happy tears onions

I've been stitching a little sunrise/sunset cloth -- the sun is berry-dyed silk, the river is Japanese indigo-dyed silk, the pink sky is a cotton square cut from one of my baby dresses...from when I was a baby. The mountains are calendar cloth. I don't feel like it's done yet but I'm taking a break. Funny how we can spend hours and hours on such tiny little things.

I got this wreath from Target because I thought it would match the curtains in the living room. And it does.

A year of brewing is long enough, don't you think? I think it was prettier in the jar than out of the jar.

The middle plant in the largest pot is a henna plant. It has grown so well and is about three or four feet tall. It will overwinter inside, hopefully I can keep it alive. The top right plant is patchouli and the bottom left is curry. There's also one small carob tree and a spicy scented geranium in the mix.

Here is the goji berry bush for which I still need to find a permanent home before winter. I find that fresh goji berries are not very tasty although the birds like them -- they are much better dried.

This is a deep sea flower dice bag on which mistakes were made but I'm not going to tink it.

Lots of onions overwintered from 2016's garden producing big, beautiful flower heads this past summer and some decent size onions as well. 

I read that at one time in ancient Lemuria, onions made people cry tears of joy, that there was no need to be sad for the world. As civilization evolved, onions took on a different purpose, that of helping people to cry out the sadness that blocked joy -- and in turn their hearts would soften and they could experience greater clarity. I know how good it feels to experience tears of joy but don't think it's ever happened from peeling onions. Maybe I can change that.

I labeled the seeds Happy Tears Onion.

She's going to get a new outfit soon, probably a skirt and maybe a few accessories.

 

An October moon cloth that I stitched a few years ago as part of a moon & stitch ritual. 

Tonight Talula and I will go out for our nightly stroll, first the front yard, then the back. We'll see the full moon, listen for night sounds and make absolutely sure there are no rabbits around. Then we'll come inside to hang the moon cloth and light a candle. And I'll wish for times of joy. 

xx

healing and magic

Chamomile flowers are drying for plant magic and plant healing -- Linda Rago says that magic and healing are interchangeable concepts because they are both the result of a conscious shift in energy. I like thinking about creating some fragrant chamomile magic.

My friend Dulcy over at dulcysdoorstep and I just did a trade -- one of her gorgeous hand-dyed & hooked wool Midnight Garden bags for a June calendar moon cloth. I'm pretty sure I came out on top of this one. To me that vintage button closure is a golden honeycomb moon...I love everything about this bag.

Roses are the heart of healing and magic...Gertrude Jekyl is my favorite variety for our climate and location, they always do well, if not in quantity they make up for it in size and fragrance. This first batch will be dried for either healthy heart infusion or a milder self-love tea.

Oh, if I had known that a person can take notes like this, I would've been a much better note-taker my whole life long. By the time I've worked through this little book, the page will be completely full of brick notes. I refer to old notes from herbal seminars, lectures and classes fairly often -- and have always wanted to type them out to make them neater and easier to read, but brick notes will be even better. Think of all the facts, ideas and interesting phrases that could be brick-noted. I have never been a highlighter, if I don't write it down, it is lost so I really love this. They can be as simple or as elaborate as needed, some chapters will need their own page and one page could also hold many books or one lecture per page. Like that. I learned about brick notes here. 

My garden hat hangs on a cabinet by the back door. It does the job too but the brim is over-sized so I'm looking for a smaller western style hat now. The lady wants a straw cowboy hat.

Today is a waxing moonday in the sign of Libra. The Libra moon helps create balance, justice, comfort and peace for all. Healing magic. xx

bringing in the may

It's been snowing and/or raining here the past three or four days, I've lost track. Corty's tulips are still standing strong, they close up tightly against the weather. I'm learning that tulips have quite the personality too...the way they flop around when placed in a vase...like they just can't hold still.

The cold frame in the garden is plumb full so some things had to be brought inside -- the mini greenhouses winter-sown with lupine, Mexican primrose and California poppies worked out pretty well considering I've done basically nothing since the day they were planted. I will definitely do it again next winter.

Presenting #4 of the indigo-dyed napkins -- they were quite stained in their previous life. 

A-Maying rituals -- hanging the calendar moon cloth.

And stitching a hawthorn tree drawn onto linen with the magic pen -- the linen has been basted onto a lighter cotton cloth and the blossoms will be pink because that was the color of our first hawthorn tree blossoms.

P.S. Did you know that the white May flower often referred to on Beltane (May Day) is the hawthorn blossom?

Another ritual is bringing in the May with a bouquet of honeysuckle branches.

Lastly, I'm sending you a joyful May with this lovely song. xo

a gathering of kindreds

A gathering of kindreds. April 2013 moon cloth.

Kindly green person in my garden.

April 2016 moon cloth.

Dandelions in the garden wondering where their bee sisters are.

Bowl of full moon goodness.

First hibiscus blossom of the year.

Weathered tree stump, a spell the earth has cast.

And lastly, this quote that explains everything about everything...you are the spell the universe has cast. ~Phyllis Curott

there is much to do

Today is a waxing moonday in Libra and with summer winding down, there is much to do. As they say on Game of Thrones, winter is coming. About now is when I start to baby things in the garden again because I know they don't have much longer to live. I harvest and water and weed more fervently than ever. I'm there for them in the beginning and at the end. I guess that's when we all need someone there for us.

I haven't done very much dyeing lately but that's about to change. There are plans and more plans.

This journal page is layers of paper and paint with words pasted on top of it all. The prompt for Journal52 Week 26 was elements, I still think creating backgrounds might be the best part.

I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird before reading Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. I prefer the former and not the latter but I'm glad I read them both. One reviewer said the first book was what we want to believe and the second book was how it really was.

These are interesting times and winter is coming.

peace and calm

Under the Earth flag hanging on our front porch there is a planter that I converted into some rocky mossy fairy-grounds. I probably play with it more than anyone. The August calendar moon cloth was part of my monthly sewing ritual two years ago, it's nice to bring these old pieces out to the light of day again.

The plant with the feathery bloom is a Pink Quill, Tillandsia cyarea. (Above it is a pot of houseplants delivered from the florist, what you get nowadays from an oral surgeon if you have need to go.) The Pink Quill shouldn't be watered like most plants -- it is to be misted enough for the water to run off the leaves into the soil or deep watered and then drained well. I hope it knows it's in Colorado and not in Ecuador. The two big pots are impatiens and patchouli. A friend gave me the patchouli, Pogostemon sp., I hope she knows she's taking a gamble with its life. As lots of us remember, patchouli is associated with peace and calm -- today many calming essential oil blends still contain patchouli.

Every week I get a friendly reminder email from the leader of the Women in Black peace group I sometimes vigil with. Today's email was more than a reminder though -- she included two historical events: 70 years ago today the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima...50 years ago, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.

I haven't stood with Women in Black in a while. I'm going to try to make it today. If you're interested in finding a group, go here.

Peace and calm on Earth.

peony moon

As the sun rises higher, the house gets darker. I never really noticed this change in light until a few years ago when I started taking more photos. I like it though, it's easier to pretend it's not so hot when the light is dim.

The peonies. They have something in common with the lilacs this year, yes they do -- these Sarah Bernhardts have endured snowstorms, rainstorms and hailstorms -- and still pushed bud into bloom in record numbers. They are the shaggiest, cuddliest flowers.

The other day I sorted through the thread nest to find green threads of various shade and size for the woven cloth. But I see one red thread in the photo, it must have been too dark to see right.

The little calendar/moon cloth was part of 2013's moon stitch ritual -- when its month rolls along, each little moon cloth gets to come hang out again. I was struck by how nicely the June cloth coordinates with the card I drew on the last new moon -- the tower. Some people don't like to draw this card because it looks scary plus the meaning is one of change which can be uncomfortable. Other aspects are an inner awakening and clearing out old patterns and obstacles. All of which can only be a good thing, in my case.

Today is a full moon in Sagittarius. It's always nice on the full moon to take notice of that which has come to fruition. I see gardens tidied and planted (mostly), peonies and roses in bloom, newly-planted aspen, spruce and juniper trees -- and the greenest grass ever. And much more.

Full moon, full heart. xo

 

moonday homekeeping

Autumn home-keeping rituals are underway at my house -- drying and tincturing a few more plants, roasting a pan of tomatoes to make 3 cups of tomato sauce, and making thyme tea bundles. I tried the bundle technique with chocolate mint but the stems are just too long even though the flavor is fantastic. The olive-looking things in the pan of tomatoes are chocolate cherry tomatoes, in case you're wondering.

Nearly everyday I go outside and rinse off another potted plant to bring back in the house but there isn't much else I want to harvest from the garden. I'm beginning to change my views about the obligatory harvest -- realizing we don't have to eat or preserve every single tomato, plum, or bean. Some of the bounty is for people, some is for wildlife and the rest goes back to the earth.

More seed packets have been made and jars properly labeled, labeling is my weakness. It occurred to me that I rarely make quart-size medicinal tinctures anymore, except for echinacea. When I first trained as an herbalist everything was made quart-size and sometimes even larger -- new herbalists can be overzealous. Actually, that goes for anything new I guess. More than once I heard "not to go overboard with your herbal pharmacy because you'll end up throwing it all out in 10 years." Which is exactly what happened. Small batches are not so intimidating to make or use -- infused vinegars are pint-sized now and medicinal tinctures are even smaller, as I delve into the energetic use of plants as medicine -- using 3 drops instead of 30.

Every fall I look at that brown pillow cover and every fall I don't know what to do with it. Today I decided to either replace the existing patches or turn them into houses. I sort of like the houses. The calendar cloth is from last year's full moon sewing ritual.

Today is a waxing moonday in Pisces, a moist and fruitful time. Piscean energy is creative and intuitive and we may just find ourselves retreating from the outside world to spend time in the inner world.

To a beautiful week.