I'm really curious whether any research has been done about how adrenaline can be related to human development.

This comes up for me as I'm hanging out with Osha this evening after a particularly scary fall out of the bathtub.  He's allright, I caught him as he landed but he flipped over and I imagine was rewarded with an incredible dose of adrenaline.

Now, he's being in the world, as I can perceive at least, in a different way than before.  He's more confident of his moves, he's trying more things and seems to move around just a little more at ease.  It's peculiar.  He's even talking in a different way... a different set of sounds.  It's all very subtle but evident.

I'm reminded of when sOMa fell off the bathroom counter as a babe.  After every fall (it happened three times) we noticed a significant jump in development, in the same kind of way I'm witnessing right now.  My initial explanation was that the organism, in its drive to procreation, felt threatened and thus needed to accelerate development in order to reach its goal.  But now i'm wondering if it's anything to do with the adrenaline?  Hmmmm.

Adrenaline is a neurotransmitter the body makes as part of its suvival toolkit.  It's a potent chemical wherun minute quantities have marked effects.  I think we all can relate to the rush of its effects on our bodies.  Anyone remember how it manifests in a 10month-old baby? 

I haven't done my research yet, do children even produce adrenaline?

Anyway, he's coming down now, and sOMa's done his bath and it's time for bed.  Just a little something this parent thinks about while parenting on a Thursday night.

If last year was the "Year of the Nettle" (Urtica dioica) for me then this year has to have been the "Year of the Black Cap Raspberry" (Rubus leucodermis) But don't worry, It's all connected.

We moved up Island since last summer, from around Shawnigan Lake to Nanaimo.  From rural life to urban living.  As a result, I had to rethink my patches and picking.  After last year's experiments with the berries, I was determined to have a bumper crop this year.

Unfortunately, It took a bit to get going.  I spent the start of the season commuting to my patches, which yielded impressive picks.  I eventually found the patches that live nearby and they are as impressive as what's down south.  Same thing:  Clearcut FULL of Black Cap shrubs.  Climbing over fallen stumps and trenches.  It's exciting picking! 

Also can be painfull.  Little barbs getting into the crevices of the hands and becoming infected after they get missed in the post-pick wash up.

Another plus is that the season was a little behind up here and so I got a little extra in terms of picking time... Though there's part of me that feels I didn't get enough done.

All in All, I've got about six Litres of juice which will be made into Candy and then We have a freezer full of berries.  So much so that we need more room.  My goal setting out this year was to gather enough berries to make 100lbs of candy.  I came about 90 lbs shy of that, not having been organized enough.  Now that I know where to go around me, and assuming a certain amount of stability into next year, I can get down and do a production run that will make enough candy for the masses.

Baby Steps.  I'm so excited to get this out there.  I can't believe how patient I am.  There may be a little bit for sale then this year (contact me if you want some... It's not cheap but it's soooooooo good) but mostly this year again was a research year.  A little bit on the marketing side but a LOT on the production side.  I'm figuring it all out.

And I will Keep you posted.