Photo Friday: the world according to my little dog

March 9, 201228 Comments

Here on the Farmlet there are a few words and phrases that are never said out loud unless we really mean it.

In order of importance to the Little Dog they are:

“Ball” (ALWAYS spelled when we are talking to each other.)
“Kong” (Same as above)
“Who want’s breakfast/dinner?” (abbreviated, when we are wondering if the other has already fed them their “B” or “D”)
“Is daddy home yet?”
“Clean-up on isle nine!” (This one is handy whenever you have spilled something on the kitchen floor, or when it is time to go to bed and they are frolicking and barking with total abandon in the dark … and yes, we do reward for an appropriate response at bedtime!)

This morning However . . .

Not even the number one word could get a rise out of the Little Dog!

When the north wind blows,

and a chill is in the air,

sometimes all that is needed

is a soft bed…

and a warm nose.

~*~

Stay warm, and enjoy your weekend my friends!

~*~

Once Upon a Time in the West: the power of a flower

March 6, 201226 Comments

Please click the photo to go to “Caesara Botanical Consulting” the source for this lovely photograph of Cleveland Sage.

Once in my classroom in California I was given a special needs student for mainstreaming. He was brilliant in math, and very quiet. He used to follow me around when all the rest of the kids were on the playground and would be waiting for me each morning when I arrived. Conversation was not his way, but he sure was an observer!

One day, towards the end of a particularly stressful week, I brought in a long sprig of Cleveland Sage. I thought it might help me by lifting my spirits if I kept it near to inhale its heady aroma. Placing it onto my desk my little friend spoke… “Teacher, what’s that?”

I told him it was Cleveland Sage from my garden at home and that I loved to smell its fragrance because it made me smile. I demonstrated the action and its effect for him.

“Can I smell it?” he asked.

“Sure!” I said, and handed it over to him.

He told me he liked it and I asked him if he would like to keep it in his pocket so he could enjoy it for the rest of the day. He nodded his head and stuck it in his pocket. Many times during the day I observed him take it out to give it a sniff. Each time it produced a smile for him just as it had for me.

It was a beginning. A way for me to see into the depths he kept locked into that quiet little face.

For the rest of that year I would bring in special things from my gardens and we would communicate through the scent of herbs and flowers. If he liked it, it went into his pocket, and if he didn’t he would wrinkle his nose and hand it back.
By the end of the year we were having verbal conversations. They were short ones, but those few words between us are a treasure I hold dear to my heart.

I often think of him and wonder if he remembers our herbal communications. Did I plant a seed? Does he still enjoy the scents of herbs and flowers even today? By now I feel he is old enough to plant a garden of his own, and I like to think that if he does have a garden, that there is Cleveland sage growing somewhere in the midst of it.

You may call me a dreamer, but that was a special year, and I hope the seeds we planted were special ones… and that they bore fruit.

~*~

A special thank you to Lynda Phillips Kachurek, at Second Memory, for her post on Aromatherapy which inspired me today.

We have been betrayed part two: a death blow to organic farmers

February 29, 2012February 29, 201219 Comments

Some of my readers may have known that in New York a trial was held to uphold the rights of organic farmers to grow their crops without the fear of being sued for patent infringement by Monsanto.

We lost.

What do I mean by we? I mean we in the sense that Monsanto can now freely grow their crops and the bees and the wind can bring the pollen in to contaminate your organic produce.

Further, Judge Buchwald, in her ruling said that the corporate thugs at Monsanto have given us their “promise” not to bring litigation and “that should be a source of comfort.”

A source of comfort for who? Certainly not we as consumers! I do not relish the thought of eating hidden GMOs. If whole countries in other parts of the world can ban GMOs why aren’t we?

I want clean food, and at the very minimum I want proper labeling. I want the choice when I shop with my food dollars of knowing that my food does not contain GMOs.

Now, thanks to a judge in New York and the USDA I get neither.

~!!!~

Please read the source article regarding the trial and it’s outcome here: The Chicago Tribune

Should you like to voice your opinion of her decision… Judge Buchwald can be found here: United States District Court – Southern District of New York

The case against Monsanto, and Judge Buchwald’s judgement, can be read here: Case 1:11-cv-02163-NRB Document 53 Filed 02/24/12

~!!!~

NOTE: In my last post about this I complained that I felt like a “Gnat screaming in a wind tunnel.” Well, as a good friend pointed out, many gnats can be a force to be reckoned with. Use the links above to get informed and to contact those who are in charge. Let them know we are not just random and isolated nut-jobs out here.

Spread the word and Let your voices be heard

Thank you!

We have been betrayed…

February 25, 2012August 16, 201438 Comments

I don’t get political here. Never have, thought I never would. But this makes me cry. I will never shop or knowingly purchase foods affiliated with these companies again.

Et tu? Whole Foods? Really?

Please read the article at the Organic Consumers Association‘s site:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm

So glad I grow my own.

My little bit of earth.