Not Famous

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

Honestly, I’ve never given any thought to a question like this. I think if I had the chance to have something named after me, I don’t think I would want it to be some material item. If that makes sense. I want to find ways to help our wildlife. I want to come up with ideas for ways to save certain ecosystems. I want to reach the hearts of others on touchy issues about our oceans and commercial fishermen.

If, and when, I get to make those changes in this worls, I would possibly want those techniques named after me maybe. but honestly, i don’t even care about the recognition. I just want our wildlife to thrive because it’s our fault as the human race that so many animals, creatures, and aquatic life have died off and continue to die off daily. We are the reason this Earth is dying faster than she is supposed to. We are the reason so many different species have gone extinct, and the reason so many species are still dwindling down in numbers.

We lock wild animals up in cages for entertainment, kill off mothers of aquatic animals to keep their offspring for food, parts, or entertainment as well. And I’m not talking about the rescue type places that rescue animals in need and release (if possible) them back into their habitat once fully recovered. Those people are a blessing to mother nature.

I think people have forgotten that once we destroy Earth, there will be nothing left for us. We need to stick together and maintain her! It’s up to us (humans) to keep her safe and strong. and filled with wildlife and nature. But we as humans are greedy, taking everything she has to offer without filling her cup back up.

My Idea of Sustainability

How would you design the city of the future?

AI Generated by Kristopher

The world is a giant ecosystem, and we are the invasive species. We are the ones who move in and take over, sending native wildlife, including plants, into danger.

I would design the city around the native wildlife. Similar to the photo I created above. Where nature is preserved, and wildlife has a chance to flourish.

Our incredible planet relies on the creatures and critters to survive. So the more we push them out, the more we are just signing our futures away.

Minnesota Summers

What do you love about where you live?

I really love a lot about Minnesota, but one thing keeps me from wanting to stay any longer than we have to.

The summers here are gorgeous. Glistening lakes, blue skies for miles, open fields of wildly grown grasses, and so many trees and forest areas. I love the wildlife here. The number of clouds you can see because there’s no mountains to block the view. The slight breeze that seems to be abundant here throughout all seasons. At night, if it’s dark enough, you can almost see the entire galaxy it seems in the sky! It’s absolutely beautiful here.

But the amount of snow in the winter here has done it for me. I knew it would be snowy, and that’s why I held my ground as long as I could. But it’s depressing, for me, how much snow it is and how long it really lasts.

I dream of winters like back home where it feels like fall all winger long, and if it does snow, it melts the same day.

Sustainable Responsibilies

Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?

I do my best to try to be more sustainable with our world. I am learning new things every day.

I use a reusable coffee cup and a tumbler type cup for my drinks. Even when I’m out running errands. We recycle any piece of anything that is recyclable in our home.

I am currently reading up on how to grow my own garden indoors. That’s the top of my list right now.

We have stopped buying mass-produced fish and seafood products because they are killing our ocean life to get more fish in their nets. Dolphins, sharks, and whales are top competition for commercial fisherman. We need our oceans to survive. With no oceans, we should just kiss our futures goodbye.

Crossed Roads to Retirement

How do you want to retire?

My husband and I have talked about those years many times. Our goals have intertwined and bloomed into a beautiful road to our futures for us.

Getting started has always been the problem. We’ve struggled so much since we first began. Always having low money to live on, living in our vehicles. But we are slowly pulling ourselves out now. I pray to everything there is that we can hold onto it and keep going up.

We want to buy a decent piece of land and build all of our dreams. Starting with a gorgeous farmhouse/log cabin style home. With a wrap around porch. 4 car detached garage, several extra buildings outside including a large greenhouse, a horse stall barn, a dairy cattle barn, a chicken coop, and an outside cat house for my indoor cats to get more sunshine.

We want enough acreage to be able to build our own beach entry lake. My husband owns a pond business and is studying marine biology right now, so we want to be somewhere warm by the ocean that also gets a few snowy winter months.

We just want to build our own little homestead and raise our babies with animals and happy memories. This is something we want to make into our own little piece of paradise. Then spend the rest of our days taking care of it and each other, loving our children, and then spoiling their children.

Sensational Seasons

What is your favorite season of year? Why?

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. Not just because my birthday is in that time of the year either.

When the breeze turns cooler and the sun is still warm. The leaves start to turn all the colors of autumn; yellows, reds, oranges.

Sweater weather is what I call it. I’m a sucker for a sweater. I have so many, and my collection just seems to grow.

I also love fall because you seem to see more wild animals around that time. I assume they are preparing for the winter months. But I get to take my camera out and get some amazing shots.

Where I live now, there’s usually snow on the ground as soon as fall hits.

Chills

How do you feel about cold weather?

Honestly, I’m okay with cooler weather. To an extent. I’m a southern girl, so I’m a bit of a stranger to colder weather. But almost three years ago, my husband, kids, and I moved to Minnesota from Georgia.

Minnesota is no joke when it comes to winter in this state. At some points in time, Minnesota has been dubbed the coldest place in the world, with wild winters as cold as Alaska.

The winds, along with the icy snowfall, make it almost unbearable sometimes. Sometimes, the snow falls for days and days, seeming like it will never end.

More than not, snow keeps coming halfway through April. Leaving us a thin strip of rainy, muddy spring before summer hits head-on.

But once summer is here, it’s a magical place. You can see our state start to come back to life. Start to breathe in that cool breeze as the sun shines down.

The grass grows tall and vibrant. Trees stretch out towards the skies unfolding their buds that patiently waited all winter. Birds start singing and dancing in the skies and from branches. Our lakes and ponds start to thaw, giving hope to the many, many water birds that populate our state.

It’s a beautiful place to be.

Weeping Oceans

To most people the ocean is just another swimming hole. Another location to soak up the sun and cool off in the salty water. But what if everyone saw the ocean for what it actually is..

The ocean is home to over 228,000 KNOWN species of creatures. With at least 2 million more species that have yet to be discovered or have little knowledge of. Everything in the ocean is alive. From the tiniest of zooplankton to the biggest of whales and everything in between. The rocks are alive, the sand is living, the corals are alive. Everything. I’d bet that many people don’t know that over 70% of the world’s oxygen comes from coral reefs. Which is amazingly interesting considering coral reefs only take up about .0025% of the ocean and we have trees on almost every corner. I’m almost certain that most people don’t even realize that our oceans coral reefs are dying. Our constant pollution to our beautiful world is slowly changing the climate and atmosphere so much that our corals have slowly started to just die and turn to dust under the water.

Our decisions every day have major impacts on the world we live in. It may take years to see the difference, but it’s there. Lurking. Destroying everything we love.

Without coral reefs, our oceans will start to die. Fish and other creatures will start going extinct because there won’t be any place for them to hide. Many reef species of fish rely on the reef and vice versa. The reef relies on the fish who live within them to drop bits of food as they feed.

The clownfish is known to bond with anemones for a safe home. But did you know they keep each other alive? The clownfish brings food back home to the anemone and in return the anemone lets the clownfish use him as a hiding spot from predators. If the reefs keep dying, where will the anemones go? Will the clownfish be one of the many creatures that could possibly go extinct?

Our oceans are already being taken advantage of everyday. With the continuous commercial fishing, the enormous amount of trash that gets dumped, the oil rigs, the pieces of rockets that float back down. Climate change is probably the biggest problem right now, besides commercial fishing. With the climate changing every day, our oceans are slowly warming up in places it shouldn’t be that warm.