Weed ’em and reap. ~Author unknown

What is a weed?  I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions.  For me, a weed is a plant out of place.  ~Donald Culross Peattie

native peoples practiced sustainable harvesting and sowing that involved controlled burns as part of their land management.  CRcwbXsUYAA05kO

WHY USE NATIVE PLANTS hemp Poppy cone flower


I learn more about God
From weeds than from roses;
Resilience springing
Through the smallest chink of hope
In the absolute of concrete….
~Phillip Pulfrey, “Weeds,”

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But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else.  In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit.  Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s.  ~Author Unknown

M.O.A.B – Mother of all buds ®

moab-mother-of-all-buds_1

studies show, THC good for sick kids too

Water Melon Seeds:

Most slave were doctors, they knew the benefits of the Watermelons, known affectionately as “August hams,”

 


A weed is but an unloved flower.  ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

3watermelon seed tea

 

Crabgrass Was King | Eat The Weeds and other things, too

While we try to get rid of crabgrass in America in parts of Africa crabgrass (fonio) is a staple grain, and as forage it can produce a whopping 17 tons per acre.

Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons.  ~Dave Barrycrabgrass1


We can in fact only define a weed, mutatis mutandis, in terms of the well-known definition of dirt – as matter out of place.  What we call a weed is in fact merely a plant growing where we do not want it.  ~E.J. Salisbury, The Living Garden, 1935

Soil Vs. Dirt: What is the difference?

Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

Training the Immune System

“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

Soil contains microorganisms, decaying organic matter, earthworms and other insects.  Soil is a living environment.  The earthworms and insects aerate the soil and add to the organic matter of the soil through their waste and when their bodies decay.

soil01

Dirt is basically dead soil.  It does not contain any of the above.  You can add organic matter (compost) to dirt to revitalize it.  The organic matter will provide food for beneficial microorganisms so that the ecological system can start to regenerate.

“If a healthy soil is full of death, it is also full of life:  worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds …  Given only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long.”
–  Wendell Berry,  The Unsettling of America, 1977

 

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”
–  James Oppenheim

 

“If I wanted to have a happy garden, I must ally myself with my soil; study and help it to the utmost, untiringly. Always, the soil must come first.”
–  Marion Cran, If I Where Beginning Again

100 Things You Can Compost

The following list is meant to get you thinking about your compost possibilities. Imagine how much trash we could prevent from going into the landfills if each of us just decided to compost a few more things!

From the Kitchen

  1. Fruit and vegetable scraps
  2. Egg shells (crushed)
  3. Coffee grounds
  4. Coffee filters
  5. Tea bags (Make sure they are made of natural materials like hemp or cotton, and not rayon or other synthetics. If in doubt, just open it and compost the tea leaves alone.)

 

  • Decayed leaves create what is called leaf mulch. The structure we used to know as a leaf breaks down into a loose lace-like texture that eventually decomposes quickly into the soil. Leaf mulch in bare soil will be pulled down into the soil by earthworms: it is their favorite food!

 

Excerpt From: The Healing Grace of California Poppy

Below is my final assignment for Angie Goodloe’s Herbalist 101 course.  Be warned, it’s lengthy!  But there’s a surprise at the end.  If you have any interest in herbalism, I highly recommend Angie’s course.  It’s full of information, provides plenty of opportunity for you to get intimate with herbs and make those medicines.  And  Angie provides plenty of feedback and encouragement in her responses to the assignments. Fun stuff!

Also, Angie is currently offering the course at an absurdly low price ($35!).  I assure you, the course is worth far, far more than that!
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Alternate names: Copa de ora, Dormidera (the Drowsy One, since this ‘sun-worshipping flower’ closes its blooms at night)
Family: Papaveraceae
Patterns of the Poppy family are showy flowers with 2-3 sepals that shed early, petals in multiples of four, lots of stamens.  They often have milky sap in their stems.  Many plants in this family contain narcotic alkaloids.  Narcotics depress the central nervous system, sedating and offering relief from the feeling of pain (analgesic). [I’m noting Family characteristics in anticipation of work I’m doing with the Kamana Naturalist Training Program.  Currently in that program I’m journaling Plants, which will soon include detailing all the native plant families of my area.]
With that “Family background” in mind, let’s explore this beautiful herb …
The state flower of California, California Poppy is aptly chosen for this honor.    For countless generations the native peoples of California carefully cultivated this plant–as they did with many others–for food and medicine in monocropped expanses on hillside and in valleys.  European settlers thought they had arrived in untouched wilderness.  Not so.  The native peoples practiced sustainable harvesting and sowing that involved controlled burns as part of their land management.
It is said that north of Pasadena early Spanish sailors guided by a golden hillside in spring — a hillside shining with the bright orange-gold of the California Poppy.  It is also said that this was one reason they dubbed this coast “the Land of Fire” (the other reason being that there were indeed fires a-plenty due to lightning strikes as well as due to the dry, arid summers).
The Yuki tribe used it for toothaches, it was food for the Sierra Miwoks, the Ohlone used it for sleep, the Wintu used it to heal newborn baby belly buttons
The Nisenan ate the leaves either boiled or roasted with hot stones and then laid in water.  The Pomo mashed the seedpod or a decoction of it on a nursing mother’s breast to dry up her milk.  And the plant was given to babies as a sedative and placed under the bed for better sleep.  Other tribes rubbed a decoction of the flowers into the hair to kill lice.  The root juice was taken to relieve stomachaches and tuberculosis, and as a wash for weeping sores.

The plant itself: is a perennial or annual (further north) to 2 ft. tall with mostly basal with bluish-green lacelike leaves.  When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, the plant was an annual.  Here in my backyard in the San Francisco Bay Area, the plant is definitely a perennial.  The plant in these photographs is one that has been thriving since our arrival here last June.
The flowers sit atop a flattened rim on long stalks.  The flowers are of four shiny petals bright orange to yellow in color, sepals fused into cap, and falling off when it flowers.  Many stamens.  The fruit is long and slender, containing many black seeds.   It’s so satisfying to collect the seeds!   Just pluck off the dried pods and pop them into an envelope.  The plant flowers from February through November.
The plant is found in grasslands, hillsides, and open areas, in well-drained and poor soil, from Southern California up through Washington.
In terms of modern-day herbalism California Poppy has these characteristics.
Taste: Bitter
Energy: Cool
Organs affected: Liver, Heart
Actions (according to Lesley Tierra): calm the Spirit (I most definitely agree!)
Properties: Sedative, analgesic, anti-diarrheal, antitussove. diaphoretic, antispasmodic
Indications: anxiety, nervous tension, agitation, neuralgia, pain relief (including acute), nervousness, sciatica, herbes, shingles, heart palpitations, insomnia
Dose: rounded teaspoon of chopped plant as tea, drink 1-3 times daily; fresh plant tincture: 20-60 drops 1-4 times daily.  For sleep problems, take 20-40 drops one hour before sleep, then again right before bedtime.  For bedwetting in children over 5 years old, use with horsetail, 10 drops of each twice/day.
A mild sedative and analgesic, this plant is suitable even for children, though may cause a mild ‘hangover’ headache the next morning if used in excessive quantities.   Lesley Tierra writes: “California poppy wonderfully sedates, calms and relaxes the nervous system, treating symptoms of anxiety, nervous tension and agitation.  As well, it repairs nerves and alleviates nerve pain, especially from sciatica, herpes and shingles.  It is also used for heart palpitations and insomnia due to nervousness.
Contraindications: large amounts used sometimes cause nausia. Better not to use it during pregnancy.
Collecting: Gather the whole above ground plant and dry it.  Or tincture the whole fresh plant.  When I tinctured California Poppy in the past, I used the whole plant, including
2011661_orig
Coca leaf is  rich in beneficial antioxidants, including ones that help to protect the integrity of blood vessels.coca leaf, which is used as a flavoring ingredient in Coca-Cola.

Nutrition Benefits of the Coca Leaf

The coca leaf has been found to be a valuable dietary supplement. Several studies analyzed the nutrition characteristics of the coca leaf. Two notable ones include, a 2009 study published in the Food & Nutrition Bulletin (Can coca leaves contribute to improving the nutritional status of the Andean population?, Penny, Zavaleta, et al.) and a1975 Harvard study (Nutritional Value of Coca Leaf, Duke, Aulick, Plowman). They found that per 100g the leaves contained:

  • Carbohydrates (44.3 g)
  • Protein (19.9 g)
  • Fat (3.3 g)
  • Fiber (14.2 g)
  • Vitamin A (10,000 – 14,000 IU)
  • Vitamin B1 (0.58 – 0.68 mg)
  • Vitamin B2 (1.73 mg)
  • Vitamin B6 (0.58 mg)
  • Vitamin C (1.4 – 53 mg)
  • Vitamin D (trace amounts)
  • Vitamin E (16.72 mg)
  • Calcium (990.18 – 1749 mg)
  • Copper (1.1 mg)
  • Iron (26.8 – 45.8 mg)
  • Magnesium (197 – 225 mg)
  • Phosphorus (637 mg)
  • Zinc (2.63 – 3.8 mg)
.coca plant
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the Incas domesticated this plant, tells the story of the Inca army made an extract of the leaf and chewing (to a bolus of leaves in the buccal mucosa) and extracted the juice from the leaf to mitigate the cold, hunger and fatigue, so the coca leaf was a vital element in the survival Inca

Parabolas all have the same basic “U” shape.

1 There are only three colors, ten digits, and seven notes, it’s what we do with them that’s .

The Babylonians

It all started around 3000 BC with the Babylonians. They were one of the world’s first civilisations, and came up with some great ideas like agriculture, irrigation and writing. They plotted the paths of the Sun, the Moon and the planets, and recorded them on clay tablets (which you can still see in the British Museum). To the Babylonians we owe the modern ideas of angle, including the way that the circle is divided up into 360 degrees (owing to a small miscalculation, one per day). We also owe the Babylonians for the rather less pleasant invention of the (dreaded) taxman. And this was one of the reasons that the Babylonians needed to solve quadratic equations.

if $x$ is the length of the side of the field, $m$ is the amount of crop you can grow on a square field of sidelength 1, and $c$ is the amount of crop that you can grow, then

\[ c = m x^2. \]

 Quadratic equations and areas are linked together like brothers and sisters in the same family. However, at the moment we don’t have to solve anything – until the tax man arrives, that is! Cheerily he says to the farmer “I want you to give me $c$ crops to pay for the taxes on your farm.” The farmer now has a dilemma: how big a field does he need to grow that amount of crop? We can answer this question easily, in fact

\[ x = \sqrt { \frac{c}{m} }. \]

01 uses of a quadratic equation

 

5 Basic Needs (according to Glasser) o Fun o Freedom o Power o Belonging o Survival

 

Recognizing Factoring Patterns

Quadratic equations describe the motion of a baseball after it connects with a bat, and the acceleration of gravity at the Earth’s orbit.

Image result for define factoring algebra

betterexplained.com
The numbers -15, -5, -3, -1, 1, 3, 5, and 15 are all factors of 15 because they divide 15 without a remainder.
Factoring is an important process in algebra which is used to simplify expressions, simplify fractions, and solve equations.

A composite expression is similar in that it can be written as the product of two or more expressions. For example: x2 + 3x + 2 is composite because it can be written as (x + 1)(x + 2). (Recall that the FOIL Method shows that (x + 1)(x + 2) is equivalent to x2 + 3x + 2.) Here, (x + 1) and (x + 2) are factors of x2 + 3x + 2.

In general, a number is a factor of another number if the first number can divide the second without a remainder. Similarly, an expression is a factor of another expression if the first can divide the second without a remainder.

Definition

A prime number is a number greater than 1 which has only two positive factors: 1 and itself. For example, 11 is a prime number because its only positive factors are 1 and 11.

Factoring is a process by which a the factors of a composite number or a composite expression are determined, and the number or expression is written as a product of these factors. For example, the number 15 can be factored into: 1 * 15, 3 * 5, -1 * -15, or -3 * -5. The numbers -15, -5, -3, -1, 1, 3, 5, and 15 are all factors of 15 because they divide 15 without a remainder.

Factoring is an important process in algebra which is used to simplify expressions, simplify fractions, and solve equations. The next few lessons explain how to factor numbers, expressions, and equations.

  1. Factoring Numbers — Start Here
  2. Finding a Greatest Common Factor
  3. Factoring a GCF from an expression
  4. Factoring a Difference Between Two Squares
  5. Factoring Trinomials
  6. Factoring Completely
  7. Solving Equations by Factoring

Introduction To Factoring

A composite number is a number that can be written as the product of two positive integers other than 1 and the number itself. For example: 14 is a composite number because it can be written as 7 times 2. In this case, 7 and 2 are called factors of 14.

Solving Equations by Factoring babt algebra
Parabolas may open upward or downward and vary in "width" or "steepness", but they all have the same basic "U" shape Baby algebra400px-Fountain583b729941d13958d8635aed92e9e7d88742731_f520
 What’s Your Angle
Doors to Math class

Angle- The amount of turn between two straight lines that have a common end point (the vertex).

Putin,Comey and Third-Party Candidates 2016 US Election

The number of votes Stein got in Michigan and Wisconsin exceeded the gap between Clinton and Trump in those states.  “We are scholars of politics and the presidency, but you don’t need to be an expert to know that a shift or addition of just a few thousand votes in one or two key states can determine the outcome of a presidential election. In other words, a handful of voters in the right place at the right time can truly change the course of American history. “

Al Gore: If You Care About The Climate Crisis, Don’t Vote For A Third Party #

statements of Republican nominee Donald Trump at ClimateProgress. He has called global warming a hoax, denied the reality of California’s devastating drought, promised he would kill all domestic climate-related regulations (like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan), and vowed “We’re going to cancel the Paris climate agreement” — humanity’s last best chance to avoid catastrophic climate change lasting centuries.

Al Gore to campaign for Clinton. Will be a good reminder of the impact of 3rd Party candidates.… https://t.co/jsmOazqSlq

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Watermelon seeds help in improving male fertility.

2015-04-03-watermelon-seeds-tea-2-fb-2Watermelon: Symbolizing the Supposed Simplicity of Slaves

Watermelon seeds,

are good sources of magnesium vital for normal heart functioning, maintenance of normal blood pressure, supporting metabolic process and protein synthesis. It is also beneficial in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension besides controlling blood pressure and diabetes.Roasted watermelon seeds are served as a snack or used to garnish salads. In Nigeria they are used in certain soups. Watermelon seed oil is extracted from these seeds which is beneficial for your hair and skin. To say the least, watermelon seeds are edible and can be a healthy option.

watermelon seeds

are a rich source of nutrients and minerals and therefore, should not be discarded. These seeds have a hard outer covering so they should be chewed before swallowing to get their nutritional content. Some of the health benefits of watermelon seeds are given below. http

Watermelon seed tea is considered to be a natural diuretic helpful for kidney cleansing.

Watermelon

Food historians believe that African slaves helped introduce the watermelon, now the most consumed melon in the US. The fruit eventually became a major symbol in the iconography of racism in the United States through the “watermelon stereotype”. In various images, the fruit was used to paint African Americans as a simple-minded people who were happy when provided watermelon and a little rest.

Watermelon seeds can be baked with salt for a protein-rich and tasty snack, which has a similar flavor and consistency to pumpkin seeds, or prepared in a tea to maximize its diuretic effects.

How To Make Watermelon Seed Tea

Ingredients

  • 30-40 watermelon seeds, fresh or dried
  • water

Instructions

  1. Crush 4 tablespoons of fresh watermelon seeds using a mortar and pestle, or grind them up in a food processor.
  2. Cook for 10 minutes in two litres of water over high heat.
  3. Drink the entire two litres of tea over a period of two days for full effect.

This tea is especially good for those with digestive issues, or those who are prone to urinary tract infections. So instead of opting for seedless watermelons – which are less flavourful than watermelons with seeds and are part of a relatively new strain of watermelon mass-produced for consumers – or spitting out the seeds and throwing them away, the next time you eat watermelon, consider saving the seeds to roast or brew in a tea. Your body will ultimately thank you for providing it with such a nutritious snack or beverage.Watermelon-eathealthylivefit_com

Watermelon, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 127 kJ (30 kcal)

7.55 g

Sugars 6.2 g
Dietary fiber 0.4 g

Fat

0.15 g

0.61 g

Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.

(4%)

28 μg

(3%)

303 μg

Thiamine (B1)

(3%)

0.033 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

(2%)

0.021 mg

Niacin (B3)

(1%)

0.178 mg

(4%)

0.221 mg

Vitamin B6

(3%)

0.045 mg

Choline

(1%)

4.1 mg

Vitamin C

(10%)

8.1 mg

Trace metals
Calcium

(1%)

7 mg

Iron

(2%)

0.24 mg

Magnesium

(3%)

10 mg

Manganese

(2%)

0.038 mg

Phosphorus

(2%)

11 mg

Potassium

(2%)

112 mg

Sodium

(0%)

1 mg

Zinc

(1%)

0.1 mg

Other constituents
Water 91.45 g
Lycopene 4532 µg Watermelon seeds contain lycopene which is good for your face and also helps in improving male fertility.

 

‘white paranoia’ spook hunters

White Gangscorporations_lincoln_quote

Prior to the 1940s, there were many Black and Latino clubs and clicks, but very few outright gangs. This was also true of the white population of Los Angeles. However, this changed in the 1940s. In the 1940s, the Black population doubled as people came to work building ships and weapons for the military during World War II. At the time, Blacks and Latinos were restricted in where they could live. Blacks had to live along Central Ave. and Latinos lived mostly in East LA. As the population increased, some whites feared that Blacks and Latinos would start living outside of these restricted areas. Huntington Park, Bell, South Gate, Inglewood, Compton, Gardena, and West LA all had organized white gangs that would seek out Blacks and Latinos and harass them or beat them up. The largest of these gangs were the Spook Hunters. “Spook” is a derogatory term used toward Black people. During the 1940s, the Ku Klux Klan also emerged in LA. The first Black and Latino gangs were in response to these white gangs. The gangs acted as protection for Black and Latino neighborhoods.  Incidents such as the Zoot Suit Riots, in which white marines attacked Latino zoot suiters, led to a higher degree of organization in the gangs of both Blacks and Latinos.

The Spook Hunters would often cross Alameda traveling west to violently attack black youths from the area.