A Touch of Nature - 1/1/07

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Here At Bluebird Cove

Our Christmas was quiet. Since our son left home in 1999 we haven't gone back to all the decorating and hussle bussle. We've really gotten to like it this way so we can focus more on what the season is all about.

Our only son, Benjamin, is 1245 miles away and near Randal's family, so he celebrates out there since all of us love nature so much, we keep our visits during times when we can hike to waterfalls and photograph wildflowers. I'm cold-natured, so I don't get out there unless it's in the 60's. Ben enjoys shopping so we received 4 very cool puzzles from him and a DVD set of the first season of MacGyver. Any fans?

We had Friday family nights and popcorn with MacGyver for many years while Ben was growing up. MacGyver provided a mix of science/chemistry, adventure and intrigue without the guns and killing. We will enjoy working our way through those DVDs. The puzzles will be well used. I grew up doing puzzles with my great grandparents. Winters always come with puzzles on the dining room table. Any puzzle lovers? Wish you could drop by and help. I've got herbal tea brewing! :-)

We sure had a mild December which was very enjoyable. I wondered how it affected the critters that were hibernating. One of the segments in this issue is on Wolf Spiders and Nursery Spiders. This past year I was able to get a photo of a female Wolf Spider with her babies on her back. I've often thought about where all those babies are now. Have they all stayed at Bluebird Cove? How far do spiders roam? Anybody know?

Anybody live near Costa Mesa? We're going to be at a conference out there in February and would love to know what the best places are for viewing nature. That's the only activity we are interested in for our extended visit there. Any ideas? Hit reply and let me know.

New Years Blessings to You!
Donna

Your Health and Nature

In the two decades since Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson first suggested that fascination with nature might be hardwired into the human brain, health researchers and psychologists such as Heerwagen have amassed significant evidence that he was right.

Research shows that regular contact with nature boosts physical and mental health as well as productivity. With a little imagination, even people who are stuck inside can reap these benefits.

Read the whole story and get some great ideas on the NWF website:
www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=107&articleID=1347

Wolf and Nursery Spiders

Wolf Spiders are known for their size and named because they hunt for food rather than sit in a web waiting for it to come to them. The female is the only spider that gives parental care after the babies are hatched, by carrying them around. As you can see from this one on the steps out front, it makes her look like she's having a "bad hair day." Think of her as a "mom" and not a spider.

Spiders are invertebrates, which means they don't have backbones. They are beneficial critters since they pollinate plants, eat harmful insects, and help to recycle dead trees and animals back into the earth. They also provide a vital source of food to many birds, fish and other small mammals. Spiders are not insects which have 3 body parts and 6 legs. Spiders have 8 legs and 2 body parts. Male spiders are usually smaller than females. Most spiders are very nearsighted although they have more than one set of eyes. They use the hair on their body to sense when other animals are near. To escape predators, they may jump a distance of 5-6 inches.

Fear of spiders is called arachnophobia and it is one of the most common fears among humans. Cobwebs are made by spiders that spin silk from glands called spinnerets, located at the tip of their abdomen. Not all spiders spin webs and the Wolf Spider is an example of one that does not. Webs get dirty and torn, so many spiders spin a new one daily. They roll the old one up in a ball and eat it. All spiders require a constant source of moisture.

Most spiders sit in their webs and wait for prey to come to them, but Wolf Spiders are hunters with keen eyesight. They seek their prey and pounce on them, like wolves, often prowling in the dark. They are easily spotted because of their size which can be more than 3 inches wide with legs. They eat prey of their own size or smaller like mosquitos, roaches, ants, flies and crickets. They also get food from dead carcasses. They are able to eat a large amount of food with their flexible abdomen and can then do fairly well without food for a week or longer by decreasing their metabolism.

Courtship behavior among spiders is highly ritualized and often species specific. For those with well-developed eyes like the Wolf Spider, courtship includes movement and bright contrasting colors. After mating, the female Wolf Spider seeks out a secluded spot where she lays 100 or more eggs, guarding them ferociously until she can encase them safely in a sac of silk she spins and then attaches to her spinnerets at the rear.

Because they are constantly on the move for food, they can't keep an eye on their egg sacs, as most spiders do with webs. She carries the sac about a month when the babies emerge having already gone through one molt in the egg sac. They climb out and on to the female's abdomen area and cling to hairs where they will ride for a week or two. The female carries about 100+ babies which provides some protection for them and also provides a way of dispersing them. This is the only spider that shows this type of parental care.

Female Nursery Spiders also carry their egg sac with them. The difference is that with Nursery Spiders, the sac is not attached to the spinnerets. It is carried around in her jaws or pedipalps (legs) like this one on the side of our porch. When the eggs are about to hatch, the female builds a nursery "tent" to put her egg sac in, and then guards it from outside.

The female Nursery Spider will sometimes eat the male after mating. The male, to reduce the risk of this, often presents the female with a gift such as a fly, when approaching, in the hope that this will satisfy her hunger.

Bird Facts

House Sparrows, introduced from Europe over a century ago, are actually members of the weaver finch family.

Cedar Waxwings will stay together all year in flocks of 10 to 100 birds, except during their midsummer breeding season.

Meadowlarks are not larks at all. They actually belong to the Blackbird family.

Bird Seed Mix

Some of the bird seeds on the market have ingredients the birds don't like and even weed seeds. You might want to get a large tote and mix your own birdseed to attract a variety of species. This recipe will bless your ground and feeder types of birds and even get a few woodpeckers stealing those black-oil sunflower seeds.

Winter is an important time to help the birds make it through. Place your feeders close to windows so the birds don't fly into them and so you can enjoy the entertainment.

1 part white proso millet
1 part cracked corn
2 parts black-oil sunflower seed (or twice as much as you did of corn or millet

Combine the seed, millet, and corn in a large container. Store in a dry trash can or storage can with a tight-fitting lid. This mixture can be offered in a tube, hopper, or platform feeder. Black oil sunflower seed is a great choice because it is higher in calories.

Natural Herbs, Supplements and Essential Oils

Natural herbs and supplements bring the powerful world of nature into your body for health and healing. We've been using herbal remedies since the late 70's and have been so blessed by them.

It's been our full-time business since 1982. We'd appreciate you shopping with us.

Herbs and Supplements by Health Topic

Nature's Sunshine 100% Pure Essential Oils

Detoxify Your Soaps and Cleaning Supplies With Sunshine Concentrate!

This environmentally-friendly cleaning and washing concentrate is nothing less than wonderful. We've used it for 15 years for laundry, hand soap, pet baths, soaking produce, dishwasher, cleaning, and a multitude of other uses. This product has saved us money and health. No more "itch" of chemical soaps. Read more about Sunshine Concentrate.

Jane Goodall and Chimpanzees

Jane Goodall is a legend as far as making a difference for animals, people and the environment. She is the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees. Animal Plant has dedicated this section of their site to provide information about her. There's a lot to discover there in the realm of wildlife and the environment. Here's the website address: animal.discovery.com/fansites/janegoodall/janegoodall.html

Wildlife FAQ's

Q: What does the word "imprint" mean?

A: Many wild mammals and birds are susceptible to imprinting. An animal is described as an "imprint" when it does not recognize itself as a particular species. This normally happens when the animal is raised by people. It is very important that baby birds and mammals are raised with their own kind. Although "imprinted" mammals or birds have no physical disability, they cannot be released into the wild due to their fearlessness of humans.

Pets Are Part of Our Nature at Home and We Love Animals

Free Samples of Pet Food, Supplements and Treats - These formulas are developed by Dr. Jane Bicks, a highly respected and nationally recognized holistic veterinarian and author.

Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies - Read how pet owners have used herbs.

Nature's Heartworm Program - Yes, there are successful herbal programs.

Healthy Pet News - Complimentary professional email newsletter with great articles.

Healthy Pet Corner - Resource site for cats, dogs, birds, horses, rabbits and reptiles.

Musing

"The preservation of life on Earth cannot be left to science and scientists alone, however much indebted we may be to them for warnings based on accurate data. There aren't enough scientists to halt the avalanche of extinctions. An informed citizenry must come to the defense of the natural world and all our fellow species on this remarkable planet. Otherwise we will condemn ourselves to increasingly improverished lives as the bountiful life forms, which make complex ecosystems function, are driven off the face of the Earth they now adorn." --Christine Stevens, 1983, Endangered Species Handbook

Being Green: Reducing Our Use of Trees

Though we make up less than 5% of the world’s population, Americans consume more than a quarter of the world’s harvested wood. Therefore, it’s up to those of us wholive in the U.S. to lead the way in reducing wood consumption to sustainable levels.

Much of our wood consumption goes toward disposable, non-essential products. Americans mow down 27 million trees a year simply to mop up spills with paper towels. Sixty-two million trees per year are pulped to make junk mail, according to the U.S. government, while many sustainability organizations cite an even higher figure of 100 million. The annual holiday season leaves more than 5 million tons of discarded wrapping paper behind on American living room floors.

It won’t take a large sacrifice to bring these shocking statistics down. We can all do our part to use a fairer and more sustainable share of the Earth’s resources, taking action to preserve forests every day in our homes, with our friends and colleagues, and in our communities.

Suggested First Steps:

USE CLOTH NAPKINS AND DISHTOWELS
and forget about the paper versions forever.

USE CLOTH SHOPPING BAGS
They’re lightweight, collapsible, and can hang out in your car or slip inside a backpack without taking up too much room until you need them at the grocery store or other retail establishment.

WRAP ALL GIFTS IN REUSABLE MATERIALS
(cloth scraps, scarves, or cloth bags) or in waste paper (newspaper comics, brown paper bags, etc.) that will then be recycled.

BE MINDFUL ABOUT EXCESS PACKAGING
Buy items with minimal or no paper packaging, and look for companies that package their items in recycled materials.

BRING REUSABLE CONTAINERS TO RESTAURANTS
for take-out, instead of relying on their disposable paper and plastic containers.

ELIMINATE JUNK MAIL
Call or write to catalogs, nonprofits, magazines, and other companies and ask them not to share your name. When you do receive junk mail, call the company and ask it to remove your name from its list. Contact the Direct Marketing Association (www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html) to remove yourself from as many lists as possible.

PAY YOUR BILLS ONLINE
Most credit cards and many utilities now offer online payment options that can help you reduce your use of envelopes, checks, and paper bills. If online billing isn’t an option, or if you prefer to receive paper invoices for your records, you can call your credit card company and ask it to stop including junk-mail “inserts” with your statement.

RECYCLE ALL WASTE PAPER
If your town doesn’t offer curbside pick-up, find a recycling facility near you at www.earth911.org.

BUY RECYCLED OR TREE-FREE
whenever you must purchase a paper product, including computer paper, manila folders, sticky notes, toilet paper, etc. Every paper product you might need has a recycled or tree-free version available. This site has a directory of places to shop: www.ecobusinesslinks.com/recycled_paper.htm

The Frugal Life - Living Well With What You Already Have
Living more simply is a great way to effect change in your own personal environment and it helps the planet. The Frugal Life website has lots of ideas on getting back to basics. They also provide a free newsletter twice-monthly and a forum where you can ask questions or search for information. Visit The Frugal Life site.

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Copyright and Reprint Information
© 2006 Donna L. Watkins

All photographs are the property of the editor, Donna L. Watkins. This newsletter may be forwarded in its entirety by email but may not be placed on any website without written permission.

Legal 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 L. 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 L. 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.