A Touch of Nature

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A TOUCH OF NATURE
August 1, 2003 Issue
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This newsletter is sponsored by The Herbs Place.com:
Natural Health Solutions for Adults, Children and Pets!
Newsletters, Online Classes & *Herbal Medicine Chest*

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SEARCH previous issues and MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION

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DONNA'S COMMENTS
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The waters in western Alaska used to be thick with the brown, furry, funny creatures. But most of western Alaska's sea otters are gone now. One theory is that, after centuries of peaceful coexistence with sea otters, killer whales have suddenly begun eating scores of the small mammals. Why? Many scientists believe that overfishing contributed to drastic declines in ordinary killer whale food, like Steller sea lions.

Steller sea lions, themselves endangered, feed on pollock, a once abundant fish that is being taken out of their home waters, Alaska's deep oceans, so rapidly that it is upsetting the other parts of the ecosystem. Industrial trawling takes millions of pounds of pollock in just a few hours of fishing. Less pollock in the ocean means less food for sea lions. Less food for sea lions means fewer baby sea lions are born and survive. So the sea lion population dwindles. With fewer Steller sea lions, killer whales are eating large numbers of sea otters to make up for the bigger meals they once got from seals and Steller sea lions.

Oceana is working to stop this destruction of ocean ecosystems. Your FREE clicks will help the oceans. Click now to help and register to be reminded daily to click. You can make a difference with a few seconds of your time. I love being able to do this!

Together We DO Make a Difference!
Donna

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CRITTER FACTS
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THE WONDER OF BEES

Meet the "Swarmbuster", Walt Broughton, who makes over seven tons of natural honey a year. He's been making honey for over 20 years and still gets excited when spring comes along because he loves spending his days with the bees. Walt's days are spent repairing hives, swarm busting (the process of capturing wild honey bees), collecting honey and bee pollen and even chasing away the occasional skunk that goes after the bees.

Find out more about Walt's compassionate honey production.

TADPOLES TO FROGS - ENJOYING THE PROCESS

It's great fun to watch the miracle of change from frog eggs to frog.

Terrific for children also since you can do this indoors. If I leave a large plant saucer of water on a log, I'll be sure to notice tiny wiggling wormy looking things in it within a few weeks. Frogs will lay their eggs in a dish of water when there aren't any other pond options nearby [and we live only a block's distance from a large pond but it's across the street.

I absolutely enjoy watching them grow and change. There are some tips needed to make sure they are successful in the process. Enhancing their chance of making it to frog stage is a very rewarding task to me. We've just recently seen our frogs go on to the woods for continued growth.

Here's a site with lots of good information if this is a project you'd like to do.

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THOSE AMAZING BIRDS!
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BIRD QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Almost everyone has a question about birds. The editors of Bird Watcher's Digest have compiled the most frequently asked questions and organized these questions and answers into categories to make searching easier.

Question Categories
Bird Behavior
Bird Rehabilitation/Baby Bird
Window Strikes
Feeding
Hummingbirds
General

Enjoy the site! I sure did!

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GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE- Restoring the Balance
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LANDSCAPING?

Thinking of letting a professional do some of the work?

Here's an article for you: "Ten Things Your Landscaper Won't Tell You"

THORNS & BRIERS IN YOUR YARD?

There are many benefits to briers. One of the common ones in the United States and in other parts of the world is Greenbrier (Smilacaceae). It's a good wildlife plant. For bird food: Fruits eaten by bluebirds, catbirds, cedar waxwings, crows, mockingbirds, robins, thrashers, thrushes, wild turkeys, woodpeckers, and others. For wildlife food: Fruits eaten by many small mammals; foliage browsed by white-tailed deer. As wildlife shelter: good cover and nesting sites. Here's a picture of it. Do you have some in your yard?

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NATURE'S BOUNTY FOR US
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BLACK WALNUT - Kills Parasites - Even Heartworms

Although walnuts are great for baking and a good source of protein for snacking, the black walnut tree's inner bark, leaves, fruit and unripe husk are also used in herbology.

The tree grows widely in the western U.S. and Canada and is native to the hardwood forests of the Central Mississippi Valley and the Appalachian region of North America.

The earliest known reference to the walnut tells that Alexander the Great introduced it to Greece from the Middle East. In fact, in almost every part of the world, the walnut is part of local herbal nutrition.

It contains natural fluorine (without the side effects of the chemical fluoride used in our water supplies), and will remove plaque and restore tooth enamel if applied directly to the teeth.

It's also a part of an herbal heartworm program that people use for dogs with heartworms, or they use it as part of the preventative program to avoid heartworms.

Read more about Black Walnut

More about the heartworm program

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" GREEN" INFO- Making It a Way of Life!
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REPEL FLIES NATURALLY
by Annie B. Bond, author of "Better Basics for the Home"

Flies are such a nuisance! If you're tired of having the pesky little critters buzzing around your house--but you don't want to resort to using harmful chemicals--check out these easy, great ideas. They use kitchen cupboard ingredients and they really work!

Which herbs are the best repellents? How do you make your own fly paper? Find out how to get rid of flies safely and naturally.

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MUSINGS: POETRY & PROSE
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" All the evidence we have shows that our
(country's) species are superbly suited to their environment,
and are capable of maintaining healthy populations
if man will only give them a chance."

--Richard Pough, 1959, Wildlife in America

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GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR PLANET
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FIRST BEAR SANCTUARY IN INDIA OPENED
by Sherry Morse and Sarah Wahlert

The first sanctuary in India specifically for bears was recently opened by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and Wildlife - Save Our Souls, a conservation organization based in New Delhi. Only 16 former "dancing bears" are currently residing at the facility, but it eventually will provide refuge for between 40 and 50 bears.

" We have helped stop the tradition of dancing bears in Greece and Turkey, and hope that in time we will also see this cruelty abandoned in India," WSPA Libearty campaign director Victor Watkins told a British Broadcasting Corporation reporter.

Dancing bears receive harsh treatment, and often live far shorter lives than they would in the wild.

WSPA estimates that there are as many as 1,000 dancing bears in India, even though taking bears from the wild to turn them into dancing bears and forcing bears to "dance" are prohibited by federal law." For the first time, (Indian) authorities have a purpose-built place where confiscated bears can live out the rest of their lives," said Watkins.

The sanctuary, which is on approximately 17 acres of land in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, features artificial dens, two large pools, quarantine pens, a veterinary clinic and a laboratory.

Sources

British Broadcasting Corporation
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2681021.stm

Hope for India's Dancing Bears by Alex Kirby
International Animal Rescue
www.iar.org.uk/india/indnews/bears01.html

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DISCLAIMER:

The content, suggestions, and web links in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not necessarily endorsed by our sponsor "The Herbs Place.com" This is a personal publication by Donna Watkins. The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or impliedly. In no event shall Donna Watkins or" The Herbs Place.com" be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.

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