Ways to Live in Harmony
with Mother Earth
How
many times have you heard the specious argument that "Man was
given Dominion over the Plants
and Animals and the Earth, so what we're
doing is right!"? I've
heard it more times than I care to count. I think the
correct translation could
more accurately be read as "Man was given
STEWARDSHIP..." etc.
And being a steward of the land does not mean
that we can do with it as
we please but, in my opinion, that we have to take care of it, and learn
how, not just to live in it, but to make wise use of
the gift that we've been given.
Below are a few ideas.
Most
whom have visited my page realize that I am studying Herbalism.
One of the things that I've been taught through my studies is a respect for the fact that the Earth, if we allow Her, supplies everything that we need to survive. It's up to us to decide how wisely we use that which we are given!
Just remember, if you are out in the wilds searching for an herb or root or seed to use in a recipe, never take all of a particular plant. Just take a few snippings, and if possible, bring some kind of organic fertilizer to place around the plant to help it regenerate quickly. This way, there's always more for others (and yourself) later. A little can go a long way!
Do
you live in an area that gets snow? Rather than salting the walk
heavily,(which can damage the ground around the walk) try mixing 1/4 of
a
25lb bag of rock salt with a full 20 lb bag of sand and strew that around
the walk instead. The sand will give you great traction (we use it Colorado, and it's great!), the rock salt will still keep the walk from becoming icy,
but the earth around the walk will have a better chance of assimilating it.
(Some salt is okay, really!)
I
have several friends that live in homes with large backyards. One
did
something with hers that I thought was wonderful. At a local greenhouse, she purchased several indigenous wildflower seeds (finding out first of all which types grew well together). She then plowed up the border of her lawn and scattered the seeds randomly along with some organic fertilizer. Now her yard looks like a wildflower meadow with only a small space of "regular"
lawn in the center, She uses a mulching lawnmower and scatters the
mulch along with natural fertilizer all through her "flowerbed", and should a wildflower sprout on her lawn, she either transplants it to her border or mows around it. As for the border garden, she lets it grow as it will, only pruning it back a bit when it becomes too crowded for the smaller plants to get a fair share of sunlight. Because she used only indigenous wildflowers, her garden grows extremely well.
These are just a few ideas. Should you have an you feel others should
should hear, please feel free to e-mail them to me at aerta@yahoo.com
You'll be given full credit and a link to your page if you wish.
One final thing; the Earth is a living breathing organism. She will give us
clothes to keep us warm, medicine when we are sick, food when we hunger,
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