The ecoTrain Magazine September 19th: Topics include Vegan Recipes, Harvest Moon, Homesteading, Mushrooms, Foraging, Homesteading, Mental Health and more!

in #ecotrain6 years ago (edited)

Welcome to the one and only @ecotrain magazine! Your one stop shop for incredible posts, engaging Steemians, and this week some pretty incredible posts! (as always!) The @ecotrain supports people that help make this world a better place!


If you haven't seen us before be sure to check out the posts below and enjoy the feast! As always remember to follow the people you resonate with so you can see more of what you like in your feed! On that note I am very happy to welcome @porters to the @ecotrain as an official passenger so if you haven't seen her before be sure to check her posts out!

@walkerland

A Little Autumn Tour: The Wild Side of Walkerland

The moon is appearing a little bit brighter each night as we move towards the harvest moon.

This is a time of change around the homestead. The landscape is changing colour and for us this is a time of busy work. That frosty nip that lingers in the morning air is a sign that we need to get busy like squirrels and prepare for winter.

I have been in the kitchen a lot this past week with my head down. The house is a disaster but the shelves in the pantry are filling up nicely. I am getting a bit fed up with being stuck inside though. I decided to take a break and wander around the property with my camera.

Our place is quite wild and natural. I never really know what to expect. There are always flowers in bloom and interesting things happening around us. I can't claim or take credit for any of this. I have my own gardens and projects but so much of what is here is wild and untamed. I could study this land for my lifetime and still be surprise by it.

Harvesting & Using Rose Hips For Tea, Wine, Medicinal Syrup & Skincare

The gentle healing & aromatic properties of the rose hip make it a valuable addition to the natural apothecary cabinet.

I do wonder if rose hip wine could be considered medicinal? It is fermented and there's all that vitamin C. Hmmm what do you think? I'll just say yes because I imbibed last night and feel remarkably good.

Regardless of how you feel about rose hip wine there are many wonderful & healthful things you can create with rose hips that range from culinary through to beneficial natural medicinal and skin care. You can harvest your own rose hips or you can purchase them on-line and in health food shops.

@senorcoconut

Feeling Defeated... But I Met My First Steemian, and That is Exciting!!!

I am feeling defeated but at least I met my first Steemian out here in the physical world. I would like to meet other steemian close to where we live, so if you find yourself in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, come say hello 😀...

We had invited a couple of awesome homesteaders (who recently started a new freeing adventure On The Road!!!) to come relax on our property: I'm sure a lot of you have heard of them, but if you haven't take a moment, off of this post and go check them out, they are @freedompoint and @freedomtowrite.


How to Ruin a Mushroom Harvest 😣!

Completely gutted, I may have ruined my black trumpet harvest, but I learned an important lesson...

I don't know if you can see it, zoom into the above photo and tell me if all those green and white specs aren't some kind of Mold growing there!

This summer was great for learning about mushrooms, they were all over the place and they were growing in masses!!! I taught myself to indentify black trumpets and find where they grow rather easily. This yieled in what I thought was a nice first harvest. I even made a drying rack for it, but what I didn't know was that all that rain and humidity we've been hit with wasn't going to help dry these mushrooms...

@mountainjewel

Foraging in the Season of Abundance: Old Homestead Apples

Foraging is an engaging and fun way to get food and medicines locally.

It is an ancient skill that ties us to our human history.

Foraging is a lifestyle where we are tuned to the abundance of nature.

With a little knowledge anyone is able to harvest from their surrounding environment.

Sacred Datura | A Powerful, Beautiful, Magical Plant

Sacred datura aka moon flower decided to grace our homestead with her mysterious presence.

Last year we saw a few seedlings appear and grow into thriving shrubs, only to die back in cold weather. This year she's back. We collected and burned all of the seeds as she redress readily, but obviously we didn't get them all!

If you've ever smelled the blossoms you'll know just how alluring a plant this is, but beware!

Sacred datura has been used for millennia as an entheogen, guiding users into altered states where growth and learning can occur.


@mr-greens

Green Quote of the Week: "I protect the environment not because i am an expert, but because i have learned and know what will happen if we fail to protect the environment"

"I protect the environment not because i am an expert; but because i have learned and know what will happen if we fail to protect the environment"

We don't need to be experts in environmental issues before we take action to protect the environment.
All we need to do is learn about the different environmental issues plaguing our communities and then learn about the simple things we can do to make a change.
You don't need a Ph.D before you have to stop littering your streets or start an anti-litter campaign in your community.
You don't need an M.Sc before you start planting trees. If you know that trees sequestrate green house gases, clean up our pollution, purify our water, give us food, shelter and medicine, then plant trees to so that you can reap the benefits of trees.
You don't need a B.Sc or B.A before you can teach someone about the importance of environmental protection. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong and you need no qualifications to tell people that littering is bad or planting trees is good.

I have learned to be an environmental activist not by going to school and having certificates but by learning about the different environmental crises plaguing my community and knowing what will happen if we continue living unsustainably and then taking action to solve the challenges.

# @TheGreens This Week: Reminiscing our green words and actions of the Week

@TheGreens This Week: Reminiscing our green words and actions

It's been a very green week for @thegreens and this explains why we are curating two top posts from our blogs to share with you.

@solarsupermama

The Illusion of Adulthood

Surely I'm not the only one. Perhaps you, too, feel like an adult impersonator.

Do you look around at the other adults and think, um, I am clearly not properly adulting here? Do you feel like there is some secret you weren't let in on? Do you still love fart jokes and silly faces? Would you rather swing than, well, pretty much anything else? Do you regularly find yourself thinking that playing with kids' toys is one of the best parts of having children?

It's not that I'm not responsible. I am. I may, in fact, be overly responsible in that I totally and completely overthink everything and strive to constantly be all things to all people. Except of course when I totally lose it and turn into a raging lunatic. Those are my two states of being: pretending really hard to have my shit together and totally ballistic. Ok, I may be exaggerating a tiny bit.

Fear and the Media

For those of you who don't already know, my parents recently came here to Belize to visit me. It was an odd convergence. I just separated from my husband two months ago, so my life is already a little topsy turvy. I'm relearning to live as a single mom. Three days a week, I'm completely on my own. I'm adjusting to paying all my own bills again. So, my parents thought a little love and nurturing from them was in order. I already posted about my sweet staycation with them, full with wine and martinis.

I also posted about a very unsettling murder that happened here in our tiny little village. It really shook me. Pretty substantially actually. To the point that I couldn't sleep for several days. As that feeling started to pass, I began to realize how profound the effect of the media really is, and I mean all the media.

I love this image. Gotta use it again.

@stortebeker

Cascadia to Aztlan - Into the Hoh Rainforest

Tuesday - Getting Righteously Drenched

After a good night's sleep we woke up to cloudy skies. It had rained throughout the night, and the rain-fly of my tent was wet outside as well as inside due to condensation from my breathing. Hoping I would be able to dry it in the sun, similarly to the previous day, I packed it all up, along with all my other gear. It's good optimism that carries us forward, just like our bikes, without which I would not even have set out that day. Whether that would have been good or not is still up to debate.

At first we headed on Cooper Ranch Road, following the ODT. The logging road was a nice alternative to the busy 101, without any traffic to speak of, but the rain started falling almost immediately as we set out, and would not stop for a while. Once the road dumped us back on the 101 around Beaver, it turned into a mere drizzle, so we decided to stop at the gas-station store for a coffee. That's where serendipity made its move: The driver of a beer-truck came up to us and offered us a six-pack of Pray for Snow Winter Ale. A 7% craft beer by the 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon, which donates a percentage of its proceeds to Protect Our Winters? - Sure we'd accept, even if it's expired... only how are we gonna transport it? At that moment Rene pulled into the gas-station. Thank you, good providence! We accepted, put the beer in Rene's car, and headed on.

@zen-art

Living life... What did you learn?

Maybe you believe in reincarnation, maybe in heaven and hell. Maybe you believe in nothing and there is nothing after this. What you believe does not really matter for my next question. What did you learn? @ecoalexmade an interesting question "What lessons will you take with you for your potential next life if you die tomorrow!?" This question is one of those that gets us thinking about our life and all that we have done with it. Were we good? Were we kind? Were we worthy of it or did we waste it? Did we learn anything at all?

I learned that life is a dandelion. My every thought, word, and action will never be mine alone. They are all set into this world like seeds and they all have consequences. Nothing is still and everything is connected. What I think, speak, or do influences everything around me. People can be free and yet they choose to be prisoners of their own minds. Limitations are illusions and what once was considered impossible, now stands as highly probable. Ideas are sparks that light the flame of future discoveries and the only thing that can never be stolen is the knowledge we hold.

Creatively support your mental health - the "WHY" game

I have mentioned over and over in my previous posts how you should help your brain to help you be happy and healthy with various exercises. Some of you have reached out and asked what those exercises are and since @mountainjewel made a lovely tag #ihaveanxietytoo, I will share with you an amazing brain game that always helped me when I was in my low moments. It can help you too, as long as you follow the rules. Like any game, you can win or lose this one too.

There are two ways to live your life. One is to let your thoughts and emotions control you and the other is for you to control them. This is not something that you can master overnight, especially if you are dealing with anxiety or depression but let me tell you a little secret... People who have or had those problems are more likely to learn how to control their thoughts and emotions and after they get better are much more healthier and happier than those that did not have those problems. This is because we start working on ourselves only when we have the problem. If you do not have it, be wise and work on yourself too ;)

@vegan.niinja

GINGERBREAD WAFFLES - Gluten Free and Sugar Free Recipe - Vegan of course!

Hi darlings! As I mentioned in yesterdays post, I got a new waffle iron! And of course, I had to make some waffles! My first attempt turned out amazing so I will share the recipe with you here today!

This is the perfect weekend breakfast, with the perfect autumn taste of gingerbread (or is it Christmas?). Anyway, I LOVE gingerbread spices and I am lucky to have a very great mix that is better than any other I have tried so far! If you dont make your own, be sure the quality of your gingerbread mix is of high quality and not too old!

My little boy also enjoyed some waffles, he loves everything that looks like bread, lol;) He is actually crazy about bread, even if we dont eat it that often, he always want some freshly baked bread when we go grocery shopping. He always asks for some avo-toast:)

Start the weekend with a bliss - 3 ingredient recipe with CHOCOLATE

Hi sweethearts! Today for you, my best and simplest bliss ball recipe with a lot of chocolate, you only need 3 ingredients for this recipe and its done in only 5 minutes (if you are quick!);) So why should you make some? Because it is the perfect sweet for any time during the day, with a cup of tea or hot chocolate it tastes amazing! I make sure I always have some in my fridge because as a mom and home working business women, I just need that extra sweetness from time to time, so I am very happy to share my little treasure with you today for you to enjoy!

@eco-alex

Why you've all drunk your own Urine, and how it can bring amazing benefits and cures!

More than any other method, urine therapy represents the principles of natural medicine. One's own urine is a specific medicine for anyone who is ill. It is made for him or her personally and is just right for what he or she needs at the present moment, because it changes its composition all the time. It is not only something that cures, but it also sustains health when taken as a preventative. Taken energetically, one could consider urine to be an exact hologram of both healthy as well as diseased body fluids. All information from the body fluids is collected and stared in the urine. One's own urine is the best medicine for the kidneys that we could imagine. It is clear for any holistic health practitioner that all cycles within the body are interconnected, and this means that the healing of one of those cycles will have a positive effect on the others. Urine was often used at the front, for lack of other medication and as a disinfectant for surgery instruments.

@riverflows

Garden Journal September 2018: Spring Has Truly Sprung!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! It's hard to explain the excitement I feel. Like the birds, I'm all a flutter - my throat lifts toward the sun, imagined wings flying behind me into the blue skies no longer sharp with winter, but brushed with tinges of warmth. I'm trying not to get too over the top - I mean, there's still possiblity of frost, so no way can I plant tomatoes or eggplant yet, but not long now - weeks!

As the sun goes down the birds go NUTS. A lot of the grevillea are out and they just love it. Check out the sound of the birds in this bush - if you're lucky you'll spot the tiny new holland honeyeaters and hear the pretty warble of a magpie. I promise you'll like it - do press play!

@nainaztengra

Celebrating the Festival of Ganesh Chathurthi at our Home

It's time again for the much awaited Ganesh Chathurthi festival which is celebrated with very high spirits not only in India but also in many other parts of the world.

Lord Ganesha is a very famous deity globally who is known as a Obstacle remover and also the Lord of New beginnings. The celebration goes on for a maximum of 11 days and many families also bring Ganesha home and keep him for few days and then immerse the idol into any water body. All over the streets in India you would find Pandals (temporary sheds) where they would bring in the idol of Ganesha and then depending on the convenience will keep for 3,5,7,9 or maximum 11 days and then do the immersion.

The story of Lord Ganesha birth is very fascinating and almost unbelievable, however it holds a far deeper meaning and symbolism.

@trucklife-family

How Do I Creatively Support My Mental Health

Promoting Our Mental Health

Mental Health, something we all have, something that we all need to care for, yet those words are still frowned about by some. It is so natural to hear people talk about their physical health , yet when some one mentions mental health so many people get uncomfortable. It is almost like it is a dirty word.

Because of this, so many people shy away from discussing their mental health and those that openly suffer with their mental health are more than likely to be treated disrespectfully and are segregated from society. There is so much stigma associated with mental health, and that stigma is so damaging.

The first line of treatment is always with pharmaceuticals, which can have so many side effects that they just increase the amount of difficulties that a person with mental health problem experiences. And then there is the dependency that occurs when you are prescribed these medications. It is so important to promote holistic treatments and also to promote self care. We are living in a time where so many hand over the responsibility of their health to others. There needs to be more focus on empowering people, educating them on the different ways that they can support their mental health.

Thank you so much @naturalmedicine for creating this amazing contest, helping us to educate one another, to empower one another.


@misslasvegas

Road to Steemfest3 Week 7: Am I going for business, pleasure or both?

In this initiative that we thank to @anomadsoul, he asks us a different question every week. The main objective is to discover something about the others and get to know each other before Steemfest.

Wow! Seven weeks already? Seven weeks ago I was still 'taking it slow', thinking: 'Ah, such a long way to yet before November', and now YIKES!!! It's quickly coming closer...

I don't have much to say about my progress, because there is none, well besides that I don't have to pay part of a loan until later, that surely helps. But I still won't be able to get the ticket before they go up in price, which means that instead of an (for me) already steep 333 Euro, I will have to pay 20% more, bringing it to an horrific (again: for me) almost 400 Euro. Of course, I'll be laughing about this soon, because 60 Euro isn't something to become homeless over, but yeah...not laughing just yet.

@porters

Look What I Woke Up Too...

Snow! But oh so beautiful with the sunrise!

It was odd for we usually don't get snow until the end of October! We're getting October weather in September. It sure put a halt to the gardening season.

Bruno looking kind of perplexed in the snow - Wasn't it just summer!

One thing about the snow and freezing weather is some of the wonderful sculptures mother nature creates.

@ecoTrain

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So much love for this Train and all that it has brought into my life. You are all superstars xxxxx

always Very happy to hear this! xx

Superb blogging good job

Brother it is a big article . Nice capture . Thanks for huge information to give us .

http://inpowermovement.com Have you heard about this solution to smart meters and 5G?

Thanks for the "welcome aboard the Ecotrain"! Loving these curation post of all the wonderful articlesfrom fellow passengers. Off to read them now. thanks for doing this @eco-alex

I love reading the ecotrain magazine and feel so grateful to be included. Thank you so much for putting this together. ♥

Woah I am so happy to have found the eco-train! I want to join you on this journey my friend!

We all do great work and write amazing posts but those covers from vegan ninja sure make these posts shine 💚