My family has a history of heart attacks. I believed someday I would have one. In spite of all I read about the areas a woman experienced pain before an attack, I was not sure I would recognize the symptoms. One piece of information was missing. It would be my brain creating the pain signals to get help. When I figured that out, I understood and got help. My story is told in two ways because people hear information in different ways. Learn to hear body’s Knock-knocks. Knock- Knock, Hear Me, Knock- Knock In our brain is a governor who controls our system, breathing, heart, and nerves. It has a…
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Magicians in the Air
Hummingbirds and How You Can Support Them Who of us have not marveled at the tiny hummingbirds who inhabit, or at least visit, our gardens? Weighing less than a nickel, they can travel at 33 miles per hour, beat their wings from 720 to 5400 times a minute when hovering, and eat their weight (or more) in food every day. John James Audubon recorded human feeding of hummingbirds in his book “Birds of America 1840-1844” and by 1950, commercial bird feeders were available. Thousands of feeders are sold each year worldwide. But, are we really doing them any favors by placing sugar water in safe, cool areas? It is true…
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Restoring the Nervous System
Benefits of Fresh Milky Oat Avena sativa, or common oat, is a highly beneficial plant for human affairs. It can be food, medicine, animal feed, alcohol, building material, cover crops, and more. Including oatmeal in the diet can help reduce unwanted cholesterol, reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease. In addition, it adds dietary fiber to promote regularity and increases the probiotic population due to its prebiotic beta-glucan content. Used medicinally in extracts, Oatstraw is rich in minerals, especially silica, which support dozens of metabolic processes in the body, most notably the strengthening connective tissue and feeding the nerves. For only one week out of its growing cycle, the Oat tops…
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Beneath Solar Panels, Seeds of Opportunity
By 2030, utility-scale solar installations could cover almost 2 million acres of land in the United States. Traditional solar development would monopolize this land for just one use: energy production. Low-impact solar development, on the other hand, might also improve soil health, retain water, nurture native species, produce food, and provide even lower-cost energy to local communities. On a humid, overcast day in central Minnesota, a dozen researchers crouch in the grass between rows of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Only their bright yellow hard hats are clearly visible above the tall, nearly overgrown prairie grasses—which are growing exactly as expected. Bent over white, square frames, some of the researchers catalog…
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Plan to Plant an Herb Garden
Early spring is the time to plan for all kinds of gardening. Whether starting from scratch or adding to what you already have, be sure to include some herbs in your planning. Herbs come in a variety of sizes and colors, perennials and annuals, but are relatively easy to grow and maintain. So, as you choose your herbs for planting, keep the following ideas in mind. Four Common Growing Basics 1) Lots of Sun Because of their Mediterranean heritage, herbs do best in full sun. Five to six hours of sun is most suitable. A few herbs like mints will do fine in partial shade. The summer annuals – basils,…
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Our Own Backyards
EDITOR’S PAGE Long before we began publishing the Green Living Journal, we bought a home that happened to be well insulated and heated and cooled with an efficient electric heat pump. It was the year 2000, and little did we know then that we had set the stage for our future personal journey to reduce our environmental impact. Our 3/4 acre property was nothing more than an empty field with blackberries and a few oaks, cherry, and hawthorn trees on the edges. So, over the next several years, we established our veggie garden, planted five kinds of berries, and kiwis, and added several different species of trees and shrubs. Of…
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Bugs in the Garden
Bugs, butterflies, and beetles – in our gardens and on our plants. Sometimes we are happy to see them, and often we are not. In either case, insects are necessary for our plants and consequently for us to survive. Some of them flit about pollinating, while others spend time eating and decomposing garden debris. Even the ones we dislike can be food for other beneficial insects, birds, and garden reptiles. Unfortunately, insects are generally in trouble, with almost 40% of insect species at risk of becoming extinct. So what can we do to help save and protect the insect ecosystem? One of the first and easiest projects we can undertake…
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Mountain Rose Herbs Opens Two Aroma Bars
Mountain Rose Herbs announces the opening of two new Mountain Rose Aroma Bars designed to engage the senses through high-quality, ethically sourced essential oils and personal aromatherapy products. “The Aroma Bar is a celebration. We are reinvigorating retail in a post-COVID world,” said Mountain Rose Herbs owner and CEO Shawn Donnille. “As far as we know, a boutique aromatherapy marketplace like the Aroma Bar that carries all-natural, ethically sourced botanical oils doesn’t exist anywhere else in the United States.” Renowned as one of the nation’s largest organic bulk herbs distributors, Mountain Rose Herbs brings more than three decades of expertise in sourcing the finest quality organic, sustainable botanicals and oils.…
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Recycled Arts and Sustainable Living Festival
June 4th and 5th Yamhill County Fairgrounds 2070 NE Lafayette Avenue, McMinnville). Zero Waste McMinnville had to surrender to the pandemic by curtailing their impactful hands-on volunteer crusade to make McMinnville the first Zero Waste city in Oregon. However, they now feel that the pandemic is manageable for them to re-enter the community with their efforts. Therefore, they invite one and all to join them. They encourage you all to re-engage with Zero Waste McMinnville by joining their effort as a volunteer. They will need help raffling off two electric bikes and volunteers with Zero Waste Oregon and Edible Landscapes of Yamhill County. They also need volunteers to sit in…
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Fair Planet Advisors Is B Corp Certified
Exciting news: after a year-long certification process, Fair Planet Advisors has been recognized as a certified B Corporation. They are the third B Corp in the Columbia River Gorge and new members of B Local PDX, with 135 B Corp members in Oregon and SW Washington. There are currently over 4,550 Certified B Corporations in 78 countries and over 150 industries that believe that business can and must be a force for good. B Corp explains it best, “While Systems are complex, the truth is they were built by people, so they can be changed by people. After all, humanity is interdependent with one another and with the planet.” They wish…
