The Essential Herbal Blog: A Sense of Wonder Camp

As I have mentioned before, I am one of the founding board members of Full Circle Susquehanna, Inc. We are a small non-profit organization dedicated to the empowerment of women and girls. We have a distinctly earth-centered perspective.

Each June, during the week of Summer Solstice, for nearly 15 years, we have offered a one-week camp for girls, called Sense of Wonder camp. Girls often return for four, five or even more years for this wonderful experience.

This morning, the mother of one of the long-time campers wrote about it on her blog. Here's a link:

The Essential Herbal Blog: A Sense of Wonder Camp

A Carpet of Blue Scilla

It's amazing to me how early Spring seems to have arrived here. There is a fabulous carpet of blue Scilla under the Japanese Maples in front of our house. My mother-in-law, Maggie, planted some many years ago. I've lived in this house for 18 years & they multiply every year. There are thousands of them now. I can see them from way down the street & my heart just leaps every time they come into view. What a wonderful way to be welcomed home!

That's the fence around my compost in the background, and a gate into the back garden where the labyrinth is.

"Turn off the Lights" tomorrow night!

On Saturday, March 29th at 8pm local time, millions of people will "turn off the lights" for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This is a global event, location doesn't matter! Just DO IT!

Get involved and make a difference! It's easy, and you can make it fun!

To show your support sign up at:
http://www.earthhour.org

Snowdrops are Blooming

I got home about 5:45 tonight & thought that I might have just barely enough light to take a photo of the snowdrops, which are are the fullness of blooming. There are hundreds of them in my gardens, little clumps everywhere. These are in the front of the house, where they get more sun than the ones in back in the labyrinth. It's still quite chilly here, but every year the snowdrops come out, as soon as the light begins to grow. Some years they are mostly covered with snow, but they don't seem to mind.

I read somewhere that snowdrops are sacred to the goddess Brigid, but I can't seem to remember where I heard that. If anyone knows more of the lore, I'd love to hear from you. Since they are the first flower to bloom, snowdrops are like a promise from Mother Nature - reminding us to be assured that Winter is coming to an end, and Spring is on the way. The Wheel of the Year keeps turning.

I've also read in Anne McIntyre's book, Flower Power, that snowdrops are considered a flower symbolic of death, and that many people think the flower looks like a shroud. What a lovely, soft, sweet-smelling shroud that would be.

If I could harvest all of the tiny snowdrop flowers in my garden and sew them all together, I would make a shroud for my dear friend. Lynn was in a terrible car accident on the night of the lunar eclipse. She's been unconscious ever since, and was removed from life support on Tuesday afternoon. Her body still breathes, but not for long. Her spirit is ready to move on. I will miss her so much. I always thought that Lynn would be a long-time elder in my spiritual community, but alas, it is not to be.

Permaculture & Earth Activist Training in May

Wow! I got this notice from Starhawk last night. If you've ever thought about getting training in Permaculture, this 2-week course looks phenomenal! I think I'll start saving my pennies.

Earth Activist Training

Radical Sustainability and Regenerative Activism

So much more than a permaculture design certification course, Earth Activist Training (EAT) weaves the principles of permaculture, earth-based spirituality, and regenerative activism into a captivating curriculum that blends classroom lecture and experiential exercises with practical, hands-on learning opportunities.

May 3-17, 2008

a SOCIAL PERMACULTURE Intensive

Instructors: Starhawk, Margo Adair, Bill Aal, and Charles Williams
Manzanita Village, Warner Springs, Southern California, USA

In this course with a special focus on social permaculture, participants will learn ways to collaborate and build just and enduring alliances across social divides, as well as skills to build personal, interpersonal and community resilience to sustain themselves through hard times.This two-week residential intensive is a permaculture design certificate course.Curriculum includes: Water harvesting, graywater, bioremediation, natural building, cob, plant guilds, alternative energy, sustainable forestry, plant propagation, soil fertility, compost and mulch, consensus, facilitation, alliance building, alternative economics, direct action, strategy, issues of power, privilege and creative collaboration, Applied Meditation combining work with intention, intuition and mindfulness, energy shifting and ritual creation.

Sliding scale pricing:
$1700, if you have abundance in the form of money
$1500, if you are working and solvent
$1200, if you are scraping by
* work trade and scholarships available—please visit our web site for additional courses, updates and to register http://www.earthactivisttraining.org/ 800.381.7940 (USA)
Hear the teleseminar with Starhawk and Bill Aal at: http://www.InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=1863759