Spring has Sprung!

Oh my! Today has been SUCH a beautiful day...I am feeling a bit ansty to be outside but there will be plenty of time for that this summer with our camps and of course with helping out on the farms. I was able to snap some photos from the car this morning to document these first sunny blooms of 2009.

All Greener Partners' farms and garden sites are in MAJOR start mode...things are crazy busy. Our CSAs are filling up quickly and our seeds are sprouting in the greenhouse. All of the GP team members have been attending multiple workshops, meetings and conferences on subjects ranging from permaculture to local foods to social justice. There is SO MUCH movement in the Greater Philadelphia region on all of these amazing topics...it makes my heart soooaaar! Needless to say, with all of this 'movement' there is also much to get done. Office work, field work, attending events...all with a smile and an eye on a bright future. We are all SO excited!

Happy Full Moon!

What's Growing On?

Just a little update on one of Greener Partners' projects; our partnership with Willistown Township Parks & Recreation and Historic Sugartown to create an Exploration Garden at the Sugartown Preserve is in full swing! We have 4 weeks of summer camp planned for this summer. 2 weeks of 'Farming Fun Camp' and 2 weeks of 'Fairy Gnome Camp'. It's going to be so much FUN! Today, Amy (our Director of Farming Operations) and I went to the site with the guys who will be erecting our deer fence. YES...one NEEDS a deer fence in these parts. Otherwise there will be no garden. It's literally a salad bar (an organic one!) inside that fence so it has to be perfect. We were outside for about an hour and it just felt so great to be getting all of that sun. It was still a bit too chilly for comfort but the thoughts of gardening and playing in the garden mixed with the fresh air and sun made me so happy! Here are some images I took on my iPhone. I am dreaming up a meditation/yoga spot near the tree. Those black lines you see are the paths between our raspberry patches. A significant part of the garden will be dedicated to soft fruits. Otherwise the garden with be 'free-form' with some rows of vegetables, some patches, some tunnels, and lots of places for the imagination to run free. I know from the picture it's hard to imagine the size of the garden...but pretty much that patch of raspberries is about 1/5 of the total garden!!!!

Equal Night

Did you know that the word 'equinox' literally translates to 'equal night'? Of course here we are on this glorious and possibly FAVORITE day of mine; the Vernal or Spring Equinox. As we here in the Northen Hemisphere prepare for longer, warmer days, the folks below the equator prepare for just the opposite. It's all pretty amazing how our home (yes, Earth) provides us with these seasons that we can always rely on. Today we have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night and we know we will be getting more sun so it's safe for us to begin to plant seeds and trust that they will be fruitful in their germination and growth in this new season.

There are many traditions of the Vernal Equinox. It is a time of renewal, both in Nature and in the Home. "Spring Cleaning", is more than just a traditional activity, as it removes any negative energy accumulated over the dark winter months and prepares our homes and selves for the positive growing energy of spring and summer.

How do you feel about Spring and its traditions?

Do you think Spring is a time of new beginnings ?

I just love new beginnings and any time I have a good reason for one, I grab it. It's a great time to make new goals for yourself, clean out, clear up, and tell yourself you can live the life you have always dreamed...go get it!!!

P.S. Time to start to fill up on the greens again...more to come!

Chocoholic? Nah, just a big fan...

A good piece of chocolate has about 200 calories. As I enjoy 2 servings pers night and a few more on the weekends, I comsume 3,500 calories of chocolate a week, which equals one pound of weight per week.

Therefore...

In the last 3 1/2 years, I have had chocolate caloric intake of about 180 pounds, and I only weight 125 pounds, so without chocolate, I would have wasted away to nothing about 6 months ago!

I owe my life to chocolate.

HA! That is something I read in a little paper called "The Fish Wrapper" and thought...now that's a novel idea! I love the thought of owing my life to chocolate. And that made me think about how raw chocolate or 'cacao' as it is called amongst the superfood set, is grown, because the rainforest could very well owe it's life to chocolate. You see, cacao is best grown in the rainforest so when we buy it, we are supporting the financial viability (and therefore sustaining life there for it's inhabitants) of the forest 'as is' and not needing to cut it down to make money...pretty smart! Below you will find my top 7 reasons to be stocking up on raw Cacao in the form of nibs, powder, or mixed with organic sugar in a scrumptious organic bar or truffle!

1. Magnesium: Cacao seems to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD).
2. Iron: Cacao contains 314% of the U.S. RDA of iron per 1 ounce (28 gram) serving. Iron is part of the oxygen carrying protein called hemoglobin that keeps our blood healthy.
3. Chromium: Chromium is an important trace mineral that helps balance blood sugar. Nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in this trace mineral.
4. Anandamide: Anandamide (The Bliss Chemical) is an endorphin that the human body naturally produces after exercise. Anandamide has only been found in one plant — Cacao.
5. Antioxidants: Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. By weight, Cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, and goji berries COMBINED.
6. Help to save the rainforest by buying products that can only grown in a healthy and sustainable rainforest system.
7. One word: YUM

find more info and products:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16354380#email
http://www.rawcacao.com/
http://www.sunfood.com/