Our first forecasted temps in the 30s will be tonight. So I harvested the rosemary. Michael made a tripod so I can cover it through the winter months.
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What I’m reading:
What I’m listening to: The Trials of Apollo 1
What I’m doing: still learning Welsh, still working on my church project, finally enjoying some autumn weather
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Autumn has truly arrived with much cooler (and very welcome) temperatures. Time for the closet swap out. My chief goal this year is to create comfortable outfits.
From Braiding Sweetgrass: . . . Until we can grieve for our planet we cannot love it — grieving is a sign of spiritual health. But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again. Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.
I choose joy so I plant acorns and hope they grow into trees.
I choose joy so I plant trees in an effort to reforest our Idlewild farm.
I choose joy so I plant a small, intensive garden so that the wild things can enjoy the rest of the space.
I choose joy so I fence in the front yard so that Jasper may run and romp, but not hurt or hunt the wild things that live beyond the fence.
I choose joy . . .
I choose wonder . . .
I choose gratitude . . .
My backpack died. It wasn’t even a slow death. It was go on a trip, come home and think “Well, that might need to be replaced before too long,” to packing for a trip and the seams blew out.
I did what I always do when something (like luggage) needs to be replaced. I went to the Tom Bihn on-line store. I decided to go with a small-ish, 17 liter, duffel bag instead of a backpack. Backpack sizing is tricky for me since I’m so short, um err . . . petite. When the seams blew out, I borrowed Hannah’s duffel bag for that trip and really loved the horizontal packing. It felt right. It felt good.
I ended up with the Yeoman Duffel Mini in Verde 1050 ballistic fabric.
x 7.7” (h) x 9.3” (d)Into the bag I was able to pack:
It was very easy to carry and I never worried that the ballistic fabric would snag or tear. It stores in a travel sized pillow case along with all the packing cubes, kit bags, and the blanket.
In my zip-top shopping bag I carried:
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What I’m reading: Braiding Sweetgrass, A Canticle for Liebowitz
What I’m listening to: UpFirst, The Blood of Olympus (Percy Jackson),
What I’m working on: Eco-Living Project for home and for church, Igniting the Flame last 3 units.
You know how life goes along, steadily, slowly, comfortably, and then out of the blue all sorts of challenges come up? You know how you wonder if you have the strength to muddle through? You know how you cling to hope?
Yep. Going through it now. Growing it through it — I hope.
It got me thinking about my constants — ie: the things that are steadfast in my life and how they help shape me, protect me from “blowing in the wind”, and help me love others better.
Here is a bullet list of my constants.
That seems to be it. It doesn’t look much. I like how the day is wrapped in prayer and gratitude. I’m learning the art of doing less but doing it better.
I’ve decided to limit my screen time in October to under an hour a day. This won’t include UpFirst podcast for my daily news, my morning IG photo from my daily walk, or my Welsh learning programs. It will include: email, texts, surfing, IG (other than to post my daily shot), blog reading, and tv.
Instead I will walk the yard more often, daydream more often, slowly absorb a good book, color more, write more, knit/crochet more, talk more (even if it is just to Jasper), and feel more.
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What I’m reading: Braiding Sweetgrass, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight (repeat), A Canticle for Liebowitz
What I’m listening to: UpFirst podcast, The House of Hades (audiobook), the wind rustling the sycamore leaves as they fall, and Welsh
What I’m working on : Eco-theology gap/grant for my parish, garden wrap-up for the season, and feasibility of repeating the 90% project
I’m trying to remember to post pictures of this pollinator garden as it changes through the months and seasons.
Here it is on July 4, early bloomers have faded and the hotter weather blooms have started.
Start your ginger bug/starter by combining 1 1/4 c filtered water, 1 TBSN grated ginger and 1 TBSN sugar in a jar. Stir well and cover with a cloth.
Every day for the next 4-5 days feed the bug another tablespoon of ginger and sugar.
When the bug is fizzy, smells yeasty, and has a fine sediment layer of white on the bottom of the jar it is time to make the ginger beer.
Cut a large piece of ginger into small pieces and boil with 3 cups of water for 5 minutes, then let simmer for 20 minutes. Let sit until completely cool then strain out the ginger pieces.
Next put 1 cup sugar and 7 cups filtered water into the ginger water you just made. Stir it really well.
Strain your ginger bug and put all the liquid into your ginger water/sugar mix. Stir well.
Pour into clean bottles and let sit. Each day I open the bottles to release the carbon dioxide. After 2-3 days the bottles can go in the fridge.
