Spiritual journeys in tending the living earth, permaculture, and nature-inspired arts
Resilience is a term I first learned as a permaculture practitioner–resilient ecosystems are those that are able to withstand hardship, recover quickly when faced with difficulty, and had a capacity to endure. In other words, a resilient ecosystem can withstand …
One of the hallmarks of spring is the blooming of the vibrant and colorful dandelion. Emerging as soon as the coldest of the temperatures ease, the blooming of the dandelions affirm that the long, dark winter is indeed over and …
Perhaps the first thing to think about in any system of spiritual or magical practice is the way in which a practice offers a framework to understand reality. These frameworks vary widely based on the spiritual tradition: some use a …
As I grow ever more in tune and aware of nature’s gifts, I keep coming back to one of the tragedies of our age–our incredible misunderstanding of the natural world, the sacred living earth from which all things flow. One …
Weeds. The term conjures up images of plants that are unwanted and unloved, the bane of the township “noxious weed ordinances” and suburbanites, and the quiet recipient of so many unfounded assumptions. Yet these are the plants that are the …
I’ve posted on Dandelion wine before on this blog, and I wanted to follow up on my previous posts on dandelion wine – making the wine and racking/bottling. I’ve also written more generally about the dandelion as a beneficial plant–so …
The spring equinox is upon us! This is a wonderful time to begin to engage in Sacred Actions and explore sustainable activities for the spring equinox. This post suggests activities for sustainable and spiritual actions that are appropriate for this …
When people talk about plants, one of the common conversations that comes up is whether the plant is native or invasive. Invasive plants have taken on monstrous qualities of epic proportions, and people in organized groups nationwide argue for the …
I remember a sunny day not too long ago in early May when I was visiting my parents in western Pennsylvania. Everywhere we drove, dandelions were growing, their beautiful, bright yellow heads serenading the sun. After one of the coldest …
I was blessed to attend the Pan-Druid Retreat in Gore, Virginia this past weekend. As part of the retreat, I served on a discussion panel about “approaching the sacred through nature.” We were asked to prepare 10 minutes for discussion. …
A delightful nine or so months ago, I posted about attempts at the first batch of dandelion wine. In today’s post, I’ll talk about what has happened since that first post and the process that we went through to finish …
I’ve decided to learn how to make wine from the dandelions in my yard! Why? When John Michael Greer was here a month ago, he suggested various kinds of reskilling to help us transition to post industrialism. One of his …