We asked our Interfaith Power & Light community one simple question, and we were overwhelmed by the responses! Thank you for all you do. Here are your Earth Day stories:
At St. Barnabas in Falmouth, Ma. we celebrated Earth Week by working on our property; both inside and out. We raked, composted, trimmed and planted trees. In addition, our Vestry; in conjunction with our – Environmental Ministry, is formulating a policy that will ensure that all future products used both inside and outside will be Earth friendly. — Al Kolodziejski
Dear Friends Of Mother Earth, – We have been Celebrating All Month Long by Sharing Lots Of Great Ideas On Social Media and In Person With Hundreds Of Other Earth Lovers! Thank You All for Caring and Helping Mother Earth from All of Us at http://twitter.com/ProPeace — Gabriel Baylus
I teach resource room in a Private Day School that is not terribly environmentally conscious and I’m limited in when I can pass on green education. During my lunch duty I explained reduce, reuse, recycle (with a video and hand gestures) and offered special stickers for anyone who could explain how they had did one of the three R’s during lunch that day. — Arwen Kuttner
My 6 year old granddaughter in OK called me to wish me a Happy Earth day! Her uncle in AR wished me “Happy Earth day to “Mother Earth herself!” —Betsy Gillaspy-Williams
My Earth Day was much like any other day, except that I spent time in planning the legal structure for our church (the UU Church of Palo Alto) to enable construction of a 125kw solar system on the parking lot. We made progress. — Bill Hilton
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Hayesville, NC has an outreach ministry devoted to saving energy among the poor. On Earth Day we provided energy saving changes in two homes of people who had extremely high power bills recently. Then on Saturday, April 25 we gave out 90 LED light bulbs at a food pantry and signed up over 20 people for an energy saving consultation. – Brad Rouse
I attended a climate change rally at the Minnesota State Capitol. I got fired up by several great speeches including ones by meteorologist Mark Seely, two state House Members several local activists and educators, and a real divestment stemwinder by Rev. Dwight Wagenius, Board Co-Chair of MnPL. “If it’s wrong to wreck the planet, it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage.” —Brett Smith
Clear Rivers Chorus sang for a large community gathering–songs of thankfulness and hope by Carolyn McDade, and What a Wonderful World. — Carol Boyd
I went to Earth Charter International at the University for Peace in Costa Rica for a course on Communicating Powerfully and Effectively on Sustainability: – The Earth Charter, Theater Training, and Storytelling. We told and acted out our stories of personal transformation. We learned techniques of the performing arts. And we explored the Earth Charter as a tool for organizing a new narrative for an evolving culture. The Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice is planning a statewide Earth Charter Initiative for 2015-16 with the Florida Interfaith Climate Action Network. — Sue Blythe
In Kalamazoo MI, an interfaith group called Hope for Creation: Faith and Action in a Time of Climate Change, organized a convocation on Recognizing Common Ground for Climate Policies. Christians, Jews, Unitarian Universalists, and members of the university community gathered to listen to a politically conservative climate activist describe his work to mobilize conservative communities and politicians to respond to climate change. The audience focused on learning about how to reach across political divisions so all can work together to protect our shared planet. Then people joined breakout sessions with representatives of organizations like Michigan IPL and Citizens Climate Lobby to learn about how to get involved in shaping climate policies.
— Cybelle Shattuck
There is an empty lot next to our home. Last year we were allowed to put in a community garden there. For Earth Week this year we are making the garden even bigger. Several neighbors plant together there. — David & Mary Jo Sterling, St Paul, MN
Clackamas United Church of Christ in Milwaukie, Oregon celebrates April as Earth Month. We had two Earth celebrating services on April 12th and 19th. We also annually sponsor an endangered species. We’ve sponsored at least 15 species since we’ve made this a focus of our congregation’s April environmental ministry. This year, we’re sponsoring Mountain Gorillas. — Denise Andersen
Our church Green Team hosted an organic baked potato brunch with toppings following the service. We also handed out 75 free trees for church members to plant and the service was based around climate change and food justice for all! A great day! — Diane Dieterich
Please view our video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xZKcQuf2Ls This is an iMovie that I produced showing the activities at our church (Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church) on Saturday, April 18, 2015. The background music is from our Earth Day worship service the following day, Sunday, April 19th. — Ann Wagner
I attended a rally for a clean jobs/clean energy bill in Springfield, IL. I also talked with my state representative about the bill. — Eleanor Hall
My earth day story is every day. It’s just being my part of the living earth and universe and multiverse. Being part of life. And I think life is aware enough to take care of itself. — Gaius Poehler
We celebrated an Milwaukee, WI, Urban Earth Day today and explored an urban orchard (nut trees) managed by All Peoples Lutheran Church. Our church has a growing relationship with this vital urban congregation. APC also has green house next to the church and a city lot of raised garden beds across the street. Then we went to Alices Garden (21st Street just west of Fon du Lac Ave) a two acre community garden and Farmers Market that has been there for years. We topped the afternoon off by stopping at the Speed Queen, one of Milwaukees best BBQ places. It is on 12th and Walnut, very near were my old high school was. The BBQ is wonderful ! – Ira Pauline Leidel
On the occasion of the first Earth Day I was starting my professional career as an Associate Professor at Cornell University. As an ornithologist it did not escape my notice that my Department of Natural Resources was populated by one-tenth the professors and one-fifth the students as the Poultry Science Department just next door. Both departments studied birds. But in one case the birds lived, raised their young, and died in the wild, subject to the vagaries of the climate and the habitats, and in the other case they lived and died in an environment highly altered for profitable management of income produced by their population. These separate realms of study seemed to me to represent the gaps in world view on ecology and economy that are fostered by a market economy. — James Tate
I led our chapter meeting of Citizens Climate Lobby on Thursday. As part of the meeting we read articles in local papers and drafted letters to the editor about Earth Day and the need to support national carbon fee and dividend legislation to preserve a livable world. I learned today that my Earth Day letter to the editor will be published soon. At the meeting we discussed plans to march and table at the Hartford Earth Festival on May 31st which is co-sponsored by our CT IPL. — Janet Heller
A good friend of mine is very active in the Great Lakes Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy, and at their invitation I spent Earth Day on South Bass Island helping restore and improve a wildflowers nature trail. — Joe Rutter
Walking the trail through the piney woods recently from the Botanical Garden on 15-501 to Coker Arboretum on campus, we passed Hinton James dorm, and our guide asked what students know this treasure is right across the road? – 45 years ago, I lived in Hinton James with the first co-ed floor on campus, with woods all the way up to the Bell Tower, and celebrated the First Earth day that spring of 1970 in our youthful idealism, we believed, if we put enough flowers in enough canons, we could end war; if we made love, not war, the world would be a better place. Some of us wanted to go back to the land, love Mother Earth, and that first recognition of Earth day was testimony to the growing environmental movement. But now look the Earth needs our efforts more than ever. . .Keep fighting for Mother Earth, our only home. From that first Earth day and our increasing awareness of the detriments of dependency on fossil fuels, our efforts to grow organic gardens, the restoration of natural areas, and the clean water and air acts that improved air and water quality, we have shown we can make a difference, but it takes ever vigilant effort to keep our planet healthy. — Joy Hewett – 1970 UNC graduate.
At First Church and Parish UU in Dedham, MA we celebrated a vespers service for Earth Day with prayers and song. — Kevin Carson, Ministerial Intern
As a member/board member of our local Sierra Club, I helped bring Dr. James Hansen to town for our annual eco-forum. We had a packed house (over 500) plus 2 overflow rooms with live-streaming, and LOTS of media attention. Plus Hansen was also here the day before and gave seminars to students at 2 local colleges. — Marjorie Campaigne
Privileged to have joined the upperclass students of Stuart Hall High School in San Francisco for a Habitat For Humanity Interfaith Earth Day Build. In our own small way, the home we help build, complete with solar panels, will contribute to making San Francisco more affordable for a working family! — Michael Pappas
I wrote a piece of fiction visualizing the planet in 2050 and circulated via a blog post. www.SavingThePlaces.com. The article “How We Save the Earth” got great response from many people who shared it on FB. — Ned Tillman
Kids at the Neighborhood Art House in Erie PA learned about wetlands this semester and on Earth Day they visited an iron oxide seep wetland at McDannell Run that other kids are planting with wetland plants each year. – – Kids at the John Horan Garden Apartments and Erie Heights in Erie Pa are planting 500 seedlings as part of an Earth Day/Arbor Day Project. They have been inspired by Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt movement in Kenya. A total of 1000 seedlings will be planted on Public Housing property within the next month. The children work with Pat Lupo, OSB and members of the Erie Community. — Pat Lupo, OSB
for over 100 years now free energy devices of every kind has been there. how many of these few bankers can be killed or locked up and the key thrown away. it started with tesla. I heard some story that ever sense the late 40’s to the early 50’s there was a thorium plant that was completely self suficient for 11 days. the same physicists that produced or created nuclear weapons were against uranium plants because they barely have a 2-3 percent efficiency and that might be with real modern ones. thorium is 100 percent efficient. ever sense the gas engine came out I kept wondering after dennis lee showed the exhaust engine how many people before him figured it out and before they could get the press they either commited suicide or in car accident that killed them. — Ralph Arnold
Participated in Solar Net Metering Panel, South Platte River Cleanup and Bike to School Day. — RJ Harrington
On Saturday April 25, Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) held an Earth Day celebration at The Learning Garden in Fort Worth, Texas. The Learning Garden is the demonstration and training site for Tarrant Area Food Banks Community Gardens program, where staff teach others how to grow their own food and start their own community-based programs to feed hungry families. The garden is on the property of Ridglea Christian Church. — Rob Morris
On Earth Day, we had a fundraiser for the Amazon Rainforest. One of the local wine bars has been hosting our art show that provides insight into what is happening in the Amazon so we got together, had wine and raise funds to plant more trees! Check out our website at: SpiritOfTheRainforests.org – – With love, – Rose Ann Haft
Our preschool in Atlanta holds an annual Earth Day Recycled Art Show. This year it was on a gorgeous, cool morning on the front steps of our church. Great way to teach our young friends about recycling. — Sarah Tomaka
Our green church committee at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Tucson, AZ, is holding an Earth Day weekend film event: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~shunter/climate-crisis.jpg — Spencer Hunter
I attended a documentary called “The Wisdom to Survive” at St. Raphael’s parish in Rockville, MD. Afterwards I took part in a group discussion in which each person shared one thing he or she is doing to address climate change. — Steve Boehm
Two members of Maine IPL joined with members of Maine Audubon to conduct an Earth Day morning celebration at Maine Audubon in Falmouth. 8 people came. — Susan Gilpin
We had an earth day worship Service, teach-in about Fossil fuels, and hike up a mountain. — Susanna Griefen
The United Church of Santa Fe celebrated Earth Day with a Groundbreaking Ceremony for their new solar system. The system of 44 panels, installed over a carport, will provide 100% of the church’s electricity. Senior Minister Rev. Talitha Arnold underscores that United’s commitment to be a “Desert Faith Church,” one that lives in harmony with the northern New Mexico landscape. In addition to reducing the church’s carbon footprint, the solar installation will save the equivalent of 31.75 million gallons of water from coal energy production or 520,000 pounds of coal avoided (460 tons). — Rev. Talitha Arnold
I became a vegetarian on the original Earth Day. I was on the Boulder campus of the University of Colorado. There were many activities relating to Earth Day and I happened to see a film concerning the treatment of animals on a farm. I was horrified! I went home and never ate meat again. Since that time, I became vegan. — Joan Peters
Our animal group “Southern Oregon Animal Rights Society” has a booth tomorrow April 25 at our yearly celebration here in Ashland Oregon. We distribute pamphlets, have a Jeopardy game for kids, have a display of a good farm and a bad farm and ask all questions and of course talk to people about how raising cattle emits 51% of green house gasses, pollution from factory farming. Water usage, and much more. — Nina Council
I started the day off driving to Augusta to attend the Legislative hearings at the Utilities & Technology Committee on the Efficiency Maine funding and building codes. I testified supporting Rep Gideon’s bill to correct the typo, and add the “and” back into the original bill’s wording to restore the funding back to the $60 million / yr level to increase energy conservation program activity levels, that will reduce environmental pollution by avoiding excessive generation, while supporting green technology businesses. – It felt like a good thing to do on Earth Day. — Mike Mayhew
St Francis Creation Care. Peace & justice Advocacy Group at the Church of the Covenant (Lynchburg, VA) conducted the first – ever – Earth Day Sunday Service on April 19th. The editor of its weekly UPDATE regularly promotes IP&L petitions and petitions from other groups seeking to make this a better world. During the week UPDATE’s Editor planted several shrubs on his property that was fromerly lawn so as to reduce his carbon footprint. — Robert Poignant
I spent part of Earth Day as a tour guide at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Brock Center, one of the most environmentally smart buildings in the world, does it all and it is right here in Virginia Beach.The center has been built to use no more electricity than what is generated by solar panels and wind turbines and no more water than what is collected in rain cisterns. There is a goal of zero run-off because of rain gardens everywhere that capture rainwater. With waterless toliets and gray water collection, the building does not use the citys sewage treatment system either. – – Recently, Earth Day Across America in Parade magazine, listed one eco-friendly thing in each of the 50 states. The Brock Center was cited in Virginia for being the only building in the continental U.S. certified to treat and drink the rainwater collected on the roof. — Penny Moulis
The EDGE SSND sponsored the third annual Elm Grove Village Earth Day: Water, Water Everywhere? The afternoon featured three panelists: Jayne Jenks from the DNR with a hands-on run-off model; Lindsay Frost from the only such school in the US: The UWM School of Fresheater Sciences and Jan Gregorcich, SSND, from Global Partners Running Waters, an organization which has provided over 100 water projects in Latin America. In addition, there were numerous displays from these three organizations, The EDGE, The Sierra Club and Citizens Climate Lobby. Creative story-telling and craft activities were provided for children during the panel. The event was graciously hosted by The Elm Grove Village Library.— Suzanne Moynihan
For many years, I’ve been trying to get our local food store, Wegmans, to eliminate the use of plastic bags in their stores. – Most recently I have begun to thank people in the store whom I noticed use reusable bags. I do that Very loudly and enthusiastically so all around us get the message. I now add “happy earthday” and will do that everyday. — Dan Lill
The UCC Church of the Crossroads with the Hawaii Interfaith Power and Light and GreenFaith on its Earth Sunday April 12th, invited Dr. Mark Hixon, a coral reef ecologist and chair of the University of Hawaii Depatment of Biology to speak about Climate Change occurring in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. – – On Saturday April 18th. the Windward Coalition of Churches of Oahu and FEMA/AmeriCorps vol;unteers did a Creation Care service project at Ulupo Heiau in Kawainui Marsh, Oahu. the heiau or temple is one of Oahu’s largest and oldest sacred sites. — Chuck Burrows
This is from Brooks-Howell Home, a retirement home for United Methodist missionaries and deaconesses. – – APRIL IS EARTH MONTH– – – Caring for the earth is what we do at BHH! We intensify our efforts in April in celebration of Earth Day. – We decided to shed our burdens by: 1) saving plastic tops to be turned into a bench for a new senior center for blind and deaf older adults in Morganton. 2) clearing out those items we really dont need and giving them to the White Elephant Sale the proceeds of which are designated to be spent to enhance our community landscaping. 3) giving books, we thought wed read sometime and never got around to it, to our library for the shelves or for the semi-annual book sale that helps provide UMW reading program books! 4)Sorting and collecting private and personal papers to be destroyed in a green way. – We are a clever and creative community! As part of a unique and inspiring chapel serve we became an animal, plant or mineral to tell humans what they need to be doing to protect the earth. — Esther Megill
Sisters of Charity in Belize City celebrated Earth Day by planting a mahogany tree in the backyard of their Belize City house. SCNs Maggie Cooper, Beverly Hoffman, Carlette Gentle and Barbara Flores gathered early Wednesday morning for the tree planting and a prayer service to mark the day. The young mahogany tree was given to the SCNs in Belize by Sister Carlettes brother-in-law. This tree is the national tree of Belize. — Mary Cooper
I requested our church, which has significant sized property, to put in a prairie. The church council approved my request and we are about to plant, with assistance from the local tall grass prairie center. — Kathy Green
I was inspired by the 6 year old son of friends who said that he wanted to clean up the trash that others had dropped on the ground around his street. – – I live in a rural area and walk 1/2 mile on a two lane highway to go to volunteer at a sustainable farm. I had been thinking that I should bring a bag to put the trash that littered the side of the road and when I heard about this child wanting to do this, I decided to get up and go for it. That half mile, on both sides of the road had enough beer and soda cans, bottles and fast food wrappers to fill five 30 gallon trash bags! It took me a little more than 4 hours and my house mate drove her pick-up truck to help me collect the bags. I sorted the cans for recycle the next day. (182 cans). I posted the story on Facebook so that this child would know that he inspired me to clean things up on my street. I told him that I would keep cleaning it up, that I would care for it and make sure it stays beautiful. — Carol Aspinwall
I am an American who lives overseas. I remember that first Earth Day 45 years ago as a life changing guidepost for my life. Since then I have done something to clean up my world every Earth Day – and all the days in between I hope. This year I sent out emails to all my work colleagues with quotes from great earth lovers from Walt Whitman to John Muir each day and suggestions for how we can help change the culture of using and abusing our Earth to loving her. I also do a special walk each Earth Day to clean up some of the paths I walk each day. I took a big trash bag and , unfortunately, filled it to overflowing with “stuff” thrown out by careless, thoughtless folks. I made a decision to start taking a trash bag with me Every Day on my walks from now on. I hope that my walks will get others active in the clean-up and more aware of what is needed to protect our beautiful home. — Brenda Barbour
To whom this may concern: In honor of Earth Day I started a LinkedIn conversation concerning Fracking, that may be found at The Ireland Foundation, a LinkedIn group. If you are interested in viewing the lively conversation, that includes comments from the previous Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, please search on LinkedIn for my foundation, or send me an email: williamireland@g.harvard.edu. — William Ireland, J.D.
I participated in Sing for the Trees, an international annual Earth Day event where you sing to a tree in your local area, — Laurie Pollack
I was in Florida for a conference. The hotel was GREEN and celebrated Earth Day with green sparklers. We each spoke of our gratefulness for the earth and promised to do everything possible to keep it green. — Ramona Nowak
I had contacted our apartment manager earlier in the month about stepping up recycling at our complex and then continued to email her photos of recyclables being piled into the regular garbage cans and suggested that they give us separate recycling cans for our apartments to better capture those items before they went into the trash. I also suggested they do this for Earth Day. They agreed to do this and are sending all apartments a recycling can for their unit! And will be sending out emails to remind people what materials go in which can and what goes to the recycling center. Yea! — Julie Eldridge
I participated in the Spokane Washington Earth Day celebration at our lovely Riverfront Park. There I helped with the Sierra Club table at which we had a blow up of a coal burning power plant our public utility (Avista) partially owns and gets about 20% of it’s electricity from. We gathered lots of signatures from folks telling Avista that we want them to divest themselves of their interest in the Colstrip Power Plant and rather switch to more renewable power. We also offered free lawn signs saying “Coal free Avista” on them. — Pauline Druffel
I heard several people mention Earth Day and was very glad. Copied the Earth Day prayer from Creation Justice Ministry and prayed it this morning, because I pray for God’s creation on Fridays. – Tomorrow, I will share my devotion with attendees of a United Methodist Women Social Action Event. — Ilse Peetz
Oh I hope this link works because I had an amazing vision on Earth Day and this is the story. http://dawnkirkimaginetheshift.blogspot.com —Dawn Kirk
Our earth day festival is on Saturday and we have prepared little packets of milkweed seeds to hand out, as part of our initiative to save the monarch butterfly, which needs milkweed to survive! — Shannon Anderson
Creighton University World Center for Asian Studies had a private screening of my film, We Know Not What We Do for Earth Day and flew me in to Omaha to participate. What a thrill. – Elizabeth Baker
Emmaus Road Mennonite Fellowship in Berne, Indiana invited Janeen Bertsche Johnson, campus pastor at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, to preach on climate change. — Janeen Johnson
I celebrated the anniversary of the starting my green, zero-waste healthy baking business, Butterfly Vegan Bakery. We use totally biodegradable packaging made with corn starch and make zero waste because Butterfly loves Earth! Butterflyvegan.com — parvaneh keivanfar
I have been celebrating Earth Day for many, many years, I marched in the very first Eath Day. I try to celebrate the Earth, Mother Nature, and all things wild and natural every day because we can’t celebrate just one day a year but everyday. Save the Earth! — Debbie Thomas
I was a professor at Western Illinois University on the first Earth Day in 1970. One of my students was an earnest young eviro, and she led several students and me to the campus incinerator, where she commenced to deliver a stern lecture to the guy who was operating the system. He seemed to take here condemnation of its pollution in stride, but said he couldn’t do much about it. This concluded our Earth Day activities, but it illustrates how far the environmental movement has come: I’m sure that the smouldering incinerator on this campus was decommissioned quite some time ago! The fact that the Vietnam War was raging at the time drew far more attention, but some of us rightly saw this pointless war and pointless environmental devastation as aspects of the same system, one that ran on violence, destruction, and exploitation, all unleashed to enrich the plutocracy. Sadly, while the plutocrats are less of a threat to the environment than in 1970, they have become a far greater threat to the working class and to democracy in the 45 years since that first Earth Day. — Bob Schildgen
I worked on our Calming Garden at the place where my faith community worships. — Clare Smith-larson
Our Justice and Compassion team was considering an Earth Day event on their agenda, and I suggested replacing a dead tree on our property with a new planting. A church member graciously donated an Ann Magnolia, and we had our preschool children help plant it, on Arbor day just after Earth Day. Doing our part to care for God’s creation! — Brad Kenney – Bellbrook United Methodist Church – Bellbrook, Ohio
From 8:30 am to 1pm I “tabled” at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento with a Sierra Club table with materials focused on Climate change. This was the 9th annual Earth Day for TREE, Trinity Respecting Earth and Environment. In the afternoon went to the community wide Earth Day and helped with the tables if the League of Women Voters and a nascent group Climate Really Matters. — Rick Bettis
Rockford Urban Ministries hosted a sing along honoring the memory of Pete Seeger, and we had a house full, and may have to do it again next year. — Stanley Campbell
I presented my seminar “Halting Climate Change” at the Science Caf in Bloomington Indiana. It included a section on the 6th mass extinction. I used the projections of E.O. Wilson as to the number of extinctions by 2100. I also showed visuals of contributors to mass extinction such as loss of habitat, overexploitation. The place was packed. — Norman Holy
Everyday is Earth Day for me. First I make sure that the brid feeder gets filled so the smaller birds get some seeds and then for the bigger morning doves I put some bird seed on a garage can lid on the lawn so the bigger birds get some food also. — Jean Amore
As part of our Wonderful Wednesday garden group, a group of 5th grade boys and I planted squash and tended to our garden! — Sara Hanson
Tabled at our local Earth Day Celebration, for Citizens Climate Lobby, promoting a federal fee on carbon-based fuels with the dividends going back to the citizens! — Kathleen Masis
On April 18 Leslie Edwards and I led a nature walk for about 45 people to Arabia Mountain and yesterday a writeup appeared in the Atlanta Paper: http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/recreation/rare-plants-thrive-on-monadnocks-and-outcrops/nkzP7/ — Bill Witherspoon
At Metro Community Church of the Quad Cities, we prayed for the Earth, we took the Paris Pledge and we agreed to greater individual responsibility to care for creation. We gave up Styrofoam, planted two trees and began forming teams to find ways to be better stewards of creation. — Rev. Rich Hendricks
My organization, Mothers Out Front, received an award for Outstanding Leadership and Community Organizing on climate change from the Rochester Regional Group of the Sierra Club at their Annual Forum. This year’s key note speaker was world-renowned scientist, activist, professor, and former NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen. In front of an audience of 700, I accepted the award on behalf of the organization and my acceptance speech/call to action is here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ogQ-gQfFAo&feature=youtu.be — Neely Kelley
Took Church Children’s Choir to local recycling center. — Marylee Moxley
Since spring is taking its time to come to the Adirondack Mrs this year, snow last 3 days, I spent Earth Day potting some seeds from the Pizza package I ordered from you. Looking forward to planting them in June, hopefully. — Margo Cooper
