wise, wise creatures

Really...so wise, and yet......so not. You know, if you can't get the feedbag off of your head, well, just wear it all day. No worries.

*insane giggling*

We really do feed them. I promise.

third weekend at Silverleaf!

The kids are having so much fun ~ what a beautiful, magical place to be!

Barbarians are people too.

Aren't they sweet?

The horned one.

Lunch on Sunday!

today's walk with maverick & amulet

Under my apple tree...the apples are green and bitter but the tree is beautiful and provides lovely shade in the summer heat. I love looking up through the canopy of green!


Maverick and I (with Amulet in the mei tai) took a walk today in the forest. I'm sure the frog you see here was delighted to accompany us. Maverick says so anyway.

My fuchsia's are so beautiful!

Our free range hens enjoying the fallen tree.

Amulet in the mei tai..she's the cat's meow!

sweet, sweet darling thing turned 1!

July 13th it happened, and I cried as my beautiful soul daughter Amulet turned one year. I hardly knew the time passed...she was born unhindered and unassisted in a warm pool of water on a sunny morning in July. We could all hear one little goat maa-ing in the pasture outside the window. My hands eagerly sought out her sweet body under the water, and I found her. That first touch...I will never forget how deliciously soft and tender she was. I pulled her up, unwrapped the tight cord from her neck, and held her beloved body to my neck...forever changed.

podophyllum peltatum ~ the may apple

This pretty fruit comes from the American Mandrake plant, which is prolific in my forest. These lime green little fruits we love to refer to as, "foot busters", as they so cover the forest floor. Their true nicknames however, are much prettier: May Apple, Wild Lemon, Racoonberry, Indian Apple, Duck's Foot and the lovely Hog's Apple. If you prefer, Satan's Apple. *wild giggling going on at my keyboard*

In her book, Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, she writes that this fruit is edible only when ripe (yellow), and that pictured here (green), they are poisonous. I have read that the ripe fruit can be used in jam making or in pies, though I am not convinced of the merits of this. Perhaps!

Magically speaking, Scott Cunningham writes that the "may apple is generally used as a substitute for the European (true) mandrake". It's not clear if he is referring to the berry or the root. He writes that the true mandrake can be placed on the mantle in the home, bringing protection, fertility, and prosperity. That coins placed beside a mandrake root are said to double. Interesting!

I cannot find anything in Matthew Wood's Herbal Wisdom book.

I picture these beautiful fruits dried, & hung from my beam at the front door, offering protection to those inside.

the first weekend at Silverleaf!

My tent this year! Lots of goodies inside to lust after...

Little fairie stones for the bonny bairnes...

The seahorse ride!!!



Jewel standing by one of the beautiful stages at Silverleaf

And this, because it's the most beautiful baby neck I've ever kissed in my life.

setting up for the faire

Here she is ~ Sky having the time of her life helping me to set up for Silverleaf. It's hot, we're hungry, what else could a girl want? She did a fantastic job of putting the tent together!

Two friends, Beckalyn & Heather who are getting a little too much enjoyment out of their golf cart privileges. These great women are responsible for organizing the vendors!

Coyote
"helping". When you're 3 you're very very helpful.

Getting a little out of hand with the camera. This is where we ate. As vegetarians, we gorged ourselves on Wendy's baked potatoes and then some more baked potatoes. I gave birth to a baked potato baby that night.

a sweet monkey

A sweet little monkey named Amulet, wrapped to my back. I love wearing her...in this picture we had just come inside from hanging out laundry.

sparkling!

A sparkling, sun-catching, shamelessly glittering display of crystals! I love wearing these warm, colorful pieces in the summertime. The sunlight hits the exquisitely cut angles on the crystals and beams of light radiate everywhere. A necklace I just can't stop staring at.

SOLD to a nice mama :)