Visioning the future now

Today I ventured out to a local shop that carries beautiful notebooks and journals made from handcrafted paper and worn saris from India to buy a new dream journal (mine is full!!) and a notebook for visioning. Everytime I have driven by in the last 2 months it as been open but I haven't had time or energy to stop with two kids in tow. Today I made a special trip, but alas it was closed.

I still had time before picking L up from school, tho, so I went to our local Goodwill, hoping to find a nice journal: they only had one, purple and girly with a fancy woman on the cover and the words: "It's all about me! Me, me, me, me, Me, me, ME."

Well. That's not really, um, me.

But then I thought: hey, if you're going to have a notebook for visioning, a place where you write your desires and wants, a place where you work on crystallizing your visions and manifesting your dreams, if you really want it all to COME TRUE, then girl, you better get comfortable with the phrase: "it's all about me". Because this is ALL about you. OK. ok. So, I'll work on it ;)

If you haven't ever had a visioning notebook, it can take many forms... You may fill a binder with clear sheet protectors in which you stick photos and cuttings from magaines of things you want or ideas you like. It might be filled completely with affirmations. It might be filled with prayers for you and loved ones. It might be filled with drawings or sketches. Ideas. Inspirations.

You might not use a notebook, but instead create a vision board that you can post on your wall and look at every day. I have done that, and it is a lot of fun, too.

The key with all visioning is to be in the moment, to be full of joy and excitement, for your strong emotion is a strong factor in the success your dreaming.

Here, here, let's have a group cheer for the NOW!

Tasty tea from your backyard

This month I have been really enjoying the wild harvests of my yard -- stinging nettles cooked up like spinach, chive pancakes, and garlic mustard pestos. To accompany my foraged finds, I have been drinking Eastern White Pine tea, simply taking a handful of needles still attached to small branches which are freshly fallen to the ground and steeping them in boiling water for 15 minutes with a dash of honey or agave. The tea is delicious, nutritious, and not at all like pine-sol, I promise!

White Pine Bark is an old and trusted remedy for colds and flu. It loosens and expels phlegm from the respiratory tract, easing bronchitis and lung congestion, and its warming qualities stimulate circulation, which may ward off colds and flu before they settle in. The high content of nature's most powerful antioxidants (proanthocyanidins/PCSs/OPCs) in White Pine Bark have made it the focus of much attention in the area of combating free radicals, arteriosclerosis and strokes.

White Pine Bark is an excellent expectorant and is used to loosen and expel phlegm and mucous excretions from the respiratory system. The inner bark has been a longtime standard herbal remedy for coughs, whooping cough, croup, bronchitis, laryngitis and chest congestion due to colds.

As a warming and aromatic stimulant, White Pine Bark is said to increase circulation and further help to overcome or prevent the onset of colds and flu by raising circulatory action.

White Pine Bark contains the second highest source (the first is Grapeseed) of nature's most potent antioxidants, tannin compounds, called proanthocyanidins (also called OPCs for oligomeric procyanidins or PCOs for procyanidolic oligomers) that provide a high degree of antioxidant capacity, which fight free radical damage in the body. These compounds allow the body's cells to absorb vitamin C, which is helpful in protecting cells from the free radicals that can bind to and destroy cellular compounds. These qualities may be helpful in building the immune system and fighting invasive material and other infections. They are classified as flavonols, and the way in which these versatile healing compounds are distinct from flavonoids is their simple chemical structure, which allows them to be readily absorbed into the bloodstream. They work actively against fat-soluble and water-soluble oxidants, thus protecting the cells from damage, and their antioxidant activity is thought to have great potential in combating cellular damage caused by foreign infectious attack.

White Pine Bark's OPCs, which may also be derived from Grapeseed, Red Wine, Hops, Pomegranate and various other fruits, nuts and beans are believed to contribute to a lowered incidence of arteriosclerosis and coronary heart problems. White Pine Bark is also a source of resveratrol, which is thought to raise the levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs or “good” cholesterol) in the blood, while decreasing the low-density lipoproteins (LDLs, or “bad” cholesterol) and thereby possibly helping to prevent heart attacks and strokes. It is also said to prevent fat in the bloodstream from sticking together and clogging the arteries, which is thought to promote better circulation of blood throughout the body, especially to the heart.

The inner bark of White Pine Bark (cambium) is the source of resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin, which is produced in plants that is reputed to have antifungal properties.

According to recent research (2008) from Peninsula Medical School, England, the resveratrol found in Pine Bark, Grape Skin and Red Wine can protect against cellular damage to blood vessels caused by high production of glucose in diabetes, claiming resveratrol's antioxidant effects are well documented. But the new research establishes the link between high levels of glucose, its damaging effect on cell structure and the ability of resveratrol to protect against and mend that damage. Moreover, resveratrol could be used to block the damaging effect of glucose, which, in turn, might fight the often life threatening complications that accompany diabetes. It could well be the basis of effective diet-based therapies for the prevention of vascular damage caused by hyperglycemia in the future.

White Pine Bark is considered a diuretic, and as such, encourages the flow of urine, which is said to be very helpful in cases of urinary tract infections and kidney problems.

Please note: Pregnant Women should probably avoid or limit their intake of White Pine, just to be safe.

(White Pine information found on herbalextractsplus.com)

Pretty Orbs in the Sacred Grove

My mother created a sacred grove on her property this winter, amongst some eastern white pines, a tamarack tree, and a hawthorn tree next to a babbling brook.

It is a wonderfull place to sit and enjoy a warm cup of tea in the morning or a cold beer at the end of the day after mucking out the horses' stalls. We housesat this past weekend for her and enjoyed the grove, and took some nice photos of nature spirits around the trees. See the big peach orb above?

Later that night I enjoyed a very fine tea steeped from the white pine needles (shown above with an orb on the left side) and a bit of local honey.

Directing Our Energy

What if, instead of going to war in Iraq, instead of continuing on in Afganistan, we had spent those billions of dollars, hundreds of days, and thousands of young soldiers' arms to erect wind towers and solar fields? What if instead of securing the angst of an entire region and a dying energy source, we had secured our nation as an energy-independent superpower?

How much safer do you think we would be today?

How much more secure, as a nation, do you think we would be?

What if we started tomorrow?

When we change direction, we shift our entire perspective.

Maple Beer, Acer Ale. Sweet Times!

With gallons of maple sap dripping into our buckets every day, there is a lot to do! Maple Syrup is easy -- just boil, boil, add more sap, boil, add more, boil, add more, boil, and pour into sterilized jars. It takes me about 2 gallons of sap to make 1 pint of syrup from my trees. Yum!

I like syrup, but I also like beer and wine, and they require a LOT less boiling to make!

Here are the recipes I used this year. I haven't made these before, though I have made similar ones.

Acer Ale -- A Quick Old New England Recipe

* 3 gallons of Maple Sap, boiled down to 1.5 gallons.
* Champagne Yeast

Cool boiled sap to 70 degrees, pour into sanitized fermenter, pitch in yeast. Ferment until it is finished, prime bottles (preferably with maple sugar or syrup) and cap. Ready to drink in two weeks.


Maple Beer -- Adapted from an old Zymurgy article
* 7 gallons fresh Sap
* 4 pounds light malt extract
* 2 oz. hops
* beer yeast

Choose ingredients that are lighter in flavor to let the maple come through better.
Boil Sap for 40 minutes to kill any beasties in it and set aside. Boil one gallon 45 minutes with hops and malt extract in it. Strain and add to fermenter. Fill fermenter to 5 gallons with remaining sap. Cover and let cool to 70F, pitch in yeast, cover again, ferment until completion. Prime sanitized bottles w/ maple syrup or maple sugar and cap. Ready to drink in two-three weeks!

Smartipants Diapers -- A Review

With my son, I used cloth diapers for over three years. For the first year I used mostly prefolds and covers, with some cute fitted kissaluvs thrown in for fun. Then I discovered Bum Genius, a one-size pocket diaper that comes in cute colors and fits newborns up through 35 pounds. They were great, except the leg elastic had a tendancy to give out after 6-12 months, and the velcro fasteners can come undone in the laundry, resulting in lots of "pulls" on washclothes and other fabrics. I used them with my daughter for the first 5 weeks, too, but they were on their last legs. Enter SMARTIPANTS!

Smartipants are fantastic diapers. These diapers are constructed very similarly to BumGenius, but they use snaps which don't catch on fabrics. They fit my 11 pound daughter very nicely, and my 37 pound son, too. Their pockets, which hold the SUPER absorbant microfiber inserts, are open on both ends so that they agitate out of the diapers by themselves in the wash -- no more reaching for the insert through poo and muck to remove it. A nice bonus, indeed. They are also very trim, even trimmer than the BumGenius, and hold more pee with less leaks (how they manage this, I don't quite know, being so trim, but do it  -- they do!)

Granted, I've only been using them for 1 week so I can't say that the elastic will last forever, but the owner of the company is one of the foremost names in cloth diapering, having invented Wonderoos years ago, so I when she says they use the best elastic they could find, I believe her.

All in all, a great diaper for a price that is nice. They are several dollars less than similar one-size pocket diapers, as well as less than most fitted/cover combos. The company offers them in three packs for those looking to save money, but then you can't choose your colors. I bought mine through thanksmama.com, whom I've dealt with before and like quite a bit. They also offer them in three packs, but let you choose your colors, and right now they have a 5% off sale if you use the coupon code "mama."

Gentian Violet for thrush... and crafts?

Gentian Violet is an old remedy for fungal and yeast condition on the skin and within the orifices. It is not made from violets or from gentian, but does have the stunning, vivid purple color of a gentian flower. You can get it through most drugstores by order without a prescription for around $2.00. One tiny bottle will last a lifetime, as you only use a tiny bit. When babies have oral thrush and/or mama has sore, red nipples from thrush, a tiny bit painted on the nipples before feeding once per day, for three days, will almost always clear it up. Baby will have a punk-looking purple mouth for a few days, but the staining is not permament. I have used this remedy once with each of my babies for minor thrush at the beginning (both births had me on IV antibiotics throughout the delivery, creating the perfect environment for this condition in my body and my babies').

Gentian violet WILL stain any clothes it comes in contact with, and so it is generally recommended that you wear black and use old black t-shirts for burp clothes for a few hours after you use gv as a treatment... I got a tiny drop on my daughter's onesie, and it came out of the wash with a stunningly beautiful bright violet spot on it. Which of course gave me the idea: why not die the whole onesie with spots? And why not die a few more onesies and socks a plain purple? So I dotted the one onesie and let it dry, and then placed it in a bowl with some vinegar and water to set the stain (not that GV needs much help in that department!) Then I also made another small bowl with 1 tsp GV, 1 cup vinegar and 3 cups water, and soaked the other onesies and socks to get a nice solid purple color.

Here is a pic of the bowl of clothes before washing: the violet comes out a bit lighter, and more vivid, in the end. You can see the onesie with spots after it came out of the wash, still wet :)  If you get any on your counter or staining your sink, a tiny bit of bleach in water will take it right out.

Love Notes from the Universe

Little blessings abound. I like to call these "love notes from the universe." Finding a 5 dollar bill when picking up trash at the local park with my son (I'm all for being a crazy teenager when one is at that age, but really guys, do you have to throw your gatorade bottles, pints of vodka and condom wrappers out your car window into the parking lot? Yuck!) A donation from family so I can buy good new cloth diapers for the baby, now that her brother's 3 year-old ones are all worn out. And now, an unsolicited offer of a free 3-year old water heater to replace ours which just died.

The water has seemed just a little less hot the last month or so, but I didn't really think about it -- it was the coldest month of the year, after all! Then yesterday there was almost no hot water when I tried to shower (emphasis on tried. I didn't last long in the cold.) I assumed it was because I had just washed a load of diapers on hot, and forgot to adjust the load size down from "large". But today, sure enough, no hot water again. None at all. No breakers are tripped. The heater is on but not working. So when I stopped at my husband's work to report on my findings, a coworker overheard us talking about heater shopping tonight and asked if we wanted his. Apparently its a great brand that he received from a company for a special trial offer: use for three years, review it, and then get another BRAND new one installed free at the end of that time. So he did the trial, and has had this great hot water heater sitting in his garage unused for the last 9 years. It's twelve years old, but was only used for three. All we have to do is clean the fittings, and my husband can easily hook it up! It is 12 gallons more than ours and a little taller, but will fit perfectly. And since ours was TWENTY TWO years old, I am sure it will still cost less to run.

Oh, the joy :) This is such a blessing, since we really don't have $500 lying around right now for a new heater. In thanks, I went and picked up more trash from the same park parking lot -- that make 6 bags now! And there's still more...

How do you juice a tree?

Can you do it? Would you do it?

My son asked me these questions last week. And I said, of yes, yes you can! And oh yes, yes I would!

Yesterday my mother and I walked around her property talking to the old Maple trees and asking their permission to tap them for sweet, healthful sap. They all said yes, all except one. The most ancient tree on our property, the 2nd oldest sugar maple in the state according to a local tree expert, we did not tap out of respect (We call her the Mother Tree), but we did tap her daughter.

Tapping is fun!

This was my first experience with tapping, so I followed all the experts instructions. I bought a 7/16th" drill, and drilled holes at chest height (about 5 feet up), 1.5 inches deep. The whole time, it smelled like crepes, like caramelized sugar wafting from the street vendors in Paris, a fond childhood memory I have from visiting Dad there every year. Mmmmmm.

I positioned the holes under large branches and/or over large roots for optimal sap collection. Next year I will not use the same holes, but tap at least two inches the right or left of them (not above or below, that still uses the same "veins".) The sap began to flow right away. We've been having warm days and cold nights for a week now, which is the best weather for tapping. I had to wait until my taps arrived by mail, though!

I drove the spiles (taps) in by hand,  and hooked on clean gallon jugs to them. That's it! Now I just need to check them and collect the sap every day or two, and begin the boiling process on the wood stove to make syrup. It takes 30-40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, and I doubt I'll make anywhere near that much. BUT I am planning on drinking the sap (it's naturally sterile, totally filtered, full of minerals and enzymes, and yummy yummy, even tho its just 2-3 % sugar). In Korea they drink the sap as a health ritual every year. And I also want to make Maple Beer and Maple Wine. Yum yum yum. I will include the recipes I have for those and my experience with them when we do that!

All in all we tapped 7 trees, even tho we had taps and 10 jugs, my mother and I aren't sure we can use that much sap! We both have wood stoves and plan on splitting the sap between us. She is very excited, and followed me around holding the jugs on a long rope, declaring how proud she was of her "homesteading, pioneering daughter." LOL. We'll see if said daughter can make some good, consumable items out of this sap before my inner jury decides :)

U.S. Wind Energy Potential Is Three Times Higher Than Previously Estimated

Oooh -- I find the article below so exciting! I have driven through wind fields in Europe and California, and I find them beautiful. I have never understood the general American NIMBY opposition to wind turbines... I think they are so pretty, and relaxing to watch. And they are so much better for the envirnment than most alternatives. Even with the alloted amount of bird deaths from the turbines, I imagine they would kill less birds yearly than pollution from many other energy sources. In our home we use 100% green energy from our electric company in the form of 50% wind, 25% hydro (very common in CT), and 25% landfill gas. So, even when our bills are high, I still feel pretty good about them! Still, I have looked into getting a small turbine for my own land, and hope to someday have a pasture to accomodate it (and some goats!)

Reprinted from EERE Network News, a free newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy:

New estimates for wind energy potential are blowing us away! The United States has the potential to create nine times as much energy by wind annually as was created by all energy sources combined in 2009.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released new estimates of the United States’ wind energy potential, which tripled previous estimates of the size of the nation's wind resources. The new study, which was carried out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and AWS Truewind, finds that the contiguous 48 states have the potential to generate up to 37 million gigawatt hours annually. To put that in perspective, total U.S. electricity generation from all sources was roughly 4 million gigawatt hours in 2009. The estimates show the total energy yield that could be generated using current wind turbine technology on the nation's windy lands. (The estimates show what is possible, not what will actually be developed.)

Along with the state-by-state estimates of wind energy potential, NREL and AWS Truewind have developed wind resource maps for the United States and for the contiguous 48 states that show the predicted average wind speeds at an 80-meter height. The wind resource maps and estimates provide local, state, and national policymakers with accurate information about the nature of the wind resource in their areas and across the nation, helping them to make informed decisions about wind energy in their communities.

Why Has Wind Energy Potential Gone Up?

The new estimates reflect substantial advances in wind turbine technology that have occurred since the Department of Energy's last national wind resource assessments were conducted in 1993. For example, previous wind resource maps showed predicted average wind speeds at a height of 50 meters, which was the height of most wind turbine towers at the time. The new maps show predicted average wind speeds at an 80-meter height, the height of today's turbines. Because wind speed generally increases with height, turbines built on taller towers can capture more energy and generate more electricity. The new estimates also incorporate updated capacity factors, reflecting improvements in wind turbine design and performance.

A Visit from Flicker

Today I saw a beautiful yellow flicker with a red back of the head, if stayed in a tree flitting from branch to branch for over 30 minutes during a bit wet snowstorm. Gorgeous. Flickers are 12-14", close to the size of a crow, and members of the woodpecker family. They are all about healing and empowerment, and were highly respected by Native Americans throughout the U.S.A.

Flicker is about change and evolution, the opening of the heart to show us new ways, and the powerful intuitive powers of the crown chakra, or messages from the divine. It shows us that new life and dreams are emerging, and indeed, an hour after seeing the bird my husband worked out some wonderful things with his business.

Flicker parents also keep a fastidious home, and I saw the bird just after tidying up and reorganizing our office and living room spaces.

Flicker is supposed to bring in renewed creativity, which is part of why I had been cleaning the office area, to allow room for more work to come in.


Beauty is all around us.

We are so blessed. We are so loved. Trust. TRUST. TRUST!!

Believe that it is all for you, for truly it is. How I yearn for you to know and believe all this. It is the fullest truth of the verse.

Blessings.

A Haiku

Beauty sleeping
Pink wonder, joyful wisdom
Here for a time.

A Poem to ponder...

"Considerations"
by Michael Faraday Alexander

We speak of Consciousness,
yet what do we do;
We live in the Moment,
yet plan future Events;
We share the Dream,
yet are we fully Awakened;
We pray to our Ancestors,
yet forget to love the Children;
We learn from our Friends,
yet where is the Unity;
We acknowledge the Importance,
yet fail to provide Support;
We recognize Inspiration,
yet do we inspire Others;
We take from the Earth,
yet what do we give back;
We are born of Woman,
yet what separates our Sacredness;
We feel our inner Earthquakes,
yet not our Mother's Unrest;
We climb Success Ladders,
yet never stop climbing;
We know of The Oneness,
yet know not of our oneness;
We want Independence,
yet who is anyone Alone;
We understand Patience,
yet are ignorant of Time;
We live a life Full-Talented,
yet where is our One-Hearted;
We desire Uniqueness, seek Democracy,
yet we cannot reform our Families;
We have Experiences,
yet we keep them to ourselves;
We honor White Buffalo,
yet still follow the Herd;
We all have been Hungry,
yet still there is Starvation;
We think what we Become,
yet what we think also Becomes;
We exalt at writing Poetry,
yet how many are living as Poets;
We love to Live,
yet do we live to Love.