The Farmers Market

Saturday morning and not a whole lot going on. We certainly didn’t feel like doing much work around the house! So, we decided to go ahead and walk down to the Farmers Market. We didn’t even need anything. Well, I did want to get some more local honey. Not to mention that I wanted to play with my new iPhone 5 camera. I’m not real happy with my pictures yet. I still want to learn how to edit and do different things with the pictures. Right now it’s just point and shoot! I discovered that the zoom on my camera phone wasn’t working properly. It kept cutting off part of the picture, as you can see above. After we got back home, I went online to see if I could figure out if it was me or the camera. I didn’t want to go all the way across timbuktu to go to the Apple Store. But it seems like it has turned out to be a simple fix. I rebooted and that seems to have corrected whatever was wrong. Go figure. I keep forgetting these smartphones are minicomputers! So now I’ll just have to play some more with my camera phone! So, here’s a sampling of our trip to the Farmers Market in beautiful downtown Winter Garden, Florida. The nicest part is that it runs year round on every Saturday morning!

The walk to town

We got a late start. We headed out probably around 11:00 am. The sun was shining even though it was supposed to be a rainy day. But that came later! The temperature was around the mid-80’s and it was humid. Silly me, of course it was humid. It’s Florida during hurricane season. Sigh…! Anyway, it was still a beautiful morning!

Downtown facing east. A number of years ago there used to be 22 miles of railroad tracks. Those were torn up and the West Orange Trail  for biking and hiking was created. You can read more about the Trail by clicking here. Yes, that’s part of the Trail running through the center of downtown.

Downtown looking west

Another view of the Trail and downtown, this time facing West!

Downtown Water Park

Almost any day of the week (that it’s not raining!), you can see parents and their kids playing in the water fountains. The City installed this just a few years ago. You can see part of the new City Hall building in the background, center right side. The big white building.

Getting Started

You can find all sorts of things for sale at the Farmers Market. Not just produce. There are plants for sale, artists ply their jewelry and artwork. There are pasta vendors, nuts vendors, and bakery breads and sweets. There are company vendors such as organic, holistic pet supplies, massage therapy, herbs, aromatherapy oils, etc. Oh, I almost forgot, the hula hoop vendor, and so much more!

There are smaller vendors of produce.

We buy our local honey from our friend, Paul Allison (yellow shirt). He has all different yummy flavors! You can buy from his website, too. Click here.

The pavilion is where the main produce is located. It’s nice because it’s covered, it’s shady and it’s cooler. There are tables set up on either end for those who wish to sit and eat — or just sit!

And there is always music and entertainment throughout the morning with plenty of chairs to kick back, relax and enjoy! By the way, this is my first ever video on my new phone. Another first is that I had to upload it to YouTube to be able to embed it here. My goodness, I’m learning so many new things. Perhaps I should seek employment in the IT field. HA!

Uh, oh, definitely time to start heading home. The storm clouds are beginning to gather. I don’t mind walking in the rain but around here my concern is the lightning. But we made it home safe and dry. In fact, it was probably still another hour before the rains finally came down! Then, of course, it was nap time!!

We’re Short-Circuiting Ourselves!

“We are all connected; to each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically.
To the rest of the universe, atomically.”

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

There is something about being connected to the Earth. There really is an energy. I’ve never been a barefoot kind of girl growing up. I remember the times I would go barefoot as a child, my feet were either too sensitive or I was always stubbing my toe. But there is just something magical about wiggling your toes in the hot sand (as long as it’s not too hot!) or standing where the sand is wet with ocean waves and feeling the sand squish between my toes. Or lying down in the grass and watching the clouds pass by overhead (before fire ants). Next time you have a chance to connect with the Earth, gauge your feelings before and after. The surface of the Earth resonates with natural, subtle energies.

In his essay titled “Nature”, Ralph Waldo Emerson lays out a problem that he attempts to solve throughout the essay: that humans do not fully accept nature’s beauty and all that it has to offer. According to Emerson, people are distracted by the world around them; nature gives back to humans, but humans don’t reciprocate the favor. Sound familiar? It sure does to me. In this crazy mixed up world of today, it seems that so many people are expressing their desire to get back to nature but not following through on that desire.

Clearly, a person must allow nature to “take him away.” Nature and humans must create a reciprocal relationship, “Nature, in its ministry to man, is only the material, but is also the process and the result. All the parts incessantly work into each other’s hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal. . .”, etc. Nature and humans need each other to be beneficial.

There is ongoing scientific research as to why people feel better when they connect with nature. Studies have shown that since the late 20th century, chronic degenerative diseases have overcome infectious disease as the major causes of death in the 21st century. So science is looking for an intervention that inhibits the development of these diseases and slows their progress.

Could such an intervention be located right beneath our feet? Earthing research, observations, and related theories raise an intriguing possibility about the Earth’s surface electrons as an untapped health resource—the Earth as a “global treatment table.” Emerging evidence shows that contact with the Earth may be a simple, natural, and yet profoundly effective environmental strategy against chronic stress, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, and many common health disorders, including cardiovascular disease. The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or Earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.

There are so many ways to commune with nature. My parents used to like to vacation by spending in Florida on the beach in the early 50’s. Sixty years later, I find myself enjoying the same thing. The sand, the surf, the wind, the sun during the day and the stars and moon at night. My battery is running down. I feel it’s past time to go out there and rejuvenate myself!

Well, What’s So Funny?

We all do it at one time or another, sometimes alone but usually when we’re with others. Animals do it. Babies do it. Do WHAT, you say? Why, laugh, of course. Until recently I hadn’t given the act of laughter a second thought. It either happened or it didn’t. I’ve been down in the dumps lately for one reason or another. I recently received an email with a link to an article on laughter and just blindly clicked through. It turned out to be a documentary video by filmmaker Albert Nerenberg about Laughology.

About WHAT? Laughology? I had never heard of it either. Neuroscientists, psychologists, medical doctors, and just people in general have taken an interest in laughter, including laughter as medicine. There are even Laughter Yoga groups. I Googled laughter yoga and over 2,000,000 links appeared. It seems it’s a form of Yoga employing self-triggered laughter. There’s even a Laughter Yoga group close to me. I bet there’s one close to you. It’s international! And why not? Laughter is a universal language. Where does laughter come from, how does it originate? Is it from the heart or the head? I could write a book. Oh, wait, the experts have already done that! So, I’ll just blog a little on the subject.

Babies begin to laugh by about the age of 2-3 months. They’re not taught. I mean, really, have you ever seen anyone stand over their infant and say, now, here’s how you laugh. Follow my instructions. Do as I do. I didn’t think so. In fact, studies have been done that show that blind babies, deaf babies, and babies who are both deaf and blind, laugh on their own at about the same time as babies without these impediments. Watch little children. They seem to laugh at almost anything and everything. I once read that children laugh on average about 400 times a day. By the time we’re adults, we’re lucky if we’re laughing 4 times a week.

The timing of this couldn’t have been better for me. As studies have shown, and through my own personal experience, people are stressed to the extreme. Stress kills laughter. If you’re stressed, can you deny the truth of that statement? And, if you’re not stressed, please write and let me know how you’ve managed to be the only one avoiding it. How long has it been since you actually and honestly laughed out loud. Oh, sure, we occasionally laugh with our friends or over a funny movie scene. But I mean when was the last time you experienced an honest-to-goodness roll-on-the-floor belly laugh with tears running down your face. Can you even remember? Do you really care if it’s not dignified? Should one care? Stress destroys laughter and promotes heart disease. Now, that’s not anything to laugh about.

Dr. Madan Kataria, known as the Laugh Doctor, said “When you laugh, you change, and when you change, the whole world changes”. It’s true there are times when we must be serious. But being too serious is actually a kind of disorder. Just look around you. People walking around with their cell phones plastered to their ears or texting like mad. No breaks from the stress of the job or life’s responsibilities. We’re wired 24/7. Just listening to the media reports can set your teeth on edge. It’s just not healthy. I’m no medical expert but I know when something is not good for me. And I know when something is good for me. And laughter is definitely a good thing.

I plan to make a very conscious effort to bring laughter back into my life on a daily basis. Along with laughter comes joy and the bonding with friends. I shouldn’t even need to mention the positive health aspects. Laughter is contagious. Just take a few minutes and watch the following YouTube video of Mr. Doug Collins, said to have the most contagious laugh in the world:

I watched and was laughing along with him so hard I had tears. It was wonderful! If you were able to sit through that and not laugh out loud, then I suggest you seek help! There is so much more that can be said about laughter. I am amazed at how much interesting material there is not to mention personal opinion and experience. This probably won’t be the last post I have on this subject! Laughter is — or should be — a major part of our lives. Make it so.

Please share your thoughts and comments below.