Nature Heals.

It's cold and grey outside; May showers rain on May flowers. Under a grey sky, every colour pops out so much brighter, the greens are so lush now and the land is dotted with various petal shades.  It was a 'no brainer' to collect a bouquet rather than to buy one for Mother's Day. I mean WOW! The beauty of it all. Some of it is even edible, did you know that you can put those baby daisies in your salad?? Finding out these special little clues about life make me want to find out more! My Great-Grandfather, Dr. Hans Güssow was a Dr. of Botany and I can't help but wonder if some of my curiosity comes from his? I see more and more about edible "weeds" that we just pull out and dispose of. I remember while I was in Halifax, a friend of mine got  'skin burn,' from dancing Capoeira, and he cured it completely just by chewing up some green leaves (what were they?) until they kind of came together as a mesh, then placing them on his wound. The next day the huge red raw piece of skin was entirely back to normal. Healing teas are also something I could concoct from the different flowers around these parts. I collected (and dried) an entire jar of teeny-tiny yellow blooms (they call them "Schlüssel Blühmli" -key flowers- here and I just googled to find out the English name which is "Cowslip") Anyway, these blooms are great for healing a cough. Amazing, right? All outside, for free. Speaking of  outside... I joined Canada's 30x30 Nature Challenge http://30x30.davidsuzuki.org/ which means getting outside every day for thirty minutes. Luckily for me, there is a complex map of trails around where I live so there is never a dull moment out there (and my time outside is always longer than thirty minutes!) "They" say that if you start a new way of life, it takes approximately twenty-one days for it to become a habit (ooh, I just googled that and apparently it's a myth! Oops!) Well, whatever, I would LOVE to be able to continue the "challenge" past the 30 day mark. It feels so good to get out for a dose of self-Love and fresh air... good for all of the senses too, especially at this time of year with the fragrant pockets of air that magically just appear. Some days though, you just want to stay inside and do the house-hold stuffs or stay attached to your guitar or keep on at the computer aspect of your job or whatever... but every time I get home from an excursion I feel better. Every time. It's like that voice inside your head says "No, I don't wanna go!!" but you fight it and then later, that same voice says "Phew! So glad I went and I feel so much better!" Every time. So, if you are feeling uninspired today, just head out for a walk or a hop or a roll (perhaps you are on crutches or in a wheel-chair?) I promise you will feel more clear-headed and fresh for it. Office types could just head out at lunch... Where there is a will, there is a way!! Go outside, find yours :)

p.s I am posting daily photos on twitter and if you'd like to see them, follow me! www.twitter.com/linzferg

Remember,

Nature Heals.

Love, Lindsay xo

Forget Me Not

The flowers are bursting through the cold dark ground, giving us light and colour.I grew up with an intense Love for those miniature sky blue/pink  flowers, those sweet sweet Forget-Me-Nots. My Great Grandmother brought some over to the property they established alongside the Gatineau River, all those years ago, from Germany. Now, each Spring, the entire few acres are covered in blue and pink tipped grass. The vases over-flowed with those little touches of pretty. And now, when I see them peeking through I 'forget not' the times we all shared together, on that property by the river, sipping coffee and talking life over those precious vases of colour.  And now, I cherish the little Delft vase my GrandMother gave to me, and today, it sits on my kitchen table, filled with different shades of blue and pink...

There are so many ways to find beauty in life. Tradition has it's ways of reminding us. What a legacy that lived before me! If only I could travel back in time to ask some of my ancestors questions, I wonder what their voices sounded like, what type of accents they had... Besides German, I am certain there were loads of Scottish accents, and I wonder when they stopped speaking Gallic up there in the northern lands by the sea. My heritage is certainly a mix-up, wouldn't it be so interesting to snap your fingers, and glimpse into the past. For now, we have relics and photos and I get to use my imagination to no end. My Grandfather started up a family tree book and I remember one of his relatives was in search of gold, up in Northern Canada, back in the days of the uncivilized, no electricity and little information about wild animals, not much law... He must have had a fierce determination to get up there, following his big dreams.  Maybe part of his essence seeped into me and gives me the determination to keep following mine. I wonder if there were other singers in my family, besides my dear sweet Mama who LOVES to sing along to The Beatles, Boney M, and me. My Grandmother sang some show tunes, once upon a time, for fun, but I wonder if there was an antique piano being played somewhere with a voice soaring above it, for all to hear. I wonder where that magic of music that flows inside of me started? Was he a he? Was she a she?? Well, I may never know how, when, who or where, but I am a million times thankful. Even on my darkest days, where it seems that no gigs are coming in, and no ears hear my songs, I have faith that the flow is forever steady and present.

So, today, I thank you for your flowers and the music... Two of my favourite things.

Love Lindsay