Archive for April, 2009

success!

April 30, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Teachers measure a successful day or lesson in different ways.  Often, we leave without ever knowing what, if anything, has sunk in with our students.  This is why I was so pleased to hear from a mother today that her daughter, my student, has become quite the ‘environmentalist.’

Apparently, the entire family got in trouble last night for violating certain Earth friendly rules.  Her younger sister was admonished for leaving the refridgerator door open too long- “You are wasting energy and you are hurting the Earth.”

Her mother was scolded for using too much water while washing the dishes- the tiny trickle coming from the faucet should have been sufficient, apparently.

The Cheerios crumbs had to be swept into the compost pile, because “It can become dirt.”

I left feeling great today!  If nothing else, one little one is more conscious of the way we use and abuse our environment.  I do hope she can lighten up a little, for her whole family’s sake:)

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favorite poem of mine

April 27, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Just thought I’d quickly share a favorite Mary Oliver poem of mine…it always brightens my day, hopefully it will brighten yours…

 

Oh do you have time

to linger

for just a little while

out of your busy

 

and very important day

for the goldfinches

that have gathered

in a field of thistles

 

for a musical battle,

to see who can sing

the highest note,

or the lowest,

 

or the most expressive of mirth,

or the most tender?

Their strong, blunt beaks

drink the air

 

as they strive

melodiously

not for your sake

and not for mine

 

and not for the sake of winning

but for sheer delight and gratitude-

believe us, they say,

it is a serious thing

 

just to be alive

on this fresh morning

in this broken world.

I beg of you,

 

do not walk by

without pausing 

to attend to this 

rather ridiculous performance.

 

It could mean something.

It could mean everything.

It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote,

You must change your life.

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chief dirty feet

April 22, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

If I had a Native American name it wouldn’t be anything cool, such as Dancing Bear, or Sitting Bull, or Black Elk.  It would be Chief Dirty Feet.  I swear, from about March 15th until November 1st, my feet are dirty.  It simply does not matter how often I wash my feet.  They remain grimy with remnants of my barefoot adventures.  I can’t help it.  And secretly, I love it.  They make me feel happy.

I cannot help but track my earth feet everywhere I go.  Our house doesn’t stay clean for more than a moment, as I lovingly carry bits and pieces of dirt throughout all paths we take.  The dirt gets caught under my toes, in between cracks, and molded to the contours of my grass loving feet.  It is, perhaps, my very  most favorite feeling to squish my feet into soft spring mud and to let the gentle velvety touch of grass caress my feet.  I have, therefore, perpetually dirty feet.

Tis the season for dirty feet.  Tomorrow is Earth Day and I wish you all a beautiful day, and  a chance to dirty your own feet.  It feels fabulously free- I highly recommend it. 

food for earth day thought-

“What is man without the beasts?  If all the beasts were gone, men would die from loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man.  All things are connected.  Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.”

—Chief Seattle

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letting go…

April 19, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

This morning I woke early to the sounds of birds, the faint hint of light making it’s way through our black out windows, and the awareness that we were off on some sort of outdoor adventure today.  My favorite kind of way to wake up.

I took the doggies out for their morning business, and I could already feel the sun starting to warm the fresh spring air.  How lovely, I thought, I will take my morning yoga practice outside today.

Nothing but peace, I figured.  

The pups, however, came outside with me.

The pups came outside with me and pranced their dirty paws all over my mat.  They fought each other right under me, sliding my sock covered feet out from under me every once in a while.  As I bent forward into a fold, they surrounded me and jumped at my nose and hair.  While in a fairly challenging arm balance, Bailey decided to hide under my arms, in the little nook they provided, and Jersey found that to be a wonderful opportunity to pounce her…and consequently, me.

I was nearing the point of frustration.  I moved my way into downward dog, and saw Jersey right below me, in her own perfect downward facing dog.  I laughed and I let go of all expectations for my practice.  The three of us continued on, laughing, falling, and moving in interesting ways.  Turned out to be the perfect yoga practice for me on this particular morning.

That is, until savasana, the final resting posture.  I was lying on my back, contemplating the gorgeous sky above me, when I suddenly heard the pitter patter of slightly chubby puppy feet that could only mean one thing…Bailey was on the attack.  In a matter of seconds, I had Bailey on my face, licking every part, paws dancing their muddy dance across my cheeks, and her big sister needing to join in the fun.

My practice officially closed for the morning.  But with the letting go, what a beautiful way to begin a day, albeit a dirty one.

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please, take a look…

April 15, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

There isn’t much that makes me happier than fresh produce.  I love farmer’s markets, I love the produce aisle of (clean) grocery stores.  I love (attempting) to grow things myself and later enjoy the fruits of my labor.  I get a warm feeling when I bring home a bag, a reusable bag of course, from the farmer’s market, filled to the brim with colors- reds, oranges, bright greens, even blue potatoes.  While at the market, I get especially excited when I come upon the basket holding a delectable treat….the heirloom tomatoes.

For those of you not familiar with heirloom tomatoes, I’ll make this brief.  They are one the tastiest, juiciest, loveliest creations on this good earth.  I buy them not to put into recipes, but to enjoy just as is.  Nothing compliments scrambled eggs in the morning quite like an heirloom tomato.  Heirloom seeds are those that have been passed down through generations.  They are the seeds that hold the wisdom of the ancestors.  One may not genetically engineer heirloom seeds- to do so would ruin their purity.

At the present moment, however, there is a bill, HR 875, sitting in the House and in the Senate, which would do just that.  Monsanto, a company that creates insecticides and poisonous chemicals to spray on food, is backing this attempt to make organic farming illegal.  Therefore, no more heirloom seeds.  Monsanto claims that their chemical products will keep our foods safe for the public food supply.  Of course that must be the only reason for their proposed plan- definitely has nothing to do with the fact they would profit by having anyone who grows food have to buy through them.  

This isn’t some hippie dip thing I’m trying to pass off on all of you.  This is real. This bill would mandate every farm, every garden, every heirloom seed be sprayed with a chemical.  I don’t know about you, but as a future mother, the thought of that absolutely terrifies me.  I certainly don’t want my future children lapping up chemicals on a regular basis.  Furthermore, to mandate such a thing would basically be saying good bye to the concept of sustainable agriculture.  

Think about the repercussions of such a law being passed, and notice who benefits.  

The people- develop unwanted side effects from chemical engineering.  

The foods- lose variation, lose taste, lose nutritional value.

The land- loses nutrient rich soil, loses the ability to sustain life.

The company- makes a lot of money.

The evils of greed at work.  Seems rather toxic to me.  Please- contact your state representatives.  Let them know you are AGAINST HR 875.  This will be voted on in the next couple of weeks.  How sad it would be to lose seeds that have been passed down through generations past…they are, in fact, heirlooms.

***By the way, Monsanto has a lovely website.  They explain to the public just how good they are for the environment.  Do a little research and you might find yourself with a different conclusion.***

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easter wishes

April 12, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Happy Easter from our family to yours…sth71406May this day of renewal remind you of all the blessings in life everyday…May you enjoy the Scrumptious, Delightful, Heart filled, Gorgeous, Fragrant, Lovely, Glorious beauties of nature and the world today and always:)

Now I’m trying to figure out how to get my pups to participate in some sort of egg hunt?  Maybe a treat hunt?  That could be fun…

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spring has sprung

April 9, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

The blooms are blooming, the birds are singing, the lawnmowers are roaring, and the air smells thick with a nostalgic annual renewal. Spring has sprung.   sth71417and sth71419and sth714161The fragrances, the colors, and the simple beauties of the season remind me how important it is to surround oneself with beauty.  Take a little time today to create something beautiful for you, and enjoy all that comes with that. Happy Spring! I am, of course, also attaching a picture of my doggies in the spring.

sth714211

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vintage piece

April 7, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

The following piece was written by yours truly at the age of twelve…before ‘being green’ was ‘cool.’

The perfect environment would have no factories that pollute.  Then, no matter where you are, the sky would be blue, not gray and dirty.

People would not use aerosal cans.  Then, the ozone layer would not have a hole in it.  We could save money by not paying for scientists to go study the ozone layer.

In the perfect environment, there would be more than a few hundred pandas in the wild.  Also, there would be no hunters hunting beautiful animals that are endangered.

Cars would not use gas or oil.  Then gas wouldn’t pollute the air.  When hauling oil over the ocean, it sometimes spills.  If there was no oil, we would save many the lives of animals.

There would be much more happiness because we wouldn’t worry about pesticides, bug killer, or anything of the sort.  We would also be happier with ourselves for keeping the earth beautiful.  That’s what I call a perfect environment.

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big sisters

April 5, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

As I watch the little ones grow as individuals and as a team, I can’t help but notice the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate.  They each arrived into this world with distinct personality, opinions, and patterns, but they are also developing particular traits as a result of their environment.  

I thought it funny one day how much more ‘on edge’ Jersey is than Bailey.  Bailey just goes with the flow, assumes every person, place, and thing is a friend, and rarely seems nervous.  Jersey, on the other hand, feels its her duty to examine everything with just the slightest bit of doubt, as though she never knows when something might jump out and bite her.  Suddenly it dawned on me a possible reason for their differences there.  Perhaps they were born that way.  Perhaps, however, Bailey just sees no need to be on edge or nervous- she has her big sister to do it for her.

Jersey takes care of Bailey, even though she sometimes looks like she wants to eliminate her from her cozy little life.  Jersey barks at animals that walk by the back yard so that Bailey can rest up on her little deck space.  Jersey leads Bailey into new and interesting adventures; Bailey walks along behind her, sniffing whatever it is that Jersey might be checking out.  Bailey thinks everything Jersey does is really cool.  Sounds dumb, but you can tell.  She waddles along behind and beside Jersey, hoping she’ll want to play with her, or dig with her.  

Bailey is chill- doesn’t get quite as upset as Jersey does when we leave the house or whatever.  Again I realized- of course she doesn’t- she never has to be left alone all by herself- she always has her big sister with her.  Jersey had to learn to be by herself- Bailey doesn’t have to.  She gets to be a little more chill, just by nature of her birth order.  

These doggie tid bits got me to wondering about people and birth order.  Although I, as a middle child, poo poo the idea of ‘middle child syndrome’ and many of those theories, I do think there is something to be said for having an older sibling.  The second child may be compared to the first in school, or in development, or whatever, which definitely has it’s draw backs.  But at the same time, the second sibling has the luxury of knowing she’ll never have to do anything completely on her own.  Bailey will always have her big sister to test things out first and to show her the ropes.  

It is awfully nice to have a big sister.

sth713701

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a recommendation…

April 2, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

I recently read one of the most brilliant, fascinating, and touching books I have read in my book loving life.  My friends, Ben and Jen, (Bennifer), recommended the book to me with a rather vague, “I know you’ll like it” description.  I’m passing that description onto you.  You may not love it as much as I did, but its certainly worth a shot.

Garth Stein, a Seattle based author, has managed to compile a most beautiful story in his novel The Art of Racing in the Rain.  I was told I would love it because it’s told from the perspective of a dog, takes place in Seattle, and is a good story.  Ahhhh, but there’s more.  The book is an onion kind of book- the kind that has endless layers and leaves you with thoughtful views on the insanity of life.  

I just finished it two days ago, but I’m almost ready to gobble it up all over again.  My never ending pile of reading, however, is forcing me to move on to something new.  Pick it up at your local bookstore- I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  I’ve been thinking about Enzo and all his wisdom ever since, and loving my doggies even more.  (Even when they poop in the corner of the house and I find them hiding bashfully in the pile of dirty clothes….well…”they” as in Bailey)

Go out and find this lovely work of art- unless you are Cchicken’s older sister…then you have your very own copy coming to you shortly.  I think you, especially, will devour it in a matter of minutes.

Now I only hope I haven’t talked it up too much…

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