Choices

In this country we are inundated with a plethora of choices no matter what item (food, clothing, appliances, medications, etc.) we want to purchase. Here's just one of many examples: Have you ever counted the number of choices for Acetaminophen, aka Tylenol, there are on a drugstore's shelf? Furthermore, have you read each label? The choice is actually between regular (325 mg.) or double strength (650 mg.) Acetaminophen; the rest of the choices have to do with the fillers, aka inactive ingredients, which vary from having benign to extremely troublesome untoward effects for humans.

St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) in full bloom this Summer past.

For myself, having mild discomfort in my hands, I make a salve from St. John's Wort grown right here at MuRefuge: the flowers featured in the above picture are plucked and "tinctured" in half organic olive oil and half organic jojoba oil. Choosing to use herbal alternatives rather than those offered by the gigantic pharmaceutical industry just seems to me to be a safer choice. Do any of you remember the salve we used to purchase in the local drugstore for abrasions, scrapes and cuts? I remember it smelled just like Yarrow. I believe it actually was made from the healing herb Yarrow rather than some pharmaceutic manipulation.

The bright yellow flowers are picked and packed
lightly in a sterilized glass jar. Within a few days the
oil turns this bright red which I am in awe of every time it happens.

After the above beautifully red liquid sits in the sunshine for six weeks, it is strained. Along with beeswax and coco butter it is gently heated to melt the wax and poured into small jars.

Each morning before sitting I slather on this richly healing herbal preparation
to find that the achy joints are soothed for the day.

Then there are also choices about, take for example, washing machines: a bazillion different companies make them. Our friend who lives on Molokai was in need of replacing their washing machine and went to see the options (Sevens are big on options as my baseball buddy constantly reminds me). "Easy," she said, "There were only two choices and I just pointed to one. It does the job!"

Perhaps we would find negotiating the excessive number of choices, which are in place to support the capitalist driven economy, if we established for ourselves some helpful parameters before making a purchase, like does it benefit Mother Earth or at worst does her no harm. Avoid using such parameters as "is it cheap?" or "is it on sale"? My beloved now dead stepfather Stephen B. Howard had a saying he lived employing: "Those who buy what they do not need often cannot buy what they need."

Supporting companies that produce items responsibly and sustainably is a great way to reduce the excessive amount of choices. Recently I was pleasantly surprised when the organic non-soy laying pellets we purchase for our small duck flock had included on the label no corn. When I contacted the company, Bar Ale in Winters, California, they indicated that both ingredients are nonorganic and tainted with GMOs. HURRAH! for Bar Ale!!

Across our county there are many concerned citizens who believe the state of our Union  is no longer a democracy and do not believe there is a viable choice for the next President of the United States of America to reverse this. One candidate is determined to maintain the status quo of "Big Money" running our government and the other is a bully.

Our friend, Larry Needleman, a talented sculptor, created this mask.

With this candidate's snorting during the debates

an alternative mask to the baboon could be of a snorting bull.

As with so many choices, neither candidate is without major negative consequences. So as we deal with this troublesome choice and all the others we face daily, may we

Seasonal Eating

Shasta looking longing outside at her territory. 
She was house bound for two weeks recently
as she healed from her bladder surgery.

Grappling with altering Shasta’s homemade stew to minimize the reoccurrence of struvite bladder stones that were surgically removed recently, I have revisited from whom we buy our food. Wanting organic and nonGMO verified plant and animal ingredients to prepare her meals has motivated me talk with the local vendors about their farming practices. The Sebastopol Farmers Market has some stellar farmers, both male and female, who are more than willing to discuss how their vegetables and/or meat are raised. Those farms, like Green Star Farm, almost our next door neighbor, and Bodega Pastures, from whom we buy lambs for our freezer each year, raise their animals on ancestral diets; for example goats and lambs eat grass in the pasture, not in feedlots where the animals are fattened up with grain. Cows, goats, sheep for example cannot digest grain which ferments in their digestive tract thus creating large amounts of methane which adds to the increasing greenhouse gases in our atmosphere now resulting in unprecedented violent weather worldwide.

Buying local food allows us to know the source of our food and one can often visit those farms, which is not only instructive, but can be a fun Sunday outing as well. It is amazing to me how forthright farmers are about their practices especially when they are beneficial to both Mother Earth and all BEIngs who call her home.

Both purchasing locally and eating seasonally maximize nutrition. During storage and transportation of especially plant based food, both vital nutrients and life force energy aka qi are lost. With globalization of the market place it is commonplace during our Winter months to see blueberries from the Southern hemisphere for sale in our markets as well as apples from Australia. Eating seasonally would focus on consuming citrus as well as root vegetables during this time. Of course, this requires each of us to look at our food planning and preparation, but with forethought and adjusting our habits we reap the benefits of varied local foods with their maximum nutrition.

Organs like liver, heart, kidneys, gizzards do not routinely appear in the grocery stores catering to the average United States citizen. For Shasta to have a fully nutritious diet a variety animal organs is essential . I was so pleasantly surprised at the response from Mindful Meats administration office when I emailed them about getting beef hearts and liver. Oliver's Markets (I shop the flagship market in Cotati each Wednesday) are the only markets in Sonoma County that presently carry Mindful Meats. With some negotiations between Mindful Meats administration and Oliver's meat department managers, Oliver's Markets are now receiving organs as part of their weekly order. And the butchers at the Cotati Oliver's are ever so kind to grind the exact amount needed to complete a beef recipe for Shasta.




Those of us living in Northern California who buy our food from local farms often remark how lucky we are to live in a place where organic, fresh, high nutrient density fresh food is so readily available year round. The choices are remarkably diverse over the course of an entire year. 

Eating seasonally is simple for a person shopping at their local Farmers Market: one buys what the vendors have harvested from their fields, whether plant or animal. Shasta's vegetable and fruit mix is made with whatever is in season and available from MuRefuge's garden and/or vendors at the Sebastopol Farm Market.

In the foreground are Crane Melons
hybridized right here on the Santa Rosa Plain.
They are juicy, sweet and luscious.

With a cup of plain, organic, nonGMO verified low fat Greek yogurt scooped into the center, a half of a Crane Melon is a quick pick me up at any time of the day.

Some of us preserve the abundance of Summer to enjoy during the Winter when root veggies are predominate. Slow roasted heirloom tomatoes, unthawed from the freezer, make a tasty meal warmed and served over mashed potatoes with canned peaches for dessert.

Huckleberry Gold potatoes which this vendor tried for the first
time this season. He bought the entire 50# bag of seed potatoes 
because the "seed" potatoes were just the right size. 
He planted only this variety of potatoes this year without ever having tasted them.
He, along with all his customers, have discovered that these potatoes are awesomely delicious!

A variety of heirloom tomatoes displayed for sale recently
by The Patch, located on 5 acres near the town of Sonoma.

The sign says it all! For four consecutive Sundays I bought a box of these peaches.
Jars of jam, butter and canned in a light maple sugar syrup 
now sit in our pantry for Winter consumption.
These peaches come from Yolo County and the huge organic
orchard, on the off season, was purchased by a young man and woman
to carry on the tradition of bringing the best ever peaches to the
Sunday Sebastopol Farmers Market.

Pickled peppers (I prefer pimento peppers from MuRefuge's vegetable garden) atop 7 Sprouted Grain toasted English Muffins make for a light evening meal.

What a beautiful display by The Patch's of their many different kinds of peppers.

In large part due to the "roller coastal" weather this growing season, pears are not their usual stellar juicy deliciousness. A number of farmers brought their harvest and we tried all of them. Dwight is the pear connoisseur and no vendor's pears met with his stamp of approval.

Red Pears from Stone Horse Farm located on Occidental Road near Sebastopol.

As each one of us grapple with our individual and/or family's nutrition and where our food actually is raised, may each of us

Picnic for Autumnal Equinox

Western Spiraea (Spiracea douglasii) in her Autumn attire.

Today, September 22, 2016, is the zenith of Fall, aka Autumnal Equinox.This day, says Clea Danaan “is also called Mabon, after the Welsh god of love and youthful strength. He is a sun god, honored at this time as night and day sit momentarily in balance before slipping toward darkness. At Mabon, the Goddess evolves from mother to crone and the God prepares for death. The land is ripe, full of bounty; this is the Pagan Thanksgiving. It is a cooling, bittersweet holiday, for the bounty of ripe apples will fall, the leaves turn and drift to the ground. The sleep of winter is near.” 

In the vein of using the “gifts of autumn” we might gather locally grown eggs and beans, preparing them for a picnic to enjoy the glorious weather we are presently blessed with here in Northern California.

Here’s a recipe by which we can enjoy the ducks eggs our resident flock produce:

DEVILED EGGS

Hard boil 6 eggs, plunging them into ice water to cool enough to peel and cut in half. Set whites on a deviled egg plate & set aside.

In a bowl empty the yolks and add:

• 1 ripe avocado
• Juice of 1 Meyer’s lemon
• 1/4 C. organic olive oil
• 1 T. organic Dijon mustard

Season to taste with 

• Sea salt 
• Freshly ground pepper 
• Freshly chopped chives
• Thyme

Blend with a hand blender (or mixer) until smooth. Then place a large soup

spoon full into each 1/2 cooked egg white. 

As you can see the color of the deviled eggs is different than
when mayonnaise is used for fat rather than avocado.

Feel free to add organic edible flowers on top for decoration. The pineapple sage is in bloom here at MuRefuge right now.These would be a lovely decorative addition and taste delicious, too. 

SLOW COOKED BAKED BEANS

Pick over and wash 2 C. organic small navy beans (or any other small white bean you prefer) adding them to a bean pot with 5 C. water. 

Add

• 6 “diced” organic bacon slices
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 C. finely chopped organic onion
• 3 T. dark organic unsulfured molasses
• 2 T. organic Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. freshly chopped thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1/2 T. grated organic fresh ginger
• 6 grinds of organic black pepper

We don’t tolerate garlic here, but for those of you who do, adding 2 cloves of organic minced fresh garlic adds another dimension to the flavor.

Put the lid on the bean pot and set it in the oven. Bake at 250 degrees for 14-16 hours when the bean will have turned a rich dark reddish brown.

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) in her colorful Fall glory.

While we enjoy our picnic on this glorious Autumnal Equinox, may we each

Appearance: Revisting Estivation

With the repeated comment by individuals coming in contact with Shasta for the first time identifying her as a “Golden Retriever,” I am struck by how inaccurate a human’s “first impression” can be and how it can be influenced by what that person wants to see (point of view). As some of you know, when we adopted Shasta from the Novato Humane Society we were told she was a mix of Golden Retriever and Spaniel. After a few days of her coming to MuRefuge it was clear from her behavior that she was neither. Wisdom Panel performed a DNA assay on her saliva verifying she is not a Golden Retriever:

• Great Grandparents, Grandparents and Parents on one side Bearded Collie (Shasta’s      disposition of sweetness and exuberance)
• On the other side Collie, the Lassie type, (Shasta’s “tail feathers”) and Pointer (Shasta’s white with lemon/orange fur color, and she does "point")

Then other ancestors (in descending order)

• Chihuahua (Shasta’s front teeth and muzzle configuration when she barks)
• Lhasa Apso (Shasta’s tail)

• Curly-coated Retriever ( Shasta's soft, silky fur)
• Bulldog (Shasta’s scissors bite)
• German Shepherd

MuRefuge's 25 year old California
Buckeye tree (Aesculus californica) in estivation.
Some of you might recall a picture of the blooming in May?

Applying the “point of view” assessment of humans who have specific views of what plants should look like to the landscape here in Northern California at this time in the year’s cycle often indicates the deficit to that way of thinking. Often individuals talk about how their plants are dying when in reality the plants are just dormant. Dormancy is usually spoken about in relationship to Winter, while here in Northern California it happens in the “Fifth Season,” aka “Indian Summer.” 

Ocean Spray or Cream Bush (Holodiscus discolor) along MuRefuge's South fence

The plants are shedding their leaves and drawing down the sap flow to the roots to conserve their life force and longevity. The plants are not dead but in estivation aka dormancy. This way of BEing has evolved over the millennia in this part of the globe where it has been in the past dry in the Summer and wet in the Winter. The plants and other BEings of the soil and air are in rhythm with this way of BEing. Although, I want to add here that all BEings are affected by the erratic and not typical weather brought on by climate change.

Western Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)

Watering these plants during estivation often shortens their life span which has not evolved to BE green all year round nor look like it is alive to humans with a certain point of view or experience of living elsewhere in this country where green indicates Summer and brown indicates Winter. The appearance of native plants can be deceiving to those not in tune with the seasonal cycles here in Northern California just like those not connected to Shasta think she is a Golden Retriever.

BEing with the flow of cycles has the added benefit of connecting ourselves with the natural process in the place we are rooting. This process of connection supports our well BEing on so many levels and allows us to step outside of our limiting “personality” which includes not only learned childhood behaviors but the physical body with its genetic DNA, and experience expansive “essence,” aka soul/spirit, which includes the surrounding energy fields as well.

Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica)
with her droopy, drying leaves.
The bright shiny leaves in the upper left and towards to upper right corner
are Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) bushes now laden with dark almost black fruit.

Shasta is uniquely herself with a unique personality and DNA mix. She is also much more when her essence is included. Her sweetness that everyone comments on who spends any time with her is clearly a reflection of so much more than just her DNA.

Shasta, in her slimmed down body of around 55#,
bemoaning, "They don't feed me enough" with a smile.

The native plants here provide a similar opportunity to step outside of humanness (point of view of uniqueness and separateness) and experience the connection to the entire energetic web not only here at MuRefuge. Of course, as one expands his or her point of view or awareness one can feel how essence connects any/everywhere to all sentient BEings.

May we let go of our small idea of self and embrace a much larger one as we 

Message from Rio

Brazil is the largest county in South America.  All but two other South American countries share its border. Poverty, pollution and political unrest abound in Brazil.  In spite of the naysayers wanting to change the location of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the man and woman in charge of the Opening Ceremony put together on a “shoe string” budget a awesome and beautiful story of Brazil and her peoples as well as delivered a powerful message to the world: climate change is here. AND they provided a gripping demonstration for all who watched: an opportunity for each participating athlete to plant a tree to assist in the mediation of the toxic gases produced by humans worldwide mining coal and drilling oil,  and the global practice of burning these fossil fuels. These human practices are polluting Mother Earth’s atmosphere and threatening life as we know by accelerating the rate of the global climate change.

Global overpopulation of humans was alluded to as well as the diminishing diversity of plant and animal life. The celebration of the human diversity in Brazil was so clearly evident in the colorful attire and with the indigenous singing and dancing meshed with the European transplant influence. 

The overall theme was one of “celebrating what’s right with the world” and brought attention to possible solutions for righting what’s not right.

 One just never knows what might show up when space is created:
 last Spring I gave away all of my succulents and now I am
celebrating what's right in the world
with this picture of what filled the space:
a stunning Angel Wing Begonia in full bloom.

As the Olympians plant tree seeds to boost Brazil’s reforestation of Rio, those of us living in California are experiencing raging wildfires fueled by dead or dying trees. An aerial survey was done recently by four researchers examining the aftermath of California’s historic drought. They estimated that 66 million trees over five years have died and predict that tens of millions of trees will die even if heavier rains come this rainy season. As the most majestic plant, the tree, dies, fuel amasses for the wildfires now burning thousands and thousands of acres right here in Northern California. Climate change in California seems to bringing less rainfall with a roller coaster of unseasonably cool temperatures mixed with unseasonably warm temperatures, and poor air quality. So it cannot come as a surprise to anyone that millions of trees are dying and wildfires are raging.

On the left side of this picture is a Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
native to the Eastern U.S. and  naturalized in California.
This tree provides afternoon shade for especially our Great Room.
Along the right meeting the sky are Italian Alders (Alnus cordata)
which provide a windbreak for the duck yard. MuRefuge's tree
population is a reflection of my learning curve, moving from
Permaculture to native plantings.
Native Alders would be my choice now. 

Here at MuRefuge the towering, but yet to reach adulthood, Douglas Fir died this past rainy season. With heavy hearts Dwight and I cut off the branches which will be chipped.A goodly amount of the truck was left standing for woodpeckers’ use. Other trees, especially the fruit producing ones, are clearly stressed and have been provided Summer water heretofore not a practice at MuRefuge. The Persian mulberry tree was also dying so it too now has its branches in the brush pile to be chipped and the trunk available for woodpeckers’ use.

Looking South and slightly East from the gravel road in front of our house,
on the immediate left is the brush pile to be chipped and directly behind
is a Oregon White Oak (Quercus lobata) tree planted by a Blue Jay.
Behind or directly South of the house are two more Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana) trees
 located on the other side of the fence which denotes our South property line.

May we all ask ourselves before engaging in any human action, “Is this beneficial to Mother Earth?" AND, of course

Lammas or Lughnasadh or Autumn

This cross quarter day, August 1, is known as Lammas or Laghnasadh and denotes the beginning of Autumn, the meaning of Old English "haervest." 

Lammas in Anglo-Saxon means "loaf mass" 

which is a ritual to honor bread made with freshly harvested grain.

Gaelic Lughnasadh originated from the sun god Lugh.

At this transitional time of the year many places are hot and bathed in sunshine

The sun is rising later and setting earlier. The hillsides covered with grasses here in Northern California are golden. The Gravenstein apples, which a quarter of a century ago literally covered the flatland between the coastal hills here in Sonoma County, are now for sale at local roadside stands and in the Farmers Markets. In two weeks the Gravenstein Apple Festival will take place in Sebastopol celebrating one of her famous legacies.

The Siberian Crabapples tree
laden with beautiful fruit harvested just a few days ago.
This is the earliest apple here at MuRefuge.

Siberian Crabapples sauce now ready to be
 stored in the pantry at MuRefuge

"Although it is summer and there are many warm months to come, 

it is possible to sense that the heavens are already turning downward. 

Nearly imperceptibly, the fruit is ripening on the trees 

and the nights are lengthening once again. 

It is too early to talk of autumn, 

and yet the next season is on its way." 

365 Tao Daily Meditations (1992), Deng Ming-Dao.

In the warm afternoon sunshine the Goldfinches can be seen on the sunflowers gone to seed. They seem to be readily eating the seeds even though they are still "green" and packed full of nutrition for these stunning yellow and black little birds.

With the harvest time now underway, may we each express our gratitude for the abundance of harvest and 

Books, Buckwheats and Burro

Blooming Red Buckwheat ( Eriogonum grande var. rubescens)

What We Find by Robyn Carr, one of my very favorite novelist

I am not a big fan of novels that focus on dysfunction, aka childhood trauma, particularly those stories where the protagonists are stuck victims and the writer wallows in that stuckness. Recently I read an enjoyable novel with two main characters working through those childhood traumas with awareness and viewing themselves in charge of their lives. The package of physical embodiment includes for each and every one childhood trauma, some of course are more violent than others.  Maggie Sullivan and Cal Jones certainly had different childhood’s, one dealing with her parents’ divorce and the other with a schizophrenic father and a mother who enabled her husband rather than focusing on raising her children. Both found they were “burnt out” from their fast track of being a neurosurgeon (Maggie) and a defense lawyer (Cal) and found happiness and balance in a campground, owned by Maggie’s father, surrounded with beauty, peace and loving community. This is a great Summer read for anyone who likes “happy endings.”

Mustard Every Monday: From Secluded Convent to International Adventure by Anne Fangman

This memoir is written by my dear friend. It is a wonderful telling of a child of an alcoholic mother and an enabler father. Since the mid 80’s I have read numerous of her manuscripts, each one an improvement, reflecting her 35+ years of growth and healing her particular childhood traumas. I highly recommend this read for anyone who admires a woman with courage and gumption, as my Grandma Haynes would say.

Can you find the native insect?

Understanding Roots: Discover How to Make Your Garden Flourish  by Robert Kourick

This local self published author has written numerous books over the years I have lived here in Sonoma County. Early on I heard him speak about his book on lavender. The most recent book contains amazing information about roots. He has included a wide swath of global research about roots. There are two excellent appendixes which are worth the price of book in my opinion: Allelopathy, which is the study of root exudates, and Phytoremediation, which is “the science of using the roots of living plants to accumulate heavy metals and other toxins from the soil.” There is also a third appendix:  “Roots Depth and Width” which is an extremely helpful guide to those of us who have a tendency to over plant. Anyone who gardens with some thought will cherish this book and its vast knowledge of roots. “This book gives us an understanding of the whole plant, and that can only make us better gardeners,” says Jeff Cox who is a former managing editor of Organic Gardening.

The Tao of Vegetable Gardening: Cultivating Tomatoes, Greens, Peas, Beans, Squash, Joy, and Serenity by Carol Deppe

This is the second book by Carol Deppe I have consumed with joy and lust. The author is a plant breeder living in the Oregon Willamette Valley with a PhD in biology from Harvard University. One would expect a dry tedious read; however, this author presents scientific facts and her take on them in a funny, riveting way. While I do not agree with all of her practices (like tilling), I do appreciate her clearly presented perspective of a molecular geneticist on growing food and her sheer joy of participating with a “garden’s dance of life.”  She shares her journey of developing “varieties of seeds chosen primarily for flavor and for high vigor and yield when grown under organic growing conditions” in her particular part of the United States. She participates with the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) where the “fight to take back our seeds is happening.” A wonderfully entertaining book for anyone interested in growing food, whether in a few containers on the deck or farming a few acres.

Saint Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum)

Tipping Point for Planet Earth by Anthony D. Barnosky and Elizabeth A. Hadley

This husband and wife team of palaeoecologists have spent over a quarter of a century traveling the globe. The environmental change they have observed at an accelerated rate as the planet’s population explodes, gobbling up the natural resources at an unprecedented rate, has nudged them to write this book.  Their hope is that, journeying with them, each human who reads this book will comprehend that each individual “really do(es) have the power to change the world.” The authors believe, as do I, that “if we, as in all of us, act fast” we can alter the cataclysmic path we humans have set for Planet Earth.

Flat top Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
which, when the picture was taken,
was covered with many different species of native insects not evident in this photo. 

Many years ago when I was first introduced to Permaculture I was fortunate enough to hear its founder, Bill Mollison. He with David Holmgren jointly evolved the framework for a sustainable agricultural system based on multi-crop of perennial trees, shrubs, herbs (vegetables and weeds), fungi and root systems they call “permaculture.” Over the next 10 years this agricultural system was expanded to include much more so those practicing could be fully self reliant. Anyway, Bill Mollison was a realist about what was happening to our planet way back in the 60’s living in Tasmania. During his talk he shared his belief that the chance of humans changing to ameliorate the crisis happening on the planet was nil, and he dealt each day with this belief was by practicing what he loved: building “good biological systems.” In 1981 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award. Remembering his statement clearly assists me when I grapple with the state of the planet and my love of maintaining the native ecological system here at MuRefuge.

Shasta kissing a neighbor's burro who LOVES Shasta but only tolerates her kisses.

As each one of us reconsider with conscious thought how we live each moment on this planet in crisis, may we