Wee gentle night sprites have landed in their summer homes. I can hear them rustling at the very tippy tops of the trees. Their whispers become especially clear, when I linger outside between dusk and dark. One night, while enjoying the crepuscular light, I heard their gentle movement emanating from the softly rustling limbs. My ears could not hear the specific words; instead, I hear the tones of contentment, laughter, easy conversation between friends, the shaking of hands, the songs of saying, "I love you."
I imagine the greetings may go along the lines of something like ~
"Hello there! You are arrived!" "So nice to see you again," "Here I am, this year in the birches," "Have you seen so and so from uphill?" And so on. Maybe they comment on how the plants have changed~ "My this sapling is a young oak now," or "What a nice night-scape you have," or "has anyone seen little ferny?" And so forth, stumbling along, on the path of reuniting, of hanging out with easy and good friends.
Later on, the conversations will gain a deeper timbre, one that is serious about the business of melding with the wind in the trees, of the making of music in the night. For now, the tone is gentle, a little higher pitched and "Springy."
Nice neighbors to have in this warming season, Nice neighbors bringing sweet nothings to the night air.
I briefly forgot recently, that it was still indeed Spring. The night had gained a deeper chill, inspiring the making of a fire inside. So I was surprised when going outside to hear the susurrations and purrings from the neighbors in tree tops. I also felt relief that the chill had not not scare them away from their Springtime merrymaking. They seem to adapt to the fluctuations in conditions as one might modify a dance to the changing rhythms of music.
Sounds and smells and colors are all visceral reminders to me that this is Spring, the unveiling of creation. I seek each of these senses to revel in every year and this has been a bonus year with so many flowers, colors, sounds and visitors. I am glad I walked out and into the night time paths to hear the new arrivals shimmering with expectation for the season ahead. Who are you hearing in your neighborhood?
Welcome shadows, Welcome Spring, welcome sky, night noises, you and me.
"Gaze at the beauty of the green earth .... welcoming all that is earthly. "There is music of Heaven in all things. The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening. "All creativity" ~ Hildegard de Bingen
Today, my trail leads to the path of weeds. And, Here they are!! I did not sow them. They appear. As masters of their gifts. I follow their clues to here, to a clearing of my thoughts and activities. And Here, to marvel. I have followed this path today, with weeds as my guide.
I do indeed enjoy the presence of weeds in my garden. I enjoy the discovery, the wonder, the exploring. And I enjoy the embracing of what can sometimes be an uncomfortable challenge, of allowing for the presence of these green visitors, who dwell right here, alongside of me!
Once discovered, I ponder, but never assume, why have you rooted here? What gifts do you bring? What mystery does your presence reveal? How do I create enough space for you?
For example, in the middle of my onion bed, a healthy crop of nettles arrived at the end of the season last year ~ Mmm. My dear friend nettle. How did you find me so quickly? Nonetheless, when I started to make room in the garden bed this Spring, they responded emphatically and with sharp stingings of my shins, exclaiming with extra fire, "I Belong Here!"
Ahh... OK. I donned some gloves, then gently planted onions around the settled nettles. Once done, I watered the bed thoroughly as a gift. Now, Everyone is happy. Onion, Nettle and Catherine alike. That was a successful journey. Sometimes, though, like with the poke weed plant, I still have yet to negotiate the engagement. I am still learning.
I do not go to books and ask, "what does this mean?" Or "what should I do?" I sit and ponder. I sense that with the visitors, by simply sitting, wandering around them, and watching, that they will teach me how to listen. In the face of mystery and the unknown, perhaps simply allowing for the messages of beauty to unfold helps us find the ways to embrace change. I see this practice, the one of allowing magic to reveal itself to me as a form of entrainment. I do find that the process changes me. The experience provides me a peek into the profound mystery of diversity, into the mystery of the wild.
We all feel uncomfortable in the face of the unknown, the different, the challenge, yet difference is where good medicine arrives. Change allows for creativity and growth. Brushing up against the stranger, inoculates and deepens the life of the observer.
In that light, one might see the garden before you as a gift waiting to unfold, blossom and bloom; one might ask, what might be on the menu this day? Nettle soup? Lavender love? Mugwort mending? The Making, Creating, and Alchemizing of wellness then becomes a co-creation with Spirit, plant and human.
I hope that I will learn from this medicine. I hope I do learn to appreciate the gifts of the wild magic before me. Ansel Adams believed that Life thrives in the wild, and that we all need a touch of it in our lives. I do too. All this written here, is what I like to contemplate. The weeds, the discomfort, the diversity, the contradictions, and the wild all within The Weeds.
And that contemplation reminds me of me. Like me, some things flourish better in some environments than others. Like me, weeds possess the living Word of spirit, like me Weeds reflect magic, wonder ~ we flourish and congregate, we sing and dance, laugh and make medicine. We share comfort and receive comfort. We offer medicine for cupboards and dreams for the soul. In the waxing of summer's growth, we and the weeds flourish, ebb and flow.
We all reflect the mysterious and contradictory perseverance of life.
I will continue to wander into my garden to watch how the plants unfold. How they initiate and respond to the environment in their many-layered conversations. I will notice how the dialogue between me and this garden persists. This dialogue reflects the mystery and effervescence of life.
The greening comes as a mysterious emissary of the possible, Revealing memories beyond any linear understanding of reality. Offering hints of our collective history and our possible future. Bringing the scent of the strange, and unknown fruit. All these gifts meld together in a cauldron of potential.
The wild unknown is a Welcome Weed in the garden What wild potential will you plant today?
For more writings about local happenings, see Venus Muse~. The Solstice occurs on June 21, 11:30 East coast time. I will post something about Solstice on the Seasonal Happenings page soon too.
Happy New Moon, and Happy Summer and lots of love, ♥️
I love collecting-days; I greet them with anticipation. I love the days when I can sniff the energy of green combined with welcoming weather. At these moments, I sense something like a call. I feel like a Knight of The Round Table, sensing the call in the wind, and immediately arise to greet the harvest day ahead.
I enjoy the discovering, the greeting, the sorting, the choosing. I enjoy the meeting of new friends on the journey. I enjoy seeing and feeling who the wind and earth will bring. Who, on the journey of life, will I meet today? What adventure might the quest offer today?
Not every day is a seeking day. There are quiet days too.
Like the Knights of The Round Table, a devotee of the quest, I sometimes must learn to listen and wait. Not jump too fast, nor gather too much.
The notion of comparing my excitement to a Knight of The Round Table popped into my mind this morning, when I realized that I felt excitement about finding today's elixir; when I felt charged with a sense of adventure and romance, imbued with a mandate to seek and to drink from the elixir of today. When this charge arrives, it feels like magic, like a romance awaiting in the rows of nettles and violets.
I have always loved the contrast between the words Round and Quest. The first conjures softness, and the latter, well, the opposite. The Round Table might have challenged the knights to temper these polarities, asking them to approach the journey with softness. Circling like a round of music, in spirals and harmonies. Suggesting that the true elixir is found in spiraling, in allowing, in gentleness and softness. One goes into the quest with a question, not an answer. One seeks and approaches beauty slowly, not with a plan, with humility, confidence and self-forgiveness, not expectation of result or direction.
Following the trail left by these sages, and learning to not expect what I might receive, is part of my journey. Perceiving the guiding light pointing me forward without assumption of a prize. Sometimes, I come home from the quest with treasure that isn’t necessarily visible in the basket.
Today, though, is a seeking day. The leaves awoke me. Luring me up and out early to harvest before the sun's light reached it's zenith.
The plants seem to collaborate on seeking days, helping me to find the medicine who wants to go into the teas I make, helping me find the herbs even if and when I am out doing other errands. During these times, I have learned to stop and acknowledge the medicine right then and there.
Sometimes, these surprise appearances are for collecting; Other times, they are for admiring and honoring. I've noticed the most potent areas of medicine, the ones that draw my eyes to them over and over, year after year, are ones to revere and then tiptoe past. One feels and benefits simply by observing, smiling and nodding to these fonts of life, as one travels onward.
I start this day with leaves waving in my mind's eye, asking me to drink from their elixir of life, and I will end this day mixing the ingredients found into a tea that will fill me like the visions of green. On these days, I seek a full circle of life. From an image of leaves that will lead me to the unknown at my doorstep and then circle me back to the end of the day with new gifts. At day's end, I will feel I drank deeply from the chalice of this elixir, from the chalice of the tide of life.
This statement cannot adequately describe the transcendent beauty that is on display at this time of year. It is a tribute to the gift of Beauty. It is a tribute to the Eternal Universal Presence.
The pendulous blooms of the Black Locust tree appear toward the end of Spring. Initially, their arrival is quiet. One may notice their presence by a gentle whiff of an incredible sweetness unparalleled. In a few days, the sweetness of the blossoms is traveling everywhere, filling acres of land with its intensity. Its very scent blankets the region.
The blooming also brings a visual splendor for the mass of blooms cover the entire tree, transforming it into a vision of white incandescence. Locusts grow in clusters and family groupings since they can sprout from their roots. Therefore, when you see one bedazzled tree you are likely to see an entire group of them - standing together in a procession of beauty, transforming the roadside, the hillside, the corner store, or the turn in the road.
Growing as such, their inner biological clock is intimately synchronized. On cue, every Locust tree in a localized area turns white overnight, declaring out loud their beauty and presence. They celebrate their bond visibly with extraordinary splendor. It's like an overnight flashmob of color and scent announcing the most important event, the most important experience of the Universe: We are here. We have a truth to share and we are beautiful to Behold.
In turn, we humans find ourselves wandering with wonder - gazing more frequently at the hillsides, seeking the locusts to find their beauty and prevalence. We remember once more how deeply grateful we are to the trees; we remember that they have a great deal to teach us about the value of life and living in creation of beauty. "Let my scent infuse you with visions of hope, dreams, and possibilities."
More metaphors come to mind. For most of the year, the invisible ties which hold them together are underground, and even unconscious. Their inner beauty is only a dream. Then, on cue, their intrinsic connection creates a visible flow of profundity.
They are teaching us an awareness of creation that is always present within even if it feels hidden. The inner and outer design of magnanimous bounty is reciprocal. The scent that weaves between each one of us, holding us together in a single consciousness, is reflected in the Locusts that are blooming. They are teaching us intuitively about the gift of connection and the network that holds us all together. Teaching us again to live in a flow within that invisible network of support.
Their message is : transcendence. The beauty that you behold without is within. The conscious creation of life is accessible and within us all. The song of your soul is transforming you and me. As my beauty transforms your day, yours transforms mine.
