Are we there yet? (Spring edition)

Daffodowndilly

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead."

by A.A. Milne

Holey Stones

This post has been a long time coming. I've had it in my head to do a post over holey stones since last summer (and silly me, I kept putting it off).

Last summer, I was finding holey stones left and right. I found one holey stone when I was in high school, and though I looked and looked, I never found another. Finally, last year I found another. And another. And another. I think I have around 20 or so now, strewn about my house and car.

Holey stones, also known as men-an-tol, an-cloc consanta (drilled stones), crick stones, fairy stones, hag stones, and Odin stones, are stones that naturally have a hole in them, from water and dirt or sand and the passage of time. They are most easily found near water (streams, lakes, or the sea) with rocky shores, or in places that have used creek rocks as landscaping (I've found at least three holey pebbles at the park). Like other magical stones and crystals, holey stones should be cleansed and charged in the usual way (soaking in salt water, then charging in moonlight is what I do.)

I mostly use my holey stones for their protective properties. One (my first ever holey stone, actually) hangs from my rear view mirror in my car. I've used one (or maybe more?) in a charm for protecting my home. One goes to bed with Camden every night to protect him from nightmares, and several watch over me as I sleep at night, also.

These stones also have healing properties. For healing purposes, one should carry the stone with them, or wear it. Last summer I was having issues with kidney stones, so I wore one of my holey stones on a string tied around my neck. One can also run a bath, place the stone in the bath, then get in and soak. (Be sure to either use this holey stone strictly for healing purposes, or cleanse it before using for another purpose.)

Finally, holey stones also aide with psychic sight. If at the sea shore, if one looks through the hole, one will see the sea spirits playing on the tide. Or, if one looks through the hole in the light of the full moon, one will see the land of the fae, or one might see spirits or visions.

Plants

Last spring I wrote a lot about starting a garden. And then I didn't do it. The garden plots are half way across town and are almost not worth the effort. If my landlord would let me plant a garden right there in the yard, you can bet I would be all over that. But I don't think he would appreciate me digging up all his grass and whatnot. Plus, there are tons of rabbits living by my house.

The other day I was talking to a friend about the garden plots and she thought it was a great idea. So we're going to plant a garden (for realsies this time). Even if she decides to back out or whatever, I think I will still go for it. Because it may be half way across town. It may use more gas to get from my apartment to the garden than it does to get from my apartment to the grocery store. But there's something fulfilling about growing one's own food.

My family had a garden almost every year as I was growing up. I've been out of my parents' house for almost four years now, but when I go to visit in the summer, the first thing I look for when I get there is to see how the garden looks (and if there are any zucchini ready to pick!). It is one of the things I miss most about living at my parents' home. Planting, harvesting, enjoying the vegetables. One of the reasons I look forward to owning my own home (and land) someday is that I'll be able to have a garden. (Well, several gardens: vegetable, herb, flower, etc.)

As I sit here, pondering gardens... I wonder about my predilection for wooded areas. Maybe it comes not from the intrinsic naturalness of the place, but instead because I am surrounded by the cycle of plant life-seedlings bursting forth, growing and thriving plants, and those that are returning to the earth to provide nourishment to the next generation. Odd, that that should just now occur to me. Do plants have spirits? Can an oak tree spirit be a guide? Witches (and non-witches) are guided by wolves and panthers and turtles and mice and dragons all the time. Can the spirits of plants help guide us through life as well?

Thoughts to ponder on this cold winter's night (one of the last, supposed to be 57 next week!).

Snow Ice Cream

With all that extra blizzard-snow just laying around, I thought Camden and I would do something with it... Make ice cream!! I hadn't done this since I was a kid, and it was lots of fun.



Get your snow! About 4 or 5 cups, unpacked. Scoop it up now then store it in your freezer until it's time to add to the mix.



One cup milk! Real milk or fake milk, it seems to work just fine.



1/2 teaspoon vanilla



1/2 cup sugar



Stir until the sugar has dissolved into the milk



Add snow to the milk/sugar/vanilla.



Stir! Quick, before it all melts!



We added some chocolate to ours, about 1.4 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup. It looks like malt-o-meal and has an odd texture... But it's still yummy!

Happy Imbolc!