The Young Mackerel - a poem

The Young Mackerel

by Susan Paczek

Once upon a time
There was a young mackerel
Brought up in a school
That swam together very well

Fast as jets, the school
Would swim around their bay
Without a fish out of place
Every single day

One day this young fish
Who had ventured off alone
Saw a fleet of fishing boats
Approach his ocean home

He told an older fish
That danger was drawing near
But this leader of the school
Did not want to hear

"Son", the leader said
"I've swam this bay for so long
How dare you imply
That our planned course could be wrong

Whatever you think you saw
There must be another reason
Because I know without a doubt
It is NOT fishing season

So today we'll swim around the bay
As we have always done
Now quit your foolish talk
And get in line with everyone"

Conflicted, the young fish
Chose to obey his inner voice
And hid in a cave knowing
Elders would not approve his choice

Later he felt relieved but sad
To win his bittersweet bet
As he watched his entire school
Swim into a fishing net

This Week's Favourite Things! March 31st to April 6th, 2014

Well I'm a couple days late posting this but here are my favourite things from last week:

1. Anything and everything from Chocolate Love.  If you're looking for raw, vegan chocolate check these folks out for wholesale ingredients: cacoa powder, paste, nibs and more, available via their online store.

2. The Big Short by Michael Lewis.  I'm not done reading this yet but so far its a bit shocking to read about how Wall Street works and how the financial crisis was orchestrated.  It's a really good, albeit scary read

3.  For a good read on the opposite spectrum of human potential, I'm just about done "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay.  It's really nice book about the connection between our internal and external worlds, and probably exactly what I needed to be reading this week!

4. Halikids.  This is a kid's toy shop in downtown Halifax, NS. I recently bought a gift here and have since been blown away at how excellent the customer service was; plus I was pleasantly surprised that they had a nice assortment of locally made gift ideas for babies.  The guy minding the shop was super keen and helpful and even carefully gift-wrapped my purchase in very stylish paper that the eco-friendly recipients will re-use for sure.

Irritated Oyster - a poem

Irritated Oyster

by Susan Paczek

Irritated oyster
Go on, give it a whirl 
Take your source of bother
And turn it into a pearl

Irritated seahorse
When trouble comes don't stay
Abruptly change your course
And quickly swim away

Irritated turtle
Your enemies know full well
There's only so much you'll handle
Before retreating in your shell

Irritated starling
Don't be scared to sing your truth
Take a deep breath, darling
And shriek it from the roof

Irritated porcupine
If a creature wishes you ills
Grit your teeth, arch your spine
And pepper them with your quills

Irritated chimpanzee
After you've been burned
Try thinking positively
Find the lesson to be learned

Chimpanzee Mugs by Susan Paczek - stoneware, not fired or glazed yet

Two Little Pigs - a poem

Two Little Pigs 

by Susan Paczek 

 Once upon a time on a farm 
Two little pigs shared a barn stall
One thought life was gloom, doom and harm
The other thought life was a ball

The happy pig said to his pal one day 
"Let’s go romp around in all the flowers
The sun is out, the fields smell sweet with hay
We can play around outside for hours"

“Nope” said his friend “I’m staying put in this pen  

I think I see clouds forming over there 

And I can’t see why you’d want to frolic when 

There’s so much danger lurking everywhere"

Later when the happy pig was done enjoying his day 
He couldn’t find his pal so he asked a mouse
The mouse said “Oh. The farmer came and took your friend away
I believe he is down at the slaughterhouse”.

Papier Mache Pig by Susan Paczek

This Week's Favourite Things! March 24th - March 30th

1.  Our Excalibur Dehydrator, and flax crackers and fruit roll ups.  My vegan raw-foodist friends recommended an Excalibur Dehyrdator as 'the only dehydrator you'll ever need'.  So far we've mostly used it for kale chips and onion bread but this week I made flaxseed crackers and fruit roll ups.  Yum! For the crackers were made up from a couple recipes off the internet, with extra garlic and fresh parsely, dehydrated until crispy.  For the fruit rollups it seems the simpler the better, the best batch was apples, thawed frozen blueberries and a bit of honey.   Apple, banana, vanilla and sunflower seed butter was also good.  Suddenly I'm very interested in 50% off fruit at Superstore.  We got our Excalibur from Upaya Naturals and they were pretty awesome about it. 

2.  Recycled 1.89L tetra pak Almond Milk Containers for starting seeds.  I saw on Facebook once that cutting one of the bigger sides off an almond milk containers makes a great seed starting vessel.  It's true! I've got basil, cilantro, sage, watermelon and some flowers started and ready to be transplanted into this week's favourite thing #3.  Check out pics of what this looks like from another blogger's site.

3. Deep-Root Seed Starters from Lee Valley.  This is our third year using these and they're great, I started 3 x 72 cell trays of tomatoes and peppers last night and will be moving our started plants from the almond milk containers to trays soon.  Excited for gardening season!

4.  This article about how one Phd Student started a fight against the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) shut down in Ontario.  I think this article highlights how anti-science the current Canadian government is and makes me feel better about my decision to bug out from my career in favour of getting as self-sufficient as possible.

Two Ducks - a poem

Two Ducks

by Susan Paczek 

Once upon a time there was a pair of ducks 

Who landed on a secluded forest river 

With old-growth trees, flowers, does and bucks 

All the finery that nature can deliver 

Both of the ducks were hungry for food 

And had stopped there for something to eat 

One insisted a spot just upstream was good 

So he kept paddling there with his feet 

His struggle was making him extremely hungry 

So he had to eat more and more 

To feed his tired muscles and noisy tummy 

While his legs soon grew very sore 

The duck’s partner, who had been watching asked him 

“Wouldn’t floating down the river be easier? 

We'd dine at our leisure and barely have to swim"

He answered - the effort made his voice wheezier:

“Well maybe but I don’t know what is downstream
And what if this spot really is the best?
But my legs are quickly running out of steam
So let’s put your idea to the test”

The pair floated, snacked and chatted around the river bend
Having decided to give following the current a shot 
Their journey was so pleasant they wanted to do it again
So at the end they flew back upstream to their starting spot 

Earthenware Duck Ornaments by Susan Paczek

The Turtle - a poem

The Turtle 

by Susan Paczek 

Last night I dreamt that we were sitting out at a picnic table
When I saw a turtle walk towards us as fast as he was able

He was only small, he didn’t look very old

His shell was turquoise-blue, his stomach shiny-gold

To reach the sea there was a hill that he kept trying to climb
But he would get near the top and flip over backwards every time

“Tsk” I said and picked him up to carry him to the sea
But then I heard a loud voice and it said this to me:

“If you want to help that turtle then you have to put him down
If you carry him his legs will be so weak that he will drown”

So we sat and cheered him on until the night sky filled with bats
We fed him salad for supper and we sheltered him from cats

In the morning he met his challenge with renewed energy
He crested the hill at last and joined his friends out in the sea

Earthenware Turtles by Susan Paczek