The Spirit Corner -
horoscopes and
philosophy
When God gave us freewill, he gave us perhaps to much power.
When evil can be done in this world, as it has been done in the
world which we have left behind, it is because of freewill - the
conscious decision of one human to hurt another, through
action or inaction. Oh, yes, there are storms and earthquakes
and fires, and they can be horrible things and cause death and
pain.

But nothing like freewill.

Also, as a result of this, he has given us a huge freedom. Is it a
freedom misguided? Who can tell? Until the end, we can only
have faith in what will come beyond, and so while I can say
anything about my own beliefs, I must be content with what
others say about theirs. And vice a versa. If those belief's
engender mercy, compassion and forgiveness, then I shall cherish
them no matter the name under which they come here.

These pages are open to all as long as they believe that the above
concepts are among those most important to our creator. Send
comments and suggestions for this site in the form below, and
know that together people of good faith and heart can come
together.
Please Send Us Your Thoughts and Ideas
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It is odd how nature works - I have been doing
research on edible wild plants (obviously one of
the purposes of this site), and I took the above
picture simply because the flower was so beautiful.

And then, in the course of my researches, I
realized that the flower I loved the looks of is
known as the Spring Beauty (c. Virginica)- it has
both root structures that can be cooked like
potatoes, located 2 - 4 inches below the plants, and
the greens and flowers can also be eaten, raw or
cooked.

It is best to cook the root structure somehow, as
some people say eating it raw gives them a
scratchy feeling in the back of their throat.

Such coincidences in nature always astound me -
to recognize something that you have seen with
your own eyes, touched with your own fingers, no
matter the subject matter, is one of the things that
life is all about - the secret knowledge that is
indescribable, because your own knowledge has
been increased not only by what you read, but by
the direct actions which you took in the natural
realm itself.

Like most natural food sources, there is a
relatively short period of time in which those food
sources are growing or able to be harvested - that
is why it is essential to study a whole range of
plants, and that is the purpose of this site. We will
add more plants like the one above, which grows
virtually everywhere in the US except for some
western desert and high altitude regions. The
picture above was taken in Missouri, but the
Spring Beauty does grow in NC. The Spring Beauty
grows from mid to late spring or early summer,
and then you will not see it.
NC Naturalist - we deal
in the
Real World.
There are many different spiritual philosophies and
faiths; they have as many differences as there are
people themselves, and for any one of them, I can
name a dozen different ways within that faith on how
to interpret the sacred writings and thoughts that they
base their faith on.

But throughout all faiths, except perhaps atheism,
there are certain underlying principles. The common
thread running through all regards nature - it is the
product of the divine architect, no matter what name
you worship him (or her!) under, or even if you do not
believe in a specific god, there is no question that
what we see as reality, nature itself, was the first
creation, for without it we would not and could not
exist.

So, to me, it is impossible to separate entirely nature
and spirituality, for the one flows from the other. I will
not say what faith I am, and I will not ask others. I may
talk about my own, but I will never say it is better or
right where others are wrong. I do not know that, and
cannot judge it, and there are other forums for that. In
this place, we will live together, and hopefully teach
one another, about plants and food, and even about
ourselves as we go along. It is up to us, but in the end
everything comes down to nature, and to the earth's
great ability to grow a simple plant - without those
plants, we are in dire straits.

So there is a place for everything, and that is why I
have included some areas in this site that deal with
these issues. You can easily see the links on this
page; feel free to use our interactive tools, and if you
feel you have a contribution to make in any area, we
welcome your input. There is the Guestbook, the NC
Naturalist Forum Boards, and the Photo Gallery II page.
Come on in, look around, and if you want, become a
partner in the future of this site.
Dear Prudence, look upon the crescent moon, and pray for
Autumn wishes!
Hook in sky and clouds in drifting, golden are the fishes
That swim upon my dreams, my dear
In Winter's heat and leaves earthen seare

We stare upon this moon, and cannot see each other
In soul and thought consider me your brother, your
sister
your soul
your lover.

Winter brings the promise of spring - it is what we wait on in
the cold and the rain
A simple flower, blooming first
To ease away the pain.