Willie Nelson Peace Institute publishes Russ Henry

Willie Nelson has been my hero since I was a little cowboy.  Now I'm all grown up and I still look up to the red headed stranger.  Willie has spent his whole career standing up for family farmers who have become powerless in our country. Willie knows that medical marijuana and industrial hemp have the growing power to save American family farmers from going belly up, and he's fought to show us all that Marijuana is medicine given from god, not a dangerous drug as owners of the alcohol, paper, and cotton industries in America would like us to believe. Willie's strength, determination, and grace have inspired me in my own career, and shown me how to be strong enough to stand up for what I believe in. I believe that medical marijuana's...

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Breaking The Rules

Most of my heroes are outlaws.  My heroes are folks that are not afraid to stand up and defend what’s right, no matter the cost.  My heroes are folks who are brave enough to live a life full of meaning and passion even when the rule-makers of the day demand banality and submission.   Rachel Corrie stood in front of those bulldozers with a force of will no army can stop.  John Trudell still works for peace and justice even after his mother in-law, wife, and children were taken in a fire that was set to silence him.  And good old Willie Nelson, no matter how many times the authorities bust him down for his choice in medicine, he keeps on touring ‘round the world raising money for struggling family farmers that the...

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An Introduction To Health, The Seed #42

Did ya ever get catch a cold and think “maybe I should have eaten more then just chips and ice cream for the last few days?”  Do you ever pick up something heavy in the morning and think not long afterward how a good stretch would have prevented you from the daylong backache you’re about to endure?  Maybe I’m forgetful, or maybe I’m just getting older, but I need a little help from a healing heart every now and then. After growing up in a family that relied on regular old take-a-pill-if-you’re-sic western medicine, I wasn’t ready till just a few years ago to start seeing healers that practiced anything other than standard U.S. medical school procedures.  Sometimes I figure I’m one lucky guy.  I think I’d still be going...

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Stefan's Fantastic Farm

Stefan Meyer is one guy we could all learn a lot from.  As the driving force behind Minneapolis’ most ingenious new food production business, Growing Lots Urban Farm, Stefan is demonstrating for all of us the potential power held in the ground beneath our vacant urban lots.  For the last few years, the city of Minneapolis has begun to take the importance of locally grown food seriously.  Through encouraging the growth of farmers markets, and official initiatives such as Homegrown Minneapolis, the city has sprouted seeds of change that should improve our health, habitat, and happiness as they grow.  As politicians congratulate themselves for being so wise and Earth-friendly, green thumbs around town welcome this emerging...

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The Seed Volume 40, Butterfly Gardening

Why do we love butterflies so much?    Is it the beauty and freedom that define their days?  Is it the transformative potential of the chrysalis that attracts us?  After all, butterflies are just bugs too, right?  How is it that we save so much room in our hearts for one bug and have entire industries devoted to the extermination of other bugs?   Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne Whatever butterflies are doing that strikes our imaginations and warms our hearts, they seem to be doing it better then any other insect around.  While the dragonfly can impresses us with speed,...

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The Seed Volume 39, Eat A Weed

Eeyore said it best, “A weed is a flower too, once you get to know it.”I never cease to be amazed at the fear that passes over folk’s faces when I suggest to them that dandelions or creeping charlie are valuable in the landscape.  Maybe it’s because I’m a rebel, or maybe it’s because of my respect for plants, but I’ve always loved weeds, in fact I can safely say weeds are my heroes.  Take the dandelion for instance.  How many of us are completely unaware of the power of this plant?  Dandelion is only the Diana Prince like moniker through which the super hero also known as Taraxacum hides her secret Wonder Woman identity.  Providing free nourishing food, and medicine for the masses, offering soil fertility, and perfect...

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The Seed Volume 38, Evolutionary Gardening

Evolutionary Gardening It has been said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one footstep.  I suppose that’s true.  I also figure that if I’m gonna be traveling a thousand miles, that first footstep should be pretty well aimed. The evolution of both the garden and the gardener represent a journey that takes place not in distance, but in time, and as a garden and landscape educator I understand that I’m responsible for giving out the best information and resources to guide folks along the path toward a healthier environment.  So, if I were standing along the trail you travel and you happened to ask me which direction you should aim your energies to find a healthy thriving landscape, I’d gladly point the way. ...

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