I had a dinner party last week with my dearest girlfriends, the Veggie Gals. Go here to get more about them. I’ve known most of them for over 24 years and they are the most crunchy-granola, earthy-goddess-green mom friends I could ever hope to have. We have cried and laughed together over the decades, sharing stories of veganism, natural birth, breastfeeding, child rearing, eating seaweed, adopting, doing enemas, xeriscaping, eco-friendly funerals, gardening, yoga in salt caves, herb and homeopathy healing, and so much more. We are always learning new stuff together. One of them delighted us with her tale of recently reviving a nearly dead bird in her garden with a Bach Flower remedy. The bird then stayed in her hands and wouldn’t leave her for hours. She tucked it into her bra pocket (the space you have as a woman between your two breasts and your top or dress when you wear a bra) while she weeded until she took the bird to find his mama and he flew to her. We were all laughing and exclaiming with squeals of delight! It was the stuff of a Disney princess movie!

Another of the girlfriends shared with us her trick for picking apricots. My neighbor has a bountiful tree and they have welcomed anyone to come pick so I let the girlfriends have at it. Girlfriend Shauna’s method is to to get a rake, an old sheet you don’t mind getting stained, four other people, and shallow boxes. Have four people each grab a corner of the sheet. Then take your rake and jiggle the branches. Let the fruit fall onto the sheet, then dump into the box. That’s it! So efficient, saving you time!