If you believe nature is against us, let’s not just shoot all our beautiful deer, let’s wipe out the bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons and skunks while we’re at it. Oh, then there’s those pesky birds that now carry the Lyme bacteria. After that, let’s evacuate the Island and pesticide it to death. That ought to take care of that damn Lyme disease. I mean isn’t that what we do? We go in to perfectly balanced places, overpopulate, decimate and expect no negative consequences. Why stop now?

If you believe nature is for us and is an intelligent power that is wiser than we, think about this: climate change is a fact and soon with all the droughts and floods it’s producing, the price of food will go up, the price of grains grown to feed livestock will go up. So what is nature doing for us? Providing deer and do they cost anything to feed? No. These incredible creatures fed our ancestors for centuries and to look upon them as dirty, diseased animals is plain ignorant. Our deer should be prized, cultivated and treated as a future food source. We should, in my opinion, be using four-way bait stations to dose them part of the year. Deer are the only animal in the woods that could harmlessly be dosed to actually kill the Lyme ticks that will just get on all the other smaller animals.

Here is a nature-is-for-us biggie: Lyme-knowledgeable communities are all buzzed about Japanese knotweed. This plant, one of the most invasive in the world, is on top of most alternative treatment lists for Lyme. I have tried to rid my property of it for years, but now I’m making tinctures of it and along with other herbs and enzymes recommended, I finally feel well again.

Another amazing fact about knotweed: people in New York state have noticed its rate of growth goes up as their rate of Lyme cases go up. There is obviously symbiotic relationships between plants and diseases; the Chinese have known this for thousands of years. The potent compound in knotweed is resveratrol. The drug companies have certainly discovered this wonder drug. I encourage everyone to educate themselves with this locally abundant plant and its benefits concerning Lyme disease.

Do you think nature is for or against us? I believe for us, and if we all lean our thinking more in that direction and get out of its way, maybe we could start getting better.

Lorraine Parish
Vineyard Haven