Susie’s secret garden: Building the entrance pond

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

A shot of fresh air: A walk on Ilkley Moor

Here’s a pair of lovely blokes taking a walk on the moors. Enjoy the Breath of Fresh Air! (We need it after the last post!)

Breath of Fresh Air is a series of short films to appear on the Calendar News programme on ITV1. This is weatherman Jon Mitchell’s walk on Ilkely Moor.

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Mele Kalikimaka!

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!

Sunbathing chickens

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.

A shot of fresh air: Tree and tire swing

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!

Relaxing in the garden

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.

Nontoxic sex toys, condoms and lubricants

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

Fashionable MCS terrorist goes for a bike ride

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.”

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A special treat: Hawaiian Hoary Bats!

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.

Sunday morning in my 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.

Crafting in a nontoxic AND sustainable way

I love to craft things and have dabbled in dollmaking, water colors, basket weaving, sewing, jewelry making and more. Actually, my addiction to gardening and tending my ponds is an extension of that type of leisure because both those activities involve a lot of creativity and design, too.

Crafting for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity can be tricky because we have reactions to so many art materials and media. But we can enjoy these activities in a chemical-free way by choosing the right products. There are alternative paints and paper, organic fabrics and yarn, wooden buttons and boxes, nontoxic glues and adhesives.

The blog Crafting a Green World is a cornucopia of green crafting ideas that are not only nontoxic, but sustainable as well, taking our personal concerns about synthetic chemicals one step further: what’s good for us is good for the planet.

Crafting a Green World

Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials. Find knitting, sewing, crocheting, and other project ideas for eco-friendly and fashionable clothes, crafts, gifts and more.

Green is the new black, as they say, but what in the world does that mean? It means living sustainably is the “cool” thing to do, but some of us have been doing these things for years. Take crafters for example - many of us keep scraps of fabrics from other projects for future use, “frog” old sweaters and scarves to have fresh yarn to work with, and tweak items and patterns we find to make them just right for our tastes.

The renewed popularity of green living has benefits for creative folks, including new sustainable fabrics and innovate ideas for reusing a plethora of resources. For those of us who enjoy being a part of the creative process or are beginning to experiment with do-it-yourself projects, then Crafting a Green World is for you!

We feature everything from eco-patterns, supplies, and creators to book reviews and event/sale notices. Crafting a Green World (CAGW) is your #1 resource for organic, natural, and recycled crafty projects, products, media, and businesses.

Whether you are a novice, a pro, or somewhere in between, Crafting a Green World has the sustainable crafty content you are looking for.

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A shot of fresh air: Queen Liliuokalani Park

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.

How to make a detox bath

I’ve taken my share of detox baths. A detox bath is a little different from a plain everyday bath because you need to make the water hotter than usual and rather than using froo-froo additives like essential oils (if you can tolerate them) you use salts that draw out toxins.

I close up all the doors and windows in the bathroom to keep in the heat. I like to use a generous amount of Epsom salts in the water: I buy it in half-gallon milk carton type containers and use half a carton for one bath. It’s good idea to use filtered water (my water is double filtered at the main pipe before it comes in the house).

The key is to get the bath water as hot as you can without getting burned. I make a kettle full of boiling water, wrap it in a towel and add it to the bath water periodically to keep it really hot. I keep a large towel draped over my whole body to hold in the heat. The goal is to sweat and sweat and sweat for about a half hour.

After drying off, I take a special body brush and brush my limbs in an invigorating sweeping motion from the tips toward my heart to get the lymphatic system stimulated– it feels great! You can get a dry body brush at your local health food store (it’s different than the type of brush for washing yourself).

More on Epsom salts with some history and recipes.

Photo and more good stuff on Epsom salts and detoxing.

Use the Green Vacation Hub to find MCS-safe lodging

The Green Vacation Hub makes traveling safer for people with MCS.

The Green Vacation Hub is a great website for finding green lodging while traveling. They offer special screening for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

A growing number of children and adults have asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities (or MCS).

We at the Hub know that this can pose additional challenges to traveling, so we have set up the site to make it easy to narrow down to vacation accommodations that meet your specific needs.

Here’s how:

Once you have used the site map/search to narrow down to the listings in your destination city, you will notice that along the left a variety of criteria will appear. You can use the criteria on the left to narrow down those listings that meet your needs or the needs of your family members.

• If you are allergic to animals, you can use the drop-down menu along the left to narrow down to listings that never allow pets
• If it’s important to you that your accommodations are fragrance free, choose the fragrance free checkbox to narrow to listings that passed the fragrance free category.
• If it’s important to you that your accommodations are careful about air quality issues, check the air quality to narrow to listings that passed the air quality category.

Remember, businesses need to pass only three of five questions in a category in order to qualify for that category. Be sure you read their Green Profile on their full page listing to make sure they have answered Yes to the questions that are important to you. Click here to view the questionnaire that members fill out when they join.

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What makes green tea so special?

I am a green tea addict. It’s always the lure of a mugful (no weenie tea cups for me!) of hot green tea that gets me to roll out of bed in the morning. Truth be told: I used to buy expensive organic green tea at the health food store, but now I get the less expensive at Cost U Less. I’m hoping the health benefits outweigh the non-organic status.

My first brew of the day is a double-bag potful steeped for about five minutes, then poured into a huge latte cup and blessed with a spoonful of honey and a generous dose of soy milk. Yum. I toodle out to the front lanai trying not to spill, settle into the wicker chair, and read the morning paper.

So what’s so great about green tea? Well, it has amazing health benefits. Here’s a good description on The Miracle of Green Tea:

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the “French Paradox.” For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don’t other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Bottoms up!

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Photo by tim at Flickr, clockwise from bottom: Coco Mint green tea, Genmai Cha green tea, Citron green tea.

Coming up for air: Be the dolphin

Wild dolphins swimming at the bow of a boat. Heaven. Careful, it’s addicting.

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Instant relaxation: Let go

07/15/08

Simple but powerful way to relaxation. Star gazing works, too. And don’t forget to breathe…

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Bloomin’ beautiful

07/07/08  This is a night blooming lily in the early morning shortly before closing up for the day. Tropical water lilies are either night blooming or day blooming, and go through the open & close cycle for three days before drooping underwater and pollinating the next blooms. I love walking around the gardens first thing every morning and checking on the ponds. There are always beautiful surprises to be found.

Pond therapy: Fish as ham

I know, I know, I told you yesterday that Saturday was house cleaning day. But of course I am procrastinating and playing with my ponds. This morning I found this beautiful, tiny, bright yellow bloom on the Mosaic plant and wanted to share it with you–awhile back I wrote about the wasps coming to drink by landing on the lovely swirled leafs, and I wanted you to see the little flower that pops up from time to time. The flower itself came out a little overexposed, but the fish were hamming it up so the shot was saved.

Pond therapy today was especially pleasurable because Thursday was a very rough day of recovery after getting exposed to something Wednesday at a meeting in town. Yesterday I still felt pretty crummy, but this morning I was back on my game. Outside in the sun and wind and fresh air made me feel so happy to be alive.

Finding nontoxic art supplies

My friends laugh at me because I do art work with good old fashioned Crayola crayons. I tried watercolors, took classes and everything, but the technique was too tedious to learn and I lost patience with it. But crayons are totally nontoxic, too, and I love the greasy texture of the forgiving medium.

I think most people think of crayons as limited to kids play. But as you can see, an adult can produce some childish art, too.

This is a crayon drawing I did years ago taken from a photograph of my dear friend Jeri, who sat in the crook of a tree at Zion National Park about halfway through our Thelma and Louise adventure to the Grand Canyon in 1994ish. (It was a challenge finding hotels that I could tolerate; she was so patient. Eventually we just went camping and slept in a tent.)

Anyway, look what I just found! A great selection of nontoxic art supplies at EcoArtSupplies.com.

Safe, sustainable fine art supplies for the American artist. At Eco Art Supplies, we’re bringing products to the fine arts community that are manufactured sustainably and responsibly. We are supporting the U.S. economy by providing you with the highest quality paints, mediums, drawing tools, papers and artists canvas that are made in America. Our goal is to eliminate the need to import art materials and to reduce our carbon output, hopefully, slowing the rate of global warming.

The U.S. manufacturers we showcase are manufacturing quality art supplies, in a way that doesn’t have negative impacts on the environment. That provides inspiration in itself!

We also support sustainable global development, choosing to offer products that come directly from small communities around the world by providing them with manufacturing oppurtunities and fair pay.

We provide all the information on the safety, techniques and responsible use and disposal of art materials.

You can be confidant that your dollars are helping build a better way to create art, that won’t have long term, negative impacts on your health and our global environment.

Hmmmmm… I wonder how much disposable income I have this month? Summer seems to get me in the mood to find the inner artist. My point is, it’s not about having talent or not, it’s about finding nontoxic ways to do the things that make you happy. I make dolls, too, but I will share that with you another day.

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Crayola by the way has a very fun website.

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