Like a Full Metal Jacket

June 28, 2011 By

45 caliber

In our last episode, PepperWhip had some issues with the plaid belt photo shoot and with SpearWhip taking center stage.

All ended well though, and PepperWhip took a good long look at itself and the urge it had towards jealousy.

PepperWhip confessed to me that it was sorry for sinking to a lower place and letting jealousy overcome it. PepperWhip displayed great humility and then apologized with a heavy heart to us and SpearWhip.

PepperWhip's sincere introspection and commitment to work on inner issues melted our hearts so we wanted to feature PepperWhip with an honor of being on the homepage and we even gave it a new design for the 4th of July too.

When we got the script for the following video (which included a trip to the shooting range in Atlanta), PepperWhip was our 'model bottle' of choice. PepperWhip did an amazing job of posing with the gun and the 45 caliber bullets.

It was a fantastic day at the range! See for yourself in the video below:

Filed Under: Mind, Soul, Tooth Soap®, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ampersands Come in Handy

June 24, 2011 By

How will I be remembered?

Gardening and chicken tending leaves a lot of time to reflect and think about my life.


Thoughts vacillate between the past, present and unknown future. When I think of my mother who died at 47, I have often wondered how I would be remembered, if my days were cut short.

In my life I have been fortunate to be a mother, wife, business owner, farmer, and now chicken keeper. But how would I be remembered if today was my last?
 
If I had to sum myself up in one sentence, would I be able to do it?
 

I had to think about this for a while to get to the core of who I am. I do many things and I wear more than one hat.

What is most important about me and my life? What is the depth of who I am and my purpose here on earth? Have I even come close to fulfilling my potential and do I even realize how much potential I have?

How would I be remembered?

I realized I am not really a mother, wife, business owner, farmer or chicken keeper. I am a soul who is housed in a body who performs those tasks, but that is not who I really am.

If my soul had to answer that question right now I believe it would say the following (and it would fit on a gravestone too):

"Lived, Loved
& Served
with Passion."

I used an ampersand of course, to save space.
 

Filed Under: Body, Mind, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , , ,

Your Perfect Growing System

June 22, 2011 By

lettuce in beaker

Finding the perfect growing system is as important in life as it is in the garden.

I have never "personally" grown according to the books and I have learned that neither do the plants. The best encyclopedias in the world can only give a hint at what you can expect and then life throws some things your way that books can't even begin to explain or articulate.

What I have found is that finding different growing systems is necessary in the garden because in the garden each plant is an individual, just like people are.

One plant may need an acidic soil while the other prefers a neutral pH. One plant might like to be watered heavily while another prefers the soil to be just damp to the touch.

The plants are like people and just like people need to live in their own unique and individual way, it is the same in the plant kingdom. Plants have their particular and correct ways of growing which are all different and so do humans. For man, all paths have the potential to be correct, depending on our individual choices.

Like plants, we are also here to grow and be fruitful and it is beyond multiplying like the animals do. We are here to grow in good character, strength and dignity. This is the way that the human being is supposed to grow as they align their soul with their physical selves and give it the proper balance.

I have noticed that the plants have a natural balance built into them. They are physical and strong and that is quite apparent when they break through the soil. They use their strength daily, to reach for greater heights.

A plant also only looks upward, towards the heavens, as it knows where it derives all Energy from. The plants use all their strength and might to reach for their Source of Life. They know their purpose and stay on their path. They focus on growth and the future fruits that will spring forth from them.

I can't help but admire the plants.

They have such a perfect growing system.

Filed Under: Featured Post, Mind, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With: , , ,

Summertime & Tomato Tips

June 20, 2011 By

 

Tomatoes are delicate and susceptible to disease so they are not always so easy to grow.

It is very important to understand natural pest and disease control if you want to effectively grow tomatoes.

I have used the best growing systems and have still had some challenges, so that tells me that tomato plants don't read books or listen to manufacturers instructions.

The tomato plant begins the fight of it's life the minute the seed goes into the soil and it will have to fight with all it's might to survive and make it to full bloom.

Farmers help the tomato by making sure it has all the right nutrients to go to battle. For the tomato, nutrients are like armor in the garden.

When you think of your garden and your tomato plants, think of it as a baby nursery.

Remember how everything needs to be disinfected for the baby because it has a weak immune system?

It is the same for young plants in the garden and especially tomatoes. Disease is just waiting to attack the tender tomato plants and we must assist the plants by feeding them vitamins and minerals early on (it's like colostrum for a baby).

Always remember that your plants need to eat, move, drink, sleep and breathe just like you. They must be fed judiciously and water is certainly not enough. When organic gardening it is vital to add compost regularly and use compost teas too, to keep the plants strong.

The video below has many tips and discusses some diseases specific to tomato plants. 

The music is from Kool and the Gang and the song is "Summertime". I remember where I was when I first heard this song. I was 14, watching General Hospital and Luke and Laura were in love but couldn't be together for some reason. 

Filed Under: Body, Featured Post, Mind, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With: , , , ,

Growing Vertically

June 16, 2011 By

cucumber wall harvest

The great thing about Urban Farming is all the time I get to meditate and think about everything in life.

I especially have a lot of time to think when I am picking up the chicken doodles. I seem to become most reflective when I am in the process of picking up and putting chicken waste into the compost.

I have to say though, although I don't believe I am full of chicken doo… I do involve myself in it regularly and gather my thoughts during that time.

Please enjoy this video as Sister Love encourages the world to think and project goodness for all of mankind. It is long, so watch and listen when you have some time to relax.

What the man says is true.

We can all make a difference, even if it is just one thought at a time.

Filed Under: Body, Featured Post, Mind, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With: , , ,

Our Future, Our Food

June 14, 2011 By

microgreens

It has been a few months since the Fukashima disaster and no one is talking much about it anymore. People in my community are completely OBLIVIOUS to what happened and when they hear me say that I don't want to allow my children to eat fish anymore they say, "Oh, because of the radiation?" (as if they have some super shield around their home that protects them from it). 

I get odd looks because I am the "paranoid" one who has a closet of emergency food and supplies. I appear to be over the top because I started urban farming with the intent of trying to grow on and live off of my very small piece of land.

After I told others that Europe was (4/11/2011) advising pregnant mums to stop drinking milk and to avoid eating large leafy vegetables, they are silent. I then ask, "What are you going to do about food and your children?" They are silent after that too. 

I may be farming now and enjoying my chickens every day but I have not forgotten about Fukishima and the destruction. Those people that get cancer from this in the future months and years will just fade into the masses that are already being diagnosed daily. The leaders hope the memory of Japan's nuclear disaster will all fall away so they can get back to the business of what they do. 

EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING is contaminated now. There isn't anyone or anything that is not being affected by this. 
 
Infant mortality rates have increased 35% in the Pacific Northwest since the Fukushima meltdowns! Is anybody paying attention?
 
Organic farms and livestock are affected too so even though they are not being raised with pesticides or GMO food, they are still contaminated from the environment. 

The chickens are growing on this urban farm and two are now laying eggs and their eggs are contaminated, unfortunately. But at least I know what these chickens are eating (besides radioactive particles and cesium, which is the real problem and what they don't want you to think about). 

After much thought I came up with a plan of action for my family when it came to food. I know how important greens are and since large leafy greens are exposed to more contamination, I needed to cultivate greens in the shortest amount of time so that they would not be exposed to too much toxicity.

I figured that "MicroGreens" would be the best thing to grow under these troubling environmental circumstances. Greens are vital for healthy teeth and gums and we must all get them in somehow. I believe homegrown MicroGreens are one answer to avoid eating contaminated greens.

MicroGreens are not sprouts nor are they baby vegetables. The MicroGreens I am speaking of are young plants that have sprouted "true leaves". They grow in approximately 14-21 days, in soil and the sun, and they harvest quickly. 

What I prefer about these type of MicroGreens is that they are grown in the SUN and the SOIL. Sprouts are grown in the dark and without soil so they are not as appealing to me.
 
There is also the "anti-sprout propaganda" raging in the media right now but I will save my comments about that for another post. It will suffice to say that I know first hand that migrant field workers do not have adequate bathroom facilities and they are forced to defecate in the fields. Can anyone say "e-coli"?

Greens grown in the sun or light have a different energy in them and I believe they are more vital and healthier. MicroGreens be grown indoors, in the window or under a grow light.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPROUTS AND MICROGREENS

Sprouts:  
1. Grown in the dark, in moisture, no soil needed
2. Harvested before plant sprouts "true leaves"
Benefits: Nutritious, easy and quickest harvest (3-7 days)

MicroGreens:  
1. Grown in the sunlight, in biodynamic soil with compost tea
2. Harvested after plant has sprouted true leaves
Benefits: More nutritious, distinct and unique plant taste, quick harvest (14-21 days)

The goal is to eat tasty and nutritious GREENS that have not been exposed to environmental toxins and MicroGreens are one answer to the "large green leafy contaminated vegetable" problem.

MicroGreens are all the rage for gourmet chefs and their true leaves give them a distinct and subtle taste that delights the palate. Plants this young are densely loaded with nutrients too so toss them with a dressing and viola, you have a tasty salad for your entire family that is loaded with vitamins and minerals and grown with the least amount of contamination. 

I plan on combining the MicroGreens with the eggs and other vegetables that I am growing in two greenhouses and indoor growing systems. This is 'real' food that will insure real health in the difficult times ahead. 
 
This is the future and it is here right now.
 

Filed Under: Body, Featured Post, Mind, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Inner Cluck

June 12, 2011 By

Black Star chicken head

All of us have an inner voice (cluck) we need to recognize and hear.

Over time, and if we really take the time to contemplate this inner cluck and who we are in the world, that voice will become well known.

It is up to each of us to discover that "true and genuine" inner voice and speak that truth.

That is what Crazee Girl discovered as she traveled to a new destination today. She had a "light bulb" moment, so to speak, when she discovered her "true voice". She truly understood what her personal cluck was all about.

The more she spoke her authentic voice the more she understood her true mission in the world too.

We can learn a lot from the chickens. 

Filed Under: Featured Post, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Wonder Wall

June 10, 2011 By

cucumber trellis

The urban farm is proving to be a source of incredible inspiration in my life and anyone who grows their own most likely feels the same way.

The plants themselves are inspiring because of all they overcome. Whether it is bugs, disease or the weather, the plants continue on with their mission.

The cucumber plants were suffering early on from a disease that effected their leaves and there was nothing that could be done because of the climate we live in.

These same burpless cukes didn't let their mildew leaf disease stop them one bit though. In fact, they overcame the disease and grew stronger because of it. It was the hardship itself that ended up giving them power in the end and it is that strength that pushed them to the top of their trellis so early.

When I saw those cukes reaching for the sky I had no choice but to encourage them to go for it. Normally cukes are crawling all over the ground like ivy…

These cukes, however, are privileged… and apparently they don't know the word "limits" when it comes to growth and wanting to produce good fruit.

For sure, these cukes don't know how to spell the word limits nor do they care what it means. They only know where they want to go and as long as they have a place to climb they are going to keep on reaching for the top.

I say "CLIMB cukes, CLIMB!" Don't let anything in the world stop you from reaching the cucumber heights you have been dreaming of since they first told you that you had mildew disease.

So what if you have mildew disease right?! You obviously didn't let that stop you and now look at you GROW!

My precious cucumbers, you are an inspiration and I support you 100%.

You are not just a "vine" so don't let anyone ever put you in that "vine box". You can go where you want to and be all you were meant to be. And I am here to give you a hand when you need it.

Just keep on doing what you do best and the fruits of your labor will be available for all to see… very soon. 

Filed Under: Featured Post, Mind, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

10 Tips for Roasted Chicken

June 7, 2011 By

roasted chicken

The girls are doing their best to cope with the tremendous heat in Atlanta right now. This is the hottest it has been since I lived here.

Living in Houston for over two years prior to moving to Atlanta made the Atlanta summer feel like springtime.

When I first moved to Atlanta I didn't notice the heat at all and I often wondered why everyone was complaining of the heat so much. But when you live in Houston and get used to that thick heat, any other hot climate is a cake walk. 

So we have this tremendous heat that is good for the plants but not so good for the chickens. These Chix favor weather that is about 72 degrees and they can die in extreme heat, so I have been taking measures to keep them cool.

Since I am now semi-proficient in keeping chickens cool, here are my best tips:

  1. Watering the ground they walk on to cool their hot feet – chickens have very hot feet normally and their hot tootsies are used to keep them warm in the winter when they sit on them
  2. Putting a fan outside their coop at night to give them a little breeze – this is only advisable if you are positive it won't rain during the night
  3. Feeding them watermelon – watermelon cools body temperature in humans quickly, so why not chickens?
  4. Blowing on them when they walk by – it makes me hot but gives them a quick breeze
  5. Telling them stories of events that happened with the Eskimos in Alaska
  6. Encouraging them to meditate and imagine themselves in 72 degree heat
  7. Being flat out dishonest… "Girls, it is only about 75 outside. You are imagining it's 98 degrees."
  8. Reminding them how good their life is because they are not panting in a cage like other chickens in Africa and China
  9. Putting ice in their water feeder (which melts in 5 minutes) – this does nothing really, but makes me feel like I am supporting them
  10. Not scolding them when they eat another jalapeno pepper or any other ripening vegetables - they get special treatment when they are feeling like roasted chickens

From the video below you can see first hand how chickens pant in the extreme heat.

Hang in there girls, the summer has just begun.

Filed Under: Featured Post, Mind, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , , ,

Tooth Soap® versus Viagra

June 6, 2011 By

Senior Couple

It has been almost a decade since I decided that TV was not worth watching anymore. I was sick of the drug commercials, the diet ads and the fast food promotions. TV ads seemed to be a very sick and manipulative game that advertisers were playing on the public (me and my young daughters).

The attitudes and images on TV and in magazines were crass and sinking into the gutter, slowly but surely. I knew that I didn't want my girls to absorb any of it. So I slowly did a TV detox in the house. It began with only allowing PBS or the cooking channel, and not more than an hour a day. Then I removed it completely and it wasn't an issue. I had the girls create things instead of sitting in front of the tube.

Prior to that, I was using the TV as a babysitter (horrible, but true). I did keep my eye on the girls but they were glued in front of a video, of some sort. It didn't make it right that they were watching educational things though. I really didn't want them to be "sitting" in front of a TV screen while growing up. That is how I grew up and I found it brought no lasting value to me in my life. It was a waste of time.

I was successful in this TV removal endeavor and we still do not have a TV in our home. I was also successful in keeping my home free from fashion and "style" magazines because I didn't want my girls to grow up with a distorted body image. It worked. They don't overeat or under-eat. They don't use food as a friend and certainly don't see it as a foe. 

This "no TV" and no style/fashion mag thing does have occasional Amish-like side effects though.

For example, I had no idea there was a royal wedding, let alone an engagement. I kept getting email ads about "royal" this and that and wondered what it meant but didn't care enough to check. I don't pay attention to the gossip mags in the check-out line at the grocery store either, so I was clueless. Then one Friday the whole world was watching this "royal" wedding and I had no idea it was even happening. I bet the Amish didn't know either.

I also bet you are wondering what does Viagra have to do with any of this, right?

Well, since my city slicker self has been urban farming full time, I am not seen in front of my Mac so much like in the old days. But one night I clicked on a link (somewhere) and I ended up at the CBS website. I clicked on a video about a serial killer of young girls and as I sat there waiting for the video to load, I was questioning myself heavily because life has taught me to stay far away from dark people and their ideas.

I wasn't able to overcome my curiosity about this serial killer though, so I watched the segment and tolerated the ONE and ONLY ad that the 20 minute segment played at least 5 times. There was no way to get rid of the ad because it was part of the video. If I wanted more info on that serial killer, I had to put up with the ridiculous commercial.

The single ad during the program was for Viagra. There was this good looking older guy driving a muscle car, in great shape and then the Viagra pitch followed. I had no idea it would be for Viagra and was actually surprised and totally rolling my eyes all the way into the back of my head when I realized what the ad was for. 

I am thinking, yeah, right! Like this guy has erectile disfunction. Anyone who knows about this knows that men that work out regularly get great blood flow throughout their entire body and I am pretty sure that 50 year old man with rock hard muscles was not really having any problems in that area. 

Why can't Big Pharma be honest for a change? Why not show an obese dude who never eats a salad and subsists on junk food and who never bothers to put on sneakers to walk around the block? He is the Viagra guy, not the senior body builder.

By the end of the serial killer segment the tune of the Viagra melody was stuck in my head which I didn't appreciate. I was taken back to the years when I decided that TV was nothing more than brainwashing of things I had no interest in.

I then decided to make my own "ad" and I have to say that there could be something to Tooth Soap® competing with Viagra.

Science has proved that the "placebo" effect is absolutely real.

And Tooth Soap® does give a man "confidence", similar to how a placebo could give confidence. With all that fresh breath and brighter teeth, what man wouldn't feel really good about himself? That feeling could go far and it is all from Tooth Soap® (no prescription needed by the way).

Tooth Soap® is also perfectly safe to use and won't interfere with any spontaneous activities. 

Yes, it's true Virginia. All your honey needs in the golden years is Tooth Soap®.

Filed Under: Body, Tooth Soap®, Tooth Soap® Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Squashed Again

June 5, 2011 By

Early Summer Squash on plaid plate image

Ripe vegetables must be picked off of plants to encourage more growth. The more you pick, the more the plant produces. Knowing that fact made me quite eager to pick this very "round bottomed" Early Summer Squash shown above. 

There is nothing like GROWING YOUR OWN… 

There are so many levels to this but I will pick just one life changing opportunity that I have seen to encourage you to plant a seed.

I have learned true patience while tending to this garden. There is no way to speed up the plants. The plant has a mission and the human being can only do so much with lights and fertilizers to accelerate that process. 

A person who is used to "instant" everything is highly challenged when tending to an urban farm. The chickens alone have to be cared for for many months before they produce eggs, and they don't produce eggs forever either. 

Plants have the fight of their life from the moment they enter the soil or growing media. A farmer plants three seeds and then chooses only ONE of the three to grow to harvest, picking the strongest of them. It is all about who is strongest in the plant world. It is not about who you know or how much money you have. 

The only thing that matters in the plant world is tenacity and strength. What is most important is a strong will to survive and produce good fruit. That is the life of a plant. And all it needs to be able to do this is water, sun, exercise (wind) and food. 

There is one other thing that the plant depends on though, and I haven't read about it in any of the many books I have here on plants. The plants are completely dependent on the Creator for survival. That might sound strange initially, because it appears that it is the farmer that is actually growing the plant and who is in charge of everything. 

From personal experience I can say that the farmer is not truly in charge. It is the Creator 100%. Because the Creator gives life to the farmer, then the farmer can be the agent for the Creator and help to give life to the plant. 

None of what happens in the garden is instant and all is completed in due time. The plants grow according to their unique cycle and everything happens exactly when it is supposed to, and not when I want it. 

Yes, the urban farm is teaching me great patience right now. The lessons of simple life are all around me and I can see them very clearly. It is a most beautiful and blissful thing.

Filed Under: Featured Post, Soul, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With:

June Urban Farm Choice Picks

June 1, 2011 By

June Urban Farm Choice Picks

Heys Britto Luggage, two different watering cans, the HOTTEST pepper ever, fish and seaweed fertilizer along with super soft plaid shirts made it to the top this June.

Filed Under: Featured Post, Mind, Tooth Soap®, Tooth Soap® Blog, Urban Farming Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Sign Down the Street

June 1, 2011 By

Autism Sign in Atlanta Georgia

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