Looking at the calendar, the summer solstice is right around the corner. Given that Mercury is moving back direct from its retrograde (I started this post when it was still fully retrograde), I wanted to take some time and reassess how I’m doing on my goals for 2022’s calendar year.
Back in January I posted that I wanted to:
Curate a healthy existence to keep learning while leaning into abundance that comes with knowledge by consistently practicing mindful Magic and Earth healing while writing it all down.
Currently, we’re eating more and more healthily. I am literally harvesting in the morning, a lot of what we will eat in the day. And if it’s not coming from the greenhouse or perennial garden, it’s coming from my larder of food put by the last growing season or from my fellow Grow Food neighbors.
Daily Kitchen Witchery is not only enhancing our life nutritiously, but also spiritually. Living and moving with the seasons feels so natural and right-on that there is a sense of calm I haven’t had in many years. Our healthy existence includes exercise every day by way of yoga, walking, or Tai Chi, the latter of which we are so new in learning, but oh wow is it amazing. I still have to have some dark chocolate, ice cream, or baked goods on occasion, and well those are one of the joys of life. Plus I wanted to lean into abundance. A special ice cream sundae to celebrate goslings being born on the Covenstead is allowed. It’s what makes life worth living sometimes.
More Flowers all over Villa Westwyk is a Goal for 2022.
Mindful Magic has continued as Runa Troy’s Magical Services & Goods continues to build, slowly but surely. My work doing dream interpretations, Rune Castings, and the like is so fulfilling and its growth has been such a blessing. My intuition is being sharpened by deepening my knowledge of astrology, and intensifying my connection with Runes, my ancestors, and the Spirits beyond the Veil.
Earth Healing is a huge focus now that Spring is in full force (finally!) here in the Pacific Northwest. We have seven goslings, six chicks, and nearly a dozen duck eggs a day coming in. We have planted hops this year, which is new to us, to aid in The Viking’s brew haus activities. I have finally moved all the raspberries from the very bad, no good spot they were in (not by me) and put them in their own garden, which allows for expansion and UPick opportunities down the road. The space where the raspberries once occupied will be a garden of things just for the Beastlings – everything from amaranth grain to kale to sunflowers to zucchini.
Eating straight from the land is so healing.
Plans are underway to host gatherings here for friends and family because we have the outdoor space to do so safely. We’re excited to share Villa Westwyk’s gorgeous energy with those we love and to celebrate our Patriarch’s 85th birthday, a girls’ weekend or three, and so much more (Can you say Witch Camp ‘22?).
Writing it all down not only includes this blog, but my secret project which is gaining some much needed traction in the right direction. Additionally, I’m in a writing group of other Mystics via The Tarot Lady’s Hierophant Writing Group. With their encouragement I have progressed so much further on this work in the last three months than I would have otherwise. This Writing Circle is powerful Magic and I’m happy to have opened the door to this curation. I’m learning so much as well as producing and that aligns with my goal for this year as well.
Although Mercury Retrograde gets a bad rap and now Saturn is going Retrograde, it’s an opportunity to work with the energies and make even more Magic. Oh and Venus is in Taurus, so love yourself. Love your kindred. And let’s move through the rest of this year taking steps forward curating our truest selves and best life.
It’s hard to get a photo of our little goose family all together, because clearly they are SUPER comfortable. Can you spot all seven goslings?
Currently we’re getting ready for an unseasonably cold front coming in. Honestly, Spring really has been a warm winter here in the PNW. But our snow pack is getting above average and that is good for the whole of Western Washington, where our covenstead is. So I’m glad the goslings are filling out and getting all the grass they can handle to stay warm. They also get supplemental feed and vitamin water to help mitigate for problems that can befall them in the early days of their life. Mama Eva and Papa Willie are doing great. Willie even made sure I knew he was still a protective dad when I went to freshen water and gosling feed this morning. It was all posturing, but have you seen the teeth on geese? Literally, Cobra Chickens. hehe.
On Friday the 13th, our lovely Pilgrim Goose successfully hatched seven goslings. She needed a little help with two of them, and we were there to help provide ICU care, which meant we needed to bring them inside and warm them up, hydrate them, and get them to the point of reintegration. Nature is amazing, and the two ICU patients were reunited with their siblings and parents in a day’s time. Eva was busy dealing with 5 other hatchlings and sitting still on the other eggs, so we were happy to do our part as bipedal assistants. Spoiler alert! 4 eggs were nonviable, and 4 goslings perished before completely hatching, which is par for the course. Only the strong survive in nature. Both of those things happen traditionally when you let Mother Nature lead the way. It’s a reason they have such large clutches of eggs. Eva sat on 15 eggs for 30 days! What a trooper! I buried the perished ones in our “forest” and the nonviable eggs went into the compost. Both will return to the land. I find that sentiment Magical. Being a part of this land is so much a part of my Magical practice of Midgardening Witchery.
Our impromptu ICU: a box with wood shavings and a heating pad on top.
This hatching is a huge accomplishment for our efforts at sustainability and self reliance. This month, we’ve only been the keepers of this land* for two years. (Wow, what a crazy two years!) Every creature, flora and fauna, here on little two-acre permaculture holding, is central to what we’re trying to accomplish here. The geese manage the pasture by being living lawn mowers (no gas or other power needed). We are slowly building safety infrastructure so their protected pasture is larger and larger. What they have is more than enough, but I’m all for giving them as best a life as I can.
When they keep the pasture trim, it’s easier to see invasive species, which was a problem when we first acquired this land* and in turn, lets native grasses and plants flourish. They are great guardians of the property, too. We know when predators or visitors are about. And are they cute as hatchlings. To see them flap their little wings and make their little peep is pure joy making. This Crone Life is more and more about finding joy, so they are certainly a part of it.
Here I will provide a content warning: If ethically raised meat is upsetting for you, please prepare yourself to continue, or maybe go back to the cute photos above.
Yes, some of these goslings will give back to this land* in a different way. They will feed our family. And honestly, eating meat is a personal choice, and one that my family has worked hard to do sustainably and ethically. I know how these animals are raised and they will be dispatched in the most honorable and pain-free way possible. But that dispatching is also for the health of the animals. Too many ganders is upsetting to the geese within the gaggle (I know some Witches out there that are nodding along…). Too many ganders would have the ducks upset, too, because there’s a good chance the ganders would try to mate with the ducks — and although it’s not harmful to them, the size difference could cause injury. And we already have 2 drakes for 9 ducks. Just barely the right ratio there. We also use every part of the harvest, creating not just meals, but bone broth, dog food (a post on that coming Thursday), and even Magical Goods (a post on that coming soon).
Living a permaculture lifestyle is all about diversity, harmony, and balance. This includes the animals on the property (including the humans!). One of the 12 principles of permaculture is: Use and Value Diversity. That’s why we have not just geese, but ducks and chickens, too. Eventually, I hope to provide not just to my neighbors who right now receive harvests from my land in barter, but perhaps the larger community. But permaculture is about using small, slow solutions. After two years we have 10 chickens, 11 ducks, and now 9, but soon to be 3 geese. Slow, incremental growth is healthy.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. I hope you learned something here. If you did, please let me know in the comments. I honestly believe that applying the permaculture principles to every part of our lives helps mitigate for and prevent problems and allows for healthy living all the way around. And in the meantime, I get to spam the blog, Instagram, and Twitter with Gosling images and videos.
Papa Willie takes the Goslings For A Walk To Give Mama Eva a break.
*I would like to acknowledge that Villa Westwyk resides on the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish Peoples, who have lived in the Salish Sea basin, throughout the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades watershed, from time immemorial. I hold the deepest respect and gratitude for our Indigenous neighbors, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe, for their enduring care and protection of our shared lands and waterways. I vow to live in harmony with and be a steward of this land and its waterways as they have.
I had a reminder this past weekend about what it means to be a Witch, to live as a Witch, and how I’ve been doing that most of my life. The philosophies I’ve been living consistently in my life is all about what most, as well as myself, call Witchcraft. To wit, I have been living the Craft all along, even though at moments or in periods of my life it may not have looked like it outwardly. I mean, I knew that pursuing a life centered on Magic is what I wanted; but, It took me deeply dedicating myself to living the life of a Witch, centering my lifestyle and livelihood as a practitioner of the Craft, even achieving Crowned Crone status, to understand that it was all Witchcraft the entire time.
I am so mostly self-taught in my practices as a Witch. And when I say that word, Witch, I mean that wise woman who moves with the environment around her in harmony and deep care and love. That Crone who wants you to learn what she learned so you can live so much better. You don’t make the same mistakes. Make new ones, because that’s how we learn to be a Witch, only doing that for which creates complimentary energies, like that in Permaculture. Please understand there was no coven initiation for me as a Witch; there was no big ceremony, even though I could have done one as a Solitary Practitioner, ala the Crone Crowning I did in October 2020; and there was no direct openly known “hereditary” Witch for me to be taught or told, “You’re a Witch.” Yet here I am, clearly a Witch.
Figuring out how to live my life and with whom has been such a long fucking journey. I just knew that some things felt right. Move here — yes, I’m learning, exploring, trying out new things and lifestyles. Take this job — again another level of exploring, trying out new things and lifestyles. Yes, these people; oh, maybe not. Yes, these lovers; oh, maybe not. I love this dress; nope, I hate this dress. Hell, I own like one dress. My life seems to require pants more. You get the drift.
Some of my best memories of my childhood were when our family was outdoors or camping, or working in the garden or kitchen together. They also were some of the most stressful, but that’s part of the journey, too. We all wish those times were less, but they teach us, too. It takes a long time to become grateful for those terrible times. For many of us it taught us to be someone who fights for justice, or to be a lightworker/healer, or to just be our truest selves and live our best life. And when you are not to the point of having gratitude for those times, the good memories still stand out. And if my family wasn’t outside, we were inside, surrounding ourselves with stories: writing stories, reading stories, hearing stories —especially when family visited— or even sometimes in the evening at home in front of the television or on a Saturday afternoon at the local matinee, we were watching stories.
So I would, in my own way, seek out the activities of that which I have benevolent memories. I would garden. I would cook. I would seek out nature as entertainment. I would gather a family; sometimes, that was all the “Deadbeats” at a particular college campus, or a bunch of lost single Soldiers in the barracks, but family nonetheless. I would create some sort of nest whether for myself or for these hobbled together families. I wrote. I read. I experimented with story in audio and video form. I had articles published; short stories published, even a book (with number two coming soon). I worked in radio. I worked in television. I found that I would repeat this pattern, in slightly different ways. Maybe in this town? With these people? Surviving by myself above in an antique store in Casper, Wyoming. Working as a journalist and editor. Or in a condo with two addicts before heading off to the military. Then finally as a wife and mother wanting to make something work so hard, that I didn’t see how it very much was not working.
Throughout all of that, I would turn to the Craft. It’s mysticism that felt so natural and as an undoubtable fact in my brain. That first seemed to just be whispered to me as a confused 13 year-old, “You feel different; you think differently; you are different: You are a Witch.” I could see and feel the energy in things my family and many peers could not. I was called foolish for talking about colors around people. Spirit visitations were considered imaginary friends and making up stories (it didn’t help that I wrote and wrote and wrote stories from the time I was about 8 years old). When we camped, the animals, birds, and insects would appear when I was about or I would notice them before anyone else.
But as I traveled through life, and about this planet, I found people who felt like me, dug deeper like me, tried to connect and provide the stories of living in our times. I wild foraged or grew food. Then I would make sure that lifeforce is forged into the food to feed our bodies, minds, and souls. We do so with purpose and intent, holistically. It’s Magic. When I finally learned about shadow work and I started to bring all these joys, delights, and lifestyle into fruition. And it’s so high on the scale of good so often that I feel flabbergasted. I can’t believe this is my life. How did I get so blessed? Easy: The Craft. Now before I come off sounding like a privileged ass, my life is not all sundae cones with unicorn sprinkles. I have had to travel some dark roads of abuse, trauma, war, discrimination, rape, loss, grief, sadness, depression, and unbelievable pain. I mean, we’ve all been through a year of death while having to act like things are normal. However, I persevered. I pushed and fought to move forward, with the help of the Craft ala the Runes, my rituals, my knowledge that my words are Magic, that my Energy changes things. As a Witch, you learn, sometimes even naturally understand, that transformation, doing the work to achieve our best and highest good, can be like a ravaging forest fire. From its destruction, new life forms.
Here I am, in another iteration in my life. A new home. A new town. A new direction (Permaculture). Basically, me, but a new me. A new Witch. As I was in the garden this past weekend—our experiment with a perennial growing and market garden space (something to double our efforts and reap a yield) such a knowing of purpose and self washed over me. I was preparing the land to grow onions and cabbage. It has been patiently waiting for me to tend to it, and for which I was patiently waiting for the weather to be right. And out of no where, Spirit (perhaps Gefion or Freyja) whispered to me again, “Yes, Witch, this is good and right.” Of course the dork in me is like, “What’s good and right?” Because Witches are not Witches unless we’re also questioning, yes?
Within a heartbeat of that message, I realized that living like this — to live with the land in a healthy fashion and provide basic needs and then, with luck, needs of the community, is part of the tenets of Witchcraft as well as Permaculture (a deeper blog post on this connection soon). Furthermore my work is that of many witches: to see the good in the world you wish to see, remove suffering, care for, and certainly love. All of those things started with camping trips, loving stories, and picking green beans in the garden. It evolved into a mishmash of Hedge, Green, Kitchen, and Intuitive Witchery that I live and work to elevate everyday, hence practice. And now that Crone-level mix of Witchery is married to Permaculture, and still writing. And if you look at my natal chart, you’ll like say, “but of course that’s what you’re supposed to be doing.”
As if to punctuate it this a-ha moment, I saw my first true butterfly of the season, followed closely on its tail with two dancing dragonflies. That told me my ancestors were behind me. That even if in life they may have disagreed with what they knew about Witchcraft, they could see how I am living is divinely led. And just to really put me in awe and make sure I remembered this moment, the Pileated Woodpecker that I often hear hammering away nearby came and landed in Villa Westwyk’s ancient Willow tree. His visit let me know that I needed to share this moment of self understanding and reassurance of purpose with all of you. To let you know that even when things are confusing or seem hopeless, there is strength in perseverance and doing the work. And the work is good. The confusion, the hopelessness, even fear has taken a backseat to some really spectacular Magic. And I’m here for it. For the long haul.
Wow, what a life. What parts of The Craft am I going to learn next? I’m sure it’s going to be something that continues this journey of peace and harmony and plants, food, and stories, with Magic the center of it all.
How about for you? When have you been reminded of who you are, or who you should be, and how you’ve been living? And if you’ve made it this far to the very end, I send you good Witchy energy for many blessings to you.
My baby arugula mini cold frame going gang busters. Before this photo is my 10th harvest.
Having fresh veggies is such a blessing from Mother Earth, but unless you have wilderness around you to hunt and gather, it requires a bit of work. However, for about a $10 investment, and a tiny space, you can have fresh greens on your table just about any time you want. I’m here to tell you how.
What’s your zone? First off, if you’re living in the upper reaches of Canada or Europe or certainly Alaska, this may not work for you. My growing zone here is 8a. The lowest mean average here ever is 9 degrees F, but that tends to be balanced out with getting up above freezing quickly before it dips back down (thank you wind from the Pacific Ocean). So far the lowest we have seen this year is 22 degrees F. But my baby greens mini cold frame just keeps giving me fresh veggies all fall and winter and if I keep harvesting, it will produce consistently.
What you will need: First off you need what will serve as your mini cold frame, a clear-bottomed storage container. The one I’m using was found at a local hardware store on sale (everything storage is on sale right now) for $5. I got some seeds on sale — just $2 — of some arugala (one of my favorite greens), and a bag of all-purpose potting soil. We have since expanded to include spinach and kale. Woohoo, power greens, baby! Just be advised that this is not the space to grow deep root veggies like carrots and beets and the like. Shallow things like greens, strawberries, or even lettuce would work.
Now you need to make sure the bag of soil will fit inside the inner rim of the lid. So get the measurements of your container before you purchase your bag of soil. I carry a small tape measure key chain in my purse for just such occasions.
Soil here in the Pacific Northwest can run anywhere between $3 for about 1 cubic feet (which is what you see in my photos here) to about $9 for the fancy organic stuff. For my experiment I went with the cheaper bag just to see how things went. Later on as I began to love this little gardening hack, I spent $6 on a bag(s) of soil. Since you can spend up to $6 for one harvest of greens at the market, I felt it totally worth it. You’ll also need a small watering can, but hopefully since you’re a witch, you have one of those. Grab an old pitcher, yogurt cup, whatever in the meantime if you don’t. Lastly you will need a box cutting knife. As a permaculture-focused food grower, a box cutter is part of my tool belt, since cardboard is used as weed block, path makers, etc. Box cutters with exchangeable blades run pretty inexpensively. If you don’t have a box cutter, you could use an exacto knife, or a pair of scissors you don’t mind getting a bit mucky.
Find a spot: You will want your little greenhouse to be somewhere it can get the most sun light possible, especially during the winter months. Ours are against the barn on a table on the north-end of our property, but face south. That’s prime, but honestly, when I started this, it was only getting eastern light and then a bit of south light, and it still worked. If you have questions about your particular set up and where it’s facing, etc. comment below and I’ll see if I can’t help you decide.
I have mine on top of a beat-up picnic table so I don’t have to bend to harvest; but, it can sit on the ground just fine. If you want to get it up off the ground you can use just about anything — an old filing cabinet, milk crates, heck some cinderblocks.
Put the lid where you want to keep your cold frame and put the bag of soil on it. Poke some very small holes intermittently all around the soil to allow for water drainage. You could use a screwdriver for this part if you like. Don’t make the holes too big or you’ll lose to much water.
Flip the bag of soil over and take the box knife, cutting a rectangle out of the soil bag, leaving a border of the soil bag so soil and seeds and the like don’t spill out. Now water the exposed soil and wait a bit — go have a cup of tea and take 10 minutes to be mindful. Or do a Chakra alignment exercise. You decide. Just let it sit while you focus on something else. For me, I went and pulled weeds in my herb bed. However, if you open up the bag and discover it’s super wet (which sometimes happens here in the PNW), skip the watering and just let it sit the same as if you wet it.
Once the moistened soil has sat for a bit, come back and take your finger, a trowel, the tip of your knife, your scissors, etc. and draw a serpentine pattern in the exposed soil. Be sure to pay attention to the depth suggested on the seed packet and don’t go too deep. Next you will sprinkle your greens seeds into the serpentine trough throughout the exposed rectangle. Gently push the soil over the seeds and do another light soaking of the soil. Put your cover on and wait. Now it’s time to talk to your seeds. Tell your baby greens how excited you are to meet them and that you will always take care of them. Or tell them whatever you prefer.
Be sure to check daily for soil moisture in these first couple of days. Seeds need a good bit of water to make sure they germinate. The moisture from the enclosed heat will help keep them moist, but be sure to check. Don’t forget. Add water as needed. Do not make mud. Just so that it’s moist to the touch.
Once the greens take shape, you may find you need to thin. Don’t thin too much as the you are harvesting these before they get to big and the plants close together help keep themselves warm. Once the shoots lose that little heart shaped baby leaves and have about a 1 to 3-inch regular leaf you can harvest. You are welcome to harvest the microgreens, too (those heart shaped leaves I was talking about), I just prefer the stronger flavor of the bigger ones. Snip with scissors and rinse and eat! Be sure not to pull the roots. You want your greens to keep growing. Add to your morning eggs, on your lunch sandwiches, or your green smoothies. So many options!
I love this little system so much, I had to do more. Here’s to having baby arugula, spinach, and kale all the time. No store needed.
One word of note, I recommend you turn the frame around so that the north side of it — however you have it oriented, gets flipped at each harvesting. Mine is oriented north to south, so I bring the north end to south at each harvest. That way the natural moss that will likely grow on the north end, doesn’t really have time to take shape.
Weekly check for water needs. The more you harvest, the more it will grow. Each frame for me gives me about two meals for the two of us each week. And I’m not stuck with plastic bags or containers from the market. So good for me and my planet. We started this cold frame back in Late October. From the first week of November, onward I’ve had a harvest of fresh greens at least once a week. That initial $10 investment has paid itself over nearly four times. I’ll take it! And all I have to do is walk out my back door, snip, rinse, eat!
If you wanted to grow a variety in one frame, you could do that, too. Just use 1/3 a packet of seeds per 3 varieties.
Knowing and growing your own food is so satisfying, I’d like to inspire everyone to do what they can no matter what kind of space they have. An apartment balcony? You can do this. A small city lot? You can do this. A condo with a small patio? You can do this. And on and on. You don’t have to be a declared “green witch” to have fresh greens right from your own sacred space.
My baby arugula mini cold frame post harvest. In another few days I’ll be able to harvest again. Love it!
Again, if you have questions, feel free to comment below and we’ll get you going on growing your own food. If you do undertake this quick and easy baby greens mini cold frame, let me know below how it works out.
Until next time, be your truest self and live your best life.
