the harvest of john barleycorn

Harvest time.

People who work the land are in the fields day and night now to bring in the harvest. My memories of growing up are anchored in this chaotic, exciting, sleepless and sacred season in the life of a farmer's family. It didn't always seem so great at the time but witnessing the work of sowing, nurturing, growth, harvest and rest from spring through fall to spring again, year after year, gave me a template for living.

In my little garden right now, harvest means picking and cooking green beans for dinner, gathering beets and onions (many) and purple carrots (not many) and cucumbers and tomatoes (not many) to eat, freeze or put in the dye-pot. Harvesting is collecting sunflower heads to dry and store in a paper bag for the birds when the weather gets cold. It's cutting comfrey leaves and calendula flowers to dry for body oils and healing salves....and it's gathering basil for pesto, grapes for juice and elderberries for syrup. Harvest has really only just begun.

After I baked a batch of beets the other day, recipe here, I 1) peeled and cut them up to freeze; 2) poured the delicious leftover oil and juices from the baking dish into a little jar for future vegetable or salad dressing; 3) used the peelings to make a dye-bath for a bundled silk scarf. 

It is a good feeling to actually use all parts of something for a change. 

5-minute bread was made. Actually, the loaf took 5 minutes of prep extended over about a 21-hour stretch using an 18-hour initial rise.

I think the recipe said a 4-year-old could make it and that is probably true. Don't let that sway you though, it's still very good.



John Barleycorn is an age-old British folk song about the harvest of grain crops for bread and drink. Like bread and beer recipes, there are many versions, I love the words, and it's harvest time after all.

On an inner level, harvest means choosing what to take with you into the future. We have a choice on what and how much to carry forward as we enter these next darker, slower months of short days and long nights. We, and only we, get to decide what sustains us in meaningful ways as we go deeper. By the act of choosing what is wanted and needed, we automatically leave behind the unnecessary and don't even need to give it a second thought. Being "for" something rather than "against" something is empowering.

I like to travel lightly this time of year. How about you? xx

out of the dye-pot: mulberry & red amaranth

A while back I wondered if the silk/mulberry connection could be taken further -- if mulberry leaves would color the same cloth it indirectly creates. India said yes, so I made a bundle and cooked it up exactly how she describes in her new book, Second Skin (one of the most pleasurable books I've ever read). Such a small amount of processing, and so lovely.

I also wondered how red amaranth would transfer in a simple cotton bundle. Again, much better than I ever expected. All of these photos are absolutely untouched other than a little cropping.

These bundle tools can be reused many times!

stitching down the moon

                                                                                                                                         stitching down the moon

Today is a full moon in Cancer. Normally I take notice of something in nature or how life feels for me at a full moon and then name that particular moon accordingly. I might gather herbs that are well-harvested on a full moon or do some decanting of oils or tinctures begun on a previous new moon but there's not too much going on for my herbal pharmacy today. Or I may take a moon-lit walk with the dogs but it's pretty cold at night now.

So I got to thinking. Fulfillment. That's what this full moon is all about. It is now that we should be receptive and acknowledge the fullness of our lives -- the success of endeavors, progress on projects, and desires fulfilled. When I take a good look at things around here, I see many fulfilled desires -- some woven cloth made, a new sewing class beginning, a pattern given to me out of the blue (that I'd been looking for but it was out-of-stock), a clean laundry room and pantry (that involved paying somebody!), a new plan to create a bit more space for sewing, a pulled muscle healed, and many more large and small wonderful things. You get the idea.
  
And, too, sometimes I simply draw down some moon energy to replenish and celebrate. Because when you think about it, there's really quite a lot to celebrate now, isn't there?

In gratitude.

                                                                                                                                                              exploring

 

full moon fancies . . .

name: cloth moon

fiber: woven cloth
class: contemporary woven boro
stitching: silk organza moon on black velvet
feast: undecided
book: Gwinna by Barbara Helen Berger (children's book)
dye-pot: onion skins on silk organza
herb: lavender tincture for sleep

                                                                                                           onion skins & silk w/vinegar mordant

What are your full moon fancies?



moonstruck

                           from the garden today: cauliflower, kale, parsley

I walked the dogs and the moon last night. For that little while, I was Harold with a purple crayon, the moon keeping pace, shining through naked tree branches, always right beside us. Smelled chicken soup from someone's house. Tried to name this beauteous moon in Taurus as we walked -- wondered how I could possibly do it justice to be part of the moon quilt -- could it be a circle of silver lamé with a white silk organza overlay and some purple outline stitches (for the crayon)? Yes, maybe I can do right by it.

The time of a full moon is when things get interesting -- when seeds planted begin to sprout, visualizations become actualizations, and wishes come true. This place I find myself in -- this journal -- was a wisp of a thought at the last new moon, barely registering in my brain until I sat at the computer yesterday and the words "woman with wings" flew into an apparently open chakra of mine . . . and now here I am trying to insert a magnified picture of the moon. As you see below, I failed but I tried with enthusiasm!

purple full moon

healing: conditions of the jaws, throat, ears, vocal chords, thyroid gland, and neck are well-treated under the earth sign of Taurus.

harvest: kale, parsley, and cauliflower (parsley is a nice natural diuretic and can also help bring on delayed menses). See recipe below.

pharmacy: strain tinctures/oils begun at the new moon more than 6 weeks ago -- hawthorn berry, serviceberry, lavender, monarda (slathering on lavender oil is my new favorite after-shower activity).

fiber: stitching red stars on "red moon" quilt square

dye pot: infuse silk in frozen red geranium flower bath with a bit of mordant, either vinegar or alum.

reading: Moon Time by Johanna Paungger & Thomas Poppe

feast: pastured chicken breasts, parsley salad, sauteed kale and steamed cauliflower

parsley salad: wash, dry and pinch from stems 2 cups of Italian parsley leaves. Add a handful of mixed salad greens and a few sprigs of mint, oregano, chives, etc., a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a few teaspoons of lemon juice. Top with fresh parmegiano cheese. (source unknown)

11/23/10: I've made this 2 nights in a row now. It holds up overnight in the fridge very well, if you're lucky enough to have any left over. As long as you're fiddling with parsley, pick a bunch and make this salad!

What does your full moon look like?