My Wildcrafting Adventure

I was able to take a surprise trip out into nature today. I had not planned on going out today but when my love came home early we got our stuff and headed out.
The first area was by far the most herb filled out of the two areas we decided to explore today.
This spot was a different one than the last several times I have been out. I have to say I really liked it and hope to pack a lunch next time so we may have a small picnic.


I collected a few thorns from what I believe to be a hawthorn tree.


An otter was spotted though they never stay still enough to be able to capture a picture.
We were however able to capture some of the mother goose and her nest of eggs.

She was sitting on the nest up on the small incline at first. I saw her little head from over the ridge, if it hadn’t been for spotting her head I would have missed the nest entirely.
She moved, not because we scared her, but to scare off a dog that was near. We did not touch the nest of course but we did take advantage and snapped a shot of her lovely large eggs. I had not seen goose eggs before today. Guess I should have imagined they would have been as big as they were *laughs*
I was also lucky enough to find many goose feathers on this trip due to molting and the nesting. I of course collected every good one I found for later use.


For some reason this was just a highly amusing picture to take. Later on they were both sleeping near each other. It was quite sweet.


On the way to our second destination we walked by the river where the water was flowing quite rapidly. It was beautiful and so we stopped and took pictures of it all.

We also spotted a bald eagle. I have yet to see one around here before so it was a treat to see. I am told they are out more around winter. I know they have reserve areas specifically for them. I used to see bald eagles all the time when I lived in Washington, but since moving have not seen many.

Another thing we saw when passing by the lake were swans. This is not a very close up picture of them, but they were there. 

My wildcrafting harvest was pretty decent. I ended up with; Mullein, catnip, cleavers, mugwort, two different kinds of pine cones… The non herb collections were goose feathers, some quartz crystals,  and I found a dead garter snake I carefully collected. I saw live ones too but I did not really want to go near those. I used to play with snakes all the time as a young child. It would make my father nervous at times because he was never sure the type I would find.
The snake will be used later for various things.
In addition to the harvested herbs I was able to pick some of them with the root system still intact and am attempting to transplant them into my own garden. The fern I am in the process of transplanting is doing quite well so I am hoping these will do the same. I found mullein was probably the hardest to pull out with the roots without a tool, and cleavers being the second.
I got two tiny cleavers with the root still intact but I am not so sure they will make it to be honest.
I was able to find a small mullein that I hope survives as well as I got catnip which has the best shot of them all I would say. The mugwort I got may have some bits of the root missing on a few of them, but I am hopping just like a cutting, that it will still grow.
Here are pictures of my wildcrafted herbs.
 
I also forgot to mention this really interesting find. It was the knot of a tree that I found lying on the ground. If it is interesting to me I pick it up.

Pictures of my first phase of transplanting. I really do need to get bags of soil for my raised garden bins so I can start planting things. You can see the fern is killing off old leaves and sprouting up new ones. Success!
The little pot is the cleavers that I do not think will survive but its worth a shot.

Temporary homes till I know if they are going to survive. If they do then they will be moved to their permanent homes.


It rained a short while after we left. Spending time with my honey, herb harvesting, rain, and a full moon. What more could a girl like me ask for?

The River and the Woods

Recently I have been able to make a few trips out to the wooded areas near the river. Each time has been quite wonderful and I see new things every time I am out.

The river was quite calm the first and second trip. It rose a lot even just a couple of days later. A lot of the places explored were now under water. The snow has been melting off of the mountains and making the water levels rise. Amazing how quickly it can happen.
There is a swirl in the middle of the river. There were a lot of mini whirlpools that would appear and then disappear as they moved down the river.
New growth. A forest within a forest. I could not help but take a picture of this. Many tiny trees beginning to grow within a small spot of this wooded area. To me it is a magical place where small elves and faeries might wander.   
 
I could not count even if I tried, all the nests that were perched in the trees. There were so many of them. Many different kinds for many types of birds and squirrels too I am sure.


Lots of white budding trees were seen. This is just one of the three or so types I had seen clustered around each other.

 
Beautiful black birds with red spots on their wings were seen. There were a lot of them and this one seemed to like to pose for my camera.

 
This was probably a home for some forest creature at some point but it was empty when I found it. I really like trees that have little pocket holes like this one.
The mushrooms were found at the side of a fallen tree. I was not sure what kind of mushroom they were and since most mushrooms you do not want to touch unless you are sure what kind, I left them be.

A beaver was spotted during the second trip and a single crow was spotted on this last trip.
Crows are known to be messengers to the gods.


During my little magical adventures I was able to wild craft some moss, fern leaves, balm of Gilead, as well as collected pine cones, a couple of feathers, and sand from the river. Once summer comes there will be more things to harvest but for now I think I have collected all I can unless I go to a new area and find something different there.
I found some really interesting branches that I gathered that could make some good staffs. I grabbed a smaller one that twists a bit that I would love to turn into a wand.
Burn some runes or oghams into it, maybe other symbols… Not sure exactly what the plans are just yet for the designs.  I am not the best at carving always nor do I have the right tools for it really, but I hope to craft something with them.

I am sure there will be more trips out to this place but now that I have explored here there are others I want to go to that sound promising.
Those are a little bit farther of a drive to get to though. Not as far as the deep woods, but still enough to take a bit more planning so to not run out of daylight too soon.
I am not a morning person which is why planning is needed *laughs*
I would also like to start going out and exploring the more desert parts of this area. I already have plans with a friend of mine to go exploring those lands at some point. No official date has been set yet, just the understanding that it will happen at some point in the future when the timing is right.

I had given an offering to the nature spirits but a few days ago. I was happy to find that the spirits accepted my offering. My offering of nuts, seeds, and grains is being eaten up by the birds, squirrels, and probably other little creatures that eat the same. Giving food to the spirits, gods, and nature, is a way of giving thanks for all they provide for us.  Why should we take from them and give nothing back? Doing this is respectful, shows you are grateful, and adds to the balance of things.

It is supposed to storm tomorrow, I can’t say for sure if it will but I actually kind of hope it will. It says it will be nice the day after so storming for one day is most welcome to me. I do love storms. The way the air feels during and after is amazing. The smell of the wet leaves and soil. Its very calming and exciting at the same time. Contradicting I know. Sometimes I find interesting things after a good rain as well. Not to mention dancing in the rain is always fun. Especially if it is warm rain.

New painting, nature, and gadgets

I finished a painting today. It is not the one I was commissioned to do. This one I have been doing in between that one.

It is titled “Dracula’s Castle”
The painting is on 9x12 canvas and done in acrylic paints.
Painting is of Dracula's Castle at sunset.
Debating on whether its finished or if I want to add the small black trees on either side of the castle… For now at least it is finished unless I change my mind.
I will take better quality pictures later.
Yes this painting will be available for purchase. Let me know if you are interested in buying it.

I have gotten a lot more work done on the commissioned painting as well. So lots of painting has been going on recently. It’s not over yet either. there is still more to be done.


We were able to make it out to a small portion of a forest the other day.
Lots of beautiful things to be seen there. The greenery went along a river with small ponds along the path that I am told house tadpoles at times.
This tree had really beautiful roots. The picture does not do it justice. I could not get a wider shot to show it all sadly. I am still happy with the picture I was able to take.
This is a large tree near the opening of the forested area that I took a picture of as it was getting dark out. I love trees like this with large twisting branches that look eerie at night.

This is a picture of a small abandoned old beaver dam I found. There were two of them but this one was in better shape than the other one was.

I was able to collect fern leaves, moss, pine cones, and various other items during our little adventure. I hope to go back soon as well as visit other forests and desert areas. Lots of things to explore now that it has warmed up.

Speaking of nature… My garden is growing in nicely. I have been putting the trays in the sun now that the sun is actually around. *laughs* Many more pots have sprouted up since they were planted. I got the things I needed to plant them outside when the time comes.

Pictures of the two trays I have planted. I would plant more… but I have pretty much found all the seed packets of herbs and flowers that would be useful to me around here, and do not really want to go through the process of ordering more packets online.

Been working hard on shop products and formulating new ideas for future items. Still have more items to type up descriptions for and list. It will all get done in due time.
I may have another booth set up here in a couple months, maybe sooner… Need to figure out the date(s) but so far its a go.

My writing has been put on hold to make way for all my other works. It is still on my mind of course but not being worked on at the moment.






I will be upgrading my phone soon and I am not sure which phone I want… I have two I am thinking about. The Droid 2 Global and the Thunderbolt. Both have features I like about them. I wanted the Droid 2 Global because of its sliding out keyboard. The phone I have now has both a keyboard and a touch screen that I can use with my nails and not just fingertips. They have not made any phones with a touch screen that I can do that with that I have seen. The Droid has a 5 megapixel camera while the thunderbolt has an 8 megapixel. Though the thunderbolt does not have a slide out keyboard like the droid 2 global does. The droid is a 3g and the thunderbolt is a 4g. It is a big plus for the thunderbolt with it being a 4g phone… I am just not sure how I could handle not having a keyboard that slides out. They aren’t making many phones with keyboards anymore so I guess I would have to get used to an all touch screen phone at some point but still, the choice is tough. The thunderbolt costs a bit more but it also just came out and is 4g rather than 3g. I honestly am torn.

On another gadget note I do like the new tablet they came out with, the xoom. I might honestly like it more than the galaxy tab… its got a lot better… well everything.. ram, processor, memory.. etc, though the galaxy tab still has the side benefit of fitting in a purse which is handy for business and portability. The xoom is not too much bigger but a bit big for a purse, well my purse at least. I am sure there are purses it would fit in. I also like the bluetooth keyboard you can get to go with either. Both are spendy though.
The galaxy tab can be less expensive now if you buy the tab with a 2 year service contract. I however did not want to put service on it and would have used it with wifi connections. The xoom does not have a 2 year price to it yet and is up there price wise as well.
The xoom while a bit larger is still really easy to handle in my opinion. I still like either better than an Ipad or Ipad 2. 


Lots of things to plan, create, and do… And still I want to do more *laughs*

Anyways I believe now is a good time for some tea so I will end this post now.
~Lotus

Gardens, the welcoming of Spring, and paintings

It has been pretty busy for me for the past little while.  Been slowly stocking up on new shop supplies like bottles, jars, wire, etc.
There was a beautiful Super Moon out Saturday night. I was able to take advantage of the full moon and blessed all the little herb and flower seed packets I got recently under the moon. I planted those seeds Sunday. This is one of the trays of herbs from my garden which I am starting indoors.
Its a horrible phone snapshot but I wanted to show you what I have going on.


It has been a long time since I have had my own garden to tend to. Too long if you ask me. I did have two pots of herbs and some potted flowers last summer but I don’t really count that as much of a real garden. Almost no harvesting was involved, though yes I still had to water them.

Last years flowers.

I loved all the bright mix of colors. It was kind of a spur of the moment garden.
This one I have planted yesterday was a bit more planned out yet still a very spur of the moment thing since I had only thought about wanting one and then one day just decided to get the stuff to do it while I was at the store. I am glad I did :)


All the thoughts about different gardens reminded me of some beautiful terrarium pictures I had come across awhile back. I had thought of trying this at some point if I ever came across the right plants to put in them.

Here are some of the lovely pictures I came across.

 


They are all so very beautiful and inspiring. Most require you to spray them with water every day… while the ones in the boxes at the top I believe have air herbs in them and only require you to spray them once a week. They are lovely and I would love to have a bunch of these scattered throughout my house.

Putting them in large apothecary jars is defiantly something I would like for obvious reasons.


One of the things I love about the Spring and Fall seasons is all the extra creativity and inspiration. My muse and I are a lot more active during these months. I get more paintings done, more things made, get to enjoy all that nature has to offer.
In saying all of that, I have been working on the painting I have been commissioned to do again. Lots of work getting done on it now rather than small little bits and pieces. I knew it might get put on the back shelf during Winter. I am just am more inspired to paint during the Spring and do not wish to force creativity to flow when there is none for that subject. I have yet to train my muse to be there on command. I am not sure I will ever be able to… but at least I know when to predict it to pop up and help inspire me in the right ways.
Not only have I been working diligently on this painting, which is turning out quite wonderfully, but I have also started working on an old unfinished painting of mine. I had put it on the back shelf for quite awhile not sure what to do with it… I decided today that the lotus needed to be repainted. I already knew the yellow was not the color I wanted but was not sure what color I DID want. I decided on two purples and letting a bit of the yellow peak through. That’s what I worked on today. I also added a little bit of dark green to the outer edges of the lily pads.
This is what resulted from it. The painting is in no way done yet.


I am a lot happier with this color than I was the last. I did not even take pictures of the yellow lotus I disliked it that much. Everything is trial and error. It turned out it was good that I painted it yellow at first since it helped with the peek-a-boo color effect I really like.
Everything on this painting was done in acrylics except for the dragonfly wings which are real and from two different species of dragonfly. Dragonfly expired naturally and was not killed for the sake of the painting. The dragonfly’s body was painted, only the wings are real.
I still have not mapped out everything that will go on this painting yet. To be honest it is just kind of coming together piece by piece. I have ideas for what I would like to add to it but nothing is carved on granite yet. Fixing the lotus really does help me to think of more things that I could incorporate into it though.

I am sure I will get back to work on my Funeral Home for the Strange and Deranged this Fall. It is a Fall themed painting and was started but unable to be finished during the season.
This is a picture of Funeral Home for the Strange and Deranged. I need to take better pictures during the day with a better quality camera at some point.

There is a lot of detail to this painting that you cannot see with this picture sadly. Like all the different colors in the bark of the tree. Even this photo does not show it well enough but still better than the one above for the tree.

I recently  got some more colors of acrylic paint which will help with blending new different colors together. I have already started using them. I also got another brush I am having fun using as well.

My A Grave Night painting is obviously done and available for purchase. Its on 11x14 canvas done in acrylics. Email me at Lotus_Moon@hotmail.com if are interested in possibly purchasing the painting and would like more information.

Sick but still productive

I caught a cold this weekend which is not a lot of fun but has not stopped me from getting some things done that I have been needing to work on.

I have been getting a bit more writing done in my book.
Got about 7pgs written the other day.
Not quite as much as I usually do when I am sick, but it is a start.
I am hoping to write more soon.
I have around or just over 250pgs written now which isn’t too bad.


I have also the past two or three days been working on a rough draft of a painting I will be doing.
It is so interesting to see how each piece I add to it makes the whole thing evolve into something more or different from what it was when I started.
I would post pictures of it but I cannot yet considering I have been requested not to understandably by the person who commissioned me to paint it.
Mostly so that a specific someone will not see it before it is finished.
I haven’t started it on canvas yet being that I wanted to make sure that the colors would not clash once on the piece since there are a few which I cannot name.
Wanted to make sure I got the brush stroke pattern that my client and I liked for a few portions,
And basically so I could see how it would all be laid out and not in pencil.
I don’t mind doing the bit of extra work and think it will be worth it in the end to do it this way rather than find out something just isn’t clicking that would be hard to fix later.
That way when it comes time for canvas, I can know where everything goes and how it is supposed to look that would make everyone happiest.
I never want to paint something that someone is only moderately happy with,
Especially if it is something they have come to me to paint for them.
It is their vision, their idea.
I am just putting it to canvas as best as I can see it
to give them a physical representation of that vision.


I finally got what I think will be just about all I will be able to edit from the photos we took from the Dec 2010 photo shoot I did with one of my friends.
Her camera was malfunctioning so it would say it was getting clear shots, show clear shots, but in reality it was really blurry…
Most of them I could not fix at all, which is really sad, but oh well.
I did get some of them fixed up and edited.
(my editing skills are horrid haha but I made do… A few of them I had help with :)
I had a lot of fun on that shoot and going through and editing a good handful of those pictures tonight makes me think about the next shoot and what we will have planned.
Hopefully with a better working camera next time.
I might be able to fix up a couple more of the pictures, but so far I think I have about 14 out of I think it was 103 shots we took.
Which really is not that many shots for a typical photo shoot but we were kind of on a slight time cap and it was a spur of the moment thing.
If we had taken more, it would have just been more to throw out most likely so its not a big deal that we didn’t get many. Just wish more of them would have come out clear.
It was more for the adventure and a good time than it was for the shoot this time.
I only had about 30 minutes to get ready and leave from being in PJs to fully made up.
Don’t know how I did that one when you count in that I had to also piece together my dress as well….
Katie (photographer and my model for part of the night as well) was quite happy with the shots that did come out.
That made me happy since I really liked a few of them and hoped she would too.


During my relaxing I watched some shows/movies.
Ghostbusters (always a good choice)
Gingersnaps (love)
Iron Man 2
(first time I had seen it, thought it was hilarious. Especially the coconut line)
New Vampire Diaries (one of my favorite series)
New Nikita (really starting to like this show more and more)


Not too recently but a month or so ago I saw the Grindhouse movies.
Death Proof
&
Planet Terror
(Loved them both)


I have been slacking on my Apothecary work but there isn’t a whole lot I can do in my shop right now until I can pick up more supplies at some point to make more products.
I always feel antsy when I go long periods of time between making things.
I am a crafter and an alchemist.
I need to keep busy in some way or another…
I know I am writing and painting, but its not always enough for me to only be doing a couple of things. I need many things to keep my attention and from being antsy.
Which I have been feeling recently when it comes to my shop stuff.
I want to make more tree of life pendants and possibly some herbal massage oil soon if I am able to.
Just not sure what kinds yet.
I hate it when I feel like my shop is kind of dead at the moment.
Its not super dead but it could be doing a bit better than it is, I just haven’t been able to do much work wise on it recently to get the word out there about it since it is still newly open to the public.
Its a slow growing process that has been giving me a lot of good feedback on my products thus far which is great but I would like to bring in more repeat clients, new clients, and sales, just need to do a little better marketing which takes time and effort.
Once I am feeling a bit better I might look that over again.
Being that I make my own products and run the business by myself solely;
it can be hard to do everything at once.
Sometimes things take longer because of this but I expect that and have no problem with it.
I am patient, most of the time ^_~

I still have a BOS that I have yet to finish and post up…
Mostly due to the fact that I am not sure what to do with it.
I almost don’t want to do anything to it at all since I like how it looks now but maybe it does still need something in the center of the oval?
I really don’t know.
I have been mulling it over for awhile now and have not come to a conclusion as to what I think it should look like once it is finished. I still love where it is going but the only thing I could think of that I would want in the middle of it I do not think I could do. I am thinking of other ideas so that the book will not be laying around my house forever and I can get it listed in my shop soon.

This is currently what the book looks like.
It has a detachable wand on the front left side of the cover near the spine as you can see in the picture. The wand which is maple, book, and book marker, were hand made.
All the flowers and vine like stems were gathered by me and are real.

Anyways, this is long enough and I think I shall go make myself a cup of tea.
Echinacea elder tea is helping with my cold.
I was happy to find I still had half a box in my cupboard.
I really like the stuff and drink it even when I am not sick.
^_^

New Zodiac Signs?

I have to say, I do not know what to think about of of this new found knowledge on the zodiac... I have not done much research on it myself but I was aware of there being more than 12 zodiac signs so there being a 13th is not the issue. Them changing the dates around however and confusing everyone (Including me) is... In reading the article below I have found that apparently my zodiac sign has been wrong all along as have a lot of others; though some will stay the same depending on which day they were born.

~The article~

A Minnesota astronomer confirms what many have suspected: Your horoscope is quite possibly wrong.

Earth's shifts on its axis over the past 3,000 years have changed the 12 zodiac signs. For example, think your sign is Aquarius? You may be a Pisces. (There's also a 13th sign, Ophiuchus, that's based on a constellation the ancient Babylonians threw out for symmetry thousands of years ago.)

So who's to blame for this scam on zodiac devotees?

The ancient Babylonians based the zodiac on which constellation the sun appeared to be in when a person was born. Since then, the moon's has exerted a gravitation pull on Earth, causing a "wobble" on its axis that has shifted the stars' alignment by about a month, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

"Because of this change in the tilt, the Earth is over here and the sun is in a different constellation than it was 3,000 years ago when this study of the stars began," astronomer Parke Kunkle told the Twin Cities' KARE-TV.

The shift isn't new, Kunkle says -- the zodiac world just hasn't taken the wobble into account.

Here's your new sign below:

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11

Pisces: March 11-April 18

Aries: April 18-May 13

Taurus: May 13-June 21

Gemini: June 21-July 20

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23

Scorpio: Nov. 23-Nov. 29

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20 

~End Article~

So the problem I am finding with this is that though I was iffy with some of the things my sign said about me (the sign I knew myself to be, not the new one), I could still relate to it. There was a lot I learned to avoid and could work on from learning about my sign. I then learned about rising sun signs and what mine was, which also explained why I did not act like most people with my sign. Not only that but a lot of my closest friends had the sign which was the sign of my rising sun. This new sign I have makes no sense to me. I know a decent bit about it being that another family member has/had it, and though I have a few traits, I would not say I have enough to classify me as being under that sign. It just does not fit. I am not the only one who feels this way. I am not saying there may not be a more accurate sign that may apply to me, but I do not feel this is it. Not to mention the new sign that family member would have... the old one fit far too perfectly for this new one to make any sense. What I wonder is if in discovering all of this, maybe the dates got overlapped the wrong way or some sort of time/date calculation is wrong from then to translate into the now. I am no astrologist or astronomer so I really cannot speak much on the matter I can only speculate on possibilities. There is just too much that doesn't make sense with too many people I am seeing. Which also makes me wonder, had we all grown up in a world where we had known this list above to be the zodiac would it still feel weird or would it just be our normal because that is what we know and are used to?

I still feel like there is a link missing in all of this and that maybe they released this old/new found information (because it is old information, just lost information) too soon without filling all those gaps and preparing answers for all those questions that would arise from all of this.

Currently I am hesitant to accept or reject anything until I have further information.

Obviously the zodiac does not rule ones life and can be quite off in some cases. It is more of a generalization than a pin point or mapping of your life, past or future. It does not guarantee you will have any positive or negative psychological/emotional/social aspects just because you were born under a certain sign; though it is helpful and can generally be correct on a more broad scale, with some on a more specific scale.

The zodiac has many uses for it which is yet another reason why this big change means a lot for some of us. For some it means no change at all, for others it means big change.

I do feel sorry for those (especially if it turns out that this is and always has been the zodiac we just weren't aware of it) who have gotten tattoos of their signs somewhere on their bodies... and then they turn out to be another sign... crazy to think is it not?

I am honestly not sure how much importance I hold to all of this, at least currently. Maybe once everything is researched and set in stone so to speak (which obviously  nothing ever is, its almost always speculation) It is just weird to grow up thinking one thing all your life and then one day be told not only has it changed, but it has always been the other way you just never knew about it. It's thought provoking. What does this really mean to me? What does this really change for me? It does not change who I am, what I do, or anything really... I guess everyone is so upset because it is like reading that someone is telling you, you are something that you are not. Especially if it is a sign that is not like you in almost any way. Whether this is true or not people have to remember, your sign does not make you who you are, it does not deem anything, you do. If you do not like something, you change it or take the steps to better yourself.
So just because you may have a new sign, does not mean it will change who you are...
Because if you think about it, if this is true, it has been your sign all along and you have been the way you are knowing your true sign or not knowing, right?
Anyways, point made.

Not really looking to start a debate on the topic being that I do not really have an opinion on it yet, so posting a comment stating one way or another will most likely get you an ambiguous/speculative response from me since I will not sway one way or the other as of yet. For matters like this opinions, though always welcome, without many facts are hard to say much on until more facts are gathered on the matter.
I am not doing any hard research on the matter at the moment but I will probably post something If I get any new information on the matter if it is different than what I have already shown above.


Also on a side note: Lets say your sign has changed but you have always found the correspondences within the old sign to work and do not find the new ones to work as well, keep working with the old ones or incorporate them in with the new ones. Your intuition is a powerful thing, if something is working then stick to it. If you know a certain stone, herb, oil, color, works best for you and its not in your sign, or has never corresponded to your sign, that does not matter at all.
Your body knows what it needs and will tell you.
If you feel drawn to it then stick to those, and don't worry about who's sign its attached to.
If it works for you that is all that matters.