How do you do the Flamingo?

Dear Friends,

If you have ever seen our highly entertaining flamingo show, then you will know that towards the end, a select few members from the audience may enter the arena and have their pictures taken with Freida and Florence and everyone. I have noticed that many people like to have their moment in time captured standing on one leg, on what I like to refer to as the classic flamingo pose, akin to first position if you are familiar with the Ballet. However I would like to point out that there is actually an array of poses to choose from should you so desire. Please see below. I suspect there might even be some sort of Yoga going on here in which case it must be bikram because it has been rather hot lately. I prefer Ashtanga myself as I may have mentioned before. Otherwise, if I ever get the urge to exercise, I lie down until the feeling subsides.

Here is Florence. She makes it look so easy.

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.

-Martin Buber

How Does Your Garden Grow?

My Fellow Bahamians, many of us take pride in our gardens, whether we have acres of greenery or a small planter of herbs used for cooking your favourite recipes. Well here in the Bahamas especially, we have easy access for ways of giving our gardens the best fertilizer on earth- and it comes from the ocean every day-for FREE.

That's right; Seaweed!

Seaweed, which originates from the ocean's garden, is one of the best materials for an earth garden. For one thing, kelp helps stimulates soil bacteria. This, in turn increases fertility of the soil by humus formation (which feeds on the bacteria), aeration and moisture retention. Let's look at some other ways that kelp helps:

• Seed germination is improved
• Fruits and vegetable have a greater nutritional value
• Plants develop more extensive root systems, which means healthier foliage, flowers and fruit
• Plants have a greater resistance to nematodes, disease and pests.

How to apply seaweed

You can apply fresh kelp directly to the soil (some people suggest rinsing it to remove the sea salt, but for the past 20 years I've never found it necessary). Arrange it as a 2 to 4-inch mulch layer or include it in the compost pile. Seaweed decays quickly because it contains little cellulose. What's nice too, is that you don't introduce weed seeds with seaweed mulch.
You can also apply kelp as a liquid fertilizer at the base of plants to reach the root zone, add it to a drip irrigation system or as a dilute foliar spray. In recent tests at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, soil sprayed with a seaweed solution had 67 percent to 175 percent more roots than untreated soil.

To make your own liquid kelp, add a couple handfuls of seaweed to a 5-gallon bucket of water. Stir the concoction daily for a few days, then strain and dilute it using the ratio of 1 part kelp liquid to 2 parts water.

Any sprayer or mister will work, from hand-trigger units to backpack models. The best times to spray are early morning and early evening, when the liquids will be absorbed most quickly. Spray the tops and bottoms of leaves until the liquid drips off the leaves.

As people become more sensitive to environmental issues, the need for organic gardening methods plays a critical role in our health and the health of the planet. The use of kelp--a natural, renewable gift from the ocean--helps us with our efforts in the garden. 

Happy gardening my friends!

Love,

Freddy.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".

-Native American Proverb.

Madagascar

My dear friends, I have a confession to make. When zoo camp was in session, there was a movie hour where the campers watched a computer graphically animated show called Madagascar. I thought it was going to be a film about the region, and having never been there myself, I thought it might be interesting, so I managed to quietly find a perch out of the way and watch. It was more of a cartoon about some funny characters learning valuable life lessons amidst comical chaos. And my confession is that I found it quite amusing! There was an eccentric ring tailed lemur, a hippopotamus, a zebra, a giraffe, several penguins and a misplaced lion.

Here at Ardastra, next to the Secret Garden, there are Ring tailed Lemurs, and after watching this film I decided that I must make more of an effort to get to know my fellow residents. Here are some interesting things I picked up in my research:

If you were to check in one morning on a group of ring-tailed lemurs, you'd likely see them sitting on the ground, facing the sun with their arms outspread. Sort of sun worshipping. Ring-tailed lemurs often spend hours in this position, soaking up the warmth of the sun. And they do it in a group, since they're social animals.

In a troop, or group, of ring-tailed lemurs, which typically numbers between 15 and 20 individuals, females rule. If a squabble breaks out between a male and a female, the female lemur always wins the argument.


The scientific name for the ring-tailed lemur is Lemur catta.

Ring-tailed lemurs spend more time on the ground (and less in the trees) than any other species of lemur.

Lemurs are primates and are related to monkeys and apes.

Lemurs are endangered, mainly due to habitat destruction caused by people who clear land for farming and logging.

One of the lemur's main predators is the catlike fossa, the largest carnivore in Madagascar.

Lemurs are primates and are related to monkeys and apes.

Lemurs are endangered, mainly due to habitat destruction caused by people who clear land for farming and logging.

One of the lemur's main predators is the catlike fossa, the largest carnivore in Madagascar.

Until next week my friends, be well.

"Listen up, you couch potatoes: each recycled beer can saves enough electricity to run a television for three hours."
~ Denis Hayes 

The Cat's Out of the Bag!

Oooh, sorry! Didn't mean to frighten; metaphorically of course my dears. 

I'm talking about The Secret Garden.

At long last, it is no longer a secret!

It is really a stunning space, open yet intimate, and simple yet elegant enough to suit a wide array of events. At the far side of the garden is a two step podium which is also wheelchair accessible, for the focus of your ceremony or event. 

Don't know where to host your son's wedding? What about your niece's baby shower? Just want to have tea with the ladies? Does your yoga group need a change of venue? ( I might join in on the yoga, Ashtanga changed my life ). 

Please visit our website for more information about this special place.

http://www.ardastra.com/

Be well my friends.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.  ~John Muir