spiritual land stewardship

Restoule, Ontario

For those of us magical practitioners and Pagans that work closely with the land and nature allies, we are likely to also be passionate about conversation and environmental issues. We may be members of environmental groups, grow some of our own food, buy local and organic, and take other steps to tread lightly as possible; others may feel that they are obliged to protect certain ecologically sensitive and sacred areas through more spiritual means.

Over the last little while I have been happy to note that there are others in my region who act as spiritual land stewards or are interested in doing so. With that in mind, I thought that I would share some resources that I have found very helpful, as well as a few posts that I have done in the past that might give folks some ideas.

Some of these resources are specific to my region, while some are for any region. I also think that any of the resources of a spiritual nature could be adaptable to just about any faith or magical practice.

Books

Animal Tracks of Ontario by Ian Sheldon
Art of Conversation With the Genius Loci by Barry Patterson {I don't agree with all of this book, but I think that it is still worth a read}
At Home in Nature: Modern Homesteading and Spiritual Practice in America by Rebecca Kneale Gould
Birds by Roger Tory Peterson 
Discovering Rock Art in Ontario's Provincial Parks by Thor Conway 
Mammals of Ontario by Tamara Eder
Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada by George Barron
Native Trees of Canada
Old Man's Garden by Annora Brown
Ontario Weeds: Descriptions, Illustrations and Keys to Their Identification
Ontario Wildflowers: 101 Wayside Flowers by Linda Kershaw
The Book of Swamp and Bog by John Eastman
The Forest Trees of Ontario by J.H. White
The Woodland Way: A Permaculture Approach to Woodland Management

Articles

A Well-Intentioned Celt’s Guide to Non-Celtic Bioregions by Raven nic Rhóisín and Kathryn Price NicDhàna
Caring for the Land by John Scull
Cornerstones of Wisdom: Poetry, Permanence and Wildness in Gaelic Polytheism by Treasa Ní Chonchobhair
Green Witchcraft and the Virid Road by Angelina
Grow-It-Yourself by Yan Roberts
 How to Create a Genius Loci Profile by Sarah Lawless
Land Guardianship by Sarah Lawless
 

 Websites

Ancient Forest Exploration and Research
Andy's Northern Ontario Wildflowers
Bealtaine Permaculture Cottage
Bioregional Animism
Greater Nipissing Stewardship Council
Greening Nipissing
Native Plant Database
Nipissing Environmental Watch
Nipissing Naturalists Club
North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority 
Northern Ontario Plant Database
Old Farmer's Almanac
Ontario Ferns
Ontario Grasses
Ontario Trees and Shrubs
Ontario Wildflowers
Ontario's Species at Risk
Ontario Visible Heritage Project
Plants for a Future
Primitive Ways
The Plant Encyclopedia
Transition Towns North Bay

Previous Posts

A Wee Funeral
Gifts for Birds

No Man's Land: Keeping a Piece Wild
Some Thoughts on Offerings
Wildcrafting Etiquette

If you know of any resources that are not on here, please feel free to share them in the comment section. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel

táin bó cúailnge etsy treasury

I created an Etsy treasury with a Táin Bó Cúailnge {Cattle Raid of Cooley} theme. You can see more about An Táin here and read the epic tale here.

Sláinte!

Laurel 

luverly of the week: a murder of crows d.i.y garland from jack-in-the-green

A Murder of Crows D.I.Y Garland from Jack-in-the-Green

This is an adorable find from Jack-in-the-Green {hello Hallowe'en decorating!} :D 

chippie

Just posting some photos of my chipmunk friend who visited this morning. Isn't s/he cute? :D

Sláinte!

Laurel

P.S.

I will be posting a garden update and about my Lughnasadh soon.

midsummer garden

Hi there folks!

This is my "obligatory" garden update post, which is a tad image heavy so I hope it doesn't take too long to load.

All the sod has finally {!!!} been dug up...

{sod pile}

and everything that needs to be planted is pretty much been planted. I say pretty much because there are somethings that I have had to keep re-planting thanks to some dastardly pests eating the seedlings.

Trusty staples such as beans and sunflowers have been mowed over in an evening. They were not the only victims though! My peppers, watermelon and cukes as well as new perennials have been nommed to shit as well. It took me a few days to figure out who the culprits were and a few more days of frantic experimenting on how to take care of them. It turns out my arch-enemy the earwig has shown up. In droves.

After talking to some other local gardeners, apparently they are over-ran with these little nasties as well. One fellow gardener said that he hasn't seen so many before on his property, which he has been gardening on for 17 years. His peonies are just about done. So I guess I don't feel so bad now.

Anyhow, I have tried some earwig traps in the past, but it turns out that some olive oil and water in a shallow dish works wonders. I have laid out dozens of these traps and have been catching hundreds. I exaggerate not.

Some of the targeted plants now have a chance, and I will keep on starting seeds and laying traps and hope for the best. And I will have to find replacements for my poor aconite, Jacob's ladder, and mayapple.

It has not been all doom and gloom though. We have been getting a steady harvest of greens and herbs {another post about that to come}.

All of our greens and other shade-loving veggies such as radishes and peas are being grown on the balcony in containers. It is quite nice to have a home with a variety of growing conditions {our front is North-facing and the back looks to the South}.

In the back we have three veggie patches and we have some edibles being grown in containers.

{tomatoes: black krim, roma, tigerella, red plum cherry, and orange blossom}

{red and orange sweet bell peppers before they were pretty much destroyed by the earwigs}

{summer ball squash}

{acorn squash}

We are growing a variety of edibles in our backyard: squash {winter & summer}, pumpkins, corn, various pole and bush beans, nasturtiums {climbing and bush}, corn, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, tomatoes, peppers, cukes, watermelon, dill, cilantro, borage and sunflowers. There are also other different annuals being grown out back such as wild tobacco, datura, cosmos, poppies, scarlet runner, and sweetpeas.

{poppies}

{datura before opening}

{datura again}

{datura seed pods}

There are also three perennial beds in our backyard with different pretties in them.

{turkey tail on a log}

{moss, columbine, and sweet woodruff}

{a "rescued" wild rose coming back to life}

{mullein}

{daisy}

{comfrey}

{comfrey again}

{chives}

{feverfew}

{the foxgloves the day before they were blown over in a storm}

I am also quite smitten with the lane way in the back that I have shown before. Right behind is a gaggle of raspberry bushes and other pretties.

{bittersweet nightshade}

{foxtail grass, I believe}

We are still working on gussying the yard up, adding more plants and working on the front {lower} garden as well. Updates will come eventually.

In the meantime wish me luck! ;)

Sláinte!

Laurel

luverly of the week: stag amongst the pines by steve mclaren

{photo by Steve McLaren}

Luverly of the Week: Mourning Dove by Amyzzz1

{photo by Amyzzz1}

Gifts for Birds

{cross posted at the Unfettered Wood blog}

A couple of days ago I erected a birdie altar for some of my allies and set aside a part of it to represent the other feathered folk who visit us in our yard. Food and a clean source of water are always available to them, but I do get a little more ceremonious about it every once and a while.
American Robins eat berries, which of course can be difficult for them to find this time of year. I save most choke and pin cherries in our freezer after harvesting them {as you can see they are still frosty in the photo}. I have heard of people putting out grapes and other soft fruit for Robins too. Leaving out a big bird bath and keeping your yard a good environment for the creepy crawlies they eat are also good ways to make a welcoming environment for them. You can go to this website to see a list to get more ideas: Journey North: American Robins
Both Crows and Ravens are omnivores, so they will eat just about anything. They seem to really enjoy peanuts still in the shell so that is what I will often leave out for them. You can go to Crows.net & The Raven's Aviary to find out more about how you can make your outdoor space inviting to them.
If you are lucky like us and get all sorts of birds visiting you yard, then leaving out multiple feeders and piles of different seeds is a good idea. Some birds like to eat from the ground while other seem to prefer the feeders. Over the last little while I have gathered scraps of thread to leave out for the birds for their nests. Theresa Loe blogged a great idea on how to place the thread outdoors.

Sláinte!

Laurel