Twelve Principals of Regeneration

Mark Scisenti, a friend and chocolate maker, posted the following on his instagram page ->

"Are you worried about climate doom?"

Paul Hawkins has one word for you REGENERATION.

Getting it right "down under"

Here in Los Angeles where we have a major drought occurring consciousness about the importance of native plants and honey bees continues to be extremely small, concurrently down under in Australia, they are light years ahead of us. This morning, Lisa Novich of the Theodore Payne Foundation sent out  this link to an article in the Huffington Post titled "They're Getting It Right "Down Under" and the U.S. Should Follow Their Lead."

Meanwhile, last week I attended a meeting in Van Nuys that was specific to building along the Mulholland corridor. I was there with several of my other neighbors speaking in opposition to a project that a developer is attempting to build on a extremely sloped site down the street from our home. We've been opposing the large McMansions that developers have proposed for the site for years.

One of the many developers was given the A-ok by the board and thus cut down four large oaks and other natives. It was a devastating defeat. Then the developer choose not to build, which felt like salt had been rubbed into a wound since the oaks had been removed for no reason.

Another turn in the story occurred when a new developer came on the scene in July and hired some hacks to remove the stumps of the oaks which had started to grow back. The neighbors were ignited, we called the police, the fire department and the city. Kelly Lewis of the Urban Forestry department for the City of LA deemed "Those are old stumps not trees and they are not oak trees."

This is just one small example of the ignorance that exists within the City of LA, particularly the Urban Forestry department where an individual can't even recognize a native tree!

At the meeting this week the developer presented his "French style, country mansion", that resembles a big white box to the board. He went on and on about how much he wants to work with the neighbors and create a beautiful home on the lot that fits with the rural quality of the area. After he presented the project there was a period of "comments" by those who had filled out cards. I was one of those along with about five others within the neighborhood including a local community council member. We each spoke on different points of the impact the project would have on the site and within the community. It was pointed out that since the oaks and their root system had been removed the slope was now extremely unstable and a new soils report would need to be done, particularly since the project required several retaining walls.

Gordon Murley, the President of our neighborhood homeowners association, pointed out how the project violated several of our local ordinances. I was there, like the Lorax, to speak for the trees. I mentioned that the plan shows only three oaks being replanted although that under the ordinance sixteen were to be replanted to make amends for the trees that had been removed. I also stated that our city is called "Woodland Hills" because of the trees and that continued devastation to our local oak forest was a travesty to our community where too many oaks had already been removed. I also brought up the importance of the oaks to the rural aesthetics of the area and the inherent value oaks add to biodiversity. Regrettably my words of wisdom fell on deaf ears.

Even more salt was rubbed in my wound when the developers "mock arborist" stated that oaks are a fire hazard. This is one more ignorant phrase I've heard repeated often. The truth is that oaks and other native flora contain a much higher ignition rate than non-natives because they have evolved within a dry arid climate and know how to store water.

Ultimately the board shot down the proposal due to the fact that a "French country manor" type box fit into a slot doesn't work within the very eclectic, rural area within the hillside. So now the developer will need to go back to the drawing board and, if he chooses, present his project once more in conformity with the boards suggestions.

It was an incredibly depressing night for me, clearly quite a lot of work needs to be done to ignite some of that the consciousness we are seeing down under.

Movie Monday: Chasing Ice

Here is a film which makes is a visual feast combined with an extremely powerful look at reality. This film has everything I adore: Beauty, particularly the kin found in nature; Great photography and an Artist doing one of the very best social commentary pieces in the world.

He meticulously did the research, documented what is actually happening and shows us evidence which many choose to ignore. The only ones NOT ignoring this is the top scientific experts on climate change through out the world. It's really incredible to me how the oil companies and genetically modified organism corporations are so good at making vasts numbers of the population numb and ignorant.

My intention, as always, is that this film will crack the glacier of greed and artifice that is skillfully blinding humans.

We watched it via Netflix, highly, highly recommend. Here's the trailer.

Swallowtail

While working this morning all of a sudden Greg says..."Hey Rox, come're!" So I go outside and he tells me a story of how he was standing next to the little potted lemon tree and heard a small chewing sound. Then he pointed out these strange looking blobs on the branches of the lemon tree. I exclaimed "Oh, wow, is that a cocoon?" He says no, that it is some sort of caterpillar and he points out several others on the tree.

I look closer and must admit it was pretty tough to tell they were caterpillars, but then I started thinking, over years and years of evolution they have probably developed this look so they wouldn't get eaten by the birds.

Later I found out that these ugly, bird dropping-like things are called Orange Dog Caterpillars and that they will turn into Giant Yellow Swallowtails! Not quite sure how long it will be before the cocoon and butterfly appear, stay tuned.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly"

-Richard Bach

Terrific symbol for this transformative time of year, although generally I associate of butterflies with Spring not Autumn.

Opening image Commutio by Greg Spalenka, photo Roxana Villa.

Natural History: Ornithology

Today we took a little break from our work and headed a half hour north for an open house at The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, also known as the Camarillo Bird Museum. As we walked toward the building a group had assembled to see and hear details about a few live birds of prey, one was a cute little screech owl and a falcon named Bob. These feathery friends were visiting from the nearby Ojai Raptor Center.

 

After listening to many fascinating facts and stories about the birds we walked to the entrance of the museum which was surrounded by California native plants including this fairy duster, a favorite of honey bees.

The institution is a non-profit with the intention "to obtain, protect, and manage ornithological collections." The facility is located in Camarillo, CA, in a 22,000 square-foot building open to researchers and members of the public by appointment. The vast collection is "composed of more than 225,000 sets of bird eggs representing approximately 4,000 species, more than 20,000 nests, more than 56,000 bird study skins, and a library of over 7,000 books and monographs on birds and natural history. The library also houses more than 400 bird and natural history journal serials, and a large collection of the field notes of collectors and scientists."

Greg and I found ourselves in the vast warehouse space of aviary wonders due to a tweet by the Los Angeles Times. One side of the museum was painted with a large sky mural which provides the perfect back drop for the ornithological collection. Rows and rows of cabinets line the interior of the main warehouse space with taxidermied birds, eggs of all sizes, nests and a few mummies displayed on top of the cases.

In most cases the different types of birds were displayed along with their nests and eggs. Greg was fascinated with the nest of ravens that was lined with what looked like cotton, fabric, string and other soft materials making it look really snuggly.

Japanese artist Mamoru Suzuki was there for the special day conducting demonstrations of museum specimen preparation techniques and a showcase of the beautiful images he creates from observing nature.

 

The founder of the museum and research institute is Ed N. Harrison, pictured here with his cabinet of curiosities.

Image above of Ed N. Harrison taken from Museum website. All other photographs ©Roxana Villa.

Movie Monday: Birders: The Central Park Effect

Highly, highly recommend this! Dweebs and natural lovers unite!


Here's the link to the National Audubon Society where you can find a link to one near you. According to Craig Howie, Los Angeles Times... "Southern California is one of the best places in the world to watch birds, from its coastal habitats to its wetlands, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Here are some of our favorite spots that are also popular among birding enthusiasts and clubs. Join us and our feathered friends on the Pacific Flyway!"

In August we went to Malibu Colony Beach, originally called "Malibu Beach Motion Picture Colony" where they have been restoring the lagoon. The walk down to the beach from Pacific Coast Highway has been landscaped with native plants. Once at the beach the lagoon is a haven for wildlife, specifically birds.

It's happening now!

For the last two months there have been little signs of Spring here in my little wild wood garden. First is the ever persistent non-native grasses, which pop their vital green sprouts up after the first rains in the late Autumn.

While in the Santa Monica Mountains, close to the coast the white ceonothus blooms across the hillsides, my blue variety slumbers...until today! for some reason, this event is always very exciting, I squeal in delight when she surprises me with her beautiful, delicately scented, cerulean blooms.



Meanwhile, the plants and seeds we put into the warm earth of the early Autumn are thriving with lots of volunteer natives making an appearance. In two different locations we have Artemesia californica, cowboy sage, coming up on its own. The wild roses and Matilija poppies are sending out underground shoots and spreading nicely.

Baby oaks are all over the slope, thanks to the acorn fairies, the squirrels.

I can just imagine the excitement in the bees hive, which reminds me, must do a check and add more boxes for the honey flow!

Backwards

I admit it, I'm a nut, a bit backwards. For example when everyone was getting computers I bought a letterpress. Modern perfumers chase the latest in synthetic aroma chemicals and isolates, me I sniff my plants, make tinctures and chase really expensive natural raw materials.

The other day at a local city meeting one of the council members asked me why our bee club, The Backwards Beekeepers, is called Backwards. I answered "Because we do things backwards compared with other bee keepers." A better answer would have been to reference the grandfather of beekeeping backwards, Charles Martin Simon. Here is his top ten list for beekeeping with consciousness...

Ten Principals of Beekeeping Backwards by Charles Martin Simon

Principle #1: Work with Nature, not against Her.

Principle #2: Profit doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot if you’re dead.

Our forefathers postulated that bigger bees would make more honey. The bigger the bee, the more nectar and pollen she can carry. The bigger the cell, the more it can hold. And so forth. So they devised a larger worker cell size, and it became the standard.

Principle #3: Dead bees make no honey.

Anatomically bigger bees are metabolically slower bees, more prone to disease and predation. And the diseases did come. The industry standard is a sickly bee.

My encounters with feral bees have instilled in me a greater respect for bees and contempt for the way we usually deal with them.

I knew I was finished with beekeeping as we know it the day I read the publication of the great scientific discovery of the “housekeeping gene” in relation to survivability in regard to Varroa. That was exactly where my suspension of disbelief finally snapped, and I realized our industry is directed by madmen. They have been driven mad by the fear of death and simultaneously compelled irresistibly toward it. Death of our beloved bees. Death of our beloved industry. Death of ourselves.

The Asian bee, the historic host for the mite, the bee that has coexisted with it successfully for a million years, does not usually inhabit enclosures. It hangs out in the open. This leads to the conclusion that when the mite drops off, it falls into the void, which is a good place for it. The immature Asian bee spends less time in the cell, which gives the mite less time to do it’s dirty work. Those are the keys, not the “housekeeping gene , never mind what the “scientists” have to say. But I am not meaning to imply that this “gene” does not exist. I’m questioning its interpretation. Just as I question the interpretation of the “bee dance”. The traditional interpretation of the bee dance is destroyed categorically by the observation of one single factor: The human observer observes from above. The bee dances face to face on a lateral plane. What the bee perceives and what the human perceives are two entirely different things. I grant that the dance occurs. I do not grant that it communicates anything at all. It is a sharing of excitement. The knowledge of where the nectar or whatever is is deeper than that. The colony is a manifestation of generations integrated with the patterns of the environment. There is a great mind at play that humans are generally incapable of comprehending.

Another significant factor in the retardation of Apis melliflera is the chronic abuse perpetrated by the teachings of the art. Colonies left to their own devices have an entirely different consciousness than domesticated varieties. Domestic bees are constantly messed with. A colony is a unified Mind. When it is opened and manipulated, the thought process is jumbled. When it is smoked, it must turn its attention to other things. Stress is good. Stress is bad. It depends on the kind. Exercise is stress. Getting beat up is stress. One event can build self-esteem; the other can destroy it. But the effects are reversible, based on other conditions, the most significant of which being how the subject interprets the experience. There are many variables.

The skill with which one messes with a hive has a great deal to do with the effect the messing is going to have on the future. The master manipulator will do it so that the bees will never even notice anything happening. Indeed, they will proceed with their process as though nothing was happening at all. The quality, quantity, and kind of mentality of the manipulator have everything to do with this. Some beekeepers make bees nervous just by showing up in the proximity of a hive. Woe be unto those keepers and their bees if they light the smokers and crack the hive lids. Beekeeping should be licensed, and I should be the licensing entity. There would be very few beekeepers. Again I need to point out: This is not arrogance, it is humility. For I truly have your best interests and the best interests of the bees at heart.

Principle #4: Don’t fight it.

When I think of all the years I’ve spent fighting ants and all the techniques I’ve employed, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Right now I’ve got naked honey comb and open bowls of honey in my kitchen, and plenty of ants too, but they’re leaving the honey alone. How come? Because I don’t fight them. I feed them. There is a bowl of honey on the counter established for them, where they can come and get all they want. At first they were hitting it heavily, then they lost interest. Apparently, if they can’t have it, they want it. If they can have all they want, they don’t want it.

Principle #5: Beekeeping is not about honey.

Principle #6: It’s not about money.

Principle #7: It’s about survival.

Well, actually, it’s not about survival, since nobody survives. It’s about the quality of life while you’re alive. Do your best to make the bees’ life the best it can be and it will be the best it can be for you. Stop thinking “maximum production”. Substantially less than most is way better than nothing at all. Learn how to leave the bees alone. Benign neglect is the way. Provide them with appropriate cavities. Standard beehives, if they’re right, are acceptable habitations for bees, but don’t use foundation.

In addition to the size consideration, foundation is contaminated. Only the oldest, most used wax gets rendered into foundation. Old wax absorbs and retains contaminants such as pesticide. Go ahead, use frames. Frames do make it easier to perform manipulations. But actually, just the top bars are enough, at least for brood chambers. Further up the hive, you might want complete frames for the definition of the bottom bars, to maintain the space between the top of the frame below and the bottom of the frame above.

I have 15 hives as of this writing (December 2000), after years of having none at this time of year. How did I do It? I don’t know, and that’s the answer. As the years have progressed, I have tried more and more to keep them as close to wild as possible, to not mess with them. I do harvest some honey, pollen, and propolis, but I do it with a leave-alone attitude. I am hoping for their well being. Beyond that I am asking nothing from them, expecting nothing. If they are prospering I add supers. If they make extra honey, I take some. When my combs are crooked and stuck across several frames, I use bee escapes to clear the supers before removing.

I crush the combs and strain them through a system of perforated plastic buckets. I keep quite a few cut combs around to eat au naturel. The wilder, more funky combs may very well be the best.

I’ve been reluctant in recent years to invest money in equipment, because of the Varroa situation. Consequently, I’m using old equipment a normal beekeeper would have thrown out a long time ago – In fact quite a bit of it has been thrown out by normal beekeepers – and I’m liking it better and better the worse it gets.

I’m thinking about running hives without bottoms and up on stands this season, at least during the warm months, and considering designing a bottom board to catch and destroy mites.

Principle #8: Forget everything you ever learned and start observing what is really going on.

In regard to this last principle. One of the first injunctions I received starting out was to keep accurate records. But I realized that accurate records would be obfuscations at best. When you refer to a notebook describing the events of a hive to date, you will not see the hive as it actually is. The level of information that can be cataloged is not vital, has nothing to do with what’s going on with the hive in question, and prevents you from seeing what is.

Furthermore, I have observed that the harder you fight to keep your bees alive, the faster they die. Cut them loose, give them freedom, the freedom to die as well as the freedom to live, and they live better.

Principle #9: Leave your bees alone.

Principle #10: Leave me alone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now you know why I make botanical perfumes with the vitality of natural materials and in harmony with nature. it's all connected, we are all connected.

Photo of honey bees on matilija poppy ©RoxanaVilla

Eau de Blossom

Spring is now trending across the United States with the spectacle of blossoming trees, particularly fruit trees. Within time, after visits from the several local pollinators including honey bees, the little flowers will dry and the fruit will reveal itself.


My ode to Spring, Blossom Eau de Cologne, is back in stock. The fresh, sunny fragrance combines the tang of citrus balanced with herbs and flowers. Completely botanical and organic, the heavenly scent is perfect for an uplifting, sensory break. Crafted by my own hands here in my studio, with intention, the base is west coast organic grape spirits and grain alcohol. There are also a tincture from the rosemary plant on our hillside that my little honey bees adore. The synergy was formulated from early cologne recipes when vital plant material was the fashion.


Read more about Blossom by following this link here at the journal. At the moment Blossom is available as a small mini spritzer and in a 1 ounce Amber bottle.

A Spade

There is a continued trend to harness Mother Nature and at the same time paint products to appear as if they are made from nature when they are actually created in labs. The rise of corporate power and the promotion of conjured facts in relation to nature are also on the rise.

Let's first look at the microcosm of an incident that just transpired. In my experience most fruit teas I have sampled are made with synthetic aroma chemicals. In fact I have yet to find one I like, so I stick to my Earl Grey flavored with true Bergamot essential oil. Recently I decided to ask a tea company about their ingredients, I had a strong intuitive feeling that the tea was flavored with a synthetic. Two weeks later I got the response back from their customer service department. I expected an answer like "Yes, we use synthetic flavoring." or "No, we use no synthetic flavoring and are completely devoted to using only the highest quality flavorings from the botanical world." Instead I got a long, mumbo jumbo e-mail going on about how they use nature identicals because, I quote: "It is not artificial because it can be found in nature and man has figured out a way to copy it."

Sometimes I feel like I'm Alice who has fallen into a strange alternate universe. The e-mail went on to justify that using these chemical recreations is actually a benefit to the environment. I'm thinking that they must be referring to the environment of their corporate offices. By using song and dance the company manages to deceive people into thinking their product is something it's not. Surely we are all aware that supporting organic agriculture is a benefit to the environment, right?

The tea company went on the establish their position by telling me that the copied molecules are safer than those made in nature. This reminds me of a perfume event here in Los Angeles where the representatives of a large synthetic perfume conglomerate convince the audience that it is more sustainable to recreate aroma molecules than use the real thing. To my astonishment the audience is not able to perceive the truth.

This is one of many challenges that those creating true botanical products face. As corporations attempt to gain more ground, deceptive advertising will continue. I'm an advocate of calling a spade a spade. Green washing and greed seem to be intricately woven. It's up to the consumer to ask lots of questions and do their best to evaluate the answers. The customer service fellow who contacted me back was very clever how he worded his paragraphs. The average consumer might be swayed by the mumbo jumbo and the idea that creating copies in a lab is actually better than Mother Nature. Personally, I'm not interested in supporting products that copy Mother Nature, most especially when their marketing uses deceptive advertising.


On a marco level, a similar related challenge has been brewing that begs for consciousness from the human race. I've been teaching this in my Aromatherapy classes for over ten years now. Let's begin by looking at slice of history with the attempt to control the feminine and wild magic which began in the early fourteenth century Europe. This resulted in the deaths of somewhere between 40 to 100 thousand individuals of all types but more importantly it wiped out much herbal remedy lore. Many historians believe that this period was an attempt to eliminate female midwifery skills. An antiseptic cleansing transpired which then continued on into the 1900's with the invention of the microscope and the establishment of the drug cartel. Now in modern times we have the majority of the population with no clue on how to manage their health. We've also got the conglomerate Monsanto trying to harness and control Mother Nature by disallowing the growing of crops unless their "seed" is used, even in our own backyards! A patent of food.

The symbols of the feminine, wild magic of Mother Earth versus the patriarchl Father are evident in this ongoing Earthly drama and beautifully illustrated in the film Avatar. My personal favorite illustration of the times, via the media of film, is the Matrix.

In these rather surreal times we live in remember who you are, be ever so mindful, dig for the truth, ask questions and make your voice heard. Call a spade a spade.

Aftershocks

Regrettably here in the US of A we are still feeling the political aftershocks of the corrupt, right wing dictatorship that reigned for eight years straight. The Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of corporate funding of political candidates. Yet, one more victory for the massive corporate monster that continues to invade the already weakened immune system of the country.

So, here is what I am going to do and suggest we all empower ourselves and our voice. Discontinue supporting the mega conglomerates that fund money hungry politicians. Have you heard that the former Monsanto VP is adviser for FDA?? Even with a democratic President we have corporate monkeys moving forward their agendas of greed and devastation. Thus, get your voice heard and support indie businesses as well as those corporations that act responsibly and with a vision toward a supporting truth, nature and our basic freedoms.

I will begin by evaluating each large corporation that I currently fund...like my bank, phone company, grocery store etc. Where I see something I do not like that does not support a truly holistic paradigm I will withdraw my patronage.

What does this have to do with perfume, specifically botanical or natural perfume? Well, I started off in the eighties creating illustrative content for magazines such as the Progressive. Now, instead of creating visual commentary I use my creative freedom to make botanical perfumes that come from plant based materials. I enjoy the freedom to express myself, in fact I feel it is the right of every sentient being to have that freedom. The honey bee is in danger due to the use of agrochemicals. In my opinion the large corporations are the enemy of nature of freedom as we know it.

Think outside the box, think circular and know that you have power...use it!
Remember who you are.

Here is a list of companies that support conservative politics from the website Buy Blue
which means these are companies I will no longer patronize. I got the list from a website promoting conservatives to buy from these companies.

• Ace Hardware Corporation 100%
• Advance Auto Parts, Inc. 100%
• Best Buy Co., Inc. 100%
• California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. 100%
• Cintas Corporation 100%
• Citgo (Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.) 100%
• CSS Industries, Inc. 100%
• Curves International Inc 100%
• Dollar General Corporation 100%
• Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. 100%
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. 100%
• Fruit of the Loom 100%
• In-N-Out Burgers, Inc 100%
• Kohl's Corporation 100%
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. 100%
• Lowe's Companies, Inc. 100%
• Michaels Stores, Inc. 100%
• Nordstrom, Inc. 100%
• PETsMART, Inc. 100%
• RE/MAX International, Inc. 100%
• Russell Stover Candies Inc. 100%
• The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. 100%
• WinCo Foods, Inc 100%
• Bob Evans Farms, Inc. 99%
• Chick-fil-A, Inc 99%
• Huffy Corporation 99%
• Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 99%
• Raley's Inc. 99%
• Gold's Gym International, Inc 98%
• Outback Steakhouse, Inc. 98%
• Kelly Services, Inc. 97%
• Williams-Sonoma, Inc 97%
• CBRL Group, Inc. 96%
• McDonald's Corporation 96%
• Exxon Mobil Corporation 95%
• Geico 95%
• Hershey Foods Corporation 95%
• TJX Companies Inc., The 95%
• Applebee's International, Inc. 94%
• AutoNation, Inc. 94%
• Urban Outfitters, Inc. 94%
• Wendy's International, Inc. 94%
• 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc. 93%
• Darden Restaurants, Inc. 91%
• PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc 91%
• AirTran Holdings, Inc 90%
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. 90%
• International House of Pancakes (IHOP Corp.) 90%
• Panda Restaurant Group, Inc 90%
• Chevron Corporation 89%
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The 89%
• Saks Incorporated 89%
• Activision, Inc. 88%
• Dell Inc. 88%
• J. C. Penney Company, Inc. 88%
• Kroger Co. 88%
• Meijer, Inc. 88%
• Office Depot, Inc. 88%
• OfficeMax Incorporated 88%
• Publix Super Markets, Inc. 88%
• Zale Corporation 88%
• Ahold USA, Inc. 87%
• ConocoPhillips 87%
• TIAA-CREF 87%
• Hallmark Cards, Inc. 86%
• America West Holdings Corporation 85%
• American Greetings Corporation 85%
• Oracle Corporation 85%
• Brinker International, Inc. 84%
• EarthLink, Inc. 84%
• Helzberg Diamonds 84%
• Limited Brands, Inc. 84%
• Molson Coors Brewing Company 84%
• Papa John's International, Inc 84%
• Staples, Inc. 84%
• USAA 84%
• Marriott International, Inc. 83%
• Menard, Inc. 83%
• Shell Oil Company 83%
• Target Corporation 83%
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. 83%
• Home Depot, Inc. 82%
• Southwest Airlines Co. 82%
• SUPERVALU INC 82%
• Campbell Soup Company 80%
• YUM! Brands, Inc. 79%
• Longs Drug Stores Corporation 78%
• May Department Stores Company 78%
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 78%
• Heineken N.V. 77%
• Procter & Gamble Company 77%
• Weyerhaeuser Company 76%
• Albertson's, Inc. 75%
• Continental Airlines, Inc. 75%
• Intel Corporation 75%
• InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 75%
• Nestle S.A. 75%
• General Motors Corporation 74%
• Georgia-Pacific Corporation 73%
• Guess?, Inc 73%
• MBNA Corporation 73%
• US Airways Group, Inc 73%
• Family Dollar Stores, Inc. 72%
• Ford Motor Company 72%
• Harley-Davidson, Inc. 72%
• Motorola, Inc. 72%
• T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG 72%
• United Parcel Service, Inc 72%
• Allstate Corporation, The 70%
• Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 70%
• Safeway Inc. 70%
• Qwest Communications International Inc. 69%
• Covad Communications Group, Inc 68%
• Federated Department Stores, Inc. 68%
• Northwest Airlines Corporation 68%
• Bank of New York Company Inc., The 67%
• Sears, Roebuck and Co. 66%
• Verizon Communications Inc. 66%
• Burger King Corporation 65%
• SBC Communications Inc. 65%
• Sprint Corporation 65%
• Walgreen Co. 65%
• Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 64%
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company 64%
• Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 64%
• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company 64%
• Books-A-Million, Inc. 63%
• BP PLC 62%
• Coca-Cola Company, The 62%
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc, The 62%
• Bank of America Corporation 61%
• Capital One Financial Corporation 61%
• Constellation Brands, Inc. 61%
• Rite Aid Corporation 61%
• Xerox Corporation 61%
• Blockbuster Inc. 60%
• Amazon.com, Inc. 59%
• Hewlett-Packard Company 59%
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc 59%
• International Business Machines Corporation 58%
• Jones Apparel Group, Inc 58%
• MetLife, Inc. 58%
• Wells Fargo & Company 58%
• Carnival Corporation 57%
• Countrywide Financial Corporation 57%
• Delta Air Lines, Inc. 57%
• Microsoft Corporation 57%
• Wet Seal Inc, The 57%
• AT&T Corp. 56%

Images © Greg Spalenka, used with permission, see more at his website: http://spalenka.com

Bee Here Now

“To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.”

~ Tom Robbins

The Moon is new in Taurus and the season is shifting from the warmth and languid energetic of the Summer to the active, Firelight dynamism of the Autumn. In the spirit of this Taurus Moon I have contacted a few of my perfume blogging friends to cross pollinate ideas on Bees, Honey and Perfume. At the bottom of this post please follow the links to five other worker bees who create immortal honey with their golden words.

My obsession with the bees began in art school through beautiful engravings found in books published by Dover and Thames & Hudson. There was a magic to the iconic image that sang sweet songs to my art spirit.

In May, possibly 2004, Greg and I were at our yearly attendance of the Bug Fair at the Natural History Museum in downtown Los Angeles. While strolling the aisles and drooling over glorious bugs resembling little cars and African masks Greg stopped at a booth and made a purchase. It was a gift to me, in the form of a book titled Love in the Garden by Jean-Pierre Otte. The first of several short stories is an enchanting tale of a little velvet corseted bumblebee in The Astonishing Deception of the Bee Orchid. After reading this eight page poetical fancy I was quite keen on using the Bee as part of my branding.


The symbolism of the the divine honeybee originates from their ability to work as an individual and within a team to create an intoxicating elixir from the sweet aroma of flowers. An indie, niche botanical perfumer is very much like a honeybee, dependent on flowering plants to create their luxurious potions. In sacred texts throughout the East the little flying insect symbolizes the quest for the divine. Often we see the bee associated with royalty. In fact the Fleur de Lis stems from the image of a honey bee.


In the palette of the natural, botanical perfume artist we find the absolutes of Beeswax and Honey coming from France. Predominantly it is the golden yellow, solid buttery beeswax absolute, termed Absolue Cire d’Abeille in French, that is utilized for the creation of natural perfume. The beautiful substance has notes of sweet hay combined with the warm waxy body note of beeswax. Like honey, the odor of beeswax absolute will depend on the terrain from whence it is derived. The natural perfumer also utilizes the pure beeswax for the creation of solid perfume, creams and body butters.

Since visiting friends with bees in Ojai and Carpentaria I have been yearning to care and tend a hive of bees. It was an article in the LA Times Magazine that led me to a Los Angeleno named Kirk, who facilitates others in caring for bees in a holistic manner. Curious and determined to manifest my dream I attended a local meeting of his group the Backward Beekeepers. This group has a blog, yahoo group and gets together once a month to share their stories and techniques on tending bees in a chemical free manner. Upstairs in the Studio City home of one of the members Kirk started the meeting by stating that the goal of the Backward Beekeepers was very simply "To change the world." My kind of guy! So now I have two new heroes, both deeply connected with organic agriculture, Kirk and Farmer John (John Peterson).

Kirk explained that the bee's problem, like most of nature, is man. There is quite a bit of misinformation being circulated in the media about the bees. One would think that since bees are critical to our diet and environment, conscious mass action would occur. Like stopping the use of all herbicides, fungicides and pesticides for example. Since this is currently not the case I will do what I can in my little microcosm to affect the macrocosm. I invite you to do the same.


Our global hive needs some tending so that we may all evolve to, as Tom Robbins in Jitterbug Perfume says, an illuminated state of floral consciousness.

“With an increased floral consciousness,
humans will begin to make full use of their
“light brain” and make more refined and sophisticated use of their “smell brain.”
The two are portentously linked.
In fact, they overlap to such an extent that they may be considered inseparable.”

~ Author Tom Robbins from Jitterbug Perfume

Please follow these links to the hives of my fellow worker bees:

Perfume Shrine
Scent Hive
The Non-Blonde
The Examiner: Cleveland
The Examiner: Portland

Enjoy!

Bee Illustration ©Roxana Villa, was created first as a painting with the final image collaged together in the computer using Photoshop.

Seeds of Yesterday

“All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of yesterday”

~ Unknown

One of the many seeds I have scattered along the path has sprouted. As an independent business owner that’s what we do, distribute those little embryos out into the world. We fertilize with intention that the little seed, we planted with love, will one day mature into a beautiful and fragrant plant.

In due time, with faith, one or more seedlings will appear. It's happened that some finally sprout, yet, take an inordinate amount of earth time to grow. That's when yoga, meditation and all those other little saplings to tend to come in handy. The worst is planting a precious seed in the wrong soil or climate. However, when you get it right, it makes such a difference.

For my birthday, about six years ago, Ben gave me a lovely hibiscus shrub. With care I planted it in the ground once the weather had cooled a bit. I made sure I put it in a wire cage to protect its roots from our ravenous gopher population. That little hibiscus struggled for years. This past spring I put it into a pot to get the hillside ready for all the native plants we are putting in. The hibiscus in the meantime has doubled in size with huge, beautiful blossoms on a daily basis.

A good example of right soil for the right plant. In the meantime, the native plants are quite happy in that same soil with very little watering, no soil amendments, no pesticides and no fertilizers.

The plant kingdom is so generous with its wisdom.

Image above: Roxana’s Seeds©Roxana Villa. The illustration began as a pencil drawing and then slowly developed into the more flushed out idea of the seed packet.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

A Walk in the Woods

The perfumes I create are made with actual plant material, sometimes tinctured or infused, and essences obtained from nature in the guise of essential oils. The natural or botanical perfumer has a vast palette to work with in creating their artwork, lets call it earthwork. We are advocates of both the art of perfumery and the plant kingdom. By creating and using pure fumes utilizing the gifts of nature it brings one to the center of self and a profound connection to Mother Earth.

"There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story." ~ Linda Hogan

I came to working with precious aromatic gems by a calling from the plant world, a subtle hum, like that of the Ents in Lord of the Rings. It's a gift to work with these vital essences and live here at the base of the great Santa Monica Mountain range. My home and studio are a haven in the thick of the chaparral biome with its varied flora and fauna. I've come to see a parallel between native plants and botanical perfume, both are subtle, both are authentic, both speak in a language that is different from what we are accustomed. It is similar to the subtle healing energies of homeopathic medicine.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™
Image above ©Greg Spalenka

The Genius of Nature

“Nature is full of genius, full of divinity;
so that not a snow flake escapes it’s fashioned hand.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

Two major events, dear to my heart, occurred this weekend on opposite coasts. The Sniffapalooza Spring Fling in NYC and the Native Plant Garden Tour here in Los Angeles. Alas, I was not able to attend this years Fragrance Event in NYC instead, I was immersed in the aromatics and beauty of California natives such as: Ceanothus, Artemisia, Salvias and the California Rose (pictured above). As a native plant advocate and a member of the Theodore Payne Foundation I decided to volunteer as a docent for this years garden tour. On Saturday we toured approximately five gardens with my mom while Sunday Greg and I were docents for a location in Encino consisting primarily of wildflowers (pictured at left) in a Walnut Tree woodland.
The native gardens on the tour are so inspirational, it really makes you wonder why more folk haven't caught on by now, especially with our water challenges. Perhaps this years
garden will spur on more consciousness in this realm.

Here are just a few of the benefits of California Native Gardens:

• Only 7% of insects can eat non native plants. Without insects to convert plant material to protein, most higher land animal forms will go extinct. Insects are an important protein source to our lovely songbirds. Native plants maintain bio-diversity.

• Native plants require very little water, once established. In fact some of the gardens on the tour are only watered six times throughout the entire year! Compare that to those thirsty lawns that have become emblematic with Los Angeles suburbs.

• Native plants require no soil amendments, no fertilizers or pesticides. What a paradigm shift huh! Just put them into the existing earth.

The trick is to select the right plant for your area and not to over water!

The California iris is called Iris douglasiana. Pictured above are a spattering of the different Iris hybrids offering a variety of color and shape.

The most interesting fact I learned this weekend was that the town of Encino, in Los Angeles, was named after a non-native oak tree! The Holm oak, Quercus ilex, is native to Spain, and resembles our native coastal live oak in that it is not deciduous like most European oaks. In Los Angeles and the surrounding areas we have many towns, cities and communities named after Oaks: Encino, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks and Los Robles to name a few.

Within our line of botanical perfumes we have four fragrances based on the California landscape, some of which utilize tinctures of native plants. The California line consists of "Q", Chaparral, Vera and Sierra. We intend to release a new perfume, which has been in the works for about five years, within the next month. Can you guess what it will be? To read more about our Californica botanical perfume series click here.

Pictured at right is the California Poppy.

Sniffapalooza
Theodore Payne Foundation
Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

The photos were taken at this weekends native tour ©Roxana Villa.

Bunnies, Eggs and Mythical Creatures

Happy Easter! The origins of the word Easter are found in the ancient Saxon Lunar Goddess known as Eostre and Norse Goddess Ostara. In both these traditions, as well as those of the Greeks and Egyptians we find the symbolic use of eggs and bunnies. These images, along those of flowers, birds and resurrection are all pagan references to the advent of Spring and rebirth.

We took a walk up the street and into the mountains yesterday afternoon. I was curious to see what plants are currently flowering in the Chaparral. The Oaks have just finished flowering and are now quite green and robust. Many little baby oaks are sprouting in the queerest of places, thanks to the oak fairies, aka squirrels. I encountered a plethora of blue ceanothus in a front garden. The sage has not started blooming, yet looks poised to do so. During our walk, on a whim, we decided to take a different trail from the norm. To our great surprise we came to a fenced clearing that had about ten goats! We are assuming they are their as natural land mowers to clear brush in the Park land. As we approached they all rushed over, greeting us with their merry bleats. It felt appropriate to come across the lovely family of goats at the Vernal Equinox when we bow to the splendor of nature. Pan is the Greek God of the woods and fields, as well as flocks. He is depicted as half man half goat and considered the personification of nature. I am especially found of the portrayal of Mr. Tumnus, by James McEvoy, in the film version of The Chronicles of Narnia. McEvoy is so great at expressing deep emotion, most especially in the film Atonement.

I’m off to work in the garden, followed by another walk in the woods at sunset today with some friends. Perhaps today we will spot some of our local bunnies and quails.

Images: The two engravings are from old books which I've cleaned up and put on parchment. The photo of the goat was taken yesterday when we came across the flock here in our mountains.