Woman

'And She Calls' (from the archives, 2007)

Woman.
You are so powerful.

Lesser men will try to smother that radiance,
squash it by a multitude of means.

Be ever vigilant
and take necessary actions to shine on.

It's been long enough.
The time is now. 

Fast Food Fix the Slow Food Way: Curly Fries

I stopped eating fast food 20 years ago (that's right, drive thru's are not a part of my life), but I still get a hankerin' for some Curly Fries, so what's a gal to do?

I make them at home!  But using all organic materials, healthy fat:  extra-virgin olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, and this spice blend (all powders):

Cayenne 1 part
Onion 1 part
Garlic 1 part
Salt 2 parts
Turmeric 2 parts
Paprika 8 parts
Starch 24 parts

By parts, I mean any unit of measurement you choose.  If you choose teaspoons, you will have a total of 39 teaspoons of spice blend, or 13 Tablespoons since there are 3 teaspoons in a Tablespoon.  If you'd like more finished product than this, then enlarge your part, maybe a Tablespoon, or if you want to make a whole lot, maybe a 1/4 c.  You choose.  And you can eyeball the measuring if you wish, or add another spice you'd like to include...no rules.  This is kitchen alchemy not rocket science.  ;)

I like to make up more than I will use at once and keep it in a jar so it's ready to go for the next time.  Being an Herbalist I buy my spices by the pound as many I also utilize medicinally, and I simply use them often and in large quantities in my cooking.  :)

The starch can be any type, I have used Tapioca or a non-GMO corn starch.  This acts as a carrier and also provides a "coating" like "crust" on the fries.

I use a Spiralizer (also works great for all those Zucchini - I make Zucchini pasta - anyone who grows them knows what I mean), but you could just cut strips by hand.  Coat the cut potatoes and the baking sheet with olive oil (I just pour some on and use my hands to mix it all up), sprinkle with salt and the spice blend to taste and bake 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, turning at least once to get them evenly crispy.

Enjoy this healthy snack!  or even make it a meal - top with avocado and mix with some steamed Kale. 

I like to make a lot at a time and have leftovers; they're great on soup or in an omelette for instance...

Breaking Fast with Some of Spring's Edible Wild Flowers

I took a walk this morning and gathered some wild edibles from the yard for a breakfast omelette.  I made some art while walking in the rain-wet wild, or should I say soothed my soul...

In this mandala, you will find mostly wild plants, one feral (Arugula flower), one horticultural (Forsythia flower).  The wildflowers are Ground Ivy, Purple Dead Nettle, 2 types of Violets, Dandelion, and Redbud.  The wildleaves are Cleavers, Dandelion, and Trout Lily with the spirals of fern fronds just beginning. 

Can you recognize them all?  If not, time to get out the field guides and go into the field, learn a plant a week...or a month and in a few years you will have a repertoire.   Make sure that part of your learning includes learning about the habitat and ecosystem you find the plants in and their role including whether they are invasive, rare, slow-growing, endangered, native, common, tenacious, etc.  You want to know *if* you should harvest and *how* to harvest if you do.  You'll want to know if there are poisonous look-alikes and how to tell them apart.  You'll want to know if you can only eat certain parts of the plant, or only eat it in certain seasons.  You'll want to know if the plant is an annual, biennial, or perennial as this affects harvesting guidelines.  You'll want to know if it has medicinal qualities and what they are, and so on...  Truly learn and study the plant before harvesting and eating a wild plant.

"The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end." 

 - Rabindranath Tagore

I chopped up the bigger pieces and added some Garlic Mustard, see picture below.  This is one plant that you can freely harvest anytime and should actually pull it up by its roots and dispose of the roots in the trash if you do not eat them, not the compost.  It is one of the worst invasives that no amount of purposeful eradication seems to work, so you can't get rid of it even if you try, and I have tried for many years on my property as it crowds out natives and other less tenacious plants.  I still always have it, lots of it.  So harvest away.

I then mixed this with good eggs (good meaning not out of a battery cage like most eggs bought and sold) and cooked it in local lard from happy pigs and put this on sprouted, whole-grain bread with extra virgin olive oil and salt.  All organic, all ways.  Here's why.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It tastes fresh, green, vibrant, and alive! just like spring itself - a perfect way to start the day.                      

Plus you get to eat spirals.  :)

 “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.” – Goethe

 

 

 

Bliss Buzz - Winter Hive Inspection/ Beekeeping Journal

We had a warm enough day (in the 60s) a few days ago for me to go into my hive, Monkey, who I feared had died.  I had noticed she was not active when the others (Stella and Balsamic) were on days in the 50s and that she had not been clearing out the dead.

Lovely, natural brood comb, notice it's differently colored than honey comb.

I also did not hear her when I did my listening.  Throughout the winter I will check on them when I just want to know they are alive in there and to say hello (I don't disturb them often though).  I put one ear up to the hive and close the opposite ear, then knock quietly twice.  This creates a quick rising buzz from the cluster.  Hello gals I say with a smile in my heart.  I talk and sing to my bees during the rest of the year; they know my voice and often even teach me songs and melodies, like Yaje teaches Icaros.  Anyway, I am not a singer, so only the bees get that; they don't seem to mind my lullabies and chants.  :)  In fact, I fancy that they like it.  I do know they pick up on one's mood when one is in or around the hive and singing has a calming effect on us both.  One does not want go into a hive in a hurry or angry, though sitting by a hive when angry will help one to process that powerful emotion into a more productive one.  It's like taking a walk in the woods - Nature has that effect.

Monkey on left, Balsamic on right.

Monkey was indeed dead and I greatly mourn this loss.  This was her 6th winter; she was treatment-free and the culmination of my years of small-scale beekeeping.  My basic goal being to create and support genetics that do well in my area with all its inherent qualities along with my management style which is simply to let the bees do their thing and bee healthy and support them in that however I can.  I feel they know better than me what they want and need.  This is my tenth year but I still feel I've only touched the tip of the iceburg in getting to know the Honey Bee.  Which is partly because of how deep the understanding goes, partly because much of what one is initially taught is wrong imo and I had no like-minded mentor and had to find my own way, luckily with the bees help, and partly because for most of these years I only had 2 hives, though I expanded to 3 a few years ago, and 4 last year.  I am considering doing more, but do not want it to get out of hand like my books and plants have, ha.  Particularly, I'd like to provide locals with locally adapted treatment-free bees (beyond all the swarms I have allowed over the years).

Death - a part of Life.  Death begets Life, Life begets Death...

All the dead bees from the hive in the bottom of a large wheelbarrow; I will feed them to the birds - a treat for them.

Stella before clearing...

...after clearing the entrance for ventilation.

So, the inspection became an autopsy.  I found no signs of disease or serious pest infestation, Monkey had plenty of stores (3 medium supers of honey), and a large enough population (about volleyball sized cluster).  The cluster however was a super below the stores and not next to any, so they may have starved.  I do not understand why they would not be at, or move to, their stores as we have had plenty of warm enough days intermittently throughout the winter for them to do so.  I wasn't able to get any response to this question in beekeeping groups online, as to why this would happen...maybe with climate change and the sporadic weather (we had 70 degree days in late Fall not too far from single digit nights in early Winter) they got caught unaware; there were a lot of single bees throughout the hive doing their thing.  They did not have any brood to stay with to keep warm, so no discernible reason to not move.

Or maybe she was not queen-right.  I could not find the queen during the autopsy and I went through the hive thoroughly.  So maybe she died in the fall or winter and they did not have the means to replace her without brood.  So sad. I am told that hives will just give up when this happens.  Which makes sense since they would be doomed anyway (unless I as a keeper had a warm winter day to go in and notice this and could remedy it with brood from another hive - this being a long shot but the type of interference/support I do give the bees).

Another possibility is that they got too moist and then chilled, but this theory I feel is the least likely as there is no mold in the hive, I have screened bottom boards, quilt boxes on top, and the hive next to Monkey made it with similar conditions.  The only difference was Monkey had an entrance reducer, Stella and Balsamic did not, but I just can't believe this is it as most beekeepers seem to recommend a reduced entrance, but something to consider nonetheless...  Also we had this serious blizzard you see in the pictures that landed us with 31" of snow that did block the entrances of all hives for hours while we shoveled to them, but again 2 made it, so I don't think that's it.  Alas, there is no definitive answer and so we go on...

Lorax

I also went into winter with a fourth hive, Lorax, whom unfortunately did not do well and was fairly weak going into late Fall, meaning she had low population and not a lot of stores (she was new this year, and an out-of-state, not treatment-free package, something I intend to never purchase again).  She ended up being robbed which I caught happening but did nothing about.  The irony is I think it was likely Monkey who robbed her as Monkey was such a strong, vigorous hive.  I allowed this because not only did I think there wasn't much I could do short of propping Lorax up with lots of artificial feeding, but also because I don't feel inclined to support weak genetics and dying off is the way of the wild.  I want bees that survive without much interference on my part.  I will give a little food if that is the difference between life and death, but after this robbing, it was no simple matter and robbing is hard to stop.  Also, this hive not being like the others and therefore not having interchangeable components means it's hard for me to manage.  This was my second try in this hive, which is a hexagon, made with Sacred Geometry in mind, and more tree like.  I may just use it as a bait hive again...  I realize through my involvement with beekeeping groups online that the source of my bees is largely the problem and I am fighting an uphill battle from the start because of it.  Monkey was also an out-of-state, not treatment-free package, but she made it and kept making it!

The very edge of Monkey's cluster, dead.  Note the bright pollen in a few cells and the queen cup upper left.

Luckily Stella is her split so I have Monkey's genetics there.  Balsamic was a package, so exciting to see her making it and she sat right beside Monkey so similar situation environmentally (small woodland clearing, semi-shade).  Stella sat in the sun in the garden and was a hot hive, and yes I mean her mood in addition to temperature.  I had a fig near her I expected to shade her, but it did not grow as expected.  That will need to be remedied this year as I think the summer sun may have been a bit much...

Another queen cup, this one at the bottom and likely from prior swarming; the ones higher up are for supercedure.

I also have Monkeys genetics in the wild woodland bees she birthed by way of swarm over her 6 seasons.  These wild bees are likely to be the drones that mate my queens.  I happened to be around for 2 of these swarms and it's a magical experience when the air fills with bees and the buzz cacophony fills the entire yard as they come out of the hive and group.  Unfortunately, they gathered about 30' up in the same tree each time.  I hope to put out more bait hives this year, though I've not had any luck with them in the past.  And I still am putting it out there to collect swarms others notice but do not want, but have yet to have this work out either. 

Medicinal Propolis

 Overall I am sad about the loss of Monkey but the positive in this situation is that I have not lost the genetics completely and I have lots of stores for the remaining hives that will assist them getting through the winter, coming into Spring strong, and maybe I will even get to harvest some honey this spring...  Mourning the loss of my friend during autopsy was mixed with the blessed sweetness of fresh honey that I licked directly out of the hive with gratitude.  Loss is all the more extreme when mixed with the Love that created it.

Also, I harvested lots of Propolis in the process of autopsy and will be making an herbal blend of "sick room" incense with it soon that I will sell through Ravenwind Botanica.  I plan to split the remaining hives come Spring and surplus honey will go to them first, along with all this wonderful drawn comb, giving them a huge head start.  And I will leave you with a very recent video of the vibrant Stella after most of the blizzard snow had melted.  :)








On another note, I am excited to see how my Mason Bees wintered over and this Spring am putting out Leafcutter Bee houses...  Bliss.

Mea'n Fo'mhair - Mid-Harvest: Crisp Juicy Apples, Cricket Symphonies, and Recognition

from The Lord of the Rings:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

In the middle of what is forecasted to be a week of rain, I am getting a chance to write about harvest and share some pictures of recent harvests from the past few days before the rain began...  and to actually stop the outward harvest and look within at my personal growth.

Every day is a day of harvest, but this time of year, Mabon, the time of the Autumnal Equinox, is a yearly time of harvest.  A time in which we gather what we have sown as we prepare to go inward for the winter. A time to recognize and give thanks for what we have.

The Winter's Soups and Mash and Curries...

This is not simply garden talk, but life talk.  Our gardens and its seasons are a metaphor for life and while we may not all have a garden, we all have life.

What have you sown; what are you harvesting; how are you preparing for the coming dormancy?

Goldenrod and Asters:  The Bee's Current Harvest

Aw shucks...looks like it's time for some bingewatching of Bushcraft videos or something.  :)

Mathieu transplanting wild Tansy from the 'soon to be house site' to the orchard where it will attract beneficial insects.

How much of harvest is luck and how much of luck is what we did in the past?
We can be like the Mantis ever ready to seize the opportunity that presents itself at that precise moment when it is offered...

"You think that I am impoverishing myself withdrawing from men, but in my solitude I have woven for myself a silken web or chrysalis, and, nymph-like, shall ere long burst forth a more perfect creature, fitted for a higher society" . - Henry D. Thoreau

Milk Thistle in the Medicine Wheel Garden dropping its seed for next year's harvest...

What seeds are you dropping into the fertile ground of your soul?  Take advantage of this rain to water them in.

 Day and Night are equal right now at this balance point of the year as we go from the Yang of Summer into the Yin of winter.  We offer gratitude to the waning sunlight - the same sunlight that nourished the fruit we harvest and that will nourish us through the coming dark of winter...though hidden deep within it will be...

Sensual Magic - from seeds planted in April.

Enjoying the fruits of harvest.

Moussaka time!

What didn't come to fruition?  How will you ensure next year's harvest?  What seeds do you set aside?

First Year Teasel salvaged from the 'soon to be house site'...

...to be made into tincture for future use...

The summer sun captured in Goldenrod.  It smells like honey - or does honey smell like it?  Medicine for the winter.

Finish old projects, begin new ones...  All things come to an end and in the end is a new beginning.

Mourn the passing, celebrate your success.

                        Balance.                           

                                                                            

The last of the season's beans.

Great Ragweed along the Anacostia River from a recent plant walk I did in DC at Figment;
we sat and communed with this oft maligned plant.  It was magic.

"Go out, go out I beg of you
and taste the beauty of the wild.
Behold the miracle of the earth
with all the wonder of a child."
  - Edna Jaques

Wren says "hi!"

  'He who delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.' 

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Samhain: An Inner Revelry

            The brightness of Summer is waning; time to let go as the leaf does when it falls to the ground                                             in its sacrifice to the future.  How do you become nourishment for your coming seasons?

It's that time of year again when the veil thins, as it does during the in-between times, like dawn and dusk.  This time, Samhain, being half-way in-between Autumn and Winter.  A dusk of the year.

Rainy Pumpkin Harvest

A time of harvests, literal and figurative; a time of going within, going underground, into the darkness; a time when we move from the riot of summer's yang:  heat, activity, light - to the calm of winter's yin:  cold, stillness, dark.  A time to honor our ancestors, those who came before; to harvest what we and our lineage have sown...

In this time, as in others, altars, fire, and nourishing foods 

are wonderful tools for presence and transformation.

  

I like to make altars including items that remind me of where I have been, 

items to reflect what I am currently undergoing, and most importantly, where I wish to move to.  

All of time in this instant, remembering the future...

A photo of my late, great, great Aunt Lucy - a major presence in my life - graces my altar.

Fire is a wonderful tool to burn away the old, making space for the new.  The chill in the night air this time of year makes it perfect for a bonfire.  But even if you do not have the space for an outdoor fire, a simple candle can bring the purifying magic of fire to you.  Light one and sit with it.

My hubbie next to a soon-to-be-lit bonfire we had the pleasure of communing with.

Since I heat with firewood, I have the regular occasion to burn things in order to symbolically release them.  We just had our first wood stove fire of the season last night and I always enjoy this first one, for many reasons, one of them that all the bits of paper I put in it over the warm season get burned away (my version of paper shredding when certain things just shouldn't go in the recycling for other eyes to possibly see).

As we burn away the old, with external fires, and with our internal metabolic fire, we make room for the new.  What we bring in makes what we are tomorrow.  This includes food and other things we consume: thoughts, what we set our eyes upon, the energies of the people and places around us, and so on...

Choose wisely.

 Sweet Potatoes from the Garden

Root Vegetables are very grounding, 

helping to keep our feet firmly connected to the Earth, rooted,

 as we begin to go within to explore this coming dark time.

 

Enter the Gate to you Inner Worlds, much is waiting for you there...

May Joy be the result of your explorations into the dark, however difficult the path may be.

Garden Harvests:  Nourishment for the Soul.

Entrance to my Kitchen

Looking out into the Greenhouse

Why then have to be human?
Oh, not because happiness exists,
Nor out of curiosity...

But because being here means so much;
Because everything here,
Vanishing so quickly, seems to need us,
And strangely keeps calling to us...
To have been
Here once, completely, even if only once,
To have been at one with the earth -
This is beyond undoing.

– Rainer Maria Rilke

~~~