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.
Happy Beltaine!!!!! Beltane is the third of the three spring Sabbats. Flowers are in bloom everywhere here despite the cold snap.
I ordered gold fairy lights for the bookcase. I know that will look amazing. Stringing up the fairy lights is my next challenge. Scotch tape and push pins are my best bet, most likely. The fairy lights are eighteen feet long. I plan to use the fairy lights outside in the garden too. That will look amazing at night. I need to grow some flowers that bloom at night, such as moonflower!
I finished gluing the moss to the entire bookcase- the side facing out. That is the side that everyone will see, so that gets the moss and decorations. I also kept to one colour plan- gold, browns, moss green, reds and oranges. That is basically the autumn colours but it could also represent the entire green growing season. I foraged, prepared and attached two more pinecones. By ‘prepared’, I meant cleaning the pinecones of any potential pests. I soaked the pinecones in cold water and vinegar for thirty minutes then baked them in the oven at 225% for almost two hours. The sap dried on the cones and they lay more flat. I glued them to the moss on the bookcase.
I glued fake ivy leaves and pink flowers and leaves to the bookcase. I drew runes on to small round wooden pieces and glued the wood mini logs to the bookcase, leaves and moss. It looks so cool. The mini logs look like natural wood and may be created from real wood. I believe they are, and look like they were always there. I await the fairy lights. The faeries must be overworked today, because the delivery is taking a long time.
I can’t wait for the frost to leave. I am so anxious to get my plants in the ground outside. The soil is deeper, leaving more room for the roots. They are exposed to the elements of earth, air, fire, water and Spirit. They can grow more strongly and as big as they want. It is still cold out. It is so hard waiting. I have a lot of work to do in the garden. I can’t wait for the cold snap to end. I need to clean up the garden, rake the leaves away, and move the spreading raspberry canes to a new home/ spot. They can take over there and would still receive sun. I need to buy several bags of soil and work that into the soil that is already there. I have to tidy up the garden supports. Then, once that is done, and the earthworms are up to the task of working through the soil, I will make my annual twice a year offering of cornmeal, honey and milk and pray to the God and Goddess for a bountiful and beautiful growing season.
Then I move my seedlings outside to their new homes. This is the part that I look the most forward to. None of this can happen till the frost ceases. I want to grow datura from seed outdoors. It is a poisonous plant but witches are not supposed to be scared right? I also want to start it outdoors to protect my cat from it. I will regularly fill the bird feeder, stir up the compost and tend to my herbs and flowers and veggies. I can’t wait to get started.
I know lovage will grow well near rhubarb. I plan to get a new lovage seedling from a garden centre. It is easier to start with a seedling and faster. I want to see how well the lovage will grow near the rhubarb. The elecampane main crown root had two new buds (or maybe more) and I hope new stalks come up this summer. I didn’t use the syrup so I won’t make more. The plant needs to get established and it is clearly trying to do just that.
Once Jack Frost bids goodbye, I plan to be ready and armed with bags of soil and my new cute pink garden trowel in hand. I wish you all a lovely Beltane!
The colourful leaves trickle down to the earth. The overcast sky hangs low. But the fiery leaves brighten the afternoon sky. I see a haze like a misty translucent curtains that has fallen over the backyard and nature trail. I like to think that is the elusive and famous veil between the worlds. Samhain is here, at least to me. I ventured out in my garden today to remove the frost blanket as I do everyday. The frost blanket shields the still growing plants from the cold. A pumpkin has begun growing in the garden – yes, in October. I found flowers on my haskap plant and the pumpkin regularly shows off flowers. I mean I don’t get it. It has not been too cold this month which could explain a lot. Even my cucumber vine is showing a new flower. I don’t get it. I do feel duty bound to protect the plants. Everything else has withered and died back. Everything except for the nasturtiums, lemon balm, thyme, and oregano and what I mentioned above.
This is the time when pumpkins are harvested not grown. Ok if my plants choose to do so, fine. I shall do my best to protect and nurture it. I may get a small pumpkin before the killing frost hits. Who knows?
Last night I brewed mulled cider. Yum! I also harvested mullein root for a tincture. I brought my cellphone with which has an app called Seek. The Seek app aids me by identifying which plant is which. Seek did identify the plant as great mullein. I dug up the roots of the plants, brought them home, scrubbed them clean and chopped it into smaller pieces. I bought a small bottle of vodka. I’ll let the roots dry out for a week to draw out any moisture in the roots and then mix it together. It will steep for 4 to 6 weeks after which I strain it out. I found and saved a LOT of nasturtium seeds and my Mom gave me a huge puppy of poppy seeds. I truly look forward to next spring. !!! The poppy seeds and the nasturtium seeds are stored in clean ziplock baggies. I love poppies. Next to purple coneflower and nasturtiums and pansies, they are the prettiest flowers.
For all you horror fans in Canada hankering for a spooky The Haunted Museum episodes, Discovery Plus is now available in Canada! I am excited about this good news too. You can subscribe now and then never miss a single episode.
I tried to do a seance last night. But no spirits came through. I was a little disappointed but I made a true effort to commune with spirits regardless. I performed a spirit guide meditation, burned candles and incense and did a few divinations. I used a pendulum to tell me if spirits were close. Nope. I used my ouija board. Nope. I asked the spirits if they were present. Nope. Ok or at least as far as I know, the spirits weren’t there. They could have been hiding. I don’t control them. I wonder if the black salt I sprinkled around the doorways kept them from entering. Hmmm.
Black salt, my own concoction, is intended to protect a home. Yet this is the time when spirits are reputed to haunt the realm of the living. The ancient Celts believed that. I blended white table salt with cauldron ash, crushed charcoal bits, black pepper and incense ash together in a jar. I labeled and stored the jar.
A cat that mewed constantly and sought affection from me the other night has been found! The poor little kitty. It gets cold out at night here. I felt so bad leaving the furry mewing little wonder. The cat’s name is Gilbert. He is not feral as he did wear a collar. I wanted to hand him over to anyone who did own the cat but had no idea who they were. I tried carrying the kitty and considered knocking on every door till I got him back to his home. But Gilbert wouldn’t let me. Thankfully, since the owner is out of town, the owner’s friend returned the mewing little wonder home safe and sound. I am so happy the kitty is safe. If he got in my apartment, fang, fur and bone would be flying! Penny would have been pissed. It ended well, which is good.
I would love, I mean love, to have another cat. Penny is having none of it. Ah well, she didn’t have an easy time of it. The home she lived in before she took over mine had a dog that was mean to her. Here, Penny feels like the big one and that is fine with her.
This Samhain, please keep your feline furries inside. Some shelters don’t even adopt out black cats during this time of year. The cats face terrible threats such as being returned to the shelter, or killed by a car or another animal or abandoned. Abandoning a cat only hurts and confuses the poor thing. They will never know what they did wrong. If you do adopt, it is a commitment. So let’s show our pets extra love this season. !!
October is here!! I am so excited I hope you are too. I have a small pumpkin dwarfed by my HUGE pumpkin. I am storing them for Samhain. I’m busy prepping for Samhain I look forward to reading the honking’ huge October newsletter produced by the Horror Writers Association. My blog post about doing a paranormal investigation goes live on October 11th, as part of the Halloween Haunts blog event. I was interviewed by Amanda for the Feminine Macabre interview. That went live on the 29th. Lots happening!!!
This is the time to stock up on root veggies! I have a few squashes, pumpkin in chunks, applesauce, elderberry jam stored away. Yup the cold season has arrived. Like it or not though, it does entice us with the gifts it brings, such as ciders, stews, foods to keep us warm and healthy. I have to puree the pumpkin, which I will do tomorrow. The rind on the squashes is so hard it’s like wood. I have no idea how to cut through that. Pumpkins can be cooked into breads, soups, pies and cookies. I buy smaller pumpkins for cooking – and roasting seeds. I get larger pumpkins for carving. Pureed pumpkin can be stored in the freezer. Once you puree squash, you have a variety of healthful options available for you. Butternut squash also makes good soups. Add ginger, cayenne, and lemon for some tantalizing flavour.
I want to harvest the remaining herbs from my garden before the heavy frost sets in. I have to collect all the lemon balm ( a huge task in itself(, the oregano, some thyme, lavender, and mint. I’m letting the tomatoes ripen on the vine. There is a risk of mildfrost tonight. Later in the month, the frost will be heavier. I bought a huge herb drying rack to dry my herbs. I am grateful for the space but it is too big. I figured it would cost too much to return it to Amazon. I nailed in a big hook in the wall. I need to store away a lot of herbs. The size of it helps. That is the only corner where I can hang it up. I’m just anxious because of the resident overly curious cat who may snoop and sniff out the herbs. Here is a photo of the rack:
But it will prove useful this fall and many years to come. I love fall. It is the most beautiful and magical time of year. The leaves are turning, pumpkins regal front decks and store baskets.This is a good time to harvest the herbs you grew with care all summer. Harvest herbs in the morning after the dew has dried but before the frost kills them. Let them dry completely before storing in jars to prevent mold from ruining the herbs. Put them in brown perforated paper bags, tie them upside down to dry or arrange them on cookie sheets to dry. Then, once totally dry and crisp, you are free to use them for tincture making, syrups, teas, cordials or whatever suits your fancy. Know the herbs from each other too. It is so easy to mistake lemon balm from mint. They look and smell alike when dry. It’s easy to confuse yourself.
I went to the Farmers Market this morning. I forgot a turnip, but I did come home with carrots, leeks, basil + oregano sea salt, and parsnip. – and alcohol cider. I love parsnip and crunchy sweet carrots. Later, I bought hamburger meat. I can now make stew. Yum!! The farmers market at the Forum was smaller than the market at Seaport. But since we are in a pandemic, a smaller market pleased me. I loved the cider. Oh my gosh it tasted so good. That man is a master at brewing cider wine. Wow I never tasted anything so fine. I am all set for fall. The people at the market ( forum) were so pleasant. I may return there.
Last night, I removed mullein seed pods from the stalk. Unfortunately for me, the seed pods were hard as rock. I stored the seeds in a labeled jar. The seeds are toxic so I was careful. I am truly blessed with a harvest of herbs, veggies, seeds, and flowers. This is an ideal time to focus on what we harvested and to thank those who bestowed it upon us. Besides Mother Nature and Father sky, we can take the time to reflect who else is so generous to us. It’s a good time to give as generously to those who were good to us. That is an exchange of good energy and is a way of ensuring good energy follows you!!! The Universe hears everything you ask for, so keep sending out good energy and it will reciprocate.
I’m growing a variety of seeds in starter pots. Tomato, basil, dill, chard, popcorn-you read that right, cucumber, cilantro, pumpkin, gourds, luffa, arugula, lavender, sage, green bunching onions and elecampane and cabbage. That seems like a lot but imagine the harvest! Plus, it’s all delicious!
I have setup two lamps where I have my seedlings. That is to ensure they receive the maximum amount of light. It is very overcast here most of the time. They will get a higher amount of light from the bare light bulbs. I leave them on all day. I used white styrofoam cups to start the seeds in. That means the roots have more room to develop. I labeled each cup and poked holes in each cup in the bottom. That lets the water drain and keeps the seedling roots from rotting. Now all I need is the frost to pass so I can put the seedlings outside. It’s not time yet for that.
Today I want to tel you about a Paranormal podcast in Newfoundland. I hope you enjoy this post!!
Paranormal Podcast focuses on Newfoundland oddities
Jon Mallard’s “The Odd to Newfoundland Paranormal Podcast” is published on the first of every month to share strange and paranormal stories. – Contributed
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“I don’t really believe in ghosts, but this one time …” is the line Jon Mallard, host, creator and producer of “The Odd to Newfoundland Paranormal Podcast,” a paranormal variety show, has heard time and time again.
Mallard has been a paranormal investigator for five years. He began his monthly podcast four years ago because he realized paranormal investigators were somewhat isolated in Newfoundland, and a podcast could be a way to start talking to people outside the province.
“The coolest thing about the show is the reach,” says Mallard, “It’s an amazing thing.”
The podcast has grown significantly since it began and now appears on a myriad of search engines with over 33,000 subscribers on PodBean alone, coming from as far away as Japan.
Each episode is composed of different sections including hot topics in paranormal news that month, and true facts that are out of the ordinary. Every podcast feature guests from Canada or around the world, including Newfoundlanders such as folklorist Dale Jarvis, Energy worker Betty Collings, and Henry Crane of Bell Island to discuss topics ranging from haunted houses to big foot and wrestling.
Mallard converted one of the closets in his home into a recording studio, and records and edits the podcasts himself. One of his favourite episodes was released one year ago on July 1, 2017 called “Canadian Odd-yssey.”
“It was awesome because I got to highlight all of the odd things that are out there in our country,” says Mallard about the episode.
Mallard hopes that the podcast will one day be picked up on local radio stations because they are yet to broadcast a paranormal show about Newfoundland.
“One thing that really ties all things together around the world is oddness that we live in,” says Mallard.
“My dream is for everyone to know what ‘The Odd to Newfoundland Paranormal Podcast’ is,” says Mallard who doesn’t aspire for the podcast variety show to necessarily become a big part of people’s lives, but instead something they can look forward to enjoying regularly.
In addition to “The Odd to Newfoundland Paranormal Podcast,” Mallard is married and the father of two children, seven and two, and works as a type of foster parent. His family has been “100 percent” supportive of the podcast and his wish for it to continue growing in the years to come.
“I would love to see more Newfoundlanders subscribing to my podcast and supporting their own,” says Mallard.
“The Odd to Newfoundland Paranormal Podcast” is published on the first of every month and can streamed or downloaded off a myriad of engines including I-tunes and can be subscribed to on PodBean (http://oddtonewfoundland.podbean.com).
sadie-rae.werner@thetelegram.com
Port Morien Wildlife Association Members Nominated for Award for Work on Accessible Fishing Site in Cape Breton
The early frost hit Halifax. I laid a frost blanket over my beans last night. This morning, I saw my breath. I stored the summer dresses in the drawer and pulled out the winter woollies. It is that time. It is our time. The Witch season has arrived. Pumpkins fill the shelves at the supermarket to adorn front porches. The leaves turn and that magical feeling/ chill is in the air. Toss your Witch hats!!! Enjoy the link to an awesome witchy song!!
The image above is a photo of my scrying mirror. Cool isn’t it?
I harvested my tomatoes, forty one in total. The tomatoes are ripening near a windowsill. I harvested the catnip. I put the plant and roots in the soil. I don’t see why I should buy a new catnip every year. The cats can’t tear it up because I set a cloche around the plant. Now the plant is sheltered from the cold while it adjusts. Later, I will lift the cloche and mulch. The plant will grow again next year. I will put it up and hang it in the planter next summer for Penny.
I read Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s book about mirror scrying. I own a scrying mirror. I am eager to begin mirror scrying. Here is an article that tells you about an ancient method of divination that is changing the way people view the world and -the dead.
The Psychomanteum: How an Ancient Tool for Contacting the Dead is Making Breakthroughs in Paranormal Investigation
On the latest episode of Travel Channel’s Kindred Spirits, Amy Bruni & Adam Berry investigate a mysterious haunted mirror in Gettysburg’s famed Farnsworth House. With help from haunted object experts Greg & Dana Newkirk, the paranormal investigators use the object to construct an ancient device meant to contact the dead: the psychomanteum.
Whether using tarot during investigations, performing classic seances, or making use of the Estes Method, sometimes its the most unique tools which provide the most intriguing responses. On Thursday’s episode of Kindred Spirits, Greg & Dana Newkirk, curators of the Traveling Museum of of the Paranormal & Occult, are drawn to construct a psychomanteum, a method of summoning the dead which has been all-but-forgotten by today’s paranormal investigators. But what exactly is a psychomanteum, and how does it work?
The Nekromenteion in Epiros, Greece | via Shutterstock
Stemming from the Greek “nekromanteion”, which translates to “oracle of the dead”, the psychomanteum was such a popular method of spirit contact that they’re made reference to in the epic Homer’s Odyssey, where Odysseus speaks with his dead mother by gazing into a pit of blood. It wasn’t until the 1950s that archaeologists actually excavated one of the devices in Epiros, officially pulling the psychomanteum out of legend and into reality.
While crystal balls, mirror scrying, and other forms of chiromancy remained popular throughout the years, it wasn’t until 1993 when Dr. Raymond Moody, a researcher of near death experiences, published the book Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones and brought the psychomanteum back to life. In his book, Moody recounts how he took inspiration from Greek nekromanteions and other shamanic mirror-gazing traditions from around the world, constructing his own psychomanteum, and documenting some three-hundred individuals’ experiences with the method.
In a room blocked of all sunlight, Moody placed a chair in front of a large mirror hung on a wall which was tilted forward at a 45 degree angle, so as to obscure the gazer’s own reflection. Behind the chair was placed a low wattage lamp, meant to replicate the soft glow of a single candle. Before seating themselves in the psychomanteum, subjects were asked to focus on a loved one who had since passed. Then, the gazing session would begin. The results were astounding.
Out of the subjects, a quarter of them stated that they had made contact with the dead, seeing and even speaking with their loved ones in the mirror’s reflection. About ten percent of these subjects even said the spirits actually came out of the mirrors and touched them. In nearly a quarter of the cases, the contact with the dead didn’t occur immediately, but within 24 hours of the psychomanteum session. Even more startling, nearly every single subject strongly stated that their reunions were not fantasies or dreams, but insisted they were real events with elements of physicality.
Dr. Raymond Moody wrote that the sessions with his modern day psychomanteum weren’t just an effective method of contact with the dead, they quite literally changed the lives of the users, healing wounded relationships with the deceased and reshaping the way they saw the world.
With such a powerful tool so easy to create, why aren’t more paranormal investigators using the psychomanteum? Mostly because they don’t know the method even exists. Like many traditional methods of spirit communication, they’ve been forgotten, replaced with fancy gadgets as seen on television, or branded as “dangerous occult practices”. For this reason, The Traveling Museum of the Paranormal & Occult has spent the last several years roaming the country with a portable psychomanteum, swapping a quiet room for headphones and white noise, and educating the public on the history and practice of therapeutic mirror gazing. On the the third season three episode of Travel Channel’s Kindred Spirits, that lesson will be shared with an even wider audience.
Of course, things are bound to get even stranger when you build your psychomanteum out of a gigantic haunted mirror in one of the most paranormally-active locations in the world.
The psychomanteum as seen in Travel Channel’s Kindred Spirits | via Greg Newkirk
“When Amy Bruni and Adam Berry phoned us a few months ago and asked us to get our butts to Pennsylvania, we were actually on the road to the Appalachian Mountains for Operation: Return the Crone,” Greg says. “Fortunately, a pit stop in Gettysburg was right along the way. When we arrived, they told us that they were dealing with a very old, and potentially very haunted mirror that the owners claimed could have been the source of the aggressive paranormal activity in their building. We already knew it was going to be a unique case, but we didn’t realize how strange it was about to get.”
With only a few days left to shoot the case, Amy & Adam were looking for a way to investigate the mirror that would yield the best results. The team immediately got to work building what might be the largest modern psychomanteum ever.
Haunted object expert Greg Newkirk peers into the haunted mirror | via Greg Newkirk
In the episode, the group heads to the basement, which the owners had styled to represent a traditional Civil War era funeral, and gingerly began to tilt the massive mirror to a 45-degree angle. Once it was safe and secure, Greg placed a bowl of water beneath the mirror – a step that Dr. Raymond Moody had left out of his modern psychomanteum (the Greeks would often gaze into the water’s reflection in the place where the mirror made contact with the water). Once everything was secure, he lit a single candle behind the designated gazing seat, and hit the lights.
Adding one more twist to contraption, it was decided that both Dana and Amy would use the psychomanteum at the same time. Not only was it big enough, but having two gazers would help confirm or negate the visions presented in the mirror as merely hallucinations… or something more.
Amy Bruni & Dana Matthews gaze into the psychomanteum | via Greg Newkirk
We won’t spoil the episode for you, except to say you’ll be shocked at the outcome.
Please do not steal or copy from this blog. If you do, be prepared to be stomped on by the Fates and karma for your bad character. I can be reached at :
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The Nekromenteion in Epiros, Greece | via Shutterstock
The psychomanteum as seen in Travel Channel’s Kindred Spirits | via Greg Newkirk
Haunted object expert Greg Newkirk peers into the haunted mirror | via Greg Newkirk
Amy Bruni & Dana Matthews gaze into the psychomanteum | via Greg Newkirk
