Did you know April is Earth Month? This spring month is dedicated to advocating for a greener, healthier earth (even though every month should be earth month). Here are a few creative ways you can celebrate and make the world a little greener this month.
Celebrating Earth Day shouldn't just be about mouthing platitudes—how about we get up and make a concentrated effort to de-stress our planet by reducing our carbon footprint and being eco-friendly?
Ahhh...strawberry rhubarb pie season. Or, have you ever tried a rhubarb apple pie? Perhaps you’ve seen delightfully dainty rhubarb tarts and pastries in the local café? Some towns around the U.S. love rhubarb so much that they host a rhubarb festival celebrating the unique late spring-early summer crop.
Seven - it seems like a consistent, magical, cosmic number. The same number of days it supposedly took to form the earth, the number of main chakras in the body, days of the week, and the main levels of tissue formed in the body...all counted by sevens. What nurtures one doesn't always nurture all, but when the foods which can nourish the whole are recognized, eating healthy takes on a whole new meaning.
Now that there are apparently several more weeks of winter (thanks, Mr. Groundhog), it is the perfect time to find creative ways to incorporate more green into your life. Not only is a thriving, jungle-like terrarium lovely in the colder, winter months when we’re all too ready for spring, but a cleverly crafted terrarium can bring joy throughout all of the seasons.
The tiny little daisy-like flowers resemble chamomile flowers, but the bees know the difference. They will happily fly to a chamomile plant, but the feverfew has a bitter aroma that will make them hold their little bee noses. It's not the plant to add to your insect garden, but definitely a hit on the medicinal list.
It grows in meadows and fields, and you might find one or two popping up in your yard. It’s a soldier-straight plant with heart-shaped leaves and delicate pink or yellow flowers. But don’t try to pick it, or even brush up against it. The tiny hairs on the stinging nettle release chemicals that will make you wish you hadn’t.
But this obnoxious perennial plant is actually a very useful medicinal plant – and ironically, can take away the itch and sting of insect bites or eczema.
Tea is, and has always been, far more than just something to quench the thirst and please the palate. For thousands of years, tea has been one of the go-to medicines for many ancient healers. Not only can different teas provide healing properties, they also provide preventative means for the body. For instance, green tea is packed full of antioxidants, which oxidize and help repair any damaged cells that could cause potential health issues.
While others curse its arrival in spring, I applaud it. The spunky little dandelion is a first flower for nectar-hunting honeybees. It pains me to see homeowners yank it from their yards, not only because they are eradicating an important food source for pollinating insects, but because the little plants can offer so much before their fluffy seeds are scattered to the wind!
In the south of India the temples are colored and decorated with stories from ancient Indian texts and scriptures. The spires reach up to the sky in a cartoonish display, making the western mind feel like it's in make-believe land. And it's true, that the rules of life are different in India. The collective consciousness of the country holds very different views and contrasting beliefs to what the west holds as “truth.” Therefore, reality is literally different as well.