Be The Change, Subaru (#274)

Yesterday I posted pictures of the Subaru 360, a car produced in 1968 which got 66 miles per gallon of gas.  My friend Alice commented that I should go to change.org and create a petition to request that the car be put back out on the market.

Today, I did just that.  The petition will go to Takeshi Tachimori, Chairman/CEO, Subaru of America.  

Here is the petition:

Hello!

I’ve started the petition “Subaru of America, Inc.: Put the Subaru 360 back on the market” and need your help to get it off the ground.

Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here’s the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/subaru-of-america-inc-put-the-subaru-360-back-on-the-market

Here’s why it’s important:

To offer the Subaru nation a true economy car which gets up to 66 miles per gallon of gas.

You can sign my petition by clicking here.

Thanks!

Ever Grateful,  Annie

About these ads

Dear Subaru ~ Please Bring Back Subaru 360 (#273)

Dear Subaru ~

Please bring back the Subaru 360.  You would most certainly have customers lining up at the door.  Phones would be ringing off the hook.  Just look at the Mini Cooper and how popular it is today!

What an incredibly efficient and beautiful car!  Look at those features!  Look at those lines!  Look at the gas mileage!

 

1968 Subaru 360

 

What a Classic Interior!

 

Awesome Gas Mileage!

 

 

 

Escape {Weekly Photo Challenge} (#272)

Yaks in a daring escape from their fenced-in field frolicking in the street.

 

Yay…We’re Free!

 

A Yak Escape

 

Goslings On Parade: Birdorable (#271)

Every spring season, adult Canada Geese come to stay along an improved section of the Lehigh Canal, one of my favorite places to walk when I am in Pennsylvania.

The canal is part of a larger national park, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.  Brochures for the Corridor invite us to “follow history on the 165 mile path where America was built.”

The Canada Geese arrive at the canal in pairs sometime in late March or early April.  They mate, make their nests, lay their eggs, incubate and hatch them.   All during that time the many people who use the canal and its towpath are blissfully unaware that these bird families are forming.

Then one bright sunny day, out they come.  Wary yet prideful goose and gander, vigilant guides for their gosling children.

Mother and Father Goose with their foraging Six-Pack of Goslings

Another Goose Family Out for a Promenade

A Lucky #7 Gaggle of Geese

Ever Grateful,  Annie

Ten Flowers For Mother’s Day (#270)

The best kinds of flowers for any day are ones that can be seen alive in their native surroundings.  Hope you enjoy these natural beauties.

May Apple

Pink Dogwood

Spring Beauties

Wild Geraniums

Yellow Asters

White Trillium

Lady Slipper

Violet

Mystery Flower

Swamp Honeysuckle

Hope all the Moms enjoyed their day!

Ever grateful,  Annie

Wine, Travel, And Fun! (#269)

The first annual National Wine Tourism Day took place all across North America yesterday.  Wineries all across the US and Canada offered events to promote the concept of traveling to wine regions on vacations or day trips.

This event started in Europe in 2009.   Now it has made its way to America to support the importance and economic benefits of wine tourism.  But also to combine three of my favorite things: wine, travel, and fun!

So my friend, Sher and I heeded the call of Bacchus the god of wine.  We took a road trip to Clover Hill Winery in Breinigsville, PA.  Or as my daughter, Amber, saw it: “Hey kids, MumMum’s going on a booze cruise!”

Seriously! It’s a wine sampling!  But that fell on deaf ears.

When we arrived at the vineyards,  we went into the newly built wine display rooms, paid a small entrance fee, were led to our table and a wine connoisseur brought us three samples of wine each along with a tray of various cheeses paired to the wines.

Our Riesling, Dolcetto and Cabernet Wine Samples

I suppose you can tell we were through the first 2 wines and on to the Cabernet.

Our Orchid Centerpiece

A Wine Connoisseur Explaining The Wine Selections

Friends Enjoying The Day At Clover Hill Winery

A Rose Bush on Each Grape Vine Row Alerts to Possible Insect Intruders

Vineyard Landscape

I thoroughly enjoyed the Wine Tourism day and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of wines grown just a ways down the road from my hometown.  It was another successful road trip.

Ever Grateful,   Annie

Birth Root Or Stinking Benjamin: What’s In A Name? (#268)

In the Pennsylvania woodlands I am always thrilled when I find myself walking on undisturbed land.  Land that has not been tilled for farming or moved around for roads and houses.  How can I tell?  The presence of native wildflowers is a sure sign.

Red Trillium

One of the prettiest flowers I found is the Red Trillium growing in rich soil beneath a canopy of trees.

With an interest in ethnobotany, learning about the history of this revered plant is an added bonus.

A few hundred years ago it was known as Birth Root by Native Americans who used the root to induce childbirth and to aid in labor.

Native Americans Taught Settlers About Their Healing Plants

To green flies it is a place to lay their eggs.  Why?  Well, that’s where another name for the flower comes into play.  It’s been called Stinking Benjamin because it has a faint odor of meat gone bad.  That aspect attracts the green flies who incidentally pollinate the flowers while laying their eggs.

Red Trillium Pollen 

Since it has three leaves the Red Trillium also has a connection to the Holy Trinity.

All this from just a walk in the woods.  I am always in wonder at our beautiful natural world.

Ever Grateful,  Annie

The Pseudo Orchid Of Penns Woods (#267)

If you were a chipmunk, you would still be taller than a particular wildflower in Pennsylvania that, at first glance, looks very much like an orchid.

In its natural habitat on the forest floor you could easily walk right past the Fringed Polygala, also known as GayWing or Bird on the Wing.

Can you spot it in this photo?  It’s pink, in the center of the photo and the size of a dot!  I took this photo from about 5 feet away while walking along Trinity Gorge trail at Beltzville State Park.

Natural habitat for Fringed Polygala 

Now here is this beautiful wildflower up close.  It stands about 3 inches tall and grows in colonies from April to May by creeping its stems along the ground.

The Pseudo Orchid of Penns Woods

The study of Ethnobotany claims this plant was used by American Indians to treat skin inflammations.

This macro photo really shows off this flower’s nickname of “Bird on the Wing”

Bird on the Wing

Up Close and Beautiful

How exquisite are the little things in life!

Ever grateful,   Annie

 

 

CamperForce 2013: Picking Up The Gauntlet…..Again! (#266)

Come September, I’ll be trading my Tin Can Annie moniker for CamperForce Annie as I’ll be returning to Campbellsville, Kentucky for my second year as a CamperForce Associate.

Last year in June I posted this story about my efforts to train for the job:

Mum-Mum In Training For CamperForce 2012 (#185)

In the story I remarked that I was training for my job by walking 10 miles a week. At the time that seemed like a lot!  After a season (September thru December) of walking 10 to 12 miles a day as part of my job requirements at Amazon, I now marvel at my beginner’s training regime.

This year my training started back in March.  I now easily walk 30+ miles a week.  I owe this invigorating change to my CamperForce job with Amazon.  I definitely have lots more endurance and energy.  Just read another of my stories where I tell the tale about my “real boss” at Amazon:

Meet My Boss At Amazon: Jillian Michaels (#212)

What made me stay and complete the program?  There were so many factors.  The most important ones were the people. They made my day.  Whether fellow CamperForce members or full-time employees; everyone was caring and kind.  And if they weren’t, I knew they wanted to be.

My supervisors, the safety team, my co-workers and especially the Human Resource folks were all angels in disguise.  I wasn’t another warm body just there to do a job.  I was someone who mattered.  It made all the difference.

During the last month of my personal challenge to complete the season, things got even tougher.  We went to a mandatory 50 hour work week.  That’s when I decided to reward myself for succeeding by booking an oceanview site over Christmas for my tin can cottage in South Carolina.

It worked!  I spent those hard days envisioning myself walking sandy beaches, basking in the sunsets, smelling the wonderful ocean air.

This year I’ll hold another carrot out for myself as I keep smiling and enjoying yet another season in Campbellsville with my friends at Amazon.

For those considering the challenge or who are already hired, here are my other stories about my experiences as a CamperForce Associate:

CamperForceAssociate; That’s Me! (#201)

Just Another Beautiful Day For A CamperForce Worker (#203)

Pass The Prayers And The Chocolate Cake (#215)

I Did It! I’m Done! It’s Over! But I’m Too Tired To Celebrate! (#217)

Ever Grateful,  Annie

From Above {Weekly Photo Challenge} (#265)

A walk along the cliffs

Where edge of land above

Spies ocean and cave below.

From Above

 

Ever Grateful,   Annie