Koda’s round, yellow sheep

Posted by & filed under the puppy diaries.

koda and ball

She doesn’t have any sheep.

Just a round, doesn’t-stay-yellow-for-long, tennis ball.

It’s never out of her sight, she guards it day and night.

Well, not night, really, because we tell her to drop it before she enters the house.

Occasionally she manages to sneak it in. She’s tricky like that.

The best thing I ever got was a ball launcher. The first time I saw someone using one I thought, “for goodness sake, what a gimmick!” But without it, I can’t throw the ball further than she takes off running. She’d always have to turn around as soon as she heard the ball hit the ground. Behind her. And, this is the best part – with the ball launcher you can pick up that doesn’t-stay-yellow-for-long, slimy ball without ever touching it with your hand. Oh yeah. That’s what I’m talking about.

If you ever come to my house Koda will drop her ball at your feet. You are supposed to throw it for her, in case you didn’t understand. Every new person who comes to my house is a potential ball launcher in Koda’s eyes.

And those of us who live here and try and do anything outside get an Aussie following us around and dropping a ball in the middle of whatever we are doing. She will give you a few minutes to notice it, in this exact pose. If you ignore the ball, or actually didn’t see it dropped near you (because it’s kind-of like getting used to a noise and not hearing it anymore), Koda will come in, pick up the ball, and drop it even nearer to you. Like 6 inches or so. Ignore it now, she challenges.

Truthfully, I’m not sure she would have any more fun with a sheep. Because with that ball we play fetch, or throw it deep into the woods for more of a game of hide-and-seek (go find it, Koda!), or catch.

But sometimes I do feel like I’ve done her an injustice keeping her on a homestead with no sheep to herd. I don’t know if I’ll ever get her to a farm with sheep to test her prowess in this area. Is it such a part of her that she’ll just know what to do? I hope to find out someday.

Meanwhile, I have finally gotten Koda into agility. She was a natural in the trial class we took. We start real classes this Thursday! She is going to be so happy.

I think she might like agility even better than she likes that ball.

And that’s saying a lot.

Great Results for the Organic Gardener

Posted by & filed under buyer beware.

Organic Miracle Grow

The other day Andy told me I should fertilize the strawberries. I told him I would go online to see what they need. I settled on compost around the plants. Andy asked me, “what about the organic Miracle-Gro in the garage?”

“What organic Miracle-Gro ?” I replied.

So I went and looked. Sure enough, there was a bottle of organic Miracle-Gro. On the back it states “Great Results for the Organic Gardener.”

I don’t know which one of us bought this product, but I’m guessing it was probably either me grabbing it in response to Andy wanting to get Miracle-Gro or him bringing it home for me.

So, what’s in it?

All that is stated on the label is that it is derived from sugar beet molasses.

And I just happen to know that sugar beets are one of the largest genetically modified crops.

So I called the number on the back of the bottle. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I have a bottle of Organic Choice Miracle-Gro and I want to know if it is really organic.

Operator: Can you give me the last 5 digits of the UPC code.

I did, and then got put on hold while she looked it up.

Operator: Sorry for the wait. If it says organic on the bottle, it is organic.

Me: Well, it says organic on the bottle but it doesn’t say the ingredients are organic.

Operator: Does it say OCIA on the label? That’s the organic certification we use.

Me: I don’t see it. And then I read her this from the label:

“This specially made formula only available from Miracle-Gro Organic Choice All Purpose Plant Food Concentrate is all-natural, derived from sugar beet molasses.”

The operator seemed to have pulled up a picture by then, and said, “oh, it’s the brown bottle.”

Operator: No ma’am, this bottle doesn’t have the organic seal and isn’t certified for organic gardening. Any of our products that are certified organic will say OCIA on them.

Ironic, because right above what I read her it says “Great Results for the Organic Gardener!”  With an exclamation point, mind you.

Not.

Me: Well, I’m not going to use it then, and I would like to register a complaint that you are misleading your customers with your labeling. Thank you for your help.

Operator: Is there anything else I can help you with?

Me: No thank you.

There was no acknowledgement by her of my complaint, so I’m going to send the company an email. Meanwhile, I thought I’d at least post this and maybe it will save someone from dumping non-organic stuff into their organic gardens.

Because even when you read labels carefully you can be duped.

 

 

What are you doing about it?

Posted by & filed under health, my life.

A recent weekend when my mother-in-law was here, I was telling her about the March for Monsanto rally I attended, and my concern with genetically modified food.

She asked me, “what are you doing about it?” She told me that Laurel (her daughter) used to ask her that question when she complained about things. “Well, Mom, what are YOU doing about it?”

The question kind of took me by surprise, because I do feel a tad helpless fighting a huge agribusiness. And I had no answer for her. But the question haunted me until I realized I AM doing things….

  1. I marched in protest.
  2. I wrote to a news station when they had a program on freedom of the press (emphasizing the importance of it not being influenced by the government) and asked them why they didn’t cover a global grassroots march that was world news. The Tea Party protests were covered. The occupy Wall Street protests were covered. Why not this one, which went even beyond our own country? Into 52 countries and 436 cities, as a matter-of-fact. And yet no coverage by the mainstream media, beyond one story that aired at 4pm by CNN (it was a good one, I wish they had played it during prime time). Every time I speak of the march I ask people if they’ve heard of it, and the answer is no. What a shame. I participated in the march hoping it would raise awareness.
  3. I boycott GMO food and the companies that oppose GMO labeling (you may still see products in my house from these companies because my husband doesn’t share my concerns).
  4. I raise my own food and on top of working I tend my garden and cook real food from scratch – even though I’m not really that fond of cooking. :-) But I’m fond of healthy eating.
  5. I try and raise awareness of this issue in the circle of people I know.
  6. Just today I signed up for a certificate in Permaculture program taking place this fall in Western Massachusetts, over a series of weekends.
  7. And tonight I sent off an email to The World Bank letting them know of this article and asking them if they were paying attention to organic farming practices. Dr. Kim, the president of The World Bank was the keynote speaker at Kelly’s graduation and he told of their mission to end severe global poverty by the year 2030.

So, I guess I am doing stuff. It doesn’t feel real big, and I don’t know if it will ever make any bit of a difference, but the best part is I am living true to my values and doing the best I can to fight the good fight, and that makes me feel okay.

Do you have something you care deeply about? Let me ask you the same question. What are YOU doing about it? Makes you think, doesn’t it? Or it will, just give it time to niggle around in your brain for a bit. :-)

Just a knowing…

Posted by & filed under health, real food.

I have this thing that happens to me sometimes. It is just a knowing. It’s not the same as thinking I’m right about stuff. It’s deeper than that. There are plenty of things I am not confident about. But there are some things that I feel at a deep level as truth.

Like when I was a child growing up and my parents bought the hype about margarine being healthier for you – they still do. I just had this knowing. How could something that isn’t real be better than the real thing? And turns out it isn’t….

At last, the the truth: Butter is GOOD for you – and margarine is chemical junk

Same thing with artificial sweetener. If you ever give me something with artificial sweetener in it I can taste it right off. Ick. How can this be better than the real thing? It’s wrong, I just know it. And it’s in EVERYTHING. I won’t touch the stuff and had to stop chewing gum because it’s now in every brand. And guess what? We are now discovering how really bad it is for you….

America’s Dangerous Artificial Sweetener Addiction, Pt 1 (Dr. Oz – video)

Six years ago – maybe it’s even seven – my sister-in-law lost a decade battle with breast cancer. She was 49. First diagnosed at 39. How come so early? And a couple of years ago my friend got diagnosed and lost her battle with cancer. Also age 49. And I was hearing of tons of people in my church and my community fighting cancer. And all of us middle aged or younger, it seemed. Something is wrong. Really wrong.

When my friend got sick, I asked her if she’d consider a nutritional component to her healing. She said she’d try everything. So I went on a tear doing research on healthy diets.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there, which I’m sure everybody reading this knows. Milk is bad for you, milk is good for you. Eat soy. Don’t eat soy. Eat meat. Don’t eat meat.

But when I sat back and thought about it, really touched that place of deep knowing, this is what I realized. Food that is as closest to it’s natural state as possible has to be the best food for us. Because long ago we couldn’t always manipulate it into other forms.

Whenever I found out – maybe a year ago know – that our food system was full of genetically modified corn and soy (among others) and that corn and soy was in everything, and that tons of pesticides are used on our food crops, I just knew.

This is bad. This is really, really bad. And little by little, we are figuring that out. Rises in allergies, autism, cancer, and more. My own thyroid is toast and I have to take a pill. Hypothyroidism is now very, very common. I know there are going to be more and more studies emerging proving the connections between our food and our health. And so, because of this knowing, even if other people don’t have it, I am staying away from this non-real food, and continuing to learn how to grow food organically and how to encourage/recreate natural systems that work for pest control and a healthy ecosystem.

There was an ad back when I was young that had the byline “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” (Ironically, that ad was for margarine.) I agree. We need to live within nature’s system for our own health and well being, instead of trying to control it.

Emotional Me

Posted by & filed under faith, health, my life.

I have been in a whirlwind of emotions lately. First there is the matter of the human race. There are some of us poisoning our world…killing it really…there are some of us trying to make it better, and there are some of us that are going about our business thinking everything is fine and dandy. To the last group I want to scream “wake up, you people!!!”

All of this has started churning in me because of the March Against Monsanto scheduled for this Saturday. A march I WILL be a part of because I care about the world God created and how greed and ignorance is destroying it, bit by bit, piece by piece, until, eventually, it will be too late. I remember seeing an exhibit in the Smithsonian about a lady named Rachel Carson, who brought the worlds’ attention to the dangers of DDT. That was back in the 60s. In the ultimate irony, she died of cancer. Have we not learned anything from DDT? No. We are now using other chemicals to kill the bugs and bees and birds and fish and us. Way to go, human beings, way to go. I was brought to tears at that exhibit. I am brought to tears about the way things are today.

This is so important to me – SO important – and yet I can’t find anybody to go to the march with me. My husband is going to go, because he doesn’t want me to go alone, which is very heartwarming but where are the rest of the people? Does no one else care (besides a few dear friends who wanted to go but can’t because of other commitments)? I feel so alone. But I will meet my people down there. It will be good to be among like-minded individuals.

Here’s the other thing that has been wreaking havoc with my emotions….

In the last two days there have been some postings by Christians objecting to other Christians’ theology. Talk about poison. Wow. The bottom line is that you can’t say something as a Christian without some other Christian taking offense. I’m sick of it! It’s on all sides of theology – liberal theology taking offense at conservative theology and vice versa. So no side is without excuse and can pull the righteous card. They are both pulling the self-righteous card and you know what? Jesus saved his harshest words for the self-righteous. Be afraid, you who think you have the truth. Maybe you don’t.

God is so much bigger than we can wrap our heads around, which means the truth is, too. If we would forget worrying about who has it right and feeling like we need to win people over to our side (which of course is God’s side, right?) and just loved people and left the worry about salvation and heaven and hell to God – whose business it is, anyway – then that’s when the good WOW would happen.

One of the postings was a response to a homily the new Pope gave. An uproar because he said that Christ redeemed all of us (um, doesn’t Romans 5 say the same thing?). But his larger message was for all of us to meet in a place of doing good. A common ground of making this world a better place. A common ground where conversations could begin about what we believe and why we believe. Wow. Wouldn’t that be beautiful?

A few years ago I told God I was leaving man’s teachings of Him behind and I wanted Him to show me who He is. This is the journey I’m on and I see how big and unfathomable He is. There is no figuring Him out. There is only following Him and learning from Him and trying to do His will on this earth. Fellow Christians, stop arguing with each other. Turn to God and argue with Him, if you will. Maybe he’ll teach you a few things.

My boy is growing up

Posted by & filed under the puppy diaries.

This weekend, Columbus got to be a real dog. He got to be outside, loose with us. He slept in his tie-out spot without being tied, he lounged in the bed of the truck, he walked around with us at times.

Never did he try and bust through the fence.

We tied him out at times during the graduation party, but he got to be loose, too. It’s shades of things to come.

I can see he’s learning the rules and the impulses to break them are waning a bit. I can’t wait until he becomes the perfect dog!

Two Dogs at the Lake

Posted by & filed under the puppy diaries.

columbus at the lake

It’s kind of interesting to me that my puppy diary blog postings have waned. I suppose it’s because we are all settling into a pretty routine existence. Faced with the knowledge that Columbus is an impulsive dog, he is kept tied up with a few exceptions – right before suppertime and when we are outside with him and focused on preventing him from running away. Nose on a scent leading into the woods? “Columbus, come, cookie, come, supper, come!” Food words. He knows his food words. They are icing on the come cake. If we are doing an outside task even – gardening, yard work – we tie him up. He’s near us, but he is tied up. And he seems to be pretty okay with that existence.

And indoors? He isn’t left unsupervised. But he’s mostly good when we are around, with the occasional waste basket snipe. He knows he’s not supposed to go upstairs or down into the basement and if access to those areas aren’t blocked he just looks up/down there as we close the gate/door instead of bolting at any chance. When we are upstairs or out of the house, he is closed in the mudroom with his toys. I got a really high dog gate with a door in it. One of my favorite dog-related purchases because my hip doesn’t hurt so much from stepping over the old high (but not as high) baby gate.

We go for walks most mornings, or a romp at the fenced in school baseball field. If I’m lazy, I run them outside in the yard until Columbus looks like he might run off. The zap collar really is a deterrent most times and he knows some of the boundaries of the yard, at least.

So, none of this has anything to do with the title of my post. Time for that. Was just catching y’all up.

This weekend, I decided to take the dogs up to The Cabins at China Lake, which we own with some other folks and had to get ready to open. I could have left them home and Koda would have been fine with a babysitter to come and feed her, but Columbus needs people around. So I decided to take them. Koda has been before. Thought she would be fine.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I bought them each a nice meaty bone on the way up, and brought the super dog tie out and an equivalent for Koda. No biting through ropes when we weren’t looking. Our friend Dave’s husky came, too, and they all were tied in their own spot, with their own bones.

Columbus pretty much settled right in. He could see us, could see activity, all was well and he began to focus on his bone.

But it was all too much for Koda, who is used to the freedom of her yard, and running around with us and dropping the ball at our feet as we do whatever it is we are doing. Being tied to a tree was not something she was going along with. Forget the bone. No meaty flavor was going to entice her away from what became her weekend project. Whining.

Whining, whining, whining, whining, whining.

Oh yeah, and whining.

I thought I was going to go crazy.

That would have been bad enough. But on day 2 her leather collar broke and she went after Kya the husky. A dog fight ensued, as they are both alpha females and neither one of them was backing down. As I heard the commotion and went to the door of the cabin I was cleaning, I saw Andy grab at Koda and tackle her to the ground. Then Alex ran and pulled Kya back via her tie out. Dog fight over, but guess who lost? Andy, who wound up with a deep bite wound on his hand.

We all know it is not a good idea to get in the middle of a dog fight. Don’t we?

So, the bottom line here – what I figured out this weekend – is that mellow Columbus is going to be the perfect lake dog. The kids tied a long rope to him so they could catch him if he started running up towards the REALLY busy death road (far enough away from the lake that they figured they could get him in time), and threw sticks for him in the water. Columbus was in heaven. We will bring him up again, and hopefully one day he’ll be road smart and perfectly obedient so I might even be able to let him loose with us. (Not for awhile, I know.)

And Koda? Koda is going to turn into my stay-at-home dog. She has her yard that she guards (as I’m writing this I hear her out there barking at something) and is independent and will be much happier staying at home. And Columbus will get to come up north and be with his peeps, and ride in the back of the truck and chew on a meaty bone.

I have dreams of him being the perfect dog some day. After all, I did see that same look in his puppy eyes that I saw in Peppers’.

Random thoughts inspired by last week’s events

Posted by & filed under faith.

There are some things in this world that make no sense to me.

Like how a man who prays 5 times a day can turn around and kill and destroy. Who is he praying to? Not my God.

Like a church that tells the world that God sent the bombs to Boston. Really? Whose God? Not my God.

Like a society that sees violence as entertainment – in its movies, its television, the games it plays. Who inspires this? Not my God.

All of this – ALL OF IT – drives me deeper and deeper into Jesus’ arms.

I once tried to walk away from Jesus. I was reading new age kind of books and they tickled my mind. This was a neat way of looking at things! But ultimately I couldn’t walk away from Jesus. So I turned around and ran back towards him.

I still can’t wrap my mind around a lot of stuff in the Bible. But I can wrap my head around this…the way God tells us to live is a way better way than what society dishes out.

Love thy neighbor.

Treat other people the way you would like to be treated.

Serve one another.

Thou shalt not kill. Or even think bad thoughts towards another person.

Think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

Work hard. Be patient. Persevere.

Be generous and kind.

Love God.

Because God IS love. I know a lot of people can’t wrap their heads around a God that doesn’t stop evil from it’s destructive ways. But it makes sense that we can’t wrap our heads around Him, doesn’t it? That’s what makes him God, isn’t it? He’s so much bigger than we can even fathom. I do know this much, however. God is all that is beautiful and right. And that’s enough for me to cling to Him as my rock in this world full of so much that is wrong.

And yet…..

There are a lot of good people doing good things in this world. Shining God’s light into it. And we saw that over the past week. And we needed to see that. Times like these help us reach inside ourselves to be better.

I know a Christian man who works with nurses and tells them, “you’re a Christian, you just don’t know it yet.” I love that. That part of us that is beautiful and right is of God, and if we are operating from that place, we are of God. Some of us just don’t know it yet.

There are those out there spewing hateful words against the two men who caused so much death and destruction. But hate is just another form of darkness. Yes, let justice be served. But we can’t focus our energies on hate. We need to focus them on love and do something to make the world better. Whatever it is. Just do something positive to offset the negative, like so many people have already done. Be inspired by them. Learn to love.

There is a picture of the little boy killed in the bombings that I can’t stop thinking about. I don’t want to link to the picture here on my blog, that seems like an invasion of privacy to this little boy I never knew named Martin. The picture of Martin has him holding a sign he made that said, “No more hurting people. Peace.” Instead I’m posting this picture my daughter Kelly took of a poster someone put up at the bombing site with Martin’s words.

peace

If that’s not a word of God to all of us, I don’t know what is.

Father, Son, Dog

Posted by & filed under my life.

father son dog

Today Andy and I planned on having a fire. Usually I don’t help out as much with the fires, but I was planning on helping out with this one. Then Alex called and said he was coming home for the weekend. “We’re planning a fire, I told him.” He was on board. (What is it about guys and fires?)

So, the three of us spent the morning cleaning up a good part of the deadwood in our woods. Then we had lunch, then went back outdoors. I moved on to cleaning out the gardens. Andy tilled the vegetable garden, returning to the fire every once in awhile. Alex took a turn with the chainsaw and hauled some big logs to the barn to become future firewood.

As I was working on the garden on the same side of the house as the fire, I looked over and saw my two guys and my dog hanging out and talking. At first I thought I’d never have time to get a picture before they moved, but it was warming my heart so much I took a chance, ran upstairs to grab my camera and long lens so I could get an undisturbed shot (even having to stop and remove my dirt-laden boots first) and managed to get back in time to catch this photo. Not exactly what I wanted. The picture I wanted was with Andy leaning back on his elbows, engrossed in conversation with Alex. And Koda was laying down, waiting for someone, anyone, to throw her ball. But this is close. Enough to tell the story.

With all that goes on in this world, I cherish each and every moment with my family and take none of it for granted. Give me moments like this and I am content.

 

Believe

Posted by & filed under faith, my life.

This song was sung on American idol tonight. This is the original duet version with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

It seemed so appropriate for a time when in the midst of great pain, we are seeing miracles of love.

It also echos what I learned earlier in my life. Something I want to share as I learned of yet another young person who has taken their own life. THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE! Hold on to the hope. Things will get better even when it feels like they never will.

I know this personally. I was there in those thoughts of despair and wanting to end the pain when I was a teenager. When the world and the kids in it seemed so monstrously cruel. I wasn’t strong enough to fight back. I didn’t know what to do in the face of such meanness but retreat. Into myself. Into some pretty dark thoughts.

And yet, as the song says….I did believe. I kept saying to God, “things have got to get better. They can only go up from here.” And so I hung on to that hope. I’m pretty sure God planted that hope right there inside me to bring me out of the darkness  into the plans he had for me.

And what a life I’ve lived! I have a great husband, 3 awesome kids, and some pretty wonderful friends. Sometimes I remember what could have been if I had had the courage to end my pain. And I shudder. What I would have missed out on! I have a blessed life! (I’m still sometimes overwhelmed by the pain this world holds, but more often I’m overwhelmed by the beauty it holds.)

How about that? From dark despair to joyous light.

Miracles can happen, when you believe.

Believe that life will get better.

Believe that God is good.

Believe in yourself and how many people really, really love you.

Believe that you were put in this world for a purpose. To be exactly who you are – uniquely, perfectly you.

Now, let the miracles happen….