Working the Way of the Spirit
Summer Solstice and I have learned to let go and slip into the season and allow auto-pilot to take over. I'm about a week off here are the Solstice. It has been a lot of work, but I'm looking forward to 2018 when I will again be back to my three gardens and ALL in Beacon! I feel blessed to have been gifted these lands. I am down to milking goats and Edible Landscaping for income. I got through the propagation season and now am working on my logo and producing product to go to market. Milking will end around September when the goats become pregnant.
White Pine has one of the best greenhouses I have grown in. For the first time, I have gotten White Sage, Salvia apiana, an indigenous ceremonial plant. And Anise Hyssop!
White Pine has one of the best greenhouses I have grown in. For the first time, I have gotten White Sage, Salvia apiana, an indigenous ceremonial plant. And Anise Hyssop!
Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, Labiatae
Delicious winter tea indigenous cough medicine. Lands an hour away open up and I am now connected with Seed Song Farm in Kingston and Wild Seed in Millbrook. I have planted an herb garden at Seed Song and Wild Seed will have a youth event at the end of July where I will teach an herb class. Because Marc commutes on the train to work it is important to me to have gardens in Beacon, but who says I can't expand into these others spaces? Once again we had Solstice Ceremony at White Pine. Moon will be waning at the Solstice with the New Moon two days later.
Hiddenbrooke is coming along. We've planted Phlox, Columbine, Marigold, Chocolate Mint (Mentha x piperita, Labiatae) and Spearmint (Mentha spicata, Labiatae). Phlox tea has been used for digestive issues and as a blood purifier. Columbine leaf has been used in lotion, root for fasting and seeds to aid the liver. Marigold is a sister to Calendula holding the same properties. Chocolate Mint aids me with digestive issues, but Spearmint does not interestingly enough. I am a huge tea drinker in the Winter so the more tea the better. Hiddenbrooke is a beautiful, peaceful space. I have created drying space so Nettle (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae) and Comfrey (Symphytum officinale, Boraginaceae) have been hung. Nettle infusion promotes the optimum functioning of the internal organs and Comfrey also known as Knitbone, helps one to heal from injuries and treats arthritis and rheumatism. I finally was able with a volunteer to harvest all three Nettle patches.
Hiddenbrooke is coming along. We've planted Phlox, Columbine, Marigold, Chocolate Mint (Mentha x piperita, Labiatae) and Spearmint (Mentha spicata, Labiatae). Phlox tea has been used for digestive issues and as a blood purifier. Columbine leaf has been used in lotion, root for fasting and seeds to aid the liver. Marigold is a sister to Calendula holding the same properties. Chocolate Mint aids me with digestive issues, but Spearmint does not interestingly enough. I am a huge tea drinker in the Winter so the more tea the better. Hiddenbrooke is a beautiful, peaceful space. I have created drying space so Nettle (Urtica dioica, Urticaceae) and Comfrey (Symphytum officinale, Boraginaceae) have been hung. Nettle infusion promotes the optimum functioning of the internal organs and Comfrey also known as Knitbone, helps one to heal from injuries and treats arthritis and rheumatism. I finally was able with a volunteer to harvest all three Nettle patches.
Phlox, Phlox subulata, Polemoniaceae
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Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris,
Ranunculaceae
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Marigold, Tagetes patula, Asteraceae (Compositae)
I am acutely aware of the body pain this year. My twisted left knee has shifted to my right knee, shin and hip and now over to my left hip. I have had spurs since my early thirties and it often shows up in the right foot. I have managed to create my personal yoga practice that I have been faithfully practicing two - three, sometimes four times a week. It feels like the entire body yawning. So goood!
Sleep was a challenge along the way. My shift to milk the goats starts at 6:30am. I started out thinking I would have to go to sleep at 8pm, but who can do that? Especially now when it's still daylight? Marc says "how boring!" I did try in the beginning, but then Marc was off for a month, which threw me off. I started falling asleep at the wheel when I commuted for an hour, which started to make me nervous. Eventually, I would just pullover and take a powernap. Finally, with Marc back to work, we find ourselves drifting off at 8:00pm. What has occurred here also is routine. It seems we have spent our lives running and now life has settled down into what we want - the simple life - and we learn to adjust to it. At first, I thought peaceful-soulful-peace (which is what I have prayed for) was boring. Now what do I do? I thought I would spend my entire life working toward peace, but here I am halfway through my life and I have it! I pause and give thanks whenever I even imagine being bored. It is a good life. Happy Solstice!
Sleep was a challenge along the way. My shift to milk the goats starts at 6:30am. I started out thinking I would have to go to sleep at 8pm, but who can do that? Especially now when it's still daylight? Marc says "how boring!" I did try in the beginning, but then Marc was off for a month, which threw me off. I started falling asleep at the wheel when I commuted for an hour, which started to make me nervous. Eventually, I would just pullover and take a powernap. Finally, with Marc back to work, we find ourselves drifting off at 8:00pm. What has occurred here also is routine. It seems we have spent our lives running and now life has settled down into what we want - the simple life - and we learn to adjust to it. At first, I thought peaceful-soulful-peace (which is what I have prayed for) was boring. Now what do I do? I thought I would spend my entire life working toward peace, but here I am halfway through my life and I have it! I pause and give thanks whenever I even imagine being bored. It is a good life. Happy Solstice!
