Resource Running

Running.
Something I used to do a lot of.
These days? Not as much.
Why? I'm sure I could give you a whole rash of reasons why I don't run like I should.

Hopefully I have some extra motivation for running.
What is it?
This.

I'm going to try using my running time as a time for expanding my awareness and mental catalog of available natural resources. Read the blog for more.

When you're outside...

I spent most of my day outside today. I mowed half our yard with my reel mower while I contemplated letting the grass in the back yard restore itself to its natural savanna state. I think the village would catch on or someone would call me in for an unkempt yard... nonetheless I'm considering it. I turned the compost pile from it's winter slumber as well as other odds and ins around the yard.

I now have my tracking box set up out back so that I can start getting deeper or more scientific about my tracking, I've already seen the difference in tracks that my dog makes when he has a full bladder and when he's just peed.

Today was also insightful because I have been stalking the squirrels. I mean I am getting really good at my fox walking and movement! I stalked up to one particular squirrel and got close enough I could have touched him if wanted. He just sat there and didn't notice me. When he did we must have looked at each other for nearly 5 minutes. From the time I started stalking him to the time I went back into his house was almost a half an hour! I knew because I had previously decided to go in the house and had looked at my watch before my adventure. Have you ever gotten so close to a squirrel that you could see the color variations of single strands of hair?

Grateful for moments like these...

Stay Tuned....

For those who check in on the blog regularly....

It isn't that I don't have something to say, it's just getting harder to find the time to say it on the blog.

Keep checking in as I plan to have some new posts up soon regarding the outdoor education stuff I'm doing, as always spirituality stuff as well as other random material for fodder. I've been rereading Coyote's Guide and reawakening my creative genius as well.

Praying towards the Sun

From Yahoo News:
This morning, Jews all across the world recited the Birkat Hakhama prayer at sunrise. Birkat Hakhama is said as the sun comes up to mark what according to Jewish tradition is the sun's return to its position at the moment that the universe was created 5,769 years ago. It returns to the spot once every 28 years.

Makes me wonder how many folks who profess creationism know about this?

Is a Dreamlike State a bad thing?

I heard on NPR the other day about Salvia.

Have you heard about this?

Read up on the herb here.

It is quickly becoming the most popular drug amongst teens and young adults. It is offered as an alternative to marijuana and still legal in half the states and easily accessible online. There are videos posted on YouTube of young people hallucinating in less than a minute.

Read the NPR article here.

The reason I am posting on the issue is that I myself have some salvia in our house. I have salvia apiana (white sage) that I burn as an incense for purification/meditation. It is one of the more popular herbs that Native Americans used to use for flour, cooking, making teas and smudge sticks and incense. The herb that is causing controversy is salvia divinorum.

In defense of salvia (as research shows), it does not cause a high like other drugs (i.e. marijuana, LSD) rather moves the person into a dreamlike state for about 15-20 minutes. That is one of the reasons Native Americans used it for religious cermonies. It makes me wonder if it will soon be illegal in all 50 states (Ohio banned it as of yesterday) and treated the same way as marijuana and other drugs?

Ask me after I've done some more research where I come down on the issue.

American democracy... modeled after who?

I just finished reading Mother Earth Spirituality by Ed McGaa. Great book and guide through the seven ceremonies of the Sioux/Lakota nations.

I was equally fascinated by the author's approach to history. In chapters 3 & 4, he expounds on the idea that American democracy was not so much founded on the concept of French, British, Roman or even Greek societies; rather on the Iroquois and Algonquian Leagues.

As I did a bit of research on the subject, I discovered that Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and other founders were greatly influenced by Native American .... A quote from the book:

The first person to call publicly for a union of the thirteen American colonies was Chief Canassatego, speaking in 1744 to a Pennsylvania assembly negotiating the Treaty of Lancaster. Canassatego spoke for the Hodenosaunee, the Iroquois Leauge and urged the colonies to follow the example of the Hodenosaunee and unite a single government with one voice... Ben Franklin, who was at the time a Pennsylvanian Indian agent, took Canassatego's words seriously at the Albany Congress in 1754 by repeating a call for union. [pgs. 21 & 22]

There was also a fascinating section on Native American's compassion for blacks during the time of slavery. And how slave owners told their slaves fearful stories about savagery and that all Indians were cannibals that would eat them if they ran off the plantations. As the book points out, how different could history have been if slaves chose not to believe this.

I guess the Euro-centric ego had too much influence on our history books as I don't remember reading or discussing the foundations of American democracy as being modeled by the Native Americans.

What We Miss

I had my first training/planning session the other day with the other staff that I'll be working with this spring, summer and fall. We did an ecology lesson on both prairie land and the forest. We all had different jobs to be doing at each site. One person did plant/fungus observations, one did non-living stuff while another person had to look for animal/insect sign. I was in charge of mapping out the area and orienteering.

When we were at the pine forest location, the person in charge of the animal sign worksheet was getting frustrated because she could not see anything (marks, fur, tracks, scat) and so she sort of gave up looking after a few minutes. On the other hand, I saw deer, raccoon, and tons of squirrel tracks and sign all over the place!

It reminded me of a Thoreau quote:

"Objects are concealed from our view not so much because they are out of the curve of our visual ray as because there is no intention of the mind and eye toward them... We cannot see anything until we are possessed with the idea of it, and then we can hardly see anything else."

The other staff person could not see the tracks because in her mind she probably thought that we aren't supposed to be able to see them. I have had training when it comes to tracking and sign, therefore my mind sees nothing but the tracks and sign! Even after I pointed out a few, she still seemed a bit skeptical. I don't expect for people to be able to "see" tracks like I do, so it doesn't bother me. Just as I am certain there are things in life that I miss because I haven't been shown how to see them. But it got me thinking...

What will happen when we get the kids out there for these lessons. How many teachable moments could be missed because we aren't trained to see them? How many kids could get frustrated just like the staff person? How many kids could we awaken to the possibility of seeing beneath the surface? I think my skills will come in handy and hopefully compliment the other staff's strengths as well. Most importantly, I hope it awakens the children to the power of nature.