Free Range Friday ~ Culebra Bees, German Public Gardening, and More

Because I've been having connection issues, postings have been a bit - to say the least - sporadic lately. Mea culpa! So today's offering, if I can actually get this done, will be a mix of a few things food and life related. Is that oxymoronic? Do we want to go there? No, we do not.

Have you read lately about rosemary, how sniffing it is supposed to have healing properties? The aspect that stood out for me was that it supposedly can help increase memory ability. I can't remember why I thought that was important... but the practice can't hurt; who doesn't love the smell of rosemary? As I was reading about it, one idea is to use rosemary oil. That led me to wonder how one goes about getting rosemary oil beside a trip to the local health food/voodoo store or going online. Apparently, it's not that hard to make it on your own. And it isn't that hard to grow your own either. If we can grow it here, it seems it would grow just about anywhere!

Yes, you might run the risk of being called, soto voiced, a rosemary sniffer, but I can think of worse things. Oh yes I can.

According to Amy Stafford on A Healthy Life for Me, "All you need is Rosemary, Mason Jars, and bottles to hold oil." Ok, I'll say, jars of any sort will work - unless you've tried to find Mason/Ball type jars around here, you wouldn't know why I'll suggest saving jars on your own. There is no instant gratification here, it will take about a month before it is steeped, but after that you can use it in all sorts of things - Amy suggests everything from adding it to your body lotions to flavoring foods. A goodly range that will have you mentally alert and face happy too. I'm in!

I've heard a lot of talk over the years about having a community garden here on Culebra. Carmen Rosa and I even started, with a team effort, a garden over at the daycare by the playground, some raised bed gardens, years ago, but it didn't quite catch on, though we grew tomatoes, melons, spinach, kidney beans and yuca, to name a few things. From The Shelter Blog comes the story of one city that has given itself free range as to community growing. Way over there, in Andernach, Germany, the idea is a reality and flourishing. If they can do it, so can we. Really. You can see more of their garden photos here. So, you talkers, start the walk! Yes, there is land to use. Yes, water can be an issue. No, that is no reason not to go for it.

photo credit: unknown

As mentioned before, we're lucky here on Culebra to have plenty of honeybees who are, well, busy as bees, being bees. Without bees, we have no food (no sane food anyway), ultimately, so bees are a very good thing. Here are some that I saw yesterday.

I love this bee! 

Full of pollen!

What is the best thing I tasted this week? Red Head Anita's salsa. I was just leaving Cheli's market when she came by, a plastic container in hand. "You want to taste this and see what you think?" she asked. Hell yeah! Fresh peppers, fresh tomatoes, I'm not sure what else but I'll try to find out. The taste was alive alive-o!, the heat slowly built to an agreeable level, not too little, not too much. She was taking it to Dale at Dinghy Dock; apparently they trade peppers and goodies. Lucky Dale! I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of it, beautiful red living food!

Speaking of Alive AliveO! Playing for Change put out a new video yesterday. Savor this!

Have a feast not famine Friday. Do something forwardly.

What a Wonderful World

It is always when I'm feeling my spirit spiraling downward with the sometimes almost crushing weight of the state of the planet we've landed on that something like this video from Playing for Change (a very special site) comes along, a lifesaving buoy tossed out by the universe to catch and to hold, to re-make smiles and flash brilliant light into any depth of darkness. Wars and steadily loudening drumbeats of potential wars, the pillaging of the earth for obscene profits don't go away, but fade for awhile in the knowledge that one to one to one we still bring each other joy, that beauty is still to be found spilling out all around us. That's a very good thing.

Have a wonderful world Wednesday. Do something wide-awake.

Some Wednesday This and That

Did we ask for rain? Yes we did! Did we get some rain? Oh yes. We did. The ground is squishy, Anything that can sprout or bloom is sprouting and blooming. Cisterns are full. It's a beautiful thing. A little more of a beautiful thing than expected, but beautiful nonetheless. Sorry, visitors, I know yesterday is not the day you hoped for, but we needed the rain sooooo much!


In between baking bread and computer time, in between the bands of rain, I walked around the yard, watching growing things explode. It's when I wish I had the patience and equipment to do time-lapse photography because enough was going on to do some cool shooting. As it was, I have what I have.

One thing did happen that I could watch from start to finish. And incredibly, it's happened twice in the last couple of days. I often walk down to the bottom of my yard to look out at the bay (sadly, a muddy brown, due to run off from some extremely bad clear cutting, which just happens to go through a dry river bed, tearing open Nature's way of dealing with run off, now exposed and with any heavy rain, tearing across the land taking much dirt and rocks with it - deep pockets don't seem to always include common sense or respect for the land - ok, where was I...ah, walking down to look at the bay).

The day before, empty-handed, that is, sans camera, a hummingbird came along and perched on a branch. It sat there a good couple of minutes while I stood two feet away, entranced. Then yesterday, the same thing happened! Except this time, I had the camera. Very cool. This is a sample of way too many shots (my brother insists this is a finch with a Mardi Gras mask on, but he's wrong).

and then, after he'd posed enough - because it felt like he was posing, checking out if I was watching, pose again...he was gone. Poof!

Right now the sun is out, blindingly bright. There is supposed to be more rain ahead, but for now, we're in the sunshine...every little thing's gonna be all right.

Have a wanted Wednesday! Do something willingly.

High surf - higher voices

We have a high surf advisory until Wednesday, along with small craft warnings. And a 'stay out of the water' warning due to rip tides. Of course, that depends on what beach you are on...anyway, be careful out there! I personally happen to love being at the beach when it is windy and wild. Growing up on the Atlantic, the crashing of waves and pounding of surf on the sand is home music to my ears and soul. Yesterday it was like that at Zoni, even with the sun making it sparkle like the jewel it is. Until a white out swept across to us, blotting out all the islands in sight. Glory!

This is from Playing for Change, the ones who did Stand By Me using the around the world light of music...there are a couple of other new ones as well, but for some reason, this one made me feel really good.

I was going to find out what the lyrics are in English (rather than Hindi), but it doesn't really matter now, does it? Are you smiling? Then go share it with someone and celebrate Tuesday.

Home again home again

Home. Is there a better word, with so many levels? I'm pretty sure the CWIM knew I wasn't going to bug out on her this time, as she ate, looked at me and walked out on the porch for a snooze in the afternoon sunshine. Perfect.
Cooking dinner on the grill, I noticed one of the orchids has a few barely swollen buds, giving me one of the little things to look forward to. Two friends called, right in a row, not sure if I was home yet, but taking the chance (and the chance that I'd answer the phone...I don't always do that). But both were good ones; one with good news on a long awaited job, and the other with a brilliant suggestion for the houseboat shutters I want to build/get built that I never would have thought of and it's perfecto. Along with the offer to install them...what's better than that? Poor houseboat, I've been away too long. But hopefully tomorrow I'll get some help and the dinghy will re-take its rightful place on my tiny dock and I'll be back in the water!

While reading the news tonight and getting tense, even after such a wonderful afternoon, I was checking email and got this video. I thought how amazing the world is now, in the midst of all the craziness, there are some fantastic things going on. And I can press a few plastic buttons and share them! PFM!!!!!!

This is called Playing for Change. "The song Stand By Me performed by many artists in different countries. From Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. Official web site: http://www.playingforchange.com/ It took Mark Johnson 10 years to make it...and the journey will last the rest of his, and so many others, lives. Check it out.