Whew....

Works like a charm!

I'm loving my new chipper! 

I planted six curly willow trees today

and mulched around all twenty eight.

Meanwhile...the rewilding is coming

right along....

 I don't know what this is but I

like it...

And lastly...the lady seems happy

this year.

Whew....my arse is dragging!

And It Begins....

They're planted...twenty two willow trees...

all around the front of my property. I plan to

plant six curly willows today. It's always

nice to start out with things that just love

to grow so success it pretty much a given.

 

I've done a walk about my land and noted

many volunteer trees that I'll try relocating.

I think I may have a wild muscadine vine

back in the woods. I'll have to research it's

growing habit to see if it can be in full sun.

 

The wood chipper that I ordered came 

yesterday and I got it assembled last night.

 

 

 It's electric and the only kind I can afford...

plus maintaining gas powered tools is a 

pain...like my chainsaws. I watched a lot

of youtube videos and read reviews before

deciding on this model. I think it will serve

my needs well enough. I'm going to give

it a try today so I can mulch around all

the willows.

 

Onward....

Oh My.....

Curly willow..hybrid willow..red dogwood...

elderberry... there's gonna be some planting

going on here soon. I can't wait to get the

willow established so I can start making some

living willow structures.

This little one is a sweet bay shrub. They don't

like living outside year round in zone 7 so 

I'm going to try to keep her in a pot....

something I'm not very good at doing. 

Thank You Lewis Rossignol

I think it is awesome that so many artists are giving free
 classes during our time of quarantine. Lewis Rossignol
 has long been one of my favorite artists and has been
sharing his creative process on his youtube channel.
This is my attempt after watchinghis latest video. I'm
looking forward to his collage process.

13

The number thirteen is considered a sacred number by indigenous peoples.

During ancient times the year was divided into thirteen months because 

there were thirteen full moons in a year...and a woman's cycle is intimately

linked with the cycles of the moon. In those times women were greatly

honored because their bodies were synchronized with the heavens and 

able to create life...the same as Mother Earth.

The vast majority of people now have lost connection with Mother Earth

and seem intent on destroying her while forgetting it is She who supports

us. I think we will see more and more people give up the life of

consumerism and return to a more Earth based life once the restrictions

of this panic driven pandema are lifted...and I think women will

be the guides in this movement.

"I am a voice for the voiceless...
speaking for our Mother Earth."

A Matter of Inspiration

Colette O'Neill of Bealtaine Cottage is such an inspiration. She bought this three acre piece of land:

and transformed it into this wonderland:

She has a book that tells of her journey... I don't have it yet but plan to order it as soon as

funds are available.

Colette also has a youtube channel where she documents her progress. In this time of being homebound with "the virus" it's been a great comfort to watch her videos. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy her walk abouts.

Is There Anybody Out There?

Helloooooooooooo

....is there anybody out there?

I've been AWOL for quite some time...just living life. Nothing particularly interesting to catch up on so....let's start anew.

I have decided to let the majority of my four acre property rewild....hopefully become woodland. When my family bought this land it was basically open field with all the topsoil sold off for profit by the previous owner. I've tried to "garden" here for the better part of forty plus years by amending spots for whatever I was planting. That being said...most things have not done well because when the roots hit below the amended soil they became unhappy campers. I have planted many trees and shrubs around the property that are thriving but not like they should....and I've kept about two acres of grass cut as lawn all this time (two acres are fenced pasture with sheep). 

Last year I read "The Garden Awakening" by Mary Reynolds.

Awesome book....highly recommended! And this past winter I ran across her website:

We Are The Ark which helped me to decide to rewild my land. She asks that each person make a sign to let others know what's going on. Here's mine:

I live on a very small budget so there won't be any scraping off the grass to start over or purchasing of native plants. My plan is to scavenge what I can from the fields and woods around here. I expect there will be a lot of poor plants that won't make it after I rehome them but I'm gonna try.

I'm already lucky enough to have plenty of wildlife around...birds..deer..fox..skunks..squirrels..opossum..chipmunks and rabbits to name a few. I have an abundant amount of insects...even honey bees...though not housed here on my property.

I even had some white wild yarrow just show up last year:

My plan is to document my journey here...successes and failures. I'm ready to get started but will have to work around the pollen for a little longer because of my allergies. I'm hoping to get some things started on light rainy days so I can be out. I've got several volunteer trees and a few shrubs I'd like to move. ( I know...should have done that last fall but it's gonna be done now).

Wish me (and all my little plant spirits) luck!

Biomimicry

so thankful there are people like this

in this consumerism driven world....

If Women Rose Rooted

Dr Sharon Blackie – Cultivating the Mythic Imagination from Sharon Blackie on Vimeo.

yes....

Moon Wisdom

thankfully....

Sacred House

 this.....

girlseed

bloodflower

fruitmother

spinmother

midwoman

earthcrone

stonecrone

bone

The Scent of Fresh Wood

"the scent of fresh wood is among the last things

you will forget when the veil falls.

the scent of fresh white wood in spring sap time:

as though life itself walked by you

with dew in its hair.

that sweet and naked smell kneeling woman-soft

and blond in the silence inside you

using your bones for a willow flute.

with hard frost beneath your tongue

you look for fire to light a word..and know..

mild as southern wind in the mind

there is still one thing in the world

you can trust." 

the Standing Ones

always a part of me

It's A Keeper

i've baked my own bread for

years..usually sour dough

in loaf pans

my first attempt baking

in a dutch oven using

a basic flour..yeast..salt

and water recipe

nice hard shell

the best part:

i could hear it talking

cracking..popping

murmurings

when i turned it out

onto the board

think this recipe will 

be a keeper

Angel of Menopause

lawd yes

sigh...

Angel of Misery

some days......

We Are The Ark

We Are The Ark

 

listen to the podcast here

 

 

please help our planet...

Earth Day 2019

yes...

Yes Please

wood fired

ceramic eggs

by mona_naess

yes please

New Carving And Something Delicious

she watches over me

new goddess carving

look at these bowls

by allfiredup.pottery

delicious

seems like everything

i'm drawn to comes

from over the pond

cellular memory?

World Voice Day

"while I am watching the animals and birds I am watching the river and listening. In the water I hear the aboriginal sounds which musicians and poets, shamans and seers have heard in the Great River from the beginning and repeated to their people. In the sound I hear their songs cast into the Great River a long long time ago. Music from the veiled source and these human melodies gather in the long bed waiting to be heard and retrieved by someone, somewhere downstream, in time. Adding to this eternal litany, I tell my own stories to the river, stories I have heard, dreams which people have entrusted to me, my own dreams, tales I have read. The words I write I take to the river and read to the water. Until I have given the words to the river they are not mine to give. Until they are thrown into the flow, washed and bedded in her body, I do not trust their purity. The water absorbs the sounds and the timeless commingling continues, running with purpose to union with all the waters circling this sweet earth. In the waters the sounds go round and round. 

Sometimes I think of the animals hearing the songs in the water and perhaps understanding something good about us. I always carry with me one of my stone animals. Washed in the river, the animal returns the sound to its altar in the studio and the sounds in the stone sing like the stones in the riverbed."

beautiful words about voice

by meinrad craighead

who do you share 

your voice with?