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I've got 5 Chambeyronias planted in a tight group and this morning I noticed 2 of them have red leaves. Quite a foliage jungle forming in there.

closer, closer, closer, too close!!!!

Lots of good and valid points. I have a few things to add to the mix. 1. If it doesn't occur in nature, don't eat it. If your grandparents - or great grandparents for you youngsters - wouldn't recognize it as food, don't eat it. If it has more than 5 ingredients, don't eat it. If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. 2. Chemically-created products from corn can be labeled as "natural" even though they do not occur in nature. That all-natural raspberry drink may not have any raspberry in it, just chemicals usually derived from corn made to taste like raspberry. But because it is derived from corn, it can be labeled as "natural". 3. Not all animal fat is bad for you. It depends on how the animal was raised and slaughtered. Beef or pork or chicken derived from pastured animals - pastured their entire lives, not finished on pasture - contains great fats that are not harmful to us. Should you gorge yourself? No. But it is good for you. Eggs from pastured hen are wonderful - take a look at the yolks from one and the yolk from a CAFO egg. 4. Dairy is not bad, only CAFO dairy is bad. And unpasteurized milk is not bad nor disease-ridden. I drink only raw milk, make my own butter and cheese from it. The milk protein given such a bad rap - casein - is completely different in raw milk and pasteurized milk. I use the whey to make everything from kimchee to kraut. 5. If you can't find pastured meat, buy kosher. The entire slaughter process is different. Less tressful to the animal means less stress hormones in you - a good thing. 6. A few really good - again, my opinion - books on this: Any book by Michael Pollan, including his new one - Food Nourishing Traditions by Mary Fallon - great information with lots of references and recipes The Primal Connection and The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sissons - very interesting reading that pointed me to eating differently. Salad Bar Beef; Holy Cows & Hog Heaven; and Everything I Want to Do is Illegal - by Joel Salatin. And check out these websites: www.marksdailyapple.com www.westonaprice.org www.polyface.farms.com Both have great information with thought provoking insights. Anf the Polyface Farms site will shed light on the struggle small farmers are having battling companies like Monsanto and organizations like the FDA.

You said to quote scientific studies. I tried my best to do that or to post articles directly quoting scientific studies. There were many non-scientific source I did not quote. Now, that said I am not in all that much disagreement with you, but I do think there is a difference. Keith, as an innocent bystander, THANK YOU for saying you 'think' and not that you know. It is awesome to have an informed opinion. But so many in today's world offer opinion as fact and then back it with studies that mirror their opinion. Seems to me that "science" has not come close to settling this debate. My net net from reading you and Steve is...watch what you eat. Avoid EXCESS sugar in whatever form it appears. Amen Well said hammer.

You said to quote scientific studies. I tried my best to do that or to post articles directly quoting scientific studies. There were many non-scientific source I did not quote. Now, that said I am not in all that much disagreement with you, but I do think there is a difference. Keith, as an innocent bystander, THANK YOU for saying you 'think' and not that you know. It is awesome to have an informed opinion. But so many in today's world offer opinion as fact and then back it with studies that mirror their opinion. Seems to me that "science" has not come close to settling this debate. My net net from reading you and Steve is...watch what you eat. Avoid EXCESS sugar in whatever form it appears. Amen

It's in a pot now on the Bali House deck and has several rings of trunk. I took this photo back in March at the end of the dry season. It looks much better now that the rainy season is underway. I'll get a new photo the next time I'm there.

2008 IPS Biennial - Costa Rica Day 03: Monday, May 5th Rain Forest Aerial Tram, Braulio Carrillo National Park Bus #4 - 10:14AM: We were only a few minutes into the tram and it was already becoming a great time for everyone, including myself. I wanted to reach out and grab some of the palms we saw, including this Euterpe precatoria. It must have recently shed an old leaf, since the narrow crownshaft was a brilliant maroon-purple color. - This tram tour had it all when it came to seeing palms in all stages of life. Not far from the palm above was this additional Euterpe precatoria in the midst of flowering. - You had to continuously move your eyes around, at the risk of missing something. After taking the shot above I looked straight down and caught this image viewing straight into the crown of a large Welfia regia. - 10:15AM: In one of the moments where the tram pauses to either let someone off or on a gondola, I caught a glimpse of some palm armed with spines. I had to contort myself into an unusual shape to get a shot of it. I am not sure as to the palms size or identity, but it looked to be a large juvenile. It fits the description of Bactris coloradonis, so that could be a possibility. Ryan

2008 IPS Biennial - Costa Rica Day 03: Monday, May 5th Rain Forest Aerial Tram, Braulio Carrillo National Park Bus #4 - 10:06AM: The gondola creaked along and we became immersed in a great rain forest experience. It was very quiet and you were able to pick up every little sound. This comical plant caught everyone's eye. We all thought of its common name before the guide told us it was called Hot Lips, or Psychotria poeppigiana. It is a heavily-used medicinal member of the massive Rubiaceae, or Coffee Family. Everyone came up with a joke or two as we saw blooming plants throughout the tram. There were plants with better, newer flowers but those photos didn't come out the best. - A particularly deep red emergent leaf belonging to a Welfia regia buried in the rain forest growth. - 10:09AM: The tram consisted of several tall, steel towers that each supported a small series of pulleys. The pulleys in turn guided the large steel cables that carried the gondolas. It seemed very well built to me. Ron Kiefert, who shared the gondola and is an expert when it comes to cable strength, said the cables were larger than they needed to be. The path of the tram was one large loop which carried back upon itself, with the return trip being over the outgoing route. The party gondola in front can be seen in the bottom of the photo, and the empty one near the top is on its way back. - 10:11AM: We rode right by another bright red Welfia regia leaf. The sun began to get brighter as we were getting higher up in the canopy and were approaching the river point in the tram. Ryan