Category Archives: Health & Wellbeing

When Fear Drives The Bus

Yesterday I found myself doing that slow crying where you don’t realize it until you discover that your face is wet. Disheartened. Heartsick. Heartbroken. Like everyone else, I’ve been watching more news than is good for me; it’s nauseatingly, horrifyingly fascinating. I keep saying I won’t watch anymore but I can’t seem to stop. One especially painful element is the clear prevalence of black and white thinking on display right now; all white people are A (right?), all people of color are B, all police are X, all protesters are Y, all looters are Z, all corporations are XYZ. It’s much easier to fall back on generalizing and blaming/shaming than to recognize that we are all complex; we each have the seeds of everything in us, from peaceableness to passion, from anger and aggression to generosity and gentle kindness. I’ve been feeling very uncomfortable with my own emerging desire for perpetrators of evil to be punished in ways that really hurt them. I’ve never seen my own desire to hurt anyone else before and though I don’t want to do the punishing, I do want it to be done. Realizing that is bone-deep nauseating. Continue reading

Posted in Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Decoration Day

There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in-and out Stormy Weather And Silver Linings This Memorial Day is the most painful I’ve ever experienced. In the past, I thought of it as many people seem to; … Continue reading

Posted in Care & Feeding, Climate Change, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Gardening In The Time Of Disaster

Friendship is golden Pressure Drop How are you managing your days right now? As the weeks and months roll by, there have been so many shifts in my own attitude, from stunned shock to obsessive researching to bone deep grief … Continue reading

Posted in Hardy Herbs, Health & Wellbeing, Native Plants, Pollination Gardens, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Safer Slug Solutions

This has been a banner year for slugs; yesterday I counted over 40 babies and moms in a single flat of 4-inch pots. I’m more laissez faire than I used to be and won’t kill slugs or bugs unless they’re doing obvious damage, but this little herd was mowing down my veggie starts before they could get started. Sorry, critters. It’s doom time for you. So what’s the best way to off a slug without cruelty? Ecologically speaking, it’s the oldest; predators. Toads, frogs, moles, shrews, and songbirds are all slug eaters, as are ducks and chickens. In an organic garden, predators can safely feed on slugs and bugs, and the balance of nature rarely gets out of hand. Continue reading

Posted in Gardening With Children, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Pets & Pests In The Garden, Pollination Gardens, Pollinators, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Teaching Gardening | Tagged , , | 15 Comments