Over the course of the last four centuries, the Western World has created a set of “unshakable” principles concerning the natural world: that nature is just another machine, that animals don’t feel and do not have souls, that plants and …
bees
Honoring the Predators: A Story of Reconnection
My last beekeeping post told a tale of my two bee colonies destroyed by colony collapse disorder. I had hoped to have better news to share about my beekeeping endeavors this year. And things started well enough: a friend removed …
Healing from the Hive: Honey, Propolis, Beeswax, and Herbal Practices
The last time I wrote about bees on my blog, I wrote about the loss of my hives from Colony Collapse Disorder back in October. The loss of both of the colonies of bees caused a great deal of sadness …
The Silence of the Hive
What you quickly learn as a beekeeper is that the sound of the hive matters. When you first get into a hive, if the hive is in good health and has all of its needs met, the hive is generally …
Permaculture in Action – Five Year Regeneration Model Site (My 3 Acre Homestead)
Last week, I shared some inspiring words about permaculture design, and how it can give us a path forward and an active, regenerative response to the many challenges we face. I wanted to take some time this week to share …
Sacred Lessons from the Bees, Honey Flows, and Honey Harvesting
I’ve been making the transition to Pennsylvania and to my new life here (I spoke of this transition in an earlier blog post). Sorry for the delay in a regular weekly post–I’m back on track now, and have many wonderful …
Creating Sacred Spaces: Bee and Butterfly Sanctuaries
In the depths of the winter, I like to do my planning for next year’s garden, organize my seeds, and start seeds for the coming season. This year, I’m thinking a lot about perennial spaces and planning more bee and …
Reclaiming Our Heritage and Connection With The Land: Herbs, Plants, and Harvests
As you might have noticed, my posts on this blog slow down considerably in the months of August – October. This is because as a single homesteader, I’m quite busy bringing in the harvest canning, drying, and freezing; preparing my …
Sacred Beekeeping at the Summer Solstice
As I’ve alluded to on this blog before, I started beekeeping this year. I wanted to tell the story of that journey thus far, seeing as it is the Summer Solstice today, and share some insights on my process of …
Ecological Footprints and the Road Ahead
One of the more simple ways to measure your overall impact on the planet is to use a carbon footprint calculation. There are a number calculators out there; I like the Center For Sustainable Economy’s “Ecological Footprint” calculator/. Your ecological …