Gardening 2011 Other Options for Planting Vegetables

Fennel is known for its digestive properties. I planted this in flat this year. It looks like dill and the bases form large bulb like enlargements at the base of the stem. Called Finnocchio in Italy.
For more info check out http://italianfood.about.com/od/finocchiobulbfennel/Finocchio_Bulb_Fennel.htm


For fun this year I planted these orange peppers to add color to the garden, when most folks just have sweet green peppers.



This is a special heirloom I planted for the first time. For more info, see my other blog.

http://prairielakesjourneystwospirit.blogspot.com/2011/04/gardening-2011-some-options-for.html

Enjoy the gardening journey in 2011. Take care. Tom Weaver with Wopida Group

Lotus Incense - Preparing for the 14th Dalai Lama Ceremony

I awoke this morning, the day before the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama at the U of M, where I will be meeting my Putonghua Teacher, Tian Xia and a friend of hers and a friend of mine, Sylvan, for a healing ceremony. What spirit asked me to do when a awoke is that during my meditation, that I light the red incense stick that came through my Glessner and Chapplelear ancestors this morning. I see the faded label on the wrapping is likely from the early 20th century in China. "Exported from China National Native Produce and Animal By- Products Import and Export Corp. Fukien Branch Amoy Office. "

"Lotus Brand Scented Sticks are manufactured from various fragrant herbs. Once lit, they give off very pleasing aroma."

What came up for me is to put this quote here from the 14th Dalai Lama "All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."
Dalai Lama http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dalai_lama.html#ixzz1Lf8BcNki



I am been interested in the healing power of plants and how herbs like tobacco attract the spirits and ancestors on Turtle Island, N and South America, and recently learned through an elder, that each continent has special herbs that call on ancient grounding loving wisdom. I get a sense, and that my be in-cense :-), that herbs such as sweet grass and flat cedar here in N America, Copal in Central America, Palo Santo in South America are some of those herbs that quiet the body-mind to become open to the love of the source of Creation, the Creator of this dynamic changing planet that has countless beings as denizens of her blue green life giving essence.

Recently the elders of White Bison have agreed in meditations www.whitebison.org

Elder's Meditation of the Day - May 6
"We must remember that the heart of our religion is alive and that each person has the ability within to awaken and walk in a sacred manner."
-- -- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
The Native Spirituality is full of life. When we seek it we become alive. Even if we have gone astray and have conducted ourselves in a bad way, we can look within and have a new awakening to life. Maybe we have drunk too much alcohol; maybe we have cheated on our spouse; maybe we have done things that make us feel guilty and ashamed. If we look outside ourselves, we will not find life; if we look inside, we will find life. Anytime we choose to change our lives, we only need to look inside. How do we do this? Take some sage and light it, close your eyes and say to the Great Sirit, I'm tired, I need your help. Please help me change.

Great Spirit, I know you exist inside of myself. Let me awaken to your teachings.

Elder's Meditation of the Day - May 5
"There are many things to be shared with the four colors of man in our common destiny as one family upon our Mother the Earth."
-- -- Traditional Circle of Elders, NORTHERN CHEYENNE
The Elders tell us the time will come when the four colors of Man will unite into one family. According to prophecies, we were told this would happen when the Sun was blocked in the Seventh Moon. There was an eclipse of the Sun in July, 1991. We are now in a new Springtime called the Coming Together Time. Each of the four colors of man has knowledge that the other colors need to heal their families. Let us all be willing to sit in a circle and respect our differences.

Creator, let me be willing to have an open mind.

Thanks for the strength and wisdom my my Glessner and Chapplear Ancestors who lived in the LA and Ohio area of the US and who brought in the spirit of the ancestors from all traditions.

Remember to light some sage, sweet grass, cedar, here in N America, and the herbs of your lands throughout the beautiful changing world! Xie xie ni! Pidamiyayelo. Mitakuye Oyasin. We are all connected.

Spring Teachings About New Life - Support from our elders the tree nation of ancestors!

I am grateful for the coming of spring and the reflection I see in new life in this cottonwood tree by my apartment in St Louis Park. Here is a close up of the swelling bud of the red catkin of the cottonwood tree.

Thinking of my Field Botany Mentor, Donald Lawrence PHD, pictured here along the Mississippi River gorge with students, including Matthew Wood, Herbalist Author with the bike. In the spring we would go for walks this time of year along the east bank of the Mississippi from the Botany Greenhouse, then on East River Road. I was a teaching assistant in the 1970's at the U of M for Don in a course called Field Botany. Don taught us to recognize that characteristics of plants so we could learn from them about their place in ecology. We would drive to Cedar Creek each week to look at the natural history of a plant that selected each student to study. I remember one student, Sue, who worked with the hazel and noticed the small flowers this time of year. Thanks Don and Lib Lawrence for your generous vision and support with your teaching and generous work at Cedar Creek Natural History Area that you helped establish. Thanks for sharing in your cabin there as well!

Reflections on the trees of life. Here I am with an over 2000 year old yew in the are of the south of England in 2009. Story has it the yew forests were cut down to create long bows for the wars of the two leggeds. Such grace and grandeur being with this old relative. And how amazing it is still here as a beacon to another time. Trees can talk!
My elders have continued teaching me about noticing and how trees are so grounding to many humans. One of my Lakota teachers often reflects that each tree reflects the Lords Prayer of the Christian tradition, so above we can Create Heaven here on earth. Already the chan oyate "tree nation" are here as our grounded relatives living with the Creators instructions. Showing us to have deep resilient roots. The trees create oxygen and bring water up for air conditioning and transpiration of the planet we share with them. Recently several of this trees' relatives were cut down that were shading my garage here in my apartment complex. This morning I took out tobacco to pray for the give away of the tree nation and thank them. . Also I prayed this morning for understanding for the need for sustainable harvesting of our forests and plants all over the world so we can live in harmony for the next seven generations with all the plants and animals here on Mother Earth.

Here is one of my family trees: The Cole or Cowles Family that came over from the Gloucestershire area in 1635 to New England. I pray for health for the tree nation as well as the two leggeds so we can live here on Mother Earth in harmony for many generations to come. May we all walk in peace, love, joy and harmony on our earth journey. Mitakuye Oyasin.

Amazon Herbs- Connection with the Rainforest.

Here is my friend, Ted Harrison, who is pictured at an Amazon Herb booth at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Ted is the man who first introduced me to Treasure Tea and Una de Gato in 2005 prior to my meeting John Easterling as outlined below. Thanks Ted for your ongoing support of these plant foods that come from Pacha Mama, Mother Earth.

Starting the Blogging Journey - Wild Herbal Foods This is text from an entry I have in my regular blog from SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2009

I was inspired by Linda Youcha, who moved to Mexico a while back and began a Google blog, to begin this blog to share part of my journey. This past week, I decided to learn more about some Wild Plant Food from the Amazon Rain Forest, as envisioned by the folks at Amazon Herb Company. As a little background, I met the Founder and CEO, John Easterling over four years ago in Davenport Iowa, home of the Palmer School of Chiropractic where he and some Midwest Amazon Herb Ambassadors, including Maryann Hesse , Lynn Mayfield and Ron Bond shared their powerful healing stories. It was then I decided to begin eating the 5 core products developed by naturopaths from four different countries to support human body systems. In addition to the (1) Shipbo Treasure Tea (and Una de Gato) I had began eating during the winter cold season, after picking up some of the Treasure Tea from Ted Harrison, a friend and elder from the ManKind Project, I started with the other four core products: (2) Fiberzon "intestinal broom", (3) Illumination "multiple herb nutritional suppliment", (4) Sumacazon "adaptogenic endocrine balancer from two ginseng like plants from South America, suma and maca", and (5) Aquazon "blue green and marine fucus nutrition." I now began a journey of inner health, with plants, that Cleanse, Nurture and Balance Body Systems".

Read more about Amazon Herbs here on my site, under Products and Service, clicking on the hyperlink "Order Amazon Herb products here" to find information on a plethora of fine herbal foods.

Honoring Harry Chappelear and Inez Chase Glessner

This photo was taken by Noah Elwood Weaver in 1952. This is how remember my Glessner grandparents when I visited them as a young boy. Harry C Glessner was the president of the Glessner Company and had taken over from his father, Leonard Cowles Glessner in running the company. He introduced new products, such as Keen Shaving Cream and I remember visiting the factory on E Sandusky Street when glass bottles were filled as samples at that location. Both of my grandfathers continue to influence my interest in being an entrepreneur.

Leonard C Glessner began making Dr Drakes German Croup Remedy out of his Findlay home in 1889 and founded the Glessner Medicine Company in 1905 as a stock company. In 1912 the word German was removed prior to the WW I antipathy toward German people and the language in America. He built this brick factory on E Sandusky Ave in Findlay that I visited in the 1950's when they were still bottling product at this location. Pain a Lay, developed by Harry Chappelear Glessner, son of Len, from a formula used by dentists in St Louis, still has a following and sales, that I and my family receive residual income from even after the company was sold in 1962, when operations creased in Findlay after 73 years of production.


Dr Drakes Croup and Cough Medicine was the original brand started by Len C Glessner. Softskin was a brand that my mom remembered packaging during the great depression with multicolored bags. The patent was later sold to Vicks I understand.
Pain a Lay is still marketed through Roberts Proprietaries in New York, New Jersey, and amazingly our family still receives royality checks some 40 years after Harry C Glessner sold the business

Beginning the Wopida News Blog

Monday, December 21, 2009
Beginning the Wopida News Blog
Today is the winter solstice and the days now get longer. This image of my grandfather, Noah Elwood Weaver when he worked as an accountant in the Greater Miami River Valley of Ohio, West Carrollton at an envelop company. He has always been a special influence on my life, beginning when I visited his home at age 5, and was served fresh cherry pie from cherries I picked in his back yard at 321 Main Street made by his second wife, Virginia Magee Weaver. I dedicate my work as an entrepreneur to both he and my maternal grandfather, Harry Chappelear Glessner, who was the president of a family business in Findlay Ohio, the Glessner Medicine Company. Both grandfathers lived until age 88, and when Elwood died in 1973 I remember singing at his funeral and then gathering information about the Weaver family tree, which was the beginning of my deep passion for sharing the family stories.
Look for the stories of gratitude here on this blog. Wopida is the Dakota word for gratitude, and I am grateful for the coming of the light and for those who want to share the healing powers of story telling and the remedies of the natural world. Peace, love, joy and beauty on your healing journey. Dr Tom Minnesota Dec 21 2009
Posted by Dr Tom at 7:07 PM
Labels: Business family tree, Weaver Family
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