SuperForest

Holy Hurricanes SuperForesters!

It’s a quiet Friday here on the East Coast as some of our shorelines brace for Hurricane Earl to pass by. Here in our backyard we’re not expected to get much in the way of whirly weather but our neighbors to the East have battened down the appropriate hatches.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are spending our weekend packing for our annual pilgrimage to Mexico. 10 years ago we fell in love with a sleepy little fishing village called Playa del Carmen and have been returning ever since.  It’s our time to enjoy the local people, the crystalline blueness of the waters there and reconnect with life. We look forward to eating simple fresh cooked meals at a table together, reveling in all things ocean-going and watching the sun set over Cancun.  Ahhh, breathe and relax.

Because we are a special needs family, life in general can be pretty stressful and emotions often run high. I’ve taken note of my internal disquiet of late and made it a priority to simplify my world at home.  This means de-cluttering with a vengeance, streamlining processes and trying to remember the simple pleasures in life. I’ve also been toying with a project of gratitude and kindness. The more I open myself to the idea the more the universe is cooperating to help me begin the journey. My heart is telling me to lean into the discomfort and jump in with both feet. So, (holding my nose for a pencil dive) here goes….

The idea is my Karma Krusade: A Weekly Random Act of Kindness.

Here’s the plan. I want to use my time South of the Border thinking of ways to pass on small token gestures once a week to strangers, colleagues, friends, …anyone who could use some undercover kindness, a helping hand or just a pick me up. Through the end of the year I’ll let you all know what that weeks mission entailed.

I’d love to have some company if any Soul Siblings want to join in and send me – playadelcarmen2002@yahoo.com – your Act of Kindness for the week or just some creative ideas on how to spread the love!

hasta luego mis amigos~
SF sheri

Gooooood Morning SuperForest!

One of the most wonderful part of having Zero One, with it’s two fabulous acres of space, is the way that we’re able to use that space to create community, and thus opportunity.

One expression of that is the Zero Onederlanders, as they’ve come to be named. Zero Onederlanders is a play group of two and three year olds and their parents, and they are now coming twice a week to create a beautiful garden.

It’s quite onederful. :)

Showing off the old compost bin/new planter box.

Duke tries out the swing.

Asha, Duke, Elena, and Triton learn about worm composting.

Pyramid power!

Asha and me pontificating!

Some seed pods from the trees caught our eyes.

Momma Genna and Max on the big rope swing.

I get so much joy from the Onederlanders, who come on Wednesdays and Sundays, but my real thrill is watching the parents all come together and play nicely with each other. Grown ups are just over-sized children and it is good to give them some space and encouragement to work together.

The children play nicely and work together effortlessly of course! Yay!

Much love from Zero One!

-Jackson

(Leaf like sea slug that uses photosynthesis, so COOL! via.)

Heyo SuperForest!

Our funky sisters over at Miracle Mile Mind (who I will be talking about in an upcoming post) recently shared this awesome find! …free your imagination… is an fantastic blog that highlights recently discovered or rediscovered species! For a nature geek like me it is the perfect place for me! The coolest of mammals, insects, arachnids, fish, sea animals, and everything else can be found at this awesome site! Go check it out! And if my enthusiasm isn’t enough to sway you here is part of one of their newer posts, one that I find extremely intriguing not only because of the animal found, but because it was originally found on my favourite little island: Lord Howe Island!

Giant Land Lobster Not Extinct…. yet!

7 January, 2010

Excerpt from original article found at NewScientist.com. Find the full article and much more information there.

15 July 2006 by Stephanie Pain

On 14 June 1918, the supply ship Makambo struck a submerged rock off Lord Howe Island, a volcanic dot 780 kilometres north-east of Sydney, Australia. The cargo was salvaged and taken ashore to the island, which is a semi-tropical paradise, lushly forested and rich in plants and animals found nowhere else. Unfortunately, the ship’s rats came ashore too. They spread rapidly, soon dispatching several island species, including a giant wingless stick insect, or phasmid. By the 1930s, the Lord Howe Island phasmid (Dryococelus australis) was written off as extinct.

By all accounts, it had been a spectacular insect, so big the islanders called it the land lobster. Females grew up to 15 centimetres long, with bodies as thick as a finger and long, stout legs equipped with hooks. The slightly shorter males had peculiarly massive thighs armed with evil-looking spines. They couldn’t fly but they could run surprisingly fast.[...]

How freaking cool is that?! For more whacky and crazy new species finds head over to …free your imagination… by clicking here!

Much love SuperForest,

Mathew

SuperForester Jenni came from Canada for a visit to Zero One and she made this amazing movie about the trip!

Zero One: A SuperForest Adventure
Uploaded by jremps. – Exotic and entertaining travel videos.

Yayyyyyy Jenni!

Check out Jenni’s blog post about ZO.

Self-pride and self-love are distinct. I have at various points of my life mistaken the two. My project now is to defuse the former and infuse in myself the latter.

Pride is rejection. As we all take to believe, pride springs from the ego. Pride is a wall that separates ourselves from our insecurities, as well as other people.  We may hide behind or stand above it in order to feel content in who we are. Through the conveyance of pride, I make myself the other, safe in my tower. When I push away others I do the same to a part of me. That security is a fiction; we were never separate.

Self-love is an acceptance or embrace of what I am, and the universe suggests that acceptance is the right path. I seek to love every iteration of myself: before I was born, when I was an infant, when I was eight, when I was seventeen, when I was twenty, who I was last month, what I was last night, and, of course, that which I am today. I cannot deny any single instance of me; for if I have anything, I have myself.

Pressures from without and within, the lingering hurts of past days, tug at our hearts. We shrink away  from the hurt we felt then, and in doing so hide that part of ourselves. The key is to accept, even to love, that hurt. Without noticing, the pain evaporates.

To reject a part of our past is to lose a piece of our living flesh. We must gather up the many selves that we have been and love them, appreciate the beauty in them, rejoice in them. We find parts of our history banal and insignificant, but we must listen to the poets when they urge us to find equal beauty in a blazing sunset as in the hairs of our arms.

With this trust, we may bound into the future knowing that you and I will love whoever we become.

I have missed you SuperForest.

Since my last post I have:

-Moved to California

-Gone to an amazing concert: Crowed House

-Arrived at my new school, Claremont McKenna College.

-Met my new and amazing roommate, and so many other people.

-Gone surfing in Santa Barbara!

-Gotten involved in a massive water fight!

-And I am sure I forgetting lots of stuff…

During that time I had little to no internet access, and now for the first time, in what feels like years, I have been able to sit down and read my dearest friend’s words and comments in my favourite place. Being away from SuperForest this time was unique. I have taken breaks from writing before, but I always kept reading. This time I couldn’t even read, and that sensation was very strange. I missed you! So, I write this after catching up on all the posts and comments I had missed out on! Reading the wonderful words of my fellow Team SuperForesters has brought me so much joy, excitement, contentedness, and gratitude. Thank you Team for being you, and for doing what you do. So, now that I have said that more about what I have been up to.

My first night in L.A. led me to being invited to a Crowed House concert, which was simply amazing! Check out this great video I got the chance to record!

After that I moved to my new home for the next four years! I quickly ended up leaving for an orientation trip: Surfing in Santa Barbara! This was my first time surfing, and what an experience it was. The waves hitting you as you waited for that perfect swell, only to be disappointed one second, and then be thrilled the next. Then all of a sudden to be thrown into the ocean by the wonderful forces of nature, only to pop up panting with excitement! I loved it!! I also got the chance to meet, and get to know 20 or so of my future classmates, along with three older students! Soon after that…

I came back to CMC to officially move in! I met my room mate, Donald. And let me tell you, we hit it off immediately! This is going to be an amazing year! I have met so many incredible people, and gotten a taste for so many amazing things to come. I am drooling at the thought of starting classes (Tuesday), and then delving into my major…which is SuperForest (at least hopefully): Economics, Environment, and Politics! A totally amazing and incredible interdisciplinary major that I am so excited for. There is so much on the horizon to be excited for!

All of that brings me to two ideas, thoughts, and/or emotions that have been popping up, especially as I have read up on my SuperForest: Love & Gratitude. There is so much love to be given in the world. Everyday and every second, and if you ever doubt whether you should hold back or go full out in love, choose the latter. Which ties in perfectly with gratitude. My next four years are going to be amazing, shared with amazing people. The opportunity was given to me because of soooo many amazing and inspiration people, most namely my parents. Thank you Mom & Dad!

I am bursting with possibilities, ideas, and so much else right now. I am now on a mission to share SuperForest, Sun Shines On, Simply Smiles, Blend Apparel, Matt Wadleigh LoVE Foundation, and everything else I am tied to with my new amazing community. SuperForest is going to take the Claremont Colleges by storm! With the help of SuperForester Chris of course, who is going to Pitzer, my neighbour school (literally down the street from my dorm). I am on a new slate with new chances and opportunities, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

More to come soon, but in the mean time keep doing what you do best SuperForest, I love you very much! It is now time for me to pull on my Blend shirt, head over the Pitzer campus, and have a little luau with the other Claremont Colleges’ freshman! What an exciting journey life is, and how wonderful it is to share it with you! Stay safe, smile, be LoVE, and take care SuperForest!

Much, much LoVE,

Mathew

Good Afternoon, SuperForest!

Several months ago, I posted a picture of an “elephant sweater” on my tumblr. There was no denying its adorable qualities, and even at a glance, it always made me smile. But like most things we find on the internet, we eventually forget about it. Such was the case with sweet “elephant sweater”. Little did I know, it would come blasting back into my consciousness when I least expected it.

I was eating an In-N-Out burger while parked at a lovely spot overlooking the ocean (the only way to properly eat an In-N-Out burger) and all of a sudden, my phone started buzzing with alerts. One after the other, emails marched into my inbox and continued on through the night. Dozens and dozens of people were “reblogging” and “liking” the elephant sweater I’d long forgotten and before I knew it, that post had 640 “notes” (pretty much tumblr’s closest equivalent to “comments” on a regular blog). I was, and still am, stunned. To experience the internet’s domino effect, first hand, is something that fills you with wonder and empowerment. And after getting past the initial shock, my thoughts naturally shifted toward SuperForest. I began to ask myself whether us SuperForesters would be capable of creating a similar torrent with something that was actually meaningful or having the potential to create lasting change.

Days later, that opportunity came.

Located in Oceanside, California, The TERI (Training, Education & Research Institute) Learning Academy has been serving individuals with autism and other learning disabilities (and their families) for the past thirty years.

Most recently, I was informed by a family friend that this school has been in the running for the Kohl’s Cares Contest to win a donation of $500,000. Twenty schools in this competition will be receiving a grand total of ten million dollars! Crazy, right? What’s even crazier is that TERI school is currently ranked at number 87, which is already a huge achievement considering the school serves only 600 clients annually in what is already an underserved and underrepresented part of our community. But maybe with our help, we can give them that extra boost they need to receive the donation and give this “little engine that could” story the fairy tale ending it deserves.

Here’s all we have to do. If you have a facebook account, click on the button below. Once the Kohl’s Cares application is running, you are given a total of twenty votes to give to any schools of your choice (but are given a limit of five votes per school). Vote for TERI five times (or however many times you prefer) and you’re done, the school will be a tiny bit closer at climbing the list. It takes seconds, it’s for a great cause, and it will give us SuperForesters a chance to flex our community strengthening muscles.

Voting ends on September 3rd.

What do you say? Getting people to create lasting and positive change by spreading the word via the web can’t be that difficult, right? Should be a cinch.
I mean, if “elephant sweater” can do it…

My biggest thank you’s go out to anyone that votes, I have 15 votes left, if you have a school you’d like me to vote for, please drop their name in the comments section below and I’ll gladly vote for them, as well.

Love!

C

I’m taking The 100 Thing Challenge, wherein I slowly and thoughtfully whittle my belongings down to 100 Things in an effort to simplify my life, become a more conscious consumer, gain a little clarity, loose some clutter, save some money, and find some peace. Want to join me? Here’s the introduction.

I spent some time last weekend making a list of everything I own. Well, correction: making a list of some of the things I own. After the first 500 things or so it got to be a little tedious and I stopped, because the list-making served it’s purpose: to show me that I have way to many unnecessary Things.

A sampling: 45 t-shirts (definitely don’t need that many), 3 pairs of sunglasses (2 that haven’t been worn in over a year), 7 scarves (I wear 3), 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally (…), 17 pairs of shoes (I wear 4, maybe 5)… you get the idea.

I don’t need 45 t-shirts, or 17 pairs of shoes, or 2 copies of When Harry Met Sally. Duh.

This realization gave me the kick-start I needed to begin the whittling process. Over the last week I’ve gone through my closet and a few drawers, making gut decisions on what to keep and what to pass on. Later, I will go back through more thoughtfully, but for now, this was a good start, and good practice.

I gave one dress (never worn) to my roommate, who wore it last week. I shipped another dress (worn twice in 5 years) and a pair of shoes (ditto) to an old roommate (extra bonus: surprising an old friend with something nice!). The rest is in a pile in my living room, waiting to be taken to Goodwill.

This part of the challenge has felt good, but it hasn’t gotten hard yet. I’m also nowhere near 100 yet. I’m just sort of taking it piece by piece right now, slowly cleaning out drawers and cupboards and boxes. It’s been nice uncovering old Things, that I’ve loved, and it’s been refreshing to say goodbye to other Things, that I don’t love.

How about you?

Hi SuperForest

So, after enjoying the flowers, my beloved zucchini have borne fruit (and it turns out that zucchini are, like tomatoes, technically fruit rather than vegetables, as they develop from flowers and contain the seeds for the next generation):

And they’re a key component of simple and delicious spicy zucchini linguine!

chop the zucchini, together with a chili, a couple of garlic cloves and a tomato:

Then fry up the zucchini for a few minutes in some nice olive oil, until they shrink down (losing a fair amount of water) and start to turn golden. In the meantime, stick some linguine (or spaghetti) on to cook (I don’t have great “al dente instinct” – so, in lieu of this, I add a good handful of salt to the water and genuinely do watch the clock for the cooking time it says on the packet – take the pasta off the heat at exactly [11] minutes, or whatever it says, not more, and you shouldn’t be too far wrong):

Add the chillies, garlic and tomato and stir it up:

Grate on a helping of parmesan, with vigour:

As Gordon Ramsay would say: Done!

Tasty tasty – and adjustable (more chilli, no tomato, more garlic! more garlic! good for the heart AND yummy) to your taste.  If you like pasta, then check out SuperForester April’s broccoli recipe – one of my favourites and affectionately referred to by my flatmate as “broccoli surprise” – the surprise being that the ’sauce’ is nothing but broccoli and it’s delicious. And I’m informed (by the parental helpline) that it’s not too late to put some garlic cloves in pots, keep them in dry conditions, and over the autumn they’ll start to germinate, ready for a new garlic harvest in the winter.

Love

P

Found yesterday on the lawn during a session of the Zero Onederlanders. I am a lucky lucky bumblebee.

Love to all and have a great day.

-Jackson