By Jonathan Parker As the population in the US continues to age, skilled nursing facilities, group homes, assisted living and other care facilities are seeing a huge increase in residents. It’s never an easy decision to place a loved one in a group care setting, but…
By Jonathan Parker Finding the proper combination and rotation of crops can be a challenge in any given farming system. Permaculture enthusiasts will be familiar with the idea of cover crops. Cover crops are grown below, between, next to and sometimes even over the primary growth….
By Jonathan Parker Fall is off to an amazing start this year. Well, maybe a little too early for some of you, but I’m ready for it. Like a lot of you, one of my favorite things to do in the Fall is visit the orchard….
By Jonathan Parker For those of us splashing around in the ‘natural’ community, experimenting in making our own products becomes quite the addicting hobby. We like to build things, create things, making them from scratch. If this sounds like you, and soap making has eluded your…
By Jonathan Parker Vinegar is an amazing creation with literally hundreds of uses. It can be made from almost any fruit through two different natural processes that render the sugar into acetic acid. The strength of most vinegars is measured by the content of this acid,…
By Jonathan Parker Comfort foods, we all have our favorites. Ice cream, cheesy pasta, the ever-present chocolate. We eat them when we feel down, or stressed and we love it because it tastes great and deep down we know it’s probably not the greatest for…
By Jacinta Quesada By Jonathan Parker It’s really no surprise to anyone that the Affordable Care Act remains mired in controversy. And it’s no surprise to some that the long process of implementing it is turning into a nightmare. The facility I am employed at is…
By Jonathan Parker A while back we posted an article about the benefits of Aquaponic Gardening. I’d just like to share a couple photos and a quick update on the systems we built for our greenhouse. The systems consist of a 325 gallon IBC built…
By Jonathan Parker Nothing beats being able to reach over to your window and pluck fresh herbs for tea or garnish for a nice meal. Not all of us have a green thumb, so growing plants indoors might seem a little out of our league. Here…
By Jonathan Parker At this point it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many “treatments” offered by conventional medicine have the potential to do as much harm as good. While many amazing and life-saving discoveries continue to be presented, many people are finding their journey to wellness lies…
By NIAID/NIH By Jonathan Parker A cure for cancer. Words that, for many people, hover in the grey area between fantasy and ambitious dreams. Billions of dollars are spent each year on theories, new treatments and new disappointments. The painful road to recovery has many affected…
By brewbooks By Jonathan Parker There’s no denying the past few years of drought have been rough on farmers and gardeners alike. After so many poor seasons in a row, the heavy rain we’ve been having was breathing new life into the fields. In Michigan, we…
By Robert Bejil By Jonathan Parker Flexibility, the proclaimed “Third Pillar” of fitness. We all try to do a quick calf stretch or two after a workout. But aside from yoga and pilates aficionados, most of us don’t get nearly enough of this excellent exercise. It…
By Jonathan Parker A common enemy of gardeners and lawn aficionados is this little critter to your left. Moles are amazing little creatures that are well suited to their subterranean lifestyle. They eat all manner of insects and earthworms. Their wide paws and sharp claws make…
By Jonathan Parker 2013. The year of flying cars and private space travel right? My broken phone that’s lying on the floor next to the chair has more computing power than existed in the whole world 40 years ago We are no longer talking about how…
By Jonathan Parker It’s no secret to most people that our environment pays a price for human expansion and ingenuity. To the credit of most, we take our concern to the next level. Many people, even in small ways, take steps to be conscientious about their interaction…
By Jonathan Parker So, skipping over the blight that is FEMA’s disaster response history, and using the logic of a broken clock being right twice a day, there is some useful information to be had from them. While it’s good to gather knowledge from a variety…
By Jonathan Parker Five Danish High School girls found themselves in the news after winning a regional science competition. The students’ goal was to devise a project that measured the affect of cell phone radiation on plants. And their results were really quite astounding. There have…
By Jonathan Parker Sometimes our lives take on a velocity of their own. If we aren’t careful, it’s easy to get swept up and let the stress of life dictate how we life, what we do, and how long we do it. Years ago, I decided…
By Jonathan Parker I’m relatively lucky. My job keeps me active and on my feet most of the day, without being too physically exhausting. Some days, however, I have to substitute for another position, leaving me seated in the same spot for 12 hours. It’s after…
