Market Day

Acornmoon flowers

My Peonies in repurposed tin cans, bath salts in reused bottles, rosemary infused coconut oil in mason jars that can be infinitely re-used.

My quest is relentless … to re-use as much as possible, and to encourage everyone else to do the same.

… always, with gratitude ^_^

New Face

“Anyone who knows me, should learn to know me again; For I am like the Moon, you will see me with new face everyday.”

I have ventured into Facebook. It is overwhelming. Like going from a peaceful countryside to the vast pack of humanity found in large cities.

So it is here that I rest my eyes and heart, quietly posting threads of thoughts.

Facebook has become yet another teacher on my path. It reminds me how easy it is to fall into distractions.

Today, I reclaim my focus, adjust my attitude (which has gotten a bit frazzled lately!), and reinvent myself.

I am the Moon, and I seek to be the Acorn … a tiny seed of the Great Oak.

… with gratitude ^_^

Roots and Branches

Burrowing and reaching. They are equal in need.

This condition labeled ‘Fibromyalgia’, which is a non-sense word, is in continual flux and negotiation. The mind commands, the heart bursts forward, the body strives. How far … how far … can it be pushed?

Stillness and motion. A balance that never quite balances.

~

Our Bodies … when we are given a gift, it is our responsibility to treat our gifts as though they are treasures. And that is exactly what gifts are – treasures. Some gifts we pass on because they are meant to be with someone else. Some gifts we keep because they have found their home (for now). But our Bodies … these belong to us completely.

I believe we are in a symbiotic relationship with our bodies. There is an inherent, organic intelligence involved. Our souls are housed in these ‘soft shells’. With out this, we could not navigate through the physical world. The body is not robotic. It is complex, intuitive, instinctive, intelligent, wildly cunning. We have merged with this short-lived organism to experience the spectrum of this world. Pain and wonder, weakness and strength, anger and love .. these are all chemical explosions that flood us with sensations that we either like or don’t like.

Not to be confused with LOVE in the universal sense. The Love that is true core of our being. That is untainted by the other emotions, because it is not an emotion at all …. it is what we ARE.

The choices we make in caring for this gift … they aren’t right or wrong. It is the consequences of our choices that we are really experimenting with. Do we like the outcome? Or do we grimace and say, ‘oh that didn’t work out so well …’ . The latter is when we try another variation. Until we hit on the combination we ‘like’.

Sort of like practicing music.
Practicing.
That is exactly what we are doing with Life.

…. something I wrote a month ago. I need to remember this.

In the end, we just do the very best we can in every given moment.

…. with gratitude and love ^_^

 

Hummingbird Moth

“Some speculate that glimpses of these insects inspired tales of fairies.”
(http://visitwimberley.com/critters/hummingbirdMoth.shtml)

I took these pictures last evening using a flash on my very old digital camera. This ‘faerie’ really loves the flowering garden Sage and Rosemary.

The ‘real’ Hummingbirds weren’t daunted by the flash and kept buzzing rapidly at their feeding station. There are two feeders, and yes, I use Organic sugar!

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If we pay attention, we will find many signs and affirmations from our Messengers.

…. with gratitude ^_^

Blessed

Blessed Are We ~ By Kellianna

Blessed are we in the awakening dawn
Blessed are we in the morning

Blessed are we in the light of the day
As we enjoy the earth turning

Blessed are we as the twilight descends
And the magic of dusk is upon us

And Blessed are we in the dark of the night
As we slip into dreams that are calling

 

Wasps

I just want to share some notes about Wasps .. and to offer the reminder that these winged-creatures are our friends.  But like any friend, if you assault them with negative energy, they will respond accordingly.

After having visiting Wasps in our garden on the remote Somerset Levels and being, what we thought, pestered by them; my partner and I re-thought the strategy of being part of Nature that has to co-exist. Instead of trying to push them away and make them angry by our actions we decided to allow them their own space within ours. Now my partner feeds several hundreds of wasps daily from late July on when they start to appear. They are fed on Honey, Jam, Fruit. So far after 3 years; they seem very social creatures, a sentry wasp comes to the door when they need food and flies around to let know and then flies back. So far sitting with them, photographing them within inches of the food, no stings. They land on the camera/s, investigate – fly off. They land on hands, arms and, once again, investigate and then fly off. This year the garden has been very quiet with Greenfly/Blackfly. They can be comical when watched especially in sticky Honey when they try to fly off and when coated, as they can get, others come and clean them up. I feel they know we are not a threat. They do have their moments with each other, usually short term (maybe different colonies?), they seem to be very aware that none are in danger. I am fascinated by their presence, which was much less this year until this past few weeks when the numbers have risen. As to their purpose, just think of the rotting fruit they dispatch, the other insects they keep down and if we are silly enough to eat sweet foods in ‘nature’s’ garden and attract them and then try to ‘swipe’ them then they have a reason to retaliate I guess, all creatures have a purpose and before we call the ‘kettle black’ just look at how we act – and then we call ourselves ‘civilized’ – no, I think Nature has it sorted out, it’s us that need to realize we don’t own the World in our arrogance to believe we are ‘more than’, we simply are part of a greater whole. M. Dixon – Somerset UK

(This website no longer exists, but this is my source …. http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1158,00.html)

There is a delicate balance between predators and prey in the world’s ecology, and wasps are part of that balance. They may appear to just be a pest, but they also do a lot of good in keeping other insect pests under control. They are really a gardener’s friend. For most of the year we are not particularly aware of the wasps around us, it is only at the end of the season when they become a nuisance. A knowledge of the wasp’s life cycle will help understand this.

Mated queen wasps hibernate during the winter and emerge in spring. The queens find suitable nesting sites and begin to build a nest out of a form of paper, made from chewed wood fibres. During this time they will visit flowers and feed on nectar — this is the one time when wasps are pollinators. The queen lays eggs and feeds the larvae on insect prey. The insect bodies are chewed into a liquid which is fed to the grubs. When these first worker wasps emerge they take over most of the queen’s duties, except for egg laying. Wasp colonies rapidly increase in size and in just a few weeks populations of 20,000 are quite possible.
Adult wasps feed on nectar or anything sugary. They feed their larvae on insect prey and the larvae exude a sugary liquid on which the adults feed. They are more beneficial to us than people realize: one worker wasp can collect over 100 aphids a day.
At the end of the season, the colony will produce drone wasps and new queens. They go off to mate and for the queens to find somewhere to hibernate. The old queen stops laying, and this is where the nuisance phase starts. No eggs means no larvae; and no larvae means no sugary feed. The wasps have to find alternative sources of food such as ripening fruit, jam, and beehives for the honey.
When the cold weather comes, all of the wasps will die, except for the hibernating new queens.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_purpose_of_a_wasp

~~

… with gratitude ^_^

Canyonville Farmers’ Market

Unlike the Umpqua Valley Farmers’ Market in Roseburg, the Canyonville Farmers’ Market is still finding her way. There has been many changes and turn over in the last several years. And this year … for me, a huge change. My experience being so brief compared to so many, yet I have taken on the title of management.

In any Market, some people have the view that it is just about produce. After all, it is called Farmers’ Market. But a grocery store is not just groceries, either.

Traditionally, a Market has offered a wide array of talents. The criteria is simple: Everything is grown, processed, produced, or crafted by the vendor.

Markets offer many choices for the roving eye … food, herbs, plants, garden accessories, body products, sewn items, crocheted/knitted items, metal work, woodwork … It is a long list. When you buy from the Market, you are supporting a grass-roots movement to keep alive local communities.

Last summer I wrote an essay on why I participate in the Market:

Why I do Market ….

My ‘mission’ is to promote health through physical activity, mental stimulation… and to encourage nurturing care for this magnificent and complex body that navigates us through this physical world.

I spend many hours of many days preparing product for Market, harvesting, drying, combining ingredients, and labeling. For all this work, the income generated might cover the costs of production and gas to get there, but rarely does it cover much of the ‘cost’ of labor.

Is the Market a way for me to make a living? Not so far. But there is something else involved, something beyond the hard cash that many of us so desperately need in order for ends to meet. 

There is a difference between Making a Living and …. Living.  The difference between ‘life events’ and ‘life’.

I am an Introvert. For those of you unfamiliar with that concept, it means social activities are uncomfortable at best, and sometimes painful at worst. You will never find me at a party or ‘hanging out’.

I do not consider the Market a ‘social’ function. It is Community. It is deeper than sharing a drink over dinner.

At Market, we display our wares, and we share aspects of our True Self. We connect with other ‘like-minded’ souls, and encourage a more authentic and healthier life style.

In a society that is riddled with ill-health and confusions, the Market is a place that strips away the false ideals of thoughtless living. The vendors reveal a different truth … a truth that embraces our connections to each other and to Nature.

The Market is a quiet revolution. It is a place of education and revelations. It sparks imagination and creativity. It is a life-style and a life-choice.

Is it hard work? Oh yes. Oh very much yes. Is it worth it? Oh very much yes!

~~

Idealistic? Sure. Why not? I still believe in the Market. I believe in the ideal of it.

… with gratitude ^_^