Weed: (n) a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in cultivation with cultivated plants. 

My day began running five miles with my daughter. As we kicked off our journey a man was stooped over in his yard, grocery bag in hand ripping out dandelions one tuft at a time. I was disturbed as I  watched the elimination of a whole yard of beautiful flowers. I began to wonder what was the difference between a flower and weed? Is it because these wildflowers took over when least expected? A gardener’s inconvenience?

We continued to run. Down the hill we were met with a beautiful sight.

Dandelions scattered the lawn welcoming spring; yellow heads turned to the sun in salutation. We ran along paths and trees, rolling by  parks, my breath labored hanging on for the end until I turned another corner to find an awe inspiring scene before us.

 My daughter soaked it all in. She exists only in the present sipping the air from the trees, drinking the colors blazing against the back drop of life. She’s enjoying the scene as I push forward. We round another corner, a residential neighborhood twinkling with natural beauty, again posing the question what makes a dandelion a weed? The only thing I can see is beauty in every step.

 Dandelions have a purpose you know? They bring nutrients for shallow rooted plants adding minerals to the soil. Their stems can also be used to treat infections, bile and liver problems and be used as a diuretic. It is also one of the ingredients in root beer! So with all of it’s medicinal properties and ability to assist in cultivating land is it a coincidence it can be found everywhere? So when did we decide to call it a weed?  Since when did it become such an inconvenience?

I began to wonder if we are all wildflowers. In this culture we are tamed into finely manicured gardens struggling to break free. If every person is like a wildflower, they all have their purpose, each bringing an array of beauty in his or her own way. I think this is why people (well some people) like watching children. They are untamed, they run free. Their essence glows for everyone to see and they are not ashamed (and maybe this is why some find children annoying or uncomfortable).  We’ve forgotten we were all that way once. Perhaps we have become so focused on controlling ourselves we have forgotten how to  expand. We bury our light inside allowing our lives to grow dim and dull around the edges.

Living our lives like a wildflower, taking root, spreading, shining our light healing the world around us may be the ultimate way to live. Yes, some may say a dandelion is a weed, but  I find comfort in the way it is ever stretching, reaching out to allow others to see it’s beauty.  I would be honored to be the same way too.

A. Black

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

The Basis of the project would be this:

Go into the city and first ask strangers (without showing them any flowers) if they would prefer to be given a rose or a wildflower. Then proceed to ask them to choose between 3 wildflowers and one rose.  If someone prefers the rose both times, reveal to them the flowers. Ideally, the roses should be somewhat more brittle or wilted than the wildflowers. Ask the stranger again which type of flower they would prefer. It would be interesting to see how many people still prefer the wilted rose over three lively wild flowers.

The second part of the experiment would consist of a flower display in which the rose is placed in a crystal vase and the wildflowers in a basket. Again, see how many people prefer each type of flower upon seeing the display. Then switch the two arrangements (placing the rose in the basket and the wildflowers in the crystal vase) and see if this alteration changes their preference.

This is a very simplified example of such a flower experiment. You could probably do a lot more with it by incorporating more flowers or displays. Still, I am curious to find out the results. Who knows, you might see me in the streets one day asking: “what type of flower would you prefer?”

© Copyright – All rights reserved – Melindafoshat.wordpress.com – May 1, 2013

Images: 1// 2// 3// 4// 5// 6// 7

They scream fresh and feminine! These items make me want to roll around in a field full of wildflowers with Edward Cullen and watch our skin sparkle like glittered Easter eggs.  On that note if anyone would like to send me wildflowers or Edward Cullen feel free to contact me for delivery details.

I sincerely THOUGHT about posting.. but there are a lot of other things taking priority right now!

Thought Thoughts for the Day:

1. I am very pleased with my fitness progress lately. I have NOT been slacking in that area, which helps with everything else, strangely. Getting up at 6:30 is not NEARLY as hard as it used to be, and I am definitely noticing the changes in my fitness, strength, and body! I heard a statement yesterday about how 1/3 of all women are on a diet. Honestly, I don’t consider myself on a diet (although I am in the process of modifying my eating habits, I do not consider myself on a diet because I am not restricting myself from eating bad things, I am just working on choosing and making GOOD things!). Apparently only 1/4 of guys are on a diet… That is A LOT of people on diets!! 

One thing I have learned on my quest for better health (not that you asked) is that if I eat correctly (non-processed foods, making food at home instead of going out, looking for healthy options when I DO go out) I don’t miss unhealthy food at all. I used to hide behind the “I’m not going to limit myself from eating certain things because then I’ll just want them more” statement.. but what I have REALLY learned is that while I still will have chocolate or cheese or butter (mmmm.. butter!), I need to balance that out with healthy food too.. which I have really come to enjoy. 

Alright, alright. Fitness, blah, blah, blah.. Everybody’s doing it…. WELL THEY SHOULD BE!!

AND my very first Triathlon is this Saturday! Wildflower should be really fun and tiring! But I am really looking forward to getting out there and doing it, and seeing my parents who will also be participating!! 

2. 6 units of Design classes gives me just as much trouble as 22 units of G.E. and Design classes! Who knew! Here I was thinking “Oh, awesome, 6 units. Relaxing last quarter!”… NOT!!! While admittedly.. it isn’t the hardest quarter I’ve ever had, it does have a lot of moving parts that I have to keep track of! Package design.. sketching, building, sketching, designing, comping, building, finalizing.. Portfolio.. sketching, arranging, re-arranging, re-re-arranging, deleting, starting over, arranging, re-arranging… Graduation.. CANNOT forget about graduation… you get where I’m going here. 

Only 6 more weeks to go, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t counting the days.. 

That’s about all I can think of right now.. Not super exciting, I’m sure. 

But hopefully you’ll come back tomorrow for more! Because I’ll be here all week!

Please excuse me if I posted any of theses before, I may have had a senior moment

I never saw a cow eat one, though.

I took this photo as a quick shot; I’d just parked in the college carpark, and noticed a little yellow clump of paigles blowing wildly in the wind in the field beside me. I grabbed the camera and crouched in the grass to shoot them before rushing off to where I should have been. If I’d taken more time with the photograph I think I’d have done some judicious pruning, and removed those blades of grass that are a bit distracting. Ah well, next time.

Fairyslipper Orchid

“…I would say that things totally constructed by human beings I have a hard time taking seriously. And things that seem to be natural phenomena, that happen universally, I take more seriously, as more significant.”

Janna Levin, physicist and novelist

I about fell out of my chair this morning when I read the above quote. It so succinctly sums up my philosophy on life.

The things people make up and take seriously just don’t matter much to me. You can have expectations of me. I just don’t feel particularly bound by them.

Of course this causes trouble. Human created things like rules, dress codes, and expectations of whether or not I should be expected to attend certain boring after-hours meetings, are taken pretty seriously by some people.

Oregon Iris

“The world we live in is 99% pretend and 1% reality.”

Dr. Oz

I’m still thinking about the above quote. But think about money. Pieces of paper and pieces of metal that have no intrinsic value and you start to get a foot hold on what he is saying. Diamonds? Gold? Exactly why are diamonds valuable? Because some people got together and decided they were going to convince society that they were valuable for more than making grinding wheels and cutting blades out of.

Civilizations – all a creation. We started out as hunter gatherers. Then someone tamed and herded sheep and then the Industrial Revolution came along and it was all downhill after that. Further and further away from natural reality.

From Facebook came the thought that poverty and hunger are unnecessary. We have the money and resources to feed everybody. We choose not to. We could probably get pretty close if must one billionaire decided to give all of his money to the cause and go become an aesthetic in India. Or we built one less new bomber.

Horse-drawn Log Skidder

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. I’m not so sure about the universe.”

Albert Einstein

Now we’re honing down my philosophy to its essence. There is actually some thought that the universe may not be infinite. If you took off in a straight line in the Starship Enterprise you might just end up back where you started, the same as if you took of walking in a straight line on Earth.

All of the above navel gazing is the result of reading a book called Einstein’s God, by Krista Tippett. She hosts an NPR show called Speaking of Faith and the book is a collection of interviews with scientists about religion and spirituality in an attempt to show that they are not mutually exclusive, science and faith. I’m only half way through and already I think I’ve learned a lot.  PhD’s are, after all, doctors of philosophy.

The images above are from my walk in the woods on Saturday at McDonald Forest in Corvallis, Oregon. This year there were far fewer irises and tons more fairyslipper orchids. And poison oak. It takes me three days to break out and I’m on day two so tomorrow could be very interesting.

If you read my blog so far, you know I love rocks and rock formations. I am sorry to say, though, that Massacre Rocks State Park (in Idaho) I went to today isn’t one of my favorites.

There are plenty of rocks in the park, big boulders spread all over the area along the Snake River. However, they are so dark and gloomy. Even the color of the river was dark. I thought about naming today’s blog as “Black Beauty”, but I have so much trouble calling it that. Perhaps I should call them “Beast” instead.

The cloudy day didn’t help in any way, of course. The gray sky made the area seemed even darker and murkier. Other than a ranger’s car, mine was the only one in the parking lot.

“Any dangerous animal in the park?” If possible, I always like to check with the rangers about hazardous animals in the area wherever I go to.

“In warmer days you need to worry about the Rattle Snakes. Today?” The ranger said with a teasing smile on his face. “If you see one, you can use it as a walking stick.”

“Oh, no thank you.” I smiled back. “Use a snake as a walking stick?” I thought to myself “I would rather fall and die, before the snake scares me to death.”

Although the place was practically empty and it was so gloomy, I didn’t feel afraid while I hiked there for several hours. All I wanted badly, though, was some color. Any cheerful color!

Well, as if someone heard my wishes and answered my “prayer” – on the warmer side of the slope, there were patches of tiny little pink flowers. The delightful, cheery color of the wildflowers lit up my day. So they are the “beauty” in my story.

PS. my photo website: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/qing-yang.html

Okay…so here’s how this past week went:

Monday: “GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER MONDAY” – Thanks for the Monday theme Jené and Jessie. So, I did just that. It was a rest day. So, I used my extra time to run errands, i.e Trader Joe’s, Target, etc. And I cooked, cleaned, organized, you name it.  It felt soooo good! My room is immaculate. I have clean clothes. A stocked fridge. Kicked off the week…right.

Tuesday: Hill repeats on Lopez

Wednesday: I got a fun package! And made a fun/new mess on my bedroom floor.

The Oakley spring line is RAD! Definitely go check it out at http://www.oakley.com. LOVE!

Wednesday also included a master’s swim practice, where I got to practice my flip turn. Although, apparently I flip like a “gymnast”…guess I haven’t shaken the gymnast in me yet. That night I hit the trainer for a tempo workout on the bike.

Thursday: Torrey Pines Hill Repeats! Woke up early and hit the hill with Jené, Andrea, and Ethan. It was one of the most peaceful mornings. Barely any wind. Quiet. Calm. I love mornings like these.

Ocean View

Inland View

After work, I headed up to Orange County for an Oakley event to promote the exclusive Sunglass Hut Sunglass “Unstoppable”. I had done a video shoot with Oakley for this sunglass (as well as for their sports bras). So, it was fun to get to be at an event and promote.

It was a really fun night! Karena and Katrina were there from Tone It Up, and we also found the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile! Super fun.

Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile discovery with Karena and Katrina, and Caitlin (new Oakley Women’s Ambassador), and the Weiner Mobile ambassador/driver!

Caitlin and I goofing around

I wore the NEW Oakley So Strappy tank to the event. LOVE. <3

Caitlin and I checking out the new Oakley Women’s sunnies. I’m rockin’ Given, and she’s rockin’ Break Point.

Gotta love the catering company that made these sunglass cookies!

Friday: Swim and Run. I’m finally fit enough to do my MAF runs without a watch. Yay! It was AWESOME! I really enjoyed time just being in my head. I feel like I got a lot done. ha! i.e made a lot of to do lists, and day dreaming about upcoming trips.

Saturday: Bike and run. Nothing too exciting as I was starting my taper, so everything was pretty short and sweet. Road with Andrea and Julia out to San Elijo Hills, and just kept it simple.

Sunday: Long run and swim. Ran the trails around San Elijo Lagoon, which I love.

Some fun facts/highlights of the week:

- I started reading this mind blowing book Subliminal:

It’s fascinating. Highly recommend it.

- I’ve been cooking A LOT more, and re-discovered some of my favorites. i.e Broccoli Salad. LOVE. And it’s easy too. Broccoli, turkey bacon, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, mix it all up! Easy peezy.

- Morning Wake Up Call by my favorite – Miss London.

- My best friend Betsy sent me a pic of her finishing a half marathon this past weekend in Colorado! LOVE!

So proud!

- And finally again – I am just LOVING the new Oakley Women’s line. This is one of their new sweatshirts.

Here’s to RACE WEEK! Bring on Wildflower.

Brightest white wildflower of Southern Europe.

EarthKeepers II goal is to have 30 church gardens across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan within the next two years

via Local church gardens in the works

EarthKeepers II Student Team covered by TV-6 news – with their presentation on the 30 community church gardens with Focus on Native Species Plants and Local Veggies.
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=890880#.UX2DFsrBV35
http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/photos.aspx?id=890880#.UX2DBMrBV34

Local church gardens in the works story at UpperMichigansSource.com

The group is called EarthKeepers II and on Sunday they met with members of Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette. Earth Keepers goal is to have 30 church gardens within the next two years.

Once the gardens are in place, churches can share their resources, provide workshops, and become more environmentally conscious.

“We’d like to present a culture within the worship community of not just being in the church buildings but getting out into creation and being good stewards of the earth,” said Kyra Zimokowski, project coordinator.

Earth Keepers II is sponsored by 10 faith traditions: Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Jewish, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Bahá’í, Unitarian Universalist, Zen Buddhist.

The group is also giving churches and temples free energy audits.

If your church is interested, all it has to do is sign up.

Fore more info contact Kyra Fillmore Ziomkowski, EarthKeepers II Project Coordinator:
906-250-7643
Kyra.Ziomkowski@gmail.com

Wesley Chapel, Florida.  April 2013.

I’m stumped, but I think it’s lovely.

They were damp
Bright with a deep hue
A wildflower in full bloom

I imagined they were sweet
Ripened plums
Fresh from the tree

Sticky and juicy
Dripping down my arm
I close my eyes

Dreaming of purple and reds
A glass of perfect red wine
I slowly part my lips.

This was actually in the drama School 2013. around the beginning. i cant remember the writer of this poem already.

I drew this fanart .. about a month ago. but im pretty unsatisfied with it. so i didnt share, and not planning to. these are the parts i like.

I was never quite good in typography, especially handwritten .. i can see the mistakes, no need to point out. im going to practice it more. : )