Spring 2016

Our Spring started with a BIG push to finish up new trails, a new parking spot closer to the house AND our 140 foot long stone wall to protect the cabin from future flooding of the creek!  

We finished the trails and wall just in time for our THREE spring retreats (two at Wind River and one off-site at a YMCA camp in partnership with Cancer Services and the No to "O" (Ovarian cancer) organizations on Salem) and our 4th annual walk

With all that going on Shannon and I were still able to find time this spring and early summer for visits to see individual alumni at home or in the hospital here and in other states while Cheryl spent the spring offering workshops and one-on-one coaching centered around healthy eating and gardening for health.

As summer is here we take much needed down time for ourselves to enjoy time outdoors with friends and we begin the process of accepting applications for the Fall retreats later in the year.  We are excited to have Shirley Ballantyne (RN/Healing Touch), Tai Chi Mike, Becca Odom (Yoga for Resiliency), and of course Cheryl LeCory (Healthy Healing Foods) joining us again this Fall!

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Here's a link to the Spring Retreat Pics:

This story was written by one of our Alumni from 2014 who recently visited with his family and told us this beautiful story.  We asked him to write it down so we could share it and here it is:

In 2003, at the age of 20, I was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma (a bone related cancer). I underwent treatment in my home town of Chicago and was cancer free.  But in the summer of 2012, I was diagnosed with a relapse of Ewing’s sarcoma in the L4 vertebrae of my spine. I needed a high-risk surgery that no surgeon wanted to touch, but I eventually found a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore that agreed to take my case.

After 4 marathon surgeries on my spine and lots of chemo, I am alive and well with no L4 vertebrae. By the time November 2013 rolled around, I was cancer free again, beginning my road to recovery. Every three months I must take a 2-hour plane ride from Chicago to Baltimore for scans, tests, and physicals. During these trips I cannot help but be very neurotic and paranoid. I convince myself that the doctors will find something, and I immediately start planning my own funeral. It’s a roller coaster trip of highs and lows. All I want is a clean bill of health so that I can return home to Chicago and continue to raise my two beautiful daughters, ages 3 and 6.  
 
In October of 2014, I decided to attended a Wind River Cancer Wellness Retreat. This experience truly changed my life in several ways. I learned to connect with nature. I learned the importance of living in the moment. I learned of the power of healing touch. I took advantage of the healthy eating recipes and modified exercises. But the experience that I will cherish the most is the relationships that I have formed and have kept for the last two years. The nine people in our retreat group are the nine strongest people that I have ever met. I’ve never been in a room with a more courageous group of individuals. Unfortunately since that wonderful fall of 2014, our retreat group has lost three of our original nine members due to cancer.  I will always miss them and love them, and I will never forget them. Wind River has provided me with three guardian angels.

One experience at Wind River that I will never forget is our fun with musical instruments. I’ve never played a musical instrument in my life, but I decided I would try the Cello. I decided that I would play it despite not having a clue of what to do. I took the bow and started gliding it across the strings and focused on producing the deep vibrations that are characteristic of that instrument. This sound seemed to have had an impact on the rest of the group because everyone else started grabbing instruments and playing. The retreat house thundered with various sounds that, despite being uncoordinated, ended up sounding good. It was energetic, powerful, and totally spontaneous. A deeply memorable experience for all of us!
 
More recently, during my 3-month checkup trip to Baltimore, I had a bad feeling like something was wrong inside my body and my anxiety level was VERY high.  I finished my scans and tests, and I was waiting to see the doctor and hear the results. The wait in the waiting room seemed to take forever. I was convinced that my doctor had found something bad, and he was making preparations on how to break the news to me. I even started sweating because I was so nervous. I needed to calm down. It was then that I thought of my Wind River experience. I thought of the members of the retreat who had passed away, and I had asked them to help calm me down. No sooner had I asked them for help, I heard a deep vibration tone out in the waiting room. Though I know nothing about music, I knew immediately that it was the sound of a cello. A patient in the waiting room had pulled out a cello and started playing it to help calm down the other patients who were also waiting to see the doctor. It took no time at all for me to make the connection. I knew that my Wind River guardian angels were with me in the waiting room, and the vibrations of the cello were my “angels” trying to calm my nerves. The power and meaning of those vibrating strings sent goose bumps and chills all over my body. At that moment I could feel my “angels” telling me not to worry, and that everything would be okay. Finally, when I did see the doctor, the appointment was quick and painless, and I was able to fly back to Chicago to my beautiful wife and daughters with a clean bill of health, knowing that I've got angels with cellos looking after me.       - Sam P.

Thanks Cheryl LeCroy for this post!

​I love this comprehensive planting chart as a general guideline.  Charlotte and Upstate South Carolina are zone 7a/ 7b... below are several references for zone (region) specific planting charts.

Planting basics

Know your ZONE: Charlotte 7a

www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-north-carolina-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php

When to Plant: The selection at your home store (Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, etc.) is in season.  They do the zone and plant chart homework for you. 

https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/NC/Charlotte
http://www.ufseeds.com/North-Carolina-Vegetable-Planting-Calendar.html
                                                   
Window Sill and Indoor Gardening

Vegetable gardening indoors has most of the same requirements as an outdoor garden: bright light, water, nutrients, and protection from pests and diseases. Since space is likely to be more limited growing crops indoors, choosing quick-maturing crops planted in quick succession is your best strategy; for example, sow a few seeds of leaf lettuce each week and harvest leaves often while they are still young and tender.

Crops. Choose compact, miniature, or dwarf varieties of crops and crops that are quick maturing. Small, quick-growing crops will require less space and time to reach harvest.
Choose plants during their natural growing season.  Cool-weather crops such as leaf crops and root crops are a good choice for the autumn and winter indoor garden; these crops naturally require less bright light. Warm-weather crops–fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers–require longer days to ripen, so planting these in spring and summer makes sense.
Spring and summer crops include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, bush beans, and most herbs. These crops require eight hours of sunshine or bright light and a room consistently warm.
Crops not suited to windowsill growing are tall and vining crops such as corn, pole beans, squash, melons, and pumpkins.

Planting. Plant indoor crops in pots that will allow roots plenty of room to grow; a single lettuce plant can grow in a gallon pot, a small tomato plant will require a 3 to 5 gallon container.  Choose a commercial potting soil with a medium-texture that will hold moisture. 

Recipe for home-made soil. 2 parts garden soil, 2 parts finished compost, 1 part peat moss, and 1 part vermiculite or perlite.
Sow seeds just as you would in the garden and thin plants to the strongest seedling from two to three weeks after germination when seedlings have grown their first true leaves and have gained strength. Snip away the weakest seedlings at soil level with a small scissors.
If you plant more than one crop in a container, don’t plant them too close together or they will compete for light, water, and nutrients–resulting in weak plants all around.

Light. Growing vegetables indoors requires bright sunlight just like outdoors or bright artificial light. A south-facing bay window that gets light from the south, east, and west is an ideal place for a window garden. Windows that are not in the shadow of eves are best. Placing your indoor garden in a white or light colored room will help as well; light colors reflect light; dark interior surfaces will absorb light.
Salad greens and herbs require less sunshine; but they still require bright light.

Temperature. Summer crops grow best at temperatures between 75° and 85°F in the daytime and 60° and 75°F at night. Autumn and winter or cool-weather crops grow best at temperatures between 60° and 65°F in the daytime and around 50°F at night. Plant with warm roots can with stand air temperatures 5° to 10°F cooler than recommended; a heating pad made for plants can help. Good air circulation indoors will help keep plants healthy.

Water. Water indoor crops as needed; stick your finger in the soil and if it comes out dry water; if it is damp or wet don’t. Too much water can result in fungus disease. Water indoor crops in the morning on sunny days when possible; evaporation will be slowed on cloudy and cool days. Plants require less water in winter. Use room temperature water.

Feed. Feed indoor, container-grown plants every other week. Compost tea and liquid fish emulsion are rich organic liquid fertilizers. Fertilize less when temperatures are cool.
 
Best container plants

Tomatoes
Basil
Zucchini &Summer Squash
Parsley
Oregano
Strawberries
Rosemary
Peppers
Chives
Spinach
Thyme
Sage
Cucumbers
Kale
Lettuce
Radish
Potatoes
Carrots
Beets
Turnips
Sugar snap peas
 
Best plants for In Ground Gardening

Start From seed
Beans
Corn
Watermelon
Peas
Cucumbers
Squash 
Okra
Beets
Carrots
Lettuce
Pumpkins
Radishes
  
Start from Plants
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Peppers
Strawberries
Stevia
Basil
                                                                               
Heirloom vs Hybrid

Heirloom Vegetables
The term heirloom vegetable is used to describe any type of vegetable seed that has been saved and grown for a period of years and is passed down by the gardener that preserved it. To be capable of being saved, all heirloom seed must be open pollinated.
Open pollinated or OP plants are simply varieties that are capable of producing seeds that will produce seedlings just like the parent plant. Not all plants do this, especially hybrid plants.

Hybrid Vegetables
Plant breeders cross breed compatible types of plants in an effort to create a plant with the best features of both parents. These are called hybrids and many of our modern plants are the results of these crosses.  Hybrid breeding creates more uniform colors, sizes, shapes and helps plants be more stable for travel.
Slow food movement encourages local harvesting and sometimes cosmetically challenged foods that are so much tastier.
 
Charlotte NC resources
www.slowfoodcharlotte.org
www.golocalncfarms.com
www.nourishcharlotte.com
www.ncagr.gov/markets/facilities/markets/charlotte
www.charlotteobserver.com/living/food-drink/article19797780.html (fantastic list of over 25 local farmer’s markets)

We are thrilled to be able to offer to our survivors and friends the ability to purchase a refurbished (full 5 year warranty) Vitamix machine for $200.   (additional $25 shipping cost if you do not live in the Charlotte, Asheville or Greenville, SC area)

Also, Wind River will offer any survivor who orders a Vitamix a personal health coaching call with Cheryl LeCroy to help you get going on great healthy eating and smoothie idea!

​Contact Shannon at shannon@windriverservices.org .... asap!  ;)