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A Touch Of Nature
Donna L. Watkins, Editor
October 1, 2004 Issue

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What's Happening Here at Bluebird Cove
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We attended the Green Festival in Washington, DC, a couple weekends ago and had a grand time! It was so cool to see all the booths of places that I knew only as an online presence, and also to see booths of companies of products we've been using for over 20 years. There were tons of samples and natural food goodies everywhere to eat there and to take home. It was a nice break in routine and lots of fun too.

There were speakers and movies and we were gathering information for possibilities of keeping a development from beginning on our back doorstep.

We also wanted to get ideas on 401k investments so we can make sure our money is not being used to fund sweatshops and poor labor practices and environmental pollution that will affect our children and grandchildren.

It will take me weeks to research and go through the websites of places I want to check out. A lot of the information I will be passing on to you beginning with the next issue! I'll be asking for comments too!

As I walked through the convention center, I had y'all on my minds when I would see something that I thought would be good for the A Touch of Nature subscribers. At times, I felt like y'all were there with me and that was a good feeling :-)

If any of you went, I'd love to know about it! If you're near California or want to take a trip based on this type of show, there's one scheduled there in November. The admission was only $10 and we received hundreds of dollars of value from it. Check out the website for Green Festival and click on the CA link on the left to find out the details: http://www.greenfestivals.com Fall is definitely here in Virginia! With all the rain, we don't have the best of colors, but it's pretty! The garden is dying back and it has been sad having to say goodbye to flower friends I enjoyed for so many months.

If you'd like to take a look at our young natural landscape garden here at Bluebird Cove, here's a link to our online photo album. You can look at them individually or choose the slideshow option link (top right).

Donna

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Critter Facts
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Learning From The Geese

When you see geese heading south for the winter - flying along in V formation - you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way.

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.  By flying in V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range, than if each bird flew an its own.

People who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. 

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed in the same way we are.  When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.  It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying south.  Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.  What do we say when we honk from behind? 

Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly, or until it dies, and only then, do they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group. 

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

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Those Amazing Birds!
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Great Egret

In Fall and Winter some areas of the country enjoy the delight of birds that have migrated south. Water birds are a favorite to watch along coastlines. We are wanting to make a trip to Texas this winter to do some birding but we haven't scheduled the date or place as yet.

Egrets are pretty well known because they are easy to identify. I found a site that has some beautiful photographs of birds along with very interesting information and facts.

Here's the link to the Great Egret and you can choose others from the left navigation bar. Enjoy!

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Nature's Bounty For Us
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Green Tea Helps Kill Leukemia Cells

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that a component in green tea helps kill cells of the most common leukemia in the United States.

The research using laboratory cell cultures shows that a component of green tea known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) helps kill leukemia cells by interrupting the communication signals they need to survive. The findings are reported in an early electronic article in the journal Blood. Read the entire story

If you don't like to drink green tea, you can take it in capsule form. Nature's Sunshine's Green Tea Extract in capsules gives you 400 mg. green tea extract standardized to contain the necessary phytonutrients. Three capsules are equal to 10 cups of regular green tea. Read more and/or buy green tea capsules

 

Herbal and Supplement Solutions by Health Topic

Do you need to build a body system for better health and wellness? Herbs work! They've been used by people all around the world for thousands of years. We've been using Nature's remedies since 1979 and found them to be so much help in gaining and maintaining health. This catalog lists natural solutions by health topic.

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Pets Are Part of Our Nature
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Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies

Free Natural Pet Email Newsletter

Healthy Pet Corner for Birds, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Rabbits & Reptiles

Flint River Ranch - Oven-Baked Dog and Cat Foods and Treats

Healthy Pet Net - Natural Pet Supplements, Treats, Foods

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Gardening For Wildlife - Restoring the Balance
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Have you thought of turning a field into a wildflower meadow but wondered how you would ever get "all those weeds" out of there so you could replace them with butterfly plants? Well.....how about this idea!?

Weeding With Goats

Before college, Jim Guggenhime traveled and taught in East Africa, where he developed a fondness for goats. After graduating from the University of Colorado, he amassed a small herd.

He soon decided he wanted to turn the goats into his livelihood, but raising goats exclusively for meat was too difficult and too brutal. Recognizing goats' other profitable asset, Guggenhime opened a grazing business called" Nip It in the Bud."

His herd of approximately 200 now travels the region helping to keep the ecosystem in balance. Using goats to battle weeds is gaining popularity in the West, where noxious and invasive plant species are pervasive and poor management has left a lot of land in bad shape.

A company in California, "Goats R Us," has been using goats to keep weeds in check since 1995. In the inland West, the grand dame of goat-herding is Lani Malmberg, whose herd of 1,200 has no home base but goes from one job to the next, migrating from Colorado to Wyoming to Idaho and beyond. Malmberg, who holds a master's degree in weed science, helped Guggenhime start his company and sold him some of her goats."

There's a lot of awareness now of what chemicals do to the environment," says Malmberg, who believes we are on the cusp of an "age of environmentalism." "Plus, they've been using chemicals against weeds for 45 years, so there shouldn't be a weed on this planet. Obviously it's not working and they're looking for something else, a logical way to slowly heal the land."

Read the whole story

When we lived in Alabama we lived rural and on a road back to our place there was some wooded land that was covered with kudzu. If you live down south you know that this vine can cover a house just about overnight and will kill trees.

One day on the way home, we saw a herd of goats in the area. They had recently fenced it in and now we knew why. The goats were doing what they love to do best: EAT and the owners were surely smiling as they were able to see the trees again.

If you've got an area of land that needs some weed or invasive plant control, welcome in a herd of goats to do the job for you. Surely you can find something local online or by asking around at Farmer's Markets.

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Nature Around the World
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Clever Sheep Outsmart Humans in England

-Their reputation as innovators and adventurers is thus far slim, but it appears some sheep may be smarter than you might first think.

According to astonished eyewitnesses, a particularly adventurous flock in northern England has found a way to get past supposedly hoof-proof metal grids installed across roads — by executing a neat commando-style roll over the top.

Determined to get access to the rich grazing of local gardens in Marsden, a town in the hilly Pennine region, local sheep have worked out how to get past the barriers, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

" I've seen them doing it and they're clever," said an impressed Dorothy Lindley, a local councilor.

" They lie down on their side, or sometimes on their back, and roll over the metal grids until they are clear."

At times also hurdling five-foot- (1.5-meter-) fences or squeezing through tiny gaps, the enterprising flock has laid waste to a series of gardens, as well as flowers in the graveyard, the newspaper reported.

" It's a serious problem because they make a mess of people's gardens," Lindley told the paper, saying that she sometimes barks at rogue sheep like a dog in an attempt to scare them off.

The grids were installed 10 years ago after one irate gardener rounded up a series of stray sheep and held them hostage, demanding action, the report said.

Now new measures seem necessary as more and more sheep - this time fitting to species stereotype - copy the roll maneuver.

" What we really need is more fencing to stop them, but they would probably find another way out before long," Lindley complained.

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" Green" Info - Making It a Way of Life!
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Best Freezer Containers

The best freezer containers are sealed plastic containers made of #1 or #5 plastics. #1 plastics are easily recyclable, and #5 plastics contain no PVCs that can leach into food.

Sealable plastic bags are also good options, as long as you wash and reuse them. Gaiam offers a drying rack for plastic bags. They also have a product called a Bag-E-Wash that allows you to wash your plastic bags in your dishwasher: www.gaiam.com

Personally, I went to the craft store and bought a round wood base and two birdhouses on tall dowel rod/sticks. My sweet husband drilled small holes in the base, I added glue to the holes and inserted the birdhouse sticks, and then painted it with some leftover paint. We have been using that $1.59 plastic bag dryer for 7 years so far. It has saved us lots of money on plastic wraps and baggies. We use elasticized bowl covers in place of plastic wrap and dry those on the stand also.

Sunshine Concentrate - Detoxify Your Cleaning!

This environmentally-friendly cleaning and washing concentrate is nothing less than wonderful!! We've used this for 15 years and love it for laundry, hand soap, pet baths, soaking produce, dishwasher, cleaning, and a multitude of other uses. This product has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years. Makes life much simpler and takes away the "itch" of chemical soaps. Sunshine Concentrate

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Musings Of Nature
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" My world is made meaningful not by what I can evaluate and define, but by what I can appreciate and adore. I find there is a profound difference in what I find interesting and what I find important."

--- Ann E. Hossler, organist, Sacred Journey (June 2004)

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Featured Nature Center and/or Preserve
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Armand Bayou Nature Center

Provides environmental education and preserves the important and vanishing ecosystems with which it has been entrusted.  Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) is 2,500 acres of diverse ecosystems located near NASA, situated in the Bay Area in Pasadena. 

Come explore our hardwood forests, walk our restored prairies of native grasses, and discover our wetlands. Wildlife abounds with bison, wild deer, rabbits, raccoons, and resident and migratory birds to mention just a few.  Visit our turn of the century farm house to learn about rural life in the early 1900s. Join us in our efforts to preserve this valuable asset for our children and learn something along the way.

Visit their site

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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.