I know it’s a while since I’ve posted. However, I have been under the weather. I had to take time to recover. I am still in recovery but now I’m up and about. While I recovered, Penny and I stayed with my Mom. The bathroom is so lovely now that it’s painted and the toilet is fixed! I love it!
Beltane is here! Are you all excited? I am. However, a cold wind lingers this spring. I still have to bundle up and be warm. My starter plants are at my Mom’s. When I stayed there, I brought them over with me. I want to nurture my plants here but Penny munches on them. Once it is warm enough for the plants to go out, I will bring them back. For now, the plants are thriving there under her care.
I have to lay down new soil on the garden. I am so eager to do so but it is not time yet. It’s almost time. My garden needs a real clean up but I have to wait till we get warmer temperatures! Yes the waiting kills me. I know that insects are nesting in the garden yet and that the frost has still not left. Removing the protective layers of straw and the autumn leaves now means risking damage to the plants and what has nested there all winter. Yes I must wait.
I bought a cool new book. It’s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley but it is in a new print format. I shall have a good time reading that! The book is hardcover, with 25 illustrations, distinctive gilded page edges, a ribbon marker, the collectible hardcover volume makes the book standout on the shelf.
This link will tell you more about it: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1454951575?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details This one-of-a-kind deluxe edition hardcover edition is an exquisite work of art. It features an alluring, transparent acetate jacket to highlight Coulthart’s art printed on the hardcover case, color-printed sprayed edges, and intricate two-color artwork throughout. Wow! The book is beautiful. I will enjoy reading it.
I am so happy spring is here! I have missed working in my garden. Now if the frost and cold wind would just go away! Enjoy Beltane!
Spring equinox is only a few days away. Are you all as excited as I am? I bet you are. Soon we can say goodbye to cold noses and freezing temperatures. “For witches, the Spring Equinox is known as Ostara, named after the Germanic lunar goddess, an embodiment of the great Goddess who gave birth to the Sun God at the Winter Solstice. As an Equinox, Ostara is a time of balance and equilibrium.” (https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/08/how-to-celebrate-spring-equinox-like-a-modern-witch#)
A witch lives by the lunar and solar cycles – the Moon and the Sun. We celebrate the cycles of the moon.
Every month, witches honour the moon in full moon gatherings. We hold Sabbat celebrations and this time the Sabbat to celebrate is Ostara, or the spring equinox. Ostara marks the first day of spring, when the night and day are of equal length. Ostara is named after the Germanic lunar goddess who is an embodiment of the great Goddess who gave birth to the Sun God at the Winter Solstice. Ostara is a time of balance.
During the Spring Equinox, plant seeds and clean your home. Now is the time to reflect and create and clear away any stagnant energy.
Decorate your altar with warm colours; seeds, fruit; gemstones such as citrine, clear quartz, aventurine and carnelian. Make offerings of honey and milk for the faeries. Place tarot cards like the High Priestess and the Nine of Cups on your altar.
Perform rituals and make offerings. Play music that makes you think of spring and enjoy a cup of herbal tea while you pore over seed catalogs – for organic seeds, of course!
The overdress from Holy Clothing arrived! I love it. It is so beautiful and feminine. I feel so beautiful when I wear it. I can wear it with about twenty different dresses in my wardrobe, which is also what made it worth buying. The herb cutter from The Witches moon arrived. The herb cutter is so beautiful!
I woke up to a skiff of snow on the ground this morning. Well I looked out my window and decided, winter is not over yet. Snow covers the ground and a harsh wind rocks the trees. I still see the portal visible only to me. Or is it? To be able to see the portal and imagine you are escaping to Middle Earth, soften your gaze and peer between the two trees. It so does appear like a portal to me, carrying you far away from all your worries. If I had a choice, I would move to Middle Earth and never return.
The future for all humankind is dark and scary. The earth’s resources are being manipulated and seized and wasted at an unprecedented scale. We ask too much of the earth and forget that we have to give back. Machinery, the army and the government are the enemy. The technology we are producing and depending on are causing the earth’s destruction. Many cellphones end up in landfill. The oceans are stuffed with garbage. The air is polluted. We cannot eat money but we all live like we can. We have a scary future ahead of us if we continue at this rate. We expect the earth to produce forever but it doesn’t work that way.
That is why if I was given the choice, I would flee to Middle Earth. And to quote Gandalf, “I won’t be going alone.” I would take my loved ones including my cat with me. I always felt like I never fit in here anyway. I would not look back. We are all doomed and we have a bleak future. Why should we leave Earth, move to another planet and colonize there if we can’t learn our mistakes here? No, we have to learn first then ask ourselves if we could really do that to another planet.
There are people all over the world claiming to be experiencing visits from aliens. They are unafraid of the aliens- except me, I am scared to death of them. They claim that the aliens are teaching them that we may be better off leaving earth and going with the aliens. Who am I to deny them? I can see the rationale behind it. The aliens are wise and know what await us.
It will break my heart to be forced to see war break out and the earth torn apart. To see people overcome with rage, furious that the earth can keep up no more with their need for selfish gratitude, tearing other people apart- their kin and know love no more. But that may be our future. The Goddess has raised her horns and awoken-and she is pissed. The sinkholes, climate change, the natural disasters: droughts, wildfires, flooding and hurricanes are signs of her fighting back. I hope she never tires. I hope she teaches us a powerful lesson. I hope she stays and stands proud, driven by a beautiful fury. We have been bad children.
Now don’t get me wrong. I know that there are other earth stewards out there like me who are likeminded. If you are reading this and you are one of them, power to you! I see you as a kindred spirit. Yes we who do care about Earth and all her beauty and power are hopefully exempt from the doom just lurking over the horizon. But unfortunately, those who are in power blinded by greed and money and drive the cruel wheel of machinery will propel all of us to an unpleasant future.
I believe in leaving offerings and having a harmonious relationship with the nature spirits here. I would probably get laughed at. I don’t care. I know what I feel and I live in harmony with the earth. I work with not against. Many people take so much for granted. I dare say they will eventually wake up when it is too late.
I follow a surprisingly simple routine for showing my concern for the earth. I save eggshells, I recycle and compost, and I eat a lot of organic food. I opt for organic food as often as I can. I know organic food is more expensive but they make it that way to try and discourage you from buying it. I resist and buy it anyway. I practice organic gardening methods and I never use toxic chemicals such as insecticides, pesticides and other such poison on my garden. I have the most beautiful garden Ever. I use organic seeds and organic soil. I reuse cloth bags and I drag my personal cart to the store and back, up and down that steep hill. I take the bus and take many strolls on the nature trail.
I practice bioregional herbalism and follow a sustainable practice with my herbalism.
These are all things we could all be doing. I love seeing other people take their own cloth bags to the grocery store. It cheers my heart so much. That is in itself an act of rebellion. Ok now just keep that up and start small then expand your earth stewardship practice.
Happy International Women’s Day – which is every damn day!
I can’t wait for spring. I mean like I really can’t wait for spring. I know I am not the only one. Anyone who has to deal with cold temperatures and snow shares in my pining for spring. I can’t do much foraging as everything green is buried under snow. I am so happy that winter is temporary.
I am starting seeds in ziploc bags. A few marshmallow root seeds have germinated! I planted them and put the germinated seeds under my grow light. Marshmallow is a lovely herb and I look forward to watching her grow and helping the herb grow as beautiful as it can be.
Today’s post is about aliens. I am fascinated with aliens and I believe that they exist. I hope you enjoy it!
Alien mothership lurking in our solar system could be watching us with tiny probes, Pentagon official suggests
Could an alien mothership be hovering around the solar system, sending out tiny probes to explore planets? According to a Harvard scientist and a Pentagon official, it’s possible.
In a draft paper, the pair said it is feasible an extraterrestrial spaceship could be in our galactic neighborhood, exploring the region by the means of “dandelion seeds” — small spacecraft that can gather and send back information, similar to the way humans send out spacecraft to explore planets.
Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University, and Sean M. Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) — established in July 2022 by the Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and study “objects of interest” — released the draft, Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, on March 7. It is not an official Pentagon document but was carried out in partnership with the DoD. It has not been peer-reviewed.
Loeb is known for his research into ‘Oumuamua — an interstellar visitor from beyond the solar system. Astronomers first detected the cigar-shaped object in 2017 and originally thought it was a comet. However, its elongated shape, its lack of coma (the cloud of gases that envelope a comet), and the fact that it was accelerating away from the sun raised questions about the comet theory. Loeb suggested instead that ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship.
Six months before ‘Oumuamua’s close approach to Earth, a small interstellar meteor measuring around 3 feet (1 meter) wide smashed into Earth. This meteor, IM2, was not related to ‘Oumuamua, but it got Loeb thinking.
The interloper ‘Oumuamua continues to puzzle astronomers and astrophysicists. (Image credit: Bjorn Bakstad via Getty Images)
That coincidence inspired him “to consider the possibility that an artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions,” Loeb told Live Science in an email. “These ‘dandelion seeds’… could be separated from the parent craft by the tidal gravitational force of the sun or by a maneuvering capability.”
In the draft paper, Loeb and Kirkpatrick looked at Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs, the government’s preferred term for UFOs) confined by known physics. The authors suggest the dandelion seed probes could reach Earth for exploration without being detected by astronomers as they would likely be too small to reflect enough sunlight for survey telescopes to detect.
“Equipped with a large surface-to-mass ratio of a parachute, technological ‘dandelion seeds’ could slow down in the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid burnup and then pursue their objectives wherever they land,” they wrote.
Aliens would likely want to explore rocky planets with an atmosphere in the solar system, the authors propose. From a distance, Venus, Earth and Mars would all look appealing, with Earth being of greatest interest once aliens found signatures of liquid water. The alien civilization that created the probes would not need to be on the mothership. It would be unlikely that it could even communicate with the probes.
The alien civilization may not even exist anymore. Most stars in the galaxy formed billions of years before the sun. A habitable planet with intelligent life could have been sending out probes long before Earth formed. Searching for “resembles checking our mailbox for any packages that may have accumulated over time there, even if the senders are not alive anymore,” Loeb said.
Since first suggesting ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship, Loeb has faced criticism from the scientific community. One Perspective article published in Nature Astronomy in 2019 said the idea ‘Oumuamua was sent to Earth on purpose was “provocative” and “baseless.”
In 2021, a letter published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics dismissed the idea on logistical impracticalities of interstellar travel: “Given the likely cosmological timescales required to traverse between stars, we conclude that it is unlikely that ‘Oumuamua has been sent by an extraterrestrial civilisation and more likely that it is just an unusually shaped rock, which has happened to wander into the solar system.”
Another study, published on March 22, 2023, explains ‘Oumuamua’s strange movements as the likely result of hydrogen off-gassing — again refuting the alien spacecraft theory.
Still, the Pentagon has taken a renewed interest in studying unidentified objects over U.S. airspace in the previous year. Since the AARO’s founding last summer, the office has opened more than 360 new investigations into alleged UAP encounters reported by U.S. military personnel. About half of these have been explained as “balloons or balloon-like entities,” while the other half lack sufficient data to conclusively resolve.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Mar. 27 to correct a typo. A previous version of the story said most stars in the solar system are older than the sun; the text now reads “most stars in the galaxy.” The sun is the only star in our solar system.
This article was originally posted on Live Science.
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I have really enjoyed listening to the podcast The Outer Realm hosted by Michelle DesRochers and Amelia Pisano. I can’t get enough of their podcast. I am even a convert to Folgers Coffee. I have subscribed to their podcast and I am quickly becoming a loyal listener. The podcast is so amazing that I can’t imagine missing a single podcast.
I love podcasts, more than movies. They provide entertainment in a way that movies don’t and the podcasts are in line with my passions and interests. I have learned a lot since listening to her podcast. Yes I do love podcasts and I love her podcast – it is all about the paranormal: ETs, alien encounters and some other topics. The other topics have ranged from ghosts, animal empaths and historical horror novels like Dracula.
Michele and Amelia are intelligent, down to earth and compassionate. They are super nice and they are great listeners. Maybe I can be on their podcast some day. I would love that.
I just bought a fascinating magazine titled Ghosts and Hauntings: Spectres, Spooks & Restless Spirits. The magazine was produced by Fortean Times: The World of Strange phenomena. I have to finish reading the book The Witch’s Guide to the Paranormal. I started reading it and I haven’t finished it but I will soon. I want to actually write the book on ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. I will likely do a lot of research for my book. I have started writing it and I am really excited. I have been blogging on the paranormal for years. I have completed under a thousand posts. It is my passion and life. I am quite excited and it feels good to be writing something new. I also want to read a book I bought titled Deathbed Visions. I bet that will be a good book! The book was written by Sir William Barrett.
I doubt I will self-publish the book. I can get the book traditionally published, I am sure and I can’t afford to cover the costs involved with self-publishing. Maybe this is the right time for to write this book on ghosts and clairvoyance. I had to have a bit of life experience before I could write it. I mean, the paranormal is my life and I hope that readers can feel my passion as they read.
I bought a small bird house and a bottle of brown acrylic paint from Dollarama today. I plan to paint the birdhouse brown and make it a bat house. The green and white bookcase that I assembled where I store most of my paranormal books is for horror titles. A bat house will be a welcome spooky addition to the bookcase. It will hang from a hook and the bats are welcome to inhabit the little house and hang out there.
Tonight I listened to Lights out Podcast. I am now listening to The Paranormal 60 hosted by Dave Schrader. His guest is discussing the phenomena about black eyed kids. I have never seen a black eyed kid myself but many people have claimed to have seen them. They sound eerie and unsettling. I am not exactly holding my breath waiting for an encounter with them.
There is so much to learn about the paranormal and all the strange beings that come with it. Aliens, angels, demons, skin walkers, black eyed kids, grey aliens, wendigos, Bigfoot, etc. I think it is important to maintain a balanced, open mind about it. There is way more talk about the paranormal than ever before. I know we have the benefit of unprecedented ease of global communication. I think that is part of it but I also think that something like a portal opened. Now, this portal is open and it was done in such a way that some beings crossed over. Whatever has opened the portal or inter dimensional portal doesn’t want to seal it and doesn’t care about the human race. It could have been aliens, a person or something. Now that something has opened like a portal, a portly? lol, I don’t think there is any closing it. It’s like a Pandora’s box.
We may see weirder things in the future, which scares me. The earth is suffering from the fact that her resources are being so wantonly wasted, climate change, war, crime and poverty. These are just a handful of the issues we are facing today. On a paranormal level, it may become common to see black eyed kids, aliens and other cryptid creatures. The future is so uncertain and fascinating at the same time. We can at least have an open mind and still protect ourselves- or you just may have an experience yourself!
Hurricane Lee has blown and busted his way out of Nova Scotia. I am so relieved. The sun’s shining on my garden which is feebly picking itself up off the ground. Yes my garden is battered but my limp tomato plants have endured. My garden has endured a hurricane before and to my amazement, keeps going. I visited my garden and sent my plants healing energy. I fertilized a few plants this morning – peppers, tomatoes, beans, flowers.
Samhain is the next turn in the eternal Wheel of the Year. We are coming now to the time of the thinning of the veil. Or is it already thinning? Hear me out. I just endured yet another hurricane. There are a lot of natural disasters popping up and wreaking havoc in various parts of the world. The Goddess is pissed. Sorry for my language there but I just don’t know how else to say it. We have behaved badly and she is giving us a spanking. Perhaps the veil which in my opinion, is shredded and the dead are traveling closer to punish us. I actually believe this is possible. We are at the end. Like the Tower card in the tarot, the long end is coming.
We ask too much of the earth. Everything we desire comes with a price. Unfortunately, those who expect the earth to keep providing and providing have zero intentions of ever giving up any thanks or acknowledgement for the blessings and gifts and instant gratification they have been given. They won’t stop there and that is the problem. I don’t believe the solution is to mess up another planet because we never learned our lessons here on Earth. The mandatory action is that we learn here – and get such a lesson as to get so scared we won’t repeat it ever again. So the lesson has to be severe and hard and relentless. It has to shake people into action, scare them, give them a vision of how bad it could get so we can then make it better. I would like to think we take that route but no, sadly it won’t happen. We will not revert to the 18th century way of living but if we are not more careful, then it may be apocalyptic, just like in the movies. I always wonder why more post-apocalypse movies aren’t being made. Many people choose to turn a blind eye. It is not in their backyard, so it’s not their problem. Wait till it creeps up on them.
The actions we take now and the decisions we make can help though. It isn’t all gloom and doom. We can all take actions now, large and small, and perhaps ensure a bright future for ourselves and those we love. I leave offerings when I harvest/ forage from nature. I use only what I need. I have talked about this before on a post in the past but I do love to honour the nature spirits. I also forage and harvest sustainably and practice organic gardening methods. I use no pesticides and maybe my garden has tons of insects visiting it but it all somehow works out.
We can also firm up our relationships with our chosen deities. Leave them offerings and pray to them more often. Include them a lot more in our daily actions. Be more grateful. This may help and it’s even better that we practice it consistently. Also, being positive helps. Be paws-itive! Pets can help hugely with this. Animals are amazing healers and are all about unconditional love. I love animals. Plants and animals are our friends, and the nature spirits are also our allies. We need to trust them again and be true to our word.
The Fae are not our friends but they are not our enemies either. If they are returning, it is naive of us to assume it is for our benefit. They were driven into the hills and mounds and they probably remember that. That is why I try so hard to leave an offering, express gratitude and respect to them. I respect my elders and I can respect them too. I clean garbage up from the ground when I am waiting for a bus at the bus stop. I built a small fairy house and arranged the faeries in and around it. They probably appreciate that.
The earth is not a trash can. Yet that is exactly how thousands of people treat earth. It is time to wake up. It is time to remember our mother and respect her.
The rain’s pouring hard here. Last night, a few raccoons were cacophonously serenading the backyard. I have no idea what was going on but they caused a real ruckus. Nothing happened to my garden. I guess it is all good. The summer season has flown by. October is around the corner. I want my garden to grow faster and better. I know Mother Nature takes her time.
Yesterday A.F Stewart interviewed me for her show The Book Chat. I was thrilled to be interviewed. I shall post the link when it becomes available. I spoke about writing short fiction and poetry, and my horror novella. It felt good to be interviewed. A.F Stewart was so sweet.
The first Paranormal Symposium occurs in October, 2023. I bought my ticket months ago. I just can’t wait. I have posted the latest trailer for the symposium on my timeline. I just can’t wait and I am so excited. Here is the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/halifax-paranormal-symposium-2023-tickets-541022772677. I may need to try on 60 different outfits for this and I have to figure out where the event is located before the event. I love the paranormal and well, I mean, look at this blog. Of course I love the paranormal. I will dive deeper into the paranormal since the dark half of the year is not that far away. Nothing is keeping me from attending the Paranormal Symposium.
I guess I love the paranormal so much. I feel a strong connection to it. I have a connection to the dead. I know I tackle some strong topics on this blog, but isn’t that what a blog is for? I have always had the ability to see the dead. Well I shouldn’t say always, I had to move to Nova Scotia to realize I had this ability but once I did, it just went from there. I was fortunate enough to find a supportive community of like minded individuals. I was trained in mediumship and I have certificates. I don’t always see or sense something but when I do, I am usually right. I have no idea why I had to move to another province to find out I am mediumistic. It could be the energies of the city here, the fact that it is uber haunted, full of ghosts, history, tragedy, blood. That woke up a latent talent, I guess. Maybe the spirits chose me. Who knows? I will never have the reason and I have decided to accept it. Or, as Harry Potter says, just go with it. You don’t always get the answers you were after.
I believe it is vital to be a part of a community of like minded individuals when you delve into occultism, mediumship, etc. They can protect you, support you and teach you. I probably sound like Gandalf right now but he had a good point. Skeptics can be cruel or nice. But it is good to have a group of people to reach out to if you get a hard time. One hard lesson I have learned is to offer aid only to those who ask for it. Also, it is important to have an open mind. Not everyone who doesn’t believe in ghosts or aliens is trying to be mean. They could just be sharing their perspective. They are entitled to their opinions, no matter what it may be. I know, I go home and grumble about the skeptics too. They can’t help themselves. If you need to, stand up for yourself.
Training in mediumship allows you to have more control over your talents. That is a good thing. I would never turn down the opportunity for training. Your talents grow better with practice. It is like exercising a muscle. To keep it strong, you have to try. So. you can imagine my enthusiasm when I first learned about the Paranormal Symposium. That never happens here. Of course I bought my ticket early. I bet they will be sold out for tickets and that the room where it takes place will barely have standing room. I plan to arrive early to get my spot- front row!
August is almost over. August is the prequel to October and the dark half of the year. I love summer. I love being in my garden. My garden takes away my stress. Fall though is when I feel I can be myself more. The leaves trickle to the cold earth and the days grow darker. I look forward to the cold season and all the dark gifts it brings: the harvest, the colourful leaves, ghosts, the scent of autumn in the air. Pumpkins, Samhain, cider and apples!
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.
My indoor herb and vegetable seed starting project is progressing nicely. I love my grow light kit. I used to grow plants like herbs and flowers without a grow light. I don’t know how I ever managed. I will never go back to not using a grow light kit. It is amazing. I’m growing tickseed, parsley, thyme, Vietnamese Cilantro, onions, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, calendula, celeriac, bunching onions, and winter squash. The seedlings are all arranged near or at my grow light kit. I love having a grow light kit. I will never go back to the old way. The parsley and thyme I bought in pots sit at a sunny window in my office. I bought a potted rosemary and arranged that near my grow light.
I used seed starting soil, water and pots to start the seedlings in. I sprinkled mycorrhizae in the soil and Gaia Organics fertilizer. I sprinkle the seedlings with water. The window faces north but it is the only spot I can have them in that my cat Penny doesn’t disturb. I also have a few tablespoons of patience as this project requires patience. Seeds will germinate in their own good time. Then, once the seedling is up, it needs to receive all the care it can get. They can grow big, or small, wide or narrow, bright green or red, but whatever they do, they need a lot of attention and your time.
Some plants may need supports or something to grow up on, to be trained on. Some plants grow leggy and stretch toward the light. Some plants need deeper soil. Some plants can take forever to grow into a carrot or a pepper plant. They are all individual green seedlings that depend on YOU. They depend on you for good quality soil, for their growing needs, for getting the adequate amount of light. Using a grow light can help take the load off a lot of the effort for you. Seedlings growing without the benefit of a grow light don’t grow as strong. I leave the light on for my grow light kit from about 7:00 – 8:00 am in the morning till about 9:00-10:00 pm at night. That means that my seedlings definitely receive the necessary amount of light. I mist them a lot during the day. The temperature is warm enough in my kitchen.
I remove the weak seedlings and tend the strongest seedlings. A nod to Darwin here for his theories about survival of the fittest. I also label what I am growing. It is a good idea to know what you are growing! It is easy to label, you can make artsy labels or use something as simple as a popsicle stick for labeling your precious cilantro seedlings.
The carrots and parsley were a real headache to get growing. Yes I did thin them out. I waited till the carrot seedlings were about two inches in height and arranged them into rows. I discarded the weak ones. Now they all have more space from each other and are growing their trademark true leaves. I misted them with water from my spray bottle and would gently water them from a measuring cup. I use toothpicks to support them as they grow up. A measuring cup is better than a regular drinking glass. It has that dip for pouring that I love.
The carrots and parsley are growing in the deep pot for their roots shown in the photo. They were the hardest to get started but the hard work was worth it.
I also use good quality seeds. I use organic, non GMO, heirloom seeds. Good seeds, good soil and good water and good tending make great seedlings. I watch a lot of videos on Youtube for good gardening inspiration. I store my seeds in their paper packets in a metal box. The seeds stay fresh too with a silica gel packet. I just rearranged the seeds. I store the herbs and flowers in one metal box and the veggie seeds in the other.
The best tool in your toolbox is patience. They don’t get perfect overnight and grow overnight to their ideal size. They take their time. They grow at their own rate and they are fine with that, your green charges, oh yes. Cultivate patience as you cultivate your little green friends and they will try to grow their very best for you. I hope the tips in this post help you and inspire you to exercise your green thumbs. Happy growing!!
Hello my lovely readers! Even though we are on the cusp of spring, winter lingers. Last night, the howling wind kept me up half the night.
I have a lot on my mind right now. My grandmother is not well. She has to be moved to the city and that means uprooting her. I hope it all works out smoothly. I am very worried about her. My grandmother is in her nineties but is in otherwise good health.
I scattered birdseed at the Mumford Terminal and in my backyard. I saw the rat and waited and watched for a sign that the birds had found the seed. Indeed they did. I look after all my little ones. It’s cold out and I worry about them. Food is scarce for my avian friends.
I just watched the amazing movie Alien with a friend. I respect the exhausting effort that must have gone into making the movie. Yes art means effort. And that movie truly is amazing. I remember watching the sequel years ago.
I donated my copy of Todd Keisling’s book to the library. Due to my negative experience with him, I saw no sense in keeping it. I only welcome positive energy here.
It is spring in my apartment! If it can’t be spring outdoors, it will be so indoors. I’m growing a pot of basil and rosemary cutting and I have a pot of parsley. I set up my grow light kit where I am growing a number of herbs by seed. I have another pot with radishes and carrots germinating. I hope they all grow well. I know the herbs will grow well in the grow light kit. I will post what I am starting by seed in the grow light kit soon once I find the list. I can’t remember right now. I keep watering the herbs a little, enough to moisten them but not drown them.
I love herbs. I’m progressing nicely with the herbal courses at the Herbal Academy. I am on Unit 2 in Advanced and I am enjoying the Mastering Herbal Formulations course too. I recently reviewed the Becoming a Herbalist mini course that the Herbal Academy once again offered for free. Tomorrow I no longer have access to it and so I ensured I downloaded the pdf of the course.
I have to work harder at composing the 15-20 monographs for the Advanced course. I hate distractions and I am my own worst enemy. The herbs and flowers are dormant now but soon spring will raise her green head. I cannot wait. It cheers me though I love the dark half of the year. I am a herbalist/ gardener by heart. I water the seedlings in the grow light kit the most because the soil dries out so fast. The green seedlings need moist soil. That is how they thrive.
I am so grateful the Herbal Academy gives me so much time to complete the courses. I can study at a better pace that way. I never stop learning and I love everything I am learning. There is so much for me to learn. It is a truly fascinating subject!
“Gothic horror and cosmic dread from the ghostly shores of Halifax.”
Heddy Johannesen
Conjuror of Gothic Horror
Welcome to My Monsters.
I've always been drawn to the shadows, where the monsters live and their stories hunger to be told.
I write about ghosts, monsters, witches, and outsiders, exploring the darker places where fear, mystery, grief, and the supernatural collide.
Welcome to The Paranormal Quill
Gothic Horror. Dark Folklore. Cosmic Indifference.
Step across the threshold.
I am Heddy Johannesen—conjurer of gothic horrors, paranormal nonfiction writer, and dedicated student of herbalism. From the ghostly shores of Halifax, Nova Scotia, I pull back the veil on creepy alternate dimensions and secrets that refuse to stay buried
Pull up a chair, light a candle, and explore the shadows with me. Just mind the spiderwebs.
