SeaHeart

This morning, I made my way out to our Forest Temple to give my daily offering of love to the Goddess (in this case, a freshly plucked daisy). The sunlight filtered through the pine trees, the birds were jubilant in song, and my heart was full. I'd walked along the edge of our garden, checked on the courageous plants, ever growing, fast growing, mind boggling in their ascent toward the heavens, and the fullness of new leaf. I've been gardening since I was a very little girl, but I will never lose the fascination and euphoria achieved when something you've tended from seed pokes its way through the earth, alive, well, growing. It's one of the most humbling, magical experiences you can have. Our garden is so big, and it sprawls, and it's filled with this sense of accomplishment--like, we did this, we did this together. Soon, we'll be eating fresh vegetables again, and that will be the most empowering thing that can happen. Having gone through a winter living very poorly, knowing that fresh greenery is so close reminds you of how precious the spring and summer are, how golden, how beautiful.

I entered the Forest Temple, and pressed my daisy to the offering column, and brushed my fingers along the base of the Goddess' statue. She was dew sprinkled and shone fiercely in the new light of the day. I said my familiar litany and prayer, and asked Her for my daily blessing: "may I have a good day," I grinned, and rose, feeling so light, so happy. I turned to go, and happened to glance down at my foot.

There was a tiny, perfect strawberry plant--bearing a tiny, perfect, sun-ripened-and-warm strawberry.

So, growing up, some of my happiest memories are laying in the meadow, plucking fresh, wild strawberries and sharing them with my Collie, Luke, laughing and happy in a golden spring-almost-summer afternoon. Strawberries to me are ease, plenty, joy, goodness, happy-golden-moments you hold to your heart forever. They are magic, pure and simple.

I plucked the strawberry, curtsied to the earth, the heavens, the sky, and ate it up. A tiny shock of red and juice and sweetness, that first strawberry of our summer. An offering from the Goddess, back to me.

So far, it has been a very good day~ <3

My life in the past few weeks, in lovely little digestible noms~

<3 I got my Star Girl added to my fairy tale sleeve, FINALLY!



( Her heart was filled with stars )

<3 We picked poppies from a wild field~



<3 I'm working endlessly on editing Twixt. I have this totally unrealistic goal of being finished with edits by my birthday, July 6th. XDDDD Um. We'll see what happens.

<3 We're planning our first annual Midsummer extravaganza, which we're endlessly excited about and covered in glitter for.

<3 All of our fur babies are finally healthy~ I gave baths to Pan and Poesy last night, and told Link he was far too clean and dainty to get one. XD To which I'm sure he agreed. My two little wild muppets are always tangled in something, and their taller and more more esteemed brother is fretting on the sidelines while they chase frogs and find more ways to store grass clippings in their coats. XD

Poesy--practically CLEAN, compared to what usually happens on such outings. XD


<3 We finally have our vegetable garden rotatilled! I'm going to be consecrating the ground on Thursday (the full moon) and planting on Saturday~ My excitement knows no bounds~ <3

<3 I'm surrounded by people who love me and believe in me and my stories and never, ever, ever let me give up. That's pretty incredible, and something I am endlessly and forever grateful for. <3333333

"Might I," quavered Mary, "might I have a bit of earth?"

In her eagerness she did not realize how queer the words would sound and that they were not the ones she had meant to say. Mr. Craven looked quite startled.

"Earth!" he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"To plant seeds in--to make things grow--to see them come alive," Mary faltered.

He gazed at her a moment and then passed his hand quickly over his eyes.

"Do you--care about gardens so much," he said slowly.

"I didn't know about them in India," said Mary. "I was always ill and tired and it was too hot. I sometimes made littlebeds in the sand and stuck flowers in them. But here it is different."

Mr. Craven got up and began to walk slowly across the room.

"A bit of earth," he said to himself, and Mary thought that somehow she must have reminded him of something. When he stopped and spoke to her his dark eyes looked almost soft and kind.

"You can have as much earth as you want," he said. "You remind me of some one else who loved the earth and things that grow. When you see a bit of earth you want," with something like a smile, "take it, child, and make it come alive."

(from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

Our cucumber seedlings~


( A few more~ )

I planted all of my seedlings on Saturday~ The lettuce is already sprouting! There is such an amazing feeling when something you've planted comes up, you can see the tiny shoots, and your heart grows ten sizes too big~ I keep watering all of the others, whispering love to them. I ended up starting the acorn and butternut squash, the lettuce, the moon and star watermelon and the sugar baby watermelon, my lavender, rosemary and thyme (I have bad luck with herbs unless I start them indoors...I've been trying to keep my herb garden afloat since we moved into this house, and without transplants, it just doesn't happen--though I didn't start the chamomile or catnip...I'm leaving those up to chance :)), the zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes...I think I'm not forgetting anything. I have so many happy little trays, sitting on wax paper, waiting and growing~ <333 We have to plant very late around here because we're in such a cold zone--towards the end of May. That leaves the corn, green beans, peas, other lettuce and carrots and a few other herbs to go straight into the ground. I always worry about the corn--it's supposed to be knee-high by the fourth of July (or you can kiss it goodbye XD), but it always ends up giving the amount it should. That's faith, that is~

Yesterday, I planted a few new crocuses and tulips in our front bed. They were on clearance at the Depot of Home, so I got them for a song, all wilty, but they'll be right as rain soon--I have plans to have the front area covered in crocuses someday~

...You know what? There is really no reason that I should love gardening this much. Growing up, me and my sister had to work from sun up to sun down in our one acre vegetable garden and our two acre potato garden. Not to mention the orchard or the grapevines or the strawberry bushes and blueberry bushes...we worked constantly for the farm, and--at the time--I liked it, but there were times where I was frustrated with it. We didn't have time to play during the summer months very much, we worked constantly, getting the harvest ready. But, now, I still love gardening. I didn't know it then, but I was performing my first spells, breathing on the seeds, wishing them growth and life as I plunked them into the soil. When I went out to gather the watermelon or pumpkins, the squash or green beans, it was THE most magical thing in the world to pick up the vegetables I'd grown with my own two small hands. It was jubilant, and amazing. And, yes, magic~

These past two growing seasons at our house, I've not lived up to the knowledge I have, or the tenacity I possess. This year, it's going to be different!

I want us to be a self sustaining farm (when I told this to my sister, she said: so you're going to grow dog-food trees? I admit, I loled~). We have one point eight acres...nothing to sneeze at (inner city farms produce hundreds and hundreds of pounds of produce on percentages of acres). Just because I'm used to dealing with bigger doesn't mean I can't make A LOT out of what I've been given. It's time to become just a wee bit more resourceful~

I don't know how many years we're going to end up staying at Care-A-Lot Cottage (what we named our house when we first moved in), but until we leave, we're turning it into Care-A-Lot Farms~ <3

My year plan:
Large vegetable garden
Small herb garden (turning what I have [which is very sad] into something bigger)
Orchard (three apple trees, one pear tree, one cherry tree, one peach tree)
Berry patch (thornless blackberries, blueberries)
Strawberry Patch (I need to make a raised bed)
Build out the flower beds (which, I realize, has nothing to do with a farm, but still XD)

I've done a little research in our area, because I couldn't find blueberry bushes to save my life (all of my mother's have died over time, sadly, and she never replaced them), but I finally found a Mennonite family business that sells them. I'd rather not buy them online if I can help it, though I will go the online route for the Strawberries (my cousin has had incredible luck with them from Gurney's), and slips of trees, depending on how much the Mennonite family charges for them.

It takes about three full years before you start seeing any yield from fruit trees, and I don't know if we'll be here that long. But, if we're not, we'll have something nice to leave the family who buys our place. :) <3

I have no idea if this is of any interest to anyone but myself...but I'll be posting about this from time to time as the spring progresses and summer comes. In this day and age, to be able to give yourself the gift of food is pretty cool, if you ask me~ :) I paid about a dollar a packet for organic seeds. If close to all of my seedlings come up, and if close to all of the seeds I plant in the ground come up, my yield will be extraordinary, and I will be feeding myself and Jenn (and probably a lot of friends XD) for pennies.

Mother Earth provides in the most beautiful, amazing ways. I am endlessly and completely grateful for that. <3333


photo by pendore

Who will go down to those shady groves,
And summon the shadows there,
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms,
In the springtime of the year?

The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays...
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days.

~ Loreena McKennitt, "The Mummers' Dance"

~*~

Like a cat, I stretch and awaken in the sun, crawling out from my long winter's dreaming. Everything is waking up, the blood rushes in the trees, the ground splits apart as tiny seeds discover their own courage. The fae creatures rouse themselves and lend their powers to the roots and buds, tiny hopes of leaves and blades of grass. The magic is coming back, waking up, flowing like the beating heart of earth that jubilantly unfurls to the beauty and raw possibility of spring.

The deep pain of what happened in my Forest Temple is fading, replaced by quiet and expectation. Out of everything fallen, something rises. Tomorrow night, I will do a blessing ceremony--a cleansing ritual to wipe the hurt and pain from the place. I will then plant a beautiful baby tree, the little fir that Jenn gave me, fittingly, for Yule, and will give a bit of love and life back to the space. I will call upon the guardians of that beloved temple, the very guardians of the earth, to watch as I work the rite. And magic will be made, by my will, and that of the Goddess.

We stand here, at the threshold of a brand new, living year. I'm filled with joy, with hope, with the deep love of all the growing things, come back, reborn, rebirthed.

Every second of every day, I dream of the Fairie Festival, I plan our costumes, I bask in the warm earth, I treasure my tiny seedlings, I water the plants, I tend the bulbs, I plan all of the yardwork needed...I am a child of the earth, warmed and awakened by the sun, touched and healed and loved by the plants I touch and heal and love in return.

Everything in the cycle, everything returning.

Hail, Spring, hail Persephone, beautiful maiden returning.

Hail, myself, fully awakened.

Hail perfect, beautiful earth. I love you~ <3

~*~

You didn't come into this world.
You came out of it,
like a wave from the ocean.
You are not a stranger here.
~ Alan Watts

~*~

Easter and Ostara is, after Samhain, my favorite Sabbat. I am Polish, and my family has always made a Very Big Deal about Easter. Ostara is a long festival for me, stretching from the Vernal Equinox to the actual date of Easter, with everything put in between. Friday is my Forest Temple ritual, Easter morning, I will do one (as tradition speaks~) beneath the arms of my beloved tree on my parents' farm (Magnata, the one who has sheltered me since childhood). Friday evening will also involve a trip to the Broadway Market to pick up Easter feast fixings (and a side trip to the health food store for my vegan Kielbasa. XD). I'll take a trip through the ravine, watch the rushing stream, check the apple orchard blossoms and on the old cherry tree (that still cradles me, on occasion, as I write). I'll walk through the horse pastures, take a cart ride with my mother and the geldings, watch the Ten Commandments with my family (and bask in the glow that is Nefretiri XD) and dance the old dances and those of the new.

What are the signs of awakening spring in your area? What do you love best about this time of year? What calls to you?

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and
the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

~ e.e. cummings

Notes on a Wednesday~

- I, admittedly, have not read my friends' list in almost two weeks now. With Beetho's passing, and then getting ready spiritually, emotionally and physically for Diana's Grove, I was feeling quiet. I'm balanced and feel my energy is back to where it needs to be, so will go back through now...if you get a bunch of comments from me, no it's not LJ screwing up, just me catching up~ :) <3

- I feel like I'm coming down with something, so am being extra easy with myself and drinking way more green tea than usual (and usual is like ten cups a day). If you could spare a good thought for me, I would so appreciate it~

- Our irises and tiger lilies are starting to peek above the soil...every year, this rush of joy fills me as I look at these tiny green things and imagine the beautiful flowers they'll become. I've been busy planning our vegetable garden...we're going easy this year with only six things, but it'll still be wonderful fun and magic, regardless~ Our plans are the three sisters: corn, beans and squash and then tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. I'm going to be starting our tomato seedlings next week!

- I should not love Plants Vs. Zombies nearly as much as I do...it's fast becoming my vice. I beat the game in two days (kindly put on Jenn's new laptop by her brother~), and am now puzzling my way through the mini-games. My personal excuse? It's gardening, too. XDDDDDDDDD

- And!

Comment if you'd like a color. Then list ten things that you like/love which are that color.

willow_cabin gave me yellow~

Ten yellow things I love~

01. That certain slant of light in the morning when the sun has just come up and is a brilliant white-yellow.
02. Buttercups~ My Polish grandmother used to take them when they first blossomed in spring and spin them under my chin. She promised then that my knuckles would taste like butter if I gave them a tiny lick. It totally works--a silly little magic charm. <3
03 The little yellow star on Jenn's Little Prince tattoo. No matter what she wears, I can see it, poking out. It's so beautiful on her~
04. Shiva isn't yellow, per se, but he's a big tawny golden, and that's good enough for me~ My baby-bugga-boo who probably despises that nickname since he's such a regal puss. I love him with all my heart~
05. Citrine! It's one of my favorite stones, and I usually either wear a piece of jewelry of it or carry one in my pocket (or bra XD). I love having its creativity around me~
06. Daffodils (I call them daffies)~ When they first come up, no matter whatever else happens, you know that spring has arrived. Willy Wonka (the movie) left such an impression on me as a child, because of the scene where he picks up a daffodil and drinks tea out of it, then bites a little piece off. I'm forever looking for daffodil candies because of it~
07. Bees~ I consider them to be one of the oldest symbols of the Goddess, and love them so very much. I believe they're one of my totems, and cherish their energy, their beautiful magic and their incredible work ethic. I've learned a lot from them~
08. Goldfinches~ Their song, their bright treasure-color in the air, flitting from branch to branch--they make a cold winter bearable with their sweet beauty.
09. The golden-yellow of autumn, my favorite time of the year.
10. The flicker of a candle flame, bright and beautiful.