Winter Reading

   Today is a good inside day. It is really windy outside, although it is a somewhat warmish south wind. We’ve decided to work inside today. That’s GREAT ‘cause my sinuses are rebelling against me for sweeping the basement yesterday, threatening a cold. I’m all piled under a bunch of blankets and quilts with my books all around me. I love book reading weather!

   I’m reading some interesting books right now. My winter study this year is on how to reconnect with the farm in a more spiritual way. I’ve found that in the past few years I’ve lost spiritual connection with my home. I get so involved in the production side of it, making a living from it, and with the programs (thanks to Carolynne for taking all that over), that I’ve not been rewarded with the refilling of my soul from living in such a beautiful surrounding. That might sound strange to most…but most work someplace where they don’t live.

   In retrospect, I have to thank our friend Mark Edwards. Mark had a garden here for a season and would walk around the farm, just enjoying the beauty of it. He would see “vistas” that we never saw before. And, he would say “this is paradise”. We would reply…”paradise is a lot of work”. And, it is a lot of work to keep this place beautiful for the visitors and functioning for the income. But, he taught me a lot with his “vista viewing”.

   In December, Marty and I were able to attend the ACRES USA conference in Ohio. I wanted to go mostly because of the Biodynamics class by Gena Nonini and Hugh Courtney. It was terrific! They were so knowledgeable and I learned so much. I came home with a few books and am working thru them now.

   The first is the “Agriculture Course” by famed Rudolf Steiner, pretty deep stuff. And to go with it I’m working on the “The North American Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar for 2012” by Maria Thun.

   Biodynamics is teaching me to take a look at the energies on the farm, how to work with them, and how to strengthen them to create healthier soils, animals, plants, and us. This is a hands-on approach with preparations to spray on the soils and some of it is very technical. Some of it may also sound strange to people, filling cow horns and burying them, etc. But, I believe that if you have faith in something then that faith can make huge differences in the world around you, whether strange or not. To me it is worth trying out and seeing what happens. After all…miracles can happen anywhere, anytime.

  

   My next reading is really fun. “Sensitive Permaculture” by Alanna Moore. It teaches the reader how to live with the elementals around you, including earth spirits and fairies and such. That might sound strange to some also. But very old cultures, such as in Ireland, the Aborigines in Australia, and our own Native American cultures (and many, many more), have been connecting with these spirits in the world around them for thousands of years. I figure they MUST know something about it.

  

  For those of you fairy lovers...don’t worry, I’m NOT going the direction of Lady Cottington’s “Pressed Fairy Bo0k”. She went around the garden, creeping up on the little good people and smashed them in her book…

Sick lady.

   Since I’m working on making my “picket garden” into a really nice spiritual haven of flowers and interesting vegetables this year…not a place of producing an income, but a place of producing a healthy soul…this book fits in great with another book I’m reading called “The Sanctuary Garden” by Christopher and Tricia McDowell. If you are interested in creating your own garden of sanctuary for the soul, this book is wonderful. It covers a lot of ground for planning and creating with a loving approach.

   And all of these above readings fit nicely into my studies of ancient Chinese Qigong healing. Also a very old belief of using energies to heal, most commonly seen in America in the form of Feng Shui and acupuncture.

   So, that’s my reading list for today…pretty extensive. I’ll have to go get some tea for this!