Win a Winter Wellness Box! Celebrate Imbolc!

celebrate

I’m so happy to share our updated main page for our farm and small business.  It’s a great launching place for people to find this blog, my shop, and learn about upcoming classes.  Please check it out and let me know what you think!

To celebrate, I’m hosting a giveaway where you can win one of the last Winter Wellness Boxes that remain.  (In general, there are very few left, so if you’d like to try one, learn more here.)

If you’d like to try to win one (why not?!), just follow this link to my Facebook page and leave a comment on the pinned post at the top.  I’ll be choosing a winner tomorrow (Wednesday, January 27).

Also, we’ll be having a gathering to celebrate the Earth-based holiday of Imbolc at our farm this Saturday.

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Photo by Joanna Powell Colbert

Imbolc is the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox.  For our ancestors, this would have been a time of great celebration as the signs that spring would indeed return begin to show up now — baby lambs are born, snowdrops might poke their heads up from the snow, and the days are starting to get noticeably longer.

We’ll be discussing the history of Imbolc while doing some traditional crafts and eating seasonal snacks.  I’d like to use this time to gather feedback from the community to see how we can continue celebrating the Wheel of the Year in the future.

Let me know if you can come on this events page.  I hope to see you there!

You can also read what I wrote about Imbolc in a past blog post.

 

Scenes from (Early) Spring

It’s starting to feel more and more like Spring on the farm!

…And it’s starting to feel more and more like we actually live on a farm!

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Maple production has continued.  We finished our 3rd batch this past weekend and it was the best one yet.  This week we’re in the midst of the fastest rushing sap we’ve seen so there will be at least a 4th (and probably a 5th) installment of our syrup!

We’ve tried boiling the sap down a number of ways – a grill, a rocket stove, and this last time we used a portable electric cooktop that we placed outside.

I think the rocket stove was the most fun, but we had a hard time keeping the sap boiling and it took a lot longer than it should have (like, 10 hours!).  We finished the last bit of sap on the kitchen stove and ended up with a decent amount of syrup.

The electric cooktop definitely won the contest for the most efficient way to boil down the amount of sap we collected. Continue reading

Celebrating Fall: Apple Spice Bread & Corn Necklaces

The Fall Equinox occurred on Monday and we’ve been finding ways to celebrate this change in the season throughout the week.

Although Baby LF isn’t quite old enough to really engage in crafts too deeply, I don’t think it’s ever too early to begin new traditions (plus, I’d do these things even if I were just on my own!).  We tried out two new activities that were inspired by a really wonderful book about celebrating the Earth’s seasons: Celebrating the Great Mother.

The first activity was baking a delicious apple spice bread.  Mmm…fall in a loaf.

apple spice Continue reading

Gratitude Sunday {9/21/14}

I haven’t done a Gratitude Sunday for some time, but I think taking time to feel grateful is such an important practice.  As I was taking some photos this morning, I was inspired to share my recent gratitude list.

{Joining with Wooly Moss Roots}

Today I am grateful for…

~ Leaning in to the changing seasons and beginning to decorate in celebration of the Fall Equinox (Mabon)

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Happy Ostara (+ some ways to celebrate)

Happy Ostara! Today is the Vernal Equinox, a time when day and night are equal and we are headed toward longer days in the Northern hemisphere.

We are officially in the midst of Spring, even if it doesn’t quite feel like it yet in your neck of the woods.  The days are definitely getting longer and the signs of spring are all around!

Will you be doing anything to celebrate this time of rebirth, growth, and promise?  Today is a great day to do some spring-related activities and crafts! Continue reading

The Day After the Solstice

I’m late in wishing you a Happy Solstice and  Festive Yule — one of the most promising Earth-based holidays of the year (the light returns!), but you’ll have to excuse me for I am often distracted by my favorite gift of the season. Continue reading