Find your sense of place again by reading Snakes! Leaping Goat Press has just released a second edition of my first novel Snakes, originally published in 2011 by il piccolo editions, Fisher King Press. It has a new cover described in an earlier post. As I have re-edited the book, I realize how much the writing of the story has formed my writing sense of self…. Read more »
Category: General
Lavender Harvest Begins!
Lot Natalie in the early morning. The bees always alert us to the timing first! When they arrive, it means the calyxes are beginning to open, and we need to harvest lavender for the dried product pronto! We want to get it just after the opening of two or three calyxes so the flowers do… Read more »
Biodynamic Association Listing
Animals are an important part of Biodynamic practices. Not only do they help with weeding, but their manures provide fertility, all part of an important feedback cycle. Biodynamic Association Listing The Biodynamic Association website has a new feature in which we farmers, growers, processors and producers are… Read more »
Lessons in Biodynamic Goat Keeping
Lessons in Biodynamic Goat Keeping
Lessons in Biodynamic Goat Keeping Despite all the theory and spiritual discipline that Biodynamic agriculture offers, there is always the practical to consider, and goats are good reminders. Lesson: always keep a goat busy doing what you want the goat to do. Otherwise, the goat will make the determination herself. Goats need a project…. Read more »
Beauty Transforms
Photo by Lowell Downey, Art and Clarity Beauty Transforms Beauty transforms us, but it is truly a mystery why. Perhaps the apprehension of Beauty is a portal in which we are open to a spiritual dimension that the busyness of our everyday lives has obscured. We get a view of the essence of things, feeling… Read more »
Moon Sign Timing
Dogs meditating during morning stirring. Busy morning! We are transplanting rose geranium into the orchard and spraying 501, silica from quartz crystal. Moon in Gemini (until 11 am), an air, or flower, sign, and descending now, an ideal time to transplant. The silica spray (horned quartz crystal, or BD 501) on the aromatics brings the… Read more »
On Frogs
Wesley and his dad catching tadpoles After the rain began last month, the frogs started their seasonal chorus, so loud at night that, if you are close to the pond, it can hurt your ears. Their vibrancy has resulted in a myriad of tadpoles which swim along the deep irrigation pond’s edge eating… Read more »
When Old Friends Die
When Old Friends Die Death always feels sudden, it seems, and no less so for a tree. Last night the dear old Valley Oak by the little farmhouse where Ramon and his family live, fell. The tree, at least 300 years and perhaps close to 500, lays shattered on the driveway. Although years ago a… Read more »
Bud Break: Beginning, Again
Bud Break: Beginning, Again
The season’s fruit and leaves are all wrapped up in this baby bundle. This week the Chardonnay vines are pushing tiny buds, some already unfolding to reveal miniature leaves and future grape bunches, baby bundles of the season’s riches. Today we begin the Biodynamic sprays. The moon is in… Read more »
The Drought: Interview with Michael Presley
The Drought: Interview with Michael Presley Michael Presley studied atmospheric science at UCLA &graduate work for NASA/JPL doing satellite data evaluation
https://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/comp/nhem/rb.jp Some years ago I met Michael Presley at a native plant conference held at the Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa, CA. Michael presented on how to use native medicinals in landscaping, but the talk was ever so much more. It quickly became apparent that this was a… Read more »
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