Tag Archives: light footsteps

Everyone’s favorite WWOOFer is back!

 

IMG_20160523_122534854_HDRSince the last time I spent some much needed time at Light Footsteps (read about it here), I’ve finally realized that growing things, and teaching communities how to grow things, is actually really important to me. Because of that, I’ve recently started a journey to becoming an urban farmer. Over the past week, however, I’ve taken a break from stressing over the approaching school year to try out a different season at Light Footsteps. You’ll have to forgive me, because the August humidity has all my thoughts jumbled, so I’ll keep the words short and share some photos of this week with you.

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Most of my mornings were spent spreading wood chips on the paths in the Keyhole Garden

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I finally got to meet Pony. I would hate to make him insecure about his size, but in my mind he’s a horse.

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I spent the cooler afternoons picking herbs (peppermint, thyme, oregano, sage, and lemon balm pictured here)

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or beans!

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luckily there were rainy days

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…and there were a lot of sunny days to share with our pollinator friends.

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The bees really love the Rose of Sharon.

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On a particularly sunny day we went to Red Beet Row to see their permaculture farm.

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There was a lot of child-wrangling during the stay. Pictured is another WWOOFers son, Sebastian.

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Cora has grown up so much since I last saw her! (Photo taken at Chardon’s farmers’ market)

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I finished my week off helping Christine share her love of herbalism at a workshop for kids and adults about medicinal plants.

Like always, you can learn more about WWOOF here. Hope to be back soon, but until then, HAPPY GROWING!

Lately

I think we’re finally getting close to having a rhythm again.  We are settling in to this as our home.

As everything around us blossoms and comes into fullness, so do we.

IMG_1256 Continue reading →

Ban Busy / Savor Slow

Recently, I signed up for The Abundant Mama’s #BanBusyChallenge.

ban busyIt has been a good reminder for me to reaffirm what I know to be true — deliberate, intentional, and slow living allow us to savor and enjoy life instead of rushing through it.  As the Abundant Mama reminds us, we are often obsessed with “busyness” because we are afraid of failing.  We want to prove ourselves over and over again by filling our time with more, more, more.

When we slow down someone might see us as lazy, we might have to face our own imperfections, and we feel that we might miss something.  Ironically, we miss out on life’s sweet moments by becoming overly busy.  And also, we are our own worst critics – no one else is judging us as harshly as we judge ourselves for what we are or are not doing. Continue reading →

Our New Homestead!

After at least 10 years of dreaming, 2 years looking at properties, and 7 months working on closing on this particular piece of land, we finally have our permaculture homestead.  These 23 acres are the land that will sustain us into the future, where we hope our dreams will blossom into fruition, and where we will grow together as a family and into our community.

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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 →

6 Ways to Stay Happy Until Spring

It’s the time of year when people start counting down the days until spring.  I begin hearing a lot of complaining about the cold, the snow, and winter in general.

I understand. It definitely will be nice to feel warmth, wear sandals, and get into the car without scraping off ice.

However, we’re doing ourselves a disservice to wish away the rest of this season.  Despite how it might feel, winter will end, and there are even ways to enjoy the rest of it.  Continue reading →

Nests and Nesting

nestsI am so thankful to have this time of nesting. It has been a period of profound spiritual development, deep insights, and lots of preparation.  Continue reading →

Blessingway Beads

At some point during my pregnancy, I learned the term “Blessingway”.  I believe it was because I saw an ad for this book (Mother Rising) in an issue of The Mother Magazine (a nice resource for alternative-type mamas, by the way).

Essentially, the idea of a Blessingway is similar to a baby shower, but emphasizes preparation and support of the mother rather than just the baby.  Instead of an event that centers around the giving of material gifts (which admittedly, are very helpful before a baby!), the importance of a woman’s journey to motherhood is also acknowledged.  Continue reading →

Healing Herbal Liniment

For me, the word “liniment” conjures up images of a very old-timey medicine cabinet.  But that certainly doesn’t mean that this old-time remedy won’t work well!  The fact that liniments have been around for so long just speaks to their effectiveness.

So what are liniments? Liniments are healing external applications that can be used for a variety of issues, depending on what herbs are included in the mixture.  Liniments can be used as a disinfectant for cuts and wounds, while they can also help to soothe sore and inflamed muscles and joints.  Some liniments are formulated for helping with circulation problems, arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, strains, and bruises. Continue reading →