. It was enough for the gnome family to see red...not pink!

Mama gnome asks you to do your part to help save flamingos and other marine animals and birds by participating in the annual Coastal Cleanup Day.

Please help save flamingos and paint the landscape pink by going green.
(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Poisoned Apple

Green valleys lined with rows of fruit trees made the mother gnome smile.
The trees, warmed by the sun, stretched out their arms. But a dark shadow passed overhead and loud roaring sound reverberated in the valley.
A clap of thunder on this glorious sunny day? Mama gnome looked out the window. The shadow revealed itself. A huge flying monster with dragon like wings swooped down.
It sprayed toxic mists on top of all the young fruit trees.Mama gnome clapped her hand over her mouth. She really did.Nothing like a good dose of reality to shake Mama gnome out of her ignorance about pesticides and herbicides.

There are terrible health consequences to pesticide exposure including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, brain cancer, prostate cancer...

Is it any wonder that people who work with pesticides dress like this?

"Monsanto pesticide to be sprayed on food crops."

photo by:http://www.usda.gov/oc/photo/94cs3568.htm


Does it not make you think twice about eating fruits and vegetables that were sprayed with something so toxic, the person has to wear a hazmat suit?

video from tiboc

Here is a shopper's guide to pesticides. They list the "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables and the "clean 15." The worst offenders are apples, celery, strawberries, and spinach!

EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Dirty Dozen
Buy these organic
1 Apple
2 Celery
3 Strawberries
4 Peaches
5 Spinach
6 Nectarines–imported
7 Grapes–imported
8 Red Sweet bell peppers
9 Potatoes
10 Blueberries–domestic
11 Lettuce
12 Kale/collard greens

Clean 15
Lowest in Pesticide
1 Onions
2 Sweet Corn
3 Pineapples
4 Avocado
5 Asparagus
6 Sweet peas
7 Mangoes
8 Eggplant
9 Cantaloupe-domestic
10 Kiwi
11 Cabbage
12 Watermelon
13 Sweet Potatoes
14 Grapefruit
15 Mushrooms

Please heed Mama gnome's warning.

Please avoid the poisoned apple and eat organic fruits and veggies.

Save yourself and go green.
(c) jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Gnomelets Have Taken Over

Mama gnome apologizes for her long absence in her garden.

Young gnomelets have taken over the mother gnome's life.

They take up almost all of Mama gnome's waking and sleeping hour.

Mama gnome would like to share this wonderful video.

Please watch this magical show of starlings in flight.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

The year is coming to an end.

Mama gnome hopes to tend to her garden a lot more often next year.

In the meantime, please tend to our garden planet Earth and go green.

(c)Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mama gnome vs. Plastic Bag Monster 2011

The ancient clock chimed and Mama gnome sat bolt upright in bed.

Her pointy hat fell off and landed in a bucket on the floor.

Mama gnome reached down to pick up her hat ignoring the pains in her joints.

She solemnly placed her pointy hat on her bedhead hair and thought,

"There will be a time for aches and pains later. Today, something else will get its come uppance."

For that fateful morning was not any other ordinary morning.

It was the dawn of Mama gnome versus Plastic Bag Monster, Battle 2011!

Every year in the month of September, the gnome family participates in the momentous Coastal Cleanup Day.

Mama gnome has battled against her nemesis, Plastic Bag Monster for years. And this time Mama gnome's army included not only young gnomelets (Mama gnome's secret weapons), Daddy gnome .... but also Auntie gnome!!!

(c) Jenaelha, friendlygnome.blogspot.com

At the behest of Mama gnome, Auntie gnome finally came out of her own burrow and joined in the battle against Plastic Bag Monster.

Mama gnome was delighted to find there were a few other humans participating on that brisk September morning.

In less than two hours, the gnome family had picked up over 200 cigarette butts in less than a mile of beach sand.

Over two hundred cigarettes picked up in less than two hours. It is mind boggling.

According to Ocean Conservancy, cigarettes/cigarette filters was the number one trash item picked up in 25 years of Coastal Cleanup Day.

Almost 53 million cigarettes/cigarette filters were picked up in 25 years.

Can you imagine?

53 million cigarettes dropped in the very sand where humans, gnomes, human babies, children played and walked.

And this is not even counting the countless cigarettes that have been washed into oceans, ingested by marine animals and birds.

Look at this photograph and see how toxic cigarettes can be mistaken for food by marine animals and seabirds.

(c) Jenaelha, friendlygnome.blogspot.com

Plastic minions (small pieces of plastic) are also killing the animals. See how plastic can look like dried up seaweed.

(c) Jenaelha, friendlygnome.blogspot.com

You can see the rest of the top ten items of trash picked up over 25 years of Ocean Conservancy's International Cleanup Day here.

Here are photos of some of the trash picked up by young gnomelets and the gnome family.











Mama gnome's spirit was lifted when she saw youngest gnomelet sitting and staring at the ocean.





Mama gnome will continue her fight against Plastic Bag Monster for the sake of young gnomelets and humans.

Please sit and stare at the ocean and imagine it free of plastic...and go green.

All photos copyright owned by Jenaelha, friendlygnome.blogspot.com

(c)Jenaelha, friendlygnome.blogspot.com

Computer Plays Mind Games

Mama gnome apologizes for her long absence in her garden.

She has battled against Plastic Bag Monster and prevailed.

She was in the midst of writing a most splendid account of this momentous event when an unforeseen force reared its ugly head.

Computer...

Mama gnome is computer savant. She has spoken of her woes from computer mind games.

Alas, computer plays mind games on Mama gnome's head once more and Mama gnome's secret weapon (Daddy gnome who is most computer savvy) is away visiting his mother.

What is Mama gnome to do?

Computer won't let Mama gnome post pictures of her battle against Plastic Bag Monster last month.

Computer defeats Mama gnome's every desperate technique...clear cache, clear cookies.

Mama gnome even cleared the pantry and ate the cookies.

But why doesn't it work? Why? Why? WHHHHHYYYYY?

Please, bear with Mama gnome while Mama gnome tries to unravel the mystery of Computer mind games.

Meanwhile, please play a game Mama gnome most love and go green.

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mama gnome's Date for Coastal Cleanup Day 2011

Mama gnome tucked in the stray and somewhat grayish looking hair under her pointy hat.

She pinched her cheeks to give them color and batted her eyelashes.

Mama gnome would like to er...ask you...yes YOU...for a...date. Yes, a date!

She'd already picked out the place. She's already picked out the time. Yes!

A feisty old mother gnome knows her mind.

All you have to do is show up and BYOB.

No...no...no...not B of the alcoholic persuasion but B as in bucket.

Bring your own bucket because for this special date, you and Mama gnome will be picking up not seashells or driftwood but little minions of Mama gnome's nemesis, Plastic Bag Monster.

Please, do not leave the old mother gnome dateless on such a special day.

September 17, 2011 is the International Coastal Cleanup Day.

photo by: Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

According to Ocean Conservancy:

"Nearly nine million volunteers from 152 countries and locations have cleaned 145 million pounds of trash from the shores of lakes, streams, rivers, and the ocean on just one day each year."

International Coastal Cleanup Day started 25 years ago.

A Marine Debris Report was just published studying 25 years of debris collected.

According to the report, the number one culprit collected in 25 years is smoking related debris with almost 53 million collected!

These include filters, cigarette tips and wrappers.

You are probably wondering why plastic is still Mama gnome's nemesis?

True there are tons of cigarettes on our beaches and oceans.

But the numbers are misleading because the report has divided plastic minions into different categories.

But if you total them all up,

Plastic Bag Monster still stands out with its total coming to over 96 million!

These include plastic bags, plastic caps, lids, six pack rings, food containers, cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons, pulltabs, straws, stirrers!




video by: oceanconservancy

Please help stop Plastic Bag Monster from continuing to spawn.

Please be Mama gnome's date this Saturday, September 17, 2011.

Take a long walk on the beach with her, bring your own reusable gloves and buckets, and help clean up a patch of sandy beach, river, waterway, lake, pond, and even the sandy desert.

Please read up about this very romantic day which makes Mama gnome all hot and bothered at any of these sites:
Ocean Conservancy, Heal the Bay, lessismore.org, California Coastal Commission.

This is an international event and you can sign up anywhere in the world.

If there is no event conveniently close to you, you can start your own hot date with the bucket and register it online.

Please be Mama gnome's and the oceans' lifelong date. Make the commitment and go green.

(c) 2011 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Plastic Bag Monster Reckoning 2011

photo by: NOAA Marine Debris Program/Ocean Conservancy


If you have visited Mama gnome's garden before, you might have read about the old mother gnome's nemesis.

Yes...even the name itself fills Mama gnome's heart with dread and a good case of the heebie jeebies.

Mama gnome's nemesis is none other than...Plastic Bag Monster.

Here is one frightful portrait picture of a small fraction of its countless minions:
photo by: NOAA Marine Debris Program/Ocean Conservancy

Mama gnome has fought against the Plastic Bag Monster several times...on the beach(Mama gnome versus Plastic Bag Monster) and in the desert during the famous battle of Operation Desert Cleanup.

But alas...time and time again, Plastic Bag Monster regenerates and grows and meets with its allies: plastic bags, plastic cups, styrofoam cups, styrofoam plates, plastic forks, plastic spoons, plastic straws...and don't forget those soda lids, and fill in the blank plastic_______.

Together they multiply and multiply...disintegrating into tiny pieces... and swimming in their own pools of giant garbage patches...their own evil lairs.

One of the more famous ones is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

According to Ocean Conservancy:

"In 2009, 60 percent of the debris collected and cataloged consisted of single-use, disposable items. Volunteers picked up 1.1 million plastic bags. And enough cups, plates, knives, forks, and spoons for a picnic for 100,000 people."

It's not a picnic for our oceans to be choked up by our throw away plastic bags, spoons, forks, knives.

People have become so reliant on disposable, one time use plastic utensils, plastic bags, styrofoam take out containers...Mama gnome wonders how did humans ever survive without them. But the important question is: How can we survive with them?

Please save the date, September 17, 2011, Saturday, for the annual Coastal Cleanup Day.

Please visit these websites to read up about Plastic Bag Monster's heinous crimes and what gnomes and humans can do to fight back.

Ocean Conservancy

Heal the Bay

California Coastal Commission

Ocean Conservancy is an international organization that had 152 countries participating in last year's coastal cleanup day. So you can participate wherever you are.

You can even start your own cleanup project and register it on their website.

Please watch this video by Ocean Conservancy:


video by: oceanconservancy

Besides participating in the cleanup, let us defeat the Plastic Bag Monster by several easy strategies:

• Bring reusable bags to stores. If you forget your reusable bag, if you can, just handcarry your merchandise and make sure you have your receipt ready.
• Say no to disposable, one time use plastic frou frou: plastic utensils. Treat yourself and your family and use the real thing. How awesome is that?
• Say no to takeout boxes for leftovers at restaurants and bring your own. Impress your server by your ingenuity and scare the heck out of styrofoam little monster containers.
• Instead of using those tiny throwaway zipthingey bags, use reusable little containers.
• Instead of purchasing a small minion, i.e. a case of plastic water bottles, use that money to purchase reusable Bph free water bottles.
  
• Invest a few minutes to think about what you will need before you go out for a picnic or go to the store or to the restaurant, and see what reusable items you can bring (reusable bags, your own water bottles, your own reusable containers for leftovers, etc.), so you can avoid using throw away plastic frou frou. Just a few minutes of planning, will save our oceans and planet years of plastic minion trash.
  

Please become an ecowarrior. Help fight the Plastic Bag Monster.

Please be a supporter for planet earth and go green.

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Gnome Garden Summer 2011

Mama gnome is cursed with a green-challenged thumb. She cannot grow plants.

But fate smiles thus on the mother gnome for daddy gnome's and gnomelets' thumbs are verdant green.

Mama gnome presents with pride, the gnome family's garden.
















Mama gnome hopes your garden in life thrives and go green.

(c) all pictures and text by Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome

Gnomes and Humans Plant Trees for Earth Day 2011

The gnome car faithfully hugged the road on the side of the mountain.

Daddy gnome asked, "Are we going the right way?"

Mama gnome said, "Hmmmm..." She stared out at the window, mesmerized by the rolling dips and gorges.


Daddy gnome said, "Ehemm... Mama gnome? Are we going the right way?"

"What? Oh...let me see..."Mama gnome's stubby finger followed the wriggly lines. "Looks like it." Mama gnome sat up straight. She felt quite at ease with the map.

The wrinkly paper was an old friend.

The computer on the other hand...always played mind games on the old gnome. She didn't trust that whiny gps voice either.

Give me a map any day, Mama gnome always thought.

It was important the gnome family didn't get lost on this special day, Earth Day 2011.

They had a special date with humans, tree loving humans, as it were.

"Trees!" Gnomelets who were quietly sitting in the back of the gnome car burst into sudden movements of waving and pointing at these:


Elder gnomelet said, "They look strange, Mama. They're black and they don't have leaves."

Younger gnomelet said, "No leaves."

Mama gnome said, "I'm afraid so, little ones. There was a fire here last year. That's why we're here. Somebody's got to do something about it."

Soon, this came into view:


By the by, the gnome family, made it to the campsite.

Mama gnome kept her fingers crossed. Time and time again, she'd been disappointed by the smallish number of humans she'd seen at events like: Coastal Cleanup Day and 350.org's International Day of Climate Action.

The gnome family were greeted by this wondrous being.


Of course Mama gnome and young gnomelets proceeded to hug it tremendously.

Mama gnome's trepidation disappeared.

There were more humans here than Mama gnome had seen at previous ecoevents.

She beamed at the tall human lady with the sign up sheet.

The gnome family were given strict instructions to wear a hard hat at all times even during breaks.

Daddy gnome deftly adjusted the hard hats for the young ones and soon the gnome's pointy hats were squashed underneath the yellow roundish hats.

Mama gnome kept a firm grip on younger gnomelet's hand and Daddy gnome took older gnomelet's hand.

The trek was quite daunting...slippery slopes covered with ash, rocky dips, and over streams.

Mama gnome's small heart pounded, fearful for the quite short young gnomelets' legs.

But they did her proud. The young gnomelets marched on without a single complaint.

At times, the gnome family over took humans who had to stop and rest.

Along the way they saw:

Charred remains of a burnt tree...


A bleak mountaintop that looks like a desert...



Sad muses of trees...


More burnt trees on a rocky slope...



Mama gnome didn't know what they were before but now they looked like giant burnt pineapples.



After over an hour of hiking on rough terrain, a tree loving human gave instructions on how to plant the saplings to give the young trees the best chances of survival.

The kindly human instructor said, the trees had a survival rate of 75%.


The humans and the gnome family went to work.

Here was Mama gnome's secret weapon...

Older gnomelet aka super ecowarrior.

She scoffs at the face of ecoenemies...and deals them a terrible blow with her tiny hands.




After what seemed like hours of work,the gnomes were tired and thirsty.

Other humans had left already. But the gnomes stayed and carried out what they set out to do. They finished planting the young trees on the bleak mountain.

Afterward they faced an even more daunting task, the hike back.

The gnome family climbed up steep inclines, held on to rocky crevices, and found footing on ash covered ground.

With faces covered with soot and ash, and bones and muscles weary, the gnomes encountered a gentle creature who bade them go on.



Finally, they spotted the campsite.


When the gnome family reached the campsite, the Forest Ranger and the leader of tree humans applauded the young gnomelets. The youngest participants for the tree planting event made the biggest impression.

Elder gnomelet said, "Mama, my cheeks are red."

Mama gnome said, "You did good, my love. You did good."

It was close to three in the afternoon and the gnomes were famished having missed lunch.

The young gnomelets cheered when they discovered...a giant cookie in their lunch boxes.

Mama gnome was very impressed with the lunch box made from recycled paper.

NO PLASTIC OR STYROFOAM in sight. And she was grateful for the vegetarian sandwich.



After their meal, the young gnomelets made wishes at the stream, throwing pine cones into the water.

Mama gnome made her own wish...a not so secret wish for more trees.

Mama gnome wishes all humans would help make Earth Day everyday, make her wish come true and go green...

(c) all photos and text by Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog