Come wander the world with me. Discover plants and flowers, the earth in Her true form, adventure and joy. And along the way, discover yourself and your power.
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The Wildflower Wanderer: Grow Where You're Planted Posts
You know when spring is in full swing when you see Dame’s Rocket in the ditches. Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis Matronalis) is in the mustard family. It grows to 1-3 feet tall with purple, blue or white flowers. Although it grows wild in Michigan’s fields and ditches, it started as a colonial transplant from European gardens. The flowers attract nectaring butterflies, moths and hummingbirds.
This is one of my favorite wildflowers. They bloom every year in the ditches in front of our house and I can see them from various windows. Their colors are so vibrant and really stand out again the grass of the ditch. I have picked them in the past and they stay well inside in a vase. I don’t find them very fragrant, but that’s okay, their beauty makes up for it.
These, in front of our house, are the purple/blue color. Sometimes we get white ones depending on the year as can be either annual or biennial, so it’s a surprise each year what colors we will see.
You can see here they grow among all of the other “weeds” in the ditches.
I hope that you will stop and take a look at Dame’s Rocket when you see her in your neighboring ditch or field. She is very regal and only shows herself for a couple of weeks each spring.
Information on wildflowers comes from one of my favorite reference books: “Wildflowers of Michigan Field Guide. Copyright 2000 by Stan Tekiela.”
Yes, I may have been called a crazy cat lady a time or two, but truthfully, these little creatures bring so much joy to my life. Four little souls share our home with us, each with their own personality and quirks. Is it sad that I have more pictures of my cats on my phone than I do my children? Maybe so, but finding joy in the world around us is a gift and I cherish these gifts every day.
A little background on our crew. We have had many cats over the years, many lived both in our house and out in the world. Unfortunately, these cats did not survive very long, so when I had an opportunity to adopt a kitten from a co-worker, I decided this little lady would live solely inside. Fast forward about three years and we found a female stray who ended up being pregnant. Her four little kittens were born in our basement and, other than the one we adopted out, they have lived in our house ever since.
So let’s meet them!
First is Kiki. She is nine years old this year and a little bitty thing. Last I weighed her, she was seven pounds. What she lacks in girth, she makes up for in attitude! This little soul is a fireball. From day one she has made it known that she lives on her own terms, and when the new kitties came along, she made her disdain of them well known. Even today (five years later), she tries to avoid all of them and voices her opinions daily. But she is my spirit animal and loves me when she wants to. I’m not sure what I would do without her.
Now onto the triplets: JJ, Chole (CC) and Shadow. They are now five years old. In the beginning, Shadow was the only kitten we were going to keep. Try as I may, however, the Universe had a different plan for us.
JJ is named for his ability to jump out at your legs from several not so good hiding places, to let you know that he is there. He’s our “fat cat” coming in at about 16 pounds. He’s super lovey and will tell you all about his troubles while snuggling into your lap. He’s a mackerel tabby, meaning his stripes go up and down like a tiger (or maybe a fish, thus the name). He has a “heart nose” which is so cute!
Our little girl is CC (officially named Chloe). She is an orange tabby, which is rare in the cat world. I’ve read that 80% of orange tabbies are male, putting her into the special 20% bracket of females. At first, as a kitten, she didn’t make a sound, not a peep. Now, watch out! She demands pets when we get home from work with quite the vocal prowess. She is by far, the softess cat we have ever owned. I call her squishy and if she sat still, she would be the best pillow. She is not as affectionate as the boys, she likes to lay by herself, but when she does decide to jump up on your lap, it’s a treat!
Lastly, we have Shadow, our tuxedo cat. This guy can be a little jerk-every cat family has one! He’s the trouble maker, the attention seeker, and the whiner. For some reason he has bonded with me and every night I get my biscuits making massage before he snuggles into my lap for a nap. He waits for me to settle onto the couch for the night, then we are a pair. Even though he is “that kid,” we love him to death.
Having four cats is not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend having at least one in your life. There are so many in the shelters right now, it is easy to find one that fits your personality. They are, by far, the most interesting pets we have ever had and bring so much joy to our “empty nest” home. I hope that you are able to enjoy a cat right now or in the near future!
The Spring Equinox is all about balance: balance of light and dark, both in the daylight and in our lives. We cannot have the light without the dark as these energies balance each other in all we do. Back on the Winter Solstice we celebrated the coming of the light after spending restful time in the darkness and now on the Spring Equinox, we celebrate that the light is taking over the day and our energy.
If you’re like me, you fight for balance every day, and it can be a battle. Every morning before I go to work I tell myself this will be the day that I don’t let the negativity of the world get to me. I won’t let the problems of the people I encounter get to me. I won’t let the person who cut me off in the store parking lot get to me. But guess what, it rarely happens. Do you know why? Our ego is very strong and is at the forefront of our everyday interactions. It tells us that dwelling on negativity and participating in gossip make us feel better. It tells us that yelling at other drivers is needed because we are good drivers and they deserve it. It tells us that we are better than others and that their problems are annoyances to us. Ego rides high on these feelings, but ultimately, we are exhausted by it all.
Having balance is pushing the ego aside and telling it to take a back seat to the loving, compassionate person that we truly are. Having balance is giving ourselves enough love that we don’t need the ego to artificially boost us up through negativity. Life is rough, we need balance to get through it. Celebrate and be thankful for the good days and be gentle with yourself on the bad days. Having balance is taking time for ourselves so that we can connect to that pure energy that is our true selves. When we know our true selves, we don’t need the ego to tell us who we are. We will already know.
We know that our true selves do not need to put other people down in order to lift ourselves up. We know that our true selves thrive on positive interactions with others, we rejoice in their happiness and have compassion for them in their times of sorrow. Our true selves relish the now and have no worries of the past or of the future. Our true selves do not need to impress others with our hair, make up or clothes. We love ourselves and others for who we truly are. We know that we are not perfect and there will be dark times with lapses back into the ego, but with balance, we can move on from those times and shine in the light.
Here are some ideas for you to bring balance back to your life at this Spring Equinox:
Breathe. Sit still for a short period and do nothing but breathe. Focus on your body and the way it feels as you breathe in and out. Count your breaths if it helps you focus. Think of everything and of nothing. But always come back to your breath. Relish how relaxed you feel. Try to keep that feeling with you throughout the day. When your ego starts to take over, push it aside and go to your breathing. Look at yourself with love and then look at others in the same way.
Meditate. Take the breathing a bit further by stretching it out over several minutes or more. As you practice, this will get easier. And when you are in stressful situations when the ego would take over, you can go to the stillness you feel during mediation. This will calm your responses to others and brighten how you make your way in the world.
Go to nature. The energy of nature will sync with your own and you will feel more balanced. Walk a nature path. Sit by a river or lake. Lay under a tree and look at the sky through the branches. Sit in your favorite lawn chair and let the air move over you. Work in your garden, tending to the energy of the plants there. Notice the cycle of the Earth and the lengthening of the days. Notice the cycle of the Moon, follow her phases and learn about her power.
Spend time alone-no cell phone, no tablet, no computer, no television. Brew some coffee or tea and choose a favorite book, enjoy the quiet. Our world moves so fast, we need to find time to be in silence by ourselves.
Perform a ritual during the New or Full Moon, or celebrate an Earth festival. You can find so much information on these online and in books. See the references below.
The most important thing to do when you feel out of balance is to find yourself again. Our true selves get so lost in this word where there is so much noise and chatter. Find yourself again-you have always been there. Enjoy! Breathe! Relax! Be Satisfied!
I started my journey with the Wheel of the Year at the beginning of 2023. I knew about it way before this, but I really wanted to understand it. I wanted to establish ritual in my life and this seemed like the perfect way to do so. Are you familiar with the Wheel of the Year? If you are, then you are already on the journey of connecting yourself to the Earth. If you are not, then I am excited that you will be learning more about the Earth, her energy and her power.
We have all been taught in school that there are 365 days in a solar year. The Earth moves around the sun, making one whole trip in those 365 days. We all see the consequences of this every day of our lives, sometimes without really paying attention. We experience the seasons, more so if you live in the Northern latitudes. We have a calendar that divides time out for us so that we know what to expect from month to month. We know that the seasons proceed in a certain order: Spring always follows Winter and so on. We walk through life knowing all of this, but never really connecting to it.
Imagine being a person living on Earth before the time of formal calendars. You live an agricultural life as almost everyone did. You need to know when to plant, when to harvest, when to save the seeds, when to slaughter the livestock so that you have food for the cold times when things do not grow. You can’t just look at your calendar and say, “Hmmm, looks like Autumn is approaching, I should harvest my crop and save my seeds for next year, otherwise my family won’t have food.” What you did do was watch the Earth, pay attention to the Sun in the sky. When was it higher? When did it start to be lower in the sky? What are the animals doing? How do the plants look? How does my own energy feel? This is what we have lost with the advent of the modern calendar and technology. We have lost following the Wheel of the Year.
Even though the Wheel of the Year as we know it today is a modern creation, history tells us that the ancient Celts and Pagan cultures followed the rhythms of the Earth in planning the major events of their lives. (Source: Wheel of the Year – World History Encyclopedia.) They celebrated several festivals as a way to acknowledge the shifts in the Earth’s energy and to ask the Earth for her protection and bounty. These were times of change in the Earth and Sun where people celebrated what they had and prepared for the next turn of the Wheel. Their year was divided by these festivals.
We celebrate the start of the New Year the first day of January, but many in these times looked at the New Year as starting in the Fall, before the Winter hit. The beginning of the year was celebrated on Samhain (late autumn), usually on October 31st. This date sounds familiar, right? Our modern Halloween grows out of the celebration of Samhain (pronounced sow-wen). Next is Yule, usually celebrated around December 21st, the Winter Solstice. Imbolc is celebrated at the end of January/first of February. Ostara (Spring Equinox) is celebrated around March 21st. Beltane is celebrated at the first of May. Many May Day celebrations come out of this festival. Litha (Summer Solstice) is celebrated around June 1st. Lammas is celebrated at the first of August. And Mabon (Autumnal Equinox) is celebrated around September 21st. It all starts over again with Samhain. Welcome to the Wheel!
My goal here is to walk you through each of these festivals and what they represented to people living in past cultures and what they can mean to us now. There are many communities out in the world that follow the Wheel of the Year and celebrate the festivals. I honor the wheel as a Solitary person and will give you my take on what that means. But you can find so much information out there in Internet land if you would like more or different viewpoints. I encourage you to do this!
Always remember, this is about energy. What is in you and what is around you. The goal is connecting them. Each season and festival has its own energy, its own feeling and emotion. The Earth is speaking to us each day. She is telling us to follow the energy. Take some time to stop, breathe and feel your energy. Are you feeling low? Many of us feel this in the winter when the Earth’s energy is low. We usually feel better during the summer when the Earth’s energy is high. It makes sense, and if we pay attention to it, we can flow with the Earth’s energy and not fight against it.
Again, welcome to the Wheel of the Year!! Many blessings to you all!
If you are here, then you are searching. You are looking for balance and peace, as I am. The world around us has become blurred and unsettled. We think that we are navigating it, but we are struggling. Our souls are seeking something that seems out of our reach – but I tell you my friends – it is not.
Although the journey ahead is still long, I have learned much. What we all seek has been waiting for us all along. The true journey is to find a way to be still so that the path is revealed to us. Are you ready to join me on the Journey?
To be still is to Breathe. Breathe. In and out. Slowly and with intention. Feel your body move, feel your body react to the air moving in and out. Feel the world slow down. Be in your body, not your thoughts. Focus on your lungs, your heart, your muscles. Feel them, really feel them.
This is truly you, your place of peace. Nothing can hurt you here, you can come here at any time. This place is always with you. Stop. Breathe. Feel. Relax. You are safe.
This creation of mine is meant to be liberating. To free us all from the world of “what we should be.” To allow us to be “what we are.” There are many entities around us telling us what is “right,” “normal,” and “good.” But these words mean nothing to the Seeker. They are labels created by society to keep us apart from ourselves and from each other. They are labels created by those who would have power over us.
Break free. Breathe. Listen to your body and your true self. Be as you are.
The purpose of this writing journey for me, is to share and grow with you – to build a community of souls who want to exist in peace and calmness. We will go many places, see many things, feel many emotions, but always, we will be true to ourselves and who we are. My hope is that you will experience all of this as well. There is hope and calmness and peace in this world; it lives in all of us as long as we can be still enough to connect to it.
So again, welcome my friends! I am so glad you are here. Please return as often as you need to. My heart is open to you.
