Seasonal Notes
Spring 2025
March and the Spring Equinox
Longer days herald the return of Spring this month. Being good to your Stomach and Spleen-Pancreas in March maximizes your health in the coming season. Acupuncture, herbs, nutritional supplements, movement, good food choices and wise eating habits build our Earth Energy! A list of foods good for your Spleen-Pancreas energy is available at the clinic.
Be Aware of the Ides of March: Our amazing market is returning to it’s outdoor location on March 15 Yes! It is the best source of locally grown produce in our area. Our wonderful market manager is always on the look out for new farmers and vendors. So take your time and enjoy the variety of gifts our Southern Oregon region has to offer!☺
Organic produce is available in other places, but shipping food to Oregon puts more carbon into the atmosphere, which is not healthy for our planet. Moreover, food grown in California is generally contaminated with perchlorates. Perchlorates are bi products of jet fuel and ammunition manufacture. So the more we fly and the more we target practice, the more contaminated our produce from California becomes. Perchlorates are unhealthy because they suppress thyroid function. Perhaps this is one reason so many people in Grants Pass suffer from hypothyroidism.
April and Arbor Day
On April 15, 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt issued an Arbor Day Proclamation to the School Children of the Untied States and spoke of the importance of trees. Interestingly, in 1594, the Spanish village of Mondoňedo held the first documented plantation festival in the world. The lime and horse-chestnut trees planted at that time still remain as a reminder of this event. Around the world, the planting of trees, sometimes in great numbers, is a happy sign of spring.
Celebrating 150 years, American Forests is the oldest conservation group in our country. Their Rio Reforestation Project brought together 1,427 volunteers to plant 15,000 seedlings on 10 acres in one day! Food was donated for all the volunteers It was truly a community event! The restoration of the Thornforest will help birds, endangered Ocelots and other wildlife to thrive. The trees also provide shade which modifies the hot, dry climate.
American Forests’ urban forest projects employ a new generation of young people who work with experienced arborists to plant and rejuvenate city trees. Providing both shade and beauty for everyone to enjoy. One of my favorite images is of a young woman with beautiful African dreadlocks, climbing trees and enjoying the job of her life! Last year, American Forests helped restore trees in wild forests in our Pacific North West which were lost to fires. To learn more: research americanforests.org
Mother Earth Day in May
The Earth is the mother to us all and to all life on this planet. During this beautiful month, I enjoy taking the time to honor the Earth by caring for plants, keeping my carbon footprint low, and supporting environmental groups. The Earth itself is changing due to the overwhelming carbon out-gassing generated by humans. Records show that this trend has been increasing at an alarming rate since the industrial revolution around the end of the last century. As our numbers mushroom beyond 8 billion, and our use of conveniences and our self-indulgent habits grow, we and the planet become sick. Most sadly, innocent plant and animal species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate.
The Good, The Bad, and The Wise
The Good: Jane Fonda and other celebrities and affluent people who work with various environmental organizations to heal the Earth, protect wildlife, champion social justice, and care for innocent animals.
The Bad: Elite wealthy individuals and corporations who rape the earth for selfish gain and power.
The Ugly: The Politicians who receive “campaign donations” (bribes) to look the other way as the earth is violated, plastic proliferates, gmo’s and other toxins contaminate our food, air, and water. They also profit from plastic use which causes cancer in humans and death for sea animals birds and other innocent wildlife. Their fast-tracked vaccines can cause autism in children; the COVID vaccine can be lethal.
As Tolkien observed in the Lord of the Rings:
The World has changed, there is (almost) no one alive today
who remembers the way things were.
We can move forward creating a healthier world worth living in and worth sharing with other life forms. We can limit our reproduction to keep in line with the resources of the planet. We can help in numerous ways! The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Truly healthy choices must be planet friendly choices. If not, all living beings suffer. We live in a very wealthy and consumer-driven country. It can be hard to think outside of the next Amazon fix, or the next vacation, or sight-seeing adventure. But there are 8,000,000,000 of us and that number is growing.
When we simplify our lives, we find new sources of happiness: The joy of helping to heal Mother Earth and all of her beautiful creatures has many possibilities. Not all of us will be climbing trees, sailing with Greenpeace, going to court with The Center for Biological Diversity to stand up for wildlife and First Nations people, standing up for the rights of animals with PETA, but all of us can financially support one or more of these environmental groups and find peace in the fact that you can making a difference.
In my world, using cloth produce and bulk bags eliminates plastic from the earth and my body. Belonging to environmental groups makes my donations a part of the positive changes on our planet. Then in the night, the serenading frogs, brings the comforting thought that I have helped them survive. It is a nice meditation/prayer to have before retiring to sleep at night.
The care I have received at Ráven's clinic has made an almost unbearable situation bearable and allowed me to hold a job and continue on with my life. She and her staff work with you at any time you need them. They are amazing.
Frances Cole