Mindful Living

Attack of the Aphids

Posted on by Jean Campbell

  Last week, I discovered that one of my hibiscus plants, a small and struggling little thing, was covered with aphids. Well, no wonder it looked so unhealthy, I thought, with its puny buds and shriveled leaves, offering little promise of a lush display. What next? My options Idea #1. I could try a natural repellent-type remedy. Con: This could adversely affect the beneficial flora as well, and there are good reasons not to do this, but that is another story. Idea #2. I could pop... Continue reading

Grace

Posted on by Jean Campbell

  I've been dabbling in this Spread Good Stuff business for years. Its focus has always been to contribute to the sustainable living movement, in particular; I strive to come up with and detail simple changes that are easy to accomplish... because living sustainably is not always easy, not when you've grown, learned, and live in the one-use, throw-away, convenience culture. Even folks I know that believe firmly in environmental science and the need for conservation are often not fully... Continue reading

Forest Bathing with Anne Bailey

Posted on by Jean Campbell

As I dug through my purse for my car keys, the smell of mint inspired an immediate, good-feeling response. I'd hurriedly stashed the sprig there after the service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham. Anne had given a presentation on the practice of Forest Bathing that morning and had passed a supply around to the congregation. The plan for an outdoor experience after the service was in jeopardy with extreme heat and wet weather in the forecast. The mint was a nature... Continue reading

Bird patrol at your service

Posted on by Jean Campbell

"You don't have a snail problem. You have a duck deficiency". That was Bill Mollison's reply to a gardener struggling with gastropods. I am a bird watcher. I keep a supply of birdseed around my deck, and there is always a good show provided. I even enjoy the thieving squirrels who don't seem to know these seeds are for the birds. I was thinking about how close my bird feeder is to the Kitchen Garden, and I recalled the above passage. When spring began last year, the Kitchen Garden where... Continue reading