On My Plate.....

Besides the usual after-holidays crashing period, there has been a lot on my plate this past month. A cold virus has been present in our little family of three since before Christmas, and just seems to keep making the rounds. Sir Laughsalot was home sick from school for almost a week, and we had lots of middle of the night awakenings when cough medicine wore off. Now hubby has it, but everyone seems to be on the mend overall.

Also on my plate has been writing letters to the editor, making phone calls, and being a general nuisance about a mining permit that got approved in our county, with another pending. Despite our county government opposing it, along with the mayor and residents of the town it will affect, our state's DEP approved it. The decision is being appealed and two people are in the process of taking the decision to court, so all is not lost yet. This particular mine will be mostly underground, but some strip mining is involved. The reason it is being heavily contested is that it will take place near a water reservoir that services over 900 residents of our county. Residents of this community have already had their water supply disrupted by previous mining activity, and even in underground mining, there is acid mine drainage that runs off and is deposited in our streams. The second permit that is being sought will dump waste directly into the main river that flows through our town. This river is already struggling in water quality and health and has seen an abundance of fish kills in recent years. It seems absurd after last year's drought that a mining company is being allowed to come into our county and pollute and disrupt our water even more.

And lastly (is that a word? ) on my plate has been some music projects. I have been practicing with Fiddlegirl for an upcoming coffeehouse performance and I have also put up a music page on Myspace. The music page will serve as a way to pass along the mountain songs I love so much, and I will also use it to help spread the word about Mountaintop Removal, as it will be a wide open venue for me. There are already some songs up, and I hope to put some live music up from when Fiddlegirl and I perform locally.... You can check it out here.

Whew! :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!