Essentially, when the sodium-chloride road salt combines with water, the electrically-charged chlorine atoms break away and accumulate in astonishingly high levels in water sources (a 1997 Danish study found that chloride levels in winter were 1,200 times higher than in summer). Water treatment plants are not constructed to cleanse this level of chloride contamination, so the water makes its way through the ground and also through sewer systems to sources of both human and non-human consumption. The problem with chloride-filled water is that it essentially cannot quench thirst — especially in plants and small animals. Here’s the quick and dirty biology: The chlorides collect on the outside of a plant’s or animal’s cell membranes, unable to cross into the cell, creating a mineral imbalance; the water inside the cell then leaches out via osmosis to correct this imbalance, thus dehydrating the plant or animal. (This is why humans can’t rehydrate on a hot day at the beach by drinking sea water.)

The NPR-show interviewer posed an interesting question: “So, isn’t this another example of a strategy invented by humans to deal with a natural phenomenon that actually causes a larger problem in the end?” Right on. The upside of road-salting is that far fewer people are dying in auto accidents on icy roads. There are, however, other options to explore — though most are either far more expensive (for example, there are high-tech monitoring systems that detect optimal time and conditions to salt, decreasing salt usage by two-thirds in some cases) or far more inconvenient (for example, don’t drive on icy roads!).

We haven’t used any de-icing salt on our sidewalks or driveways yet this winter, and I’m glad for it. Sure, we’ve had to be more timely, aggressive and creative with our snow-removal techniques (I found that the flat-tipped garden shovel works wonders on the slabs of ice that form under car wheels, even though that shovel is heavy-so-heavy), but that’s an extra bit of workload I’m willing to take on in this situation. Of course, we’re just one house surrounded by neighbors who are a bit salt-happy, and located on a major road that is salt-ecstatic, but — heck — it’s a start.

After class, I asked the Deva of a curry plant that I recently picked up at an herb sale if I’d given it too much water (as I suspected I had), and the Deva said, “No.” (I was truly surprised.) I then asked some more probing questions and discovered that the plant needs to be in a larger pot — and soon! So, before the end of this week I will transplant that root-bound herb into a larger pot, giving it just what it asked for. And here’s the kicker — it took far less of my personal energy and resources to have that two-minute “conversation” with the plant than to stew for hours (or days!) about whether I’d drowned that beloved, fragrant new addition to my home.

I’ve already identified all the plant varieties and the seeds are on order (the Burpee ones have arrived!). The next step is connecting with all the plant devas to determine whether the seeds are to be sown directly into the garden or in flats and then transplanted later, and also to schedule when the seeds or transplants are to be planted in the garden. With individual devic action, it feels like it’ll be July before we’ve got this all planned out — yet alone planted. Enter a new idea (at least for me): devic group action.

I will open a working connection with the Deva of my garden and with the Devas of each of the over-40 plant species in the garden; I will request that the Devas speak with one, unified voice; I will ask that each Deva “come forward” when I am asking about that specific plant; and then I will ask my series of planting and timing questions. Now, I know that I will still be opening more than 40 Devic connections, but the idea of opening all the connections in one combined nature request seems far easier than opening-and-closing, opening-and-closing, opening-and-closing — and on and on. I’m hoping to start using this tool tomorrow afternoon. I’ll let you know how it goes!