Earth Odyssey October 2008 by Earth Odyssey

Vol. 1, No. 2

October 2008

An Educational Guide

to Sustainability and Spiritual Well-being

Arcosanti

An experimental community in the Arizona desert Page 16

Also in this issue

5 8

What in the world is happening? SigniďŹ cant earth changes will continue and accelerate

Spooky or transformational? A conversation about Halloween

15 25

Yes! You can recycle that Help our planet by reusing things wisely

Calendar of events A comprehensive listing of sustainable and spiritual events

Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. provided survey, design and construction observation on eight school campuses for the Humboldt Unified School District’s $41 million B-Bonds improvements in Prescott Valley. Capital improvements include additional classrooms, parking, drainage, sewer upgrades, athletic improvements, bus/parent pick up and drop-off facilities, boundary/utility/ topo surveys, utility extensions and general consulting.

Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. Leaders in Civil Engineering & Land Surveying • Skilled in the latest technologies—including 3-D modeling and visual fly-bys • Knowledge of Arizona topography, geography and drainage challenges necessary for environmentally friendly designs • In-house survey team equipped with latest Trimble GPS and Total Station equipment for all surveying needs • Experienced in construction design and administration for school districts, county, municipal, commercial and residential projects • Experienced in engineering streets and highways, drainage and flood control, utilities and infrastructure, land and planning subdivisions, commercial sites, education, medical sites and parks and urban trails

Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. performed the civil site design, including roads, water, sewer line extensions, storm drainage and grading for the Yavapai Regional Medical Center—East Campus in Prescott Valley. Below, Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. designed and oversaw the construction of Glassford Hill interceptor project in Prescott Valley. Below right, Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. designed and oversaw the Gail Gardner Road Extension and the redevelopment of a Ponderosa Plaza Mall—38-acre, 25-year-old mall—into the Village at the Boulders, in Prescott.

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• Experienced with Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) requirements and proceedures in obtaining permits and approvals for septic systems, wells and water systems • Construction services, including administration and daily observation

Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. 8991 E. Valley Road, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 Phone: (928) 772-0745 • Fax: (928) 772-2008 www.clayrock.com

Earth Odyssey • www.pinonpinepress.com

October 2008

Columns Vol. 1, No. 2

Cover story:

October 2008

Arcosanti: An experimental community in the Arizona desert

Page 10

What in the world is happening?

5 6 Global dimming show a real motivator Signiﬁcant earth changes will continue and accelerate

Plane-free skies following 9/11 gave climate scientist opportunity to analyze effects of contrails on weather

8 Spooky or transformational? 9 Creative ways to deal with junk mail 12 Thrift store ﬁnds 15 Yes! You can recycle that

Page 11

A conversation about Halloween

The search is on

Help our planet by reusing things wisely

20 Nature inspired interior design 21 Green Minute Recycling news from far and wide

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22 Sustainable Living

An old ally returns for ﬁght against global warming

22 Nutrition News 23 Puzzle pages 25 Calendar 29 Antiques or Junque 22 31 A step closer to self-sufﬁciency

by Maya Joy Angeles

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Popeye knew how to avoid Type 2 diabetes

ON THE COVER: The apse covering the bronze work area at Arcosanti. The apses are created by piling huge amounts of sand to the desired height and shaping it into a dome. Designs are carved into the sand and color pigments are applied. Concrete is then poured over the sand. When the concrete cures, the sand is dug out and a concrete shell is standing. Story on page 16. Photo by Pia Wyer October 2008

Earth Odyssey • www.pinonpinepress.com

Page 20 Movie Reviews by Jason Allen

Page 30 Page 3

he first issue of Earth Odyssey was well-received and we were flooded with compliments and congratulations. Comments included: “Your publication is very special and deserves to be seen and read. I want you to succeed. I think this is THE exact time for it.” “Thanks for making and having an avenue to provide such wonderful, useful, and necessary info for the times in which we are living.” E-mail us at editor@pinonpinepress.com and let us know what you think. This issue—our second—will be distributed with the Oct. 1 issue of the Scottsdale Independent, in addition to all the outlets listed below. It’s an ambitious undertaking, but we hope it’s fruitful. We are especially grateful to the businesses and individuals who have allowed us to place Earth Odyssey in their establishments. If you would like to see Earth Odyssey somewhere you frequent, send the location to us and we will see what we can do. We encourage our readers to patronize the merchants who support Earth Odyssey. Earth Odyssey can be found in the following locations:

Beaver Creek Beaver Creek Adult center Beaver Creek Gas Mart Express Fuels

Cave Creek

Orion Bread Company Green Carrot Cafe Healing Arts Center Backstreet Antiques

Big Bug Depot

Green Carpet Cleaning Hastings Books Music & Video High Desert Rain Catchment Highlands Center for Natural History Intuitive Astrology Mile High Hypnotherapy & Reiki Mountain Spirit Co-op On The Mesa Prescott College Library Prescott Chamber of Commerce Prescott Public Library Robert J. Isreal, Prescott’s Green Realtor Raven Café The Art Store The Catalyst Waste Management of Yavapai County Wild Iris Coffee House Yavapai College Yavapai Metal Recycling

Mesa

Prescott Valley

A Touch of Heather

Andrew Hicks, D.C Chiropractic Claycomb/Rockwell Associates Inc. Dippin Dots Healing Essentials Peddlers Pass Old Time Farmers & Flea Market Prescott Valley Public Library The Honeyman Natural Food Stores

Flagstaff Arizona Music Pro Crystal Magic Sacred Rites

Jerome Firehouse Jerome Gallery

Mayer

Payson Back To Basics Bashas’ Democratic Headquarters Fiesta Business Products National Bank of Arizona Payson Feed Store Payson Public Library Plant Fair Nursery Re-Runs Rim Country Chamber of Commerce The Bookstore and More Vita Mart

Cave Creek Coffee Company & Wine Bar

Cordes Junction

Pine

Arcosanti Over the Hill Coffee Shop

The Crystal Lotus Gallery and Spiritual Life Center The Herb Stop

Cottonwood

Prescott

Mt. Hope Natural Foods

ECOSA Institute

Sedona Crystal Palace Keep Sedona Beautiful New Frontiers Raw Café Ravenheart Café Rinzai’s Natural Foods Sedona Roasters

Scottsdale Whole Foods Sprouts

Don’t miss a single issue of Earth Odyssey Subscriptions for mail delivery are available at $36 per year. Send name, address and check payable to Pinon Pine Press to 1042 Willow Creek Road, Prescott, AZ 86301. Please include a phone number. Page 4

Earth Odyssey • www.pinonpinepress.com

An educational guide to sustainability and spiritual well-being

Our Mission The mission of Earth Odyssey is to encourage individuals to develop sustainable lifestyles and healthier well-being by providing educational information needed to make wiser choices. We envision an extended community of individuals who care passionately about their environment and their own spiritual well-being and recognize the symbiotic relationship between the two.

Magazine Staff Publisher/Editor Ann Haver-Allen Photographer/Photo Editor/Web Editor Pia Wyer Advertising Art Director/Writer Jason Allen Advertising Representatives Bill Allen Bonnie West

Contributors Maya Joy Angeles Leilah Breitler Cherlyn Fargo John Hall Shawn Dell Joyce Anne McCollam Will McGown Sarah McLean Patricia Melchi James Moench Jim Parks Dominique Shilling Pia Wyer Earth Odyssey is published monthly by Pinon Pine Press LLC and is available online at pinonpinepress.com. Send comments and suggestions to: editor@pinonpinepress.com OR via U.S. mail to: Editor 1042 Willow Creek Road Ste A101-PMB 486 Prescott, AZ 86301 Phone: (928) 778-1782 The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or advertisers. Copyright © 2008. Pinon Pine Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission. Printed by Valley Newspapers 23043 N. 16th Lane, Phoenix, AZ Printed using soy inks.

October 2008

What in the world is happening?

Signiﬁcant earth changes will continue and accelerate By John Hall

ho of you are paying attention? In American society today, so many of us are in a constant reactive mode, simply responding to the demands put on our time. As a result, we get most of our current events knowledge from the mainstream news media of newspapers and television, which seem to consist of predominately fear-based reporting. Most of us miss out on certain important news regarding “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?” This column in Earth Odyssey is intended to bring to your attention some significant Earth changes that are affecting you now and will continue to accelerate in their intensity as time goes on. Oh, and you don’t have to be a “New Age Wackoid” to be affected by these changes. We are all affected. It is clearly understood from conventional scientific reporting and testing, that the Earth’s magnetic field is shifting. You hikers may not have noticed that the magnetic north pole (where your compass points) has been shifting at a rate of approximately 25 miles per year. Soon, it will have shifted from arctic Canada to a location in Siberia, Russia. This is the result of the accelerating shifting of the static magnetic field that is located within and around the Earth. I believe this acceleration markedly increased after the harmonic convergence on Aug. 16, 1987. This shifting has resulted in all aviation organizations around the world (including our Federal Aviation Administration) being forced to adopt totally new and different navigational benchmarks. Also, as you have probably heard, many animals, such as migratory birds, have been similarly confused by these Earth changes. Associated with the shifting position of the magnetic field is a decreasing strength of the field and an overall increase in the frequency to which the Earth is resonating. Earth had been historically resonating at a base frequency of 8 Hz (cycles per second) for thousands of years. Now it is at about 13 Hz. What is the significance of these Earth changes? So what if our pilots and the migratory birds change their navigational practices until the Earth gets back into some state of equilibrium? What’s the big deal? Well, these Earth changes are a precursor to something more. You may or may not be aware that our sun has a polar shift every 11 years, like clockwork. Cosmically, this is no huge deal. The sun sort of flips upside down, but continues in its moving position within our galaxy. Meanwhile, all the planets are able to continue their revolution around the comparatively immense mass of the sun without any noticeable effects, other than some visible sunspot activity and other scientifically measurable influences.

October 2008

It is also perfectly natural for the Earth to have polar shifts. To better understand what is meant by a polar shift, imagine a child’s spinning top or a toy gyroscope losing its equilibrium and falling over. Rotating celestial bodies act in a similar manner. Geological studies show that Earth’s polar shifts are very infrequent. I believe from my research, that they occur pretty much every 13,000 years. This time cycle relates to the Earth’s precession of the equinoxes—which can be explained again by imagining the Earth as a spinning top that has a bit of a wobble to its spin. Imagine the north/south axis about which the Earth is spinning with the top (physical north pole) moving in a somewhat circular pattern, making one revolution every 26,000 years. So for 13,000 years the top of the Earth is sort of tilting in the direction toward the center of the galaxy and then for the next 13,000 years it points away from the galaxy’s center. “New Age Wackoid” Sanity Check: All mainstream astronomers (not to be confused with astrologers) understand these statements as measurable truths. Astronomically, it is understood that one of our 13,000 year cycles will be ending in December of 2012. This has been rather well-documented, citing this knowledge from the Mayan calendar, the Egyptian calendar and other ancient texts. Many metaphysical teachings suggest that during the last 13,000 years the Earth was ruled by male energy ending in a polar shift of the Earth’s axis of rotation; and that the coming era of 13,000 years will be ruled by female energy. Personal opinion: I think female energy (that nurturing, sensitive, loving nature within all of us, regardless of our gender) will make a much better go of it than the energy of the male-dominated era. I don’t pretend to have a handle on the last 13,000 years of history; but in my lifetime of direct observations in society, as I perceive it, the war-mongering politics, economic absurdities, environmental destruction and educational demise have gotten profanely unacceptable. Of course, that’s just my opinion. I hope I’m exaggerating; but I don’t think so. GOOD NEWS: Things are changing for the better. Remember the Earth’s magnetic field diminishing in its strength and intensity? Well, I believe this scientifically understood decrease in the forcefield is allowing more and more people to perceive subtle energies. That is, the “other dimensional” realities that are in existence all around us. More and more people are bringing ceremony back into their reality with prayer (without religious dogma), and the goal of unity consciousness for our human race. Once we all get closer to our common “higher-self ” awareness, all the powers that

Illustration courtesy of NASA This composite image combines Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescop images from three wavelengths into one image that reveals solar features unique to each wavelength. The sun has a polar shift every 11 years, when it sort of ﬂips upside down, but continues in its moving position within our galaxy.

Courtesy photo The Earth’s magnetic north pole has been shifting at a rate of approximately 25 miles per year, causing confusion for migratory birds. Soon, the magnetic north pole will have shifted from arctic Canada to a location in Siberia, Russia.

are perpetuating war and discord and fear on our planet will be transformed by love or overcome by love. Love is the opposite of fear. Love—quite simply and absolutely—is God. So, there you have it. Magazines like the Earth Odyssey are instrumental in getting the word out about the importance of people of all countries and all belief systems (religions) to come together in mindfulness of our spiri-

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tual oneness with all that is. Hey, remember that polar shift I started talking about? Sounds pretty scary?....The Earth flipping into a newly positioned axis of rotation? It’s all good. We’ll get into that subject in the next edition of this wonderful new magazine. John Hall is a co-owner of the Crystal Lotus Gallery and Spiritual Life Center, located on Highway 87 in Pine, Arizona.

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Global dimming show real motivator Plane-free skies following 9/11 gave climate scientist opportunity to analyze effects of contrails on weather By Will McGown

ecently, I watched an edifying PBS documentary titled “Dimming the Sun.”* It was such an eye-opener for me that I felt motivated to write about it. In addition to some stunning photographic footage, the scientific groundwork is presented within a historical unfolding of the show that gives it the allure of an exposé. This award winning NOVA program opens with an aerial view of the smoking pit known as Ground Zero in New York City on Sept. 12, 2001. As the narrator points out, the day after a disaster was blessed with a rather clear sky and sunny weather all over the United States, partly because all private and commercial airplane flights were grounded. This event caught the eye of climate scientist, David Travis, who had been studying the effect of contrails on the weather for the past 15 years. He used the opportunity to study the climate temperature difference from reporting stations all across America for those days that the fleet was grounded. What he discovered was a degree of elevated temperature that departed dramatically from all of the data for the past 30 years. “We found that the change in temperature range during those three days was just over one degree centigrade,” Travis said. “And you have to realize that from a layman’s perspective that doesn’t sound like much, but from a climate perspective, that is huge.”

New phenomenon

Will McGown is an independent researcher with a master of science in library science (MSLS) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Comments and questions can be sent to freewill42@yahoo.com.

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Travis had come across a new and powerful phenomenon, one that would call into question all our predictions about the future of our planet. The trailblazer for this insight, however was a scientist from England who went to work for the agriculture ministry in Israel about 50 years ago. Trained as a biologist, Gerry Stanhill got a job helping to design irrigation systems. His task was to measure how strongly the sun shone over Israel. “It was important, for this work, to measure solar radiation, because that is the factor that basically determines how much water crops require,” Stanhill pointed out. In the 1980s, Stanhill decided to update his measurements and what he found stunned him. “Well, I was amazed to find that there was a very serious reduction in sunlight, the amount of sunlight in Israel,” he said. “In fact, if we compare those very early measurements, in the 1950s, with the current measurements, there was a staggering 22 percent drop in the sunlight, and that really amazed me. However, I must say that the publication [of this data] had almost no effect whatsoever on the scientific community.” Independently, Stanhill and Beate Liepert, then a graduate student in Germany, did additional research. They ascertained that between the 1950s and the early 1990s, the level of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface had dropped by 9 percent in Antarctica, 10 percent in areas of the United States, by almost 30 percent in one

region of Russia, and by 16 percent in parts of the British Isles. This now seemed to be a global phenomenon, so Stanhill gave it a suitable name: “global dimming.” But again, the response from other scientists was one of incredulity. A lot of them had more invested in research on global warming and these studies seemed to contradict their conclusions.

Pan evaporation rate But global dimming was not the only phenomenon that did not seem to fit with global warming. In Australia, two other biologists, Michael Roderick and Graham Farquhar, were intrigued by another paradoxical result: the worldwide decline in something called the “pan evaporation rate.” “It’s called pan evaporation rate because of the water’s evaporation rate from a pan,” Professor Farquhar explained. “Every day, all over the world, people come out in the morning and see how much water they’ve got to add to a pan to bring it back to the level it was the same time the morning before. It’s that simple.” Outside of the agricultural community, nobody took much notice of the pan evaporation measurements until the 1990s, when scientists spotted something very strange—the rate of evaporation was falling. “Well, it turns out, in fact, that the key things for pan evaporation are the sunlight, the humidity and the wind,” Michael Roderick said. “But really, the sunlight is a really dominant term there. You know, if the pan is going down, then maybe that’s the sunlight going down.” Now two independent sets of observations had led to the same conclusion. Here, at last, was compelling evidence that global dimming was real. The next question soon became: What was causing this abnormality?

Unraveling the mystery One of the world’s leading climate scientists, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, began to unravel the mystery of what might be causing global dimming. He had first noticed declining sunlight over large areas of the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1990s. He chose to study The Maldives, a nation of a thousand tiny islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives may seem unpolluted, but in fact the northern islands sit in a stream of dirty air descending from India. Only the southern tip of the long island chain enjoys clean air, coming all the way from Antarctica. So, by comparing the northern islands with the southern ones, Ramanathan and his colleagues would be able to see exactly what difference the pollution made to the atmosphere and the sunlight. “The stunning part of the experiment was this pollutant layer, which was three kilometers thick, cut down the sunlight reaching the ocean by more than 10 percent,” Ramanathan said. “Our models led us to believe the human impact on the dimming was close to half to one percent, so what we

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Contrails, the man-made clouds left in the wake of jet aircraft, may actually alter climate, though to what degree remains unclear.

The sheer number of contrails generated on a typical day in busy air corridors can come as a shock. A NASA satellite took this enhanced infrared image of the southeastern United States on Jan. 29, 2204.

In the skies normally crosshatched with condensation trails, the only contrails seen in this image from Sept. 12, 2001, were left by the plane returning President Bush to Washington from Nebraska and several escort ﬁghters.

In this satellite image shot above northwestern Europe, the contrast been skies and contrails and those without oﬀers a striking sense of the inﬂuence these pseudo clouds might have on regional climate.

Images courtesy of NOVA October 2008

Courtesy photos David Travis has studied the effect of contrails on the weather for the past 15 years. He studied climate temperature differences from all across America during the days that the fleet was grounded following 9/11. He discovered a degree of elevated temperature that departed dramatically from the past 30 years.

discovered was 10-fold.” The experiment also showed that the particles of pollution were blocking some sunlight themselves. Even more significant was what they were doing to the clouds—turning them into giant mirrors. Ramanathan found that polluted air contained far more particles of ash, soot and sulfur than the unpolluted air. “We saw 10 times more particles in the polluted air mass north of the Maldives compared with what we saw south of the Maldives, which was a pristine air mass,” he said. In the polluted air, billions of man-made particles provided 10 times as many sites around which water droplets could form. So, polluted clouds contained many more water droplets, each one far smaller than it would be naturally. Many small droplets reflect more light than fewer big ones, so the polluted clouds were reflecting more light back into space, preventing the heat of the sun from getting through. This was the main cause of global dimming over the Indian Ocean. When he looked at satellite images, Ramanathan found the same thing was happening all over the world: over India; over China, and extending into the Pacific; over Western Europe extending into Africa; and over the British Isles.

Altered rain patterns But it was when scientists started to investigate the effects of global dimming that they made the most disturbing discovery of all. Those more reflective clouds could alter the pattern of the world’s rainfall, with tragic consequences. “Let me take you to anther part of the world, Asia, where the monsoon brings rainfall to 3.6 billion people, roughly half the world’s population,” Ramanathan explained. “My main concern is this air pollution and the global dimming will also have a detrimental impact on this Asian monsoon. We are not talking about a few millions of people, we are talking about billions of people [being affected by famine]. There is no choice here; we have to cut down air pollution, if not eliminate it altogether.” While global dimming is a major threat, it

October 2008

now appears it has been protecting us from an even greater menace: accelerated global warming. Going back to the work of David Travis, it was he who first caught a glimpse of what the world could be like without global dimming. “The 9/11 study showed that if you remove a contributor to global dimming, jet contrails, just for a three-day period, we see an immediate response of the surface temperature,” he said. “Do the same thing globally, we might see a large-scale increase in global warming.”

Summing it up Peter Cox of England summed it up this way: “Climate change, to the current date, appears to have been a tug of war, really, between two man-made pollutants. On the one side, we’ve got greenhouse gases that are pulling the system towards a warmer state; on the other hand, we’ve got particles from pollution that are cooling it down. And there’s a kind of tug of war going on between the two, in which the middle of the rope, if you like, determines where the climate system is going in terms of warming or cooling.” Perhaps this is why, despite a large rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases, the rising temperature has been hard for most of us to notice until recently. “We’re going to be in a situation, unless we act, where the cooling pollutant is dropping off while the warming pollutant is going up,” Cox continued. “Carbon dioxide will be going up and particles will be dropping off, and that means that we’ll get an accelerated warming. We’ll get a double whammy. We’ll get reduced cooling and increased heating at the same time, and that’s a problem for us.”

Action needed now Today, there’s a strong scientific consensus that without urgent action to reduce our burning of coal, oil and gas, we risk creating a world very different from the one that has been so hospitable to earth’s inhabitants. “One of the real driving forces is that you leave an environment that is comfortable for your chil-

dren,” Cox concluded. “And if we carry on going the way we’re going, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to leave an environment that’s much worse than the environment we lived in, and it will be down to what we did when we were using that environment, and that would be, tragic, really, if that happened.” So happy endings remain elusive. The documentary is both intriguing and disturbing. Some progress has already been made in reducing particle pollutants so that in Europe and North America, air pollution is already in decline. Scrubbers in power stations, catalytic converters in cars, and low sulfur fuels, though they do nothing to reduce greenhouse gases, have already led to a marked reduction in visible air pollution. Nonetheless, this NOVA program dramatizes that if we continue this methodology, it will be a disaster for all of mankind and the Earth, as greenhouse gases will continue to heat the planet, but at a faster pace. We need a two-part strategy to reduce both kinds of pollution at a rate that will allow us to stabilize climate change before it reaches the point of no return. It is indeed a very complex problem. My generation and others have contributed greatly to this situation and the crisis may not be solved for several generations yet to come. I can only hope that the younger generation takes the appropriate action before it is too late. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: Shall we nobly save—or meanly lose—the precious climate that has sheltered humanity for eons of time?

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*”Dimming the Sun,” NOVA Web site, http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/nova/sun/ (accessed Aug. 26, 2008).

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Spooky or transformational?

A conversation about Halloween By Pia Wyer

Samhain is one of eight solar festivals in the European pagan Wheel of the Year, correlating to agricultural cycles. The eight festivals are: Sahmain (Oct. 31); Winter Solstice (Dec. 21); Imbolc (Feb. 2); Beltane (May 1); Summer Solstice (June 21); Lammas (Aug. 1) and the Fall Equinox (Sept. 21).

alloween, or Samhain (pronounced Sow-en) falls on October 31st and extends through November 1st and 2nd. One of the eight festivals of the European pagan calendar, Samhain, a fire festival, marks the end of the harvest and, by extension, the earth-based calendar year. Samhain is also considered a time of mystery and magic, a time when the veil between the worlds is thin, where time “stands still,” a period for introspection, of seeking wisdom and insight from the darkness. Depending upon one’s religious orientation, this can be seen as a sacred or dangerous time. As with other oral traditions evolving through time immemorial, there is no definitive interpretation of this important festival, although common threads persist and can be interpreted through the consciousness of today. I invite you to enter into a nuanced understanding of Samhain’s mysteries and gifts, lessons and opportunities, putting aside religious controversies, commercialized caricatures and trivialization of what is, in truth, a deeply meaningful time. On a practical level, in the Northern Hemisphere, Samhain does symbolize the close of Harvest, a time when the earth takes back her bounty and prepares for the long night of winter. Modern human experience has become separated from the natural cycles of our immediate environment. We have an expectation of abundance year-round due to a global marketplace and technological advances. The convenience of this development masks a loss of awareness and respect for our interdependence with all aspects of our planetary ecosystems. Whatever our particular belief system, it is indisputable that we are beholden to our living planet for life. We may cultivate the illusion of omnipotence, as the dominant species, with technology at our beck and call, but we are no less dependent upon the elements and one another than any other creature. An Achilles’ heel of modern Western culture is its fear and denial of death. The combination of dislocation from our place in Earth’s cycles and the marginalization of the dying process has rendered us driven by a thousand distractions and addictions. To the degree we are unconscious, we are incapable of true relationship – with one another and with our environment. Halloween, or Samhain, is an opportunity to pause and reflect upon the deep mysteries of our existence, to reclaim an understanding of the cyclical nature of life and the many facets of our experience. Samhain, associated with Dark Moon (this month Dark Moon––or the period the moon is invisible from earth––falls on Tuesday 28th) is a time of quiet. It is a time to absorb the gifts and growth of the preceding year, discard the husk and store the grain

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Photo by Pia Wyer

for future wisdom. It is a time to embrace the darkness while having faith that the light will return, that the earth holds seeds of new life in the fecundity of her womb. It is a time of letting go––of outgrown beliefs, modes of behavior, relationships, of all that has run its course and is no longer helpful. It is a time to reassess the direction of our lives, the commitments we live and have failed to live. It is a time to remember those who have crossed over the threshold of death before us, to offer food and drink to their memory and continued presence in our experience. Samhain is an opportunity to remember that everything that lives also dies. That our time on earth is finite encourages us to experience each day to the fullest, in gratitude and hope. Making a spectre of death, or banishing it from our consciousness does not change death, only our ability to fully engage in our life. Denial of death renders us cruel and insensitive to those who are dying and the bereaved, and strips us of our birthright of depth and magic. One of the reasons so many individuals are returning to earth-centered spirituality is that it offers a unique combination of practicality, magic, ritual and surprise grounded in the cyclical seasons of our planet. True magic is not manipulation of and dominance over ordinary reality, or slight of hand. It is the alignment of one’s consciousness with that of other realms, creatures and the planet, raising energy and becoming empowered through integrated perception and

insight. It is developing the ability, through practice, to access wisdom outside the constructs of our socialized consciousness, and be open to possibility. True magic requires deep ethics and commitment to the common good without coercion for personal gain. Magic then, as prayer, is about changing oneself, and goes hand in glove with ritual. Ritual has been an aspect of human experience since the beginning of time and one of the ways humanity reached beyond its grasp of reality to deeper understanding. It is only recently that humans have considered ritual primitive, irrelevant or suspicious. True ritual engages the whole individual in transpersonal experience with archetypal imagery. True ritual is life changing and transformational and evolves through personal and communal experience. It is specific, allowing for spontaneity, rather than a series of behaviors performed by rote. Today, the use of ritual has been largely replaced by ceremony and opportunities for mass consumption of products and accessories paying lip service to the original concept, yet disempowered and hors context. Think of how store shelves no longer pause for breath between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. It takes some determination to rescue depth and meaning from all the relentless merchandizing. While I also enjoy many of the symbols and accoutrements of Halloween, the humor and opportunity to be wild, it is the deeper meaning that captures my imagination and

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sustains my intentions. Halloween offers an opportunity to explore the paradoxes of life and death, light and darkness, spirit and the material world. It invites unanswerable questions: Where does consciousness come from? Where do we go when we die to the physical world? Do the dead really come and visit us on this night? Can we go and visit them? If we go, shall we return? It gives us a chance to grieve our losses, mourn our dead, seek answers through divination, prepare for the new life we hope is to come. Costumes and candy aside, Halloween is about recognition, appreciation, relationship and letting go. It is about bounty and death, being good stewards of our harvest and preparing for a season of darkness and dormancy. It is recognition of all that has gone before. It is the point of conception of new ideas, of transformation in our life and relationships. If we are fearful and hostage to punitive ideologies, we will lock our doors and turn on all the lights, attempting to shield ourselves from whatever projections we have sent out into the night. But the night goes on regardless. The spirits are either there or they are not. We can believe the universe a hostile place of tricks and demons, searching to suck our souls into eternal damnation. Or, we can believe we are part of a multifaceted kaleidoscope of ever changing living beauty, connected to a reality more magnificent than we can fully appreciate. That seems so much more exciting and plausible. It certainly allows for more gratitude and openness to love and mystery. So, in the middle of a wild night when we masquerade as our alter-egos, eat too much candy, respect once again our own mortality, let us light a candle for the darkness without which we would not have been born. Happy Halloween, and a Blessed Samhain to all.

October 2008

Creative ways to deal with junk mail By Erik Bratt for ProQuo.com unk mail is renowned for cluttering mailboxes, increasing the risk of identity theft, and, of course, killing millions of trees every year. Not surprisingly, it elicits annoyance from most people. But, believe it or not, it also elicits creativity from others. Below I’ve compiled a list of the “Top 10 Creative Responses To Junk Mail,” accompanied by a bunch of cool pictures. Personally, I’d be content to never receive another piece of junk mail for the rest my life, but who knows, maybe these people are onto something. Maybe there’s more to junk mail than meets the eye. If nothing else, these responses represent some interesting and unconventional ways to recycle.

toll on the environment. Here are some of the guidelines he follows to account for junk mail’s ink and varied material: 1. “I only shred the non-glossy stuff, and try to avoid colored ink as much as possible. Since I’m shredding to avoid identity theft in the first place, and credit applications these days contain colored ink, I can’t stay 100 percent black and white, but I can accept that.” 2. “I shred plastic items like credit cards and CDs separately and discard.” 3. “I only use the shreds where food is not grown, just to be safe. You can also use it in the bottom of flower pots inside the house to save potting soil.”

2. Furniture

10. Custom portraits A self-proclaimed “rabid recycler,” Arizona artist Sandy Schimmel (www.schimmelart. com/)uses unwanted materials, such as junk mail, to create impressionistic portraits. Her portraits focus on individual faces and explore themes such as beauty and fashion. Here’s a quote from her Web site: “I believe we are an aggregate of tiny bits: who we are and where we’ve been—or who we want or pretend to be. The tesserae, the ‘tiles,’ I create from junk mail represent those bits in color and texture and meaning.” Yeah, I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I’m impressed anyway.

9. Venetian Blinds A blogger named Matthew Rasmussen was interested in making practical use out of things people are expected to throw away. He theorized (correctly) that he could attach about three months worth of junk mail to his venetian blinds and significantly lower the amount of light passing through his kitchen window (and still be able to raise and lower the blinds without any difficulty). The process included a whole lot of measuring, bending, taping, and even some beer drinking (not a process requirement, I’m assuming). Full details on the process are available on his blog (www.spacetoast.net/STP/160.html).

8. Art Sculpture A 54-year-old woman from Newcastle, England, constructed a modern art installation just outside her front door. Or to put it another way, she stored a tremendous amount of junk mail on a tall metal spike. A BBC article explained that the artist, Anne Cohen, “came up with the idea to get people talking about the volume of junk mail delivered in her neighbourhood.” Cohen has an undergraduate degree in design and public art, as well as a master’s in art and the environment. Next to Cohen’s sculpture is another cool example of art via junk mail. Created by a collaborative artist team named Burtonwood and Holmes, it’s a three-quarter scale Abrams tank covered in junk mail and sales sheets! Below the tank are matching missiles that would prove equally useless (yet eco-friendly) on the battlefield.

October 2008

Photo courtesy Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Research shows the average American discards nearly 200 pounds of paper each year—including stacks of unwanted junk mail.

7. Response package Many are inclined to view themselves as victims of junk mail, but some creative (and/or angry) types will take aggressive counter-action. These folks don’t just demand their removal from direct mailing lists, but rather, they send direct mailers bricks (that right, bricks). The Office of Strategic Influence Web site explains that direct mailers pay approximately 20 cents an ounce on their pre-paid postage. An eight pound package, therefore, would end up costing them approximately $25. So if you don’t mind paying a little extra for a larger envelope or shipping box, your revenge would be moderately significant.

you can simply put a towel over it and carefully iron along the edges. You can use the paper as gift wrap, writing material or simply as bragging rights with all your eco-crazy friends!

5. Mailbox art Some creative consumers like to stop junk mail before it ever reaches their mailboxes. But rather then communicating their wishes to direct mailers, they let their mailboxes do the talking—hopefully, the postman will actually listen! The first two mailboxes clearly aren’t receptive to junk mail, and the third one... well, it sorta speaks for itself. Yeah, I doubt anyone would want to mess with its owner.

6. Paper

4. Skulls

This creative response to junk mail is probably one of the most practical—make paper from it! Not every type of junk mail is appropriate (glossy and shiny papers won’t create a cohesive texture), but the process is still worthwhile to learn. The basic supply requirements include: junk mail, a blender/ food processor, water and a window screen. And here’s the basic process: 1. Rip the junk mail into small pieces—the smaller the better. 2. Put the junk mail pieces into the blender and add water. The ratio of water to junk mail should be approximately 3:1, but you can add less water for a thicker paper (and vice versa). (Optional: throw in some food coloring to make the paper any color you desire). 3. Pour the mixture onto the window screen, and let the water completely drain out. 4. Flip the mixture onto a towel (or some other absorbent), and wait until the mixture is completely dry. If your paper starts to curl up after it’s dried,

The volume of junk mail we receive can sometimes make you want to kill someone, so it’s only natural to make skulls out of the mail itself. I mean... right? Well, you can at least see how this response to junk mail could prove therapeutic (and perhaps prevent unnecessary violence toward direct mailers). These skulls were the brainchild (pun intended) of a man who posts a new image of a skull every day on his blog (http://skulladay. blogspot.com/), appropriately titled, Skull-ADay. The blogger usually throws his junk mail into the recycling bin, but one day, he realized it could be turned into some pretty unique art. The end product was coined “skunk mail” (skull + junk mail).

3. Mulch A reader of the finance blog Get Rich Slowly regularly shreds his junk mail and makes mulch out of it. Since mulch is basically composed of tiny bits of trees, he’s recycling and his gardening no longer takes the same

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Why throw away junk mail when you can sit on it? Although this probably wasn’t part of UK artist Chrissie MacDonald’s thought process, she recently created a chair from all the shopping catalogues in her mailbox. Conceptually brilliant? Sure. But you still don’t want to watch a three-hour football game in one of these puppies. Check out more of the artist’s junk mail creations on her site (www. chrissiemacdonald.co.uk/). Slightly off topic, but the chairs to the side of MacDonald’s, produced by British design company Pli, were created from PlayStation 2 consoles (with some metal and plastic thrown in for support). Pretty impressive, huh? I wonder when the X-Box chair will hit markets.

1. Trees A graphic designer, seeking a creative way to recycle her junk mail, ended up making three-dimensional trees. As outlined on her blog, the basic materials include: junk mail, bristol paper, spray adhesive, scissors, and a cutting surface. And here’s the basic process: 1. Adhere the bristol paper to the back of the junk mail to create a firm material. 2. Draw the trees on the bristol paper such that the tree trunks maintain a similar width. 3. Make perpendicular cuts to the base of each tree. Half of the trees should have cuts that go ¾ up them, and the other half should have cuts that go ¼ down—basically, you’ll need to slide them into one another like puzzle pieces. 4. Erase any pencil marks. When you’re finished, the trees should be half white and half the color of your junk mail—which is pretty dang cool. Personally, I’ve never seen a bipolar tree before... or one made from junk mail.

Conclusion If your response to junk mail is not a creative one, and you’d rather just get rid of it, there are a number of services for stopping junk mail and managing catalogs and other offers. To sign up for stopping junk mail, go to http://proquo.com/stopjunkmail/. NOTE: This article first appeared on ProQuo.com and is reprinted here with permission. To view the article, complete with photos of each of the 10 projects, see (http://proquo.com/resources/top_10_creative_responses_to_junk_mail/).

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Read your Sun, Ascending, and Moon sign. An astrologer can help you find all of the planets place on the day that you were born.

want to wait until later in the month.

l Pisces—February 20–March 20 It could seem too easy to spend money at this time. Be practical and look for creative ways entertain yourself. You may find that you learn a lot about important relationship(s) this month. Children could seem especially loving. Count your blessings and keep moving forward.

g Libra—September 24–October 23 Take your time and pay attention to details when doing important work. Communication could be interesting. Trust your feelings. Unexpected information could end up being good for your work. If you take time to rest when needed, you will get more done.

a Aries—March 21–April 19

h Scorpio—October 24–November 22 Love and intimate relationships are enhanced. Take time for some “one on one” time with a loved one. Trust your intuition about a friend. Mars in your sign now enhances physical energy. Do something creative.

i Sagittarius—November 23–December 22 Focus is on friends and dreams. Do something toward making a dream come true, even if it is just a small step. Focus on things and people in your life that you love and appreciate. Acknowledge the things you have and your positive feelings will attract more of the same.

j Capricorn—December 23–January 20 Jupiter the planet of abundance is in your sign. Possible gift or gesture from a friend

Dominique Shilling, MAFA, is a counselor and astrologer with a practice in the Valley. For an appointment, contact her at Way to the Light Within, (602) 279-2941 or check out her Web site at www.way2light.com.

Emotions regarding relationships could be all or nothing before mid-month. Take extra care in communications with partner and those you are closest with. Be patient with friends and coworkers. If you have pets, give them extra time and attention.

k Aquarius—January 21–February 19

b Taurus—April 20–May 20 Mid month is a good time to start working on something that you have been wanting to accomplish. Energy put toward anything related to children, romance or creativity can bring positive gains. Health and/or work situations are likely to improve after midmonth.

Trust your intuition or deceive yourself. Reality and dreams can come together. Meanwhile, use your creative abilities to keep your mind occupied. If you have plans to travel, you may

c Gemini—May 22–June 21 Close relationships and love could be very interesting this month. Watch what you say and

this month could make you smile. If you are thinking of taking a course or learning something new, this is a good time to start. What you learn could reward you well in future.

be willing to listen to the other person. You may find that you really do agree. Confusion dissipates as it gets later in the month. Creative endeavors could yield trash or treasure.

d Cancer—June 22–July 23 Pets can console you and make you happy. If you need to confide in someone who would never spread the news, tell a beloved pet. Creative endeavors could be very rewarding. Be patient about attaining a desire. Let go the wanting feeling and relax. Acceptance is powerful.

e Leo—July 24–August 23 Clarity in communication is especially important this month. Be aware of what you promise or say to others. You may want to change your mind later. Trust your intuition about something that happened in recent past. Confusion transforms into healing if you relax and let it go. f Virgo—August 24–September 23 Take your time regarding investments, big or small. This includes anything that you put energy into for future payoff even if it is not money. Be patient. If possible, you may want to wait until end of October at the earliest. Trust your intuition about your work and/or health.

Dominique’s in-depth look at the stars for October

ctober starts out with the sun in Libra. One of the most interesting things that is going on this month is that the planet Mercury went into retrograde motion last month at 22 degrees Libra on Wednesday, Sept. 24. It will start its forward motion on Oct. 15. Libra is about balance, social awareness, is cooperative, peace loving, refined, diplomatic, sociable, artistic, fickle, apathetic, loves intrigue, indecisive, wants peace at any price, and gains personal growth through relationships. Libra rules partnerships, love relationships and other close alliances. Mercury symbolizes communication and transportation. It is named after Mercury the winged messenger. In your horoscope chart, this planet tells about how you reason, your attention span, the way you get information, and the kind of decisions you make. Mercury rules areas of communication, speaking and

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writing. It also covers perception, manual dexterity, the nervous system, physical mobility, verbal fluency, mental agility and adaptability. Retrograde motion means that a planet appears to be going in reverse motion. The planets are all moving in the same direction as they travel around the sun. So how could it be going backwards? It is not really going backwards. As the planets travel around the sun, when Earth passes by and moves ahead of another planet, in this case Mercury, it will appear to us from the earth as if Mercury is falling behind or going backwards. Another way to understand this illusion is to imagine that you are riding in a car going down the road. In the lane next to your car another car is right along side the car you are in. You look over at the other car and it looks like you are both going the same way at the same speed. Then the car you are in speeds up. As your car moves farther ahead of the other car, you look over at it. The other

car will look like it is traveling backwards. It has been noted that things can be out of the ordinary for us on earth when another planet is in retrograde motion. Mercury seems to be the one that affects us the most. Mercury goes into retrograde motion about three times in a year. Mercury started its retrograde last month in the constellation of Libra. As Mercury’s retrograde motion continues this month, it could bring up anything that has been ignored, put away, or forgotten by us. The most likely situations to come up while Mercury is retrograde in the sign of Libra would be those in the areas of partnerships, love relationships and overall communication with others. No matter what sign Mercury goes retrograde in, it always applies to communication, transportation and commitments or agreements. It is best not to sign any contracts or start any new projects at this time. Many have noted a slow down in the mail

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and other modes of communication during this time as well. Keep in mind that we have free will and that what we believe whether it is negative or positive can color our outlook. What we focus on expands. Here is Mercury, known for ruling communication, along with that, add to it the fact that it is in Libra. This combination can be especially interesting because Libra is about close relationships with others, any type of partnerships and/or love relationships. During the time that Mercury is retrograde this month you may want to think before you act, when it comes to relating to loved ones, you would not want to unknowingly start an argument and end up getting the “cold shoulder” would you? Another interesting possibility is that Mercury retrograde could even bring contact from a past love interest. What would you like to see in this column about Astrology? Do you have any questions you want answered? Let me know and I may

October 2008

All material things can have an afterlife Photo by Pia Wyer The Great Horned Owl has excellent hearing and exceptional vision in low light. Their hearing has better depth perception than human hearing and better perception of sound elevation (up-down direction). The latter is possible because owl ears are not placed in the same position on either side of their head: the right ear is typically set higher in the skull and at a slightly diﬀerent angle. By tilting or turning its head until the sound is the same in each ear, an owl can pinpoint both the horizontal and vertical direction of a sound. The eyes of Great Horned Owls are also nearly as large as those of humans and are immobile within their sockets. Instead of turning their eyes, they turn their heads.

Dominique’s in-depth look

continued from page 10

be able to address them here. This month’s Retrograde Planets: Mercury went into retrograde motion at 22 degrees Libra on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 11 minutes after midnight MST. It will start its forward motion 12:57 a.m. on Oct. 15. Uranus moves to 20 degrees of Pisces and it will start moving forward again Nov. 27. Neptune started its backward motion on May 26 and will go direct on Nov. 1. The following paragraphs are broken down by weeks. Wednesday the 1st has Mars Libra sextile Pluto Sagittarius. These two planets working together can enhance opportunities for justice, peace and freedom. Mars goes into Scorpio on the 3rd. Sunday the 5th, Venus is in Scorpio sextile Jupiter Capricorn, which is very good for business and money. Monday’s Sun Libra square Jupiter Capricorn things could turn out to be too much or too little or like the feeling of nervous energy. Listening to calming words or music could help make the day go smoother. Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth on CD is a great example of calming words. Mercury Libra conjunct the sun helps with the ability to communicate needs and desires in a more peaceful way. With Mercury Libra square Jupiter Capricorn, too much thinking can turn

On Wednesday Mercury starts moving in direct motion again at 12:57 p.m. MST. Watch for improvement in relations between loved ones and overall communication. Venus moves into the freedom loving sign of Sagittarius on the 18th. Tuesday the 21st, Sun Libra sextile Pluto Sagittarius enhances intuition and to the ability to focus easily on whatever needs to be done. The sun enters the mysterious sign of Scorpio on the 22nd. Sunday the 26th, Mercury Libra squares Jupiter Capricorn. This is not a the best day to look for and easily find solutions to problems. Save the complicated stuff for tomorrow. Mars Scorpio sextile Jupiter Capricorn makes Monday a perfect day to take on a big project. The new moon happens on the 28th and is at 5 degrees of Scorpio at exactly 4:14 p.m. MST. A Scorpio new moon can be good for starting things related to intuitive or spiritual endeavors and/or creative work. This is also a good time to begin a search for something that is missing or may have been misplaced. Mercury Libra trine Neptune Aquarius creates inspiration. Our ability to relate to and understand others is enhanced. It is easier now for opposing forces to relate and be able to come to an agreement.

October 2008

into worry. On this same day, we have Venus Scorpio sextile Saturn Virgo. This positive combination can enhance our ability to see solutions and apply them in practical way. Thursday we have Venus in Scorpio trine Uranus Pisces, trust your feelings and you may find yourself taking the path that is not chosen by most, “the road less traveled.” Do something different. Keep your eyes open for the beautiful and unusual. On the 11th, Venus Scorpio squares Neptune Aquarius. Creativity and intuition may not come so easily. This can be a great day for those mundane tasks we usually put off. You may want to stick to logical and practical things that do not require as much creativity. Sun Libra trine Neptune Aquarius is great for being adventurous and having some fun. Maybe you have something you have been really wanting to try. This planetary connection also favors creativity and joint ventures. We have a full moon on Tuesday the 14th. It is at 21 Aries and is exact at 1:03 p.m. MST. The full moon is a perfect time to let go of things. Once it reaches its fullest and brightest then it starts getting smaller or waning again. The shrinking symbolizes letting go. Many use this time as a visual and psychological boost to help them let go of things and situations they no longer wish to hold on to.

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A dumpster is typically a receptacle for undesired wasted items defined as “trash.” However people’s idea of “trash” is often exaggerated and shockingly contrasting to actuality. When throwing something away, most people don’t consider the material’s afterlife. Characteristically, it would be preposterous to consider the prospect of one’s trash, but in our modern consumer society it is imperative to value trash and its potentiality of reprocess. The other day I was doing some routine dumpster diving in Prescott, Ariz. It was then when I encountered a gold mine. I could tell from a distance that the dumpster was inundated with commodities. Chairs, pillows, rugs and other household items were almost toppling out of the dumpster. I quickly dove in and began salvaging everything possible. This new collection of furnishings was a blessing for a college kid’s abode. Although my idea of decent furnishings might differ from someone else’s, it was apparent that the furnishings could ultimately be used again. So I called a friend to help me haul the stuff to a reusable environment. Despite my feeling of fulfillment after acquiring useful items from a dumpster, I’m always ironically left with a feeling of defeat. I ask myself: why is humanity so wasteful? What can be done to curtail society’s amount of garbage? The answer: introducing strong recycling programs. That’s the first step toward initiating a psychological duty to reprocess. Most people argue that they don’t have time to recycle, but recycling is an important matter that exceeds a minor problem such as time. Recycling can be as customary as brushing your teeth! Get started, recycle and return life’s favor.

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Thrift store ﬁnds—the search is on

hopping thrift, vintage, antique and other interesting shops is an exciting, out-of-the-ordinary experience, especially when you are searching for that special one-of-akind treasure. Some of the stores seem to attach higher prices on an item if it’s older and showing age or wear. Other shops sort through their new “stuff ” and place the better items on e-bay. This can be to your advantage because you don’t have to search as hard. If you want something in mint condition and you aren’t against paying the higher price, e-bay is another place to search. You will get to know how items are priced at each location and when they run their sales. The larger stores carry huge selections of good junk—from clothing to trinkets to furniture. You have to dig through huge amounts of items to find that treasure, but you also have a larger selection and you never know what you will find. There are a few shops out there that are not organized or clean. I tend to stay away from these locations. You want to make your rummaging a pleasant experience. If you are looking for back-to-school, baby or business suits and jackets, search out consignment shops. The better quality items are normally found in the more upscale areas—and the same goes for designer

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styled lamp shades to go with a pair of awesome, very tall 1950s ceramic lamp bases that I have had for some time. Finally, there they were! The size and shape were perfect, but they looked worn, marked and faded. I purchased them both for $5, took them home and cleaned them up, watered down some black acrylic paint and painted a light coat over the entire surface. When dry, they turned out to be a beautiful charcoal color, kind of faded and silky looking, and are sitting on two end tables looking very pristine and dramatic. They added that final touch that the room needed and are very unique as well as functional.

Tips for successful rummaging

apparel and accessories. An abundance of super consignment shops are located in Scottsdale that carry name brands like Pucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Armani, etc. You can also earn extra cash for yourself by consigning your better quality items. Bookstores are fun. Get to know which ones specialize in vintage, how they price and what they will give you in trade.Finds can be dyed, painted and/or mended. I had been searching for two large retro-

Always remind yourself what you are searching for. Make a list of things you need in your home or apartment and keep it in your purse so that you will be sure to have it with you. Clear out clutter from your home and take a bag full of your unwanted items to donate to your favorite store when you go. Somebody else will love it. Start shopping locally and plan day trips with a friend to close towns and cities. Only pick items that appeal to you by color, texture or quality, such as silk, linen, cashmere, cotton and natural fabrics. Stay focused. Soon you will become good at finding your styles.

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If you see something you like, examine it closely for stains, tears, broken zippers, missing buttons or uneven shrinkage. If you want to, try it on or take it home and wash. You can always resell it. Thrift shops are a super place to find costumes for theater, Halloween, dance, decorations for parties and materials for projects. Always wash or clean your item before you wear or use it. Most items are priced to sell to raise money for a good cause. Many people working in thrift stores are volunteers. Compliment them on their good work. It takes time and energy and also requires patience and perseverance. Don’t rush. It’s worth it in the end when you find that perfect treasure. Have fun being thrifty and creative. You are helping and sharing with others by recycling and donating. It’s also practical and makes good financial sense. One person’s junk is another person’s treasure and that special treasure is out there somewhere just waiting for you to find it. Second hand is no longer second best. Bonnie is an artist who reuses and recycles materials in her creations. She designed and instructed art program for the Okanogan School for the Arts in British Columbia and has been awarded art commissions from the State of Arizona Arts Commission and the Gilbert and Glendale libraries.

October 2008

Natural aids for seasonal allergy relief

o you suffer from seasonal sneezes, runny nose, watery and itchy eyes? You are not alone. It is estimated that more than 40 million American people are affected by seasonal allergies. If you don’t like using antihistamines or other over-the-counter medicines to relieve your discomfort, herbal medicine can offer a natural alternative. To add to the good news, herbs don’t just mask the symptoms, but go to the underlying causes of your allergies. In my experience the following herbs have shown to be very effective:

into squares or diamonds and bake for about one hour at 350 degrees. Caution: Please wear gloves when picking and handling fresh nettles. They sting!

Horseradish A condiment as well as a strong herb, horseradish can clear out your sinuses immediately. Very often you will find horseradish combined with other herbs for the respiratory system.

Eyebright

Stinging Nettles Nettles have been used for hundreds of years as a food as well as a medicine to treat rheumatism, arthritis, eczema, gout and anemia.

The center for integrative medicine at the University of Maryland confirms that nettles may also be effective for treating certain individuals with hay fever (www.umm.edu). Over the years I have witnessed the positive effects of nettles in nine out of 10 people suffering from seasonal allergies. I always carry a few capsules of nettles with me wherever I go just in case I run into friends complaining of seasonal allergies. They often feel relief within 20 minutes after taking one to three capsules. The stinging hairs on nettle are sharp polished spines that contain histamine and formic acid and act as an antihistamine taken internally. Nettles have no known side

October 2008

effects, unlike many over-the-counter antihistamine preparations. Fresh or dried nettles can be used in any recipe that requires spinach. During World War II, the British Ministry of Food published several recipes, urging people to use nettle as a vegetable. I use fresh nettles that grow in abundance in my garden, but you can also use dried nettles. Here is my favorite recipe: Nettlekopita (Nettle version of Spanakopita) 3 tablespoon olive oil 1 head of garlic 2 cups brown rice 6 cups fresh nettles (steam for 5 minutes) or you can use 2 cups dried nettles 2 cups fresh lemon balm (optional) your favorite cooking herbs 2 cups ricotta cheese ½ cup cheddar cheese 3 eggs ½ cup butter 1 package phyllo dough 1 cup feta Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until they are translucent. In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except the last three. Melt butter. Butter the bottom of a baking dish. Place one layer of phyllo on the bottom and brush lightly with butter, using a pasty brush. Add another layer of phyllo and butter lightly. Repeat this process until you have used half the package of phyllo. Pour the filling over the phyllo. Sprinkle feta on top. Now again layer and butter until you have used up the whole package of phyllo. Cut

As the name suggests, eyebright has been used throughout the ages for eye problems, as well as for sinus troubles. As a vasoconstrictor and astringent to the nasal mucous membranes, eyebright brings relief to frequent sneezing bouts and is also rejuvenating to the eyes. It has a drying effect on upper respiratory mucous membranes.

Indian Gooseberry The most concentrated form of vitamin C in the plant kingdom is found in the Indian gooseberry. Vitamin C is known to act as an antihistamine. The nice thing about this fruit is that it does not create acidity in the body; it actually has an alkalizing effect.

Bi Yan Pian This traditional Chinese herbal formula is a god-send for people with a stuffy nose. Used for allergies and nasal congestion, it opens the nasal passages.

Pe Min Kan Wan Another traditional Chinese formula used for allergies and nasal congestion, but is more drying then the above.

Is it an allergy or a fungus? Some people diagnosed with allergies actually have a fungus in their nasal passages. The Mayo clinic research team looked at 210 patients with sinusitis and discovered more than 40 different kinds of fungi in their nasal passages. I’ve talked to many folks who found relief after using traditional anti-fungal herbs, such as lomatium, calendula, neem and osha. At the same time, a mild nasal wash with these herbs can speed up the process.

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Aromatherapy Aromatherapy means treatment using essential oils, or the scents from plants to promote health and well being. In recent years, a large number of essential oils and their constituents have been investigated for their antimicrobial properties against some bacteria and fungi in more than 500 reports. The following essential oils were found to possess the strongest antimicrobial properties among many tested: thyme, oregano, mint, cinnamon, sage and clove (www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/). To relieve allergy symptoms many folks have mixed together and applied the following essential oils: Peppermint 5 drops Cinnamon 4 drops Clove 2 drops Add a few drops of this mix to your humidifier, your aromatherapy diffuser in the car or at home, or you can place two drops on each side of your pillow before going to bed at night. Steaming your face with essential oils added to hot water can help as well. Inhaling vapors of menthol crystals opens the nasal passages for freer breathing. To do this, fill a small jar with menthol crystals and keep it tightly closed. When needed, open the jar and breathe in the vapors in a quick and forceful way.

Eucalyptus essential oil This lemon-scented eucalyptus is useful for colds, flu and fevers. Lemon-scented eucalyptus is also being used for athlete’s foot and other fungal infections (e.g., candida, nasal fungus, cuts, dandruff, herpes, scabs) It is also an excellent insect repellent. Diffuse in a sickroom in the evening to calm, relax, and encourage sleep while fighting infection. The Herb Stop is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sundays and Mondays. For classes, weekend seminars and consultations, visit or call The Herb Stop, 4004 N. Hwy. 87 in Pine. (928) 476-4144. You may also visit the store in Ruidoso, N.M., or the Web site at www.HerbStopOnline.com. The FDA has not approved these statements. The information given is not meant to act as a prescription, medical advice or therapeutic advice. Consult your healthcare professional prior to using botanicals discussed in this column.

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Stress-Less

We must ﬁrst nurture ourselves before reaching out to others

oothing our soul when we are bombarded with so much information and constant changes in our lives can be a challenge. All of us are experiencing in some way the accelerated energies presently affecting our planet. We all know people, including ourselves, who have been experiencing stressful situations in their lives. Whether it has to do with our health, relationships, work or play these denser energies change the way we feel and respond to new (and old) circumstances in our lives. One thing we know for sure…we are all feeling it. With these new energies comes the necessity to adopt new ways to nurture ourselves and others. The ways we felt comforted or nurtured in the past may not be working as well for us now. It is time then to take a new approach to uplifting our spirit and keeping our levels of physical and emotional stress to a minimum. We are all being reminded that we must first nurture ourselves before we can share our nurturing gifts with others. This may mean changing the belief that was instilled in most of us growing up that it is virtuous to give to others before self. This belief has left many of us wondering how we can possibly have enough of our-

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by Maya Joy Angeles selves to give when we feel exhausted from our continuous daily obligations that seem to keep multiplying. Beginning everyday with the conscious intention of Love is a great way to dispel the negativity that we may encounter as we interact with others in our lives. What is a conscious intention of Love? It is allowing yourself to see the higher good in all things, as the Hindu/Sanskrit greeting Namasté conveys “The Light of God in Me recognizes and honors The Light of God in You.”

We can continually choose to bring in the blessing of loving acceptance in our lives. Feeling the joy that life has to offer and seeing yourself as a part of this greater good is a needed elixir for ridding ourselves of the patterns of habitual stress and negative thinking. It is essential to our well being that we give ourselves time to decompress at the end of each day. Spending a few minutes in quiet reflection and appreciation for the day is one way of soothing the soul. The better we get at not letting our negative patterns of reaction rule us, the less time we will need get back to our peaceful centeredness. As we become more open and aware of the power we have to create the life we choose, we become at ease with our life and surroundings, including the events we see happening on a worldwide scale. When we perceive ourselves or others in a

In Peace and Harmony, Maya Joy Angeles, co-owner of the Crystal Lotus Gallery and Spiritual Life Center, located on Highway 87 in Pine, Arizona. See ad below.

Fun Facts

In the world’s oceans, there are: 58 species of sea grasses; less than 1,000 species of cephalopods (squids, octopi and pearly nautiluses); 1,000 species of sea anemones; 1,500 species of brown algae; 7,000 species of echinoderms (starfishes, sea urchins, sea

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not so loving vibration, we can take in a slow deep breath, center ourselves and choose to respond with Love to what is present in that moment. Everything we hear, read, see or feel gives us the opportunity to choose our reponse. The more we practice being aware of potential stressors (or our own negative reactions) the more we can consciously choose to let go of our judgments and our resistances in every moment. When we choose to be in the loving vibration of nonresistance, we are choosing to create less stress in our lives. Thus, we are creating a more peaceful place within us to share with the world.

cucumbers and sea lilies); 13,000 species of fishes; and 50,000 species of mollusks. ******* The United States produces the world’s largest crop of soybeans. China is the second largest producer.

October 2008

Help our planet by reusing things wisely

ow can we reuse and or recycle these things we impulsively bring home? Like many, I collect little treasures. I look along river beds while hiking or doing nature photography. I pick up everything unusual—weird looking seed pods, strange looking wood—you know, the things you just come across while out and about. Then there are the stones. This is where I can get carried away. Before long, you find you have enough small stones to fill a basket. They’re on your mantle, on your window sills, in a center piece on the table, they even end up in the bathroom sink for decoration. The creative alternatives are limitless. For example, small flat stones can be heated for massage or cooled in the refrigerator. Stones can be used for cooling down inflammation or relieving fever. Stones work just as well as any store-bought cold pack. The best part is that stones are nontoxic and they hold the cold and heat for a very long time. Years ago, stones were heated up and used as foot warmers on those chilly evenings. For personal use, disinfectant stones with bleach. Add 2 tablespoons of bleach to 1 quart of water and soak for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly before use. For multiperson use, disinfectant with hospital-grade disinfectant, rinse thoroughly before use. To heat stones use caution and common sense! In a crock pot or roaster add hot water to cover the rocks, turn on high for one-half hour, then simmer for remaining massage time. Remove stones with ladle or spoon. Utensil can also simmer in water on stove top for 5 minutes, then strain in strainer and wrap stones on towel to dry off before use. To cool stones just freeze them or place in refrigerator for one hour. Simple! I really lucked out while visiting the

Northwest and found some great symmetrical stones on the beach. They were all perfectly round and in every size imaginable. These stones make great cairns. Some people make an art out of stacking rocks and stones. So keep that in mind if you ever travel to the Northwest beaches in California, Oregon and Washington. In the desert I have also found unique stones in dried riverbeds. Desert stones and rock are awesome for yard decor and landscape projects. They also work well as habitat for the little creatures that venture through. Small stones can be used to do small mosaic or wall projects. Great pleasure comes with completing creative projects. I just love collecting those small but interesting parts of nature. I have even found beautiful cactus skeletons, roots from trees, bird skeletons, etc. These, too, make creative yard art—the perfect décor for the outdoors. The best green, natural product made by Mother Earth are the things you stumble upon in day-to-day living.

Photo by Patricia Melchi These perfectly round stones found along the Northwest coast make great cairns.

For awhile I was collecting cactus skeletons and making natural earth sculptors with them. Driftwood also produces natural sculptures. Roots from trees make great natural habits for nocturnal creatures in your back yard sanctuary. All these things combined help our planet.

Cherry Crane Intuitive Card Reader Spiritual Advisor Reiki Master Artist

Let’s all recycle

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that recycling is the number one solution to our garbage problem. The percentage of garbage that could have been re-

Reusing what we have prevents waste on many levels. Be creative, help our planet by reusing things of this earth wisely. Never deface or take artifacts from our public parks. Be open to finding the unexpected. Pay it forward— plant a tree.

cycled ranges from 66 percent to 84 percent. Most of that is packaging, but paper waste accounts for 35 percent of landfill content. Paper is easily recycled. Let’s do it!

Discover Your Soul Purpose Meet & Work With Your Animal Totems Communicate With Your Personal Guides Find Clarity & Focus

cherrycrane@yahoo.com (928) 592-0316 October 2008

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Arcosanti: An experimental community in the Arizona desert By Ann Haver-Allen

or centuries, people farmed the lands upon which they lived. They gathered the bounty of the land and hunted local animals. They traded and bartered with neighbors. No one spent hours commuting to obtain life’s basic necessities. Self-sufficient, sustainable community was a way of life—not buzz words. The development of the automobile and the tandem rise of the oil industry changed life drastically by enabling people to move far beyond their community. People no longer had to live in town. They could now “go to town” to get what they needed. Suburbia was born and commuting to work became a way of life. Pristine areas miles outside the towns and cities became bedroom communities. The connection with the land and a sense of place were lost.

Back to the basics rcosanti—located in the Arizona desert just off Highway 17 north—is an experimental project designed to see if those lost connections can be re-established. Paolo Soleri, Italian architect, artist and philosopher, who is now 89, founded Arcosanti in 1970. He attended the Frank Lloyd Wright apprenticeship program at Taliesin West in Phoenix. While Arcosanti is sometimes called a futuristic city, it is actually a community of yesteryear. “Urban sprawl, where people live in singlefamily houses with square yards and need to transport goods and services over long distances is wasting a lot of energy,” said Erin Jeffries, public relations coordinator for the Arcosanti Project of The Cosanti Foundation. “You have to run more power lines and more plumbing, and build more highways over longer distances.” Soleri thought that all those things could be brought together, thereby developing efficiency, saving energy and improving quality of life. “Bringing all these things together in a complex and beautiful way not only enhances efficiency, but also the overall quality

of life,” Jeffries said. “By having residential space near services, entertainment and commercial areas, people can walk to their destinations.” Also, by minimizing the footprint of development, large tracts of land surrounding the community can be left undisturbed—a positive for wildlife, which is constantly squeezed out of habitat in the face of urban sprawl. Arcosanti occupies only 25 acres of a 4,060-acre land preserve, which preserves the countryside in its natural state. “In a nutshell, we are a sustainable, experimental community and construction project,” Jeffries said. “Arcosanti is based on the idea of arcology—a term coined by Paolo Soleri to describe the concept of architecture and ecology working as one integral process to produce new urban habitats.” Just like the Sinagua built their housing hundreds of years ago, Arcosanti hangs on the side of a canyon that runs with water after it rains. The flat, fertile land below is farmed. “Arcology is a city without cars,” Jeffries said. “It’s a city where people walk, use the stairs and sidewalks. It’s a community where people can access everything they need—including nature and recreation—within a very close distance.” Jeffries said that Arcosanti is a work in progress. “If complete, 5,000 people could live

Above, the view from the bronze foundry at Arcosanti takes in the Agua Fria basin. At right, The terraced buildings at Arcosanti feature dramatic three-story vaults and apses—a quarter of a sphere. All are built south facing for solar gain.

Photos by Pia Wyer Page 16

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October 2008

Photos by Pia Wyer Above, Erin Jeﬀries, public relations coordinator for the Arcosanti Project of The Cosanti Foundation, shows a ceramic mold used for making Soleri bells. At right, bronze Soleri bells are individual, unique creations. Below, ceramic Soleri bells come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

here,” she said. “Right now, about 80 people live here, although the population is constantly changing. We get students from all over the world who come here for our workshops.”

Workshops rcosanti’s workshops introduce the concept that arcology—architecture and ecology—as one integral process. Arcology is a positive alternative to urban civilization, population, pollution, energy and natural resource depletion, food scarcity and quality of life. Since 1970 more than 6,000 people from around the world have taken part in Arcosanti’s workshops. The workshops combine academic and experiential learning as students study the concepts and designs of Soleri, and contribute to the building projects at Arcosanti. The five-week course is the foundational program. The program breaks down like this: Week One: Seminar Week is an introduction to Soleri’s theories via talks and lectures on Arcosanti’s design development, construction history, future plans and arcology concepts. Soleri leads two informal seminars. The week also features a hike into the natural areas surrounding Arcosanti and a silt-casting workshop. Week One also can be taken as a stand-alone course. Week Two: Field trips and work opportunities are presented in week two, which can be taken in conjunction with week one or as a continuation of the full five-week program. Participants visit Cosanti—the original Soleri studios started in the mid-1950s—and Taliesin West—one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses. A meeting with Soleri is included. Weeks three through five are intensive hand-on participation in construction, facilities maintenance, agriculture, archives or landscaping. Participants will also rotate through the café and recycling duties. Weekly

October 2008

meetings with Soleri are included. In addition to the weekly workshops, Arcosanti also offers extended stay, internships, one-day workshops and customized programs. The extended stay is the post-workshop volunteer program, where participants can stay on at Arcosanti following successful completion of the five-week program. “After you complete the five-week workshop, you can live here after finding a job,” Jeffries said. “You can get a paid or a volunteer position working full time. Then you can live here.” Internships are three-month programs available to qualified individuals in search of field experience. Interns are accepted in planning, construction, facilities maintenance, agriculture, landscaping, archives, graphics and computer networking. Silt casting can be studied as a one-day workshop and soon ceramic bell making will be added to the curriculum. Soleri has been using silt as a casting medium for clay, plaster and concrete since 1956. This workshop provides an introduction to these unique casting methods. Each participant produces a plaster tile and receives a complimentary tour of Arcosanti while the tiles are drying. The next silt casting workshops are scheduled for Oct. 3 and Nov. 7. Call (928) 632-6233 for time and details. Groups of 10 or more can request customized programs on any particular aspect of Arcosanti. Customized programs can be one day or several months, depending on the needs of the group.

Arcology construction rcosanti, a prototype arcology and an experiment in progress, has been built almost entirely by volunteers. “Since 1970 most of the Arcosanti site has been built with unskilled labor,” Jeffries said—those individuals who attended five-

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Photos by Pia Wyer Above, an apse shades the community center at Arcosanti. Above, right, the Colly Soleri Music Center at Arcosanti, which is named in remembrance of Paolo Soleri’s late wife. Many concerts and cultural performances are held here. The season’s last concert is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11. The 27th Annual Colly Concert will feature concert pianist Sonya Lee in her seventh appearance at Arcosanti. Below, the view of Arcosanti from across the canyon.

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week workshops and chose to stay on either as an employee or in a volunteer capacity. “We are working toward the Arcosanti 5000 design and are about 3 percent to 5 percent complete,” Jeffries said. “One of our newest projects is the construction of a wheelchair accessible ramp. Since we were built in the 1970s, we do not have a lot of wheelchair accessibility, so we are trying to update that. We received a grant from the Arizona Department of Tourism to build the new ramp.” She said the buildings are constructed of concrete because it is low-maintenance and it blends in with the environment. “We can make smooth or rough concrete,” Jeffries said. “The rough concrete panels are poured directly onto the ground and then lifted up. They retain coloring from the dirt

and the effect of any rocks there were in the dirt. It really blends in well with the environment.” The terraced buildings at Arcosanti feature dramatic three-story vaults and apses—a quarter of a sphere. All are built south facing for solar gain. “The apse design, which is south facing, shades the work spaces in the summer when the sun is overhead and warms them in the winter when the sun is lower on the horizon,” Jeffries said. “People are able to work year-round in this indoor-outdoor setting.” Piling huge amounts of sand to the desired height and shaping it into a dome create the apses. Designs are carved into the sand and color pigments are applied. Concrete is then poured over the sand. When the concrete cures, the sand is dug out and a concrete

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shell is standing. “This is really a reusable, available and cheap material source with which to make a building,” Jeffries said. The buildings are designed with multiuse concepts in mind. For example, heat from the bronze furnace and green house is channeled to heat apartments. “There are designs for heating at Arcosanti, but there are no designs for air conditioning,” Jeffries said. “We use natural heating and cooling fans and ventilation.” Jeffries explained how the windows in the high dome ceiling of the café are painted with whitewash to reflect heat in the summer and the floor-to-ceiling doors are open to allow breezes to cool the interior. In the wintertime, the whitewash is removed to allow the sun to penetrate the space. Jeffries said a

October 2008

huge windsock that moves the heat downward is installed. Screens on the giant doorwindows are removed to allow the sun in. Rainwater catchment designs, including cisterns, are incorporated throughout the site. “All of our drinking water and all the water we use comes from on site here,” Jeffries said. In the heart of the Arcosanti complex, one can believe that he or she is in a Mediterranean paradise. Italian cypress trees embrace the courtyards, which are filled with peach, apricot, fig and olive trees. Benches are conveniently placed throughout the plazas and the wind bells for which Arcosanti is noted tinkle in the breeze. It’s the Soleri bells, Jeffries said, that provide the funding for the Arcosanti’s growth and development.

Arts, entertainment o community would be healthy without a good dose of the arts, and for Arcosanti, the Soleri bells form that foundation. “The artisans who make the bells make a much longer commitment to Arcosanti than most other employees,” Jeffries said. “It’s a long training program, and while they make it look easy, it’s not.” The bells are vital to Arcosanti. “Most of the construction costs are paid for

October 2008

by the sale of the bells,” Jeffries said. “We have built this entire site with unskilled workers and with funding that we have created by the sale of our bells. It’s an artistic product of Arcosanti.” Two types of bells are made at Arcosanti: bronze and ceramic. They are made according to methods developed by Soleri during the time he worked as a ceramic artist. Silt casting is the underlying technique for fashioning the bronze bells. After the bells are poured, they are finished in one of two ways. “One way is heat treated, which creates the metallic waves of color in the finish,” Jeffries said. “The other method is applying acid to speed up the natural aging process of the bronze, which creates a patina look. The patina bells continue to age and turn colors over time.” The ceramic bells begin by making an imprint into damp sand. Clay—which comes from Globe—is mixed with water to form slip. The slip is poured into the prepared sand mould. The sand absorbs the moisture and after about a day, the bell is ready for carving. “Using knives and tools, the bells are carved,” Jeffries said. “A mineral oxide powder is applied to the outside to create the reddish coloring.” She added that all bells are one of a kind and carry the official Cosanti stamp. Because Soleri bells are a “made in Arizona” product, they are popular with chambers

of commerce who frequently give them as welcome gifts to new members, Jeffries said. “It’s hard to find something that was designed in Arizona and made in Arizona,” she said. “We have really become an icon.” Arcosanti also has an amphitheater in which concerts and cultural performances are held. The theater is named the Colly Soleri Music Center at Arcosanti in remembrance of Paolo Soleri’s late wife. The season’s last concert is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11. The 27th Annual Colly Concert will feature concert pianist Sonya Lee in her seventh appearance at Arcosanti. Lee will perform works by Beethoven, Bartok, Schubert and Chopin to commemorate the life of Corolyn Woods Soleri. A light and sound show called Pictograph will follow the performance.

Tourism nd if the show runs a bit late, why not stay overnight? Arcosanti offers a variety of overnight accommodations, but reservations are required. Arcosanti hosts between 30,000 to 50,000 tourists a year, including 9,000 overnight guests, Jeffries said. Many of the visitors are international. Jeffries noted that often people living close to Arcosanti never actually visit, but people from other parts of the world make

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Photo by Pia Wyer The Arcosanti Gift Shop is located above the café. The windows in the high dome ceiling are painted with whitewash and a green screen is installed to reﬂect heat in the summer. In the wintertime, the whitewash and the giant screen are removed to allow the sun to penetrate the space.

Arcosanti a destination. It is a self-contained retreat—no automobiles allowed within. The Café at Arcosanti offers three buffet meals daily, both meat and vegetarian. The bakery offers breads, cookies, brownies and other freshly baked goods made from organic flours, grains, nuts and fruit. For a nominal fee, Arcosanti makes its meeting rooms and outdoor spaces available for meetings and retreats. “Unlike most architects, Paolo Soleri has been able to work on his own project for most of his life,” Jeffries said. “Arcosanti is based on his idea of arcology, which is a fusion of architecture and ecology. His designs bring people together and create spaces that are both private and have a sense of community while reducing the amount of energy needed to use for heating, cooling and transportation. “Arcosanti is an experimental project,” she continued. “It’s not a solution, but rather a hypothesis that we are testing here.”

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Nature can inspire interior design

othing soothes the soul more than resting your eyes on the vivid blue of the sea in the late afternoon sun or breathing in the fresh air as you walk a country path surrounded by tall trees. Bring the beauty of nature into your home when decorating and create your own unique, relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. Our environment offers nature inspired looks that are suitable for every area of your home. Use the outside view as your focal point and arrange your furniture so that you get the best view of the outdoors. Choose your colors from those that you see outside your window. Paint walls and ceilings pale blue like the sky and place a green rug on wood and tile floors. Paint your ceiling with faux clouds for an open feeling. Green is a healing and soothing color that binds other colors together. The

use of nature’s colors of browns and greens and the warmer tones like yellows and reds can all tie together with complementary green accents. Add drama and still keep with the natural scheme by introducing texture in your accessories. Keep potted plants and flow-

ers outside your patio doors and windows. Set potted plants on your tables and grow herbs in your kitchen. Gather tall branches, winding vines and other earthly findings and arrange them in unusual baskets, bowls and metal pots. Collect interesting rocks and stones and place them around your room. Use indoor trees and hanging baskets to fill spaces and elevate your ceilings. Cut fragrant foliage and herbs from your yard and garden and use them to create unique floral arrangements. The smells of nature can really create an atmosphere. Shiny metals will clash with natural décor. Use interesting baskets and clay or wood bowls for display. Choose natural looking fabrics with texture and wood and wicker with weathered iron. Keep the elements in your home natural rather than artificial or synthetic. Remember to open windows

and doors and pull back drapes, blinds and curtains to let light and fresh air into your home. This will bring new energy into your living space. In the Japanese practice of Shabui, you find a piece from nature and build your color scheme around it while looking for blended color within that object to build your room’s color and create the atmosphere that you want. Most home improvement stores can take any object and scan it to match a paint color. Take your time and have fun creating your own looks and making your home more peaceful, relaxing and beautiful. Nature has it all. If you are interested in workshops using nature to create unique scented floral arrangements and garlands, custom woven baskets, interesting woven birdhouses and 3-D freeform woven sculptures, call Bonnie West at (928) 379-3933.

Looking for beauty

Seek and you shall ﬁnd beauty everywhere

s my husband Marty drove us down the hot streets of Phoenix, I kept my eyes peeled. I often do that especially when the temperatures are up in the one hundred and teens. I look for signs of animals—big or small—that might be hot, hungry, or thirsty and need help. That is my thing. I look between buildings, through fences, apartment windows, stairwells, always keeping an eye out for an animal in need. I keep an eye out for people who might need help too. As we were driving and my eyes were darting in my search, I noticed a sense of anxiety and compulsion. There might have been a great song playing on the radio, but I wasn’t listening, nothing else mattered in the moment. I had to look, had to know if an animal was suffering. This practice had become a habit and was exhausting, and no fun. Suddenly, I was reminded of an exercise I did with my niece Courtney during a weekend trip to New York City. She was 11ish. As we were walking togeth-

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er down a busy street in Times Square, she announced to me that everyone in New York was mean. I asked her how she knew that, and she assured me she could tell by people’s faces, “They’re all mean,” she said, pointing one or two sour faces out. I hadn’t seen it that way. So I asked her to do an exercise, and you can do it too as you read this. I asked her to stop for a moment and look around to find everything that is blue in color. She scanned the storefronts and people on that street for anything blue. When she

felt complete, I asked her to close her eyes, and when she did, I asked her to recall what she saw that was red (you can do this too, but shut your eyes right now). She kept her eyes closed and was silent. She couldn’t recall red things. Red hadn’t been what she was looking for. This is one of the simplest exercises to demonstrate that the mind is always looking for evidence, always looking to be right, and always finds what it is looking for and little else. She opened her eyes and thought about what I had said. I thought about my niece as my husband and I continued along Central Avenue. I was also becoming more aware of my habit of becoming an animal detective. I wanted to stop the looking; it was a habit I had created over years. I decided I would look for something else. I would consciously look for beauty instead. It could be in any form, shape or experience. As I made up my mind to do this, my eyes lit on a sign, it read “Beauty.” I laughed out loud. It was a beauty supply shop. I looked

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for beauty everywhere: In the color of buildings, in the clouds in the sky, in the music on the radio and in the reflections and shadows of the sunlight on the desert landscape. I could find it. I just had to remember to look for it. I know I was reminded of this Navajo chant—used in ceremonies to help one return to a state of balance within the universe. This state of balance is called “Hozho” in the Navajo language. It goes like this: In beauty I walk. With beauty before me, I walk. With beauty behind me, I walk. With beauty below me, I walk. With beauty above me, I walk. With beauty all around me, I walk. It is finished in beauty. Sarah McLean is the director of Sedona Meditation Training & Retreats and is certified and recommended by Dr. Deepak Chopra. She can be reached via e-mail at meditate@sedona.net, phone at (928) 2040067 or fax at (866) 654-1705. You can also visit online at http://www.SedonaMeditation.com.

October 2008

Recycling news from far and wide Home Energy Bank

Green is good. For more information, visit www.giveshoes.org.

People who use solar energy systems to power their houses can watch their electric meters slow, stop or even run backward when the sun shines. But when the sun goes down, the power decreases. Now, an MIT professor, Daniel Nocera, has developed a fuel cell that “banks” solar energy and makes electricity 24/7. Fuel cells and batteries are alike in that they produce no greenhouse gases, but batteries store electrical energy in a closed system that eventually runs out. Fuel cells have the advantage of running indefinitely as long as certain materials (in this case, hydrogen and oxygen) are present. The hydrogen-oxygen reaction has always required hi-tech containment because it’s highly corrosive, but Nocera’s new system was demonstrated using only a glass jar. He says the process is cheap, efficient and easy to manufacture. The system is made from abundant materials. And we love this part: Nocera was inspired by nature’s own strategy for storing energy from the sun.

heat loop system is so efficient that it occasionally feeds power back into the grid. As for water, the made-over Lion House boasts a 59 percent savings in consumption, and a 30 percent reduction in waste. “We can’t be a leader in global conservation if we don’t also live it at home,” as the chief executive officer of WCS said.

The Lion House Leeds

Soles for Souls

The Bronx Zoo’s Lion House was dubbed a Historic District because of its gracious Beau-Arts style and striking 1903 architectural features, but since the settings in zoos have become more naturalistic, the grand old Lion House has long sat unused. Now, thanks to the vision of the Wildlife Conservation Society (plus $62 million and six years), it is busy, vital, and the city’s first LEED-certified Gold-landmarked structure. The grand exterior was untouched, but with construction that included major gutting and excavating, the building now features a waterfall, pool, two-story cliffs, caves, fish, lemurs, crocodiles and a baobab tree with Madagascan hissing cockroaches—as well as meeting rooms for humans. Recycled steel, stone, concrete, low-VOC materials and harvested woods were used throughout the structure. A natural fuel cell, cogeneration plant and

This is a story that will warm your heart—if not your feet. Its premise is quite simple: Sending used shoes to people who need them. The particulars: The Lehigh Safety Shoe Co. has teamed up with Soles4Souls in a program that will provide industrial companies with donation boxes, brochures, ad materials and local public relations to help these companies host a “shoe fair.” The fair makes it easy for the companies to collect shoes and get them onto the feet of deprived people in 60 countries. This program is a prime example of what is good about the green movement. Needy people receive a basic, necessary commodity; that important commodity is reused while being directed away from landfills; a company that hosts a “shoe fair” is recognized for having a heart as well as gaining great publicity.

Recycle for Mom Peter Lobin of Solid Waste Solutions Corp. calls himself a “Garbologist.” He was visiting San Francisco’s Embarcadero when he noticed the public recycling set-up: One 90-gallon toter for “Recyclables,” one for “Trash” and one for “Organics.” Since his company’s motto is Integrated Environmental Solutions for a Sustainable Future, Lobin was interested. He noticed that there was a female attendant standing nearby, and he started up a conversation. “How is this working?” he asked. “Very well—now that we have attendants,” was the answer. “See, when these were first installed, people mixed everything up,” the attendant continued. “So with you standing here, people are recycling properly,” Lobin replied. “Yes, they see us watching them and they’re much more careful.” OK, we understand that it takes awhile for Americans to form new habits, but the future of the planet is at stake. This simple story begs the question: Do we still need Mom around to remind us to clean up after ourselves?

Solar is Styling John Langdon, with a company called HelioVolt, points out that solar power is in a state similar to the situation of air conditioning in 1950: not yet considered standard equipment in new construction. Back then, window units were the prescribed retrofit for buildings without central air—and 6-inch deep solar panels are the corresponding retrofit for nonsolar buildings now. In 2007, solar installations soared 45 percent, but with solar power still less than 1 percent of the U.S. total, that’s a drop in the bucket. Steep energy prices and subsidies help sales; however, at about $40,000 for a typical installation (before subsidies) price is the obstacle to buyers.

Solar companies can’t lower the price, but they are addressing another objection: the ugly appearance. Thick panels and add-on brackets for roofs are giving way to thin-film construction and roof tiles that are attractively integrated. Central air conditioning caught on nicely, thank you; it won’t be long that solar power—with better aesthetics—will catch on, too.

Ontario Does it Better You’re a good recycler—recycling paper, bottles, cans and plastic—but old TV’s, computers and cell phones drive you nuts because the recycling truck won’t take them. All that electronic scrap (with components that nobody wants to see leach into drinking water) ends up in a hole in the ground—ugh! What’s a good recycler like you to do? Well, if you’re in Ontario after April 1, 2009, your worries are over. That’s when the province’s recycling dropoffs will start receiving electronics. The program is free for consumers, with the tab picked up by manufacturers, brand owners and importers. The goal is to have 650 locations up and running in five years. Ontario currently recycles 27 percent of its electronics, but it hopes to move that number up to 61 percent at the five-year mark—that’s the first target set for recycling electronic scrap anywhere in Canada. Ontario’s environment minister says the wholesale dumping of electronics into landfills has “got to end.” And good recyclers everywhere nod in agreement. Questions can be sent to Jim Parks at jrparks@mac.com.

Recycling Tip

Metal items that can be recycled include steel food cans, metal lids, small appliances, wire, scrap metal, empty aerosol cans and wire clothes hangers.

Let us recycle the lumber from your old deck Don’t throw your used cedar and redwood lumber away. Give us a call and we will pick it up and give it new life as distribution stands for Earth Odyssey.

(928) 778-1782 October 2008

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An old ally returns for ﬁght against global warming

n 1944, during the height of World War II, American gardens produced up to 40 percent of all the vegetables consumed nationally. It was considered each American’s patriotic duty to have a Victory Garden, and many a vacant lot was commandeered to grow squash and corn. People everywhere were plowing up their lawns, planting their back yards and setting out containers on apartment rooftops and patios. Recently, Victory Gardens have seen resurgence in popularity as people begin to fight climate change. Growing your own vegetables reduces the amount of pollution generated by shipping food thousands of miles from the farm to your table. These “food miles” burn lots of oil, cost us money and contribute to climate change. Add to this the recent salmonella scare, and renewed concerns about food security and eating locally. People who are conscientious about where their food comes from are also aware of how much energy they burn maintaining a lush lawn. The national organization Food Not Lawns is a resource for people wanting to transform front yards into Victory Gardens. Cofounded by author Heather Flores, who wrote the book “Food Not Lawns,” the organization offers workshops and programs like

By Shawn Dell Joyce tool sharing and seed swaps. “It seems like it makes sense,” say Flores. “We’re only a couple of generations removed from when everyone who had property grew some food on it.” In Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2007 documentary on climate change, “The 11th Hour,” architect and landscape designer Fritz Haeg presented his edible estates project. Haeg replaces lawns with edible plants and has elevated landscape design into fine art. His designs are beautiful, water conserving, and connect homeowners to the land and seasons in a way mowing never will. Edible landscaping is not a new concept; notes author Rosalind Creasy, who wrote “The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping.” Egyptians included date palms, figs, and pomegranates in their enclosed gardens. Persians, Romans, Medieval Monasteries and English gentry also employed forms of edible landscaping. Of course, none of these cultures had a homeowners associations or zoning ordinances

to contend with. “Most people when they get in trouble is when they just take out a piece of lawn and put in tomato plants,” Creasy said. “Why not be kind to your neighbors and put in a nicelooking vegetable garden?” The concept has caught on to such an extent that even the City of San Francisco recently ripped up the turf in front of the City Hall and planted edible landscaping. The gardens were planted by volunteers from Slow Food International, a worldwide organization. Slow Food encourages people to step away from the fast-food culture, back to the days of Victory Gardens before processed food, trans fats, imports, and high-fructose corn syrup. Slow Food maintained the gardens all summer long, then donated the produce to the local soup kitchens and food pantry. Want to plant a Victory Garden in your front yard? Here are some tips: • Check local laws. Ask your local government, block organization or homeowners association if there are any “weed ordinances,” or restrictions on lawn plants. • Have your soil tested. Check the soil for lead contamination, salt buildup from fertilizer or pesticide residues. At the same time, check your lawn’s pH, and adjust the soil accordingly. • Have a plan. There are many workshops in edible gardening, permaculture and

xeriscaping that can help you work with the natural features of your yard to create an aesthetically pleasing and productive garden. Plan now for next year’s garden. • Don’t bite off too much. Try converting a small part of your lawn each season. Your neighbors will appreciate seeing a wellplanned garden gradually take over the lawn rather than an abrupt change. • Go local. Incorporate local species of plants into your garden as they have a proven success rate and tend to be drought and disease tolerant. • Mix it up. Design your garden to contain annuals and perennials, flowers and vegetables, edibles and ornamentals. Make sure that the end result pleases the eye as well as the palate. • Build the soil. Layer compost and mulch to build raised beds over segments of the lawn. If you start now, your beds will be ready for spring planting. • Enlist the neighbors. It could take a while for the edible landscaping to take hold. Minimize complaints by letting your neighbors know ahead of time what you plan to do. Shawn Dell Joyce is a sustainable artist and activist living in a green home in the MidHudson region of New York. Contact her by e-mail Shawn@ShawnDellJoyce.com.

Popeye knew how to avoid Type 2 diabetes

ere’s another reason to try to eat more fruits and green leafy vegetables. Green leafy vegetables and whole fruit could be the latest weapons against the diabetes epidemic, according to Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. An 18-year epidemiological study of 71,346 women found that each additional serving of green leafy vegetables, such as kale or spinach, was associated with a 9 percent reduction in risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. An increase of three servings per day in fruit consumption was linked to an 18 percent lower risk of diabetes. Researchers led by Lydia Bazzano of Tulane University School of Public health and Tropical Medicine examined data collected from healthy female nurses, ages 38 to 63, who filled out food-frequency questionnaires every four years. Over the span of the study, 4,529 of the women developed Type 2 diabetes. Bazzano and colleagues then correlated the dietary data with the incidence of diabetes. Overall consumption of vegetables, fruit and fruit juice was not associated with any protection against diabetes. However, when researchers focused on green leafy vegetables and fruit, a benefit was observed, consistent with a small but growing body of evidence connecting vegetables in particular to diabetes prevention. On the other hand, consumption of fruit juice—as opposed to whole fruits—was actu-

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ally associated with an increased likelihood of developing diabetes among the women. Each additional serving of fruit juice boosted diabetes risk by 18 percent. For more information on the study, go to http:// care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/7/1311.

Winning Question Q: I’m determined to provide my children with healthy after-school snacks this year. What should I give them? A: Fresh fruits, raw vegetable sticks, baby carrots, raisins, unsweetened applesauce and frozen grapes or bananas are all good treats. Some children need more substantial snacks than others, depending on how big a lunch they eat, how early they eat dinner and how much of a growth spurt they are in at the time. For snacks that will sustain a child more

than just an hour or two, try including a little bit of low-fat protein. You could offer a piece of string cheese with fruit, cereal with milk and fruit, whole grain English muffins with peanut butter or melted reduced-fat cheese, or hummus dip with vegetables and a couple of pita bread wedges. Children also enjoy making their own snack combinations. Ask for a hand in making a trail mix of dried fruits, bite-size cereals, pretzels and a few nuts; a yogurt, fruit and cereal parfait; or homemade fruit and yogurt smoothies. —American Institute for Cancer Research.

Snack Attack Those mini snack packages, designed to help dieters’ willpower, might actually encourage greater consumption, according to European researchers. In a study of 140 undergraduates offered snacks while watching TV, bag size had no effect on the munching of a control group. But when a second group was primed to think about calories, they were almost twice as tempted by smaller snack bags and when they did munch, ate nearly twice as much. —Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, September 2008.

Winning Recipe Looking for a quick dinner that fits in with your healthy eating plan? Try this Beef and Beer Chili from Cooking Light magazine.

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Beef and Beer Chili 1 1/2 cups chopped red onion (about 1 medium onion) 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 small pepper) 8 ounces extra-lean ground beef 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 (19-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained 1 (14-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice Yields 4 (1 1/2-cup) servings. Combine first 4 ingredients in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt; cook 1 minute. Add oregano and next 4 ingredients (through beer) to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in cornmeal; cook 5 minutes. Stir in juice. Nutritional analysis per serving: 261 calories, 18.3 g protein, 30.3 g carbohydrate, 5.7 g fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 8.3 g fiber, 799 mg sodium. Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian in Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com.

October 2008

Sudoku!

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains numbers

Find 20 words associated with pumpkins

1 through 9. The puzzle has only one solution. The solution is on page 29.

Word Power

Autumn Candle Carve Festival

October 2008

Ginger Grow Halloween Harvest

Jack-O’-Lantern Nutmeg Orange Pie

Plant Pumpkin Pumpkin Patch Scarecrow

Seed Squash Thanksgiving Vine

Karma (noun) Pronunciation: [‘kah(r)mê] Definition: The moral cause and effect system of Buddhism and Hinduism that assumes every action has a direct consequence. To simplify extremely, the consequence of good acts is happiness while the consequence of bad acts is misfortune and suffering. In fact, all acts, however minute and seemingly insignificant, have a consequence in this life and in determining the form in which you

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will be reincarnated in your next life. Suggested Usage: A person with positive karma must be someone whose life has been lived to some extent for others: “Isabelle’s karma from taking care of her invalid mother for all those years should reincarnate her as a queen.” Negative karma can be just as strong, “The fact that every one of Lionel’s lies gets him in trouble should tell you something about his karma.”

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Aaron, Shelby, Christian, Anthony, Olivia and Jasmine each went to the grocery store and bought a number (8, 5, 4, 2, 9 and 3) of some type of plant (apples, carrots, peanuts, mangoes, bunches of celery and potatoes). They each only bought one type of plant, however they differed in how much they bought. They carried the items that they bought to class. What did each person bring to class? 1. Anthony said that the edible part of his items are the seeds. 2. Anthony brought in less than seven items. 3. Christian’s items are fruit. 4. Jasmine said that her items come from the root of a plant. 5. Someone brought in five mangoes. 6. Olivia brought in the most number of items. 7. Someone brought in two carrots.

8. Someone brought in four potatoes. 9. Aaron brought in less than nine items. 10. Shelby’s items are not fruit. 11. Someone brought in eight apples. 12. Olivia said that her items come from the stem of a plant. 13. Christian brought in less than seven items.

Fun Facts

Several poison-dart frog species are bred at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. There, researchers gauge the toxicity of poisonous species by taste. No danger is posed, because frogs caught in the wild gradually become less poisonous, and captive offspring are nontoxic.

The change may be due to diet. The frog’s natural menu—mostly tropical ants and springtails—cannot be duplicated in a terrarium. ******* The temperature of Earth’s interior increases by 1 degree every 60 feet down.

Educational books, puppets, toys and puzzles focused on nature. Highlands Center Insignia— help spread the word with a Highlands Center T-shirt, cap or water bottle. Coming soon: fleece vests. Newest title to hit the shelves—I Love Dirt! 52 activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature. Check out our latest selection of natural history books and field guides. Selection of wildflower and grass seed available. Local retailer of Soil Secrets products www.soilsecrets.com. Coming soon: Highlands Center apparel for the youngest members of the family—infant and toddler sizes.

The Benson Family Nature Store is located at the Highlands Center 1375 Walker Road, Prescott • (928) 776-9559 Page 24

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Solution on page 29 October 2008

Recurring Events Monday nights, 7 p.m.—Self Search/Channeled Readings, The Way To The Light Within, Phoenix. This class has been going on for over 12 years now. In the first part of the class, Dominique uses her psychic ability and StarWheel™ tiles to give each participant a mini reading. Bring your questions about anything you want to know, because in the second part of the class Dominique connects to her own as well as your guides, to get answers and guidance for you. Dominique is also a medium and can connect with and give you information from departed loved ones or friends. $20, Call (602) 279-2941 to reserve your place. Mondays—Heart-Centered Transpersonal Healing with Marsha Rand, MS, CCT, at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 308-6400 or (928) 277-1230. Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Spiritual, Intuitive and Empathic Readings with the Rev. Lana V. Ante at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 717-4499. Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Intuitive Readings with Dona Elia at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 445-8545. Wednesdays, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.— Farmers Market in Prescott Valley, M&I Bank on Florentine. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Spiritual, Intuitive and Empathic Readings with the Rev. Lana V. Ante at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 717-4499. Thursdays, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.— Farmers Market in Chino Valley, Bonn Fire Restaurant on Hwy 89. Fridays—Intuitive Readings and Bodywork with Joseph Drew at Mountain Spirit CoOp, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 830-4030. Fridays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Spiritual, Intuitive and Empathic Readings with the Rev. Lana V. Ante at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 717-4499. Saturdays, 2 p.m.-6 p.m.—Astrology with Linda Myers at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 445-8545.

October 2008

Sundays—Tea Leaf Readings with Sheryl Tilley at Mountain Spirit Co-Op, 107 N. Cortez St., Suite 100, Prescott. For more info, call (928) 899-5064.

Nonrecurring Events Oct. 1, 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.— Energy Efficiency: Continuous Improvement for Continuous Savings, Milwaukee, Wisc. Reduce your energy use and costs. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Oct. 1— Carson and Barnes Circus, Lake Havasu State Park. The London Bridge Lions Club presents two performances of a circus with elephants! Additional fee charged; more info at www.candbcircus.com, or by calling (928) 855-2784. Oct. 1-2—The Green Media Show, Marriott Copley Square Hotel, Boston, Mass. For more info, see http://sustaincommworld. com/index.asp. Oct. 2, 9 a.m.—Regular meeting of the Yavapai County *Water Advisory Committee/ Technical Advisory Committee, Arizona Dept. of Water, 2200 E. Hillsdale Road, Prescott. Oct. 2-4—Solar and Radiant Heating Systems, Sandy Hook, N.J. Become a part of the burgeoning radiant heating industry and a rapidly growing solar marketplace. This three-day course provides critical information to design practical and efficient solar and radiant heating systems for energy and cost savings with the comfort of under-floor heating. Cost, $650. For more info, see http:// www.solarenergy.org/workshops/. Oct.24—Monarch Tagging Field Trip to Blue River. Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park’s Education Coordinator Chris Kline invites volunteers to help search for monarch butterflies — then capture, tag and release adults. To sign up or for specific details, please call Chris Kline at 520-689-2723 or e-mail ckline@Ag.arizona.edu. Oct. 3, 7 p.m.—Protecting, Preserving and Interpreting the 1892-1900 Grand Canyon-Flagstaff Stage Coach Line Historic Landscape, Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. Richard and Sherry Mangum, Flagstaff historians and Neil Weintraub, South Kaibab Zone Archaeologist, Kaibab NF will present this program. RSVP for this free program. For more info, call (928) 779-4395.

Oct. 3-5—Introduction to Natural Building, Summertown Tenn. Three-day instruction in straw, cob, wood and other natural materials. Wattle and daub, adobe, earthbags, earthships, traditional Mexican styles, bamboo, slipclay, domes and arches, earthen floors, earth plasters and alis, passive solar, foundations and drainage, living roofs and thatch. Exceptional hands-on experience. Cost, $400, or $700 for couples, meals and lodging included. For more info, see http://www. thefarm.org/. Oct. 4—Introduction to Renewable Energy, Guemes Island, Wash. This workshop will introduce renewable energy technologies and strategies to homeowners, contractors and renewable energy advocates. Cost, $150. For more info, see http://www.solarenergy. org/workshops/. Oct. 4, 7 p.m.—The 1917-1918 Flu Epidemic in Flagstaff. Bee Valvo, special collections and archives, Cline Library, NAU will present this program. Through Michael Riordan’s letters, Coconino County Public Health Department records, and the oral histories of those who lived through the epidemic, we will explore how the citizens of Flagstaff faced the epidemic and rose above its wrath. RSVP for this free program. For more info, call (928) 779-4395. Oct. 4, 8 a.m.-noon—Edible/Medicinal Desert Plants Walk, Oracle State Park, $20 fee; reservation required. Call the park for more information. (520) 896-2425. Oct. 4, 9:30–11:00 a.m.—Dragonfly Walk, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, 37615 U.S. Hwy 60, Superior. For more info, call (520) 689-2811. Oct. 4—Flagstaff Science Fest at the Park, Jerome State Historic Park. Learn a little geology, learn a little about minerals. Visitors will have a hands-on opportunity to learn about the geology of the Verde Valley. The Mingus Gem and Mineral Club will be available to show you about the beautiful world of minerals, from ugly “rocks” to gems. For more info, call (928) 634-5381. Oct. 5, 2 p.m.—American Presidential Elections in Historical Perspective, Red Rock State Park, Sedona. Brooks D. Simpson, professor of history at Arizona State University, will present this program. The Arizona Humanities Council and the Benefactors of Red Rock sponsor this program. Seating is limited. Program is free with paid admission to the park.

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Call the park at (928) 282-6907 for further information. Reservations may be required. Oct. 5, 7 p.m.—Little Colorado River Valley NHA: How the Landscape of the Little Col-

orado River Valley Shaped Human Activities. Linda Marie Golier, Center for Desert Archaeology will present this program. Come learn about Hopi farming and specialized varieties of crops developed for dry farming, how Navajo-Churro sheep became adapted to this environment and then contributed to a major part of Navajo culture, how the terrain and climate made the 35th parallel ideal for a railroad route and, in turn, how that affected future development and settlement, including the logging and livestock industries. RSVP for this free program. For more info, call (928) 779-4395. Oct. 6-8—Biopolymers Symposium 2008, Embassy Suites Hotel Chicago, O’Hare, Rosemont, Ill. For more info, see www. biopolymersummit.com. Oct. 6-10—Grid-Tied PV Systems, San Diego, Calif., and Pittsboro, N.C. If you know that you will be working in an urban area, with a focus on battery-less grid-tied installations, the Grid-tied PV class is for you! Cost, $850. For more info, see http://www. solarenergy.org/workshops/. Oct. 7, 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.—Houses That Work, Charlottesville, Va. Offered in collaboration with the Energy & Environmental Building Association, Houses That Work is a concise look at the house-as-a-system and the re-engineering process for improved building performance. For more info, see eeba. org/calendar. Oct. 7-8, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.—Certified Green: Credible Green Building and Remodeling Projects, Middletown, Wisc. Attend this two-day training for an in-depth understanding of green building and remodeling principles. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Oct. 8, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Houses That Work, Oklahoma City. Offered in collaboration with the Energy & Environmental Building Association, Houses That Work is a concise look at the house-as-a-system and the re-engineering process for improved building performance. For more info, see

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eeba.org/calendar. Oct. 8, 1 p.m.—Regular meeting of the Up-

Autumn is harvest season; also the time to plant herbs and the right months to prepare your spring flower garden. Stock up during this annual fundraiser. For more info, call (520) 689-2811. Oct. 10-11—LHC Lions Striper Derby, Lake Havasu State Park. Striper derby fundraiser; call Constant at (928) 505-5240 for more info. (928) 855-2784.

per Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition/Technical Advisory Committee, County Administration Building, Gladys Gardner Conference Room, first floor, 1015 Fair St., Prescott. The agenda will be posted on www.uvrwpc.org prior to the meeting. Oct. 8, 2:30 p.m.—Regular meeting of the Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition/ Safe Yield Committee, County Administration Building, 1015 Fair St., Prescott. The agenda for the meeting should be posted on www.uvrwpc.org a couple of days prior to the meeting. Oct. 8, 5 p.m.—Meeting of the City of Prescott Water Conservation/Safe Yield Committee., City Hall, 201 S. Cortez, lower level conference room. Oct. 8-9—The Green California Community College Summit, Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, Calif. For more info, see http://www.green-technology.org/ccsummit/. Oct. 8-9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—31st World Energy Engineering Congress, Gaylord National Convention Center on the Potomac, Washington, D.C. For more info see eeba. org/calendar. Oct. 9, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.— Ventilation Basics and Myth Debunking, Waukesha, Wisc. This one-day training will provide builders, remodelers, contractors, allies and other building performance consultants with the skills they need to incorporate effective ventilation into new and existing high-performance homes. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Oct. 10, 9 a.m.-Noon— Focus on Insects “BioDive,” Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, 37615 U.S. Hwy 60, Superior. For more info, call (520) 689-2811. Oct. 10, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.—Fall Plant Sale, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park.

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Oct. 10-12—Peak Oil Preparedness, Summertown, Tenn., post-petroleum survival training weekend intensive with sections on becoming food self-sufficient, food preservation, growing your own fuels, fuel alternatives, heating and lighting your home with solar and other renewable energies, water catchment, natural building techniques, preventative medicine, ecovillages and transition towns. Cost, $400, or $700 for couples, meals and lodging included. For more info, see http://www.thefarm.org/. Oct. 11, 10 a.m.—Regular meeting of the Citizens Water Advocacy Group, Granite Peak UU Congregation, 882 Sunset Ave., Prescott. Oct. 11, 1:30 p.m.—Edible/ Medicinal Desert Plants Walk, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, 37615 U.S. Hwy 60, Superior. For more info, call (520) 689-2811.

strations and portrayal of life on the frontier as it was in the late 1870s—all taking place at an original military site. For more info, call (928) 567-3275. Oct. 12, 2 p.m.—Geology Hike, Red Rock State Park, Sedona. Park volunteers escort visitors on a guided hike through the park, discussing the geology of the area. This hike includes the Eagles Nest trail for a great view of the park and the surrounding area. More than just a guided hike, this is an interpretive experience for the beginner and the advanced geologist. The hike lasts for two to two and one-half hours and has a 250foot elevation climb. Bring water and wear suitable shoes or boots. Call (928) 282-6907 for further information. Reservations may be required. Oct. 13, 4:30 p.m.—Meeting of the* Citizens Water Advisory Group/ Education Committee, Granite Peak UU Congregation, 882 Sunset Ave., Prescott. Oct. 13-16—Solar Thermal Workshops, Guemes Island, Wash. Participants in this workshop will learn theory, design considerations and installation techniques necessary to install and maintain a solar domestic hot water system. Cost, $550. For more info, see http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/.

Oct. 11—National Bass West Tournament, Lake Havasu State Park. Sixty boats fishing for bass, weigh in 3 p.m. For more info, see www.nationalbasswest.com, or call (928) 855-2784. Oct. 11, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.—Second Saturday Shop Hop in Pine. Art galleries; antiques/gifts; mind, body, spirit; artists/craftsmen demos; and refreshments/live music. Look for the balloons. Come and spend the day in Pine! Oct. 11—Verde River bottom deposits sampling is planned for the upper Verde River with the Sierra Club Water Sentinels. To make this program successful, volunteers are needed who are willing to commit to attend one training session, at least three monitoring activities and to assist with at least one streamside cleanup. Volunteers will collect water samples for lab testing. For more info, contact Sandy Bahr at sandy.bahr@sierraclub. org, or (602) 253-8633; or Tom Slaback at prescottkid@peoplepc.com or (928) 778-4233. Oct. 11-12—Annual Fort Verde Days, Fort Verde State Historic Park Annual Fort Verde Days. The park’s premier event includes living history presentations, weapons demon-

Oct. 13-17—Biodiesel Fuel Workshop, Pittsboro, N.C. Learn the fundamentals of this alternative fuel source that can be used in any diesel engine. Cost, $750. For more info, see http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/biodiesel.html. Oct. 14, 12:15 p.m.—Brown Bag Lunch Lectures: History of Flagstaff Maps. Alex DiNatale will give this presentation on general land office maps and township surveys, the first land status maps made in the United States. For more info, call (928) 779-4395. Oct. 14, 5 p.m.—Moonlight Hike, Redrock State Park. This hike includes a naturalist-led interpretive program on the park’s beautiful trails. Hike leaves promptly from the Visitor Center at 5 p.m. No late arrivals will be allowed to join the group. Wear suitable clothing and shoes, and bring water, a flashlight and insect spray. Reservations required. This will be the last hike of the season. Call (928) 282-6907 for further information. Oct. 14, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.— Full Moon Gratitude Drumming, Crystal Lotus Gallery, 3950 N. Hwy. 87 Pine, AZ. For more info,

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call (928) 476-3410. Oct. 15—Monarch Tagging Field Trip, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Education Coordinator Chris Kline invites volunteers to help search for monarch butterflies—then capture, tag and release adults—during offsite research trips around the state of Arizona. Participants will search for Monarchs on a trip to the Hualapai Mountains. To sign up or for specific details, please call Chris Kline at (520) 689-2723 or e-mail ckline@Ag.arizona.edu. Oct. 15, 5 p.m.-7 p.m.—Aqua Fria Open Space Alliance Inc. invites conservation and land-use planners, resource managers and interested citizens to attend a brief presentation of the results of the Vegetation Mapping and Monitoring Demonstration Project recently completed. This is a free, public gathering with refreshments and introductions followed by presentations on the grand concept of Open Space, the practical necessity of more intensive Inventory and Monitoring, and progress in Natural History Education, Big Bug Station, Central and Main St., Mayer. For more info, contact Garry Rogers at (928) 925-7191 or GRogers@SigmaXi. net, Jo Ann Johnson at (928) 772-7506 or ja10johnson@yahoo.com. Oct. 15-16—Natural Green Builders Products Expo, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. For more info, see http://www. ngbpe.com/. Oct. 17— Monarch Tagging Field Trip, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Education Coordinator Chris Kline invites volunteers to help search for monarch butterflies—then capture, tag and release adults—during offsite research trips around the state of Arizona. Participants will search for Monarchs on a trip to the Hualapai Mountains. To sign up or for specific details, please call Chris Kline at (520) 689-2723 or e-mail ckline@ Ag.arizona.edu. Oct. 17-18— Drum Making Workshop with Yolanda Martinez. Make your own Native American drum and participate in the drum birthing ceremony—learn drumming techniques and songs. To register and for more info, call Crystal Lotus Gallery, 3950 N. Hwy. 87, Pine, AZ. (928) 476-3410. Oct. 17-Oct. 30—Intensive Permaculture Design Certificate, Quiet Valley Ranch, Kerrville, Texas. For more info, see http://www. kerrmaculture.org/home/.

October 2008

Oct. 17-20—International Green Ideas Show, Albuquerque, N.M. Here is the one exposition in the Southwest to specifically showcase the earth-friendly products, programs and services of inventors, companies and concerned groups from around the world in a popular consumer show format. For more info, see http://www.igishows. org/home.html. Oct. 18, meet at camp at 7 a.m.—Arizona Antelope Foundation work project will be working on the EZ Ranch east of Cordes Junction for the Sycamore Mesa Fence Modification. Volunteers will modify some fence to make it pronghorn/wildlife friendly. Bring workgloves, bag lunch, snacks, water, personal gear. Volunteers are encouraged to bring ATVs/Rangers/Rhinos if they have them because the road from the campsite to the project area on Sycamore Mesa is not very good. The AAF will provide a free steak dinner on Saturday night. For more info, including directions, contact Scott Anderson at (480) 213-1611 or info@azantelope.org. Oct. 18—The Nature Conservancy Volunteer Field Trip to Three Links Farm (about 15 miles north of Benson along the San Pedro River). Volunteers, this is your opportunity to visit the 2156-acre Three Links Farm that was purchased by The Nature Conservancy and stretches for six miles along the San Pedro River in Southeastern Arizona. The Conservancy purchased the Farm in order to retire nearly 1000 acres of irrigation, which hydrological modeling shows will benefit 20 miles of river with increased base flows and healthier riparian vegetation. The San Pedro River is a major migratory pathway for neotropical birds such as gray hawk and the rare yellow-billed cuckoo and supports endangered species such as the southwestern willow flycatcher and cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The Farm also contains numerous highly significant archaeological sites that will be protected within the riparian management zone. Numbers will be limited, so call or e-mail Dorothy Boone at (520) 547-3437, or dboone@tnc.org to make your reservation. Oct. 18, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.—Boating Safety Class, Sonoita Creek State Natural Area. Learn about boat registration requirements, Arizona and federal boating laws, equipment requirements, navigation rules, trailering your boat, aids to navigation (buoys) and other useful information. This is a state and federally approved boating safety class! Upon successful completion, students will receive a certificate and an ID card. Sponsored by Arizona Game and Fish Department. Call to

October 2008

or call (602) 542-7116.

Oct. 18, 1:30 p.m.—Plants of the Bible Guided Tour, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. On this guided walking tour Mesa resident and Bible scholar David Oberpriller points out palms, figs, olives, pomegranates and other plants of the Bible and shares his knowledge about botany, history and scripture. This easy two-hour tour proceeds slowly along wheelchair-and-walkeraccessible paths. For more info, visit http:// ag.arizona.edu/BTA/events/bibleplants.html.

Oct. 23-26—Social Venture Network’s 2008 Fall Conference, La Jolla, Calif. This event will bring together leaders in socially responsible business to convene, recommit, share best practices, and celebrate our 2008 Innovation Award winners. For more info, see www.svn.org.

Oct. 19, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.—Trees of Arizona, guided tour at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. A new autumn tour through the forested areas of the Arboretum, where you’ll learn about the towering sycamore and cottonwood trees, native hackberry, mesquite and many more. For more info, call (520) 689-2811. Oct. 21-23—Green East Expo & Conference 2008, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York. Green East features the full spectrum of green, organic and environmentally friendly products and services, allowing for synergistic purchasing across all categories. For more info, see www.greenbiz. com/frame/1.cfm?targetsite=http://www. GreenEastExpo.com/. Oct. 22-24—Energy & Environmental Building Association (EEBA) 2008 National Conference, Pointe South Mountain Resort, Phoenix. For more info see eeba.org/conference. Oct. 23, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.— Harvest Nights Concert, featuring Vyktoria Pratt-Keating at the Crystal Lotus Gallery, 3950 N. Hwy. 87. Pine, AZ. $10 suggested donation. For more info, call (928) 476-3410. Oct. 23-14—Train the Trainer Class, Dead Horse Ranch State Park. The Train the Trainer class is designed for people with trail and crew leader experience, this class will give the participant the experience to leader a Trail Crew Leader Training. Instructors are taught how to use the OSI curricula and lesson plans to teach basic trail construction and maintenance, safety, tool use and crew leadership principles. Participants should demonstrate the opportunity to host a Trail Crew Leader Training for an agency or association they are involved with in the future. Registration fee is $75 to cover course materials, equipment, light breakfast and lunch both days. Free camping is available at the park for attendees or there are lodging options in Cottonwood, Ariz. More details and logistics will be sent to attendees after registering. For more info, contact trails(at)azstateparks.gov

Oct. 23-26—Medicine Wheel—Journey of the South, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif. The South direction is the path of the serpent. This is the work of the South, where we release our past energetically and mythically as the serpent sheds its skin. In the South, we also begin to assemble a mesa, the shaman’s altar, a collection of khuyas or medicine stones. We become the mythmakers. Cost, for the fourday experience is $950. For more info, send e-mail to medicine@dtpublication.com. Oct. 25—Upper Verde River Stewardship Hike: Perkinsville Bridge to MC Canyon. Bushwhack up the Verde River seven miles through a very pretty part of the river. Be prepared to push through the brush, wade the river, and climb around cliffs. This will be a long day, but there is outstanding scenery and photography, and fall color should be excellent. Learn about the conservation issues threatening this wonderful river. Sierra Club rating B, seven miles, 300’ elevation change. Prereservation required, contact Gary Beverly at (928) 636-2638 or gbeverly@cableone.net for more information or to ask for photos of the area. Oct. 25, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.—Butterfly Walk, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Learn to identify common species of butterflies — and about the colorful insects’ life cycles — on a two-hour walk through the Demonstration and Hummingbird-Butterfly Gardens. Arboretum Education Director Chris Kline works with Arizona State Parks volunteers on the ongoing monarch butterfly migration research project. For more info, see http://ag.arizona.edu/BTA/monarchbutterflies.html. Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—9th Annual Fiesta de las Calabazas, Oracle State Park. This community festival is set at the historic Kannally Ranch and features live music, fine art, food, hands-on activities and programs for kids, pumpkins, gourds, and more. The Fiesta de las Calabazas was founded in 2000 as a pumpkin or harvest festival to celebrate the beginning of the fall season in southern Arizona. The 2002 event was the first at

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the beautiful Oracle State Park venue. The Fiesta de las Calabazas promotes eco-tourism and heritage-tourism, fosters awareness of the natural environment, and showcases the cultural and artistic diversity present in the communities of Oracle, San Manuel, and Mammoth as well as neighboring towns in southern Arizona. Ride the shuttle bus to the festival site from the Oracle Courthouse Parking lot north of the Post Office and pay only $2 per person (ages 13 & under free). There is no additional charge to attend the festival or concerts. The first shuttle from town leaving the Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. For more info, see http://www.calabazas.org/. Oct. 25—Haunted Tours, Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park. Come join us for a nighttime tour of the infamous Yuma Prison. Ghostly legends that haunt the pen come alive with the Park Rangers and Yuma’s own paranormal investigators, the Yuma Spirithunters. For more info, call (928) 783-4771. Oct. 25, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.—Yavapai Meals on Wheels presents the Third Annual Wine Tasting Event, The Ridge Club, 6200 N. Hwy. 89, Prescott. The Buddy Moeck Swing Band will provide entertainment. Tickets are $65 per person and seating is limited. Call Darlene Wood at (928) 771-1950 for tickets. Oct. 25-26—Trail Crew Leader Training, Lost Dutchman State Park. The Trail Crew Leadership Workshop is designed to provide individuals with the training and information required to lead groups of volunteers on important trail projects. The training is 16 hours in length (2 days) and includes a mix of classroom lecture, hands-on experience and field work instruction. Participants should have some prior trail experience. Registration fee is $75 to cover course materials, equipment, light breakfast and lunch both days. Free camping is available at the park for attendees or there are lodging options in Apache Junction, AZ. More details and logistics will be sent to attendees after registering. For more information contact trails(at)azstateparks.gov or call (602) 542-7116. Oct. 26, 1 p.m.—Water Ways: Water, Human Nature, and Human Culture, a presentation by Dr. Eugene Anderson, author of Ecologies of the Heart. Location: Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., Prescott. For more information call (928) 445-3122 or visit http://sharlot.org/index.shtml. Oct. 26, 1:30 p.m.—Edible/Medicinal Desert Plants Walk, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Sonoran Desert plants have nourished, healed and clothed desert residents for thousands of years. Walk the Curandero Trail and learn more from Jean Groen, author of Foods of the Superstitions. David Morris, ethno-botanist and Choctaw Nation member, alternates as leader for this tour. Visit our Web site “events” page for specific dates, and please note that our Curand-

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ero Trail is moderately steep in sections and is not wheelchair accessible. For more info, see http://ag.arizona.edu/BTA/edibleplants.html. Oct. 28, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.—Certified Green: Credible Green Building and Remodeling Projects, Green Bay, Wisc. Attend this two-day training for an in-depth understanding of green building and remodeling principles. This course is unique because it offers training for both Green Built Home and NAHB Verifiers program. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Oct. 28, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.—New Moon Manifest Drumming, Crystal Lotus Gallery, 3950 N. Hwy. 87 Pine, AZ. For more info, call (928) 476-3410. Oct. 30, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.—Southwest Builders Show, Phoenix Convention Center. Sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA), the Southwest Builders Show is Arizona’s largest show for builders and building industry suppliers in the Southwest region. For more info, see www.southwestbuildersshow.com. Oct. 30-Nov. 2—The Warrior’s Stance, a four-day experiential retreat, Merritt Center, Payson, Ariz. This class is for anyone who has completed the Medicine Wheel Program and who wants to walk this path with a heart and embody every bit of power available to them. The four directions have many different manifestations and correspond with Matter, Energy, Space and Time. Cost is $875. For more info, send e-mail to medicine@dtpublication.com. Nov. 1, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.—Shiitake Mushroom Growing Basics, Summertown, Tenn. Learn mycoforestry with the mycorrhizal masters. How to grow gourmet mushrooms, reverse climate change, save the forests and make money doing it. Half-day course includes mushroom lunch, $50. For more info, see www.thefarm.org/etc/cources.html. Nov. 1, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.—Forum on Culture and the Global Water Crisis. Registration began Sept. 8, and close at 2,500 registrants. Location: Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, 1401 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix (parking off 15th St.) For further details regarding fees, conference purpose and format, questions, comments, and/or suggestions, contact Joe Willy at fjosephwilly@yahoo.com or (602) 971-9536. Nov. 2, 2 p.m.—Beyond Guard Towers and

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Barbed Wire: Austrian Prisoners of War at Navajo Ordnance Depot, Red Rock State Park, Sedona. John Westerlund, a retired U.S. Army field artillery officer, will present this program. This program is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council and the benefactors of Red Rock State Park. Seating is limited. Program is free with paid admission to the park. Call (928) 282-6907 for further information. Reservations may be required. Nov. 2-9—Interdisciplinary Climate Research Symposium, Saguaro Lake Ranch, Ariz. For more info, see www.disccrs.org/ DISCCRSposter.pdf. Nov. 2, 1 p.m.—Arsenic in Drinking Water: Toxicity, Testing and Treatment, a presentation by John Zambrano, retired water quality specialist. Location: Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., Prescott. For more info, call (928) 445-3122 or visit http://sharlot. org/index.shtml. Nov. 5-6, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.— Certified Green: Credible Green Building and Remodeling Projects, Green Bay, Wisc. Attend this two-day training for an in-depth understanding of green building and remodeling principles. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Nov. 5-9—Solar Installation with Ed Eaton. Become a solar installer with this week-long course. In the U.S. course, the $500 fee includes food and lodging or $350 if you just want the instruction without accommodations, and $50 discount for early registrants or bringing a friend. For more info, see www. thefarm.org/etc/cources.html. Nov. 8, 1:30 p.m.—Edible/ Medicinal Desert Plants Walk, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Sonoran Desert plants have nourished, healed and clothed desert residents for thousands of years. Walk the Curandero Trail and learn more from Jean Groen, author of Foods of the Superstitions. David Morris, ethno-botanist and Choctaw Nation member, alternates as leader for this tour. For more info, see http://ag.arizona.edu/BTA/edibleplants.html. Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.—Live Music Festival, Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Did you enjoy the summer series of Saturday nights with live music and extended evening hours? A few of the same performers will be

showcased Nov. 8 during a Saturday of live music “both acoustic and eclectic” featuring different performances each hour in various gardens and collections around the Arboretum. For more details, call (520) 689-2811; or visit http://ag.arizona.edu/BTA/events/ folkfestival.html. Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.—Benefit concert featuring: AZ Rhythm Connection with Frank Thompson, An Inner Journey: Byron Metcalf & Mark Seelig, guitarist Amie Heberlein and friends, Native Wisdom Slide Show with Carla Woody and silent auction with art from Bali, Mexico and Peru. In the Marina Ballroom at the Hassayampa Inn, 122 E. Gurley St. Donation of $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Bring your percussion instruments to jam with Frank. For more info, call 778-1058, or visit www. kenosisspiritkeepers.org. Nov. 8, 7 p.m.—Edward F. Beale, The Forgotten Giant, Riordan Mansion State Park. Richard and Sherry Mangum, Flagstaff historians, will present this program. Many residents know Edward Beale as the builder of the Beale Wagon Road, the path of which is followed by I-40 and the railroad. Beale was much bigger than that, one of the leading Americans of his time. He was a war hero, pathfinder, humanitarian and more. Beale was the man that U.S. officials called on to carry dispatches between California and Washington, in the 1840s-’50s, when the trip was a dangerous test of a man’s courage and resourcefulness, and he always delivered the goods. RSVP for this free program. For more info, (928) 779-4395. Nov. 8-9—Veteran’s Day Celebration, McFarland State Historic Park. Come join the fun and celebrate our veterans with military re-enactors from various American conflicts We will feature static displays of military equipment, period firearms demonstrations, and cannons being fired with a big bang. For more info, (520) 868-5216. Nov. 8-9—Washington, D.C., Green Festival, brings together more than 175,000 attendees and is the world’s most authentic green living show, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability through extensive event-greening efforts. For more info, see www.greenfestivals.org. Nov. 9—Veteran’s Day Event, Fort Verde State Historic Park. Town of Camp Verde will host a parade in conjunction with local veteran’s groups; flag raising and flag retirement ceremony held at Fort Verde to follow. For more info, (928) 567-3275. Nov. 9, 2 p.m.—Geology Hike, Red Rock State Park, Sedona. Park volunteers escort visitors on a guided hike through the park, discussing the geology of the area. This hike includes the Eagles Nest trail for a great view of the park and the surrounding area. The

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hike lasts for two- to two- and one-half hours and has a 250-foot elevation climb. Bring water and wear suitable shoes or boots. Call the park at (928) 282-6907 for further information. Reservations may be required. Nov. 11— 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.—Ventilation Basics and Myth Debunking, Waukesha, Wisc. As construction techniques and weatherization practices improve, resulting in tighter and more efficient housing, it is imperative that ventilation best practices are employed to enhance indoor air quality and control moisture. This one-day training will provide builders, remodelers, contractors, allies and other building performance consultants with the skills they need to incorporate effective ventilation into new and existing high-performance homes. For more info, contact Sherry Benzmiller at (608) 238.8276, ext. 121 or sbenzmiller@ecw.org. Nov. 12-13— Co-op America’s Green Business Network’s seventh Green Business Conference, San Francisco’s beautiful Regency Center, offering a plethora of speakers, workshops, business-to-business networking, and numerous green marketing opportunities. For more info, contact Todd Larsen at toddlarsen@coopamerica.org, or see www. coopamerica.org Nov. 14-16—San Francisco Green Festival, the largest green consumer event in the United States, is a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, is the largest and most diverse green living event in the country. For more info, see www.greenfestivals.org. Nov. 15, 1:30 p.m.—Plants of the Bible Guided Tour, Boyce Thompson Arboretum

State Park. On this guided walking tour Mesa resident and Bible scholar David Oberpriller points out palms, figs, olives, pomegranates and other plants of the bible and shares his knowledge about botany, history and scripture. For more info, visit http:// ag.arizona.edu/BTA/events/bibleplants.html. Nov. 16, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.—Trees of Arizona, guided tour at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park. Take our new autumn tour through the forested areas of the Arboretum where you’ll learn about the towering sycamore and cottonwood trees, native hackberry, mesquite and many more. For more info, call (520) 689-2811.

October 2008

Kneeling porcelain ﬁgurine ﬁnds fountain of worth Q: The enclosed photo is of a kneeling porcelain figurine I purchased in Germany in 1951. Marked on the bottom are a crown and the words “Rosenthal—Germany—Kunstabteilung—Selb.” The figurine is approximately 7 inches high by 6 inches wide, and it is in pristine condition. I would appreciate any information you can tell me about the maker of my figurine and its value.

by Anne McCollam Creators Syndicate

A: Rosenthal Porcelain Factory was founded in 1879 by Phillip Rosenthal in Selb, Bavaria. The factory is still in business and is known for their high quality figurines and tableware. Your figurine is known as the “The Drink-

ing Maiden” by the German artist, Ernst Wenck. He designed the kneeling figurine in 1924; it was produced in both white and color until around 1950. The value of your figurine would probably be $600 to $800. Q: This mark is on the bottom of my pottery jardiniere. The jardiniere has a matching pedestal, but it is not marked. The overall height is approximately 25 inches. It has a glossy green glaze and is in good condition. The set was in a home we purchased in Florida. We know it survived two

Puzzle Solutions

Logic Puzzle solution: Olivia came to class with nine bunches of celery. Jasmine came to class with two carrots. Anthony came to class with three peanuts. Aaron came to class with eight apples. Shelby came to class with four potatoes. Christian came to class with five mangoes.

October 2008

Florida hurricanes, but other than that, we don’t know much about its history and value. A: McCoy Pottery was made in Roseville, Ohio, from 1910 to 1990. Your jardiniere and pedestal were made around 1955. The set was available in green, matte white and a brown and green blend. Its value would probably be $300 to $400. Q: I purchased a small, roll-top oak desk in 1975, and I was told then that it was over 50 years old. The inside has cubbyholes; below the writing surface is one horizontal drawer that is above two open shelves. All the handles are brass, and on the lock are the words “Angus— London.” Can you tell me the age of the desk and what it might be worth? A: Angus of London made high quality furniture in England, in the last quarter of the 19th and first quarter of the 20th centuries. Your oak desk was made around 1900 and would probably be worth $1,000 to $1,200. Q: The primary colored mixing bowl set in this photo was a wedding gift in 1963. Even though I have used the set over the past 45 years, it is in excellent condition. Each bowl is marked with an “R” in a circle and the words “Trademark— Pyrex—Made in U.S.A.—Ovenware.” And each bowl contains a number and the amount of liquid it holds. The yellow bowl

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is numbered “404—4 qt.,” “403—2 1/2 qt.” is on the green one, “402—1 1/4 qt.” is on the red, and “401—1 1/2 pt.” is on the blue bowl. My daughter told me she has seen sets like mine in antiques shops, and I now am curious what my set is worth. A: Pyrex kitchen glassware was introduced in 1915 by the Corning Glass Co. in Corning, N.Y. Corning employee, Dr. Jesse T. Littleton, discovered that Nonex, a low expansive glass, could make a heat resistant casserole. After successfully testing the ovenware, Corning introduced their first pie plate. Some believe the name evolved from “pie” and “ex” the ending of Nonex, thus the name “Pyrex.” Over the years they have produced a myriad of ovenware pieces. Your mixing bowl set would probably fetch $50 to $60 in an antiques shop. Q: I have a clear, pressed glass pedestal vase that I bought in an antiques shop. I was told it is a double vase with the “Amazon Sawtooth” pattern. It stands 9 inches tall and is in mint condition. I could not find a manufacturer’s mark. Any information about its maker, when it was made, and its value will be appreciated. A: You have a double bud vase in the “Amazon” pattern. It is an example of Victorian non-flint glass—the design is also known as “Sawtooth” and “Sawtooth Band.” Bryce Bros. located in Pittsburgh, produced the pattern from around 1890 to 1891, and United States Glass Co. in Pittsburgh reissued the pattern from 1891 to 1904. “Amazon” was available in clear, amber, canary-yellow, amethyst, blue and ruby-stained clear. Both glassmakers produced the pattern in a myriad of pieces and it has not been reproduced. The value of your double bud vase would probably be $75 to $125. Q: I have a 1933 World’s Fair silver ring. On the black enamel top are the words “1933—A Century of Progress—Chicago.” It is in excellent condition. Is it collectible and what is it worth? A: Mementos and souvenirs from any of the World’s Fairs are collectible. Your ring would probably be worth $100 to $125. Address your questions to Anne McCollam, P.O. Box 247, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Items of a general interest will be answered in this column. Due to the volume of inquiries, she cannot answer individual letters.

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‘Hacking Democracy’ a timely documentary

his month I decided to review Hacking Democracy (2007) due to our upcoming elections. This film follows Bev Harris and her organization Black Box Voting as they examine in detail the multitude of flaws and ease of fixing an election through our new fancy state-of-the-art electronic voting machines. These machines come in a variety of forms, optical scanning and touch screens are the ones discussed, which tabulate about 80 percent of votes cast. The film starts by covering the infamous fiasco in Volusia County, Fla., where in 2000, Al Gore received a negative vote count of 16,022. It was determined that it was not a malfunction of the machines because it was only the presidential election where one person’s vote count was counted backwards, but for some reason the Supreme Court stopped the investigation. In Volusia they also found signed poll tapes in the trash, which is a federal offense, and when those originals were compared to the duplicates that were given to the organization doing the audit, they did not match. Harris, et. al., moved onto the 2004 elections, where in Ohio the CEO of Diebold promised in a letter to deliver the votes of Ohio to Bush. On election day, there were a couple of machines in highly populated,

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Movie Reviews by Jason Allen

Movies that won’t make you dumber poorer areas, so the wait was four to seven hours; while in richer neighborhoods, they had more machines for less people, so there was no wait there. Also, Kerry knew—and stated to his staff of lawyers—that in New Mexico no matter who the people voted for the optical scanning machines produced a vote for Bush. So even though he knew for a fact there was voter fraud, he conceded, dropping any investigation. They go into detail of the workings and security of the machines, the code of the voting machines is against state and federal law to look at, even for state voting officials, and when the machines are tested they are not even tested for their security.

Bev Harris then goes on televison with Howard Dean and does a hack into an

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election, which takes about a minute, and changes the official results of an election on the Central Tabulator, from a laptop. They also cover the memory cards, which record the results. They find that these cards contain an executable program, which means that the only record of an election can be tampered with, leaving no trail. They do a demo with a state official. They have a thorough list of interviews with heads of Diebold and the people responsible for the reports, and I wouldn’t trust a single one of them with 10 cents. I would classify this one as a science nonfiction horror, and an absolute must-see before you cast a vote. The Web site is http://www.hackingdemocracy.com/.

October 2008

A step closer to self-sufﬁciency

Sustainable home surrounded by permaculture paradise

ave you ever wished that you could own a home that is sustainable? Maybe with established permaculture systems? In an area where the neighbors are also environmentally conscious? Well, now’s your chance. A house in the heart of Prescott’s Ecohood—ecologically minded folks living in the same neighborhood who are practicing simple living and ecological sustainability—is for sale. The home has good passive solar orientation with open solar access for natural lighting and passive heating. The interior walls are earthen plaster. Most windows are low-E double glazed with custom made insulated curtains. Strategically planted trees provide summer shading and ceiling fans keep the interior cool. A woodstove and natural gas provide heat in the winter. The monthly utility cost is about $75. The home’s exterior is a garden of edible, medicinal and habitat plantings, with more than 60 different species of perennial trees, shrubs, vines and herbs. A rainwater harvesting system with 4,000 gallons of storage irrigates the gardens by gravity. Garden beds are sunken and deeply mulched, some with ollas (clay pots) buried for trickle irrigation. Greywater from the shower, bathroom sink and laundry machine are fed to plantings through a legal branched drain greywater system that is effortlessly maintained. An antique hand-dug well is pumped by a solar panel into a wetlands water treatment system. The well water is then used for irrigation. The yard includes a chicken house and shaded chicken area, and an almost finished earthbag, cobb and strawbale structure that could be an office or meditation room. Custom storage sheds made from recycled

October 2008

Courtesy photos The house at 529 Dameron Drive in Prescott has been a permaculture demonstration site for years. Above, the interior has earthen plaster walls and hardwood ﬂoors. Bottom left, a view from the front. Bottom right, the back yard.

materials are tucked in along side house. The whole yard was designed using permaculture principles for ease of maintenance and beneficial relationships between each element. Wooded bike trails lead to the downtown

square in less than five minutes. Huge Cottonwood trees surround the creek that flows 100 yards away in this friendly pedestrian neighborhood. This three-bedroom, one bath home is 936

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square feet on one-eighth acre. An adjacent one-quarter acre lot with a house and adjoining backyard is also for sale. For more information, call Robert Israel at (928) 273-2420.

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October 2008