BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Gotta love those Global Warming deniers. Safe behind their keyboards. Since so far, this summer has been cool they're saying, "SEE - no Global WARMING! It's COOL out!" Get a clue. The fact that the predictable weather patterns are varying should tell you something. But most of them aren't gardeners like me, out tending flowers and growing a few veggies to serve to my family (tomatoes and my herbs are doing well so far this year, thanks!). No they'd rather bloviate from their computers and central air conditioned condos. Duh. And don't ask to debate them. Those bullies will just cut you off and scream louder. HOAX! I wonder if there's Global Warming in Hell? GLOBAL WARMING DENIERS ARE ON THIN ICE by Joel Connelly Chilling news on hot topics takes different forms, witness two e-mails that arrived cheek-by-jowl one afternoon last week. Sea ice in the Arctic thinned dramatically between the 2004 and 2008 winters, with thin seasonal ice supplanting thic...

Existing In Bodies The physical self can seem like an encumbrance at times. We have little control over its demands, we must monitor it consistently, and its relative fragility can be discomfiting. Many people, therefore, unconsciously long to escape the confinement of their bodies, and this longing can manifest itself as physical discomfort, difficulty adjusting to the rigors of day-to-day existence, or a tendency to shy away from all that is associated with the human earthly experience. Yet the lifetime of physical existence we each must endure represents a vital plateau in our progression as enlightened beings. We inhabit our bodies for a reason. There is much we can learn while coping with the challenges, sensations, and sensitivities of the human body that we could not have grasped had we remained in spirit form. When we leave our physical selves behind to return to our original state, we will enjoy a supreme sense of freedom-yet we will always value the time we spent on earth. Be...

"As the gardener, such is the garden." ...Hebrew proverb If you haven't guessed, I love gardening. I didn't realize how much I missed it until we moved to this house and its small backyard 4 years ago. Making things grow, bringing color to the dirt and having my hands in the soil - I can almost feel the earth's pulse. My late parents would wait until I came home for visits - then get me to trim their shrubs around the house by hand. They refused to get a gardener - because if I did it - things flourished. My Nana, of blessed memory, and I had a productive tomato garden going behind our garage too. When we moved in here the backyard was a mess. I had a landscaper come and level it right to the dirt. Running into him in the neighbor last summer he asked if he could come see what I'd done. He was amazed. He said I had turned an overgrown, bug-infested swamp into a lovely little yard. I felt humble. A sterile, manicured home is not for me. A lush place o...