Albin promotes the ag arts at expo March 22

Spring must be on its way! National Ag Day is March 15 and we're in the midst of National Ag Week. The Southeastern Wyoming Home and Garden Farm and Crop Expo will be held in Albin in Laramie County on Tuesday, March 22, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Prizes given away every hour. Get more information at http://albinwyo.com/calender_view.aspx?id=47, (307) 632-8411 or agrecruit@juno.com. Find more ag-oriented arts & crafts activities in The Fence Post.

Of horses and writing -- Page Lambert explains it all for you

Our Wyoming Writers, Inc., pal Page Lambert has a great blog. She promotes her many books and workshops, and provides insight into the writing and natural worlds. She is crazy about horses and knows their ins and outs as well as she knows the building blocks of an essay. Her annual "Literature and the Landscape of the Horse" retreat takes place May 28-June 2 at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch between Laramie and Centennial. There are a few spots left, she writes. Find out more at http://www.pagelambert.com/retreat_index.html. Once you've been inspired by Page and her colleague Sheri Griffith, you can travel up to Casper for the Wyoming Writers, Inc., annual conference at the Ramada Plaza Riverside on June 3-5. No horseback riding in the Ramada, but plenty of writing and workshops and open readings and book sales and inspiration. More info at http://www.wyowriters.org/conference.html

Along those lines, here's a film recommendation from Page:

FEATURED DOCUMENTARY

A story about a landless farmer,

a non-conformist, and an escaped office worker...

From award-winning journalist Jared Flesher comes The Farmer and the Horse, "a film that digs into difficult questions about sustainability, self-sufficiency, and why we do the work we do. Flesher's film goes beyond the usual platitudes of smiling organic farmers talking about the good life. Farming is hard work -- especially if you don't use a tractor. The Farmer and the Horse is a film every young farmer should see. So should everyone who cares about land use, the environment, and good food." View Trailer.

Note from Page: This may not be a riveting documentary in regards to narrative, but I think it's an important one if we wish to explore new (old) ways of living that return us to a deeper connection with the earth. Working with animals who live their lives deeply rooted to nature can help us rediscover our roots. In the coming months, I'll be bringing you more features that guide us in this journey. My thanks to the filmmaker, Jared Flesher.

Temple Grandin at UW: "Animals, Autism and Sensory-Based Thinking"

From a University of Wyoming press release:

A renowned designer of livestock handling facilities and whose life story of overcoming autism is profiled in an Emmy-award winning HBO movie will give two presentations at the University of Wyoming in February.

Professor Temple Grandin of Colorado State University will present "The Field of Animal Sciences" from 2:10-3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, in the College of Arts and Sciences auditorium. Her talk will focus mainly on animals and livestock handling and the innovations she has made in the area of humane livestock handling.

At 3:30 p.m., she will discuss "Animals, Autism, and Sensory-Based Thinking." A question-and-answer session, reception and a book signing will follow.

Her appearance is sponsored by Wyoming AgrAbility, a UW Cooperative Extension Service program, with support from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities in the College of Health Sciences.

"Bringing Grandin to UW will help share and spread the importance of her work," says Kelley Dees, Wyoming AgrAbility project coordinator. "Her livestock handling innovations have revolutionized the way cattle are handled in the United States and in countries abroad. Her animal handling practices not only provide better meat quality, but, when done correctly, prevent the animal from feeling any pain."

Grandin was featured in the 2010 film "Temple Grandin," which received seven Emmys. The film won further notoriety Sunday, Jan. 30, when Claire Danes, who portrayed Grandin in the movie, won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a TV movie or miniseries.

"The obstacles that Grandin has overcome in her life are simply inspiring," says Dees. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with such a brilliant woman who is a hero to so many."

Grandin has designed livestock facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, and she speaks around the world on autism and cattle handling. She has consulted for such firms as Burger King and McDonald's.

Call UW Paratransit Services at (307) 766-6686 to request complimentary disability transportation to the event.

Wyoming AgrAbility provides education, networking and assistance to ranchers, farmers and agricultural workers with disabilities and their families. Information is available at www.uwyo.edu/agrability/ or by contacting Dees at AgrAbility@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-3052 or toll-free at (866) 395-4986.

Rocky Mountain Land Library praises a classic book -- "Sheepwagon: Home on the Range"

The Rocky Mountain Land Library blog waxed eloquently about two Wyomingites in an 11/28 post: 

In 2001, a wonderful Wyoming publisher, High Plains Press, published one of the Land Library’s favorite books, Sheepwagon: Home on the Range. Author Nancy Weidel offered one crisp, concise reason for our admiration: “The sheepwagon is a marvel of practicality and efficiency.”

But there’s more reasons to love this book, with its stories, photographs, and sensitive appreciation for hard lives lived in a starkly beautiful land. This book makes clear that the sheepwagon provided both a bit of warmth, and a touch of home. Weidel: “Designed to provide shelter and heat, mobility, and storage, the sheepwagon was the ideal home for the herder….It could easily be moved by two horses, a most important feature.”

Yes, as you can see, every inch counted, but space also needed to be found for the unexpected. Some sheepwagons had side boxes that “came in handy during lambing, when a weak newborn might be placed there overnight to be revived by the heat of the wagon stove.”

Nancy Weidel is wyomingarts' colleague within the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. She is senior historic preservation specialist at SHPO. Nancy Curtis runs High Plains Press out of her ranch near Glendo. Nancy is a long-time supporter of the state's writers and the statewide writers organization, Wyoming Writers, Inc.

WYO Photo of the Week: Larry Friedman

Many of you remember Larry Friedman's Wyoming photos, notably the ones shot around the Flaming Gorge in Sweetwater County. He has an amazing ability to catch lightning in mid-strike during summer storms. Larry moved from Green River to the Chicago area last year but he hasn't lost his Wyoming touch. This recent one shows cattle grazing near Flaming Gorge. The man knows his bovines -- he's also a veterinarian. This photo is 20x30 inches.

Call for entries: Good Food Month poster contest

Calling all artists and designers! The Good Food Month poster competition is a great opportunity to put your work into the public and show the world your unique view of food. We will be choose three posters—one for each of three themed weeks during Good Food Month. Submit art for Coffee + Chocolate week, Charcuterie + Pickles week, Cheese + Preserves week, or all three!

Winning designs will be featured on the Good Food Awards web site, featured in restaurants, grocery stores ( Whole Foods, Bi-rite, etc.) galleries, and bookstore windows as the main event posters for Good Food Month, and winners will receive a generous gift basket full of all the good food you can eat. PLUS 2 tickets to Good Food Awards Marketplace. Held on January 15, 2011 at the San Francisco Ferry Building, it gives visitors the chance to taste all of the award-winning foods and meet the Good Food Community!

Deadline is October 1, 2010

Submissions? Questions? Email connect@seedlingprojects.org

Ag Photo Contest deadline is Sept. 1

FMI: http://wyomingbusiness.org/ag_week/photo_tip_flier.pdf

Locavores gather in Laramie April 11

Local Food Gathering will be held in Laramie on Sunday, April 11, 12:30-5 p.m. in the UW Classroom Building, Fremont and 9th Street. "Fresh," the film, to be shown at 7 p.m., in Classroom 129. Free admission.

Join us for the second annual Laramie Local Foods Gathering. Our keynote address will be given by Mike and Cindy Ridenour from Meadow Maid Foods in Yoder, WY on the topic of "Seeing the New in Old: A Progressive Step Backward in Food Production."

Sessions will run from 1:30-4:45 and include home gardening challenges in the high mountain West, running a small ag business, home brewing, backyard chickens, preserving foods, how to grow fruit trees and more! Door prize drawing at 4:45 p.m. followed by a closing presentation from Laramie Dance Center.

Fee is $5 for public, $3 for seniors and free for students. Registration begins at 12 pm.

Full details are at http://laramielocalfood.webs.com/

Dinner break 5-7 p.m. (no-host dinner at The Library Restaurant and Brewery for those interested)

Register for "Rural America" book discussion

Registration is underway for the Wyoming State Museum-hosted reading and discussion series, “Rural in America.”

A part of the Wyoming Humanities Council’s Reading Wyoming program, “Rural in America” is a discussion group scheduled to meet January 20, February 17, March 17 and April 21 at 6:30 p.m., at the Wyoming State Museum.

The program is free and open to the public. However, participants are asked to register as the group size is limited to 20. Rose Wagner will lead the discussions.

To register and borrow books, contact Sarah Ligocki at 777-7021. Participants are encouraged to register soon as the first book must be read by January 20.

Participants will read and discuss “The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry; “Winter Wheat,” by Mildred Walker; “The Egg and I,” by Betty McDonald; and “A Painted House,” by John Grisham. All of these books offer both romantic and realistic views of rural life.

The program is offered by the Wyoming Humanities Council. Reading Wyoming provides reading and discussion series’ to nonprofit organizations around the state and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

FMI: 307-721-9243 or www.uwyo.edu/humanities.

Ranching in Teton County a topic of December events at library in Jackson

Teton County Library in Jackson sends this news:

Announcing an exhibition: “Land. Trust. Ranching in Their Hands." Photographer Anne Muller and Jackson Hole Land Trust document the people behind conservation easement-protected lands that remain agriculturally productive. View the story of the unsung heroes of the valley's horse and cattle operations, who labor sun up to sun down to keep the fields green, the ditches flowing, the fences mended, the hay cut and the animals fed. Exhibition includes 30 black-and-white images by Anne Muller with quotes from ranch managers. On display Dec. 14 - Jan. 13. Cost: Free. Location: Library Exhibit Gallery.

On Tuesday, Dec. 15, the library presents “Ranching 2010: A Look at Ranching in 21st Century Teton County” from 6-7 p.m. Meet local ranch managers and agricultural producers and learn about some of the challenges they face in the modern ranching era. The Jackson Hole Land Trust presents a public conversation that will shed light on the current state of ranching in Teton County and show how conservation easements help preserve working ranches. Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium.

FMI: Adult Humanities Coordinator, Oona Doherty, 733-2164 ext. 135 or odoherty@tclib.org.