Lynell / Elle Marie Garfield.

We are all connected through water.   Water is Life. We can learn from Water.

Water is the only element that is both the contained AND the container. 

Water picks up anything in its path, moving it visibly or not.

Water runs downhill.

Water nourishes life of all forms.

Water brings new spirit to this planet. 

We are made of water, it is an inextricable part of our physical and emotional bodies.

Ideas for sustaining and loving your Life!

- Ride Your Bike! No really, feel like a ten year old again. bounce off some curbs, feel the wind in your face, sprint for a speed limit sign just to see what you can do. find the flow - embrace the inner giddiness, the Inspiration.

- Install a rain garden, maybe try rain gutters and rain chains. We tried it, an easy idea for a beautiful yard: create gentle depressions in your yard to retain the water and allow it to soak into the ground...then connect a drip system for our dry months.

- Wash your car on the lawn or other soft surface so wash water is used to sustain life, and soapy grime does not enter gutters and downstream creeks or river.

-Choose to use permeable landscape or softscape around your property, to allow infiltration of our groundwater resources. Check out Permeable pavers and concrete products : they have proven themselves in cold climates when installed correctly.  And while you're at it, know that your bioinfiltration allows soil microbes and plant roots to treat chemicals in runoff waters, before it soaks back into the river downstream.

-The use of fungi in areas around parking spots: a strip of mushrooms planted to 'treat' the runoff, acts as natural enzymes to break down any petroleum drips, absorbing none of it, and you get plain old elemental carbon soaking into the ground or  running off with clean water!

-Choose edible plants and herbs for your yard; use your potable water to make food, not just grass. While you're at it, know you are protecting the watershed by using less chemicals and protecting the streams from runoff!  I call this protecting the FoodShed, and our WaterShed, together.

-Look into disconnecting your clothes washer from the sewer... use it instead to water your lawn or other landscape near the house.

-Use safe, creative methods to provide a complete and holistic ecosystem around your house and landscape - called "Integrated Pest Management (IPM)", with beneficial insects and removal of stagnant energy as an alternative to toxic chemicals.  These are bio-safe ways of treating pests, using natural systems and food chains!

-Consider the 'Precautionary Principle' that Europe embraces... that if a chemical might be toxic, write it off and find an alternative.  Plastic food containers, pre-packaged foods, and even conventionally grown produce are three easy places to start cleaning up your life.

-Explore organic options/avoid unneccesary exposure to pesticides.  Find a connection to local agriculture, like through the Great Basin Community Food Cooperative!  Explore options for  'Community Supported Agriculture' (CSA's)!  These are great ways to support local farmers, eat on the local food chain, lessen our dependence on gasoline, and eat seasonally-appropriate foods...not to mention, supporting organic farming and knowing your food source!