Credit Calla Rose Ostrander
Water is life. It makes up 71% of Earth’s body and 60% of ours. An essential element it is often characterized by being in motion: flowing, ebbing, falling, freezing, melting, vaporizing, condensensing. Water is ever cycling through its different states of being, as a gas (vapor), a liquid (water), and a solid (ice).
One thing we don t often think about is how the speed, or the energy in the water molecules, determines water’s different states: vapor, liquid, solid. The water molecules of crystalized water in our winter wonderland are still. As water cools it loses thermal energy (heat), and as that energy goes the water molecules begin to slow down, until at 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit they stand still and condense, locking together to form solid ice. When water gets warm, the molecules regain energy and start to move, breaking apart and eventually moving around each other forming liquid water. H20 molecules that continue to warm and
Credit Kori Stanton
Happy Winter Solstice on Dec 21st, 2020! As we snuggle down into the deepest nights of the year KVNF’s Calla Rose Ostrander explores the ways in which human society is already oriented around the workings of the Earth, the heavens and how the planet and its many forms of life and relationships interweave with and shape our own.
The Solstice is one way we recognize our planet’s relationship with the Sun. And this Solstice is an extra special one when it comes to other planetary alignments!
Over the course of that year, we experience seasons because the Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted relative to our orbit around the Sun. From March- September the northern hemisphere is tilted more toward the sun ,the days are longer and the extra light and warmth- bring spring and summer! From Sept- March the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun bringing the longer and ever cooling nights of fall and winter. The two turning points in between these times
Credit Calla Rose Ostrander
When people think about what compost is, a few things tend to come to mind: first pretty much everyone, republican or democrat, city dweller or rural resident, thinks its good, I haven t met a farmer who didn t like it and people in cities tend to think of it in connection with beautiful things like community gardens or their grandparents backyards and old farms.
What is the difference between compost and a pile of manure? Unlike raw or dried manure, compost is a nutrient stabilized, pathogen free material that is also filled with beneficial microorganisms. To get from manure, (or food scraps, or leaves) to compost these materials must either be digested by worms or be managed in such a way to support thermophilic decomposition. “Thermophilic bacteria are heat-loving microorganisms that thrive in temperatures between 113 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the activity of the billions of bacteria in a compost pile that cause the increase in temperatur