Valerian in our garden. Biodynamic Prep 507: Challenges of Valerian Until I was well into my Jungian analysis and had personally experienced the paradox of dark light, I could not have understood the mystery of valerian. We planted the seeds in our garden, not knowing the looks of the plant. When the seeds vigorously sprouted and… Read more »
Balleymoney, Ireland Biodynamic Compost Prep 504: Stinging Nettle: Vitality When Donald and I traveled to Ireland to trace my family lineage, we visited cemeteries in which we had to wade through stinging nettle so tall that it was waist deep in places. There was a certain irritation in having to do so! Stinging nettle gets… Read more »
Dandelion on our ranch. Biodynamic Prep 506: Dandelion Dandelion (French: dent de lion, lion’s tooth, referring to the teeth of the serrated leaves) is a flower Rudolf Steiner called a “messenger from heaven” (Agriculture, 103). It is another plant that works in homeopathic ways over a region. Because of its own silicic acid relationship with… Read more »
Distillation and Donald Lavender distillation has begun on our ranch! We distill in very small batches, which inadvertently has allowed us to discover that each piece of earth growing lavender has its own terroir, its essential oil distinct and unique. The following is an excerpt from my book Farming Soul: A Tale of Initiation. It… Read more »
Marked by Fire Featured in Two Interviews, a Book Club, and A Book Event in July Bonnie Bright, founder of Depth Psychology Alliance, is truly one of those bee kind of people who pollinate, and the Alliance website is one worth visiting over and over to benefit from her gathering! Noami Lowinsky and I are… Read more »
Wild Strawberries and Poets Wild strawberries are like poems of the Earth. You don’t propagate them; you come upon them—and when you least expect. At first you see a hint of deep red in the three leaf clusters lying so close to the ground. You bend down, pick the tiny berry— tiny, at least, by… Read more »
The Smell of the Living Earth Once my sister and I dug a “raccoon trap” in the fall stubble of my father’s corn field, a 3’ by 4’ hole about 3’ deep. In the bottom we placed marshmallows and then disguised the hole with dried corn stalks. The only thing we ever “caught” was the… Read more »
Join the Discussion: Holistic Health Talk Radio for Women, Wed., June 13, 9:30 am., Tomorrow morning I will be a guest on Holistic Health Talk Radio for Women at 9:30 am PDT/12:30 pm EDT, the topic: The Spirituality of Biodynamic Farming. The link has call in instructions. Please consider joining the discussion! View Our… Read more »
Yarrow on our ranch. Biodynamic Prep 502: Yarrow: Healing Earth and Psyche When I first learned to use the I Ching for divination, I divined with yarrow sticks. This takes about 20 minutes: you take 50 yarrow sticks, setting one aside, which symbolizes the beginning, that state before Heaven and Earth separate. You divide… Read more »
Charlie Toledo by newly built straw bale shed on Suskol House land. Land Elders On June 23, 2012, we will have two speakers at Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields Open House: Charlie Toledo, Executive Director of the Suscol Intertribal Council, and Clare C. Marcus, Professor Emerita of Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of… Read more »
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