Going against nature - lawns, fertilizing and weeding

A couple days ago I was websurfing and came upon an interesting blog by Pari.

"We take it for granted the rich variety of plants we can have in India. In the average middle class home you may find many of these trees: coconut, mango, almond, banana, guava, papaya, jackfruit, gooseberry/amla, neem, gulmohar, ashoka, curry, drumstick, orange, lemon, and all large variety of flowering plants - jasmine, bougainvillea, orchids, aloe, frangipani, and creepers. What do we have around a house in the US? A full time activity of the average American homeowner is maintaining the lawn (the Europeans observe it as an obsession) - forced to be green and devoid of any other plant life through repeated chemical treatments, twisting, warping, and sanitizing nature to conform to standards (see the link on allergies) instead of appreciating nature as it is."

Hmmm, it's an interesting thought that the most common way of cultivating the earth around our homes here in Canada & the US is also the most unhealthy.

Shortly after reading this I was reading from book 4 of the Ringing Cedars series - Co-Creation (p 157-160) and Anastasia is describing how to create a living Paradise around your home, from building a living fence around it - shrubs and trees to cultivating the land and building a home on it. She talks about how weeding and fertilizing are not necessary if it is thought out when planted - you will have abundant crops without the need for a lot of work "Everything around you will serve you with great pleasure and with love through many generations."

"Vladimir, right now you are in the tiaga (forest). Look around you, how high the trees are, how mighty their trunks! Along the trees herbs and bushes are growing. There are raspberries, and currants... indeed a whole lot of everything grows right here in the tiaga for Man's use. And over thousands of years not a single person has fertilized the ground. But the land remains fruitful. What do you think: how has it been fertilized and by whom?" ..

"Here in the tiaga God's thought and God's plan are not interfered with to the same degree as where Man lives today. In the tiaga leaves fall from the trees, and little branches are torn off by the breeze. And those leaves and branches, along with worms, fertilize the ground in the tiaga. And the grass which grows all around regulates the composition of the earth. The bushes help it clear away excesses of acids and alkalis. None of the fertilizers you are familiar with can substitute for the leaves falling fro the trees. After all, leaves include any of the diverse energies of the Universe. They have seen the stars, the Sun and the Moon. And not only seen, but they have interacted with them. And even any thousands of years from now, the ground here in the tiaga will still be fertile."

Vegetable gardens can be set up to be little work or aggravation. "Among the herbs, just the way everything grows here in the forest, you could have the most splendid tomatoes and cucumbers under cultivation. Their taste will be much ore healthful and appealing for the body than when they are grown simply on a patch of bare ground."

She says there is nothing useless in nature.. "there are no purposeless weeds. Neither are there any beetles that are harmful to Man."

Vladimir asks about locusts & the Colorado beetle which eats away at potato crops in the fields.

"(they are) thereby showing people how their ignorance is eating away at the self-sufficiency of the Earth, contradicting the designs of the Divine Creator. How can people keep stubbornly ploughing year after year in one and the same place, torturing the ground? It is like scraping an open wound, at the same time demanding benefits from the wound. Locusts or the Colorado beetle will not touch the ground-lot you and I have outlined. When everything grows together in one grand harmony, the fruits accruing to their owners are also harmonious."

& if we have no more weeding or fertilizing, and everything just grows by itself, Vladimir asks "then what is there left for Man to do?

"Live in Paradise. The way God wanted us to. Anyone who is able to build himself a Paradise like that will come into contact with the Divine thought and produce a new co-creation together with Him."

Reusable Bags - No More trash! ( ..or at least reduce, please)

I just found these great hemp shopping bags!

I want to order them but know time is limited this morning.. such limited computer time - I'm so amazed I even get this blog written. But the Reusable Bags site is great.

The plastic bag issue is one that rings strongly for me. The amount of plastic bags polluting our earth is astonishing. In fact:

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.'

They pollute our planet & use up our precious resources (petroleum - which is nearly gone completely from the Earth!) Using up all of a single resource doesn't seem like a good idea to me.. it's not like it just when it's gone there's no more so we'll have to find something else.. the Earth works synchronistically.. sometimes I think of taking all the oil out of the planet like taking all the lube out of our body.. it could be useful to move our joints and well, just to move in general. It's just a common sense thing.. isn't it???

Is no one out there thinking?
In any effect, the least we can do is stop using plastic bags as much as possible. Let's wind that one down somewhat.. but I realize ultimately it's the system that needs to change. However, we create the system.

'Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.'

'Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.'

There is hope!:

'In 2001, Ireland consumed 1.2 billion plastic bags, or 316 per person. An extremely successful plastic bag consumption tax, or PlasTax, introduced in 2002 reduced consumption by 90%. Approximately 18,000,000 liters of oil have been saved due to this reduced production. Governments around the world are considering implementing similar measures.'


This site is one I came across yesterday. Say No to Trash!

This site is about a couple's (Sarah McGaughey and Kyle Glover's) attempt to eliminate their household garbage production.They have attempted since 2004 to be garbage free for a whole month and actually achieved it earlier this year.

'We are looking for people to join us-you can make your own rules, we just want support. Plus being garbage free is time consuming and it would be great to have a community to share tasks with (I’ll make the rice milk, crackers and hankies, you make tortilla’s, bread etc.)

This is Inspiring!!!


They share some great ideas on being garbage free.. or at least reducing waste.

It's great.. under Trashless Toronto there are all these places in my neighbourhood ( work neighbourhood, that is) Kensington market and the Annex. I am so blessed - love where I work, love where I live (Beaches)! I love the pic of raccoons in the heading - so applicable - I've had to clean up garbage from raccoons getting in more than once.. they are all over the place around here.. They come right up on the back deck.. In fact, last week, one came right into my kitchen when the back door was open & no one was around and took a mango.. and left the peelings for me to clean up after it out on the deck! Sheesh..

ps. Raw is great for reducing waste!

Forcasting rain & weather lore, violet bottles, om reunion project and Severm Suzuki "I am Only a Child"

I love weather lore. I just heard a new one.. someone commented that it was going to rain because the flies were flying low.. & the lower they fly the more it is going to rain.

I am looking some up:
The louder the frog, the more the rain.

Mackeral skies and mares tails make ships carry lowered sails.

A ring around the Moon is a sign of rain & the larger the ring, the nearer the rain.

If the leafs are turning up, a storm is brewing!

& get this! Crickets can tell the temperature-just count the number of chirps per minute, add 10, and divide by 4 . Crickets chirp faster as the temperature rises.

I am trying out a new product which is sold in a violet bottle - which is not only cool looking but keeps out the sun's harmful rays. Not only that.. it lets the beneficial ones in. The sun is made up of all different types of rays - from the harmful UV rays to very beneficial life-giving rays. By drawing in the good rays the violet bottle actually expands the life force of the contained substance.
Egyptians kept all of their precious liquids in only 2 types of containers; they used either violet glass or gold. Violet glass is great for keeping essential oils, mineral complexes, herbal formulas, tonics, potions.. etc.

btw - The product I am trying is not even out yet.. I can't even find it on the internet. It's basically a mineral complex. It will be out soon & if it's really great I'll def let you know.


The Om reunion project- Re:Treat will be gathering this year from Monday June 18^th through Sunday June 24^th.

It will be a week long outdoor celebration of community, sustainability, alternative energy, and independent artistic expression.

Re:treat is a membership-based, community-driven gathering, which is located in rural Ontario. I hear this year it will be in Huntsville. 'We have found that a smaller gathering creates an intentional space, allowing for more meaningful communication and deeper connections. This year we expect a maximum of 600 people. Become a member of the community! Membership is open and available to all who wish to participate! '

If you wish to attend Re:treat, you must become a member in advance. The membership is 50-60$ depending on how soon you get it. There are no tickets sold at the gate and nothing to buy once there. Everything is volunteered, from their promotion, artwork & website to helping at the retreat, kitchen duty, bonfire or swim guard, cleaning up etc.



This is a great 6 minute video!
13 year old Severm Suzuki gives a talk to the UN.
Take the time, it's totally worth it.

I am Only a Child