After a rainy night, I look out my east kitchen sink window and see the sun highlighting webs – woven silky spider webs. There are layers of webs between the porch and beyond the garden. I count 4 rows of big, sparkling webs. Each web is picture pretty – in fact stunning, when one realizes a very small creature made it. The dew is glistening on the silken threads, and each web is different – yet a bit the same. I stand with a cup of hot herbal tea in hand and study the webs. I want to take a picture of each one, but I know the camera will not do them justice. How does one capture the beauty of this surreal moment? The geometric patterns are fascinating, and I am enthralled by the “zipper” in a few of the webs. It is late summer and autumn is on my mind. The spiders know it too, spinning their webs, catching the silky threads on a branch and down to a grass blade and up again and back and forth. I know these fat spiders that live on the edge of my woods. I have run into them, literally, not seeing their web in front of me. At a certain angle of light, the web can be seen clearly and beautifully and then, with a change of light, it is hidden from human sight, unless an insect is snared in it or we happen to meet up with it unexpectedly. I am reminded of the following quote: A spiderweb is a thing you walk into which suddenly turns you into a karate master. –unknown The silken threads are all over me, and the spider retreated knowing the threat I perhaps represent, but my mind has not caught up with the reality. My arms flail every which direction trying to get the sticky web off me, to no avail. I am not that afraid of spiders, but I don’t want to feel a big fat one crawling over me. But again, if it did, I would probably just say “Hello, and I’m sorry for ruining your web” and then take a stick to help it off me and back into the bushes to make another web, another night. During the summer, I see spiders now and then, but this time of year, I see them every day – hanging out in their webs or on the edge waiting for their next meal. The webs are truly a work of art and I admire each and every one of them. Oh, the work and know-how or instinct it takes to make a web! The greatest artist and web-designer ever is indeed a spider. – Munia Khan To answer some of the questions going around in my “inquiring mind,” I researched and found these tidbits of information worth knowing: - Spiders are NOT insects, but they catch and eat insects – they are arachnids. - Spiders are the leading predators of insects. They keep the insect species in check which helps keep civilization alive. We should thank the spiders - not be terrified of them. - There are about 45,000 named species, & that could be as little as 10% of what’s really out there. - Grand-daddy long legs are not spiders. - About half of all spiders make webs, mainly females, to forage for prey. - Webs are spun of spider silk. The two universal uses of the silk thread are the drag line for descending quickly and for making an egg sac. They always have a thread behind them, wherever they go. A poem is a spider web Spun with words of wonder, Woven lace held in place By whispers made of thunder. - Charles Ghigna Last week, as I walked in my long lane, I stopped to admire the new blooms of the goldenrod. On the pretty yellow flower- I found a pretty yellow crab spider – she matched the flower perfectly in color. The crab spider catches her prey without a web. This is a different species of spider also known as flower spider. These spiders can camouflage to match the flower such as the goldenrod. The fascinating intricacies and miracles of nature – all from a spider.
On your next walk, I hope you will watch and come across the intricate silky and beautiful spider web. Note: It is September, and time to read the next chapter in your copy of Gatherings of the Good Earth. I hope you have been following along, reading month by month as we go through the year -- and journaling your own reflections and thoughts. Signed copies of the book are available at the shop (and make great gifts). Twila Resources: Rod Crawford of The Burke Museum Arachnid Collection and The Golden Nature Guide Series, Spiders and their Kin
1 Comment
 Summer is officially here - as if we needed reminders. We feel the heat and humidity, along with mosquitoes and chiggers biting. We are picking the fresh produce from the gardens and gathering flowers for the table and watching fireflies in the evening darkness. Yes, it is summer, a time when the living is supposed to be easy - a time for families going on vacation, kids out of school, and groups taking time out until fall to meet again. There is something to be said about "slow living" in the summer. We tend to move at a slower pace. Food is cooked outside on the grill now and the oven doesn't run as much. The emphasis is on cold food like melon, sandwiches, tomatoes and salads instead of the winter fare of hot soups and heavy casseroles. Many will argue we work just as hard in the summer, and for many that is true. Hopefully, weekends are for "slow living" when families come together and make memories. "Slow living" is definitely something I do, and I don't feel guilty on a hot and humid day when I stay inside with the coolness of the air conditioner and pick up a book to read or find a project to do. With my list of chores done for the day it is time to "play" with slow living - it is part of enjoying the fullness of the season at hand. My enjoyment of the season includes drying herbs, and my table and counters are full of herbs drying. The house smells quite "herby," which is delightful. My garden tea is made, and I enjoy a hot cup each morning to get the day started - it is a morning ritual (now available in the shop - has lavender and elderflower in it - yummy!). And with lunch I enjoy the fresh lemon balm/spearmint infusion (tea) over ice – this is my beverage of choice the rest of the day and evening. The garden has been flourishing and supplying lettuce, onion, garlic, chard and green beans as regulars on my plate. Now the tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini are ready to give of their bounty, as well as the blackberries turning color and elderberries setting on. I am humbled by what I am able to grow myself organically with the rewards of knowing where it came from. I hope to do so as long as I possibly can. I am reminded of Mary Oliver's poem, "The Summer Day.” Her writings resonate with me. I hope you can enjoy "slow living" this summer, and find purpose in the season from whatever you choose to do. Twila The Summer Day
Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver “How we spend our days is how we spend our life” -Anne Dillard
It seems cabin fever has been on everyone’s mind this past week. It is a very real thing. Longer periods of confinement can lead to being irritable and listless or feeling isolated. Boredom from being indoors for lengthy amounts of time can leave us un-motivated, unhappy and lethargic on these bone-chilling days of ice, cold and snow and wondering when it will end. There is a genuine syndrome linked to these days called S.A.D.: Seasonal Affective Disorder. When we sense it affecting us after a couple of days it is time to do something about it. Most of us don’t have the option of going someplace warm on a beach for the winter, and many of us stay inside a lot because of the ice and snow, so finding alternative things to do to take our mind off cabin fever is the best way to cope with it. Each day look for something different to do that changes the routine and gives us something to look forward to. Some days I will do nothing but curl up with a cozy blanket and read a good book, another day I might plan my summer garden by looking through the seed catalogs and making out an order for new things to plant, or treating myself to a mocha latte I make myself while staying inside, or working on a scrapbook. There are days I may need to call or email a close friend as a way of connecting. I strive to keep the cabin fever at bay and not letting it take too big a hold on my psyche. And yet, knowing it is part of the season we live in, I honor it by working with it the best I can. With the cold, ice and snow we have had to postpone three winter classes and cancel a few groups (for the first time in 5 years we’ve been open). Being in a class with others is a good way of connecting this time of year also. We are not alone in experiencing Cabin Fever. If you like gardening or want to know more about want to plant, there are a couple spots left in my Healing Garden class –planting in a pot or plot. If you have a big area or just a pot, you can grow some favorite plants and I prefer growing the plants that heal mind, body and spirit. It is an enjoyable class. (I’ll be sharing many tidbits of information). The class is now scheduled for the morning of March 16th. Laura’s class on Spiritual and Holistic Care of the Dying is good for caregivers as well as having directives and other considerations for ourselves someday. This will be an excellent class from someone who has learned Soul Midwifery in England. There are a couple spots left in this March 16 afternoon class. And another class I highly recommend is learning about a new way of eating called the “Keto Way,” which can reset the body and transform it from the inside out -- with a side benefit of losing weight. The benefits of this way of eating will surprise you in many ways. I am a believer in it, as many are. These are all good ways to beat cabin fever. I would love to know what you do to help with cabin fever this time of year. Please post ideas in the comments section below. And in the meantime, a reminder to read the February chapter in Gatherings from the Good Earth, my book which was published late last year. The 350- pg. book follows the months of the year and is available at the shop (signed- see website) or on Amazon. Make these cabin fever days your favorite days. Winter will soon be over. February Blessings, Twila CategoriesAuthorTwila Fairbanks is the author of Gatherings from the Good Earth: A month-to-month collection of musings, folklore, recipes and more. She has used and studied herbs for many years, and she uses the Wise Woman tradition to teach healing from the plants. Twila lives a simple life in the woods, close to nature. She is a “granny-woman” and Earth Mother. Her passions are many, including: country medicine-maker, gardener of herbs, flowers & organic veggies, wool worker with needle & hook, and dyer of wool and other natural fibers. She loves to share “words of wisdom” she’s gathered from many who walked before her, including her elders and teachers through the years.  It is a winter wonderland as I look into the woods surrounding my home. Birds have been fed this morning, and I survey the broken limbs and twigs here and there from the heavy wet snow. The snow looks like thick fluffy white icing as it sits on the branches, and now in the third day (as I write this) it is as beautiful as the first day. I don’t remember ever seeing this “fluffiness” last so long, except in Colorado at a high elevation where I once lived. I realize under the beauty of it all there is a dark side – the branches breaking from the weight of the wet snow for an extended period of time, as well as the refreezing of melting snow creating treacherous footing. In the country, storms are more serious than in town. Everything remains the same for a period of time. The sun has not shown for a few days, and with no melting and no breeze the branches are still heavy with the snow, and the slightest touch breaks the thinner branches. Keeping electricity on is always a big concern here in the country and when the lights begin to flicker it is a warning to grab the flashlights and candles and be prepared for nighttime outages. With winter weather, we who live in the country need to be flexible. In January, winter weather is expected but when it “packs a punch” we take a more serious look. Classes are usually canceled/postponed when it gets “dicey” out here. It happens so seldom that we barely give it a second thought – and it is something we don’t like to do unless we deem it absolutely necessary. And this week is proving it to be necessary. At this moment in time, the forecasters are saying we are caught between two storms. We will need to postpone a group and a second class this week and hunker down for the next blast of winter. We are reminded again that this is winter and a time for pulling in, to hibernate more, to take it easy. The pantry is well stocked and I will put a soup pot on to simmer, something I love doing on a winter day when I need to stay inside. But the beauty of the snow makes me linger longer on the front porch to gaze into the woods and take a snapshot of what I am seeing. A picture does not capture the crisp air I am breathing in, seeing a coyote saunter in the clearing close by and quickly disappear behind a cedar tree. What I see will be stored in my heart and mind as I savor the beauty of the day, knowing another day will come with a beauty all of its own. We closed the shop last Saturday and it looks like we will do so again this Saturday, as bitter cold accompanies the snow this time. It is January after all! It is time to savor the day and make a cup of hot brew – the delicious roasted chicory/dandelion & cacao"Herbal Coffee" root blend we make called mocha blend. With a little milk frothed in (with a stick blender), a little stevia and a dash of cinnamon it is warm and comforting to savor on a cold day. (It is a very popular item at the shop, available in bulk or gift package). The new year begins and the month is now half over as we contemplate goals and dreams for the new year just starting. I wish peace and kindness to all. Good Earth Blessings, Twila Twila Fairbanks is the author of Gatherings from the Good Earth: A month-to-month collection of musings, folklore, recipes and more. She has used and studied herbs for many years, and she uses the Wise Woman tradition to teach healing from the plants. Twila lives a simple life in the woods, close to nature. She is a “granny-woman” and Earth Mother. Her passions are many, including: country medicine-maker, gardener of herbs, flowers & organic veggies, wool worker with needle & hook, and dyer of wool and other natural fibers. She loves to share “words of wisdom” she’s gathered from many who walked before her, including her elders and teachers through the years.
|
About UsWe are a Mother-Daughter Team passionate about connecting people with Mother Earth, Ancestral wisdom, and other kindred spirits. Archives
June 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed