What's New

2011 is off to a great start -

On January 1, Tanner & I adopted a Redbone Coonhound Lab mix dog and we've named him Buddy. He is so sweet & loving! Even our cat, Charlie, has grown fond of his new brother. He thinks it's fun to bat Buddy's tail or play with his ears, it's really quite cute.

We've also recently moved out of our Mecklinburg Heights house into Mrs. Thornton's cozy cottage. Full of charm and history, our new home roots back to the 1880's when a freed slave, Susan B. Thornton and her husband Robert, purchased one acre of land for $1 from the Haines, a Quaker family who had inherited the land from their father.

Tanner and I became the lucky tenants of this home through employment with CraftWorks. Tanner is the land steward for the 81-acre nature preserve on Cool Spring Farm. He has developed a Good Neighbors invasive species land management program to involve neighboring properties in combating the problem of invasive plant species such as teasel and tree of heaven. Why combat these invasive plants? They pose a threat to the 18 rare and endangered plant species the land hosts. Invasive plants are choking out the native plants... just like those pesky stink bugs are choking our crops. But no one has developed a successful program to combat those guys...

Back to CraftWorks... in addition, Tanner is working with partners from NOAA, the USDA, and USGS to create a Future Scientists of America model for middle and high school students. Part of this initiative involves partnering with schools to work with students on planning and developing science fair projects.

I have been hired to assist in program development. I am working to recruit volunteers, build our Friends membership program, plan fund raisers, and develop programs and events to bring the community together at Cool Spring where the arts, craft, and science converge.

We have wonderful neighbors, the founder and president of CraftWorks at Cool Spring, and two D.C. natives who are working to renovate adjacent property where their emus, peacocks, cattles, horses, chickens, puppies, monkey, goat, and parrot all reside.

I predict life on 81-acres with a zoo of animals for neighbors, will never be dull.