Tag Archives: beauty

September 28, 2025 · 5:23 pm

Hiking on the Trail

Merry meet all,

Yesterday I went on an amazing hike at Lunenburg. I took a lot of photos during the trip. I feel great now. It was an hour drive to the hiking trail. The trees were very colorful with rich foliage. I spotted deer in a field. We arrived at the beach. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waves crashed over the shore. I love the sound of the ocean waves rolling back over the rocks. I just love that sound. My guy and I parked and strolled over to the shore. I collected a few rocks. I did not see much shellfish left behind by the seagulls. However, there were lots of rocks. I wanted a new paperweight. We strolled a long, long way along the shoreline. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnacles, seaweed, rocks and driftwood were scattered over the shore. The sky was clear and the sun shone. It was all so beautiful. We then reached a steep hill and decided to hike up the hill. That was cool. The only thing I was not down with were ticks. Yes Nova Scotia is crawling with ticks. We reached the peak but after a refreshing snack, we did not decide to keep hiking. By then, I was thoroughly worn out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to share the photos of the trip with you, my dear readers! See above. Today I went to a mystic moon faire. I wore my new green dress from HolyClothing, a blue witch hat and I carried a broomstick. I saw my Mom on the way. She was such a bitch, and never even said hi to me. She just bitched at me about me having the nerve to wear that outfit in her neighborhood. Uh like… okay. I could not even give a frig of what she thinks of my outfit. I can’t believe her. Whatever. I am what I am. 

I bought a cool black cat print tea cozy, a crown, a wand, incense, a spider charm,  gold and silver candles, and an Edgar Allan Poe teatowel. 

Well Samhain is right around the corner! I intend to fully flaunt my witch hat. Stand tall and proud. Unite, dear Witches. We all need to support each other. I plan to enjoy Samhain as much as I can. I wish October was all year long. I could live with that. 

Blessed Be, Spiderwitch 

 

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November 26, 2023 · 3:46 pm

The Beauty of Winter )O(

Merry meet all,

Nature is beautiful in the winter, in fact even more so. Maybe I’m biased because I live in an area where I am surrounded by nature but that is what today’s post is about; the beauty of winter. 

I made the whipped herbal butter! I love how it turned out. I used fresh sage and thyme leaves from my Mom’s garden. I also have been out foraging on the nature trail. I was inspired by a blog post I found on the web. Here is the link: https://dandelionherb.com/2021/12/17/yule-bundle-a-winter-solstice-ritual/?fbclid=IwAR2IFnttsUSQEO3XhnXjHk6SE4CqOSpZ2q5NXGTTMq0dlnFO8w4ZeLFtLTo

I decided I would try that craft. I was nearly frozen by the time I arrived home but it was worth it. And my coffee maker was on when I returned. 

I gathered branches from several trees and stored them in a cheap cloth grocery bag. I gathered birch, silver birch, witch hazel, maple, oak, eastern hemlock, eastern white pine and elderberry. I also gathered a lot of burning brush. Once home, I washed and dried the leaves and bark. I was totally awed by how beautiful everything was: the trees with their gorgeous colours of bark, the varying shades, leaves. Some of the bark was white, silvery white, brown, red, grey. It was all so gorgeous! I even scored a beautiful piece of birch bark. I let everything dry and then stacked the bundle of bark pieces together. I bound it all with a strip of the lovely brown muslin I dyed with acorns and secured it all with white string. I think it all looks so beautiful. I don’t want to burn it. The temperature now is too cold for too many outdoor activities, as reluctant as I am to admit it. I glued the birch bark to the bundle using a hot glue gun. The bark bundle is so lovely. I sprinkled rosemary essential oil to the bundle. Now the bundle smells divine!

The rosemary essential oil is making my kitchen smell amazing! I am cool with that. Rosemary is the herb of remembrance. Winter Solstice is a good time to remember what we can be thankful for and the abundance in our lives. We can also remember our loved ones, those who are with us now and those of who have passed. The dark half of the year is for the spirits and witches, to honour the spirits of those who have gone before us. 

I foraged a LOT of fiery red burning brush leaves. Once the leaves are dry, I plan to press them into the poetry book that I bound recently. They will look beautiful in the book. I removed the herbs and flowers I pressed from my large red Jane Austen book and now store them in wax paper in a large labeled envelope. I don’t read the Jane Austen stories (though it probably be good if I did), but I do use the thick book- I swear, the spine is at least 4- 5 inches in thickness, for pressing leaves and herbs. They were all so beautiful that I want to share them here with you! 

Enjoy! Blessings, Spiderwitch

Sage & Dill

Pressed goldenrod

Beeswax coated leaves

Raspberry leaf

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November 1, 2023 · 5:55 pm

November Blues

 

 

Merry meet all,

Snow falls on the cold streets of Halifax. I am looking forward to continuing my studies at the Herbal Academy. I can’t believe how fast the year has gone.

I finished the book. I love how it turned out. I stapled the signatures and trimmed the pages at Staples copy and print centre. I glued the pages in and the finished book looks great. I am very happy with how it turned out. I now have the task of filling the pages with new poems. I want to add in the completed poems, not drafts. I learned a lot during the project and it may be a long while before I make another one, but I do feel it was worthwhile.

I tea stained the pages. I had dyed the fabric with goldenrod and I used the cloths to separate the pages from each other. I am glad I did that now. It made it much easier for me to form the signatures, which were eight sheets to a set, and I was able to create 12 signatures. There were 12 folios in total, which meant there were 96 pages in total. By separating each page and letting them dry for 48 hours, and being that patient. I was able to have a good set of papers to bind. I arranged the pages in the way I wanted, knowing that how I arrange the pages and then glue them into the book will be permanent. I repaired any tears or frayed edges gently and used glue. I used white glue, a lot of glue. I stacked them just to see how it would look with the covers. 

When I was sure, I went to the local print and copy centre, Staples, where I stapled each page twice using a long arm stapler. I trimmed the edges of the pages there too. My Mom carefully helped me fold the pages because if they are all relatively even, then they are easier to glue to the spine. So you can see a lot of thought went into this. I took real care and handled the pages carefully, carrying them in a special plastic folder and putting the folder in a plastic bag home from her house and to Staples. I bound the pages in, checking and rechecking that it was all the way I wanted it to be. I glued a strip of white cardboard to the front and back covers of the book on the inside to reinforce the spine section. I glued a strip of green cardboard to that. When I was satisfied, I glued a strip of the fabric I dyed with acorns to the spine of the book. I then glued another strip on top of that to help me know where to place the pages. So the spine had four layers, the green cardboard being the thinnest layer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I set a clamp over the outer edges of the tea stained pages arranged into the sets. I made sure each inner edge of the pages was touching the glue on the spine. I used a LOT of glue on the spine. I kept the clamp on the pages and let the paper and spine dry overnight. The pages were now set in the book permanently. In the morning, I was happy because the pages dried from being tea stained properly. They had now dried properly from the glue and adhered properly to the book spine. 

I love how it turned out. All those tiny and big steps all made a difference in how the book turned out. I glued my poem into the page and then I set about making the front cover fancy. Once the brown velvet was adhered with mitered corners, I could not tell the front cover from the back so I used my intuition. I could not feel the Celtic knot work I had etched in onto the davyboard on the front cover. I had to guess since once the velvet was on, it was no longer as obvious. 

I printed out a black frame border and coloured it all in black. I glued it to a piece of the print cardboard with a halloween orange pumpkin print. I like how it looked. I glued a felt witch to that. Then I tried embossing the front cover with gold foil, and I like how that turned out. I think the gold folio gives the front cover a rustic but more mystical appeal. Yup I am in love with it. In fact, I want to add a little more gold folio as it is missing in some spots. I have to paint the spots where the gold foil is on where I don’t want it to be. I won’t do that till I have the gold paint. 

I included a black and white photo tucked in a small envelope which I glued into the book, and I also added a note on the outside of the envelope. I had taken acorns from a grave and I wanted to show acknowledgement of that. I included a black and white photo of a scene in Mount Ollivet cemetery here in Halifax. I have to write more poems! 

Well I tried the gold foil adhesive. I think I need to get a better adhesive for the gold foil to stick. I just googled to apply gold foil to paper and got twenty different results but I will be right back to tell you about the method that worked best for me. Ok so gold foil does NOT work for me. Since Halifax went from spooky October to white winder wonderland in 24 hours, I’m going to paint the frame gold tomorrow with gold acrylic paint. I have to buy the paint but yeah I am sure that will work better. After taking all this care to make the book, I don’t want to mess up now. I will wait and I am sure the gold paint will work. 

Stay tuned to find out how that worked for me. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

 

 

 

 

 

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June 12, 2023 · 6:02 pm

Nature is my Teacher

Merry meet all,

I participated in an amazing writing workshop yesterday led by Jonathan Maberry. The workshop was amazing and I loved every moment of it. I took notes profusely throughout the highly informative workshop. I am amazed at how much information he shared. 

Stokercon is almost here! I have been so busy. The famous premier horror writing convention takes place from June 15-18th. I can’t wait. I so look forward to it and I shall post all about it here, promise!

The Summer Solstice occurs in June. I hope to have a small get together after the Solstice. It’s hot out today. I made a batch of lemon balm lemonade. It is the only way to keep cool. My cat is napping on the floor. She has so much fur I don’t know how she keeps cool, poor thing. I make extra sure her water bowl is full. My poor cat is a Norwegian Forest Cat with extra fur on her. ! I am not sure how she handles it. 

Last night when I came home, the goat skull was on the floor. I scanned the new bookcase for any blatant signs of a feline intrusion like books knocked down, but no, no sign of that. When I tried to hang the skull back up in its spot, the nail fell down. Ok so that explained it. Still, I was a little spooked. I hung the skull back up. 

My garden is growing gorgeously. I can’t believe it, like it’s growing too well. The arnica montana seeds that I ordered from Strictly Medicinal seeds should arrive soon. I can’t wait to have it growing in my garden again. It has been years since it grew in the garden last. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I can’t wait to see the sunny bright yellow flowers blooming all over my garden. I get 30 seeds in the packet so I intend to go a little overboard with it. I also ordered a tea making book from Herbal Academy. I am progressing nicely at the Herbal Academy. 

Arnica montana has long been used as an anti-inflammatory. The beautiful sunny yellow flowers have been used in oils, tinctures, creams and salves. It is hardy to zone 9. I live in zone 6 so that is good to know. I can’t wait to grow them from seed. Once established in the garden, they will brighten and grace the garden with their gorgeous blossoms. I plan to try using them as an anti-inflammatory. There are many uses for the beautiful herbs that fill our homes, stores and gardens with their healing powers and beauty. 

I like to think that nature has been my best teacher. Nature teaches me. Nature and me are one and the same. I feel such a strong energy when I am in my garden. I am sure it is growing on a place of power. Some people think the backyard was once a rock quarry. Those big rocks now edge my garden. I worked so hard on my garden and now it grows faithfully and beautifully. I feel it when I place my hands in the soil. That is when my hands tingle, like a friendly lightning is flashing on my skin. I feel this potent soul stirring connection to nature. I love, just love, to put plants in the soil. I can’t help it. It is my nature. I have to help plants grow. I love to nurture herbs and flowers- and veggies – and berries. My garden is beautiful in the sun and rain. I connect to the earth, to a shore line, to the dandelion roots I dig out of the soil for health. I bought a cheap bottle of dried basil today from Dollarama. I held the bottle of basil in my hands, closed my eyes and sent it good energy. I tried to rid the herbs of the energy from the store. Energy is real. We are all electromagnetic energy. Ghosts are electromagnetic energy. Nature is electromagnetic energy, hurricanes, ocean waves, flowers waving in the breeze, a panting dog. 

It is no wonder then that I would enjoy studying at the Herbal Academy.  I am just blossoming there. Nature is my teacher, always was and always shall be. I seek no other teacher but her. We owe the Mother Goddess so much. We forget much. That will bring about the downfall which we are all skidding towards so fast. Yet many don’t want to see that. They deny and pretend it won’t happen to them. We have to respect the Mother Goddess. She will keep teaching us until we understand the lesson. I choose to honour and respect her. As a result, I believe I have been blessed with many gifts, lessons, triumph and challenges. 

I see a flower growing in the garden, soaking up sun rays or allowing pollination and my heart fills with joy. A flower is beauty, grace and a reminder to be in the moment. 

Let’s be in the moment

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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June 5, 2023 · 5:24 pm

Summer Fires

Merry meet all,

The wildfire crisis may be under control in Nova Scotia. Rain has hopefully quenched many of the forest fires. It’s been raining a lot! That helps the firemen who are working constantly around the clock so people may return safely to their homes. I donated a big bag of items to help people to the SPCA a few days ago. Let us hope all goes well for those who yearn to be safe and warm in their homes soon. 

In other news, I was hit by a huge urge to craft again. I didn’t get the Herbal Academy Intermediate level textbooks. Instead, I crafted my own. I had some davy board remaining from my last project months ago. I cut out the front, back and spines of the book and measured. I filed through the pages of the lessons I would need. I rummaged for a glue supply and unearthed my toolbox containing my arts supplies. It didn’t take long to make the book, it is just tedious as I pay close attention to detail. I found an old green altar cloth for a book cover and I happened to have artsy print paper to adhere to the insides of the book. I originally wanted to make one big book but there was so much paper I had to make two. I did and I think it was a much better decision. I decided on Units 1 to 5 for one book and Units 5-10 for the second book. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first book turned out great. The papers are glued in and I can flip through the pages with ease. I tucked in the certificate and my herb bookmark. I glued a butterfly circled by green leaves to the front cover. I worked on the 2nd book today. I glued the decorative papers in. The spine and the pages didn’t adhere to the covers. I was almost out of glue so I added way more glue – white glue, not from a hot glue gun, and tried again. Now the pages stick to the spine as they should. I am waiting for that to dry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered a Celtic dragon trim to sew onto the cloak. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I promise to post pics once it is done! The dragon trim is blue, silver and black. It will look beautiful. 

I really need more space in my apartment. I’m giving two bookcases to my Mom. That will free up a lot of space. I bought the bookcase again just like the one I have in my kitchen. I have to assemble and paint it. I just put myself through this and I am going through it again. It is for a good and noble cause. I really need more space. Another plus is that if I should ever need one of those bookcases again, well they will be in the family. If someone on Kijiji had them, there would be no way to get them back. 

I will update when I can about the bookcases. Summer Solstice occurs on the 21st of June. I have been working on the garden. I planted a bean seedling, a cherry tomato plant, a kale plant and a dill plant. I scattered eggshells around them to protect from slugs. I also planted chamomile, lavender and a rosemary in the garden. I shall enjoy watching them blossom this summer. 

The summer solstice is known as Litha or Midsummer. Litha celebrates the arrival of summer! Well, we all do – although I won’t be lighting a bonfire in my backyard to honour the occasion. A wildfire ban here in N.S. is in effect and the fine for lighting a fire is $25,000.00. I don’t have that kinda cash kicking around – I wish- so I shall respect the ban. We shall see how things go. 

During Litha, a battle between the dark and the light occurs. The Oak King and the Holly King fight for control. The sun is highest in the sky at the time of the solstice. It is a great time for celebration, feasts and enjoying nature’s bounty. My garden has blossomed beautifully. The elecampane leaves are already big, hinting at the sunny flowers sure to grow soon. The comfrey should flower soon. My hasp plants have green buds which will soon be lovely blue haskap berries, the strawberry plants are in flower and a bee balm plant will flower soon. As much as I understand that we need rain to put out the fire, it would be nice to have some sun too. 

I wish you all a memorable summer solstice!

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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May 18, 2023 · 12:16 pm

Seedlings vs. the Frost

Merry meet all,

I never thought I would thank a hurricane for cutting off a tree branch but I have. A tulip blossomed in my garden – FINALLY! The chopped off tree branch means that my garden gets more light at last. So now I get a tulip that has never grown a flower for years. The tulip is beautiful, and I plan to plant more bulbs this fall. I get more light now so why not? 

I may see more flowers but we still have frost. I am just itching to put my plants out but that would kill them and put them in shock. It is so cold out I can’t even have the windows open. The days are sunny but the wind is icy cold. 

Nevertheless, I am excited now to see what the advantage of better and more sunlight means for my garden this summer. I will probably see an increase in flowers and vegetables growing better. The tulip is a good sign! I have yet another reason to look forward to summer, if this frost ever leaves. I can’t wait to put my long suffering plants out. My mugwort plants are so big now. One long stem is growing bent over but when I plant it in the garden, I will help the stem grow straight. My mugworts are almost three feet high. I grew them from seed and that tells you how long I have waited for the frost free days to arrive. 

I have a new issue of Willow and Sage magazine. I want to make the marshmallow root lotion bars recipe. I have some cool Celtic molds for making the lotion bars in a cool shape. I also have skulls, witch hats and other molds to use. That will look great. The witch’s flying ointment is still steeping. The oil is a dark colour. That will turn out great. My squash is flowering and growing male flowers without being pollinated by a bee. I feel so bad for my squash vine but it is not warm enough to out. This is the problem. It really needs to warm up. I have a frost cloth but I doubt that will help. I suspect the frost is truly overstaying its welcome. 

For years my garden has been a shade garden. That is changing now, and I am very happy about that. The first week of June will be safe enough to set my plants out. I have grown all my seed starts from seed, nurtured them, watered them, fertilized them and weeded out the weak plants. Soon nature will take it from there when they get in my garden. I can’t wait. I added dandelion greens and chives from the garden to my breakfast this morning! That is one of the perks of living here, going out to my garden to get herbs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penny keeps an eye on Gilbert, the tenant’s new cat. He is an outdoor cat and usually is on a leash. He is so cute. Penny gets excited when she sees a cat in the yard, seeing as she deems it her territory. The outdoor cats don’t give a fig. They drive her crazy roaming about in the yard, because to them, it is her turf. I love seeing her act up when cats are nearby. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

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October 13, 2021 · 8:31 pm

My witch’s broom )O(

Merry meet all,

Samhain is right around the corner. I was busy today crafting a witch’s besom!! I’m going to tell you how I did it so you can make your own!

I found a long dead branch outside in my backyard. I measured five feet and sawed it to the length I wanted. I put that on the lawn chair. Then I left to gather twigs and branches for the bristles. I headed over to the backyard where I found several 30-60 cm twigs. I gathered as many as I could and put them where I left the staff. I set them on the ground beside the chair. Now came for the part to polish the wood of the staff. 

I used a paring knife to scrape off all the bark. Once that was done (with effort), I sanded the entire staff. Then I coated the staff with my wood polishing salve. When I was satisfied with how smooth the staff was, I had to leave. I went to my Mom’s for a pair of secateurs and jute string. I had a quick visit with my Mom and returned home. Then I bundled the long twigs together and arranged them around the staff. I trimmed the twigs/ branches to ensure they were an even length. It became dark outside so I brought my project indoors. I wound the string as tight as humanly possible around the staff and bristles. Then I hammered a nail in. It needs to go into the wood deeper but it is my preference. I trimmed the ends of the wood again to make them even. Then I doused the bristles with bleach and hot soapy water (outside) to kill off any germs or bugs since it did just come from outdoors. After, I rinsed it with clean water and wiped down the bristles with damp paper towel. I hope that helped clean it. Then I brought the saw inside ( a good idea to have a saw nearby just in case), and the hammer, string, secateurs, scissors and my boline. Knot the ends of the string tightly and securely. If you choose, you can even use glue to secure the string ends. 

Make sure if you are crafting the besom that you have permission to use the wood, that you are respectful of the wood and the area you took it from, and that you tie the string as tightly as you can. My broom is not perfect – the staff is not in the centre of the twigs but I could care less. She is perfect to me. I will paint the staff tomorrow. I am so happy with it. It is just beautiful and truly magical to me. All in time for Samhain. 

I love my new broom. I can’t wait to paint it. I may have to wait to get to spray paint the bristles. But it will be worth it. I want to spray paint them deep brown. I am painting the staff a lighter brown. My other besom that I made is purple. I want this broom to still appear natural. Also, spray painting it eliminates bugs or dirt. It makes it last longer and appear “polished”. I don’t have the patience to sand and smooth every bristle but spray paint does that for me in a way. Yeah I can’t wait for that. I will post another photo once it’s done. 

Does this inspire you to try crafting your own tools? The even better part of all this is it didn’t cost me a dime. I am tired now but I can paint it tomorrow. I can’t wait. There is something about bringing out the beauty in wood that I truly enjoy. I own a smaller besom I bought at a witch shop. The wood has a natural look too. That besom is smaller than the one I crafted today. 

Let me know what you craft for Samhain. I want to hear all about it in the comments. I’ve updated this post to show you the finished witch’s broom!!! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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