Always Someone to Help

We have yet again reached a new stage in our family.  Our oldest son, Brandon, is working this summer for an environmental company out of Sherwood Park.  This job is taking him to remote and distant places around our province and BC.  What is kind of cool is that we now have a continuing family chat text conversation exchanging pictures of a variety of plants as we come upon them trying to properly identify them.   The fact that nobody knows everything, has our little group pulling  our combined info and experience together to come up with answers.  Rather than stumbling, struggling and wasting time trying to figure it out on our own, we have reached out for help.  Kind of a phone a friend idea. I'm not going to lie, it's been kind of cool and a real reminder that we can't always do everything on our own, that we are surrounded by people who can and want to help.  We have a wealth of knowledge that may surprise each one of us right at our finger tips.  Most times, we just need to ask.   As humbling as it may be at times we are often given people and opportunities in life that allow us to both be helped and also help those around us.

For our family, we have been able to not only combine our knowledge to come up with answers but have also had the opportunity to share our day and even pictures of wildlife seen with each other really makes you feel a little closer than the distance between Stony Plain and Fort St. John.  Although I have to admit I'm having a hard time matching the pictures and videos of bears and caribou.  Not much more past coyotes and gophers around here.  I'm holding out to see one of the wild boars I keep being warned about.  Now that would be hard to beat!

Alana Regier

Good Bug or Bad Bug?

I will apologize in advance for my bug talk especially for those who may be a little squeamish when it comes to crawly things.  This is what happens when your job has you spending more time with plants and bugs than with people.  The great outdoors, best office in the world! 

In my job we have many insects brought in baby food jars for identification, the reason being that people want to know is it a good bug or a bad bug?  Of course there is the lady bug which everyone knows to be a friend but what about all those others that don’t have those cute polka dots?  If they are black, hairy, long antennas and just plain ugly does that automatically makes them bad? A lot of people see bugs and think ‘must squish’; however, there are a massive amount of crawly things that are actually beneficial in huge ways; for example, the braconid wasp.  Many things about this insect upon first appearance scream SQUISH! This is a species whose females inject its eggs into host insects, which many times this host is destructive to many plants and trees.  These eggs then hatch into larvae which feed inside the host insects. Once the larvae have reached full development the host insect (problem insect) dies, nature’s own biological control. I know gross, but bear with me. 

Like so many things in life that change or hit us out of the blue it becomes easy to come to the conclusion that if we don’t want it or didn’t ask for it, it must be bad.  Whether it’s an illness, injury, job loss or whatever it may be, I believe it is for a reason.  Maybe it’s to humble us, maybe it’s to move us into a better job or relationship or maybe it’s to keep us safe from that which we aren’t even aware of. Although I may not understand many of these things that appear to me as something negative and ugly, I am also aware that I don’t see the entire picture.  Sometimes the valleys loaded with discouragement, pain and disappointment are the paths that lead us to something great, something that wouldn’t be possible without first going through the low times. Not that I welcome the valleys with open arms but I am trying harder every day to see the positive, to see the possibilities.

 

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Purslane

Purslane is a plant found sometimes in great abudance, a weed to some and a plant with a purpose to others. It has succulent leaves and yellow flowers.  It may appear to be just another plant but what many may not know is that one plant is capable of producing 2,000,000 seeds that can stay viable for up to 40 years! Nature always amazes me with its ability to survive. 

In reading these tidbits I couldn't help but see a correlation to our acts of kindness.  Like the purslane plant, we as individuals have the capability of making a huge impact with each act of kindness we perform.  We may be just one lonely plant wondering some days if our actions ever really matter or if they have lasting impact that will reach beyond what we see directly in front of us today. There are many acts that we will never  directly see the impact we have made but I do believe that every act of kindness, every time we act honestly and with integrity and every time we put others before ourselves, there will be results that change lives. Every piece of garbage we pick up, every kind word we have for another or every worm, lady bug or ant we relocate, we make a difference. 

Like the one purslane plant that disperses 2,000,000 seeds and can hang around for 40 years waiting for optimum conditions to decide to sprout we too can continue to live a life that will have ever lasting effects for generations to come.

A Mountain Break

This past weekend found our family in my favorite place, the mountains.  As prepared as we thought we were, I was surprised to find as much snow on the trail as we did, almost up to my waist in some spots.  Our trail shoes and shorts may have looked a little out of place to some of those we met along the way. 

In everything I do, whether it is shovelling soil, hauling wood, parking a long distance from the door or climbing a mountain, I try to be aware of how I use my body and try to see the perks in every task, some tasks/activities being more fun than others.  This hike I focused on my breathing.  I made extra effort to breathe in completely through my nose and into my belly and exhale through my mouth.  For me I have a tendency to take about 3km to find my groove.  It seems to take this distance for me to fall into a comfortable rhythm and to get my breathing to a point where it is working to my body’s benefit.  I keep learning just how important using my breath properly changes how successful and how much I enjoy all activities. There is always something to be learnt from every task and activity we do if only we look and jump on the opportunities.  If they so happen to be in the mountains, well that’s a bonus!  Maybe we can move fitness classes to the fresh mountain air doing push ups, sit ups and a little bag work on our way to the peak, just saying …

Alana Regier                    

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca