|
HELP Peruvians 17 y
8.0 Earthquake in Peru on August 15 leaves 100,000 people homeless and in need of basic necessities; please help if you can! Blessings, Liora
Photo by New Earth
From the Los Angeles Times:
World News
Peru quake hit rural areas hard
Damage is extensive in isolated villages, where the destruction is found to be overwhelming.
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 24, 2007
CANETE, PERU -- The villagers of Las Palmas set up camp in a pasture next to the cow and goat pens, pitching tepee-like tents fashioned of branches and plastic scraps.
Women take turns at a communal outdoor kitchen preparing food for residents of this irrigated oasis, a patch of green amid the unforgiving coasta ... read more Photos: Tropicals 17 y
..and other Plants and Shrubs around my yard
Tropical "Multi-Breasted" Close-Up
Bottle Brush Flower
Spider Plant Close-Up
Fern Close-Up
Jade Succulent Close-up
Aloe Vera Succulent
"Hen’s Nest" Succulent
Gnarly Tropical
Related Blogs: Yard Notes http://curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=309&i=425
I began "Yard Notes" two years ago as short stories I posted on this blog about the ... read more Monster Plants 17 y
Last of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. In my backyard, I have two huge cactus plants that only bloom at night, one night per bloom, in the summer. The flowers are gorgeous, white, and very fragrant...
Photograph by Liora Leah July 2006
Monster Plants
Many years ago when my sister and I were kids, the mailman-- knowing how much Dad enjoyed plants--gave him a cutting of what we thought was a succulent. At the time, the potted plant was about 4" in diameter.
After the “succulent” grew larger, Sis and I dubbed it "The Monster Plant" because it grew wildly in its pot, its branches all askew, in no reasonable sense of order. It was unlike any other plant we’d ever seen. And at night, in the dim glow ... read more Star Jasmine 17 y
Seventh of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. After five years of battle, the Star Jasmine and I have made peace.
Photograph by Liora Leah May 2008
Star Jasmine
When Dad first planted the Star Jasmine vines, they were in little clumps all around the front yard area next to the house. As the years went by, the Star Jasmine firmly established itself and appeared to be one thick carpet of green that needed to be cut back periodically as it tended to grow up the olive tree and the Bird-of-Paradise shrubs that it surrounded. Every spring, the vines bloomed with numerous tiny but strong-smelling flowers that completely overwhelmed my poor sinuses when I ... read more Tree Dreams 17 y
Sixth of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. Dad sent me dreams...
Photograph by Liora Leah August 2007
Tree Dreams
A few years ago I had a dream about the trees in the back yard. I dreamed that I had some time off, and I took the opportunity to go on vacation. When I came home, four trees in the backyard had been chopped down. Two of the three fichus trees had been cut down, and there was no sign that they had ever existed; the ground where they had stood was completely flat, cleared of all vegetation, and the dirt had been raked smooth--you could see the little furrows from the rake in the dirt. The ground looked ... read more Berries & Concrete 17 y
Fifth of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. Our huge and lovely Brazilian pepper tree dominates the backyard landscape planted by my father 48 years ago.
Photo by Liora Leah, August 2007
Berries & Concrete
Along with the three fichus trees that stand next to the falling-down backyard grape stake fence and the plum tree whose roots are lifting up the concrete patio, another tree dominates the backyard landscape planted by Dad: our huge and lovely Brazilian pepper tree.
Two autumns ago I had the tree trimmers come out for the trees’ yearly “haircut” as Dad liked to call it. Some of the cut branches from the Brazilian pepper fell into my water-waster next door neighbor’s backyard, oh-he-of-the-lus ... read more Trees & Fence 17 y
Fourth of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. Our fichus trees are still growing after 48 years, while the fence is falling down.
Photograph by Liora Leah August 2007
Trees & Fence
When Mom and Dad first moved into the house, in addition to absent landscaping, there were no backyard patios or fences between neighbor’s yards. With the help of a family friend, Dad poured the concrete in the backyard and built his own patio. The non-edible plum tree that Dad planted as a sapling next to the patio grew so large that the roots pushed up the concrete; now, every time it rains, the water runs down the sloped patio and pools at the back door. The year of the Big Rain, we had so mu ... read more Dandelions & Snails 17 y
Third of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. A vignette about snails and slime trails...
Photograph by Liora Leah August 2007
Dandelions & Snails
When my sister and I were little, we enjoyed picking the dandelions off the grass and blowing the seeds around. Of course, this helped the weeds to establish themselves all over the yard! Dad would admonish us for doing it, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. One evening a few years ago, I was outside in the front yard observing the snails: During the day, they keep out of sight in the cool of the easement ivy. At night, the snails make their way slowly across the sidewalk, leaving shiny slime ... read more Grass & Water 17 y
Second of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. I live in the house of my childhood. Working in the yard has brought back lots of memories, and eco-lessons for the present.
Grass & Water
For many years Dad tried to nurture the delicate dichondra lawn that he planted, but at some point in time long since forgotten he gave up and let the “grass” become what it is today: an eclectic mix of weeds, clover, and hardy “crab” grass. For the past few years I have not watered the grass, and let it die to an ugly brown in the spring and summer. It resurrects itself come fall with the first of the rains. I did this as a protest to all of the water-wasters in the neighborhood, the ones with nice, lush, green lawns who have their automatic sprinklers systems that ... read more Tools & Sweat 17 y
First of eight stories in the Yard Notes series, in loving memory of my father. Dad prided himself on using only hand tools and a push mower to tend the many bushes, shrubs, and trees that he planted himself in the yard of our home.
Photograph by Liora Leah August 2007
Tools and Sweat
When Mom and Dad bought the suburban house that I am now living in, it was 1959 and the house, brand new, cost $19,000. My brother was seven years old, and I was three. Since my sister was born three weeks after we moved in, I always count the age of the house by how old she is. Initially, there was no landscaping on the 1/5 acre property. Dad planted every tree, bush, and shrub himself, not an easy feat when one considers the hardpan clay soil that Dad had to work with. I remember him digging ... read more Yard Notes 17 y
I began "Yard Notes" two years ago as short stories I posted on this blog about the plants and trees that my father planted in our yard 48 years ago. My father died one year ago on August 26, 2006. On the first anniversary of his death, I finished editing the old stories and writing new ones, and added some photos. Here, then, in a series of blogs, are my updated Yard Notes stories. These are for you, Dad!
Photograph by Liora Leah August 2007
First Things First
When thinking about what Dad meant to my family, we most often think of him in terms of our personal relationships with him as our father, brother, uncle, grandfather, or husband to Mom. We recall what he did for a living as a research chemist and later as a book store co-owner. We recollect that he contributed to the community at large as a veteran and a local politician. We remember his enjoyment as a stamp and coin collector, world traveler, and book lover. When I think about Dad an ... read more Lunation 17 y
"Our Moon's appearance changes nightly. This time-lapse sequence shows what our Moon looks like during a lunation, a complete lunar cycle."
Go to webpage below and click on arrow to see entire lunar cycle! cool!
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070902.html
visit the page Call from the Wild 17 y
Two Native women own and operate The Rehab Rez, a unique 24 hour wildlife hospital for injured, ill, and orphaned wild life. The animals receive care and then are released back into the wild. If they can not be released, the animals become permanent members of the women's extended family.
HONORING OUR RELATIONS
Manataka American Indian Council
FEATURE
http://www.manataka.org/page1674.html
A Call from the Wild
By Linda Bear Heart
(Liora’s Note:The following is an excerpt. to read the whole article go to:
http://www.manataka.org/page1674.html )
Red Jacket is a majestic red-tail hawk with only one wing.
Red Jackets family includes a Gidget, a small kestrel hawk; Sweetie, a pigeon whose had been almost totally plucked naked by crows ... read more Environmental Racism 17 y
Industry and government locate toxic waste facilities in areas near predominantly racial minority communities.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20070813e
The Louisiana Weekly
Environmental Racism Takes Senate Stage
By James Wright, Contributing Writer
August 13, 2007
(Special to the NNPA from The Afro-American Newspapers) - Sheila Holt-Orsted sat quietly in the Senate hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building while before her a dream was fulfilled: the first Congressional hearing on environmental justice.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Environmental and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental ... read more Plug-in Hybrids 17 y
"Even when charged on the current US power grid, which includes electricity generated by carbon-emitting coal, PHEVs reduce emissions by about 40 percent over conventional cars." (Source: Co-op America)
http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/articles/Summer2007PHEVs.cfm
Co-op America Quarterly
SUMMER 2007
Plug-In Hybrids
Our Best Hope
In January of this year, auto manufacturers showed their wares at the North American International Auto Show. Standing tall in the showroom was the H3, produced by General Motors (GM). This smaller version of the Hummer SUV gets about 15 miles to the gallon.
Just across the showroom, a head’s turn away, GM was showcasing another vehicle: the Chevrolet Volt, the first proposed plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) to come out of the world’s larges ... read more NO Corn Ethanol! 17 y
Politicians are pushing corn ethanol as a "new fuel" for our vehicles...don't be suckered! According to Co-op America, "Corn ethanol makes an insignificant contribution to climate solutions, and making our fuel from corn will cause a worldwide food crisis as serious as the climate or peak oil crisis. It could cause a 'peak food' crisis that will be tragic for people everywhere and as dangerous as our dependence on foreign oil."
http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/articles/Summer2007cornethanol.cfm
Co-op America Quarterly
SUMMER 2007
Corn Ethanol Isn’t the Answer
A Co-op America Exposé
Back before Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth sparked a firestorm of public concern about global warming, the Bush administration was content to sit back and proclaim that it was waiting for “science” to determine whether climate change really existed. Now that scientists worldwide have stepped up and left no doubt in the minds of most Americans, the administration can no longer ignore global warming and hope it’ll go away ... read more Trees "Eat" CO2 17 y
Trees for the Future is a nonprofit that has helped rural communities around the world plant trees since 1989, restoring tree cover to the most degraded lands, helping to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures, and removing over 1.5 MILLION TONS of CO2 annually. And all for a cost of 10 Cents per tree.
http://www.Plant-Trees.org
Excerpt from Trees for the Future, August 2007 newsletter:
The Carbon Issue
As we become more aware and concerned about carbon emissions and their effect on global climate change, and as people become more aware that planting trees offers a practical, cost-effective way to offset this carbon, more and more people are joining our global program. To them we say "Thank you and ask your friends to join too."
At the same time, we are dismayed by the confusion caused by the claims made by opportunists and apologists acting ... read more |