Ancient Medicine...now the best

Ancient medicine includes essential oils and aromatics and were some of the most highly prized natural medicines in the world. References to all sorts of oils appear in many historical drawings and in the Bible. Many essential oils reverse aging by providing antioxidants that protect tissues and organs from free radicals caused by pollutants, chemicals, and other harmful ingredients. Free radicals have been substantiated as a major cause of aging. Gary Young, founder of Young Living in 1984, has done extensive research and has found all of this to be true. Essential oils are steam distilled from the leaves, flowers, roots and bark of plants. Essential oils are the blood of the plant and just like human blood are full of oxygen which carries nutrients to the plants. When humans use essential oils the oxygen carries the therapeutic properties of that oil directly to the source of the affected area in the body and the oil works with the body to heal itself. Total brain antioxidant levels naturally occur with age. Thyme essential oil has been found to slow the decline of these antioxidants. Just think, as an 80 year old you could have the same brain chemistry of a 20 year old. Clove oil exhibits antitumoral and other DNA protectant effects thus protecting the body against cancer. Overeating can also be a cause of aging. By restricting caloric intake, studies have shown that increases blood levels of growth hormones which increases longevity and postponement of disease. In ancient times, people ate only what was provided by the land which prohibited them from overeating like so many people do today. Especially with the buffets and fast food restaurants, people tend to overeat and eat the wrong types of foods. It looks so delicious and smells so good our bodies demand the food whether it is good for us or not. People in northern Pakistan are known for their longevity and the near absence of degenerative diseases. Their diet is high in potassium and low in sodium. Apricots, barley, millet and buckwhear the the main staples of this group of people. Also, the water they drink is mineral-rich with a pH of 8.5 which is very good.

Homer Eagles

WOW! What a week spent in Homer, AK photographing eagles with our friends from Maryland, Fred and Bobbie, who also LOVE to photograph eagles. Well over 1500 images from the week and I hope to post a few on this blog for you to enjoy. Eagles are such wonderful birds, very large here in AK, and as Bobbie said, the higher the latitude the bigger the birds. I do believe that is true. The eagle lady, Jean Keene, passed away in January but her helper Steve is still feeding them until the end of March. Hundreds come for the daily morning feeding and enjoy the whole herring that is thrown for them. Many of them catch the fish on the fly and some fight for it on the snow covered beach. Others are brave and land on the fencing around the table Steve uses to open the boxes. Jean and Steve both have a close relationship with these eagles. They fly so close you can hear their wings as they fly overhead. Friday was a very windy day with waves over 10 feet and the eagles had trouble flying. In fact, I could not even hardly get my car door open let alone walk to a good shooting spot. I hope you enjoy some of my photos. Highly recommend a trip to AK in the winter as there is such beauty with the pristine, white stuff all over the ground and mountains.

My Family

I just wanted to share my wonderful family with you. We are proud parents of our son, Matthew Shane Zirkle, and he is married to a wonderful woman named Tosha. She has a 12 year old son, Tiger, and her sister, Toya also lives close by with her 6 year old daughter, Asya. We live in Eagle River in a beautiful split level home at the base of the Chugach mountains. We will soon be doing major construction adding on a second level addition enlarging the home another 1400 square feet and completing the in-law quarters which will be our new 1-bedroom apartment. Take a look at the photos of my beautiful family and home.

Winter in Alaska

For those of you who read my blogs and enjoy winter, you really should think about visiting Alaska in the winter. There are so many wonderful outdoor activities and trails for skiing, skijoring, snowshoeing, etc. The snowmachines are out in full force on the mountainsides and the ice climbers enjoy the massive amount of ice to climb along the cliffs. We have about 2 feet of snow at this writing and, yes, we had a white Christmas which is normal in this part of the world. Enjoy my photos and I appreciate your comments.

Southwest Utah

Our Elderhostel tour of Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon (north rim) was absolutely fabulous. Elderhostel is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing exceptional learning opportunities at a remarkable value. This is our first Elderhostel tour and it will NOT be our last. The lodging, food, fun and fellowship and instruction was outstanding. We began our tour in St George, Utah where we stayed at College Inn for the night and then boarded a large bus (15 in our group) for Zion Canyon. Zion is comprised cliffs and towers, canyons and waterfalls providing a scene that is absolutely beautiful. When the sun rises or sets the red cliffs glow with oranges and firey reds creating a dramatic lighting effect. Photographers LOVE this type of lighting with shadows falling down the rock walls creating more of a dramatic effect.

Southwest Utah is a Fabulous place to visit

Ken and I just returned from our Elderhostel photo tour of southwestern Utah and, my oh my, what beautiful artwork in the form of rainbow hues of rock. I will post a blog and some photos this week so keep checking this blog for those images and story.

Homer AK

Where in the heck is Homer, AK you ask? Well it sits at the end of the 4 1/2 mile spit off the southern coast of Alaska and is as far south as you can drive in AK. It is an artsy community with galleries encompassing all sorts of locally made crafts. There are wonderful restaurants and lots of different types of lodging to accommodate any type of traveler. We just spent 5 days there at the Homer Spit Campground where we walked the beach several times finding all sorts of interesting creatures, foliage, rocks, and shells.
Our trip to Katmai to photograph the brown bears was canceled due to high gale force winds and rain and, in fact, the daily trips were canceled all week because of the weather. Hopefully we can reschedule for next summer with Emerald Air. Take a look at the photos posted with this blog and see what we saw.