PORTLAND - Not all of us play in the snow!
Actually, for nature, the “winter” is a natural “Fallow” period when the busy plants and animals take a break and relax awaiting the Winter Solstice – which brings our sun back slowly towards the Northern Hemisphere and bringing Spring & Summer again!
Congress can't change that.
Fallow is actually a very interesting Old English word.
The Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary lists a noun, verb and adjective version of this ancient term.
NOUN – “Usually cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle…; The State or period of being Fallow”.
VERB – ‘To plow, harrow (“Ox or Tractor’s rake”), and break up land without seeding to destroy weeds and conserve soil moisture”.
ADJECTIVE – “Left untilled or unsown after plowing 2: Dormant, inactive – used especially in the phrase To Lie FALLOW< AT THIS VERY MOMENT THERE ARE PROBABLY IMPORTANT INVENTIONS LYING FALLOW."
Various ancient religions actually prescribe quiet time to re-center yourself to find peace of “mind” before heading or charging out into the world -RENEWED.
One will find quiet time is good for creativity; nothing else to stop being bored!
The cover photo shows a fun family centered Christmas Gift.
It is called a rock tumbler?
Outdoors people seem to instinctively hike by a stream or dry soil and pick up various colored rocks and we usually empty our packs later near the front door leaving an odd collections or pile of rocks. Winter’s fallow period is a great time for families to polish those rocks! These, now eye-catching polished rocks create a passion for researching the rock’s origin or nature or artists used them for making creative, personal jewelry for friends and family. A classy thing to do and almost all humans like jewelry – going back eons of time!
The cover photo shows a Professional Gemstone Tumbler with three separate cylinders for making large quantities of polished gems stones. The average family probably just need a tumbler with one cylinder and less expensive.
LORTONE INC. has been PERFECTING the tumbler design & making business exclusively for decades.
Some recall the old metal barrels that spun & constantly clang as rocks bounce around and one needed to remove it to the garage! Now, LORTONE uses soft, pliant rubber barrels that sound more like a tranquil mountain stream as motor hums softly – rotating your outdoor treasures or gemstones. The low maintenance motor is specifically design to be air cooled and allow continuous running with no problem. If you load the canister with family treasures on Christmas Eve, the rocks will need to tumble a week to get finally polished rocks.
EBAY has many tumblers listed; but the heavy duty LORTONE brand name is a very sound bet – even if bought used!
The science of tumbling mimics nature. Streams carry down rocks during winter and sands during drier summer. Soft rocks that can be carved by a steel bladed knife often fall apart rolling down stream; but any rock that one cannot scrape with a knife blade will tumble and polish fine.
TIP: RECOMMENDATION - use rounded stream or river gravels; as Nature has already rounded off the jagged rock edges and smooth the rock to some degree.
However, nature does not use an ancient, man-made commercial polish to make these river rocks shine or perpetually appear wet, eye catching and shiny.
If your load up jagged rocks, the tumbler will have four cycles or at least a month before making shiny jewelry stones for inserting into jewelry. First, the tumbler will run a Course Grit for a week; then a Fine Grit to smooth for a week; then run the “Pre-Polish Grit” to erase ridges, pot marks and pits and finally another week running to finally polish!
Using river gravels allow one often to simply use Pre-Polish Grit & Polish. Some clean & hard gravel even look great with a simple, one week Polish!
Oddly, the author picked up some very hard, dark green translucent “emeralds” walking in the backcountry and most just need a Polish for jewelry. Frankly, he did not know what the eye-catching rough searing stones were until polished and then he had start checking gemstone books? A fun winter project!
If your family collects “beach agates” or other unusual stones outdoors, your family needs a tumbler. The older kids will NOW have an incentive to get outdoors next year with the family to find gems for jewelry –THEY CAN USE!
OTHER QUOTES TO CONSIDER:
Any ordinary favor we do for someone or any compassionate reaching out may seem to be going nowhere at first, but may be planting a seed we can't see right now. Sometimes we need to just do the best we can and then trust in an unfolding we can't design or ordain.
Sharon Salzberg, O Magazine, The Power of Intention, January 2004
We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again.
Even as empiricism is winning the mind, transcendentalism continues to win the heart.
E. O. Wilson
A bachelor's life is no life for a single man.
Samuel Goldwyn
I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.
Spike Milligan
Such is the irresistible nature of truth that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
Thomas Paine
US patriot & political philosopher (1737 - 1809)
Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Please click on the subscribe or “Follow” button over this article to receive free email notifications of future articles by this author.
My new book PACIFIC COAST PIRATES & SPANISH GALLEONS is now available on AMAZON:
LINK - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1463755910
MY AMAZON NEW BOOK/CREATE SPACEE-BOOK READY!
https://www.createspace.com/3658817
© Copyright 2011. Dave Sandersfeld.
Permission is granted to include extracts of this article on websites and email lists with a link to the original. This article is copyrighted © and should not be added in its entirety on other websites or email lists without author's permission. For Article Comment sharing - Please contact Author at: FatherNature2@gmail.com.or www.fncbooks.com.
The secret to this fun website is clicking on photos for transport to another website!
Comments