The Canary Report

A canary’s vacation to the Dominican Republic

Posted on Feb 20, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Franny Armstrong, Leisure, MCS

Our trip to the Dominican Republic was wonderful, but along the journey we sucked in a ton of diesel fumes.

Post by Franny Armstrong.

Not as pretty as it looks; boats give off fumes.

My trip to the Dominican Republic was wonderful. I’m paying the price now but in the long run, I believe it was worth it. Even I have to come out of my cave now and then.

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The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island full of lush green grasses, trees, and greenery that takes your breath away (literally). The poverty was stunning, yet the people were kind, happy, and welcomed you with a smile or an “ola, mi amiga.” A twenty year old man sat next to my husband and I as we drank a beer each. Hubby bought the man one and I conversed with him, me with my minimal Spanish, he with his minimal English. It was fun to chat with him. After he told Dan and I we were old enough to be his parents, he gave me his phone number. LOL I guess I’m like a fine wine or an old cheddar, still kicking! HAHAHA

Smoggy street

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Along the journey we sucked in a ton of diesel fumes. There is no monitoring of exhaust in DR. Dan was told not to drink from the bottles of beer along the roadside as they use them to refill and sell new and used fuel. Sometimes they siphon it out of vehicles.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic

Susie’s secret garden: Building the entrance pond

Posted on Jan 04, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

The last post was so depressing that I wanted give you some Canary Candy. Here’s a timelapse series of photos on building our front entrance pond. We did this in December of 2007.

You can visit my YouTube channel to see my other vids, and also all the myriad favorites I’ve collected on YouTube on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, organic gardening, pesticides, meditation, silly humor, etc, etc, etc. I found one last night with two cats talking to each other that is one big huge LOL.

Love you guys. Stay safe out there! xoxo

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Leisure, Organic, Video

And the rain came down!

Posted on Dec 26, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

RAIN!!

We are having a huge rainstorm today! It’s been about 62 degrees all day and we’ve had at least 10 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Tonight we have thunder and lightening with a flash flood advisory. It’s been very dry for months and months so we almost forgot that we live in a rainforest! It feels like such a blessing.

The rain washed the air and made it so fresh and clean! I walked around outside with an umbrella several times today just to breathe in the beautiful air. Above is a photo out the back door of the downpour against the avocado tree.

Here I am all comfy cozy in the house today with the first fire of the season. Before you start wondering about how I can be around a fire with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: I close up all the windows on that side of the house and vent the windows on the far side, burn only natural wood (kiawe, a type of dense mesquite we harvested on the island of Molokai), and fully open the stove vent when I put in a new log so that all the smoke gets sucked up the chimney and doesn’t escape into the room. I brought the wood burning stove in from the mainland (Lopi), it’s one of the most fuel efficient on the market, and generates a lot of heat with very little fuel. It dries out the house beautifully and keeps the mold away. If I ever had to, I could cook on it. It’s also makes things very cozy on a wet, chilly day like today!

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Tags: Air, Garden, Healthy Living, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Mele Kalikimaka!

Posted on Dec 25, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

Despite my being a Grinchess about Christmas, the universe gave me two beautiful gifts on Christmas Eve: I discovered that my hen Katie had laid an egg (the first in months since the girls went on what I thought was going to be a total winter vacay), and then during my evening walk at the park, I found a majiro bird nest. Majiros, also called White Eye, are a teeny-tiny green bird, and they make teeny-tiny nests into which they deposit two teeny-tiny eggs. I don’t know how they are ever successful at keeping the babies inside, and they are often blown down out of the trees when it’s windy. I am a collector of nests, so it was treasure. Here’s a (silly) composite of my gifts.

Mele Kalikimaka to me!

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Tags: Air, Garden, Leisure

Morning sun on the entrance pond

Posted on Dec 22, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

The entrance pond was so beautiful this morning that I snapped a photo to share with you. The comets are getting so big!

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Organic

Sunbathing chickens

Posted on Dec 20, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

Chickens are incredibly industrious creatures, and get a lot done in a day. My girls forage, lay eggs (not in the winter), take dust baths, rest, maintain their pecking order, forage some more, gobble up some corn or oats before bed, and get themselves back in the coops before dark. They are sensible and practical in all they do and much better than I at time management.

One of the most endearing things they do is take a daily sun bath. I love watching them lay in the sun, flopped on their sides, wings fanned out. They always do it together, blissing out in the warmth. I find great peace in watching them.

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Pet Care

A shot of fresh air: Tree and tire swing

Posted on Nov 21, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Banyan at the park

This banyan limb and tire swing are at the far corner of the park where we take our evening walks. The photo I took this evening doesn’t do the weather justice because it was very windy and blustery as a storm from the south blew through the islands today. The tire was spinning round and round. The air was fresh and full of storm energy! I started out feeling lazy and dull, but after six laps around the park, I felt rejuvenated and happy!

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Tags: Air, Fresh Air Photos, Healthy Living, Leisure, Photography

A glimpse of my secret garden

Posted on Nov 14, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Organic Gardening, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

The outside world is filled with toxic chemicals that are dangerous to me, but I have created my own private, safe universe in my garden. Come take a look at a few of my favorite things: Lucy, the alpha hen; limes; a mynah at the bird bath; Lydia and her daughter Jolie; an Indonesian ginger flower; Jolie looking for treats; and a water lily with comets. Ahhhhhhh. Where is your safe place?

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Tags: Garden, Hawaii, Nontoxic, Organic, Pet Care, Photography

Relaxing in the garden

Posted on Nov 02, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

Ahhhhh

Occasionally, I remember to STOP, sit, and enjoy the garden. Usually, my concept of leisure in the garden is an “active leisure,” where puttering around is the relaxation. But this evening I took the time to sit in the rocker on the front porch and chill. It was cloudy and overcast, so the colors aren’t too vibrant, but still, you get the idea.

As you regular visitors to The Canary Report can see, last weekend we ripped out the groundcover that surrounded the pond. It did look beautiful, but it was always galloping out of control and took more maintenance than I was willing to give it. So for now, the cement tiles holding up the terrace are visible, but we will soon remedy that with more well behaved plantings.

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Tags: Air, Fresh Air Photos, Garden, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Organic

Nontoxic sex toys, condoms and lubricants

Posted on Oct 09, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Healthy Living, Leisure

What’s good for the vagina & the penis is good for the planet!

While maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for many people, one toxic aspect of daily life is continuously overlooked: the sex industry.

Most latex condoms, including Trojan, contain casein, a milk protein, and also may be tested on animals. Many water-based lubes contain paraben, a preservative potentially linked to breast cancer. Sex toys such as dildos and vibrators can contain phthalates, oil-based chemicals used to soften plastics, which get absorbed into users’ bodies and can cause a range of damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive system.

However, there are a number of healthy, environmentally-friendly items on the market. Pure Pleasure on Church Street in downtown Santa Cruz carries a multitude of vegan products including condoms, lubrication and toys.

“All of our products in general are body-friendly,” said Amy Baldwin, co-owner of Pure Pleasure.

Baldwin said that before Pure Pleasure, there were no sex shops that catered to the vegan and body-conscious demographic of Santa Cruz.

“We don’t do anything that has phthalates,” Baldwin said. “It’s very Santa Cruz to go down that path.”

Vegan and eco-friendly sex products are nontoxic and generally made with organic and animal-free ingredients. Glyde is the only condom brand registered with the Vegan Society, and some popular vegan lubricants include Sliquid H2O and Hathor Aphrodisia, all of which are sold at Pure Pleasure.

“In my experience, vegan condoms are about the same as your average latex condom, if not better,” Baldwin said. “It’s a softer, thinner kind of latex feel.”

Among lubricants sold at Pure Pleasure is Hathor Aphrodisia, made by a Vancouver-based company that uses certified organic and plant-based ingredients with no paraben, synthetic fragrances, colors or animal products.

Link to City on the Hill Press for full story and more info on nontoxic sex products

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Tags: Chemicals, Healthy Living, Home, Leisure, Nontoxic

This evening’s walk

Posted on Sep 29, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

This is the park where I walk most evenings. We go at the very end of the day just as it gets dark. It’s a county park about a mile from my home–it’s an old baseball field chock full of history in our community from the days when sugar was king and every plantation community had a baseball team. The oldtimers tell some great stories!

My newest fascination is with the bats that join us in the evening just as it darkens too much to see well. How I wish I could catch them on film! They dart and flutter catching bugs way up high. They are my new favorite animal.

Anyway, here are three snaps: one of the park when we first arrived, then one toward the ocean (the direction we call makai), and one toward the mountain (mauka) as darkness fell. I should go get some photos in the full light one day so you can see how much prettier it is than these show!

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Tags: Air, Fresh Air Photos, Hawaii, Healthy Living, Leisure, Photography

Fashionable MCS terrorist goes for a bike ride

Posted on Sep 29, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, MCS

Lou Cheese, at Living w/ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, catches his reflection in a bus window while taking a bike ride in Cleveland.

Too bad you couldn’t see the bike. I’ve started wrapping the respirator ensemble in a color-matching silk scarf for bike rides. I can only imagine what the people inside the bus were thinking, probably something like “Well, it’s nice to see the terrorists are making an effort to be a little more fashionable now.”

Link

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Tags: Air, Leisure, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Products, Toxic

A special treat: Hawaiian Hoary Bats!

Posted on Sep 17, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins

We took a walk this evening at Ookala Park– a large, flat park about a mile up the road with the ocean on one side and green grassy cow pastures on the other–, and as it got dark, we had a special treat: Two beautiful Hawaiian Hoary Bats circling way up high overhead.

I got so excited because although I’ve lived in Hawai‘i since the age of six, I’ve only seen Hawaiian bats a couple of times, and never here on The Big Island. They were so beautiful (sorry, I didn’t have my camera), their dark bat silhouette against the darkening sky.

I’m so glad I went on the walk– I almost didn’t go because I wasn’t feeling so hot today. But my husband always tells me: When you don’t want to walk is when you need it most. So I said, “Let’s go take a walk!” I fed the chickens and off we went.

You never know when life is going to give you a special treat.

This photo and description are from the Honolulu Zoo website.

Hawaiian Hoary Bat

DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:

The Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) is a member of the Family Vespertilionidae (Common or Vesper bats). It is described as a subspecies of the North American Hoary Bat. Hoary means frosted, and refers to the white tips of the body hairs.

Native Hawaiians named the bat Opeapea, referring to the bats half-taro leaf, canoe sail, cross, or radially spoked outline.

Bats are still commonly seen on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui, but are rarely seen on Oahu. The bat is considered to be Hawaii’s only native land mammal. There is fossil evidence of at least one other

Hawaiian bat species. Several failed attempts at deliberate introduction of non-native bat species have been reported.

BEHAVIOR:

Usually considered solitary, Hawaiian bats are assumed to roost in trees and have only rarely been seen exiting lava tubes, leaving cracks in rock walls, or hanging from man made structures. They are found in both wet and dry areas, and from sea level to 13,000 ft.

Link to more info and photos.

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Tags: Air, Hawaii, Health, Leisure

Sunday morning in my secret garden

Posted on Sep 14, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

I spent some of my Sunday morning visiting the front entrance pond, tea and camera at hand. The fish get so excited anticipating food, voracious little buggers. The mosaic plant is outrageously beautiful since I got control of the summer algae bloom. And the variegated leaves of the day water lilies are spectacular. Everything is blooming today. Wow.

From top to bottom: View down the front stoop to the pond and gardens (bird bath to the right), variegated water lily leaves and orange comets, lavendar water hyacinth bloom and yellow mosaic plant blooms, close up of mosaic plant (is that beautiful or what?!), side view of whole pond.

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Tags: Garden, Leisure

A shot of fresh air: Queen Liliuokalani Park

Posted on Sep 06, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Leisure, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

This is my favorite park in Hilo: Queen Liliuokalani Park. It’s a Japanese garden, in fact the only truly authentic Japanese garden in the country because of its composition and location: it has views of both mountains (Mauna Kea) and ocean (Hilo Bay). When I took this shot, the tide was high (the bay is behind me, it feeds this shallow lagoon in the park), so the inner walkways of the park are covered with water. I watched this couple wade out to their island respite, sit and take in the view. They looked very peaceful and content.

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Tags: Fresh Air Photos, Leisure, Photography