Here are some great quotes on soil:

“Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” ~ Charles E. Kellogg , 1938

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” ~ Aldo Leopold, 1949

“If the soil is destroyed, then our liberty of action and choice are gone …” ~ W.C. Lowdermilk, 1953

“The nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself.” ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“How can I stand on the ground every day and not feel its power? How can I live my life stepping on this stuff and not wonder at it?” “… the soil of any one place makes its own peculiar and inevitable sense. It is impossible to contemplate the life of the soil for very long without seeing it as analogous to the life of the spirit.” “We spend our lives hurrying away from the real, as though it were deadly to us. ‘It must be somewhere up there on the horizon,’ we think. And all the time it is in the soil, right beneath our feet.” ~ William Bryant Logan

It is such a fascinating topic, and with observation and some common understandings, one can learn stunning truths. Have you seen a dust storm recently? It just comes and takes. Or have you watched a monsoon rain erode your beautiful garden beds? How about weeds?  Aren’t they amazing how quickly they can take over? Is it good or bad to have weeds?

I went to one of our projected perennial gardens the other day and was in shock over how poorly some of the plants did, while surprised over how well others did—even in 100 degree temperatures. So I looked closer. Where the soil was just basic sand, it was dry, and a few inches below, it was dense from either too much moisture or lack of it. Even the weeds were not in abundance. In other areas just a few feet away, there were grasses, amaranths, lambsquarters, purslane, and other “weeds.” When I dug into the soil at that location, I found a mixture of broken down compost, small rocks, and sticks, and it felt very alive. It was breathing air. Is it what I planted where and when? I sensed that it requires personal touch and care to get to know your soil in every part of your garden. It’s like adopting your soil and getting adopted by it at the same time. How much attention do you give, and how much time do you spend with your soil?

There are some simple and practical approaches to consider in developing a relationship with your soil:  The more broken down organic matter you apply the better the soil conditions will become. As you create shade through trees, bushes, flowers and other tall plants, the more bio diversity you have and the more options you’ll also have as to what you can plant.  New micro climates will spring forth and life will change throughout all the seasons. So, get your broken down compost, your wood chips, leaves, straw, and cut grasses and apply them freely on top of your soil. Decide on some fruit and shade trees and plant them. Keep your garden in a balanced moisture level. Have some flowers for bees, butterflies and birds.  Create an environment hospitable for new life cycles which will come, including bugs, earthworms and trillions of micro organisms. Make some compost teas or get some Effective Micro Organisms (EM) to accelerate the growth of your soil.

If you already have some form of a garden, increase your mulch and compost layers. Believe it or not sunflowers are great soil builders. Plant lots of them; their joyful design will put a big smile on your face and on the faces of those who visit your garden.  Have a great summer—I hope you have planted lots of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, okra, and beans just to name a few. Plant them close together. This will keep the moisture in longer and give shade to each other.

Visit Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch in Tumacacori for guided tour (call 520-398-2655). Look us up on our website www.avalongardens.org; we are still taking new CSA members—you will find the information on that program there, also.

Another quote stunned me the other day and made me think about soil in a whole new way: “Mind is the human soil…..” –The URANTIA Book, p. 1210.

May the monsoon rains come plentifully and bless all of us this year,

Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

Is it getting better?  Have all your efforts, building a fence, installing surveillance towers, setting up “Inner Border” checkpoints all along the border, continually increasing the size of the Border Patrol Army ( 50-60 thousand now), helped?  Have they stopped drug traffic and illegal immigration?  Or just monitored it? You’ve spent billions of dollars for a “virtual fence.  This boondoggle has all the earmarks of a wildlife study – should have been Game and Fish monitoring the migration of the Hooded Scratched Back.  A thousand passed by; eighty-seven were captured and relocated!  Did anyone ask—will this solve the problem?

Years ago I developed an analysis formula that may help you.  1) Define the problem! 2) Go back in time before the problem occurred; what happened, what changed? Eliminate the constants—search out the variables.  3) Cause and Effect needs to be reworded to Effect of the Cause and how they Affect us and the Environment.  4) Action—Reaction, the reaction to Actions has two sides: the Positive and the Negative.  Count the cost!  When you look around at all the problems in the state, country, and world, they are the result of the negative side of past positive actions.

Evidently Mr. McCain, you have never ventured outside Arizona. You stated that the drug wars have spilled into Arizona.  They exist in “Everytown, U.S.A.!”  As long as there is a buyer there is a supplier.  All your efforts, laws, fines, fees, and your solutions are not eliminating the cause of the problem. You deal only with the effects and so do “We the People.”  But we not only deal with the effects, but also have to undergo the affects of your solutions.  Towers monitoring our every move, going through inner border checkpoints, being asked if we are a U.S. citizen.

I am a disabled vet; on June 10/10 I underwent a nuclear stress test at the VA hospital in Tucson.  I was given a form about the test and that I might set off security devices.  I put it in my wallet.  On June 11/10 I had another appointment at the VA.  I pulled up to the inner border checkpoint on Arivaca Road in Amado.  The agent greeted me and glanced down at a monitor on his belt.

I was told to pull over and asked if I had been exposed to radiation. I explained about the test and showed him the papers. I was told to pull over and step out of my vehicle. I was escorted to the front of the truck by an agent resting his hand on his Taser.  I gently opened my shirt and showed him my pacemaker—“You know that thing will short-circuit this pacemaker and kill me.”  The agent informed me he had training and was certified (isn’t that comforting!).  The other agent made the rounds of my truck and came toward me checking his monitor and then backed up.

I was told another agent and monitor were coming. I said, “I had a medical procedure and have another doctor’s appointment at 9:00am.  It’s 8:15am.”

“It’s procedure!” An agent arrived and came at me with his yellow box, making all kinds of noise.  He starts saying what the box is telling him to do—Back—Back—Back—Safe at six feet.  He wanted my ID and papers.

“Just call the V.A., the number is on the paper.”

He’s on the phone and then starts taking more readings, “I’ve never encountered a reading like this.”  He disappears into the trailer.  Must have had to check his training manual!  He finally returns and says everything is OK.

As he hands me my license and papers, he asks me if I will be coming through again tomorrow. “Maybe, why?” “Because this is standard procedure and if you come through tomorrow the same thing will happen.”

Remember “Cause Effects Affects.”  Are we the problem or just “Soft Targets”?  Awhile back I heard on the news that because the traffic was increasing in our area more BP agents would be patrolling.  Where do they patrol? In Town!  Up—down, back and forth all day in a postage stamp town; 10 trucks, 20 agents.  Are we the illegals, drug runners OR because we live here we’re automatically accused and under surveillance.

The illegal immigration problem affects every state in the country.  The barn door has been open for many years and has caused very complex and costly problems.  Are your solutions solving the problem?  The Fence -build the dang fence. Humans can climb fences, wildlife can’t.  Have you ever traveled the Border between Nogales and Sasabe?  A very mountainous, pristine and beautiful wilderness.

You keep passing more laws that do nothing but clog the system and cost billions of dollars!  There’s a tidal wave coming across the Mexican border!  Before you can mop up you have to stop the wave!

Drug trafficking and illegal immigration has been going on for many, many years and is escalating. It’s a war zone. A rancher killed, Vigilantes terrorizing and shooting illegal immigrants!  The death toll is mounting.  For the safety of all those living on the border, on both sides, the border has to be manned.  How do you secure a perimeter, a border?  Line of sight bunkers with crossing fields of fire.  Patrols.

We already have an army: Border Patrol Armed with war wagons, all manner of ATVs, horses, millions spent on a “Ray” gun with half-mile range that stings.  We don’t need to spend millions on engineering bunkers—bags and dirt worked before!  You need creature comforts- there’s a surplus of trailers from Katrina!

As long as you continually focus and deal with Effects you will never achieve a solution.  The causes are economic and people seeking a better way of life.  You can’t solve it or change it!  The best you can do is stop it  – at the Border.  The fence hasn’t stopped the flow; the laws haven’t stopped the flow.  All you have created is a money pit of compounding problems.

The Border has to be manned 24/7.  Is it getting better?  I would like to repeat—I am a disabled vet—have traveled the World, seen many things, done many things, learned many things.  I’m of the adage Stand Beside Her and Guide Her, but is “She” listening? Are you?

Sincerely,

Sandy Schlesinger
SandyintheDesert123@yahoo.com

Cancers are the protective nurturers of new life and the family. Their sign, the first water sign, is at the bottom of the zodiac wheel, linking them with ancestors and family roots. This powerful angular sign addresses the importance of home, family, and comfortable surroundings.

The Moon is Cancer’s ruling planet. Forever waxing and waning, the changeable Moon is the appropriate ruler of this emotional, moody, and very feminine sign. Cancer natives are soft on the inside though you may not notice because, like their totem Crab, their exteriors are hard. Those born with Cancer rising often look like crabs with moon faces, long limbs and large hands and feet.

Moon children have strong intuition, almost a sixth sense. Many psychics are strong in Cancer as water is the most receptive of the elements. A highly protective sign, Cancer is loyal to its own. A sign deeply linked to the past, Cancer likes history and antiques. A caring, nurturing energy, Cancer like to cook and feed others. Cancer rules the beginning and end of life as well as the vulnerable, so it is the natural realm of babies and old people.

America, born on the 4th of July, is a Cancer herself. Like other Crabs, she is mothering, territorial, and emotionally immature. We Americans love our homes, our flag, and our apple pie, all ruled by Cancer. The high level of patriotism found in America could be expected since Cancer rules patriotism and the mother land.

In America’s chart, big Jupiter and sweet Venus sit close to our Sun, bestowing great good fortune. However, the shadow side of this celestial cluster is obesity, over-mothering, and the super-sizing of everything. Pluto now opposes our Venus and Jupiter demanding a restructuring of our values.

In the body, Cancer rules the vulnerable and nurturing parts: the stomach and the breasts. Cancers are prone to digestive problems. Their oversensitivity makes them unable to “stomach” situations that don’t bother their tougher brothers. The Crab can become bloated if he doesn’t feel his feelings. Women who over-mother or those resentful of the burden of mothering or of their inability to have children could have breast problems.

Leo

In late July, the fiery Lion begins his rule, warming and brightening our hemisphere. The Sun is his lord and Leo shines accordingly, lighting up the zodiac. The Lion’s days are July 23 – August 22. When you compare the power of the Sun to anything else in our Solar System, you see why Leo is considered by most astrologers to be the most powerful sign.

Leo is the second fire sign. The spark of life ignited in Aries has grown to its full loving force in this majestic sign. Since Leo is ruled by the Sun, it is the most creative of all the signs. Love and fun radiate from the Lion who loves to entertain. The child is strong in Leo, the life of the party who brightens the space with his sunshine self.

Love pours forth from the heart of the Lion, making Leo the most loving of the signs. But when Leo’s love is not received or appreciated, the Lion pouts and wilts. And many of us get tired of our Leo friends telling us how great they are. The Leo style is big and loud too, sometimes offending the more gentle and conservative amongst us.

Because of the commanding power of this sign, many leaders, good (Bill Clinton) and bad (Mussolini and Milosevic), are Leos. Because of the Lion’s need for attention and because they glow in the limelight, Leos are often actors, entertainers, and superstars (Mick Jagger, Madonna, Magic Johnson). And because Regulus, the royal star, is in the heart of the Lion, Leos often possess a regal quality, making them the true kings of the human jungle. The bigger-than-life people (Jackie Onassis, Arnold Schwarzenegger) are born here. Our president, Barack Obama—couldn’t you guess—is a Leo, born August 4, 1961.

The Body

It’s probably no surprise that Leo rules the heart, center of love and the spinal column, center of courage. Leo reminds us that giving and receiving love are the mainstays of a healthy heart and the healers of a broken heart. The Lion gives us the courage to stand up for our convictions, keeping our backs strong.

July and August 2010

As July opens, we will have already begun to see the beginnings of some big changes. From late June through August, the skywatch features harsh and powerful planetary alignments, patterns that express the concept of the shift we are experiencing on Earth. The time for a new paradigm is at hand. By now you should be clear where your personal alignments and priorities are. Clarity could come to those seeking it at the time of the eclipse (July 11th) and at the Full Moons. Remember that fortune favors the brave (Terence) and that the new Aquarian mandate is brotherly love and co-operative enterprise, requiring full personal responsibility from each member.

The severe planetary patterns of the last week of July and the first weeks of August have been studied by astrologers around the world. The predictions are many and various. Very soon, we will see for ourselves what life ha in store for us as the world changes.

On a relatively minor note, Mercury enters another retrograde period beginning August 20th and lasting until September 12th. This is not a good time to buy cars or electronics. Read all contracts twice. Go on retreat if you can.

The Moons

The July New Moon, a solar eclipse in this most feminine and receptive sign of Cancer, is another good time this summer to go on a retreat. Giving yourself time alone, in quiet and in peace, will benefit you in the long run. And like June’s Full Moon, July’s Aquarian Moon promises big stuff. It’s most important now to be in your integrity and to follow your own heart. Astrologer Stephanie Austin reminds us that “intense transformational tail winds continue almost non-stop [this summer] making it vital to stay as centered, grounded, and focused as possible. ”

The New Leo Moon on August 8th is a time to be committed to expressing your creative gifts. It’s time to step into your special niche and shine with love from the heart of the Lion. By the Full Moon of August 24th in the humble and refined sign of Virgo, many hearts will be opened as pride has washed away. Those still strongly based in ego-consciousness will be having a rough go of it. The Sabian symbol for the Moon is a squirrel hiding from hunters, an image of fear and worry. However, the Sabian symbol for the Sun at this lunation—a large white cross stands alone on top of a high hill—suggests spiritual help is fully available for those with faith.

Best Days

Since times between eclipses are troublesome, best not to make a new beginning until after July 11th. The 14th, 15th, and 18th (a. m.) are this month’s only favorable days for major purchases and new starts. July 23rd through August 3rd are particularly star-crossed days. Don’t schedule surgeries or difficult mountain climbing expeditions, please.

Since August is “this year’s cruelest month” (Lance Ferguson, Skywatch Astrology), plan to stay close to home. If you must begin something or make a major purchase, the 14th (a. m.), 15th, 17th, and 18th (p. m.) are your best days.

Our border with Mexico is 1,969 miles long.  Some folks in our federal and state governments thought it would be a good idea to build an impenetrable fence along the entire length of the border.  Are you for or against that?  I suspect you are against it.  Some others, or maybe the same ones, thought it would be a good idea to build some towers at some point inside the border to detect, and help in the apprehension of, ILLEGALS (I’ll use that word here instead of another editorial writer [Ms. Bushmaker’s] “workers, visitors or travelers”).  Are you for that or against it?

And, just as an aside, did you and others in your part of the country know that the folks who put up those towers also spent great heaps of your tax dollars for folks to drive their fancy trucks down there from Tucson every day to post a security guard at each of the towers?  But I think all that has been scrapped now, or is about to be.  For some reason, the system seemed unable to distinguish between ILLEGAL and JAVALINA.

So, we don’t want our government to build a fence, right?  We don’t like security towers in our back yards, right?  And we don’t want to be stopped at checkpoints inside the border, right?  Because, if those things happen, we then say that our politicians and law makers are committing terrorist acts upon us because they “violate the rights of American citizens without the worry of any repercussions, right?  We just want the ILLEGALS stopped at the border, right?  And we want that to happen 24 hours a day, 365.25 days a year, right?

All that would take is one, or maybe even two, border agents for every, let’s say, 300 yards of border.  And, since we wouldn’t want any of them working overtime, we’d have to have three shifts a day, right?  And let’s not forget all the fancy night operations equipment that would be needed, right?

Just to put the required staffing in perspective, there are 1760 yards in a mile, right?  So that’s, um, 5.87 agents per mile (if we just have one agent every 300 yards – and one likely isn’t enough).  And 5.87 multiplied by 1969 miles is 11,558 agents on each of three shifts, right?  And these agents are needed 365.25 days a year, so we’d need 101,317,428  (that’s 101.3 million) labor hours to cover 24 hours, 365.25 days each year.  Using an average annual hours worked by these agents of 1,920 (after vacation and sick leave), that would require 52,769 agents.  And how much money might it cost to maintain an agent for a year?  My estimate is around $50,000 including all their benefits.  That equates to over $2.6 billion, each and every year.  And that doesn’t include all the support personnel required to maintain a force this large.  You could probably tack on another 10,000 or more support personnel.  And that would be another $500 million.  Is it worth $3.1 billion to stop the ILLEGALS at the border?  I don’t know; maybe it is.

Then, what would you propose be the duties of each of these nearly 53,000 agents?  Should the agents shoot the ILLEGALS they see?  I suspect that shooting a few would make the next group think twice, or even three times, about whether they want to come to the United States.  Should the agents run the maximum 150 yards thru the desert and hope they get to the ILLEGALS before they disappear into the next arroyo?  And, while they make this run, don’t they have to hope that 5 more ILLEGALS don’t cross while the one is being chased down?  Should the agents have helicopters every mile or so to drop a net on the ILLEGALS?  Maybe snares should be placed every few yards in the hope of keeping the ILLEGALS in one place until the agent(s) arrest them?

And what about the Canadian border, eh?

For crying out loud!  What it sounds like to me is that we just want to beef about what we don’t like,  but we don’t really have any sensible ideas to replace what we don’t like. Except maybe to make citizens of all the ILLEGALS already in the country.  And then implement a “guest worker” policy for those who would otherwise be the new wave of ILLEGALS.  I’ll admit that these might be good ideas if it was feasible to make them happen.  But, if the government put a system into effect to make that happen, it would take another huge bunch of federal and/or state employees to oversee and administer it.  And, if that happened, those who are opposed to the steps being taken now would beef and moan about all the tax money being spent on that solution.

So, what do you think now?  What’s the answer?

Terris N. Teale

Mathias Oliver Davidson had come from New York, where he was born in 1819. In his youth he was known for having been the brother of Margaret and Lucretia Davidson, whose poetry was well known, but who had tragically died young. (Lucretia’s poetry has recently received attention from a literary critic in an article about her work in a 1997 article in the Yale Journal of Criticism.) M. Oliver received a good education in engineering, having been born into a prominent family. His father was a doctor and his mother a poet also. Davidson had been superintendent of the Cumberland coal works in Maryland and then Chief Engineer of the Havana Railroad in Cuba, where he learned Spanish. This would stand him in good stead in Arizona. Davidson was hired by the Arizona Mining Company of New York, who owned the Heintzelman Mine at that time, to reopen the mine and start production again. Not to be too dependent upon local laborers, he brought with him 30 men to serve as miners, engineers and artisans at the Cerro Colorado mine. Arriving at the mine, Davidson and his new crew pumped out the water and began to mine. In May 1865 a newspaper reporter visiting the Heintzelman mine described the scene he saw: “You ride into the plaza of the Cerro Colorado Hacienda and a scene of apparently chaotic confusion, bustle and work meets you. It was toward sundown there was the last of this long string of huge Sonora wagons unloading, herds being driven in by Pabago (sic) herders; little Mexican carts discharging corn into the granary; team animals tied to a picket rope being fed with nose-bags, making the air hideous with their noise as their food came down, the noise of hammers and iron in the blacksmith shop; the creaking of the mule power hoisting out of the old perpendicular shaft of the Heintzelman vein; busy men almost run against each other, lazy Mexicans loafed about, as it were in a sort of dream, not knowing what this all meant. We met Col. D and he promptly assigned a place for our escort to camp, took us to his room, all he has finished; it is a circular looped hotel tower at the corner of the great wall that is designed to enclose the whole Hacienda. A tame Apache boy, his body servant, soon brought us our dinner and after it, by the blazing fire we sat into the wee small hours, the triangle outside striking the hours, showing the guards were on post.

“Col. D is one of those agreeable men that have the faculty of, at evening, throwing off business entirely. The vexatious cares, the weighty responsibilities of managing this gigantic undertaking, do not stalk like grim ghosts into the fireside circle to mar its genial serenity…”

Putnam goes on to describe the facilities: The works …are all to be enclosed in one wall, to protect against external enemies, the danger of thieving and so arranged are the towers as to guard against a peon insurrection such as has occurred once before under the old management. A large reservoir has been made to hold the rains of the rainy season…The Heintzelman mine has, I suppose, produced the richest rock in Arizona and probably more dollars have been taken out of the old shaft than from any other mine. But the vein is very narrow, at times dividing into threads, and not always bearing mineral. All the experts, however, I believe, pronouncing it a true vein, so that it was very problematical whether enough rock to justify extensive reduction works could be got here in this single shaft.

“But Col. D’s plans to not rely at all on that shaft alone; it is his design to sink at short intervals on the whole extent of the vein (it has been traced over two miles) in fact to rely upon a hundred working shafts on this and other veins for the rock to keep his work employed…

“Among the things unique for Arizona that have arrived is a telegraphic apparatus to enable the officer here to communicate with the Enreguita Mining Co. ’s works, about seven miles away, which is likewise under Col D. ’s direction. I did not go there, but I understood the vein there is to be gold bearing quartz and in such quantities that the company feels justified in getting out a fifty stamp mill, which will make those works quite as extensive as these here…There are some hundred Americans employed here, beside the Mexicans and Indians, making a large settlement. ” (Putnam, for the Hartford Evening Press, Hartford, Conn.)

This telegraph line was the first in Arizona territory. It ran from the Cerro Colorado to the mine workings at the Enriquetta mine, going through Arivaca. It was finished by May of 1865, because it is mentioned in a report by John A. Clark, Surveyor General of Arizona. Virtually nothing remains of it.

At the same time as he was serving as the Superintendent at the mines at Arivaca, M.O. Davidson was also serving as the Agent for the Papago tribe. This involved making sure there were sufficient supplies for tribal needs, keeping order, and protecting them from exploitation, or as it was phrased, “to exercise a beneficial influence over these friendless people. ” It was a political plum that allowed the Agent a government salary ($1000/year) in a far territory when a steady income was hard to come by. If supplies became lost, as for example, when a ship was attacked in Guaymas harbor, it was Davidson’s job to try to recover the loss. In this case it was from the government of France, which had taken over power in Mexico, causing unrest and rebellion and resulting in the attack on the French ship by Governor Pesqueira of Sonora.

M. O. Davidson was still in Arizona in June of 1866, but not for long. By 1867 he was back in New York and serving as Chief Engineer of Streets, a post that he held until 1872. He reissued some of Lucrecia’s poetry in 1871, including some poetry of his own in the book. Davidson died in Fordham, NY in 1873 at the age of 54. He left a widow, Harriett Standish Davidson, with whom he had five children. Davidson Playground and Davidson Avenue in the Bronx are named after him.

My First Arizona Summer, 1978

I was seven years old in 1978 when my mom’s job with United States Customs transferred our family from Maine to the Mexican American border in Arizona. Our first house in Nogales was a tiny adobe rental with two bedrooms. “Be careful when you are playing outside because there are rattle-snakes, black-widows and tarantulas and most of the plants have sharp spines that are very painful if you touch them.” My mom warned. What? How terrifying! Somehow mosquitoes and black flies, so pesky in Maine, didn’t seem so bad. It didn’t really matter, though, I soon realized. It was impossible to play outside! I recall giving myself a pep talk “It can’t be too hot to play outside, Laurel. You are just being a baby. It can’t be too hot… It can’t be too hot!” I vividly remember repeating this out loud to myself as I opened the front door and stepped out into the blazing July afternoon. I gasped at the intense heat that caused swirls of distorted air to blur the view of the road that passed the little house. I kept walking. “It can’t be too hot, it can’t be too hot…” I stopped. The air was burning my skin. I stood for a moment as reality sunk in. “It IS too hot. How could this be? What did other kids who live here do?” A movement in the bushes caught my eye and turning, I saw a giant bumblebee. I had never seen anything like it before. It had to be two inches long! I ran back into the house to my sisters and told them to add “giant bumble bees” to the list of dangers they needed to watch out for.

Then the rains came. The monsoons were like nothing any of us had ever experienced. It became an end of the day ritual that July and August to position our chairs on the little front porch and watch the spectacle unfold. Like clockwork around 4 in the afternoon everyday, the big, clear blue Arizona sky was transformed as great thunderclouds came rolling, dark and menacing across the sky. Distant thunder warned of the drama to come and we would count “One Mississippi, two Mississippi…” to gauge how close the storm was. My Mom’s best friend, who had moved with us from Maine, said that every second between a flash of lightening and its accompanying thunderclap represented one mile.

FLASH!

“One Mis…”

BOOM!

The lightening and thunder would be right on us! The rain came hard and fast and so thick you couldn’t see the road in front of the house. It would become impossible to stay dry as the rain whipped sideways under the little overhang, stinging our skin. “AHHH!” we would all scream and shout, running back into the house, laughing, soaked to the bone. After a hot, uncomfortable day, my skin would be covered in goose bumps and I would wrap myself in a blanket. This was an entirely different experience to the damp rainy days in Maine when the sky would be heavy with a gray blanket of clouds and gentle showers traded places with drizzle throughout the day. Arizona monsoons were a terrifying spectacle. Often the giant drops of these desert storms would turn to hail that would rattle on the roof and bounce like pin-pong balls off the sidewalk. Brilliant lightening streaked through the sky and someone would always shout nervously – “That one was way too close!” Thunder clapped and boomed loud – so loud you could feel it rumble though your body. The electricity would almost always go out and we would sit in the living room close together in the dim light marveling at the power of the storm while the wind whistled eerily through the cracks in the old house. Buckets were left in position to catch the leaks in the ceiling – it was pointless, at least for now, we learned, to put them away after the storm – this happens everyday. The storms never lasted long, though. Usually within a half an hour after the first drops of rain, the sky above would be bright and blue as the great thunderheads moved on. Sometimes they would circle back around for “round II” and always a brilliant rainbow – sometimes a double or triple – would follow.

After the storms passed, the usually dry, hot desert air would be thick and damp and even more uncomfortable than before. I learned that the parched sand trail behind the adobe house was actually a river – a river very unlike the ones I knew from Maine. These were washes and when the water came it flowed hard and dangerously fast, the color of chocolate milk. “Don’t play in the wash” was added to the list of Arizona dangers.

As I look to the Eastern skies this summer, I am hoping for the return of the daily pattern of soaking, life giving rains to marvel at with my own kids who have lived in this long drought their whole lives. Despite the risk to crops, I pray for rain.

Agua Linda Farm is open weekends year round. Go to www.agualindafarm.net for more information

This season is usually filled with much growth and first harvests, but we experienced a big surprise here in Tumacacori—several frosts in early May (the last of which culminated on May 10^th).  We’ve since replanted and transplanted. Most likely others have too. Keep on planting until your gardens are filled. You can then choose succession plantings. The longest days and most sunshine offer lots of potential. Depending on your location and timing, certain plants love it while others get exhausted and need to be replanted every four to six weeks to have a second or third season.

We have been planting bush and pole beans, summer squash varieties and cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons, beets and carrots, determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, and greens of all kinds. Greens are prized treasures in the heat; you can grow them all year round if you help them keep cool by providing them shade underneath the okras, pole beans, sunflowers, amaranth and other tall plants. Plant your greens on the east side so they get the first sun and then the afternoon shade. Give them a cooling with water sometime before noon and, if the days require it, add another little bit in the late afternoon. Greens especially benefit from succession plantings since you can’t predict the heat waves, wind gusts, and moisture. Timing is important, but I suggest that you just keep on planting. Once in while the circumstances of all life forces—seen and unseen—create an array of possibilities that are so special. Expect the unexpected, and even if you haven’t thought much of faith when you garden, you can hope and dream—and some of us even pray.

In recent weeks I have thought about immigration—not just political issues but actual plant immigrations. All cultures have watched and experienced plants adapting to the most amazing climates with great and amazing benefits. Some were planned and very much intended, others were surprises. Did you know that many of the common plants we grow and eat had their origins in another country—especially countries south of the border. Let me share some plant origins with you:

Africa: Watermelon, Okra

Asia: Broad bean, Cress, Lettuce, Muskmelon, Onion, Pea, Radish, Rhubarb, Spinach, Cucumber, Endive

Central & South America: Bush Bean, Cucumber, Kidney Bean, Flint Corn, Eggplant, Potato, Scarlet Runner Bean, Sweet Potato, Tomato, Winter Squash, Pumpkin, Pepper

Europe/Asia: Asparagus, Chinese Cabbage, Water Cress, Dandelion, Horseradish, Cauliflower, Carrot

Europe: Beet, Pole Beans, Celery, Swiss Chard, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Kohl Rabi, Cabbage, Leek, Parsley, Parsnip, Rutabaga, Turnip

North America: Jerusalem Artichoke, Summer Squash

There are, of course, many more familiar vegetables, fruits and flowers that have their origins elsewhere.

When you look at that list you can really appreciate other cultures and their gifts. And, as it is with plant life, so it is within the human race. Some of the migrations have happened for thousands of years. Even with borders or territories there was still trade. And when marriages occur between cultures, there arrives the unforeseen and unexpected. All is part of a magic evolutionary and revelatory plan. Pause for a minute and give thanks for the blessings that a small garden can teach you about humanity.

Come and visit Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch. Call (520) 603-9932 and let us know. I hope to see you soon—here on a tour, at our Farm Stand in Tubac on Saturday from 11-1pm, or at one of our Community Supported Deo-Agriculture Program (CSA) delivery locations. We now offer our CSA program year-round from Tubac to Patagonia, Green Valley to Tucson. You can sign up for it online at www.avalongardens.org/csa, or call the phone number above.

With much appreciation for accepting me as your neighbor and friend,

Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent),

an immigrated American Citizen , born in Germany to a father who immigrated from Italy and a mother who immigrated from Romania

But there is a darker side to June.  It’s also the month of the last and bittersweet days of school.  For many it’s a time of graduation and the leaving behind of old friends.  And let’s not forget the many tears shed on the wedding day as the new couple leaves behind their days as single people.  And sometimes the ice cream is too sweet and sometimes an ill wind blows.  Geminis experience the two sides of life more acutely than the rest of us.

The Twins teach us that we live in a dual world where there are two sides to everything. Gemini (May 20 – June 20) is the first sign of mind  and as Dana Gebhardt, writing in Mountain Astrologer,  teaches us, “It is in the mind where we find Gemini in ourselves.”  Both  need stimulation and constant change.  Both are clever and manipulative.  The mind divides every thought and categorizes it as either good or bad.  This is the world of duality, where Gemini is king.

“We meet Gemini’s spirit in the natural world through the wind, a trickster—quick, clever, and unpredictable.  The wind is also restless, noisy, and infuriating, just like versatile, changeable, scatterbrained Gemini”  (Gebahrdt)

.Geminis are interesting, smart, and generally light-hearted as they skate along the surface of life.  They are the intelligent communicators, writers, and net workers of the zodiac. They are the reporters, messengers, interpreters, and linguists.  The Twins are able to take in many things at once and live in high awareness of their surroundings.  Ruled by Mercury, they are quick thinkers and full of curiosity. And they love to talk.

Gemini is the most youthful of the signs. The Gemini man is synonymous with Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Responsibility is a dirty word to the Twins, who want to play first in this sandbox and then in that one. They are scared of commitment, often having one foot out the proverbial door.

Humor lives in Gemini as well as cruelty.  This makes sense when you think that humor often involves laughing at other people’s weaknesses and mistakes—that slipping on the banana peel thing.  The positive Gemini humor is the interesting turn of phrase, the unexpected and original use of words.  Those who wear black and white uniforms—nuns and policemen, for instance– are good examples of duality in action.  The good cop/ bad cop team has become a stereotype and who hasn’t known a saintly nun and a wicked one.

Besides the worlds of knowledge and communication, Gemini also rules brothers and sisters.  People with communication issues or writers’ block might look to open channels with siblings.  And Gemini rules short distance journeys.  Coming and going:  another aspect of the Twins. Geminis love chit-chat, learning, noticing, news, maps, telephones, and cars.  Hating boredom, routine is death to a Gemini.

The Body

The Gemini areas of the body are the upper respiratory system, shoulders, arms, and lungs.  Too much responsibility makes Gemini’s shoulders ache; not enough breathing room gives Gemini a cough.  Being around irritating people gives Gemini a sinus infection. Gemini also has a strong connection with the senses, our first learning tools, especially seeing and hearing, because this information comes through two eyes and two ears.  Ear and eye problems are often from an unwillingness to hear or see the truth.

This Month

Many astrologers consider the days of June 6 – 21 to be the best days this century to make a new start and to break free.  Powerful and favorable winds are at our backs now, impelling us to begin anew.  Many relationships that no longer serve the purpose of soul evolution will end as well as out-moded, superfluous, or dead-end jobs.  Old ways must end.  Best to go gracefully into the unknown future with anticipation, not fear.

The very best days for that new start are June 13^th, 14^th, 19^th, and 20^th.  June 6^th is not bad.  Do not schedule surgeries for the last week this month.  And no dangerous undertakings now, please as the celestial traffic light turns yellow, then red at month’s end.  Shortly after Solstice—June 24^th – 27^th– we will find ourselves swimming in rough waters.  Be especially careful with your words, contracts, and honor.  Things could turn against you quickly if you are trying to get away with something.  And travelers beware, as the skywatch in late June could feature bad weather.

The New Moon on June 12^th, at a happy symbol of couples dancing at a harvest festival, reminds us of life’s times of plenty and the fun of celebration.  Following closely after the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction on June 8^th, this lunation could open the hearts and minds of many in big and unexpected ways.  New paths could appear out of nowhere.  Breakthroughs will bring relief.  Expect lots of networking, phone-calls, and chatty friends as well during this light-hearted time.

But clouds will roll in as the Moon fills and eclipses on June 26^th in the serious sign of Capricorn.  This is one of the heaviest moons of 2010, featuring several conflicting outer planets.  The Sabian symbol for the Sun—a car runs into a train—is one of the darkest symbols of the 360.  The Moon is at another dark symbol:  Indians on a warpath.  Violence and destruction could pop up in unexpected places and with unexpected force around the days of the Full Moon as dark outer planets cross this lunation.  America’s ruling planet, Jupiter, sits at 5 degrees Cancer, the degree of the Sun and a focal point of the cross.  This could be a bad day for us.  At the very least, be sure and buckle up.

In the Mountain Astrologer, Stephanie Austin has this to say, quoting Swami Beyonanda:  “There’s good news and there’s bad news.  The bad news:  civilization, as we know it, is about to end.  Now, the good news:  civilization, as we know it, is about to end.”