Weeds & Seeds Swap

This year we were not able to do a lot of outdoor entertaining in our yard as we prepared for, and then had, a major excavation project done.  We are happy that we didn’t lose our deck in the process, which was a possibility.  Since our home is small for entertaining a large group of people, the deck is a great extension to our living space.

Right now our outdoor furniture consists of those stack-able chairs, they are comfortable, but not nearly as attractive as some of the wicker furniture, and other outdoor furniture that I have seen at a site simply called buyoutdoorfurniture.com - easy to remember, and a site that is a lot of fun to browse through because of it’s extensive selection.

I have visions of garden parties, and am a little envious of our friends in the south and other year-round warm climates who can have outdoor parties any time they wish. We do have a family celebration that will be here at our home in early October, and are looking forward to that, hoping that it will be not only somewhat warm, but there will be a bit of color in the trees that make up the view that surrounds us.

In the meantime, I’m happy to have the links saved in this post for later when I have a little more time to shop for patio furniture for our deck because their prices were so good, and the shipping is free at least until the end of the year.

I hope you are all enjoying the outdoors!

I remember being so excited when we were on a trip to Hawaii when we came upon a Noni tree with fruit in the wild. Thinking back, I don’t know if my actions were legal, but I picked one of the fruits, with the intention of taking it home and showing it to friends who were drinking Noni juice.

The day came to go home, and when we got to the airport, and went through customs, I was asked if I had any plants or animals, so I showed them the Noni fruit, only to find that I could not take it home with me. How disappointing. So this picture is the next best thing to being able to show you my noni fruit.

If you know much about supplement companies at all, you will know that there is one that is completely devoted to one type of Noni. I am not involved with that company, but do have available to me, and to my clients, Noni, or Morinda citrifolia fruit juice.

The medicinal properties in the juice made from the fruit are said to benefit the Immune, Structural, Nervous, Digestive, Intestinal, and Respiratory system…wow, that is a lot! It contains many phytonutrients which nourish the cells, organs and tissues, and antioxidants that battle against free-radical damage. This is beneficial to the skin and joints, and to the body as a whole.

This source of Noni Juice is sold as two 32 oz. bottles and lasts a long time, as you don’t consume a lot each day.

2 years ago, my husband and I traveled to Colorado and up through the Dakotas for a visit to family and our vacation. Along the way, we pulled off at a deserted roadside, and here was a large Prickly Pear plant. My husband assured me it would be okay to bring home a piece, so I came home with a 3-section piece of the plant. We didn’t plant it right away, set it aside for the winter, on a plate in a quiet location. This summer, living only on the humidity in the air, I noticed it was putting out two new “sections”, so quickly planted it in a large pot, and put it out in a hot, sunny location. It is doing very well.

Scientific Information:

The medicinal properties of this plant are found in the gel from the pads of the cactus. Also called Nopal, they contain many phytochemicals, pectin, mucilage and gums that aid the digestive system. Nopal contains nutrients that prevent the bowel from absorbing dietary fat and excess sugars. In addition, it has been found to strengthen the liver and pancreas, improving the ability of insulin to stimulate the movement of glucose from the blood into the body cells to be used as energy. A study on rabbits showed that the Nopal lowered the blood sugar level in the blood. Another study found that it reduced total cholesterol and triglycerides…all of these things are beneficial to those suffering from diabetes. There are even studies showing some promising findings on reducing cancer growth and immune building properties. As always, please click here to write to me if you would like me to cite these studies for you. It’s a lot to type here.

Sources of Nopal, click Nopal and Sugarreg.

I thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

In the northeast, we don’t think about fire ants very often.  They are something we might see on nature shows now and then, and for us, are a curiosity, bringing about thoughts from science fiction movies.  But these creatures are real, and I’m sure that some of you may be dealing with them.  My curiosity lead me to follow up on a link about fire ant baits where I found quite a bit about these bugs, their origin, where they live (I was surprised at how many southern states have them), and how to get rid of them.

Are you living in an area with fire ants? Are they dangerous or is that all a lot of hype? Share with a comment if you like.

This is a wonderful picture of Papaya fruit, clustered on the tree.

Papaya, (Carica papaya) is a small tree that grows in tropical climates. It may also be called a papaw or melon tree. Historically the leaves AND fruit were used medicinally, but for our purposes, anything that I will be sharing in this post will be related to the fruit.

The fruit of the Papaya tree is rich with an enzyme that aids in digestion, papain. As we age, the need for digestive enzymes increases, and they are necessary to break down the food so that the nutrients are in such a form a to be filtered into the blood stream and throughout the body.

In the tropics, this is a favorite breakfast food. It is a great companion to Pineapple which also contains digestive enzymes.

What does Science tell us:

Papain is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes that have a broad spectrum of activity. This wide range of activity accounts for the use of papain for digestive disorders, particularly those associated with protein-rich foods. Papain hydrolyzes not only proteins, but small pepticides, amides and some esters. It also aids in digestion of carbohydrates and fats, and has been shown to be active over a wide pH range (not destroyed in high acid conditions). If you would like the studies, click here and me know and I’ll send them.

Personally, I LOVE papaya fruit when it is readily available, and use a chewable Papaya that contains mint after meals when the fruit is not as easy to come by.

Some sources of Papaya:

Papaya Mint Chewable
Anti-Gas Formula
Stomach Comfort

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

People often think of Spring as a time of for cleansing…not only “Spring Cleaning” the house, but cleaning the body as well. I think of fall as another time of “beginnings”, parents are sending their children back to school and have time to start projects they couldn’t do during the summer months; churches are starting their fall programs; business owners find this time to be an inspiring time for their businesses; these are all examples of how this is a season of beginnings, a time to start anew.

What better way to begin the season than with a good internal cleansing, something that many should be doing on a regular basis. In some areas you may have seen advertising on television for “Dual Action Cleanse”, a natural, herbal cleansing formula that helps the body eliminate toxins from the digestive system. As a Nutritionist who loves medicinal herbs, I know the importance of ridding the digestive system of accumulated waste, and such unpleasant things as undigested matter and mucous build up in the colon.

Usually, after a good Body Detox you feel renewed energy, refreshed and ready to face the challenges of the new season to come. Visit the “body detox” link for more information about “Dual Action Cleanse” and to see the special they are offering right now.

The nights are getting cooler, and the days shorter.  There is a touch of color on some of the trees, just a hint, making the tops look like paint brushes of orange and red.  I went out and purchased some plants today in preparation for the fall season…a few huge, beautiful Mums and a few Asters. My vegetable garden is beginning to show signs of finishing, though the tomato plants still look healthy and are full of green grape tomatoes. The Rhubarb looks quite good for this time of year, too.

The other event of the day was a visit by a black bear to our bird feeder.  It was a surprise to turn around and look out our small kitchen window when I heard something, and see the silhouette of his/her cute head with those furry “mickey-mouse” ears framed in the window.  I went closer, and he didn’t leave, just pulled the bottom off the feeder, the one I posted about a few posts ago, and helped himself to the seeds that dropped to the ground.  We tried to get pictures, but I couldn’t find my camera, and my husbands was out of battaries.  We did get some a week or so ago, you can see them at my New Jersey Baby Boomer blog.

The following peaceful picture was taken by my son last year, very early in the morning on a fall day after the trees had lost their leaves…he calls it “Two Suns”, a reflection of the sun on our lake.  I love the picture, he received “picture of the day” on Webshots for it at the time. A peaceful weekend to you, and our prayers are with those in the path of Hurricane Ike.