On Running with Grace

After being on my own outside of school, I have run on and off for most of my adult life.  In some ways, I wish I had started earlier, but realize, with all we only now know about human physiology, motivation, competition and the Spiritual aspects of running, the right kind of teacher would have been unusual to find in a New England school in the 70's.

I would have wanted to know some of the things I am learning from the hours I have had now to listen and think as I run.  In my mind, I am crossing mental areas of thought such as Taoism, metaphysics, and Shamanism.  They keep me running daily.  They keep me fully engaged with the changing faces of the inner and outer dance outside in all seasons.

My daily runs are different than those focused on getting competitively fast for races or capable of long hours (4 hours to 3 days - yes, without sleep!) on the trails, such as what ultramarathoners crave.

I am somewhere betwixt and between. And I call this Running with Grace.

Running with Grace means running inside myself out, almost like a dancer.  There is gravity to align to and center my whole body within.  And then there is the moving along with a slight falling forward sensation as my whole body tilts.  Each back foot literally springing me into the air such that both feet leave the ground for an instant.  For a moment I am flying in an arc as I land gently, to absorb as much jarring as possible.  There will always be improvement in this "Graceful" style.  The way the arms swing from the mid-back to out through loose fists held with thumbs up, helping to counterbalance the legs' alternate thrusts forward. I am alive.

The smoothness of it all is my sweet focus.  The Grace of movement and - yes - feelings that bubble up are just moving out of me, too.  Runners will talk about the runner's high after exhaustion or, at times, just needing to let go of the forcing or pushing that brings joyful release.  Some ultramarathoners actually describe their highest high as when their body is past its usual limits of endurance and yet moving almost in a cocoon of weightlessness.

The Runner looking for Grace, is always engaged in wonder and curiosity.  

Running with Grace allows me to BE/to move/to think within my running.  To find a sweet spot each and every run as soon as I focus and step out into my run. Because, even if I am a little stiff and heavy with gravity when I begin, I look for THAT dance too.  At these times, maybe I am slower and more giving as my muscles further cushion my joints and ligaments until they warm up a little more.

But I stay with Grace throughout my run.  And I time my runs daily according to my schedule, energy coming into the run (for example, a bad night's sleep may get a shorter run),  and nutritional energy levels.  As a Vegan, I'm always checking my fats/proteins/carbs ratio and amount of calories to get the best day-long energy level.  This is also work I love too.

Try it. Run with the Grace of your animal self. Spring is here for a time of renewal in all of our wild world.

Can the Bunny Hop in?... or the bunny Hop out?...Why, the Bunny IS ALL ABOUT!

Crystal is thinking about how we are a part of the Earth.

The Earth... the Earth is not just the brown colored crust or, more abstractly, the blue and white marble-like sphere suspended here in this galaxy.  It is both ALL around us AND it is inside of us.  Actually, there is no way our bunny senses can actually BE outside of our worldly experience except by IMAGINING that our telescopes or magnifiers are going to find an end of our experience some day and the beginning of someTHING ...or someONE else?? Are we talking about ....about...God here?  Sort of BUNNY MIND blowing, both inside...and outside - if there IS an outside...

Crystal has been meditating upon this until her ears started to curl.  Where are we NOT?  What COULD God BE if there is no separation/boundary between us and this other that we say has created this? What if we are ALL "organic" material, like the scientists say, where the material of everything we experience and think about is unable to extract itself in order to be ABLE to see itself? What if we are trying to bump up against our boundaries to be able to define what is us and what is other (or God) and we just can't?  And what if there IS no boundary to our experience of us and we are just wasting time trying to define It/Us/All That Is? Could we use our time in totally different pursuits?  Could we be feeling and expressing our beauty and making harmonious connections with ALL OF US - a joyful joining with the universe, bunny-style?

Our planet is a real middle ground for our experience.  The Middle Way.  The Middle Earth - of Shamans and Tolkien's stories.  We are comfortable (and relatively coordinated), walking, talking, and moving through air, as we spin at around 800 MPH towards the East. We are breathing and eating, assimilating and letting go of what does not suit us anymore.

We have an emotional rhythm too.  There hasn't been a lot of time to assimilate the societal changes our country (the U.S.) has been going through.  Most of the Earth has become aware of the intense energy and discontent with what IS NOW.   This searching discontent has been sadly misguided by marketing, and greed, but the answers lie HERE within our experience. There may be no THERE...

Crystal is beginning to see how the Earth and ALL her beings are part of her consciousness BECAUSE she IS ABLE TO EXPERIENCE them. What we are able to experience with our senses is ALL part of our Middle Earth.  Even our brain synapses fire with the releasing of hormones and earthly provided ingested food stuffs.  Without them, we would be Other, which we can not define here on Middle Earth.  There are no words or description of Other that we CAN call God.  We just know LIFE FEELS...good, bad, or indifferent, but it FEELS.  And when we can relax, REALLY relax and just ALLOW, that feeling stuff oozes through us in a life-giving vibration sort of way. Crystal calls this feeling... LOVE.  Love, that treats our bodies tenderly - wonderfully.  Love that is - no judgments. Love that sees all as organic stuff of the universe.  We are meant to be HERE NOW, on our Middle Earth, boundary-less because it is/we are ALL living within Middle Earth.

  And Crystal asks.  What IS Death but Life too?  Is it but part of ALL THAT IS because there can be nothing that is other?

Falling into Winter: Our Family Goes Naturally... on...

We lost one of our family this last late summer during that horrendous heatwave.  I, Sarah, got so sad, and so restless, and so... undone, that I stopped going to that happy place to create.  Instead, I looked to the woods and Spirit inside that nature all around us to heal.  Elfie had lost her fellow canine companion, and we had all lost our pack member, Jera.
After that, I took Elfie on 1 to 2 hours hikes through the meadows and woods of New England, along Conservation trails and other public venues known to locals in this area.  And then Sherry, Elfie and I tried camping outside at the Gnomestead, and then at several State forest camp grounds before the cold of winter settled in. Eventually, Elfie got sick with tick disease(s) and our home got fleas which we were not able to nip in the bud.  So, there was work in finding the least invasive "pest" removal to the Gnomestead home and even grounds with its many furry citizens.  Yes, even the "wildlife" including the squirrels got bad cases of fleas.  And then two of those squirrels died.  One of them at the Tuft's Rescue Center where they could only guess at the cause of such a weakened state.  So, we decided to help strengthen their little vegan bodies with corn and other "backyard" seed mixes which we put on our front porch for joyful entertainment from our front window.  Elf and Sophie are still delighted, as Sherry and I are in awe of such close up acrobatics and interesting community shenanigans.
Elfie has gained her strength back from her tick disease, but we have been sticking to the sidewalks when the temperatures exceed 32 or so.  The pavement has started to jar her joints and back, so we are thrilled with sub 32 weather when we can take to the woods again.
A sling is in the works for us to travel further with Elf to soft earth or non-tick infested areas. After hiking slowed down when Elf got sick, I took to running 20 minutes or so daily before picking up Elf for her outing.  Jera had just made it a few days after her 12th birthday as now Elfie has started her 12th year recently at the end of December.  And with my strength improved, I am able to carry her further, so we shall see how her 12th year progresses without her half sister to get us out.  You see, Jera was our "nature girl".  If she had had her way, we would have been living deep in the forest with tree boughs over our heads and a nice earth dug den for cooling in summer and warming up in winter.
So, here we are, starting 2014, still hanging onto the edge of civilization... just barely.
I'm a bit more subdued in some ways these days, committed to more of the chores of an unprocessed, wholesome life here.  I may be living more "out of the loop or what others may say is even out of touch with reality" than before Jera and the squirrels moved on into Spirit,... but I feel more grounded... in Spirit now, if that makes any sense.  Welcome into what the Gnomestead is becoming... More books are on the way this year that are in the publishing stages - even e-publishing.

3rd Year of the Great SHARING-ONE-CAR Experiment! (...and many bikes)

As Sarah's wife, I am excited to describe my experience of car-sharing with Sarah over the past 2-plus years. As we roll into our 3rd year of sharing, this seems a good time to reflect on the joys and challenges of not having a car at my instant beck-and-call and how this has changed me.

I'm Sherry, and I'm part of the family who lives at the Gnomestead, sharing the joys and tribulations of being guided by these great earth energies at work during this sacred time and place on our beautiful planet.

 "Gnome here.  Interupting to add background to this dedicated biker, that this here Sherry is.  We watch her daily start the morning on the KITCHEN bike.  She pedal blends her smoothies to a delicious creamy texture which we help provide from the garden as much of the year as we are able...we are tickled by her enthusiasm...and enjoy the comparative quiet.  
    Now, back to Sherry..." 

Yes, I have to admit that when Sarah first proposed selling her car in 2011, I thought she was being a bit unrealistic and a trifle impulsive. Wouldn't she feel trapped while I was away at work 2 days a week? I asked her. What would we do on weekends if we both needed to help or visit our elderly mothers? Sarah had ideas for everything, urging me to think of the environment and how we might slow down, schedule around each other, and make it work.

Even if it might possibly work, I argued, wouldn't it be a good idea for us to park one car at her mom's house for a month or two, just to be sure we really want to function with one car? No, said Sarah firmly, that would feel like we might give up before having to think really hard and find some solution to make it work. We won't really make the sacrifice until we actually do it, she said, because then there's no option to drop me at Mom's for the other car in the back of our minds. 

Her insistence and determination finally persuaded me, and we made the leap in March of 2011, selling her used 2005 Subaru Outback wagon and keeping our older, smaller 2002 Prius sedan.

So how has our experiment worked over the past 2 years? 

The first year went very smoothly for me, as I got inspired to ride our electric bike in all seasons (except during snowstorms, thunderstorms, and weather under 35 degrees) for most distances under 3 or 4 miles: we are lucky that in our little walkable town, this includes our bank, post office, drugstore, hardware store, supermarket and even the commuter rail stop to Boston.

I knew I had the car reserved on Mondays and Wednesdays, when I went to an office 24 miles away, and negotiated with Sarah if something came up on other days for which I wanted the car.

I believe part of the reason I had it so easy the first year is that Sarah gave up a lot more car time than I did, pushing our mini-Schnauzers in a carriage to her art studio across town and mostly using the car to visit her mother.

Packing up for a week away without the wagon, it was amazing how much we could fit into the roomy trunk of the Prius (2 coolers, tons of food, as we like to cook a lot when away and eat out rarely), with our dogs, cat in carrier, backpacks and sundry bags in the back seat and at the passenger's feet! With the electric bike on the roof rack and the conventional bike on my 35 year old rack hooked to the back, we were off for a week of fun. 

I've carried amazing loads on that Tulle roof rack, including 5 wooden pallets or 6 bales of salt march hay for our garden...

The second year was a bit more challenging for me, because we seemed to run into more conflicts where we both wanted or needed the car at the same time. I believe Sarah got busier with commitments outside of our home. It was also a colder, snowier winter and harder to bike during January and February.  With some advance planning, we were able to use some of the following options:

1. dropping Sarah at her mother's on the way for me to visit mine, only adding 15 minutes each way to my trip (and again honoring Sarah's time flexibility to help live our values and be willing to wait for me to pick her up)

2. making more of an effort to find friends to carpool to events, which we want to be doing anyway

3. rescheduling something when we could, so we needed the car at different times

4. using the commuter rail more for trips to the Boston metro area, which sometimes entailed my taking the train, 2 or 3 buses or subway stops and walking a bit to get to a conference -- but I realized that the rush hour traffic is so ferocious that I would have had to leave at 6:45 am by car to be sure to get to a conference in town by 9 am anyway, so what's so hard about taking a 6:15 am train with some good reading material? Again, our values and commitment to this fun experiment in downsizing and simplicity carried the day.

Other benefits for me of this one car lifestyle are that I now think of the bike as my go-to vehicle unless there's a good reason why not, such as illness or exhaustion, bad weather or long distance. This has helped me stay fit at almost 58 years old, lose weight and want to eat healthier to keep up my energy.

And of course, it's very nice for our budget to only pay for one car, one gas fill-up (which happens rarely in a Prius!), one insurance policy, one registration, inspection and other sundry fees incurred by our autos. Our total annual mileage on our car is less than our previous mileage combined when we had 2 cars. 

If you are interested in the nitty-gritty details about what we did to improve our bike mode of transport with more than half of the money from the sale of our 2nd car, you can read on.  

We did the following:

1. We bought a Trek electric pedal-assist bicycle to share. (Luckily, we are close to the same height.) The plug-in-to-charge battery can go quite a number of miles (25 or more) if one pedals most of the time, with the bike set to zero or 1 on the power level, and only use 2 through 4 for uphills. If a more relaxed ride is desired, the 3 or 4 setting causes the pedaling to be very easy for most of a 12 or 14 mile ride, and the battery can be charged in place outdoors or brought into the house. It's also a hybrid, as using the brakes charges the battery just as it does on the Prius.

2. We added a sturdy Tulle roof rack with a bike rack to our roof. (We found our Prius doesn't have the capacity for a hitch to be added, which the rear Tulle double bike rack would have required.)  

3. We bought fun, durable stuff we might have not sprung for, such as a heavy-duty bike pump and spare inner tubes; dual-choice pedals with clip-in bike shoes for me and toe clips for Sarah; shoe coverings for warm feet during winter cycling; an assortment of steady/strobe lights for our handlebars, back of the seat, side of the wheel, and helmet; and glowing vests and jackets to be seen well in any season.

I did try biking to Westborough once during the first summer, and enjoyed the ride, but over 2 hours each way, arriving sweaty and needing time to cool down, sponge bathe, and dress for work meant the whole endeavor took 5 hours of my day...and I did call Sarah to pick me up for the last 5 miles  home, since I was in wicked rush hour traffic and didn't want to negotiate a windy road without reliable shoulders.

Since the electric bike weighs 10 lbs. more than my regular on/off-road hybrid bike, plus a 10 lb. battery, I usually grab my regular bike unless I'll encounter a lot of hills. But I have found that the battery option has helped me jump on the bike when I'm reluctant, such as colder or wetter weather or not much energy -- without it in the past, I might likely have used the car instead for that particular trip.

Trek has done research that indicates up to 75% of auto mileage is accrued for trips less than 2 miles from home! This simple, stark fact really motivates me to use my car as little as possible and know that each time I hop on that bike, I help the Earth. 

Harvard affiliate approves Bunny Food Diet!

Crystal has a new spring in her step. She has been recommending more colorful foods from the produce section and here is an official response to Crystal's hopes and dreams of others joining her at table.

Please feel free to copy and spread the good news.

Crystal is looking forward to Spring greens and all those luscious growing things from this good Earth.  

What do YOU have a hankering for?

HAPPY SPRING!

Finding One's Way

Crystal Bunnytail has been very busy so far this year thinking about the Earth and her place on her Path.  Work, Study, Exercise, Nutrition, Meditation and Spiritual Practice...

Crystal has been adding thought to her morning activities.  She includes, spiritual reading, meditation, and a Yogic Salutation to the Sun in hopes of helping to tune her body and mind towards health and harmony.

There are so many paths for a bunny - even within the path of Yoga.

                       Paths for Different Temperaments

                                   taken from Advaita Yoga Ashrama (AYA),    

Truly, there are as many paths as there are people. Practically though, there are a few hundreds of yogas, or practices which are categorized into the four main paths. These paths are:

Jnana Yoga

The path of wisdom and knowledge. The jnani uses his will and power of discrimination to cut through the veil of ignorance and attain the truth.

For the jnani, the goal is absolute Truth.

Jnana Yoga appeals to the philosophical and intellectual temperament.

Bhakti Yoga

The path of love and devotion. The bhakta uses the combined energies of all emotions and transmutes them, sublimates them into the highest of all emotions: prem.

Prem is pure, conditionless, divine love. For the bhakta, or devotee, the goal is pure love.

Bhakti Yoga appeals to the emotional temperament.

Raja Yoga

The path of self control and self mastery. The raja yogi controls his mind until it becomes perfectly still at which time there is no more wall between himself and his own divine nature.

The main practice in Raja Yoga is meditation. For the raja yogi, the goal is perfect mind control.

Raja Yoga appeals to the mystical and scientific temperament.

Karma Yoga

The path of selfless service. For the karma yogi, the main problem is our inherent selfishness which is based on spiritual ignorance, avidya. The key is to practice selfless actions without any selfish expectations, and thereby opening one's heart and seeing God in all beings.

For the karma yogi, the goal is complete selflessness.

Karma Yoga appeals to the active temperament.

Two More for Good Measure

Among the additional hundred yogas out there, two more stand out as particulary important:

Kundalini Yoga

Derived from the tantric tradition this yoga aims at purifying the physical and psychic systems, and then awakening the cosmic power residing in the muladhara chakra at the base of the spine.

Upon awakening and raising of this spiritual power it unites with the consciousness center in the crown of the head and thereby grants liberation to the spiritual aspirant and practitoner of Kundalini Yoga .

Hatha Yoga

Sometimes called the physical aspect of yoga it works mostly on the psychic level. Besides its innumerable medical benefits, hatha yoga is essential support to both raja yoga and kundalini yoga.

Blessings from a spritely Bunny yogi who is still hopping around trying to settle on where best her temperament might flourish...

... and blessings on your Path, wherever it may lead you...

Gnomestead Shop (The Toadstool) coming soon!

 Happy Holidays from all us Gnomes and such at the Gnomestead!

   The full shop will be on-line soon. You can buy both of Crystal's books right now (Path of the Bunny and Crystal Bunnytail...in a tiny Nutshell) at Lulu.com.  

   Crystal has a 2013 calendar, some wonderful new cards and a smoothie recipe poster! Cards include Solstice, holiday and blank. The 2013 calendar features images from Books I and II.

Crystal Bunnytail' 2013 Calendar

    Rejoice! Crystal is full of hoppin' good holiday joy -- follow that Bunny!

If you want a poster, 2013 calendar or cards, email sarah@gnomesteading.com and we can email images to you PDQ! 

   Crystal will have comic mugs and organic t-shirts coming in the new year...

The Jolly Days are upon us!

The smell of damp leaves piling up beneath the trees and bushes, the cool crisp air; signs of the summer elves snuggling up close against Mother Earth to dream of another summer to come.

The winter Gnomes are traveling South to bring us their high hopes for new dreams of healing and regeneration!

Crystal Bunnytail is taking hearty walks in the woods and contemplating the good in her soul and the good in the greater world about her.  She is living her life with a warm and open heart and dreams of others joining with her in her new experiences that are filled with tingling anticipation...

...and, it is with joy in my heart, that I can give you her first two books, compiled of her experiences when she hopped into my life.  It has been an eager-filled process -- from my beginning days of getting to know her and those others she spends time with -- to bringing her books to market for her...and for you!

So, here I am, deep in the contentment of experience, able to finally share Crystal...

Crystal Bunnytail is now available to you by pressing her first book to the right of your screen.  Book 0.5 will be out later at the beginning of December!  I know, you many be wondering why Book 0.5 was not out before Book I...  Well, here's how Crystal tells it.  She wanted to start her story in full color, and then she was willing to give a few stories (in B&W) from books I and II and even III for people to have a chance to get to know her better all at once.  So, there you have it... in a nutty shell!

Book 0.5 -- Crystal Bunnytail...in a tiny Nutshell is on its way...

Enjoy this season!  These entering Spirits are full of joy and clarity and are there for you if you listen... both inside and out...

Crystal Bunnytail's Book Debut this weekend!

Crystal Bunnytail's first book, Path of the Bunny, will debut this Saturday, April 28 at the Concord Earth Day fair from noon - 2 pm at Emerson Umbrella, 40 Stow St. She will also sell and sign books on Sunday, April 29 at the Wayland Earth Day fair, Wayland Town Building courtyard (Rt. 27, just north of Rt. 20).  

Both events will feature bike-powered smoothie samples and smoothie posters with Crystal's simple, delicious and nutritious recipe! Come  meet the author, buy a personally autographed book, and blend your own smoothie!

Crystal's first book,The Path of the Bunny, is here!

Sarah Jeppson Zitter has now made her first book of the Gentle Mountain Series available through Lulu.com.

The path of the Bunny, starring Crystal Bunnytail, will be available for distribution through Robo Picto Books soon also. Robo Picto books will be distributing this and other forthcoming books in the series with Amazon.com and other comic book venues soon.

Sarah will be posting readings of her book where you may meet the author and have books signed soon, at this site.

Actively Nourish Ourselves and the Earth?

I gleaned most of these early 20th century history facts I received from an e-mail today. I do not know who wrote it, so I am sorry I can't give them partial credit, but I thank them for getting me thinking.

... I am feeling SAD that we, as CONSUMERS, have been fed a lifestyle over the last century which requires so many time-saving devices which, when added up together, are hurting us and the Earth so much.

If we had seen the far reaching damage of leaded gas on our air and eventual water and soil quality -- as well as our physical health -- would we have declined to sit in a "horse-less carriage" in the early 20th Century? Along with polluting our home environment, these labor saving "gadgets" have enabled us to CHOOSE our level of SPEED. ...and how ARE we doing with it?

It is very tempting to choose to be out of shape both physically and mentally today when we can get lost in our home entertainment systems. We can now get through life without memorizing our own address, not to mention an interesting vocabulary, a poem or a historical date. We can find out about pretty much anything without having to actually communicate with another soul. So, how can we use this new technology to actually nourish ourselves and the Earth?

Back in the earlier part of the 20th Century, we U.S. citizens returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they REALLY were recycled. Some farms still do this.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. Some neighborhoods are still walkable.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. We can still buy a clothes line and pass around used clothes.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. We can still designate one room to the Tv/computer, get an excellent knife for chopping, and recycle newspapers and junk mail.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by WORKING so we didn't need to go to a health club to lift heavy weights and run on treadmills that operate on electricity. Think of all the physical work you can help with around your neighborhood or think of farming your own food, making your own clothes, or building things by hand...or buying a push mower; they are still available.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. We can think carefully about waste BEFORE we buy.

Mechanical things such as watches, clocks, and moving toys or gadgets were windup, instead of battery operated, which need their batteries to be replaced -- or you find that it's cheaper to replace them. How ingenious were THOSE inventors?! Some of those inventions still exist; search them out.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. There are many time-saving gadgets out there. Choose which ones are actually helping you get stronger, wiser, and kinder to your neighbors.

It is the EXERCISING of knowledge which needs Time. Wisdom can not be digested in a pill, e-mailed, or in anyway RUSHED.

Think about the creative results you would like to have in your life and do what feels good to your soul as you MOVE towards them!

Changing Dog Foods -

We leave a vegan dog kibble down all the time for our dogs. Friends question both the satisfaction of their canine nutritional needs and their ability to eat only as much as they need without overeating.

We have a simple answer for our dogs' self-regulating hunger patterns. They know the kibble has always been there (since puppyhood) so they will only eat when hungry. I have raised all my dogs over the years this way.

This food-always-down method was tested when we had an elderly dog staying with us for an extended visit (close to 2 years) and he would have eaten too much of the vegan kibble and not enough of his owners' recommended meat kibble. So, everyone ate the planned meals. First one then two, meals a day with little snacks tossed in and caught with relish at other times.

Then, sadly, the little guy passed on into Spirit and we could put down the kibble again. I liked not worrying about the possibility of under-feeding my fuzzy girls. But - oh my goodness! — My slightly overweight dog chowed down the ENTIRE dishful! Should I refill it? Would I have to regulate the bowl filling so this girl didn't gain a ton of weight? Thank goodness I tried another bowl full and between the two of them, they only ate half of that bowl. And thankfully, a day or two of their noticing the old bowl was once again always available, they stopped scarfing and looked on hopefully for tastier treats to be tossed their way. Now, it is back to the dish of kibble that they go to when their begging has ceased to impress our dense human brains or a little nibble of kibble before bed for better dreams.

Now for the complicated nutritional question - Vegan Dog food questions - that friends have brought up. Well, we just don't know. We have an affidavit of an owner swearing their dog lived to be 19 with this diet for its whole life. But we are still not sure, because our traditional vet has been striking the fear of cruelty into our hearts if we diverge from the status quo. We have two vets now, one for traditional diagnostics and one for herbal, acupuncture, and alternative feeding ideas as well as traditional western medical methods. This vet, is asking us for a full list of foods we feed our dogs. I've been avoiding it for the very reason I feel that nutrition is complicated.

I want to make sure I don't miss what my dogs need, so I offer variety. In fact, so much variety that I'm not sure what to put on that conclusive list of dog food. We change brands of their small amount of meat kibble (which got added into their dinner after we had a question of borderline anemia that showed up after one of the girls got a tick born disease). We give raw human grade small farm beef or chicken livers at times for all that nutritionally packed for canines. (I actually am seriously thinking of having vegan pets in the distant future when these guys go, such as rabbits, Guinea pigs, or a pot bellied pig.) But on with the list of what we feed these beautiful little girls: We've fed them super-bluegreen algae, Norwegian cod liver oil, Swedish hardtack, canned organic vegi food, yams, squashes, nori seaweed sheets, powdered hemp, powdered carob, coconut oil, avocados, vegan bakery blueberry snacks/pizza flavored snacks, snacks with a combination of oats, spirulina, bananas, shredded coconut, and I can't think what other foods at the moment.

So, what can we conclude from this way we have come to feed the dogs here? Hmm. It actually reminds me of how we feed ourselves. "Variety is the spice of life." We humans are told to get our nutritional needs met by variety, but what does this mean, and why only for humans? Ironically, I have people telling me it will make my dogs sick if I change their food choices too fast (or more like all the time). So, how might this regular/same food translate to humans?

Are humans stressing out our systems with variety? There are plenty of health practitioners who do not recommend "processed" food for just this reason. They say processed food has too crazy a mix of ingredients for our systems to pull apart for proper digestion — It's tough on us, they say. (We end up storing a lot of it as fat until we can find the time for proper breakdown i.e. our liver and kidneys are rested and ready for more digesting.) And then, what about sensible food combining such as NOT steak and bananas or beans and prunes?

Or should we go back to the days of eating varieties of local seasonal foods? Aha. Maybe going back in this way can also be moving forward?! But there is a little wrinkle. Dogs a while ago, before humans fed them regularly or before they had access to our trash cans and compost piles, ate local rodents (possibly bigger kills if they are more closely related to the coyotes and wolves), a few greens, bugs, amphibians, and maybe a berry or two.

So, I asked my dogs. And, on communicating with my dogs directly, with the help of our local gnomes, I came up with a plan... (to be continued after transferring transcripts to the computer!)

Our Old Tea Kettle

The tea kettle spoke to us today and said, “No more heat, please. I am old and wishing to be a container for cool water for others besides yourselves.”

“Who?” I asked back, and she looked at me with her broken wing and said, “The trees and flowers in the pots by the south facing windows.”

And I replied with a smile, “Of course.”

Who said a burnt kettle must be buried in the dump when it has no hole in its bottom? And who said, though it can no longer apply itself with a whistle for our benefit, it must be let out to the trash heap and released?

WHO told us not to listen to its quiet voice in our heads?

Much that is used by us humans is made of either non-decomposable elements or a mixture of elements which decompose and others which do not. The elements which don't decompose — such as the plastic top here which only managed to melt — will only be buried for centuries and release whatever it is plastics release into the soil as it slowly decomposes. Stainless steel lives a long time too, and is one of the few materials that could actually be remelted and reused ad ifinitem (so I have been told by a local energy researching geek). So, what are we going to do with these things which don't get repaired easily an get easily totted off to the dump? How can we reuse these things in different ways?

I asked the gnomes, "Is there anything we humans can do to stop so much of this tossing almost perfectly good things in the dump?"

"Yes, of course! We're glad you asked! Tea Kettle has already spoken how, in her heart, would like to be useful. First and foremost, listen carefully to WHATEVER object you question. They know, because it is THEIR physical bodies you are talking about.

"So, do you understand a little better now?"

"Yes, I think I do."

"Then you will understand that your answers lie in your CONVERSATIONS with things?"

"Yes, that makes a lot of sense."

"Well, it should, because you humans were one of the few communicators to cross communicate between the Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral kingdoms.

"Long ago you could speak to some old, faded Animal tracks and understand the pace, gait, type of Animal and what direction that Animal was heading.

"Long ago, you knew of coming storms as Wind blew ahead and spoke to Tree and Tree spoke in rustles and swishes to you.

"Long ago, you spoke to Rock and absorbed its quiet stillness and solid sense of knowing.

"And long ago, you listened to the hiss and boom of the tides and lived in your heart's pulsing.

"You must listen carefully now. There are newly manifested materials, which mean many new languages for you to understand and learn to communicate with. Listen in the quiet space in your center, where language is born. There, you will begin to understand."