The CO-OP Country Round Up
Starting Out the New Year Right by Kathy
Osborne
Happy New Year, readers, and welcome to 2025. This year, like all before it, will be filled with changes, adaptations, dreams both realized and failed, and we will see our share of challenges and opportunities. This statement comes as no surprise to anyone except possibly my grandson who thinks I should stick to a rigid chores and visiting schedule so he never misses anything. What a sweet little boy I must begin with a correction. In the last issue of the CO-OP Round Up I mistakenly gave front page credit for an article to the incorrect writer instead of who actually wrote it, Better Health in the Outdoors by Suzanne Tabert. I regret the mistake and will endeavor to avoid such things in the future. January is here now and like many of you I find myself happiest with my nose in a seed catalog and preparing the potting room. For me, seed starting is easily 3.5 months away for the frost sensitive plants. And according to my farm and garden records over the last three years, I have a LOT to do before I even think about opening a seed packet. Nothing can go in the ground until early April at best. Even that depends on snow pack and soil temperature. The often used seed packet instruction phrase “as early as the soil can be worked” is so annoying when it means one thing for the valley but quite another for higher elevations.
Last year my daughter lent me a new garden seed book that weighs about 10 pounds and is full of delights I did not think possible, like a hybridized huckleberry! So the dreaming is in full swing and I am constantly distracted by my job which happens to be in a yard and garden fun house. All the tools. All the gadgets and colors, and options. No one will be surprised to find out that my job supports my farm and garden habit. And it’s a doozy. But, I digress.
In this issue of the Round Up you will find on
Page 8 our preliminary list of trees and shrubs for George’s Annual Tree Sale here at the CO-OP. This sale is planned for Friday April 25, 2025 and we expect another great event. This list will be updated on our website beginning February 15, 2025 so you can keep track of all we plan to bring in. The event is fast, and quite a lot of fun so we hope you can join us!
On Page 4 you will find the Boundary County winter class list and a Seed Swap Day planned for the Bonner County Library Seed Library Grand Re-Opening. This is an exciting event with lots of information and programs in store so check that out. Over on Page 10 Chase Youngdahl of the Bonner County Weed Department takes us on a diversion as he leaves the world of weeds and touches on one of my favorites, Aslepias speciosa, or Showy Milkweed. If you like Monarch Butterflies then you will want to know more about Showy Milkweed. My own plants are in their third year this season coming up. I hope this is the year the Monarchs show up!
As I write this the poinsettias in my work window are still blooming. They love the eastern light. And the snow is flying sideways as the north wind is driving it. This scene reminds me that while my never idle mind continues to turn toward the hope of sunnier days, I am compelled to keep the chickens warm and the stock tank thawed until those days do actually arrive. It is no use trying to speed up the calendar as Mother Nature does as she pleases. I am along for the ride for now but like to think that the best way to start the year is to be prepared for all the wonderful moments to come. There will be plants and seeds, grand children and weeds. There will be too much rain and not enough sun, or, the other way ‘round. Starting the year out right means expecting changes. So, here we go. Happy New Year.
Become a member of the Bonner County Historical Society to join a group of storytellers, scholars, and curious learners from all corners of Bonner County- explore, discover, and connect with us this year! Visit our brand new website at www.bonnercountyhistory.org www.bonnercountyhistory.org to join and learn about these programs and more:
Exhibits that enrich your understanding of those who came before
Research tools to feed your curiosity and find the answers you’re looking for
Hands-on education programs that spark creativity and spur discovery
Sign up for our newsletter to always know about upcoming programs and events
CO-OP Gas & Supply Company has been your locally owned and operated propane company since 2000. Our outstanding customer service and attention to reasonable pricing has set us apart from all other propane companies in the area.
If you are looking for a new propane company to supply all your propane needs at home, the office, or on the farm, now is the time to give us a call.
CO-OP Gas & Supply Company provides propane service to all of Bonner and Boundary Counties.
Please make sure trees and shrubs around your propane tank are trimmed back. Mark the location of the tank for easy access.
The access road to your tank MUST BE PLOWED and free of obstacles
When placing your tank remember: The tank MUST BE ACCESSIBLE so,
Tanks may not be placed under a deck
Tanks protection may have three ( 3) sides and a roof or four (4) sides and NO ROOF .
When should you call to get on the fill schedule? Call at 30%.
Thank you so much for your cooperation!
WINTER/SPRING 2025 Extension
Classes All classes will be held at the Boundary County Extension Office, unless otherwise noted. Pre-registration required. Contact the Boundary County Extension Office to register: 208-267-3235.
Guiding Good Choices, FREE
Wednesdays, January 22-February 19, 5:30-7:30pm
Guiding Good Choices is a 5-week program that provides parents of children in grades 4 through 8 (9 to 14 years old) with the knowledge and skills needed to guide their children through early adolescence. Parents who participate in this program learn valuable skills they can apply with their children to help prevent teen substance use and risky behaviors.
Homeopathy for Plants, $5 Thursday, January 30, 2-3:30pm
Unlock the secrets of using non-toxic homeopathic remedies to create thriving plants and soil in your garden. This class introduces the principles of homeopathy and discusses how to use homeopathic remedies in the garden to repel pests, and to enhance plant health and resilience. Join us to cultivate your knowledge and transform your garden into a flourishing sanctuary!
Growing Soil Sprouts Indoors, $10 Thursday, February 6, 1-3pm
Dehydration Basics, FREE
Thursday, February 20, 11am-Noon Via Zoom
Join our hands-on class to learn how to grow nutrient-packed soil sprouts at home. We’ll guide you through selecting seeds, understanding growing methods like microgreens vs. sprouts, and harvesting your crop. Perfect for beginners, this class makes indoor gardening simple and successful.
You will learn specific techniques for using your home oven or dehydrator to dry fruits, vegetables, herbs and meats. We will also cover recommended storage for your dried foods. Your family will love these healthy snacks! To register, go to www.uidaho.edu/food-safety. Backyard Forests, $10 Thursday, February 20, 1-4pm
Remedies for bark beetles, root disease, and similar forest health problems are usually preventative. Even people with only a dozen native trees grouped together must understand and apply some fundamental principles of forest ecology to keep those trees healthy.
Freeze Drying Class, $10 Tuesday, February 25, 1pm2:30pm
Want to learn about freeze dryers designed for home use? This is the class for you! During this class you will learn about the various freeze dryer models, purchasing and maintenance costs, how to operate a freeze dryer and proper storage of freeze-dried goods. You will be given the opportunity to see how to prep food and begin the freeze drying process. We will also be sampling a variety of freezedried foods.
Water Bath Canning, $10 Thursday, March 6, 1-4pm
Learn how to safely make and preserve your own high-acid foods including jams, jellies, tomato products, pickled vegetables, and fruits. This hands-on class will also teach participants about canning basics as well as proper storage and handling of home canned foods. Each participant will make their own jar of product which they can pick up the day after the class. Class size is limited to 9 people.
Fermentation: Sauerkraut and Other Veggies, $10
Tuesday, March 18, 1-3pm
Learn the basics of fermenting foods for preserving the harvest and enhancing the nutritional value, healthfulness, and digestibility of foods. As part of this hands-on class, you’ll take home a jar on its way to fermented goodness!
Plan the Garden, Preserve the Harvest, FREE Thursday, March 20, 3:30-5pm Via Zoom
Learn how to plan out your garden, so you are prepared when it’s time to plant! This class will also cover harvesting and safely preserving your garden. Research-based recommendations will be shared for preparing a great garden and also consuming it! There will be opportunities to ask questions, so you are ready to plant, grow, harvest, and store your garden’s bounty! To register, go to bit.ly/PlanPreserve25.
Boiling Water Canning Basics, FREE
Thursday, March 27, 11am-Noon Via Zoom
Learn to safely preserve your garden using a boiling water canner. Important steps to process foods for shelf-stable storage will be covered. Safe recipe options will also be shared! To register, go to www.
Seed Library Trivia: Why Seed Libraries? Seed Libraries can be found in community libraries or other public spaces. Many seeds and crops like wheat and corn are genetically uniform, making them vulnerable to being wiped out by disease or pests. Seed libraries help crops and plants adapt to different climates and ecologies, ensure food security, and provide an alternative to genetically-modified crops.
uidaho.edu/food-safety.
Seed Starting Basics, $5 Thursday, March 27, 1-3pm
Join us for an informative class on seed starting basics taught by our Master Gardeners. Whether you’re new to gardening or have some experience, you’ll learn how to pick the right seeds, prep your soil, and create the best conditions for your seedlings to thrive. It’s a great way to kick off your gardening season with confidence. We hope to see you there!
Check our website for current classes and our newsletter: https:// www.uidaho.edu/extension/county/boundary
Native Plant Society Highlights
Small Groups with Big Impact Programs
The January 18th and February 15th programs presented by the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society will feature speakers representing grassroots efforts by small communities that have blossomed into effective conservation, restoration, and education projects, locally and even globally.
Held at the Sandpoint Library (1407 Cedar St.), the presentations begin at 10:00 am on the third Saturday of the month, preceded by a half hour of coffee, tea, cookies and socializing. The public is welcome to attend or may stream the events on Zoom by preregistering with a link posted on the KNPS website.
January’s event, titled “Jacksonville’s Emerald Necklace: From Goldmines to Woodlands Trails” features Larry Smith, currently the Development Director of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association. His inspiring presentation will detail how Southern Oregon’s historic village of Jacksonville created the most successful citizen-based, volunteer-driven conservation group in that state.
Founded in 1989, Jacksonville Woodlands Association has protected 320 acres, established the Beekman Native Plant Arboretum and constructed miles of hiking and interpretive trails; preserving and maintaining area woodland habitats for present and future generations.
In February, KNPS members and friends will hear from Chris Duke, PhD, Executive Director of The Phoenix Conservancy in Pullman, Washington, speaking about the Palouse Prairie Restoration project. The Palouse Prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the continental United States. Agriculture and settlement have destroyed 99% of the native prairie once dominated by flowering plants.
By introducing native species back into small neglected urban weedlots in eastern Washington and northwestern Idaho, The Phoenix Conservancy creates “pocket prairies” that inhibit the growth of non-native invasive species, attract native pollinators, birds and wildlife, recharge aquifers and provide a riot of bloom color from spring to fall. Other Phoenix restoration projects have benefited local communities in the American Great Plains and in Madagascar.
These two exciting speakers will clearly show that small communities can have a big impact on a local level, and can import their successful projects to other endangered areas around the country and the world. KNPS programs are co-sponsored by the East Bonner County Library District and Sandpoint Parks & Recreation; they are free and open to the public. For more information about KNPS and upcoming events visit www.nativeplantsociety.org.
“If something happens to me, I want to make
you know what it takes to run a successful venture.
BUT, if something happened to you, would your workers and family know what to do?
-When are staff paid? Is there enough in the bank account?
-Who pays utilities and insurance?
-Should they continue, transfer, sell, or liquidate your business?
-And so much more
Don’t let them down. We can help.
The Business Stewardship Organizer gets your records, processes, and key documents organized so they’ll be ready if or when the time comes.
U of I to Host 57th Annual Idaho Potato Conference
by John O’Connell
The University of Idaho will host the 57th annual Idaho Potato Conference Jan. 22-23, offering the latest research and news affecting regional farmers and others involved in the potato industry.
The 2025 conference will be held in the Pond Student Union Building, located at 921 S. Eighth Ave. on the Idaho State University campus in Pocatello and will attract a crowd of 600 to 900 people.
An adjoining trade show will include more than 70 booths and displays highlighting agricultural products and services, and some of the more technical sessions will offer pesticide recertification and Certified Crop Adviser credits.
Registration for the conference is now open. The cost is $40 per person prior to midnight on Jan. 15 and $50 per person after the early deadline, with onsite registration available.
“This is a great opportunity for people to network with each other, make connections, learn something new and engage,” said Kasia Duellman, a U of I Extension seed potato specialist who is among the event’s organizers.
The conference will include concurrent sessions hosted in four different rooms according to theme –research, technical aspects of potato production, Potatoes 101 and Spanish language sessions.
Research talks will be 25 minutes each, with other sessions spanning 50 minutes.
Leaders with potato organizations, including Potatoes USA, NationalPotato Council and the Idaho Potato Commission, will offer industry updates, and guest talks are scheduled featuring two Washington State University potato researchers – Tim Waters, who will speak about insect management, and Jacob Blauer, who will cover potato agronomy.
An advisory committee comprising researchers, growers, consultants, crop advisors and chemical company representatives suggests topics to make certain the conference content is relevant to stakeholders.
James Woodhall, a U of I associate professor of plant pathology based at the Parma Research and Extension Center who is among the event’s organizers, believes two of the major disease-related issues affecting 2024 potato production were verticillium wilt and powdery scab, which is caused by an organism that can transmit potato mop-top virus (PMTV).
Research into both diseases will be covered at the conference.
From 8:30 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 22, Jeff Miller, with Rupert-based Miller Research, and Phillip Wharton, an associate professor in U of I’s Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, will discuss alternatives to fumigation and sustainable approaches to managing verticillium wilt, which causes early die in potatoes.
Wharton has secured a federal Specialty Crop Block Grant through the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to develop a new test for verticillium wilt and to evaluate alternative chemicals and biological products for controlling it in the field.
Duellman and her team aided Wharton by collecting samples from commercial fields. Woodhall’s lab has also targeted verticillium wilt, conducting field trials in Parma exploring how varietal susceptibility might affect disease severity.
Woodhall, Miller and Jonathan Whitworth, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research plant pathologist based in Aberdeen, will discuss the recent rise in PMTV cases. Whitworth was the first to document PMTV in Idaho in 2012.
“We’re getting a lot of interest for testing for PMTV and a lot of interest for research, as well,” Woodhall said. “Once it gets into the soil, there are no decent control options, except for keeping it out.”
Duellman will present another topic that’s gaining interest among the industry beginning at 9:55 a.m. on Jan. 22 – incorporating biopesticides into a potato disease management program.
Biopesticides are especially important for organic farmers, who are prohibited from using chemical pesticides, but they’re also gaining interest among conventional growers who are seeking ways to document how they’re moving toward sustainable production in response to consumer demand.
UI Extension agricultural economist Patrick Hatzenbuehler will speak on the economic impacts of vole damage to Idaho potato growers at 11:35 a.m. on Jan. 22.
UI Extension educator Jason Thomas, Minidoka County, who spe-
cializes in managing insects and rodents, will invite potato growers to complete a survey to document the scope of the vole problem throughout southern and eastern Idaho.
The conference is organized in conjunction with a large, annual equipment show presented by Spectra Productions called the Eastern Idaho Ag Expo, hosted Jan. 21-23 in ISU’s Holt Arena, 550 Memorial Drive.
Many attendees of the conference and expo also participate in the annual Idaho Crop Improvement Association Seed Potato Growers’ Seminar, which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 21 in Red Lion Hotel Pocatello, 1555 Pocatello Creek Road.
https://www.idahofb.org/news-room/posts/u-of-i-to-host-57th-annual-idahopotato-conference/
Tater Trivia: Idaho’s nickname is “The Potato State.” In 2023, Idaho’s potato farmers harvested approximately 13 billion pounds of potatoes! That’s 32% of the total U.S. potato production! Idaho’s volcanic soil, climate, and irrigation contribute to the superior quality of its potatoes. Historical Roots:The Russet Burbank potato, the most common russet variety, was developed by American horticulturist Luther Burbank in 1872.
Nutrition Powerhouse:
A medium-sized russet potato contains about 168 calories, 37 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein, making it an excellent source of energy.
Record-Breaking Spuds:The largest potato on record weighed over 18 pounds and was grown in England in 2011.
Please
Georges Annual Tree Sale
Friday April 25, 2025 8:00 AM Sharp
We are looking forward to another great tree sale event in 2025! We hope you can join us.
Here are the trees, shrubs, and berries we plan to have available.
As always, availability is subject to any changes made by the supplier over which The CO-OP Has NO Control.
Fruit Bearing Plants and Shrubs
Strawberries
Ozark Beauty Strawberry Ft. Laramie Strawberry Wendy Strawberry Blackberry/Currant/Gooseberry
Chesterb Thorneless Blackberry Red lake Currant Pixwell Gooseberry Blueberries
Jersey Blueberry Patriot Blueberry Northland Blueberry
Raspberries
Rubus Boyne Raspberry Heritage Raspberry
Rhubarb & Asparagus
Canada Red Rhubarb
Jersey Knight Asparagus Purple Pass. Asparagus Mary Washington Asparagus
Fruit Bearing Trees
Peaches
Elberta Peach Contender Peach Bailey Hardy Peach Red Haven Peach
Cherries
Rainier Sweet Cherry Montmorency Cherry Bing Cherry Plums
Toca Plum Mountain Royal Plum Superior Plum Apple
SnowSweet Apple
Granny Smith Red Fuji
Honeycrisp Liberty Chestnut Crabapple Pears
Bartlett Pear Parker Pear Summercrisp Pear
Tawara First Edition Asian Pear
Ornamentals
Lilacs : Common Purple Charles Joly Magenta Miss Ellen Willmott White
Wedgewood Blue First Editions Pinktini
Perennial Flowers
Hydrangea
First Edition Strawberry Sundae - white to pink
Misc Ornamental
Quaking Aspen Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle Gold Flame Honeysuckle
Compact Burning Bush Acer Silver Maple Betula Paper Birch
Currently this is what we expect to have on sale day for fruit bearing trees and shrubs, as well as ornamentals. This list is subject to change through April 2025. Landscaping/ornamental tree and shrub list can be found on our website by February 15, 2025. Please check our website through the spring for any updates or corrections to this list. THIS LIST IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Honor® Show Feed
Honor® Show Fitter’s Edge®
Honor® Show Fitter’s Edge® feed is a textured sweet feed that contains moderately high energy for growth and development. This 14% protein feed can be fed to heifers and growing/developing steers or to finishing steers when fed with High Octane® Power Fuel®. It can also be followed by feeding Honor® Show Full Range® or Honor® Show Finishing Touch®. Fitter’s Edge® feed is supported by Purina’s knowledge, experience and research.
Honor® Show Full Range
Honor® Show Full Range™ feed is designed to help promote feed intake, bloom and fill in cattle fed for show. Full Range™ feed can be fed throughout the entire feeding period to young calves being prepped for sale as well as steers and heifers being fed for exhibition. It's never too early to start thinking Winner's Circle. Honor® Show Full Range™ feed gives you the flexibility you need from start to finish to succeed in the ring.
Honor® Show Finishing Touch®
Honor® Show Finishing Touch® is a very high energy (calories) textured feed. This is a complete, balanced diet formulated for optimum growth and development of show cattle during finishing. It can be preceded by feeding Honor® Show Fitter’s Edge® or Honor® Show Full Range®
Honor® Show Full Control®
Honor® Show Full Control® feed is a textured ration that maintains body condition and helps create fill in show cattle. Honor® Show Full Control® is a lower energy textured diet especially effective in developing easy fleshing breeding cattle. It is also an ideal diet for heavily-muscled, moderate framed steers and for managing weight and condition on all types of show cattle once desired bloom is achieved.
Honor® Show Grand 4-T-Fyer™
Honor® Show Grand 4-T-Fyer concentrate is a blended supplement that can be mixed with cottonseed hulls, beet pulp and other feedstuffs to provide a high-quality ration for show cattle. This flexible feed allows you to adjust the grain level to fit your goals and needs for breeding cattle, steers and feeder calves.
Minerals / Supplements
Our Environment
The CO-OP Country Round Up January / February 2025 Volume 25 Issue 2
Weed of the Month: Showy Milkweed
By Chase Youngdahl—Director, Bonner County Noxious Weeds
Pollinator awareness is a topic that has generated some attention in recent years, and for good reason. About a third of our foods require animal pollination. Pollinators include organisms such as ants, beetles, bats, birds, moths, butterflies and of course, bees. While it can seem a bit paradoxical, agriculture relies on pollinators, as well as tools and practices that can be unfriendly to pollinators. There are resources to help with the balancing act—one being the Idaho Pollinator Protection Plan. The plan was drafted by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to provide general guidelines for supporting pollinators with tips and suggestions on how the apiary community and agricultural community can work together. Without taking a ton of article space to summarize the whole document, it lays out Best Management Practices (BMP’s) for both communities, provides key concepts that each community should be aware of, and above all, it encourages open communication. This is not a codified document, it is simply a stewardship resource. Undeniably, pesticide use (mostly misuse) can affect pollinators. This is where solid education and awareness comes into play, as well as adhering closely to label requirements. As a basic reminder, ‘Pesticide’ is an umbrella term, and encompasses all chemical compounds designed to control a target organism. Insecticides are the main pesticides of interference with pollinators, especially bees—however, it’s good to be mindful of herbicide use related to bees. The University of California’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has a webpage with bee precaution ratings for commonly used pesticides, as well as a list of BMP’s to help protect bees from pesticides. Most of the rated herbicides either have no effect on bees, or effects that are indirect (eliminating or reducing potential nectar and pollen sources). Their ratings are simply a guideline, and do not override the product labels. A good way to overcome the indirect effects of herbicides on bees is to dedicate portions of your property to non-invasive pollinator gardens. As an educational resource, I have developed a pamphlet of non-invasive alternatives to noxious weeds in our area. For example, Spotted Knapweed is a state listed noxious weed, and landowners have a statutory obligation to control it, regardless of the fact that it’s desirable for some beekeepers due to the long flowering season and maintenance free nature. One of my researched alternatives is Russian Sage—it’s long blooming, drought tolerant and grows fine in poor soils. Bees love it!
Weed of the Month is a bit of a pivot from the norm being that it’s one that generally should be left alone, and actually encouraged; Showy Milkweed (Aslepias speciosa). It’s a native perennial that grows 2 – 5 feet tall with oval-shaped, prominently veined leaves reaching lengths of 4 – 7 inches each, and develop off of fleshy stems containing a milky sap. Purplish-pink flowers are arranged in round clusters at the top, and exude a sweet scented aroma. Milkweed species are attractive to butterflies, bees and other insects.
The Monarch Butterfly has an exclusive relationship with Showy Milkweed, specifically—it’s the only plant on which the eggs are laid and the larvae will feed upon. As such, Showy Milkweed is critical for the survival and perpetuation of the Monarch Butterfly, of which populations have been declining for several years. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service intends on proposing protections for the Monarch Butterfly under the Endangered Species Act in 2025, and public comment on the proposal will be accepted until March 12. Based on my interpretation of their press release, what they are seeking is a listing as a Threatened Species, which allows for more flexibility than a listing as an Endangered Species. The short story (very short) if listing as a Threatened Species is successful would result in prohibitions on killing or transporting the Monarch Butterfly, but farming and ranching practices could continue as-is without interruption. There might be stipulations put in place under Section 4(d) of the Act that would encourage conservation practices, such as tax incentives for large agricultural landowners who convert a portion of their land to Monarch Butterfly habitat (a.k.a., Showy Milkweed gardens).
Concurrently, the EPA is drafting regulatory updates with regards to pesticides and the Endangered Species Act. At this time, it’s unclear how the potential updates will shake out, but it’s speculated that the changes will center on pesticide labeling. There will be a presentation on this very topic at the Idaho Noxious Weeds Conference this winter. It’s an issue that I will be following and monitoring closely, and will certainly pass along updates as I learn about them.
Hope all had a nice holiday season. I’m glad it’s behind us, be-
cause I can’t wait for spring (well, actually summer), like usual. Hopefully it can’t wait for me, either! :-)
I found it tucked way back in his closet.
It hadn’t seen daylight for years.
As I brought it out and wiped off the dust my eyes soon filled up with tears.
It was grampa’s rifle. I had seen it before and a lump swelled up in my throat.
I remembered the times we had hunted together, then I saw a note he had wrote.
It was rolled up tight and stuck in the barrel. I reached down and retrieved it from there.
As I straightened it out and looked at the words I could tell they were written with care.
It read “To the one who finds this ‘tool of the woods’, I give it and just want to share that The Lord will use it to provide you with food
but, like life must be handled with care.
“Be sure of your target when the trigger is pulled. Follow through and watch down the barrel. Make sure that the choice to do such a thing will not be a choice that is cruel.
To love is a choice, to hate a choice too.
And no one can make that choice except you.
Be kind to the stranger, bless the small child, and choose to not let your heart run wild.
There are scores of things I should have said when the two of us were together.
Suffice it to say the days got away, but we won’t be parted forever.
For the Lord is my Savior as I know He is yours and since our hope is in Him, with the trumpet sound, and His return in the clouds, we’ll be together again.
So, follow the Lord and shoot this thing son.
She’s set in the dark long enough.
Your faith and this gun, which are both gifts of love, if not used will just turn to dust.
I’ll see you soon.”
Love, Grampa
Grandpa’s Rifle by Jim Bottoms
Rural Life Here Is Never Going to Be the Same Again. It Might Just Be Better
Something rather odd happens when a person ages, when he or she begins to see the end of things as they had been and now are. It is a strange sort of viewpoint. Sort of like being alone on the edge of a cliff watching a film progress by. The film is real, full of real scenes from the past. While these scenes deal with rigid, unchangeable moments, they reveal something else: a serious break with memory. The Good Old Days were not that good, and the horrible, terrible moments weren’t exactly as we recall them either.
Much of what I recall about growing up in the country revolves around a large family, a whole lot of work, and my horses. Our playground was 80 acres of forest, ponds, creeks, rocks and wildlife. We were not spoiled. Most people in those days had acreage. It was cheap and we made the most of it. There was no internet to paralyze us, only miles of wildlife trails, sturdy horses to explore them with, and our curfews were less about safety than getting home for dinner and chores. It was a world so foreign to the youth of today that truly, it cannot be grasped. Not anymore. That kind of life in this area will never be the same again. We are one too many ‘No Trespassing’ signs in, one too many cell phones and one too many drones to go back. We, none of us, can go back. But, would we want to?
While there are a good many of us still alive here in north Idaho who remember how life once was, and how it has changed, I am not sure commiserating about the loss of the past is the best way forward. One can only cry in one’s beer, craft though it may be, for so long and then one simply must get on with it. So, here we are.
From time to time an old classmate will post a wonderful memory from days gone by and without missing a beat the lot of us jump on the memory train and before long, we are lamenting how much everything has changed. It HAS changed, and finally I admit that in some cases it has changed for the better.
At my age I should not read the obituaries. For all I know I have one foot out the door and don’t even know it. Shockingly, when I do read them I realize I don’t even know any of these people. That’s because quite a lot of folks have moved in from other places and it turns out I have grown rather fond of many of them.
One of the best memories I have of growing up in Bonner County is the Annual The 4th of July celebration. The Lions Family Picnic, Variety show and fireworks usually with a carnival was not to be missed. Those carnival rides cost too much and everyone was there, the poor right along with the well off. Souped up cars and trucks cruised City Beach to First Avenue to Cedar and back again over and over...it’s where our friends were. We had a lot of fun but the rest of the time we were in school, doing chores at home and learning about life at the knees of grandparents who never tired of telling us to “Get outside for Heaven sake!” as we ran through houses and yards and back again, Cowboy and Indian style. Somebody was always getting grounded or coming off of it. We worked hard and we played hard. I submit that if we don’t believe life was actually harder than we remember, it’s because someone else was shouldering the weight.
Our lives were dangerous by todays standards and half the time our parents did not know where we were. There were terrible accidents, sorrowful life changing moments, and exhilarating opportunities to leave it all behind as quickly as possible. We knew there was a whole world out there just waiting for us if we could just get out of this town. Very few of us knew how hard it would be to get it all back. Those of us who left to pursue a career, to make our fortune, to explore the world came back to a very, very different place.
Some lament the passage of time, the loss of friends and family, the cutting down of favorite trees to make way for apartments, and the closing of old shops to make way for the new. We know in our knower that this is the way it will always be. We know that old photos now carry more weight so we make sure we label them. We know that we really do like that new coffee shop and are grateful for the new health care options as we age. We know in many ways it is better and safer now. It is true, this rural life will never be the same again AND it is also true that stories are awonderful way to share the past we treasure so much. For my part I plan to keep at it, keep telling stories and embracing the best of what is to come. K. Osborne
When your parents passed away, you scrambled though disordered paperwork to settle the details. You want to spare your children the stress and frustration you just endured.
and
The Gardener’s Corner
The CO-OP Country Round Up January / February 2025 Volume 25 Issue 2
Last Call for 2025 BCGA Gardening Course
By Ann Warwick
The 2025 BC Gardeners Membership course will begin on January 23. This course is a comprehensive guide to gardening in our region, and meets two mornings a week for about two months. The classes cover everything from basic botany to soils and specific growing of plants, both food and ornamental, as well as diagnosing pest problems and diseases. BCGA uses the U of I Master Gardener manual, and shares professors with the U of I Extension Master Gardener course, supplemented with the knowledge of local experts whose experience is invaluable. In the last issue of The Roundup, I referred readers to the BCGA website, but learned that it had not been updated. As we near the beginning date of the course, please call 208-265-2070 or email us at bcgardeners@gmail.com to enroll. Class size is limited and materials must be ordered, so contact us as soon as possible. The cost of the class is $150 and includes a one year membership in the BC Gardeners organization, which provides volunteer opportunities, social events, and new friends with similar interests. Both beginners and seasoned gardeners learn the secrets of growing plants in North Idaho. For additional information, the web site, bcgardeners.org has been updated.
A New Year, New Ideas
It is January, the beginning of a new year, a time when folks make resolutions to improve their lives. We are living in a time when food prices are high and the health of Americans is increasingly poor, with the rise of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic ailments. We can improve our health outcomes by making a few changes in lifestyles. We know that processed foods, fats and sugars are not the best food choices. We don’t like being overweight and suffering from resultant undesirable health issues.
This year, we can have more control over both the monthly food bill and our own bodies by growing some of our own food. Even a small vegetable garden can make a difference. Growing salad greens alone will encourage families to eat more salads. We all need more vegetables for good nutrition—five or more servings a day is recommended, but how many of us achieve that goal? If the food source is right in the back yard, most people do eat more veggies, berries and fruits instead of meats, fats, and sugars. Just decreasing meat consumption a day or two a week makes a big difference, and fresh veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, legumes and root veggies taste so good when they are fresh from the garden.
Besides nutritional benefits, growing a food garden requires one to get outdoors and enjoy the natural environment, and provides exercise in the form of digging, weeding and tending to the plants’ needs. It is good for mental health and physical well being to get away from electronic stimulation for a time, and concentrate on the joy of observing and interacting with nature. There is also the security of having control over one’s food sources. Growing your own food insures that you know what chemicals are being used on those crops. On a broader level, eating from the back yard is helping the environment. Decreasing meat in the diet reduces the need for factory farms where animals are concentrated in inhumane conditions and produce volumes of manures and methane endangering water and air quality. Animals are routinely fed hormones to spur growth, and those hormones end up in our bodies. For families, getting children out into the garden is so good for them. They learn where food comes from and develop a personal relationship with what they eat. It provides
exercise potential, broadens their knowledge, and generally increases their interest in eating in a healthy manner. An additional benefit is encouraging family involvement in a meaningful project .Another bonus: snacking of the garden bounty instead of opting for chips or sugary treats is both fun and good for you.
Now, resolve to go out and find a little space in the backyard to start your wonderful food garden. Even apartment dwellers can grow an amazing amount of food in pots on a balcony. Saving on groceries and improving your health are good goals, and you might find the experience rewarding in many ways.
Patternized Behavior by
Samantha Harvey
Have you ever been in the shower, suddenly stopped, and asked yourself, “Did I already put conditioner in my hair?” I meet a lot of folks who chuckle and can relate to this or a similar scenario, which is an example of what I call Patternized Behavior. I define it as “The unintentional conditioning of task accomplishment, created by the unintended development of a routine that no longer requires focus or mental presence.”
How does Patternized Behavior apply to horses and their owners? Factors such as weather conditions, time constraints, patience limitations, the human lack of focus, locational convenience, or even trying to avoid “triggering” the sensitive/anticipative horse, etc., can lead to routine development.
Carry your tack to a different place from the regular tack-up location, and bring the horse over to be tacked (in the stall, pasture, arena, at the trailer, etc.)
Mount from the “off” (the horse’s right) side. Mount, dismount immediately, and take the horse with you to do something random- i.e., picking rocks out of the arena, moving something from one another, and mount again.
As you change patterns, observe the following:
Horse owners may unintentionally teach the horse to associate a time of day, tack, or movement with a consistent “outcome” that follows. Whether or not the horse is “okay” with what is being asked/ done/presented, repetition and familiarity can create tolerance during the interaction. Much of society leans toward task fixation; this skews one’s consideration, standard, and perspective of whether a horse is okay. For many people, if the horse is not dramatically resistant, is not chaotic, and does not trigger a person’s fear, they assume that he is “fine.”
What is not recognized is the degree to which many insecure, fearful, defensive horses can latch on to a routine. When there is a lack of specific, intentional, or supportive human communication, it directly contributes to creating dysfunctional horses. Familiar routines combined with little human direction teach the horse to take over and delegate. If the routine does not change, the horse appears willing, even sometimes “helpful” by offering behaviors before being asked (anticipation.) The day something changes or is different from the “norm,” the equine is often drastically triggered mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Owners may be shocked at the severity of the horse’s reaction to change. Previous sessions may have seemed successful because of the compliance until the human has a strong opinion or changes a pattern, the severity of the Patternized Behaviors is unrecognized. With little to no ability to stay mentally present, the horse will be unable to think through new or unfamiliar scenarios or adapt without becoming emotionally triggered. Equine coping behaviors vary during unexpected changes; some will resort to big, dramatic, fleeing behaviors when unsure, while others will “shut down” and get stuck mentally while physically resisting moving.
Take this morning as I went to feed. At my winter location, we have stalls where the horses overnight. Around 11 a.m., they are turned out, into a pasture for six or seven hours of grazing. Due to changes in my schedule, I decided to turn them out and feed them in the field during the morning and then bring them in midday. When turning horses out, I do things as “simple” as possible. I swing open their gate, and they know to walk out loose, looking for the opening in the hotwire leading to the rotating pastures.
I put breakfast hay out in the field while the horses watched. Then, I opened each stall gate; five of the six horses stood watching me with a blank look on their face without trying to walk out. They were mentally stuck on anticipating being fed breakfast in the stall. I shooed them out towards the pasture, where they reluctantly walked off. They all promptly stopped and turned around, staring at me, before entering the pasture gate. Despite five acres of grass to graze and having watched the hay dispersed in the field, they were “stuck” on the pattern and location association of being fed in the stall. People and horses can get VERY comfortable with routines and patterns. Horses learn to offer Patternized Behaviors from cues and how to “comply.” Haltered in the same place and manner, tacked up at the same time of day in the same spot, mounted from the same side, warmed up in the same direction order, ridden for the same length of time, etc. This works until the pattern changes, when “All of a sudden,” the animal does something “He’s never done before...”
Most “resistant behavior issues” are symptoms, not the source of unwanted equine responses. To decipher the real issue(s), one can begin by assessing for Patternized Behaviors in daily life or interactions. Experiment with minor daily changes to observe the horse’s default “coping” patterns. What happens if:
Catch the horse, halter him, immediately release him, and then ask him to offer to be caught again.
When closing a stall/arena/round pen gate, turn the opposite direction from the “norm” when you attempt to close it after passing through.
Is the horse’s anticipation triggered (swishing tail, pawing, chewing on the lead rope/fence/nearby object, head tossing/bouncing, is there excessive and tension-filled movement as you work around him, etc.)?
Does his eye get a hardened look, clench his jaw, hold his ears tight with no movement, or push at you with his nose, cheek, or entire head?
Does he try to avoid the new or different scenario you are asking, offering instead “the old way?”
Does his breathing rate increase, his nostrils flare, or are uneven sizes?
Are there peaks above his eyes or wrinkles in his muzzle? Does he offer counterdefensive behavior such as “swinging” his hind end around, walking/pushing with his shoulder, “rooting” his nose toward lead rope pressure, etc.?
Without the fundamental basics and skills that can help the horse learn to think, search, try, separate his thought from movement, and let go of an unasked-for response without getting defensive, people resort to the “easier” solution of not changing the pattern to mask the underlying holes in the horse and human’s education. Too many equine enthusiasts ignore the constant, subtle, ongoing feedback from horses, leaving humans criticizing unwanted equine behavior without acknowledging how they have contributed to its development.
years
through October at The Equestrian Center, LLC, located just 12
ID. For over 26 years she has offered lessons, training,
lectured, demos and clinics nationally. She works with students and horse of all levels and disciplines. For more information please visit www.learnhorses.com 208-265-2644
Offering Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey, for 23
Sam has been based from May
miles north of Sandpoint,
guest
Your Health
Seasonal Affective Disorder
How to Hibernate Properly Gabrielle Duebendorfer, NMD
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be looked at as the body’s rebellion against having to keep up with a modern pace of life during a time of year, when inherently everything wants to go inward and slow down. This year I took the dark months off work to see how my life would unfold if given the chance to be more in sync with nature’s rhythm.
Not being in sync with natural rhythms often brings latent depression and/or anxiety to the surface. While both SAD and depression share similar symptoms (hypersomnia, social withdrawal, overeating, low energy, and carbohydrate cravings) and treatments (anti-depressants), there are some significant differences.
SAD affects only 1-10% of the population, with the risk being higher in females and those with anxiety and insomnia. Shorter daylight hours trigger profound changes on the whole HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) hormonal axis, which can be address with natural treatments such as melatonin, D, Hypericum, and full spectrum lights. Interestingly the pineal gland and the retina of the eyes share the same sunlight sensitive and Melatonin producing tissue. No surprise that the site of the pineal gland is also called the third eye and is traditionally associated with intuition and wisdom. This cyclical hormonal rhythm is best supported by midday direct sunlight exposure, limited exposure to blue light (any flat monitor screens and fluorescent lights) - especially in the evening -, and real darkness while sleeping.
However, there is also an opportunity to evaluate whether there is something in our life that needs to be re-aligned. Might it be possible for you to take off a week, day, hour, or even just 5 minutes throughout the day to interrupt the flow of outside input to support the natural hibernation impulse and listen for what needs to be heard, seen, and connected with?
A patient of mine had become acutely aware of her achievement drive having kept her in constant sympathetic arousal. She’s super organized and successful and yet as soon as she’s home from work, she just collapses and curls up with her blanket watching TV. She followed my advice and scheduled actual time out for meditation, walks, and just sitting during her work time as well as at home. With her gradually increasing ability to stay grounded we were able to explore together what was underneath her extreme sadness and anxiety.
SAD is a cry for help to spend more quiet time and reconnect with higher guidance. The German poet Rilke beautifully describes sadness as
“…Moments when something new comes into us, something unknown; our feelings fall silent in shy confusion, everything in us steps back, a silence ensues, and the New Thing, which no one knows, stands in the middle of this without speaking.”
We can’t fall silent in shy confusion and listen to deeper transformation deep within our heart unless we stop and rest in silence, willing to feel what is present without the old story. My patient was able to do that with me holding the silence with her to keep the story at bay.
“I believe that almost all our sorrows are moments of tension that we perceive as numbness, because we no longer hear our estranged feelings living.”
It is hard to stay with this palpable tension, but once these estranged feelings start living again, they move out of the ancient stuck places into awareness, freeing up energy. What emerged for my patient was a rebellious teenager who is still wanting to be free without boundaries together with extreme anger at her parents for not having set limits in her wildly dangerous teenage years, resulting in extreme shame which had caused a life-long numbing via the constant drive for achievement or distraction.
“Many indications show that the Future has entered us in this way, to transform inside of us, long before it happens. And that’s why it is so important to be alone and alert when you are sad....
The winter hours indeed are an intriguing invitation for this being alone and alert. Being willing to rest in and feel this confusion, my patient began to feel deep compassion for herself having tried so hard to get rid of her shame. She was quite surprised to recognize that she had been trying to figure out how to get either freedom or success and had exhausted herself in the process. She
was delighted to experience the simultaneous holding of these opposites and had the clear recognition that it’s time for this inner teen to grow up for freedom and responsibility to have equal shares.
Now she acknowledges and feels the shame whenever it arises, comforts her teen, and when there is time, she strategizes how to meet the current moment with a more appropriate response rather than reacting in the old way. Focusing more on being present in the moment has allowed her to weave more of a grounded freedom into her life by actively engaging the parasympathetic nervous system with specific body and breathing practices to maintain a sense of ease. She now reports more ease and energy.
“Why do you want to shut out gloom from your life, when you don’t know yet what these conditions are doing within you? Why do you want to worry yourself asking where it all comes from and what will happen? Since you know that they are passing through you, and want nothing so much as to change into something else.”
She still has to make an effort to stop this habitual questioning, doubting, and self-judging, but she knows now the potential of real transformation of the past into the present. My personal retreat intention had been to have more time for contemplation and to rework my classes and write long awaited travel articles. Instead, I was surprised to find myself drawn to exercise, studying French, and tending to some deeper family of origin issues that presented themselves, leading to a much more intimate relationship with one of my sisters. And I have been quite content making Christmas presents.
Perhaps this Christmas Season you can create just the right amount of space and silence for yourself and let your “feelings fall silent in shy confusion” rather than efforting so much trying to find the perfect solution to problems that likely just want to be held. Christmas symbolizes this waiting for the coming of the light amidst the darkness, and all the rituals can support this process, if done consciously.
Dr Gabrielle Duebendorfer, a licensed naturopathic physician and certified iRest meditation instructor, has practiced and taught for almost 30 years combining natural medicine with meditative inquiry and practices. She is available for personal meditative explorations, weekly iRest drop-in classes and a monthly Saturday series starting middle of February. Focus is on fostering an inherent sense of ease and peace, recognizing and regulating nervous system warning signals, and learning to make friends with these loud internal voices. 208-920-0583. For references and previous articles please go to www.aspenwellspring. substack.com.
Community 15
Remembering Harold’s IGA
Back in the early-mid 1970‘s my Dad was still working as a logger and would frequently have time off work in the winter months. After Thanksgiving time, Harold Marley, the owner of the local Sandpoint IGA store, would buy Christmas trees from local farmers and then sell them from his parking lot at the store. With money being tight due to the layoff, my Dad took advantage of this opportunity to earn some cash and said “Get your boots on boy, we’ve got work to do”!
Now this was before the days of widespread commercial Christmas tree farming with the resultant perfectly manicured and processed trees; we simply went out into the woods on our property and harvested native ‘wild’ Douglas Fir trees of suitable size and appearance using a small handsaw.
I forget which winter it was, either ‘73 or ‘74, but we had a lot of snow that year; this wasn’t your nice fluffy powdery snow so beloved by skiers, this was heavy, wet, soggy snow and it was waist deep. The trees were heavily laden with snow which caused the limbs to bow down under their weighty burden, leaving no room to access the trunk without causing a small avalanche of snow to come cascading down on your head as you clawed your way down in order to amputate your next victim near its base. Sometimes we would fall into the hole under the tree and get stuck there, head down, wallowing and thrashing around, sorta like a turtle on its back. Eventually you could get your feet under you and emerge with the tree clutched triumphantly in your grasp, then wade over to the next tree. When two trees were thus procured, you stuck your arm through the little three-cornered bow saw and, grabbing one tree by its base in each hand, proceeded to plow your way back down to the road where the pickup waited to be loaded.
My Dad had nailed together a crude pickup rack out of some old two-by-fours, and when we could no longer pile another tree on top, he tied them down and headed for town. I cannot recall exactly how much Harold Marley paid us for the trees, nor how much he sold them for, but I do remember that my Dad said that Harold only made about two or three dollars per tree. I thought then that it wasn’t worth his effort, but in retrospect I do believe that he really did this more as a public service than for profit, both for the farmers and for his customers.
My Dad always liked and respected Harold, and my Mom did the majority of her grocery shopping at his IGA store for many years, partly because the prices were reasonable, and partly because Harold would cash the work checks. Since my Dad was usually away at work during the week, my Mom would forge his name on his work checks and cash them when she went shopping. I saw her do this many times, and she was so good at it that you couldn’t tell the difference.
One time the IGA had a special sale on five-pound sacks of sugar really cheap, I forget the price but there was a limit of one sack per customer. My Mom gave each of us children (the five that were big enough to carry a sack of sugar) some money and lined us up to go through the checkout line, each of us solemnly handing the clerk our money as she rang up the sales, one by one. I wonder how many families pulled that stunt over the years? When I was little I always begged to get a ride on the little mechanical pony that sat in the front; my Mom finally relented one day and I was disappointed that it was so lame since we had real ponies at home, some of which knew how to actually buck you off. I never begged for that again.
by Joseph W. Smith
December 9, 2024
• Metal Machining, Welding & Fabrication
• Custom U-Bolts & Hydraulic Hoseswhile you wait!
• Transmission & Rear-End Rebuilds & Exchanges
• Driveline Rebuilds & Repairs
The CO-OP Country Round Up January / February 2025 Volume 25 Issuue 2
The Long Wait for a Place to Skate
By Helen Newton Brought to you by the Bonner County Historical Society
Ponderay, “The Little City with a Big Future,” continues to live up to its motto. With the support of many sponsors, including the CO-OP Gas & Supply Co., Ponderay has produced “The POND Ice Skating Rink.” John and Jim Hunt, Nancy Piatt, Dave Daughterty and many other leaders of the little city who have passed would be so proud.
The desire for a local skating rink has been hashed and re-hashed for over a century by our local politicians. The major impediment seems always to have been that days cold enough to produce ice were few, and they were immediately followed by melting temperatures.
As early as November 10, 1909 the local paper reported “youngsters of the city enjoyed their first ice skating of the season on Weil’s pond.”
The initial Weil’s Addition was three blocks surrounded by 1st and 4th Avenues, Pine and Lake Streets in Sandpoint. Exactly where Weil’s “pond” was within the neighborhood remains a mystery.
Over the decades, ponds and any depression in the landscape that collected water during a snow melt were coveted for skating. Sloughs and backwaters also provided skating opportunities. Seldom did the big lake freeze over in smooth enough conditions for more than a few days of skating at a time.
But whenever conditions were right, the locals took advantage of it.
As long ago as January 1910, a meeting was called to organize a town hockey team. Two anonymous locals had promised to build a rink if a team could be put together. Visions of hosting teams from Canada were entertained. Alas, nothing came of this.
In late December 1928, Kiwanis members built a rink on the lakeshore at the end of Second Avenue in Sandpoint by creating an artificial pond by damning the overflow of a city water main. The rink, 200 yards long by 200 feet wide, was a club project intended for underprivileged children but was happily used by everyone. There was no admission fee.
Perhaps a few readers might remember skating on the rink behind the “old” high school on the corner Euclid and Pine. They might be surprised to learn that in December 1940 the rink underwent improvements provided by President Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration which was established to give teenagers and young adults socially useful and constructive work so that they may become assets rather than liabilities to society.
Adults were not to be left out of the enjoyment of skating. The Sandpoint News Bulletin reported on December 23, 1943, that Mr. and Mrs. J. R. McFarland entertained a group of friends with an evening of skating and “a snack” afterwards. At that time the McFarland’s lived on their farm near the mouth of Chuck’s Slough on the Dover Highway. Guests whose names will be familiar to “old-timers” were Mr./ Mrs.: Frank Evans, Lloyd Gardner, J. M. Brown, Virgil Gill, Ross Hall, and Mrs. Ted Farmin and Mrs. Robert King.
On December 4, 1974, the Bee’s Malcolm Hall asked readers if they had ever wondered why there was no skating rink in Sandpoint. According to then Sandpoint’s Parks and Recreation Superintendent Bob Lindsay, he had “tried a half-dozen times at least” but the weather always warmed up and the ice was gone.
In a November 25, 1981, interview with Cedar Street Bridge owner Scott Glickenhaus, he said, “The community should explore new things for tourists and residents to do. We need more diversified recreation.” He went on to propose flooding the tennis courts at the city beach and said he was even considering flooding the surface of his bridge.
In November 1985, city parks director Maurice Dunn announced that the city’s parks crew would be keeping the snow cleared from a skating area on Sand Creek behind Gunning’s Alley. Skaters
could skate from the Cedar Street Bridge almost to Bridge Street. It will now be up to the public to support “The Pond” in Ponderay. Congratulations, Ponderay, for bringing this long-awaited recreational opportunity to fruition!
Photo Caption: Miss Hazel Sawyer and Mr. Dave Woodard “out for a skate” in the 1910s. Photo courtesy Bonner County Historical Society, donated to the collection by William Chisholm.
18
Our Changing World
The CO-OP Country Round Up January / February 2025 Volume 25 Issue 2
Get Cultured! Gut Health | Immune Health | Nerve & Mental Health
Gut Health is Key to Overall Health by
Suzanne Tabert
Research presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) have confirmed that the bidirectional communication between the gut and brain involves immune, neural, endocrine, and metabolic routes, and that the microbiota-gut-brain axis is the nexus of interactions among them. That means that the bacteria in our gut is of utmost importance to our health.
Nerve and Mental Health
Upwards of 80% of our relaxing neurotransmitters (hormones) are synthesized in our intestines and released in the bloodstream. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, plays a part in sleep quality and quantity, happiness, and focus, and, with the aid of dopamine, is charged with aiding in sexual desire. Dopamine is sometimes called the “pleasure and reward” neurotransmitter, helping to give feel-good reinforcements.
Upwards of 95% of serotonin and 50% of dopamine are stored in the gut. Certain gut bacteria help synthesize these relaxing neurotransmitters aka hormones. Probiotics and small quantities of fermented foods are good choices to strengthen the demographics in the gut - the population and particular bacterial groups within it - that may be lost due to stress and anxiety, processed foods, antibiotics both pharmaceutical and herbal, chlorinated water and sugar. The consistent use of probiotics affords greater mental and emotional health as the gut becomes healthier and is able to do the many jobs it signed up for.
Immune Health
The immune system resides almost everywhere in our body, with a lion’s share in the digestive system. Peyer’s patches are part of the immune activity that happens in the gut. Peyer’s patches are small masses of lymphatic tissue found throughout the ileum region of the small intestine. Also known as aggregated lymphoid nodules, they form an important part of the immune system by monitoring intestinal bacteria populations and preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the intestines. They’re basically observers that alert the immune system when action is needed.
A bit of small intestine anatomy: The duodenum is the smallest part of the small intestine where the largest amount of digestion takes place. It connects the stomach to the jejunum. The jejunum is the central region - it is slightly basic and is made of a mucous membrane covered in projections called villi that increase the surface area of tissue available to absorb nutrients from the foods we eat. The ileum is the final section and functions to absorb vitamin B12, bile salts, and whatever was not absorbed by the jejunum.
Macrophages in our liver trap and kill bacteria and other intruders. In the context of the digestive system, macrophages reside in the membranes of the chambers in the liver.
Digestive Health
With the help of digestive enzymes, our microbiome aids in the breakdown of foods we eat into nutrients that our body uses to heal, make energy, create new cells, breathe, think, move - every action in our bodies. We also need this gut flora for elimination of waste products from food, metabolized cells and hormones, etc.
As we can see, healthy digestive, immune and nervous systems count on a healthy diversity of types and quantity of gut flora. Fermented foods help to replace flora that can be lost due to stress, poor eating habits, chlorinated water, antibiotics both pharmaceutical and herbal and emotional issues. Additionally, fermented foods add beneficial enzymes and fiber to the daily diet.
At this point, we might all be jazzed to dive into the myriad health benefits of probiotics and go on a fermented food eating binge. We can’t go wrong by adding probiotic wealthy foods to our daily diet. Our bodies depend on them! However, consider that eating too much fermented foods at a sitting may stimulate a histamine reaction in some people. This is to the detriment of health as chronic inflammation is said to be the genesis of many diseases. Think of eating fermented foods as condiments and not a main dish. According to healthpath.com, studies suggest that sauerkraut and other fermented
foods contain 1 million to 1 billion CFUs (colony forming unit) per gram/milliliter. A tablespoon serving of sauerkraut weighs roughly ten grams, which means it could give you between 10 million to 10 billion CFUs.
See? We don’t need a lot to get a lot of benefits. Incidentally, eating foods containing prebiotics keep the microbiome fed and happy. Pectin rich foods such as apples and hawthorn berries, and the inulin in dandelion and burdock roots are examples of prebiotics. An apple a day really can keep the doctor away!
Cultured Butter is a tasty way to replace the microbiome in the gut. I’ve been making cultured butter since I was in kindergarten and went to a farm and fell in love with cows, hay and the smell of barns, which is a story for another day.
Ingredients
1 pint heavy cream – organic is best without additives. 2 teaspoons piima or buttermilk cultures or 1/4 cup organic buttermilk
Directions
1.In a clean glass jar, pour in the heavy cream and gently stir in the culture or buttermilk.
2.Cover and let sit on the counter for 1 to 2 days until thick in consistency. The bacteria in the cultures will consume the sugar in the milk and change it to lactic acid. The warmer the kitchen, the faster the milk will culture.
3.Spoon off a few tablespoons of the cultured cream to use as a starter for the next batch of cultured butter.
4.Put the jar in the fridge for a few hours. This helps facilitate the separation of fats from the whey.
5.Cover the jar and shake it until the butter separates from the whey.
6.Pour the whey from the jar into a bowl or drinking glass.
7.Place the butter into a clean bowl and press the whey from butter with a wooden spoon.
8.Pour this whey into the glass or bowl and enjoy its buttery taste, or add it to your biscuit, doughnut and pancake recipes. You can also use this whey in cortido (recipe below).
9.Refrigerate the butter to firm it up or leave it covered on the counter for a soft texture.
You may add fresh minced herbs, minced garlic, and edible flowers and honey to the butter for added taste and visual appeal!
EnJoy!!!! �� Suzanne Tabert, Queen Bee of the Cedar Mountain Herb School.
