Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
He's our powers magnified,
And he's fighting on the planet side

Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero,
Gonna help him put us under,
Bad guys who like to loot and plunder

Dear Big Oil,

Dear Big Oil Companies,

I have no idea why you don't invest in 'new energy'.  From what I've heard it seems like it is being depleted quite fast and that's not a good business plan.

• You could keep your trillions.
• Make it a clean, renewable resource and the Earth is happy
• Make it like $2.00 a gal and the public will go complacently into their own lives and go buy some other crap.
• The rest of us 'Tree huggers' will go off and fight for whales instead.
• And you look like a hero.  Possible a Nobel Peace Prize in the future.

It's good all around.  Spend a lil money to make a boat-load more in the future.  Unless of course you are going to blow all of us up and create 'The New World Order' or something.  I was watching conspiracy videos today.  Sounds like it could become a real 'The Handmaid's Tale' (margaret atwood)

Am I the only one who sees this?

Here is proof that Nature loves us.  Nature Hearts!  I <3 them!

This is the representation of Wild ;Loved.  Love is the most powerful force in the world.  It is all around us, in trees, bushes, on the ground, and in the sky.  Try to define it and it will always be left wanting.

We are Loved.  So let's love back.

Mt Dew and Adderall do not mix

I haven't been able to sleep tonight.  I started rearranging the furniture at 1230am.  Instead of maybe doing some extra homework I decided to play on Stumbleupon and my blog.
Apparently blogspot has a different idea of layout options then I do so I'll have to change how I plan to do them.  There is nothing there right now cause I really should be in bed.  I have to be up in 3 hours..sheesh.

Fuck you Depression, you're a life-sucking cunt-bitch, a worthless piece of shit emotion.

Apparently Plato says this is a good idea.

Wild, Loved

This is (one of) the essay(s) I had to write for Intro to Sustainable Landscapes that helped me figure out what I actually wanted to do with my life.  After I'm finished with my A.A.S. degree I'll be going to the Permaculture Institute.  I want to help design and apply permaculture to any and everywhere I can.  Show the world that wild can be beautiful and loved.

Wild, but Loved

            Perhaps the only problem with naturalized areas is the lack of ‘design’.  Of course people who do actually design these spaces will say otherwise.  Where horticulturists or ‘people who know better’ can see the precise and thought-out placements, most people see weeds.  I heard of even our school, which has that wildflower/naturalized area, has people complaining how messy ‘nature’ looks.  Until you put up a sign.  *Aha!*  In order to get more public support for these ecologically-beneficial areas more imagination and thought needs to be put into the design to make it both work and be ‘pretty’.

When we think wetland we envision a home, made for frogs, birds, chirpy things as well as a natural lake/pond cleaner.  When the public hears wetland they think swamp.  They think of mosquitoes, algae-infested, smelly, quicksand deathtrap bogs, Kermit the Frog and redneck swamp people.  Doesn’t really do much for my property value does it?  Might as well park my old sofa out in front of my double-wide and open up a beer.  It’s so sad that they don’t see the beauty in it.  So we have to make them see it.  Why not exploit its charms?  Tall beautiful grasses and cattails with bright green frogs jumping from flowering lily pad to lily pad,  giant white and blue herons, the beautiful chorus of bullfrogs singing to their mates, crickets chirping and loons hooting while fireflies dance around like little stars are only a few I think of.  It also makes me think of The Little Mermaid scene where the pond is singing ‘Kiss the Girl’.  I don’t know how anyone could not like the look of birds and flowers in a waterscape.  You usually have to pay extra for that.  We could also work to make them more accessible.  One cool thing I love about the wetlands in Eden Prairie is that there is a pathway through it.  It eventually ends up at a dock with a bench and became one of my favorite places.

  What we really need to do is stop trying to change, fix; improve nature.  That’s about as bad as a 3 yr old trying to fix a masterpiece with his crayon.  One example I think of is the problem with kudzu (Pueraria lobata).  Kudzu is an Asiatic native that was introduced to help soil erosion problems.  Though later we find that it grows way too well in the southeastern states!  The main problem with kudzu is not just its rapid growth (up to 60 ft a year!) but it covers natives in a sun-less mat, eventually killing them.  It was declared a weed in 1972 and even with 18+ years of research nothing can hurt it!  With some herbicides it takes repeat applications for 4 to even 10 years until it finally dies.  One herbicide was found to actually make it grow better!  There are no insect predators of this vine, and I remember talk during a class last year that scientists were hoping to bring one from its native Japan/China.  *Beat*  Really?  Really?!  I swear some scientists either don’t know what they are doing or they are fans of ‘let’s just see what happens…’.

People don’t know the difference between native, invasive, or alien when it comes to the garden, all they know is pretty.  Best thing we can ever do as plant lovers is learn how to take mostly natives and plant them in a way that makes people want to replicate.  This style of design I now deem ‘Wild, but loved’.  I think it is probably the best hope for the future of our native species.

Finding love in all shapes, sizes, species, and kingdoms..

Screw the rules, I have pink hair.

People tend to ask me about my hair.  Little girls LOVE it.

Pinks and reds tend to fade out fast, but mine tends to stay really well.

Tips and Tricks:

-I use Splat, Pink Fetish found at Wallgreens.  It does NOT look like it says on the box.  It contains a bleaching agent and a semi-permanent stain.

-I use a Roots Only bottle and bleach ONLY my roots.  I mix the bleaching stuff in a bowl then put it in the roots only bottle.  I also use a 1 in paint brush to smooth out the bleach.  I leave it in for an hour.

-I add the stain, put on a shower cap and my black cat hat and leave it in my hair OVERNIGHT.  It is freaking fuchsia!! 

-I tend to wash my hair sparingly.  I switched to the no-poo method and it helps keep the colour in as well as being able to not have to wash it all the time.  When I do I use tepid water, cool enough to keep it from running, but warm enough that it doesn't suck.

-I keep my hair healthy by almost never using heat treatments.

-Baking soda tends to take out the stain, so when I cleanse my hair I use the Roots Only bottle and tip my head upside down.

-The No-poo is interesting.  My hair got really dry during the change-over, anyway some of the ends got really super fried when I went back to pink so they don't hold stain really well.  The parts of the hair that grew since I went no-poo tends to hold the stain really well.  It is also a lot shinier and softer.

Depression...

Depression is hard because it makes you forget all your coping mechanisms.  While in the thrall, I forget how to deal w my quirks, that watching videos of baby animals makes me feel better, that life isn't usually that bad, and that people are actually there and LOVE ME.
It makes you feel like you are alone... and alone is a scary thing.

Ode to the Dandelion

Maybe it's a funny thing, but Dandelions are actually my favorite flower. They remind me of happy childhood memories. I find a yard full of them blooming to be a beautiful and happy sight.

Dandelion:
-French dent-de-lion, meaning 'lion's tooth'. Also called pis-en-lit, meaning 'wet the bed'. It helps to expel water from the body.
-Every part is edible. Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are good sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese. Blanch to remove bitterness.
-Dandelion Wine
-Is a food source for many larvae of Lepidoptera species (butterflies) and a nectar source for the Pearl-Bordered Fritillary. Good for bees and small birds.
-The dandelion plant is a beneficial weed. Its taproot will bring up nutrients for shallower-rooting plants, and add minerals and nitrogen to soil. It is also known to attract pollinating insects and release ethylene gas which helps fruit to ripen.
-Four dandelion flowers are the emblem of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The citizens celebrate spring with an annual Dandelion Festival. The dandelion is the official flower of the University of Rochester and "Dandelion Yellow" is one of the school's official colors. 'The Dandelion Yellow' is an official University of Rochester song.

Every year millions of dollars are spent trying to eradicate it, not to mention the amount of poisons we throw at it. There are many good uses for dandelions. Maybe we should use them and not spray them.

Also we should learn to not expect perfection in our lawns. There are worse weeds that take over once the dandelions are gone. They are beautiful creatures, learn to live with them. They are not going anywhere.