Butterflies and Echinacea

Butterfly is the embodiment of spiritual growth
 and transcendence perhaps more than any other life form on earth, because of the transformation from caterpillar to Butterfly.

The purpose of the life of every Butterfly is to set everything that was once known aside and to embrace an entire new way of being.

The Butterfly totem is here to guide us on this journey of freedom, freedom from the past through the ascension process of becoming higher our self.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
This unique species of swallowtail is a quick and strong flier, gliding when able.

The males are a bright yellow, while the females can exhibit two different color forms; yellow and black and black and blue. The darker form is more common in the southern states.

The caterpillar is just as remarkable; it resembles a small snake with eyespots.

This butterfly particularly enjoys pink, purple, and red flowers, and is a wonderful visitor to any garden.

Its average wingspan is 3 - 6 inches; and its habitat ranges to fields, parks, and suburbs.

Echinacea was commonly used by Native Americans for hundreds of years before the arrival of European explorers, settlers and colonizers. It is endemic to eastern and central North America and thrives in moist to dry prairies and open woodlands.

Echinacea is one of the most well-known and popular herbal remedies. In fact, Echinacea tincture was the first “Snake Oil” sold by old time peddlers as a cure-all for everything from cancer to snake bites.

Perhaps a little too popular, two of the nine species of this beautiful native plant are listed on the endangered plant list. The high demand of Echinacea means fields of this herb are plowed up for the medicinal root. If you buy Echinacea, make sure it’s not wild crafted but organically cultivated instead.

The most commonly used medicinal variety is Echinacea purpurea, or Purple Coneflower.

It is best known for it’s immune-stimulating properties, this herb works by boosting white blood cell production. It’s a general infection-fighter, and can be used internally or topically to treat anything from bronchitis to acne.

#butterfly #echinacea # gardens #herbs #herbal-remedies #livinggreen #noordinarychick

Plant your own pest control and enjoy your yard all season

You can’t just plant and be done though as the aroma needs to be in the air around you, and ideally on your skin.

To get the maximum effect crush flowers and herb leaves in your hands to release their perfume, and then rub the plant materials and their oils over your skin and clothing.

Here are some herbs that work great and can be kept in pots on a porch, near a door, or anywhere else you plan to gather outside.

Lemon Balm
This member of the mint family has white flowers and a gentle lemony scent. It’s particularly good at keeping biting insects away, but it’s also an invasive species, so be careful when growing it.

Basil (shown above)
A 2009 study showed that the essential oil from this delicious herb is toxic to mosquito larvae.

Lavender
This beautiful, potent, and lovely smelling flower not only repels mosquitoes but also keeps moths and flies away. The flower’s perfume is well known, and while it will scent the air round your home, it’s still most effective when actually rubbed on skin.

Peppermint
In its concentrated form is sometimes used as an insect repellant, and its essential oil has been shown to keep away the adults and kill the larvae of several insect species.

Rosemary & Sage
If you’re planning an evening around a fire, try burning a little rosemary or sage. The incense these plants give off when they burn not only smells good but also is unpleasant enough to critters that it’ll keep them away as long as you’re near the smoke.

#gardening #herbs #insectrepellent #livinggreen #noordinarychick

Careful at the Supermarket and Shop Local!

Recently a friend of mine sent me an email entitled ‘Be very careful at the supermarket’ containing horrifying information; so first I took some time to check the facts, and now I’m sharing some of what I read…

Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producing farm in the USA was sold in September to China with the unanimous support of its stockholders! The hogs will still be raised here, but slaughtered and packaged for sale there before being sent back here.

The same with many chickens. They can now be shipped there, but when they come back all that needs to be labelled is that they WERE RAISED IN THE USA.

Our great FDA at work again. The chickens will be all processed and most sold to fast food restaurants for sandwiches, along with schools and supermarkets. 

The China slaughter and processing are not nearly equal to the requirements here.

Starkist Tuna is now owned by Korea, and is in big conflict with the U.S.concerning quality, safety, and records, which Korea refuses to produce.
You can read several articles on Google about this.

At supermarkets bags of frozen Tilapia... Sure enough, on the top of the bags, it read "farm raised", and on the bottom in small print it said, "China"

The Montreal Gazette had an article by the Canadian Government on how Chinese feed the fish: They suspend chicken wire crates over the fish ponds, and the fish feed on chicken s..t. 

Many of their fish on Fish Farms are fed raw sewage daily. They raise this filth, put some food colouring and some flavourings on it, then they ship it to the USA & Canada for YOU to consume and feed to YOUR families. They have no Food & Safety Inspectors!!!

Imported food we eat...Green Giant frozen vegetables are from China, but is Birdseye is safe.

Never buy grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked from USA or Canada; the other stuff is grown in people poop (even worse than chicken poop). China is the largest producer of garlic in the world; U.S. is next.

Buy only local honey as much honey is shipped in huge containers from China and re-packed here.

If the country of origin is not clearly marked, beware…Watch out for packages which state "prepared for", "packed by" or "imported by". We don't understand the lack of mandatory labelling, especially the produce.

The list goes on and on so to know what you’re buying just look on the bottom of every product, and if it says 'Made in China' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another product, or none at all.

Shop the local farmers' markets in season and keep a wary eye open the rest of the year!

#naturalfoods #living green #healthyeating #noordinarychick