Krautmanship - The time-honored ability of people of German descent to make sauerkraut out of fields of cabbage. 25 pounds at a time with enough time in between for a chance to lift your glass to the last batch. Then on to the next.

We were invited to attend a for real making of sauerkraut with our friends Mickey and Bonnie Beth. The same ones that make all the interesting hiking sticks, canes and wood ducks. We came over in time to see the first batch being completed. Don & Judy were the experts and shared their knowledge and equipment with us along with Mickey & Bonnie’s granddaughter and her friend Carrie.

We first were treated to chopping the cabbage. Quarter them and take off some but not all the end. Then it was over to the Hovel, which is a homemade cutter. Make sure you don't go to far down with the cabbage on the cutter or you will be putting on bandages.

The cut cabbage is caught in a plastic bucket below. After the 25 pounds is cut, the sesignated Fluffer takes over and hand fluffs the cabbage. It now looks like cole slaw.

Here is where the woodcarver Mickey comes in. We needed something to stomp the cabbage into submission. He took a walking stick and fastened a wood club on the end for stumping the cabbage. You stumped until you actually drew water from the cabbage.

Next comes the 3/4 cup of canning salt that gets mixed in. The contents are placed in a crock and a garbage bag (empty of course) is filled with just enough water to seal off the crock so air cannot get in. Place is a 60 degree or so place for several weeks and you have sauerkraut.

It's been three week and JoAnn said it is tasting good.

Judy and Don said they have made up to 1000 pounds of the stuff at one time. Took a pickup truck and a half of cabbage to make that much.

Of course, what good German outing didn't include another toast to the last batch. I sure wouldn't want to be the guy on the Hovel after a few beers.

I have to confess to being a real procrastinator this past year. I looked at the Northern Perspectives and what has been done on the web page and am ashamed of the lack of things I have accomplished. The good thing is that New Years is coming and I will have some real good items for my resolutions for the upcoming year.

Our summer was just great. Up North every weekend but two. JoAnn is really enjoying her retirement and this meant more long weeks up at the trailer. I did my best to get long weekends and vacation to spend as much time as I could up there.

I can even say I have improved my picture taking ability and hopefully shortly I will have many more in the gallery section to show you.  I did enjoy my walk back from getting cappuccino up north one Saturday morning with JoAnn.  A monarch butterfly landed on my Conney Safety orange shirt and had a ride back to the trailer of over a mile. After flying away once, he came right back to the shirt and I have a couple of great pictures of him on my shirt and on my finger. I put him in the backyard and he flew away to find another orange shirted photographer.

I hope you all had a great summer and I promise to get you more action on these pages in the future. Here's to a great winder and another year back up north in May.

The big feeder was already down because of the bear in the area. That left the other one with Plexiglas up four sides. The Chick A Dee could barely get to the sunflower seeds.

I put some sunflower seeds in my hand and had mother wait for the picture. She probably through “Oh sure, this will happen.” Give me ten minutes and I had one on my hand. Looked at mother who was trying to get the camera to work. He flew away and she said, “No, I didn't get it.”

No problem, I’ll just get another to land on my hand. They would get on the feeder, see the seed and over they came. She got two good pictures with them on my hand.

The next morning I was up early, as the sun broke through the fog it lit up the far side of the lake in beautiful fall color. I got some great shots, and then went back up to the trailer. That morning I ended up with 12 more Chick A Dees landing on my hands. One even landed on my arm first then went for the seeds. They don't weigh anything.

Secondly, it moves your own energy outward, allowing more of the Power to come through you.

Thirdly, when you bless for the benefit of others instead of directly for yourself, you tend to bypass any subconscious fears about what you want for yourself, and also the very focus on the blessing acts to increase the same good in your life. What is so beautiful about this process is that the blessing you do for others helps them as well as you.

Blessing may be done with imagery or touch, but the most usual and easy way to do it is with words. The main kinds of verbal blessing are:

Admiration - This is the giving of compliments or praise to something good that you notice. E.g., "What a beautiful sunset; I like that flower; you're such a wonderful person."

Affirmation - This is a specific statement of blessing for increase or endurance. E.g., "I bless the beauty of this tree; blessed be the health of your body."

Appreciation - This is an expression of gratitude that something good exists or has happened. E.g., "Thank you for helping me; I give thanks to the rain for nourishing the land."

Anticipation - This is blessing for the future. E.g., "We're going to have a great picnic; I bless your increased income; Thank you for my perfect mate; I wish you a happy journey; May the wind be always at your back."

In order to gain the most benefit from blessing, you will have to give up or cut way down on the one thing that negates it: cursing. This doesn't mean swearing or saying "bad" words. It refers to the opposite of blessing, namely criticizing instead of admiring; doubting instead of affirming; blaming instead of appreciating; and worrying instead of anticipating with trust. Whenever any of these are done they tend to cancel out some of the effects of blessing. So the more you curse the harder it will be and the longer it will take to get the good from a blessing. On the other hand, the more you bless the less harm any cursing will do.

Here, then, are some ideas for blessing various needs and desires. Apply them as often as you like, as much as you want.

Health - Bless healthy people, animals, and even plants; everything which is well made or well constructed; and everything that expresses abundant energy.

Happiness - Bless all that is good, or the good that is in all people and all things; all the signs of happiness that you see, hear or feel in people or animals; and all potentials for happiness that you notice around you.

Prosperity - Bless all the signs of prosperity in your environment, including everything that money helped to make or do; all the money that you have in any form; and all the money that circulates in the world.

Success - Bless all signs of achievement and completion (such as buildings, bridges, and sports events); all arrivals at destinations (of ships, planes, trains, cars and people); all signs of forward movement or persistence; and all signs of enjoyment or fun.

Confidence - Bless all signs of confidence in people and animals; all signs of strength in people, animals and objects (including steel and concrete); all signs of stability (like mountains and tall trees); and all signs of purposeful power (including big machines, power lines).

Love and Friendship - Bless all signs of caring and nurturing, compassion and support; all harmonious relationships in nature and architecture; everything that is connected to or gently touching something else; all signs of cooperation, as in games or work; and all signs of laughter and fun.

Inner Peace - Bless all signs of quietness, calmness, tranquility, and serenity (such as quiet water or still air); all distant views (horizons, stars, the moon); all signs of beauty of sight, sound or touch; clear colors and shapes; the details of natural or made objects.

Spiritual Growth - Bless all signs of growth, development and change in Nature; the transitions of dawn and twilight; the movement of sun, moon, planets and stars; the flight of birds in the sky; and the movement of wind and sea.

The previous ideas are for guidance if you are not used to blessing, but don't be limited by them. Remember that any quality, characteristic or condition can be blessed (e.g., you can bless slender poles and slim animals to encourage weight loss), whether it has existed, presently exists, or exists so far in your imagination alone.

Personally I have used the power of blessing to heal my body, increase my income, develop many skills, create a deeply loving relationship with my wife and children, and to establish a worldwide network of peacemakers working with the aloha spirit. It's because it has worked so well for me that I want to share it with you. Please share it with as many others as you can.

How to Enhance Your Power to Bless

There is a technique practiced in Hawaii which enhances your power to bless by increasing your personal energy. It is a simple way of breathing that is also used for grounding, centering, meditation and healing. It requires no special place or posture, and may be done while moving or still, busy or resting, with eyes open or closed. In Hawaiian the technique is called pikopiko because piko means both the crown of the head and the navel.

The Technique
1. Become aware of your natural breathing (it might change on its own just because of your awareness, but that's okay).

2. Locate the crown of your head and your navel by awareness and/or touch.

3. Now, as you inhale put your attention on the crown of your head; and as you exhale put your attention on your navel. Keep breathing this way for as long as you like.

4. When you feel relaxed, centered, and/or energized, begin imagining that you are surrounded with an invisible cloud of light or an electro-magnetic field, and that your breathing increases the energy of this cloud or field.

5. As you bless, imagine that the object of your blessing is surrounded with some of the same energy that surrounds you.

PEACE - Jim