Floating Islands

We are very excited to announce the addition of Floating Islands to our on going endeavourers to beautify our natural world. The Floating Islands are not only beautiful they are constructed of recycled materials and they remove pollutants from the water. Here are some interesting facts about the Floating Islands.
Floating Islands is an innovative water stewardship tool… BioHaven floating islands do five things:
1. They remove pollutants from a waterway, including nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and heavy metals
2. They provide critical riparian edge habitat – in fact, new land mass for use by all kinds of creatures, from microbes to humans
3. They sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases
4. They provide wave mitigation and erosion control
5. They beautify a waterscape Made from layers of recycled plastic “matrix” which are bonded together with adhesive foam, BioHavens are planted with sod, garden plants or wetland plants and launched onto a water body.
There the plants are allowed to grow naturally, and, as they develop, their roots grow through the matrix and into the water below. Over time, a natural eco-system evolves. The model for this is Nature herself - BioHavens “bio-mimic” Nature. We are part of a new branch of science, Biomimicry, or Biomimetics.BioHavens provide surface area for microbes to thrive. Microbes remove pollutants. BioHavens are a concentrated floating wetland – the huge surface area of fibers provides many times more surface area than an equivalent stretch of bare wetland. Surface area is the key factor for microbial activity to take place, and microbes (bacteria) are the key to removing contaminants from the water. Plants and their roots are also important, but more for the extra surface area the roots provide than for any nutrient uptake the plants themselves account for.BioHavens were invented eight years ago, have been successfully trialed for five years and have been on the market since July 2005. They represent a natural, convenient and cost-effective solution for some of the most intractable and expensive problems on the planet:· “Polishing” wastewater and storm water of nutrients and heavy metals to return it safely to the watershed.· Sequestering carbon dioxide and methane from effluent ponds to reduce global warming· Wave mitigation and protection of levees in the event of severe storms· Extraction of salt
Mining nutrient loads from any waterway and reducing algal blooms· Restoring wetlands without the need for new land· Restoring habitat for endangered species such as the trumpeter swan.They can be made in any shape and size and offer some fun uses to balance the more serious side:· Creating walkways, piers, docks, jetties
Supporting recreational uses, such as picnic tables, floating stages, gazebos….· Floating vegetable gardens which never need watering!· Restoring a natural look and balance to any waterway of any size· New land mass for human habitation.Not only are they natural, aesthetic and functional, they are cost-effective, “green” and virtually maintenance free. Why not add a Floating Island to beautify your world?

Contact Howard at 1 800-291-2143

Think BIG - Dream BIGGER to Manifest Your Life

There is the story of the kindergarten teacher who asks a child what she is drawing. "I'm drawing a picture of God," the child replies. "But, sweetheart," says the teacher, "no one knows what God looks like." They will in a minute!" says the child. Now, that is a perfect example of Thinking BIG !! Big Thinkers possess this childlike faith. Not a childish faith that lacks maturity and understanding, but an attitude of deep faith in themselves. If you are a big thinker, you have an inner voice that asks "why not" and "what if" and you're in tune with your own skills, talents, and abilities to SEE the unseen or create the uncreatable. Here's another example of a Big Thinker: The Italian sculptor Agostino d'Antonio worked diligently on a large piece of marble. Unable to produce his desired masterpiece, he lamented, "I can do nothing with it." Other sculptors also worked this difficult piece of marble, but to no avail. Michelangelo discovered the stone and visualized the possibilities in it. His "I-can-make-it-happen" attitude resulted in one of the world's masterpieces - the statue of David. Yes, sometimes, all it takes is to have unstoppable belief and high-faith in your own creative talents to turn your imagination into reality. But, if thinking big is all it takes, by now, wouldn't we already have a world full of people steadfastly achieving their goals and bringing major accomplishments into their life? Let's look at an example of a Big Dreamer first; then maybe I can shed some more light on the question above. There is the story of Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) who hears an ethereal message ("If you build it, they / He will come") that inspires him to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his Iowa cornfield - with the promise that the ghosts of famous baseball players will inhabit it for games at night. Ray heard his inner voice (let's just say his connection to source or his higher-self), believed in the possibilities (however far beyond obvious), talked about it with intention, clarity, and passion. He took action on his inner promptings, regardless of how nonsensical they seemed at the time. One of the manifesting mentors I interviewed basically told me everything in the world is suggestion - just one step away from a dream. Life is indeed a dream and the producers of Field of Dreams make this point during a scene where Ray's father (John) asked: "Is this heaven?" Ray Kinsella: No - it's Iowa.John: I could have sworn it was heaven. Ray: Is there a heaven? John: Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true. (Ray looks around, seeing his wife playing with their daughter on the porch.) Ray: Maybe this is heaven. Yes, Big Dreamers - just like Big Thinkers - find it easy to believe that all things are possible, and that life can be as passionate, pure and invigorating as fresh-cut outfield grass. However, oftentimes, this is where to two similarities end. For instance, to me, the movie Field of Dreams isn't so much a story of a possibility-thinking farmer, searching for boyish excitement in his life, as much as it is a story about TRUST and the power of VISION mixed into the manifesting process. A bonafide Big Dreamer is somebody who is what I like to call a Vivid Visionary. Just like Ray, they have a personally compelling belief in the "inner voice" that prompts them along to take the little steps that eventually lead to bigger steps, unleashing the power of manifestation in their life. And that power basically says: whatever it is you think constantly about, feel good about when talking about it, or become immersed in with unwavering emotion and focus, will become evident for you - not only to your own senses but to those around you who were involved while you took that first small step. Sure, we all know the movie was fiction - a fantasy film, based on W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel "Shoeless Joe" - however, when you watch the progression of Kevin Costner's character (Ray), from the first few dismissals' of his inner voice to his KNOWING that he was personally responsible for turning his vision into reality, you get to see a Vivid Visionary in the making. My friend Dr. Michael Norwood, defines vision like this: "A Vision has many components. It may start off as a goal, a mission or even a dream. However, whereas the goal, mission and dream describe something one accomplishes, a Vision is something one becomes." The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: "How have you done so much in your lifetime?" He replied, "I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams and turned then into my Vision. And when I awoke in the morning, I envisioned my day - I knew what action that I needed to employ to help me pull in the resources and people to support my Vision and make it a reality." Personal Accountability Check - How many of you reading this truly spend at least 15-minutes a night imagining what you want in your mind, energizing it with feeling (i.e., putting yourself in the picture versus looking at the picture screen from the auditorium), and then affirming it mentally when you wake up? Come on - be honest ! One of the Manifesting Mentors I interviewed told me emphatically: "Just 15 minutes of creative visualization a day can change you life in unimaginable ways. It's just that most people don't believe in their own imagination".Read that twice. Three times, if you want to. There's incredible wisdom and stinging truth in that statement. More so than just personal confidence, big picture thinking, or being an idea-driven person, being a Big Dreamer is all about taking your wants to sleep, thinking constantly about them, talking about them, planning them with focus, and adding all the spices to your dreams that will give you the realization of actually manifesting your dreams - bigger, better, and faster than ever. The ability to image, and the ability to expect what we dream about to come true, are two of the finest qualities of being a human being. Together, with belief in our own reality-creating power, we can truly be a Vivid Visionary. As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers." So, dream on - but, add some ACTION (without it, you're just a Big Thinker), sprinkle in some FOCUS (think about your dreams / desires enough to bring them into consistent awareness), and top them off with TRUST (that you will, without question, always get exactly what you ask for). You truly are the one who STARTS it all - from day dream, to night dream, to living out your dream - regardless of how outside of you it may SEEM! I'll leave you with one final quote / scene from Field of Dreams. [ On wondering who the voice was - telling him "If You Build It, He / They Will Come" ] Ray Kinsella: What are you grinning at, you ghost? Shoeless Joe: "If you build it -" (gestures toward catcher, who is Ray's father, John Kinsella) "- he will come." Ray : It was you? Shoeless Joe: No, Ray. It was you.
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Barry Goss is the author of The Manifesting Mindset – which can be downloaded for free HERE - and the co-Founder of ManifestLife.com ~ From asking the questions very few dare touch to being fascinated by the authors, coaches, healers, and spiritual guru's who do things in a seemingly 'magical way', Barry has dedicated his life to connecting with these the world's top manifesting mentors and sharing their secrets, techniques, and strategies with you.
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Picture The Yellow River - Courtesy of The Natural Gait

Natural Gifts for the Holidays

We at The Natural Gait would like to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. Here is a free gift idea "Herbal Sea Salt Scrub".

Herbal Sea Salt Scrub.To make it you will need:1 large handful of a dried herb of your choice2-3 Tablespoons of sea salt½ teaspoon olive oilabout 4 Tablespoons of waterA note about choosing herbs:I chose chamomile. It is relaxing and astringent. Falconi also says it is great for “healing nervous and inflamed skin conditions.” You might also choose comfrey roots or leaves.Both are mucilaginous and so will be good for dry or irritated skin. Rose flowers would make a beautiful gift scrub and they are stringent and toning for the skin.Choosing a mint would create a refreshing, stimulating quality to your scrub. You get the idea. A little bit of research on the properties of the herb will help you choose the right one for each person on your gift list.To make the scrub, put one large handful of your herb of choice into a mortar and grind it into a powder with the pestle. Add the sea salt, and grind a bit more. Add the water and stir. Finally add the olive oil. This makes enough for one treatment. Use it by massaging it into the skin and allowing it to stay on for 10 minutes before rinsing. It will have a crumbly texture. If bits of herb fall off in the application, simply reapply.I imagine the shelf life of this scrub is fairly short, so you probably want to make it just before sending it off and include instructions to use it fairly soon.Another possibility is to make a basic salt clay scrub by mixing 3 tablespoons of clay with 2 tablespoons of sea salt. Include instructions to mix it with 4 tablespoons of water before massaging it into the skin. For this one, leave it on for 5 minutes or until the skin feels tight. Without the water, the shelf life will be longer.You might also leave the liquid out of the herbal combination and just include instructions with your gift if you would like to make it further in advance.Buying supplies...Of course you can get Sea Salt at the market, but Mountain Rose Herbs DOES carry salts carry herbs and they even have herbal gifts already made up. If you dont have the time to make your own you can purchase a gift there. You can also get containers there. Enjoy!

A Natural Healing

I want to share with you a particularly poignant story from one of the guests at The Natural Gait. We are always amazed and grateful at the wonderful things that happen when folks stay at The Natural Gait.
"I cannot begin to describe the peace and healing this beautiful place has provided for me finally. My personal life has been chaotic with the death of one child, my husband of 20 years, another child with CP, a 2nd marriage and divorce, lost job, bankruptcy, moving to a new town and my oldest son leaving for college. I used to have a deep and sustaining faith which was nurtured by nature, however much of that was lost during all the tragedies.
These past 2 days have brought much of that back - this is truly a piece of heaven and you two must be angels - I am so eternally grateful I thank you! Sue"

"This is my dream vacation home and I had a lot of fun. We made smores by the fire pit. It was also fun seeing the sites around here. But most of all I had fun because I was with my family. I hope you have fun too. Michael ( with CP)"

Friends of Jon Stravers, the Mississippi River and nature

,http://www.motormill.org/index.html/html/big_blue_sky_benefit.htmlThere's going to be a concert at The Elkader Opera House on Nov 24. The above link goes to the poster. It is a benefit for Motor Mill, but more importantly it is a tribute to Jon's son and grandson who were killed in a car accident this fall. John and his late son are well known along the Mississippi where they have provided wonderful environmental music that tells the stories about the great river.--
Howard Bright, PresidentIon Exchange, Inc
.http://www.ionxchange.com
800-291-2143
“Helping you create your own natural beauty”

The California Saga Continues...

Unafraid of the the killer snakes on the beach, Donna regains her positive
attitude toward me by displacing her anger on the snakes and drags them single handed upon the gravel beach. Thereafter, we were in a world of
magic as we watched the sun go down over the vast sea of beauty on the
California coast.

THE END...

A Train into the Forest

An excerpt taken from an email by Howard and Donna on their recent trip to California

The Skunk Train out of Fort Bragg, California we boarded one fine day in October. I will never forget the people on board a tour bus of energetic elderly people, some middle aged people and one couple that I will never forget as the husband had so many stories to tell about being a test pilot for the USAF. None of us knew each other but we were there together to experience this wonder of going up through a foggy valley in Mendocino County. Our conductor had lived here some eons ago in this canyon far away from civilization. It was very cool and the open railway car was occupied by curious people from many places. As they gazed in wonder at the huge trees, I felt as if I had been lifted in time to a place that was once a dream world filled with spirits and messages from another world.

Our conductor told the story and history of this special place. I smelled the fog and fresh odor of the Redwoods and caught glimpses of a hint of blue sky above. Huge stumps some 20 feet in diameter with fairy rings of younger trees only 100 to 200 feet tall stood holding hands around them as if paying homage to their ancestry.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . . . .

Take Me Away!

I have been searching and searching for something meaningful to add to the blog this week. Our blog is contributed too by a lot of us who share a common love of a special place called 'The Natural Gait.' We couldn't be a more diverse bunch except I think for the love of this place and an ideal of becoming more in touch with our inner selves and our surroundings. Myself I work on the web sites from my home and I look forward to a trip to "TNG" with the excitement of a kid going to the candy store! What a place to set and reflect on life, nature and the pursuit of....

I don't know what makes this spot on earth such a sanctuary, maybe its the people who own it and the land just radiates there love and respect for nature or the combination of the natural log cabins, the wildflowers, the birds and wildlife that seem to "know" that they are safe here.
This reflection reminded my of the things that "set me free" or "lifts my spirit." Or the dozen other descriptive terms that puts us in a nice peaceful state of mind and body.

Every since I was a kid I have loved feeling the wind in my face and blowing my hair. I have spent some time through the years trying to figure out why the wind has such a calming effect on my body and spirit. I still don't have an answer except for the glimmer of a thought that I am joining in with a natural phenomenon called "wind". Becoming part of the natural world around me.

As a young woman I liked nothing better than to hop on a motorcycle behind my husband and ride fast (that was pre helmet laws) Just to feel the wind blow on my face and mess up my hair. We had horses at the time and I had a mare that loved to run and that was fine by me as we spent precious time together watching the scenery fly by with my eyes stinging from the race that we both felt we were winning against the world. The oneness I would feel with my horse during those times is unlike anything I have ever felt since.

Last year we came into a little extra money and my husband bought me my "dream car". Yes you guessed it a convertible! We had given up the motorcycle life a few years ago due to me becoming scared of riding on them and my husband claimed he didn't enjoy it without me on behind.
Back to the car! I can not put into words how this car has effected my life. When ever I feel low I just hop in put the top down (weather permitting) and go! Fifteen minutes later all my cares just fly away in the wind. What a rush!
What sets you free? Kay

The Natural Gait 2007 Trail Ride

Hello Everyone! The 2007 Trail Ride was a hugh sucess from all the feedback we have been getting. It is always so satisfiying when you know that folks had a good time and enjoyed themselves. Here is a video by one of the guests that attended the trial ride. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. The music is by Pat Meade songwriter and singer. His CD's are for sale at The Natural Gait

Antioxidants and Vitamins:The Truth Behind the Headlines

Greetings from The Natural Gait,
We recently read this article and thought you might enjoy it. This article is on The Peoples Chemist and we would like to recomend this site to our friends.

Antioxidants and Vitamins: The Truth Behind the Headlines
By Mike Adams
If you've been reading the mainstream media recently, you might have come to the conclusion that vitamins are the most dangerous things you could possibly consume. Headlines declare antioxidants to be useless, vitamin C to be dangerous and vitamin E to be deadly! Nutrition, it seems, is suddenly under attack.
But what's really behind these scare tactics? Is there any real science behind the headlines?
To answer this question, consider the most recent example: a large antioxidant study (vitamins E and C) in women. A nine-year study followed more than 8,000 women to determine the effects of antioxidants in preventing heart disease. The study found a significant reduction in stroke (31 percent) and heart attacks (22 percent) among those women who actually took the vitamins. But if you consider all the women who originally signed up for the study -- including those thousands who never took the vitamins -- it turns out the results show nothing substantial.
Of course you're not going to see positive results in women who didn't take the vitamins. Nor would you see results from anything else (a drug, an herb, etc.) if the women didn't actually take that substance. And yet the mass media stories about the study all declare antioxidants to be useless because they are considering the measured results of all the women, including those who didn't take the antioxidants. It's like taking a hundred cars that ran out of gas, filling up 40 of them with gasoline, then declaring that gasoline doesn't make cars run because 60 of them are still on empty.
It sounds absurd, I know, but it's only the beginning of this story. Time after time, medical researchers and the mainstream media seem to go out of their way to distort scientific studies and misinform readers about the usefulness of vitamins and dietary supplements.
Another study publicized last year declared that vitamin E was deadly and would kill you with heart attacks and strokes. This particular meta-data analysis was based on synthetic vitamin E (a completely unnatural chemical made from petroleum derivatives), not the vitamin E that appears in nature. Furthermore, many of the study subjects were elderly patients already suffering from heart disease, putting them at high risk for heart attacks from day one. When these patients started to die during the study, researchers declared, "The vitamin E killed them!"
Researchers also went to great lengths to cherry-pick studies that showed negative results for vitamin E, tossing out all the studies that showed positive results. This kind of subjective inclusion of clinical trials in a meta analysis is a classic sign of scientific fraud.
I know what you're thinking: Researchers are smarter than that. They wouldn't be so foolish as to count the results of people who didn't take the vitamins or give supplements to the near-dead and blame their deaths on the supplements. But you might be assuming these researchers are operating with ethics in the first place -- and experience tells us they're not.
Many receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants offered to them by drug companies. Their primary research (and revenue source) involves studying the effects of pharmaceuticals. Researchers who don't consistently "discover" positive effects for pharmaceuticals are eventually blackballed from the industry and find themselves jobless and unemployable. There's a tremendous amount of pressure applied to researchers to make sure they uncover findings that support the financial interests of the drug companies. Eighty percent of all clinical trials funded by drug companies produce results that are favorable to the financial interests of those companies.
Similarly, there is also a lot of pressure to find something wrong with dietary supplements, herbs and nutrition -- precisely because such substances compete with pharmaceuticals. The more consumers take nutritional supplements, the less they need pharmaceuticals because nutrition actually prevents disease. So one of the key ways to ensure a strong future market for pharmaceuticals is to discredit nutritional supplements and make people believe they're somehow dangerous.
This is all quite laughable, given that prescription drugs are now the 4th leading cause of death in America. FDA-approved pharmaceuticals are killing at least 100,000 Americans a year right now. Dr. David Graham, a senior FDA drug safety researcher, reported that just one diabetes drug recently scrutinized for its health effects has likely killed more than 80,000 Americans! That's more Americans than died in the entire Vietnam War, and this is from but one drug.
Almost nothing is killing Americans faster than prescription drugs, not terrorists, not war, not chemicals in the food, car accidents or drunk driving. Pharmaceuticals are so universally dangerous to the health and safety of Americans that if they were herbs, they would have been outlawed years ago.
And yet vitamins have killed no one. No one ever died from taking natural vitamin E, eating superfoods or ingesting vitamin-rich berries. In fact, nutritional supplements and superfoods greatly enhance human health, protect you from disease and greatly reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, depression, diabetes, obesity and many other common diseases.
It is a curious sign of the times that the mainstream media, which receives billions of dollars in advertising from drug companies, now finds itself in the business of misinforming Americans, trying to convince them that day is night, up is down, nutrition is dangerous, war is peace, ignorance is strength and freedom is tyranny. It's right out George Orwell's classic, 1984.
So don't be suckered by the headlines. Be a skeptical thinker, and consider who's funding these skewed studies that somehow keep inventing dangers associated with herbs or dietary supplements.

Aromatherapy for the Home

The practice of "Aromatherapy" is an interesting and fun form of therapy that any one of us can experiment with and develop into our own style of aromatherapy for relaxing and rejuvenating our daily lives. We sell many candles at The Natural Gaits Mercantile and find that most people enjoy candles in their home.

In the last few years there has been an overwhelming increase of interest in Aromatherapy, it seems that people are interest in different ways to improve their life quality, and since the Spa hotels have now become very common a lot of people had the opportunity of experiencing the sensation of Aromatherapy in one way or the other. Although a lot of people think that Aromatherapy is used mainly to induce a feeling of some sort or an ambiance to a room or space it is used many times in serious and much more medical oriented ways, it has been proved that Aromatherapy can effect a patient condition and in mild conditions even help the patient to a full recovery. Dating back many years Aromatherapy has been used by many cultures around the world, the latest phase is only another cycle of time in which Aromatherapy is popular once again. The basics of aromatherapy are based in the belief that natural things can help other living organisms, in general you might say that herbs and plants are sharing this planet with us and they also share some of the basic qualities of life with us humans, so it is also possible that the power of plants can be extracted from them to aid and help humans. Combining different plant odors can stimulate a response in anyone, you do not need to be an expert to know that certain smells are very clearly unpleasant as some others are distinctly calming and relaxing, it is also known that certain smell can be associated with feelings and memories, making the odor much more than a part of a scenery and more an active participant in the effect the environment has on us.Aromatherapy uses what it calls home therapy by using the oil and the plant extracts to create a relaxing environment, this basic concept is the most common in aromatherapy and is practiced by many around the world, the process of introducing the aroma to the space is usually done by using a burner that has a candle burning which heats an oil or water with some fragrant in it thus making the liquid evaporate. The materials usually used in the home are mostly eucalyptus oil that gives a very unique odor and will also assist many during the winter time, when it has the ability to clear the nose and make breathing a lot easier. Grapefruit oil is also used in the home therapy process and will also produce a lovely smell in the space it is used in, these aromatherapy oils will provide a solid base for relaxation and inner peace, if used correctly and if practiced in the right way the home Aromatherapy procedure can reduce stress levels and increase the harmony and peace in the house. Aromatherapy is a way we use odors to promote a state of peace and wellness, we can help our bodies and minds relax by introducing certain aromas to our homes, by doing that we will change our behavior and reduce our stress.
by Celia Namart an avid traveler and researcher, an avid travels and an enthusiast of alternative medicine

Nature Crafts

Well it fell to me to add something to the blog this week and after much looking and thinking I decided to share some nature crafts with you. I like to make things from "found" objects especially things that I find in nature. Since Fall is upon us and pinecones abound this time of year here are some things I have done with pinecones. They make beautiful ornaments when spray painted gold or silver. They look nice piled up in a bowl in their natural state or painted, you can spray them with pine scent and they smell wonderful all throughout the house. I have used them as decorations on gifts, plain or spray painted. Pinecones make great bird feeders, add some peanut butter or suet into the spaces and roll in bird seed. Add a hanger and hang in a tree or on a shepards hook. The pinecone looks so pretty mixed in with dried wildflower arrangements using a floral pick and a little wire. I have spray painted them green and decorated them with little "ornaments" to look like Christmas trees and hung them on the tree.

Here is a little craft you might enjoy using a pinecone.

Things you will need:
Any size pinecone
sheet moss
dried or silk leaves
wooden disk or wooden ball
white glue
flesh colored craft paint
fine tipped black permanent marker
pink marker, crayon, blush makeup or lipstick
small length of gold rickrack, wire edged ribbon or metallic cord
optional - spray sealer, decoupage medium, or spray paint- invisible thread or fish line
Pinecone Angel Nature Craft Project Instructions:1. Choose a pine cone with open petals and a flat bottom that will stand up fairly straight when placed on a table. 2. You can use two dried leaves as the angel's wings, or four leaves, as shown in the photo. If you use four leaves, glue them together in pairs, using small dots of white glue between the leaves. If desired, protect the leaves with a coating of decoupage medium or spray sealer, or decorate with gold spray paint.Glue the leaves in place at the back of the pine cone, near the top where you will be placing the angel's head.3. Paint the wooden disk or wooden ball in flesh toned paint and let dry. Draw on the facial features in pencil, then trace over the pencil marks in fine tipped black permanent marker. If desired, add pink cheeks using a small dab of pink marker, or a small smudge of pink blush makeup or pink lipstick.4. Glue small pieces of sheet moss all around the edge of the wooden disk, or all around the face on a wooden ball. 5. Cut a small length of gold rickrack, gold cord or even thin gold wire and form this into a circular halo at the top of the angel's head. Secure with a dab of glue at the back.6. If necessary, break off a petal or two at the top of the pine cone to make room for the angel's head. Glue the head in place.7. If you wish to hang the angel from a Christmas tree or in the window, tie a length of invisible thread or fish line to one of the pinecone petals near the head, at the back. You can also add potpouri in between the petals on the pinecone.

Anybody have a nature craft to share? We would love to hear from you. Kay at The Natural Gait

Laughter + Yoga = Laughter Yoga!

Has anyone ever heard of Laughter Yoga? We have at The Natural Gait."

Team Dirving Clinician Doc Hammill Caught In Montana Grass Fires

Doc Hammill a well know team driving clinician was caught in the wildfires raging through Montana. Our own clinician Dawn R at The Natural Gait had this to say
(If you would like to see pictures here is the link The Natural Gait Doc Hammill
Many of you may have seen or heard national news reports about the Montana wildfires recently. It hit us close to home here at The Natural Gait when we found out that our own treasured friend and clinician Doc Hammill and his horses were nearly caught up in it. Doc was just here the end of June for his 3rd and best yet Driving Clinic. (Doc’s 2008 have already been set for June 20-22, mark your calendar and call me to reserve your spot) As the fire raged in the area over 100 firefighter and volunteers arrived at the ranch ahead of the fire to help save his property. They tried to clear trees, water down buildings and set backfires to no avail. Doc had to abandon his home and turn his beloved horses loose to make a run for it. Doc spent the following days sleeping out in a pasture on a reservation not knowing the condition of his home ranch or his horses. When he was finally allowed to return to his home he had found that he had lost his beautiful barn, 2 out buildings, many wagons, carts, implements, pretty much all the tools of his trade. Doc told friends that he was looking forward to teaching and hosting full calendar of clinics one day and out of business the next! True to his character Doc is already talking about rebuilding next year. His horses were safely recovered and are living in a rented pasture. Friends are getting their heads together from all over the country on how best to help Doc. So please continue to check back here and we will update you on Doc and how best to help as we get the official news. Doc was born and raised here in Iowa, graduated from Ames in Veterinary Medicine, then headed west to start a practice in Montana. Over the years he has developed into one of this country’s leading authority and a gifted teacher of driving. You can read more on Doc and see more photos on his website www.dochammill.com Dawn Roelli Equine Event’s Coordinator

What Everybody Should Know Abou Wild Parsnip!

Recently Gabby of Ion Exchange got burned by wild parsnip while mending some fence. She did some research to find out exactly what this plant was all about. We felt our friends might benefit from her research.
A 1999 issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine
Burned by wild parsnip
Sun-induced burns from a common weed stump medical professionals and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
DAVID J. EAGAN

As children, we are warned away from fires and stoves, though most of us learn the truth of that lesson the hard way. But what if wild plants could cause burns, too -- and nobody ever told you which ones? Well, such plants do exist, and if you spend time outdoors, chances are they have burned you or someone you know. And equally likely, neither you, nor your doctor or nurse recognized the burn for what it was.
Unexpected patches of redness and blisters following a romp in the woods or fields usually are blamed on poison ivy, stinging nettles, insects or spiders. But there's another potential culprit: Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), the hobo brother of cultivated parsnip. Wild parsnip contains chemicals in the juices of its green leaves, stems and fruits that can cause an intense, localized burn -- actually, a sunburn.
In my research for this article I found that very few people, including medical professionals, know this plant and can confidently recognize its burns. At a recent dermatology conference, I was told slides of wild parsnip burns were shown at a stump-the-experts quiz session. Only a few in the audience knew the answer.
One physician I spoke with referred to the plant as a "medical orphan" that might be mentioned in medical school, but is rarely covered in detail. And even doctors familiar with how wild parsnip looks on skin would have trouble identifying the plant in the field.
Parents, pharmacists, landowners, naturalists, teachers, park employees -- I asked a wide range of people what they knew. And it was rare indeed when someone understood the whole parsnip story. Many thought the burns arise from an immune response, like poison ivy. They do not. A manager at a state park always warns his employees to be careful around wild parsnip -- he was familiar with the burns -- but he didn't know that sunlight triggered the reaction. And the general public? The same park manager told of seeing a little girl one sunny summer day with a wreath of fresh parsnip flowers in her hair, which is a little like playing with fire.
Animals can be burned in a similar manner to people if the animals have lightly-pigmented skin covered with little hair so both plant juices and sunlight reach the skin.
How an old flame singes new admirers
Wild parsnip is an eye-catching, non-native weed that hails originally from Europe and Asia. There are varieties grown for their edible roots, but whether the wild type came to America as a garden vegetable or in the cuffs of some immigrant's pants, no one knows. Dried specimens at the University of Wisconsin-Madison herbarium date back to 1894 in southeast Wisconsin, and a specimen was collected on Madeline Island at the northern tip of the state in 1896.
Although not a native plant, wild parsnip has likely become "naturalized" in all of Wisconsin's 72 counties and is here to stay. Wild parsnip grows in large patches or as scattered plants along roadsides, in abandoned fields, on pastures, on restored prairies, and in disturbed open areas. And, according to observers around the state, its range has been expanding rapidly in recent decades.
The fact that wild parsnip is spreading is one more reason people are coming into more frequent contact with it. Another reason is it is one of the chief targets for weed removal in prairie restorations. Unlike benign weeds, wild parsnip can take over an area, outcompeting native plants. The ecological impact of this invader puts it high on the hit list of land managers.
There are chemicals in wild parsnip called psoralens (precisely, furocoumarins) that cause what dermatologists call "phyto-photo-dermatitis." That means an inflammation (itis) of the skin (derm) induced by a plant (phyto) with the help of sunlight (photo). When absorbed by skin, furocoumarins are energized by ultraviolet light (present during sunny and cloudy days) causing them to bind with nuclear DNA and cell membranes. This process destroys cells and skin tissue, though the reaction takes time to produce visible damage.
The chemical in wild parsnip may be a defense mechanism, just as healthy, green celery plants will produce higher levels of furocoumarins when they are under attack from pink-rot fungus.
In mild cases, affected skin reddens and feels sunburned. In more severe cases, the skin reddens first, then blisters rise -- some are impressively large -- and for a while the area feels like it has been scalded. Places where skin is most sensitive (arms, legs, torso, face, neck) are most vulnerable. Moisture from perspiration speeds the absorption of the psoralens.
Ouch! A run-in with wild parsnip can cause blisters and discoloration of the skin. © David J. Eagan
Blisters appear a day or two after sun exposure. Soon after blisters rupture and the skin begins to heal. One of wild parsnip's "signature" effects is a dark red or brownish discoloration of the skin in the area where the burn occurred. This hyper-pigmentation can persist in the skin for as long as two years.
Parsnip burns often appear as streaks and long spots. These reveal where a juicy leaf or stem drags across the skin, and is then exposed to the sun. Because of its surface resemblance to the effects of poison ivy, and because wild parsnip is so rarely accurately identified, it nearly always is diagnosed and treated as poison ivy. If you note the six clinical differences (see sidebar), however, you can readily tell them apart.
Treating a parsnip burn
If you get a parsnip burn, relieving the symptoms comes first. The affected area can be covered with a cool, wet cloth. If blisters are present, try to keep them from rupturing for as long as possible. The skin of a blister is "nature's bandage," as one doctor put it, and it keeps the skin below protected, moist and clean while healing occurs. When blisters pop, try to leave the skin "bandage" in place. To avoid infection, keep the area clean and apply an antibiotic cream.
Adding Domeboro powder to cool cloth compresses can help dry weeping blisters. Some doctors recommend a topical or systemic cortisone-steroid for extreme discomfort. For serious cases with extensive blistering, consult a physician.
Avoiding exposure, of course, is the wisest tactic. By learning to recognize the plant in different seasons and in different stages of growth, you can steer clear of it, or protect yourself by wearing gloves, long pants and long-sleeve shirts. Some people pull up the wild parnsips in the evening, when exposure to sunlight is minimal. If you do get the plant juice on your skin, the sooner you thoroughly wash the area, the less you will be affected.
Tales from the field
In case you're wondering, I've learned about wild parsnip burns firsthand. Over a decade ago, and newly arrived to Wisconsin where wild parsnip is common, I didn't believe my naturalist-friend who told me that it could cause blisters. Regarding myself as more of a botanist than she, and having never heard of such a danger, I scoffed. While she looked on dubiously, I picked a leaf, crushed it in my fingers and rubbed it on the underside of my forearm.
As I'd expected, nothing happened all that day and I remember feeling a bit smug. By afternoon the next day, however, I was not feeling so confident. The area on my arm turned red and quite sore. A few hours later, a three-inch long blister bubbled up and swelled like a miniature balloon.
I learned my lesson, but that didn't stop me from experimenting further. Borrowing a term from prairie managers, I now conduct "controlled burns" on my arms most summers; using the resulting small blisters and spots for show-and-tell to educate others about wild parsnip.
Many friends and acquaintances have shared their experiences with parsnip burns. One person told of a small burn that appeared unexpectedly on his leg. He had been pulling wild parsnip from a prairie on a sunny day while wearing protective clothing. It wasn't until the burn appeared that he noticed a small hole in his jeans, just large enough to admit plant juice and a bit of sunlight. One friend received a frighteningly bad case of parsnip burns. He had been clearing parsnip from a field with a scythe while wearing sandals and shorts. The resulting burns were so bad that his legs looked like they had been sprayed with acid.
In the literature about wild parsnip and other phototoxic plants, there is mention of a contemporary contributor to the problem: weed whackers or string trimmers. These machines can spray bits of pulverized leaf and stem over the exposed skin of their operators, resulting in bizarre speckled patterns of small blisters and redness. One dermatologist in Madison saw such a case last summer. And another family practitioner in southwest Wisconsin regularly treats high school students who are hired to cut weeds along roadsides, typically while shirtless, for parsnip burns.
Have you been burned?
Keep these three points in mind when you encounter wild parsnip:
1. Everyone can get it. Unlike poison ivy, you don't need to be sensitized by a prior exposure. Wild parsnip causes a non-allergic dermatitis that can occur with the right combination of plant juice and sunlight.
2. You can touch and brush against the plant -- carefully -- without harm. Parsnip is only dangerous when the juice gets on skin from broken leaves or stems. Fair-skinned people, however, may be extra-sensitive to tiny amounts of juice.
3. Wild parsnip's "burn" is usually less irritating than poison ivy's "itch." Generally, wild parsnip causes a modest burning pain for a day or two, and then the worst is over. The itch and discomfort from poison ivy, in contrast, can drive people crazy for a long time.
Some unanswered questions remain. I did not test, nor did I find in the medical literature, how long skin remains sensitive to sunlight after being exposed to parsnip juice. And there are also other plants in Wisconsin -- such as Queen Anne's lace or wild carrot (Daucus carota) and cow parsnip or hogweed (Heracleum maximum and Heracleum mantegazzianum) -- that are reported to contain psoralens that cause phytophotodermatitis.

DAVID J. EAGAN is a field botanist, naturalist and native plants gardener who works for the Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Botanical basics
Life history: Wild parsnip typically lives for two years. The first year, as a spindly rosette of leaves, it keeps fairly low to the ground while the plant's carrot-like taproot develops. It may live two or more years this way until conditions are right for flowering. The second year, a hollow, grooved flower stalk rises 2-5 feet high, first holding clusters of yellow flowers and later dozens of flat, oval seeds.Leaves: Pinnately compound, with a main stem and 5 to 15 leaflets.Flowers: Yellow, in flat-topped umbrella-like clusters at the top of the plant.Season: Wild parsnip rosettes are among the first plants to become green in spring, and its flowers turn a prominent yellow in midsummer. After flowering and going to seed, plants die and turn brown in fall, but first year rosettes remain green until frost.Habitat: Roadsides, abandoned fields, unmowed pastures, edges of woods, prairie restorations.

Driving Horses

The Natural Gait would like to introduce Steve Wood. Steve is an instructor in driving horses using natural horsemanship methods. He was at Doc Hammils clinic to assist Doc at the Driving Clinic.

Doc Hammil Holds A Horse Clinic At The Natural Gait

Doc Hammil just finished up with his horse clinic on driving horse teams at The Natural Gait. Doc Hammil is a well know authority on horsemanship throughout the equine world. We are very excited to be adding video to our web site and to our blogs. We wanted to share this video with you right away!