Energies of Now: Mars Forward, Energy Resurfaces

So very spot on! This part especially resonates with discussions I’ve been having with clients, David, friends and relatives:

“One main question during the Mars retrograde since mid-April until now has been this:

• Just what have we been giving our energy and thus our power to, and are we still thinking that’s a good idea?

• And is it a worthwhile investment of our greatest resource — our very life-force — or might that attention, energy, and life-force be better focused to something more truly worthwhile?”

Thank you, Jamie. I was just thinking this is so prevalent for so many people that I really ought to post on it … and there yours was. 🙂

Sophia's Children

Mars God of War, by Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez (1599-1660), Prado Museum. Public domain image.

Mars, the planet and archetypal energy of raw life-force, brash Yang, passion, and momentum stationed direct after its retrograde vision-quest cave-time that started in mid-April.

In mythology, the only time Mars did cave time was when he was with his lover, Venus… the only one who could influence Mars to channel all of that life-force and passion in more constructive, creative, and wise ways.

Otherwise, much to the constant chagrin of his fellow gods,Mars was out stirring up trouble, knockin’ heads, and generally bustin’ shit up, and thinking about it later, if at all.

What’s interesting is that — whether they ‘believe in astrology’ or not —a lot of people have been reporting the withdrawn energy, feeling the need for more rest or a more gentle pace (like it or not)…

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Interview with Lyme Disease Survivor, Stylist and Blogger Catherine Grace O’Connell

I wanted to reblog this inspiring interview with an exciting update. It seems that Arianna Huffington read Catherine’s interview and loved it — personally getting back to her. I’m happy to report that Catherine will now be writing for the Huff Post! Her blog also officially launched this week: http://catherinegraceo.com . She’ll soon be partnering with someone and offering podcasts and webinars helping people recover from PTSD and severe trauma. Kudos to Catherine! This is a must read article for any of those people asking me if I really do know of success stories moving beyond the devastation of Lyme Disease. Yes, I do, but they are usually confidential. Thank you to Catherine Grace O’Connell for courageously living and sharing her story with the world! Much love and respect … you’ve earned it, Sweetheart!!!

Laura Bruno's Blog

Today’s post originally appeared on Sprout Art: Interviews with Creative People. When Catherine shared the link with me, I asked for and received permission to post the entire interview here to raise awareness with so many others dealing with Lyme Disease and other debilitating physical or emotional challenges. [Please note, this post shares the updated 5/20/2016 version of this interview.]

Catherine Grace O’Connell is an inspiration and one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out. I can vouch for the severity of her struggles with Lyme Disease and the intensity of her journey. She has walked through the fire, the eye of the needle, and the Dark Night of the Soul, not only surviving to tell the tale, but shining and inspiring others.

I’m so pleased to be able to share this interview with my readers, because so many Chronic Lyme clients ask me if I know…

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White Picket Fences, Free Range Fantasies, and the Many Paths of Sustainable Living

This is one of the most inspiring articles I have read, and Dana is right in sync with discussions David and I have been having, including just moments before reading this post. Do what you can, how you can, wherever you are …with no enslavement to “should’s.”

The Druid's Garden

We live in a time of grand and sweeping narratives, powerful narratives that tell us who to be, how to live, what to buy, and what to believe–and these shape our actions and identities. When I was a child in the 1980’s, the narrative of the American Dream, complete with the white picket fence, was compelling. A beautiful suburban home, a middle class lifestyle, a loving partner, 2.5 children, a large house, a beautiful lawn, the husband with a well paying job, and generally peaceful existence were the cornerstones of this dream. Of course, there’s a lot of critique of the white picket fence today, spanning from racial injustice and socioeconomic realities to sustainable living issues. In the sustainability community, in particular, the white picket fence has become a sense of what we are working against, as the white picket fence surrounds the chemically-treated and weed free grass…and certainly…

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Garden Update: Signs of Summer

I haven’t posted garden photos in awhile, and people have asked for an update. Today marked the first sunflower of 2016:

I’ve taken other photos in the past few days to give a sense of life in that middle period when few things bloom. Thankfully, in our yard, we still have signs of growth and color:

These roses are slightly past their prime, but will bloom all summer with almost no work at all. Called Robinhood Roses, these lovelies are salt tolerant, drought tolerant, and don’t even require deadheading. Quite the change from the original weedy patch in the front easement!

The Garden Tower 2 has really started to take off. We’ve already harvested some green beans and kale, and I’ve got lettuce started from seed to benefit from increased shade once the older plants grow in:

I haven’t had the best luck with pole beans or soy beans this year, mostly due to critters, but this bean tower has managed to beat the bunnies’ munchies, along with marigolds, nasturtium, chard, and kale.

All the three-tiered beds are planted with polycultures. In this one below, you can see Thai and purple basils, bok choy, a volunteer tomato, various peppers, calendula, chives, marigolds, beets, and a volunteer watermelon. In the background is a hearty rhubarb and vigorous grape vine. You can just see the rocks of the herb spiral behind the picnic table, centered in what will eventually become the asparagus circle:

In the blue house yard, just planted last fall and this year, you can see that the tree stump turned herb spiral has begun to fill in. Those herbs need lots of nitrogen rich compost since the tree continues to rob nitrogen from the soil, but eventually, it will function as a nice, rich hugelculture bed, not to mention eyesore turned focal point. Behind the herb spiral, you can see paw paw trees, asparagus, geraniums and hollyhocks. To the sides of the herb spiral, we have also have 10 asparagus beginning to grow in. (Actually, 9. The squirrels got one, which will need a replacement.)

By next year, faeries willing, we should have 16 asparagus plants getting ready to produce. I wasn’t sure about planting so much asparagus, but after our two older ones started producing this year, David and I went gaga for grilled asparagus! We also fell in love with a nettle, zucchini and asparagus “lasagna” topped with shredded raw goat cheese after baking. Oh, my goodness: gluten free heaven! So many things taste unbelievably different when you grow them yourself, and our friend Jon keeps us well supplied with nettles. Anyway, the herb spiral, one of the paw paws and friends:

We’ve had a sort of mini-drought this year, which has delayed growth until the more recent rains of the past few days. Thankfully, between soaker hoses, tree rings and hand watering, I’ve managed to keep most of the new perennials, fruit and nut trees in good shape, minus that one asparagus and some geraniums.

I created a new “community” on the front easement in between the two houses. This one features a dwarf Reliance peach tree, three Hansen cherry bushes, a red twig dogwood, ground juniper, foxglove, comfrey, campanula, petunias, and aster. The second most recent community — or guild, as the permaculture folks call it — sits outside the south window of my writing office near the north side of our garage and includes one of the nine hazel trees, surrounded by alpine strawberries, hostas, primrose, nasturtium, comfrey, a gooseberry bush, kale (far away from the tree roots), kalette (a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts, courtesy of reader Karen),  calendula, and one of the three zepherine roses on these properties. Those new communities are so fledgling that photos don’t show much, so you’ll just have to take my word for it!

One particular joy comes from the day lilies I planted last year (also courtesy of Karen — thank you!!) by our back door, where David can see his favorite orange blooms on the way in and out each day. Did you know that every single part of day lilies is edible? Quite the versatile plant! I’ve not actually tried any parts, but according to Backyard Foraging, day lilies are one of the top edible ornamentals. I’ll leave you with some rain barrel and day lily cheer, in company of our mulberry tree, various mints, lamb’s ears, black lace elderberry and a bee-friendly shade flower mix:

Happy Growing!

Solstice Musings

I’ve been quiet on the blog, spending much more time outdoors and within my own readings (books, phone sessions and Otherworldly contact), but in light of the transient nature of another turn of the Wheel of the Year, I thought I’d post these two essays synchronously brought to my attention by reader Cindy. Both are by Aidan Wachter. Though written in 2014, they seem quite timely with all the talk of timelines, as well as the special permeability of the eight spokes on the Wheel. These essays go together, and the comments are worth reading, too:

“Waking up in Another World”

“There Are Doors”

Solstice Blessings to you — whether Summer up North, or Winter Down Under!

 

Big Shifts and Timeline Splits

I’ve been too busy to post — teaching, doing sessions, gardening and re-creating, and hoo-boy, I’m feeling and witnessing the shifts! On both individual and collective levels timelines are splitting on the basis of resonance and choice. It’s truly bizarre watching some of the choices not to shift, as some of them have become hilariously obvious.

You really can’t make this stuff up. Or at least, if you made it up in a work of fiction, people would accuse you of padding the plot, using stock characters, or making themes too cliched and overly symbolic. Yet here we are. The Gemini in me dearly wishes I could share details, because they’re so funny, absurd and just downright weird … and in so many areas … but these are not my own details to share. Even the ones that are mine are linked into too many others whose lives don’t permit public blogging.

But wow. Some cool things are afoot. In my own life, I spent last week in a series of deep, involved dreams — the kind you know were not “just dreams.” In one such dream, I found myself sitting on a couch next to someone who had emotionally abused me for much of my life. Just as that person began the old bait and switch style “generosity,” I suddenly began dry heaving. Not only could I not swallow the bait and switch, but it was triggering an interdimensional vomit session.

This person yelled at me to get off “his” couch (which it wasn’t), so I ran to the bathroom and started vomiting concrete and gravelly sludge into the sink. The “vomit” came not from my stomach, but from my lungs, and it more than filled the sink. I awoke from the dream because I was literally dry heaving so loudly in bed that it pulled me out of sleep. The moment I awoke, though, I felt completely different. Free, light, and on a different timeline.

Sure enough, some “facts” and relationships were very different than they had been when I went to bed the night before. Also, in one of those cosmic winks I see so often in timeline jumps, in which some things no longer match up, the doorknob of the blue house now turns in the opposite direction as before. It used to require an extremely hard left turn to enter that house. As of that morning, the door started giving me all sorts of trouble, until a couple days later, I realized, “Ha! It’s the opposite now. A hard turn right gets you in with no effort. The timeline’s winking at me.” Sure enough, it works no problem to enter with a hard right turn, but in a further upgrade, it so happens our landlord is getting us entirely new doorknobs and keys for both front and back doors. This old front doorknob will move to replace the old garage entrance.

Doors are highly symbolic of timeline shifts. It’s one reason I paint portal doors to preferred realities. Since that shift, my mom’s old house is now under contract. It took a huge amount of work and two Reiki Healing Attunements, but that house sold in under three weeks amidst massive synchronicities. Those synchronicities are hallmarks of Reiki Healing Attunements and intensive prayer, both of which covered this entire process. I cannot share the details, because I don’t want to jeopardize the sale in any way, nor reveal private details … but holy, moly, are they ever over the top sync winks! Again, you can’t make this stuff up.

I’ve witnessed similarly decisive breaks with the old — some sad, but nonetheless feeling right — and some shocking, but also feeling right. This is not a good time to try to keep dirty little secrets under wraps. It’s also not a good time to demand more energy than you reciprocate or to try to use outmoded control mechanisms.People are waking up. It’s also important to remember that just because someone is no longer on your timeline, that doesn’t mean the person is necessarily wrong, bad or evil. It’s just no longer a match. Perhaps that person will jump to a more thriving option, or maybe they feel comfortable where they are with their current companions. The world continues to sort itself, and I find it fascinating how this Rubik’s cube will look in a few more months. So far 2016, has seen more twists and turns than your average year.

Election fraud keeps getting exposed not only on the national level, but also local, co-ops, and even in churches. Again, the local, co-op, and church details are not mine to report, but check out Ann K’s compilation on Hillary Clinton’s latest lawsuit on voter fraud to see what I mean on the national level.  From the astrology to Wikileaks, to full on legal watchdogs, lightning’s striking. Similar voter fraud has happened on both sides for years, especially in 2012; however, masses of people have begun to declare, “Enough is enough.”

It rarely feels good to implement tough love and erect firm boundaries, but effective timeline jumping sometimes requires such things. It definitely demands conscious choices for a better world: which patterns, people, institutions and stories stay? Which ones go? When those windows of opportunity present themselves, which ones will you recognize as the portals they are? Which ones will you choose to go through?

As the Hopi say, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” “This could be a good time.” I, for one, intend to make it so!

Blessed Be.

Life-Milestone Cycles and Big-Energy Activations Underway

Yep! Definitely feeling this, as it hits various intense spots on my natal chart. Huge transformations under way, and I get the “non-negotiable” quality of them. I know many people also experiencing huge shifts, so here’s some perspective from the heavens … And from Jamie! ❤️

Sophia's Children

The ‘Milky Way’, photographed near Lake Titicaca in Peru. Image courtesy of NASA.

There are several ‘big energy’ activations and/or life-milestone cycles underway just now.

Here’s a snapshot, and I have a few specific updates on the writing roster for a couple of these.

The shifts and fluxes in the shared energy field and collective consciousness affect everyone — if you’re breathing the air and are living on Earth, you’re involved in these unfolded mythic stories and dramas taking place now.

There are some soul groups, though, who are experiencing major milestones or activations just now (or in the recent past, or on the near horizon).

You’ll also find some handy ‘anytime inspiration’ at the end.

Mid-1960s-born Generation-X Core Group — Wounded Healer Milestone & Shapeshifting Cycle

The current activation of the Mutable Axis — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces — zones in on the mid-1960-born Generation-X soul group (1962-1968)…

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Tips for Navigating Past Life Bleed Through

Thank you, Dawn, for putting words to what so many clients share with me in sessions. The confusion and emotional intensity of past life bleedthrough can make people feel like they’re going crazy, sometimes in the most delightful of ways, but profoundly disoriented nonetheless! In addition to Dawn’s post, please check out the comment stream between Tania Marie and Dawn underneath the original post. When these sorts of things happen, they can be profound gifts and expansion, but they rarely mean, “OMG, I’m supposed to be with this person forever.” Navigating past life bleedthrough is an art, and it sounds like Dawn and her medicine brother handled this very well, indeed. Much love!

Deer Heart Reiki Blog

This post came about from an experience I recently had and worked through. I felt extremely compelled to share what I had learned and processed, to assist those who encounter this phenomenon. This was my first time experiencing something like this. But my sense says this is going to become rather common place as time unfolds. Although it can be extremely disorienting, confusing and challenging, as with everything there is a gift to be gleaned from it if you chose to and recognize that that is what it is.

Like many of you, I had experienced those deja vue moments. Feeling like either i know this place, I think I’ve been here, or wow I remember this happening before or that person is very familiar to me and here I just met them. Yes, I have experienced all of these. What I was not prepared for was meeting someone, realizing there was…

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June 2016 Energies and June Specials

First of all, I cannot believe it’s already June! This year has crawled/flown by in a surreal haze of enormous projects other than the enormous projects initially slated for early 2016. The fluidity of time, cycles of energy and opportunities for decisive filtering have convinced me to repeat May’s Specials for the month of June 2016. I’ll post those below the spot-on link to Jennifer Hoffman’s June 2016 Energy Report.

Also, a quick note that the June 11th and 12th classes do still have room in them. The June 11th Special Topics in Reiki Class (Deepening Your Experience of the Distant Healing Symbol) actually filled up and then resorted itself so that I will likely need to teach it again sometime in late summer or early fall. So many people excitedly planned to attend that class, but life rearranged so that we again have space, as well as a half-full future class TBA on the same topic. The June 12th Earth Healing Class also has unexpected openings, so if you find yourself suddenly drawn to these classes (described below), now’s your second chance to sign up.

I did a Timeline Tune-In and Tune-Up yesterday for reader V, and afterwards, she synchronously stumbled upon Jennifer Hoffman’s post by clicking from The Blue Room to a side link on my blog to Shift Frequency.  Jennifer talks about the lengthy and intense retrograde energies in early 2016, a resurgence of energies from the March 10, 2016 eclipse, as well as the major potentials of this month’s New and Full Moon’s as gateways to new, preferred realities.

In short, it’s another month of morphing realities and opportunities to weed our metaphorical gardens, water and shine light on those relationships and patterns we’d like to enhance, cut down anything diseased or unable to bloom in our space, and celebrate what can and does flourish in our sphere of influence. Click here for Jennifer Hoffman, and if you missed my earlier post from Inelia Benz about timeline jumping, you can read that here. Also, Zen Gardner recently posted a Carlos Tavares piece on The Mandela Effect & the Merging of Two Parallel Realities. Clearly timelines are on the brain for many intuitive and aware people right now.

Please see below for the related specials and classes:

JUNE 2016 SPECIALS

$44 Tarot Readings

Half hour tarot readings at 20% off the usual rate. Tarot readings offer an energetic check-in, the chance to ask questions about pending decisions or intentions, and represent a fun, yet powerful way to gain new perspective on relationships and challenges.

Tarot readings are particularly good for people who don’t know what kinds of questions to ask me; they just want some kind of guidance because they feel unsure of what’s coming or what to focus upon. Tarot also seems to benefit those people who have exceptionally good things coming their way, yet wonder if I might be “padding the reading” or “just saying what they want to hear.” The cards don’t lie. (Neither do I – but the cards seem that much more objective a medium for delivering good news.)

Please contact me if you’d like to sign up for this special. Offer valid if prepaid on or before June 30, 2016.

 

Timeline Tune-In and Tune-Up

This type of reading seems so important and helpful right now with so many people experiencing breaks from “normal” reality.

This hour session helps you to recognize your likely trajectory based on current energy patterns, intentions, and habits … and then, I search for the closest parallel reality versions of “you” with very slight differences that lead to more preferred (and more varied/greater opportunities for) positive outcomes. The scan and download are actually easier for me to do than to explain here, but if you’ve ever seen the movie “Sliding Doors” with its alternate reality story lines that intersect at certain points throughout the film, I’ll be scanning you for the stickiest intersection points.

I have found that these crossover points – i.e., parallel Universe bleed-throughs – can act like portals into alternate realities, preferred or not. That’s why you want to approach them consciously and respectfully, so that you recognize the power of the moment and choose wisely. The initial shift looks subtle, because if there weren’t enough similarities between the timelines/alternate realities, then the bleed-through moments wouldn’t happen so easily; however, in retrospect, such moments or decisions often seem “Fated.”

This reading gives you a heads up regarding the types of feelings, thoughts and experiences to watch for if you’re looking to sidestep onto a more positive timeline without needing to slog through linear time to get your desired life. In some cases, the preferred outcome even requires a sidestep, because the laws of cause and effect already set in motion on the current timeline are barreling you toward their “inevitable” end result. Fortunately, linear time’s not all it’s cracked up to be! These “timeline hops,” “portal points,” “reality jumps” – whatever you want to call them – are not only possible but powerful, and with awareness and practice, you can learn to surf such opportunities, charting your own course from current to next closest to preferred realities.

$133/hour if prepaid on or before June 30, 2016.

Upcoming classes:

SPECIAL TOPICS IN REIKI:

Deepening Your Experience of the Distant Healing Symbol

Saturday, June 11, 2016

10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Goshen, IN at Haus Am See (address given upon registration)

In response to many student requests, this is a reprise of a class series I taught in Reno/Tahoe and Sedona. In this series, we cover Special Topics in Reiki that we either don’t have time for or can only scratch the surface of during certification classes. This particular workshop focuses on “Deepening Your Experience of the Distance Healing Symbol.” We will discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of both distance healing and the Reiki symbol itself, unpacking layers upon layers of symbolism and function.

Many students find this symbol intimidating and difficult to remember or work with. This class will explore and demonstrate why it’s worth the effort to learn and grow comfortable using this symbol. We will cover distance in space, as well as time, including, but not limited to past, future and parallel applications. Students will learn how this symbol can help you to “bend time,” empower intentions, heal very old trauma, and encode success in alternate versions of yourself/your reality. Those interested in previous lifetimes will also learn how this symbol can enhance intuitive access to past life experiences for easier reclamation of old gifts and healing of ancient traumas.

We will take an onsite break for lunch, which can include access to garden-fresh produce and a stroll through the gardens. Weather permitting, we can even eat outside on the porch or near the fountain and herb spiral.

$200 ($177 if prepaid by 5/11/16). Haus Am See offers a larger classroom than our home, but there has been a lot of interest over the years in these types of classes. In order to ensure your spot, I suggest early registration. Pre-requisite: must have Reiki Level 2 certification from me or another Reiki Master Teacher. Please contact me to sign up.

 

***Both guest bedrooms are already booked for this entire weekend.***

 

INTRO TO EARTH HEALING

Sunday, June 12, 2016

10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Goshen, IN at Haus Am See (address given upon registration)

This introductory workshop on Earth Healing will be specially tailored to the day’s students. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Listening to and getting to know your local land
• Taking hyperlocal actions to create holistic, global effects
• Recognizing signs from animals and Nature
• Working with the Faerie Realm, Nature Spirits or Spirits of the Land
• Grounding techniques for connecting with the Earth and trees
• Connections between soil health and soul health, humus and humans
• Rituals for healing
• Manifesting/connecting with your own magical spot on Earth
• Discerning when and how the Earth is calling you
• Setting up or expanding your garden
• Cultivating beauty in unlikely areas
• Becoming the change you wish to see in the world
• Lessons gleaned from Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point”
• Back to Eden/wood mulch method
• Gardening in small spaces or tricky spots
• Ways to give back in the Cycle of Life

When you sign up, please let me know your specific interests, so that I can design a workshop most suited to the interests of those attending. Class will include a working lunch and (weather permitting) fresh produce and time in the garden. Some plant starts/cuttings will also be available if you’d like to bring a little of this land regeneration energy home with you.

Cost is $177. Haus Am See offers a larger classroom than our home, but there has been a lot of interest over the years in this sort of class. In order to ensure your spot, I suggest early registration. Please contact me to sign up.

Before and After in the Garden

Many people have asked if I have any before and after shots of the gardens at Faery Hof and Haus Am See. The answer is yes; however, the truth is that I was so overwhelmed and embarrassed by the “before” when we first rented the place that became Faery Hof that we did not photograph things to look as bad, challenging or unhealthy as they really looked. With a factory and railroad across the street, tree stumps and aggressive weeds all over the yard, and a general sense of poverty and neglect, we knew this place would provide the opportunity for the extreme urban gardening, land healing and wild foraging I felt called to do … but on a soul level, the contrast between what I intended and what my eyes and ears saw and heard felt like a daily kick in the gut.

All that feels difficult to believe now, whenever we gaze upon the beauty, health and abundance of our yards and now two homes — one we live in, the other a magical writing office, classroom, community potluck space, student guesthouse, and outdoor entertaining area. While the trains still whistle, a 2017 noise ordinance will make that illegal in town, and the most common sounds in both yards are wind in the trees and bird song. This spot’s magic has increased hundreds-fold, and the dimensional shift upon setting foot on this land or in either home feels palpable to anyone able to sense such things.

The other night I happened upon some old photos from 2012, 2013 and 2014, which shocked me in contrast to today’s abundance and beauty. You can still see and sense the potential in these early photos, but viewing them gave me much greater appreciation for the massive labor of love I’ve engaged in these past few years. For those who’ve wondered, here you go with some dated contrast:

The yard behind our house:

September 2012 from our backdoor area: no back fence, no privacy, tons of weeds and unhealthy trees due to black walnut juglone all over the soil. Little waif me excited and with pre-30K-pounds-of-wood-mulch arms!

Same view in late May 2016: elderberries, irises, hazelnut, a healthy mulberry tree, privet hedge growing along the original side fencing, back fence, raspberries, edible dogwood, currants, and gardens galore.

The back yard between our house and the blue house next door:

September 2012 on the day we agreed to rent this property and heal the yard. That front tree was unhealthy and got cut down before we moved in. The lone silver maple in the backyard split and fell down in 2013, due to juglone damage, leaving us with one forlorn yard!

May 2013, the beginnings of the backyard beds.

May 2016

June 1, 2016 with many raised beds, the Generation 2 Garden Tower Project, a scabrosa rose, compost bins, and in the distance, you can see the herb spiral, what will become an asparagus semi-circle hedge, and paw paw, apricot, dwarf plum, hazelnut trees and a goumi shrub, plus edible hollyhocks growing along the fence line.

The front yard between the houses:

The front yard between our house and the blue house in May 2014 after the huge project of hauling concrete from the next door apartments to delineate raised beds in the front yard.

Same view two years later in May 2016. The yard has been successively blooming for months.

David took this photo of me in the front side yard with fellow permaculture enthusiast, blogger and InDiana resident, Ann Kreilkamp when she visited here in May 2014.

 

Two years later, the view is so lush, I can’t photograph the front of the blue house yard from this spot, but that yard, too is planted with witch hazel, a gooseberry bush, holly bushes, another privet hedge, dozens upon dozens of flowering spring bulbs, perennial flowers, and alpine strawberries. Here you see 2014’s newly created beds filling in with perennials, fruit and nut trees, herbs, and annual veggies.

I don’t have time to photograph all the nooks and crannies of the yards to show before and after shots, but the changes are equally dramatic all around. Hopefully, this gives some sense of the original project and the ongoing transformation. I’d say I’m only about halfway finished in terms of results, although I’ve front-loaded many tons (literally) of labor that will begin to follow that adage of first year sleep, second year creep, third year leap, fourth year reap. Since this has been a multi-year process across two yards and several distinct microclimates, some areas have matured faster than others. Overall, though, I’m excited about the dimensional shift this yard and the two houses afford. And the food and flowers aren’t bad either!

Potted primrose, lily of the valley, rhododendron, and zephirine climbing rose by our front door.

A spontaneous faery ring of sedum formed as if by magic, right by our driveway. That reminds me that we also have a rare pileated woodpecker who visits the stumps in our yard. Normally they only appear in mature woodlands. The Faery Realm of Goshen is alive and well!