I eagerly admit that the America Crow (Corcus brachyrhynchos) is one of my most favorite birds. Lumped into the order Passeriformes with other songbirds, they form the Corvid (Corvidae) family in which they share with Ravens, Fish Crows, and Blue Jays in the Commonwealth. Crows are not only clever, they have demonstrated intelligence. They use…
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Ah, summer! As the days heat up delightful floral scents permeate the air. And some of the most delicious scents are coming from roses. My favorite is the beach rose (Rosa rugosa), a squat, deciduous shrub standing 3-6 feet tall, in the family Rosaceae, having dark green leaves, and flowers ranging in color from white…
“Here, I pray all day long and with my whole body, for my limbs are a moving benediction to the Holy Wild.” ~ Danielle Dulsky, The Holy Wild It’s true. I bit into the forbidden fruit. I even dipped it in forbidden honey, fresh from the wild hive, outside the garden, but within tantalizing reach.…
Humans are Part of Nature On a scientific level I think many of us humans have come to recognize that we are part of Nature; that we exist only because the circumstances meet the needs of oxygen-based lifeforms. But on so many other levels we consider Nature separate – either wilderness to protect from us…
Queen of the Fall She is no monk, hiding her face from the sun; her hood brazenly pushed back daring you to come in closer. Though she is the bane of every living mammal she stands defiant in the face of death. Frost covers her cloak yet she breathes in the waning light. She presides…
Autumn is about letting go; being present in the release. You don’t forget the past; you let go of its hold on you, and it becomes mulch for your growth. The Law of Return You can learn quite a bit about your own processes by looking at Nature’s processes. Flora consume nutrients throughout the growing…
Monarch lovely Queen of the Fall you have more strength than you know. Savor the bounty of Autumn’s harvest and allow yourself to rise in the heady scents of goldenrod and aster for sweetness powers your wings. Aloft, you fly on a scrambled trail still you make sense of the chaos and create beauty as…
Heroes and villains are in the eyes of the beholder and the writer of the story. Guy of Gisbourne, notorious villain – right? Morgaine of Avalon, evil sorceress and half-sister to King Arthur – her legacy was lost in the mists – correct? Whose stories are written down and saved is determined by those in…
Lughnasadh Blessings! We come together this holiday (celebrated between August 1 to August 7*) to celebrate the Sun’s heat, the Sun’s radiance. We assemble to honor the Gods and to celebrate life’s bounty and our ability to produce abundance and share. We gather to honor the animals who labor for us – the bees, the…
Spring is the promise of release; of cleansing; of birth waters bearing down on the valley, washing winter into the Atlantic, heralding new life and new beginnings. Early spring’s message can feel like a paradox. Warm sunny days followed by a snow storm. Icy rain biting at raw skin followed by a warm breeze that…
