Why learn about hunting skills? I did not grow up in a household that hunted wildlife for food. The most I learned about killing an animal for my supper was having to look a lobster in the eyes, stating, “Although you may give your life up unwillingly, I thank you just the same,” and then…
Tag Archives: Arianna Alexsandra Collins
Mmmmm! Wild Concord Grapes! Can you smell them? Their scent on the breeze, so alluring, indicates the shift in season, heralding in fall. I am clambering up an old spruce tree at a neighbor’s house, teetering on a wobbly branch, standing up on my tip toes, my arms reaching up into the vines. Fingertips like…
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…
I have been an environmentalist since I was a teenager. And since college, I have been teaching and sharing about the natural world. I recognized that it is my life’s work. After college, when I went to work for an environmental center in New York State, I had already formed the opinion against hunters. I…
The Summer Solstice, June 21st, marks the longest day of the year. Additionally, this holiday celebrates the Sacred Marriage between the Goddess and God. The following invocation of the Summer Queen and Summer King was designed as part of a larger interfaith ceremony, comprised of many components from other faiths to create a rich celebratory…
If you watch the river long enough, you will see faces in the stone. Old faces. New faces. Faces that tell us of our past and faces that tell us of our future. Faces that tell us of possibilities. What do you see when you look beneath the surface? The river is constantly changing –…
I am forever scoping out my sites; my little special spots; seeing how the seasonal flora is progressing. This April I found a new spot while scouting for a wild edibles program. It’s a rich, moist, upland site and I was overjoyed to find signs of trout lily – a spring ephemeral. When I returned…
