trees

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National Herbalist Day

Hail Brave Hearts

Enjoy the nutrition of the land and the many medical marvels that it reveals.  It’s a new day dawning for the Herbalist.  A day of worthy mention.  National Herbalist Day!  Wow!

The subject matter is superb.  Now that spring is here, the welcome backyard medicine cabinet is opening it’s doors.  New spring teas from fresh shoots, leaves and plants.  Lovely.  Fit for any larder, the beautiful abundance of natural goodness is in your yard.

The most obvious, killer weed, that notorious Dandelion.  Awesome!  The nutritional value of this plant is a keeper.

Plantain, St John’s Wort, Daisy and many more.   A special day for those of us, who seek natural remedies for those aches and pains.  I’ve been lucky with Nettle, Red Currant, Apple Leaf and Rose Hips, but these are just a few of the many natural wonders of the wild world.  Home made salves and soaps, fragrance and tea.  Natural healers to boost energy, to calm, to induce sleep, to improve circulation and help achy joints and achy pains.  Your garden is an Earthly delight.  Those pesky weeds, so hard to get rid of , might freshen your breath, improve your eyesight, add luster to your hair and make it shine.  The self indulgent gardener might even find a cure for what ails themselves.  There are many good gardening books which will help to plant an herbalist garden.

But are natural remedies important?  They are, if you want them to be.  Do they actually provide cures?  Yes, they do.

To quote Chris Dalziel at Jobillee Farm.  who has a  book Growing Abundance, the Garden You Harvest in a Week.

Monday is National Herbalist Day!  It’s a day to acknowledge the herbs that keep us well, help our gardens grow better, make our food taste better, and give us abundance.  Its also a day to recognize the herbal mentors in our life.

Who taught you about using herbs in the kitchen, the garden, and the apothecary?  Did you learn from a mother, a grand parent, a neighbor? Are you self-taught from books and the internet? Did you take a class? Or are you just beginning to learn about herbs as an adult?

Learn about Plantago major — Plantain

I love teaching children about herbs.  My 2 year old granddaughter knows to look for plantain (Plantago major) if she gets a bee sting or a mosquito bite.  “Plantain” comes from an old French word meaning “sole of the foot”.  It grows in compacted areas, where the footprint of humans or animals have compacted the soil.  Its a healing plant for the soil as much as it is a healing plant for us.

Often plantain is the first herb that people learn to use.  It can be an “a-ha” moment, when you hand them a leaf and tell them to put it on the “ouch”.  Relief is fast.

I’ve had the privilege of introducing plantain to tough motorcyclists, stung on the hand while riding, hikers, farmers, beekeepers, wee toddlers, and grumpy teens, mowing a lawn. Plantain is just one of the many gifts that God gives us to nourish and heal us.
In The Forest
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In The Forest

Hail Brave hearts

Ah, the forest.  The adventure is sweet.  It captures us as environmentalists, athletes, artists and nature seekers.  Fabulous forest, for beauty, for shelter, for warmth.  The myriad of species that inhabit these lands.  The wild lands.  The massive tracts of lands for trees, vegetation, wildlife and us.  The forest holds its secrets, prime fishing holes, a hidden lake, vast meadows of wildflowers, a campsite, a trail, a precious sought after climb, the view.  This is a wonderland to us.  So much to see, so many trails to follow, so much room to explore.  Our hearts sing.  The day is long, the journey rewarding, the wilds lands treat us to so much earthly pleasure in Gods wonderful, always outstanding, creation.  The joy is magnificent.  So much simple pleasure, so much to learn and so much knowledge to share.

The ever changing forest, from spring beauty, to awesome autumn, from warm summers evenings, to cold winter trekking.  The forest brings us a continual challenge of skills and expertise.  Paddle the pristine lakes, kayak the whitewater, drift in quiet solitude of the still waters.  Listen to the sound of the great wild as it echoes across the land.  This is the forest, with all of the wonders that it holds.  All across the surface of the forest there is  a secret hiding, to be found only by  those who know what to look for.  The experts who have the knowledge of herbal remedies.  Here in these trees lies the medicine cabinet of the  land.

Trees sway softly is the swirling winds, birds call and animals scurry away.  Flowers nod and wave their heads and beckon us to enjoy our day.  In this fabulous forest, there’s something for us.  It’s in the trees.   Healing trees, nurturing trees, trees that hold the secret to natural remedies and cures.  There are many.  The mighty spruce, with it’s vitamin C, provides a healing tea which  is the  one that cured the early explorers of scurvy.  This is just one, there are many more.

10 Medicinal Trees That Heal Virtually Everything – Off The Grid News

The bountiful forest gives us many things.  It gives us a captivating wonderland to explore, a bountiful world of healing cures and natural wisdom.  The forest is alive with so many precious treasures.  Animal life and vegetation galore!  An array of colour and light, a pleasure to our senses and a quiet in our stressful lives.

For the gardener, a tree could hold the cure to an ailment, a remedy of homemade cleverness.  Perhaps a cup of tea could save your life.  Choose wisely oh dear ones, these same trees have cured us for centuries, save them and protect them.  The forest is more than just trees, it is yet another garden of earthly delight, filled with food, medicine and healing, health benefits.

Come to the forest, oh awesome human, where the trees give us shade, adventure, the quiet wilderness and a healthy life.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 25, 2021

Early Spring
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Early Spring

Hail, you brave almighty ones.

Praises, you awesome ones, praises to this great good Earth.  The warm spring days welcome us.  Come out of your houses and feel the warmth of those special sun shining rays.   The spring, with it’s special power, it’s newness, it’s creation, it’s splendor.  It is beauty that we crave and beauty surrounds us .  The joy of living, of life on the planet, of the simplicity of warm breezes, cool lakes, shelter from trees, magnificent flowers.  The joy in their hearts as the nesting birds sing, the fondness of animals as they gaze at their offspring, the brilliance of flowers as they burst from their buds.  The magic of the planet casts it’s wondrous spell and spring has captured us once more.

Glorious days of sun filled splendor, rays of shining gold sent to us from heaven.  The lights is with us for hours  now, the dark of winter is cast aside and the joy of spring fills the air.  Fragrant gardens, song filled skies, colorful meadows and deep secrets hiding in the forest.  It is the season of growth and birth.  A season of wonder and delight.  The Earth spreads the word to us, welcoming us into it’s great wonder.  It is the beauty of this great planet, that brings us so much joy. Joy and discovery.

Those same old trails change each day, a new bud, a  new animal track, viewpoints, water rushing, an early spring with so much to see.  The water entices us and we’re swimming in April.  So much goodness, so much sport and  so much fun.  It extends our lives by weeks this year, everything is early.

An escape from the bustling city to the quiet of the spring filled country, a dazzling day on a mountain bike, exertion and strenuous activity to liven the muscles and tone the body.  This great country’s past time of escaping to the beaches, the trails, the forest, the mountains, the campgrounds, the parks and the great wild.  Escape to the wonder of the natural world, the world filled with surprises and unexpected pleasures.  A roadside pull off with big horn sheep playing close by, a view of an eagle with egrets on its nest, that great  horned owl peering at us as we walk along the trail. The views of spring time meadows, of glaciers and mountain tops, of long endless grasslands and still pristine lakes.  We protect all of this.  This is ours to keep.  Our cherished escape to the great beyond, the fabulous parks , the wilderness and the joy of being.  That wholesome success of a day of play, of the unpolluted water and the clean, pure air.  Those days that take your worries away and fill your lives with that sense of wonder.   More, we want more. More of this life of athletic fun, of hikes and photos, of swimming and riding.  More of those rugged climbs to test our endurance and strength.  We want more.  More of this vast land with it’s unique species and more of the beauty of our scenic wonder.  More of the wonder of the natural world and more of the healing of this great divine. This is our awesomeness, these special, protected places, these is our secrets, that we quietly share.

We are old here, but we are still young.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 11, 2016

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Some Luxury

 

Hail Bravehearts

Hail and hearty the adventure awaits the bold and daring and the ambitious ones.  Skills to survive, to conquer it all, to bring peace and prosperity to a fragile new colony.

The great wild awaits, with it’s luring call.  Venture forth, oh great human.  Come into this great wild land and reap the rewards of this new world.  Come, entices the forest, come to this viewpoint and see my wondrous beauty.  Come, calls the wind and I will show you how to live.  Come to the new colony, to this brave new world.

The sun shines in glory and golden rays sparkle through the trees.  It is springtime and the air is filled with the cheerful song of nesting birds, thriving insects and birthing animals.  Fragrant flowers fill the forests and meadows and the spectacular colour of their beautiful petals brings smiles.  Hope.  It is upon us again.  Hope for success this time.  It is spring.  Hard work and toil should pay off with success this time.

The sap is running, it’s maple sugar time.  The sap of the maple sugar tree can be boiled into a delicious product of sweet tasting syrup.  Syrup, candy, cookies, butter.   A new tradition, a new culinary delight, a new culture in cuisine.  Come, calls the wild land, fill your buckets with this sweet tasting goo.  The sap of the tree is honey or sugar to the new settlers.  Joy  from the wild, since this is a delight that is easy to harvest and delicious to eat.  Maple syrup eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits.  A whole new cuisine based on the sweet delight of the maple sugar tree.  Now the joy of cooking is ours, in the great new land.   A treasure, a gold mine, a product of tasteful delight that gives the new settlers an item for trade.  Food, prosperity, luxury.  Oh brave new world, there is real wealth here.  Live and thrive in the great new land.

http://wildblueberries.net/maplehistory.html  a history of maple syrup

Harvest the riches, the abundance and the gold.  Tap the stream of sap, of the maple sugar tree and be rich.  A prized product from the forest, maple sap, maple syrup, maple sugar.  This centuries old industry developed another uniqueness in the new world.  Unique fur traders, unique sugar maple.  An identity is being born.  A connection to the land and to it’s people.  A connection of trade and business.  Something new to send back to the old world of France. There is nothing like it in Europe.  Interesting.  Curiosity and intrigue develops.  What of that great land across the ocean.  What else is there in that vast frontier?

Slowly, but slowly, the colony increases.  Slowly, but slowly, it ignites the fire of imagination.  Yes, they will come to Canada, even if forced by royal decree, they will come.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

May 31, 2016

 

It’s Only a Tree
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It’s Only a Tree

Good Day Bravehearts

The forests of our country are a milestone of preservation. Intact lands, intact lives, intact preservation. The delicate balance of satisfying the needs of competing interests while we grow and prosper, but still fulfill the needs of the great land. The earth cannot survive without the large expanse of lands and environmental protection has called us all to be watchful of the contamination and ruin of the earth. Another mountain of preservation destroyed, another hard fought victory to win. It only takes a few minutes to destroy, what has taken a milenium of earth years to build. A forest, brought down by over harvesting. The balance of the environment overturned. The delicate marshes and the songs of the birds, happily existing in the structure of an ecosystem, so uniquely contrived and so exquisitely orchestrated. The balance of life in the land of the great wild.
The fabulous wild, where the predators roam and quietly, stealthily stalk their prey. A harvest of the weak to strengthen the strong, and to cull the over abundance of grazing and browsing prey. The forest needs the predator, to save it’s new growth, and to take a stand for the preservation of large landscapes.
The balance is superb! The forest thrives and the lives of the living, fill their world with the earth songs of their making.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BickMFHAZR0 The Most Amazing Thing About Trees.

The joy of the wild as it sings the song of the earth to us, the great human. Save us! Only in saving the great wild, will the human be able to save themselves. The preservation of the forest, for our own clean air, for oxygen, for shade, and the protection of the soil. The trees are a necessity. Food, shade, warmth, air, environmental protection and decoration. The varieties are immense and all so different. Large and small with canopies for shade, or strength for wind protection. A tree, such a common plant, so needed and so fragile.
Our houses, from their wood. Furnishings, flooring, cabinetry, whole fields of study from the common tree. Carpentry, logging, forestry, massive business enterprise and international trade. Wealth from wood, paper from by product, our logging industry employs thousands.
Hail to the almighty human, for ingenuity and invention. Your awesome minds and clever imaginations save you there, but lack of foresight is the curse of the human.
Oh brilliant ones, you cannot stop your thinking. The wide expanse of knowledge becomes you and the perpetual motion of time turning to wealth propels you. No poverty there. A world without end. It has to be.
So, brave hearts, as the world turns and another day is upon us, the call from the wild is more urgent and compelling.
Come! calls the great land. Visit and explore. Come to the luxury, to the beauty, to the serenity of the wild! Come to the adventure, to explore and discover. The earth sings, oh great human, don’t be the last.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
July 1, 2014

The New Planet
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The New Planet

Hail Brave hearts!

This glorious day of the risen lord brings peace and hope to a weary world.
The earth moans under the weight of 7 billion humans. All of the rest of its creation needs room to grow. Room for trees and plants and landscapes, room for animals and birds and insects. The awesome creative powers of the planet need to be expressed. Like the fine aptitude of an artist, needing to paint a brilliant canvas, the earth needs to cover it’s surfaces with beauty and colour and life. Awesome great planet with life giving forces. The beautiful great planet surrounds us with nature. Each and every delicate balance, a life sustaining act. The trees, recycling the carbon dioxide of our breaths and returning fresh, clean oxygen into the air. The trees, our life support system for clean air. 7 billion breathing humans, destroying forests, up routing plants, filling in ponds, covering the earth with pavement, building, building, building.
Hail, you awesome human! The earth struggles to support you, struggles to feed and nurture you, struggles to provide air for you, clean water and good food. The self destructive human, unthinking in it’s quest for income, housing and land, destroys the very thing that provides the most. Hail, to the almighty human, who protects the only thing that we have in the universe, the mighty great planet earth.
So much taken for granted, so much destroyed for no reason, so much loss of habitat and loss of life, human, wildlife, plant life. From the tops of the mountains to the depth of the oceans, the environmental destruction is severe.
In myth, the world of the gods lies in the heavens, in science fiction aliens inhabit other planets. In reality, will that save us here. The awesome mind of science tells us that there is a possibility of life on other planets. The constant search of the heavens and the universe for life sustaining planets, challenges us to think outside of this small, rotating sphere of life and look to the possibilities of new life among the stars. Our imagination takes us in leaps of wonder and anticipation. Could it be real? Could we live somewhere else? What would it be like?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/earth-sized-planet-found-in-star-s-habitable-zone-1.2613794 The new planet.

Now,at last, there is a possibility. An earth like planet, found only 500 light years away. We could escape this rotting, dying, war torn, diseased, overpopulated earth and escape into our spaceships and be gone! Gone to the heavens, gone to the perils of the universe, into the last great frontier of human experience. We’ve done it all here. The dying planet entertains us no more.
Off to the greatest challenge of our lives! Off to discover the universe and inhabit the new world. Like our ancestors before us, the age of discovery is upon us. Like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Francis Drake and the Apollo Astronauts, we can pack our bags and venture forth again. Into the great unknown, to prove that the universe is not flat, but we can navigate it and we will not fall off.
Hail, to you almighty human! Flee the dying planet and explore the universe. You only have 500 light years to go.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
April 20, 2014

Come with me
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Come with me

Into the great wild.
Into an adventure of peaceful delight, where the gentle breezes warm your body and the sun filled meadows delight your senses. The playful butterfly drinking the last of the seasons nectar and the grasshoppers leaping in the tall grasses. The wild life leave only footprints to indicate their presence, the occasional scat of wolves and bear indicate a balance of life and the songs of birds, hawks and ducks fill the air with their calls. The berries are abundant, there are several signs of bears.
The great wild.
As usual, the wildlife are elusive and although our presence is known to them, they hide from us. We, like them, will leave only footprints. We, like them, will pass through the meadows disturbing as little as possible.
Lucky are we, to have the great wild.

Lucky are we to be the only humans in this vast landscape. A retreat for us. A welcome change in the daily routine. A back country trip of awesome wonder, fabulous scenery, a remote distance, a genuine pleasure.
Here, the mountain steams provide necessary water. Clear, clean water. We fill our cups to drink. The great Earth provides unpolluted water from numerous streams as we pass by. The great Earth provides and we, oh great human, have the great good fortune to inherit such wonder.
The protection of vast tracts of land for preservation, conservation and environmental security is a necessary gift to us.
The wildlife need their uninterrupted peace where the daily drama of their own lives can be fulfilled. We too, need uninterrupted peace, where our own minds rest and relax. We need the great wild. The calling birds, the swaying, dance of flowers, the brilliant colour, the songs of animals.
On these glorious fall days, the land was gentle to us. The sun warmed us and the streams cooled us. We could drink from the unpolluted waters of the Earth. In two glorious days, a lifetime passed. Gone were the worries of the world, the distant workplace vanished from the conscious mind into a void. No more thoughts of daily disturbances, no more the sounds of traffic. The silence greets us with restful, deep sleep and the meditative calm of nature soothes the soul.
Here, mankind, sighs the great Earth. This is a gift to you. Protect as much as you can. The great wild is a precious and fragile gift, it restores your soul, it sings to your heart and it relaxes your mind. There is no war in the great wild. There is only the daily interaction of nature as it plays out its own life. The nurturing wild. It calls us to protect it. Save us mankind. Save yourselves. Here is the land of plenty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTN8frhWOlA tranquility water music

The smells of juniper are strong and pleasing. The grasses smell sweet as we pass through them. The end of season flowers nod and wave. The sweet serenity of the far off place. The wild. So rich for us, a near at hand wonder of the great creation of the Earth.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
September 11, 2013

The Voyageurs
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The Voyageurs

The dawn is breaking and the currant is forceful.   Onward, onward the paddle pushes through the water.  The morning echoes with the wakening of new life, a new day, a song from the forest, joy!

The rugged life of the everyday entrepreneur.  Constant travel, constant hardship, work all day, work most of the night.  On and on through the vast river system, through the lakes and to the fur trading posts, with canoes laden with goods for trade.  Freedoms sings it’s song in the mind, wealth creeps into view.  The tantalizing call of riches.  The wealth of the nation is in trade.  The doors opened to the adventurer.  To those so hearty that they could travel great distances with focus and determination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyageurs

To this end the change became the hired employee.  The race to conquer the nation, to fill the shelves with fur product, to make a fortune from the wealth of the land, attracted business entrepreneurs whose goal was to have it all.  From a life of  individual trade for profit to a life of the licenced, employed trader.  The business of trade boomed throughout the country.  Still the life of the voyageur was virtually the same as his predesessor.   Now, the trade was for a merchant, previously, it had been trade for themselves.

The rivers filled with hearty, strong, determined men, venturing on a highway of water.  The canoes travelling thousands of kilometers, the negotiation for trade.  It filled our lives, our dreams, our destinies.  The world of trade.  The world of fur.

For 350 years the Canadians ventured throughout the land in search of trading partners to expand their wealth.  Trading with the native peoples, then setting up traplines of their own.  The fur trade started in the 1500’s and ended in the 1870’s.

Negotiate.  The peaceful venture of business enterprise was the most fashionable and luxurious calling of all.  Profits on both sides, wealth and adventure.   The call of the wild was a call to prosperity.  Heed the call, almighty man.

The birch bark canoe, the voyageur canoe, the life of the land.  The peaceful settling of  a nation built on trade.  A nation built from the strength of human enterprise more valuable that any adversary or foe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8rGaj2Bt7A  heart chakra earth healing meditation

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 20, 2013

www.bbcanada.com/10895.html

http://www.empowernetwork.com/?id=louisehayes

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Recycling

English: A picture of compost soil

English: A picture of compost soil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Feel the earth under your feet.  The life producing quality of the soil.  Rich in nutrients for our harvest, the soil is key to our survival.  Healthy soil, healthy food.  No pollution or contaminants for the earth

Our land fills are overflowing with recyclable debris.  Recycling reduces waste and increases our productivity.  It increases our ability to make use of used products and to turn discards into useful products.  It helps us to use our imaginations in discovering a purpose for items that would otherwise have been discarded to the landfill.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/recycling/?gclid=CIDhn_3Yz7cCFYo-Mgod32sAJw

The landfill is a nasty brew of toxins.  Although it may be possible to the cover mess with soil, burying toxins contaminates the soil and makes it dangerous for plantings.

http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/what-can-i-recycle.aspx

http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-recycling

Some of your recyclables are very good for the soil.  A composting bin where you can recycle vegetable food scraps, leaves, lawn cuttings and egg shells reduces itself to a highly nutricious black soil.  This soil is very beneficial to your garden and to the earth.  Even a small composter will help to reduce the amount of food waste that is dumped unnecessarily into our landfills.  Black earth is an expensive product to purchase.  That nutricious soil comes to you via your own discarded vegetable waste.

Since it is environment week, please consider the beneficial effects of recycling for yourselves and for the earth.  There are many products that can be recycled and reused.  A healthy, productive garden is only one of the many benefits of recycled materials.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 7, 2013

Commuter Challenge
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Commuter Challenge

And God created the Earth.

The vast heavens, the bountiful  oceans, the abundant life on the planet.  And He also created us, the human.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFq42IibUeY earth song meditation

It’s environment week and there are many ways to enjoy this national celebration of preservation and environmental protection.  We all need clean air, clean water, sunshine and healthy living.  We all need to stretch our legs and join the crusade to walk, run, hike, bicycle and to be the champion.  The more often we leave our vehicles at home and use other methods of transportation to reach our goals, for example, public transportation, car pools, bicycling or walking, the fewer emisions we put into the atmosphere.  With less emmisions the air is cleaner and clean air is better for us and better for the planet.

http://www.environment.gov.ab.ca/edu/eweek/

Yes, the trees and plants are capable of cleaning the air, but they can’t do it all.  Pollution is a cause of decreasing life expectancy and disease.

To take to the trails or the streets for running, walking and cycling is a pursuit of the joy of living.  The increased fitness level powers you on and the earth sighs with gratitude.  Only footsteps, only the power of the muscles.  Each step increases lung capacity and cardiovascular strength.  Each step promotes healthy living and promotes the health of the planet.

Each breath that you take, fills your lungs with oxygen for the health of your blood and your cells.  The increased oxygen feeds your cells and helps them to fight off disease.

Feel the cool of the forest as you pass under the canopy of the trees.  There is life in the foliage and oxygen productivity in the leaves.  The cool shade is a welcome retreat from the scorching sun.  The busy birds and insects hurry onward with their own day.  The plantings save the water shed and the rushing sound of water fills our ears.  Clean water!  Water for our bodies, we can’t live without it.  Clean water with no pollution,  no water born disease.

The busy sidewalks turn into a carpet of grass.  Soft, green, fresh grass.  The life under your feet saves the soil, with all of it’s life supporting nutrients.  Under your feet is the domain of the soil and all of the tiny micro organisms and earth life.  The soil, the building block of plant growth.

Feel the earth under your feet.  The life producing quality of the soil.  Rich in nutrients for our harvest, the soil is key to our survival.  Healthy soil, healthy food.  No pollution or contaminants of the earth

As we prepare ourselves for another day of healthy living, for us, for the environment, for the earth, remember to give thanks for life itself, all life.

The commuter challenge promotes healthy bodies, healthy lives, healthy living.  Brilliant mankind, the choice has always been yours, choose health.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 6, 2013