A morning walk through the gardens

This morning, I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping in the gardens out the bedroom window.  I was happy to hear babies cheeping for their parents... honestly, with Lammas gone past now, I've been kind of blah knowing that Fall is quickly approaching.

It seems to soon to me, considering the state of some of the vegetables in my garden.  Below is a photo of my cucumber and tomato plants. 

 

 

 Even now, as I type, there is a cool breeze coming through the window and making me feel the chill in the air.  Isn't it too soon? (deep sighs)  How is your garden doing this year?

The herbs are doing awesome tho..

My lemon Balm is just growing like mad...

 

  

This years batch of Wormwood is doing marvelous! I think I'll be cutting some of this and moving it to a new location as there's not much room left in the front bed for this plant.  It's grown several feet high now.   I do sell this organic Wormwood on my Etsy site, (this particular listing is for a set of several herbs) but if you would like to order some, please just message me.

Wormwood is particularly good for these magickal purposes:
• Protection in vehicles
• Psychic Powers
• Love
• Calling Spirits

I also sell 1 oz packages if you need larger amounts.  (click here to see if you are interested) 

And as I finished my morning walk... a lovely young male hummingbird came to say hello.  It's a quick picture as he was jetting about the yard looking for freshly opened flowers to visit.

 

What a lovely way to start the day off..

I'm glad you came along for the walk.

Valrie

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SpiralSunHerbals

Lammas - Crafting Ideas you can use for your Gathering

Lammas is one of those seasonal changes that make me happy and sad at the same time.

Today I was outside and the sun has just crested down past the tops of the trees.  The breeze in the air was crisp and you could feel the dampness of the earlier rain in the air....  The wind was blowing through the trees and for the first time in month, I caught the hint of dryness that creates a symphony of new sounds.  "Crackle crackle"....

This makes me happy as while this is going on, the gardens are blooming with incredible growth but at the same time, I knows that fall is quickly coming to pay a visit.

Red Currents from our bushes on the south side of the Gardens

Usually I celebrate this changing of the seasons with a small ritual designed to offer thanks to the universe for the bounty (or harvest) in both my personal life, business and gardens.

Here's a few ideas you can use for your gathering:

 

If you grow herbs in your garden, this is a great time to collect and make smudge bundles.  You can use a variety of herbs such as sage, sweet grass, lavender, lemongrass etc.  If you are unsure of how to make them, you could also just collect a few herbs and make a loose incense you could burn on charcoal or use as offerings in a fall fire.  I have to say, I do most of my bundling and garden herb work during the month of August and it's a pure joy to use them in the deep of winter as a reminder of what's to come (green, fresh and lovely.. and not just snow snow snow)..

If you don't have a garden to pick from you could pick up herbs at your local market or grocery store (they often have nice plants.) Usually these plants are in the produce department and cost between $3 to $5 each OR you can buy sprigs of already cut herbs to use.  It's a nicer idea to use fresh herbs to represent that the earth is still producing its bounty.

 

Create an offering bowl - I'll post a tutorial on how to do this shortly.  You can use a quick air dry clay that can be purchased at most dollar and craft stores and add embellishments to your creation. As this is a time for thanks, its a perfect time to make something to use as well for this purpose.

Use a salt dough recipe to create a goddess figure for your ritual or just for decoration on your altar.  This is a family friendly idea and easy to do in a group setting as well.  I've also seen some amazing cinnamon dough recipes as well.

How do you celebrate this time of the year? 

Val

Testing testing

Wowsers!
I'm just checking blogger out and seeing if I like using this platform for blogging..
Sorry, I know it's a bit of a mess at the moment..  once I get the hang of things I'll add more here.

Val