Remember that program on TLC, "Gardening Naturally"?  It was hosted by this couple who were very successfully four-season gardening in Maine (yeah... Maine): Eliot Coleman & Barbara Damrosch.  They're my hero's... I used to watch that show religiously.  It was educational and soothing at the same time.  The two of them spoke in the same quiet, lilting tones as Bob Ross and his "happy little tree's".  [I totally aged myself there, didn't I? It is in syndication... somewhere]

*sigh*... I really miss that gardening show. 

I might even put in a TV again if they'd bring it back.

Anyway, I was just thinking about how I wish I was as good as these two at four-season gardening and I saw that they got this awesome shout-out in a really good article about sustainable (i.e. Organic) gardening and how it's really hitting a good stride these days (in certain areas). 

The article is here: New Farmers Finding Their Footing.  Enjoy!

Today is Coast Guard Day, and we celebrate its 221st birthday. Our service has a long and distinguished history of serving and protecting the American people, their way of life and the country’s bountiful natural resources.

On August 4, 1790, the Revenue Cutter Service was founded by then-Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton and President George Washington. Congress authorized the construction of ten cutters. These ships were built to to enforce U.S. tariff laws under control of the Treasury Department, the mission, according to then President George Washington, was “That service of a few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.”

The Coast Guard has been continuously at sea since its inception, although the name Coast Guard didn't come about until 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the Lifesaving Service. The Lighthouse Service joined the Coast Guard in 1939, followed in 1946 by the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection. Finally, in 1967, after 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation.

Today, the Coast Guard is the smallest of America's Armed Forces with approximately 42,000 active duty Guardians, fewer than officers in the New York City Police Department, yet the service is charged with military roles including combat, border security, drug and migrant interdiction, port security, marine safety, law enforcement, environmental protection, search and rescue, aids to navigation, homeland security and more! Our ranks are bolstered by just under 7,500 reservists supporting all missions of the Coast Guard and bearing the principle load of our emergency responses to hurricanes, flooding, oil spills, etc.