Natures Balm.~ Grow Your Own~
15 May 2012 40 Comments
in Grow Your Own, Health and wellness, Hobbies, Inner Chatter, Mind Body & Spirit, Self Sufficiency Tags: Allotment. Self Sufficiency, Awaken, Awareness, Changes, Earth Mother, Gaia, Growing your own, Healing, Hobbies, Light, Nature, Peace, thoughts, transformation., world
Here is another update as to the progress ofGrow Your Own. pages here on Dreamwalker’s.
When we connect back into Nature she never disappoints us. As in my last post toShine or not to Shine I explained how I had been feeling a little under the weather..( Maybe all the rain had also damped my spirits) But we all need the rain in our lives at times to enable us to grow and mature, as we appreciate the Sunny Days and those gifts we often take for granted. Just like our plants which wouldn’t survive if they had no rainfall.. Just like at the opposite ends of the scale, too much Sun and they dry up and wither, too much rain and they can rot and die also,.
So a Balance is needed both within Nature and within our own lives..
So after feeling quite low.. I took myself off to the allotments, we hadn’t been for a few days as it had been constantly raining. The weeds had quickly overgrown again, they always seem to flourish what ever the weather. My Hubby set too and rotavated, extracting last years parsnips and swedes which had gone to seed.
The Peas had been set and one or two had popped up which
were pushed down again.. If the field mice get a whiff of them they can soon go down the row and eat most of them. The Onions I set a few weeks back you can just make out sprouting now to the right where the string is still across.
The Top picture shows the bean sticks which have been erected for the runner beans/kidney beans. The Bean Plants are still in the greenhouse and will be brought out to harden off about a week before they go into the ground at the end of May.. This is usually when last of the Frosts have gone, but nothing is certain in Gardening, especially as the weather seems to be taking its toll around the world with horrendous hail storms.
After a couple of hours weeding in the allotments, I was tired and a little sore, but my Spirit was truly rejuvenated.
Its amazing how Nature sooths us with her healing Balm
When we are of low spirit, a walk out in Natures Garden often is all we need to help heal our inner spirits.. I wonder just how many of us take Nature for granted..And how many in the modern day world understand that Nature is forever combating change, but she still goes on Growing.
As I looked at the Allotment, nothing much seems to be happening, but lots of things are going on under the surface, as the seeds are germinating waiting for that warmth to make them spring forth. Much is also happening beneath the surface of our Earth always its changing as Gaia too is Growing and reaching forever upwards in her vibration.
So too we humans search throughout our lives for that warmth, that love in which to feel nourished and nurtured . Without that love we too cannot grow in spirit.. So like all Gardens we need to weed out that which doesn’t serve us anymore and feed only that which we want to grow and flourish.
So Happy Gardening both in your own Back Yards and within your Minds..
For we all of us grow towards the ‘Light’.
© Sue Dreamwalker – 2012 All rights reserved.
Digging of Weeds ~Grow Your Own~
15 Apr 2012 51 Comments
in Grow Your Own, Health and wellness, Hobbies, Inner Chatter, Self Sufficiency Tags: Allotment. Self Sufficiency, Consciousness., Earth, Environment. Recipe, Garden, Growing your own, Health, Nature
Strawberries have always been my favourite fruit. there is nothing nicer than a bowl of fresh strawberries and some ice-cream, or fresh cream.
We didn’t get all that many Strawberries off our plants last year, I think we’ve neglected the strawberry beds for the last couple of years letting them spill over and get clogged up with weeds..
So my task this weekend when I went to see what needed doing in the allotment was to set too an
d start to weed them ..
I guess I didn’t realise what a task I had set myself, these beds run nearly the length of the width of the allotment which is 45 ft. And because the grass was so well rooted it was impossible not to disturb the plants,, So I decided to try and dig up and get as much twitch roots of grass out as I could, and then replant the new fresh shoots of plants back in.. I only managed about Half of the first square before my muscles protested. So Hubby took over,
I then replanted the strawberry runners which should produce, even though maybe not as many Strawberries for this first year. The other strawberry bed above it will get the same treatment later in the week… .
In the mean time while Hubby took over the heavy weeding I planted 3 rows of Onions and 2 rows of Shallots..
We often bottle the shallots in vinegar which is boiled and spiced as pickled onions. Which make a nice little gift to add to our bottled beetroot in any Christmas Hamper. And they are lovely used as roasted vegetables or in Hotpots or stews.
For anyone wanting a recipe of how to bottle Picked Onions .. here’s the recipe I use..
Pickled Onion Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 lb (1.4 kg) pickling onions or shallots
- 1 lb (450 g) salt
- 2½ pints (1.4 litres) water
- Approx 1 pint (570 ml) Spiced Vinegar (See recipe for Quick Spiced Vinegar)
Method:
- Make a brine by boiling the water and salt together in a pan until all the salt has dissolved. Leave until quite cold before using.
- Peel the onions and soak in the brine for 24 hours, using a plate or something similar to keep the onions below the surface of the brine.
- Rinse well.
- Pack into clean, sterilized jars and cover with cold spiced vinegar.
- Cover and label with contents and date.
Note: Leave for a couple of months before using. If you want a sweeter pickled onion, add a teaspoon of sugar to each jar of onions.
Quick Spiced Vinegar Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 in (50mm) stick of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 pints (1.1 litres) vinegar
Method:
- Place the vinegar and the spices (tied in a muslin bag) in a heatproof basin and stand the basin over a saucepan of water.
- Cover the basin with a plate or the flavour will be lost.
- Bring the water in the pan to the boil and then remove it from the heat.
- Set aside for 2 – 3 hours to allow the spices to steep in the warm vinegar.
- Strain the vinegar and cool.
I hope you enjoyed the day with me in the Allotment?~ Sunday I think is a day of REST 
.. ~Sue Dreamwalker
Seeds~Communities and Co-Creation~
10 Apr 2012 49 Comments
in Earth Changes, Grow Your Own, Health and wellness, Hobbies, Inner Chatter, Mind Body & Spirit, Native Americans, Proverbs and Quotes. Tags: Changes, Community, Consciousness. Eco Village, Findhorn Foundation, Gaia, Garden, GM Crops, Heart, Planet Earth, Planting, Quotes, Seeds, Vegetables
Each year we, the Dreamwalker Household plant our Allotment with a selection of Vegetables. On the right you see the beginnings of Life. On Sunday I planted Sweet-corn, Runner Beans, Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Sprouts, and Broccoli etc. A higgledy mess at the moment in our Green house.
I am going to open up a Fresh Page called GROWING YOUR OWN. Where I hope to show the progress through out this year of our Vegetable patch in the Allotments..
Allotments are very popular here, with people who want to grow their own crops, and for those of you who have grown your own, you understand why.They taste as vegetables should taste, and you know that they haven’t been covered in herbicides. Where I live the allotments are only a few minutes walk away, The land was donated by the Duke of Portland who designated it as Freehold for the use of Allotments Gardens for the common man a couple of generations ago now.
Why am I starting a Page about Vegetable growing? We as a family have grown our own for a number of years since our children were small, and love our fresh vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Gooseberries and lots of Blackberries.. I Feel now as we are heading into our Earth Changes at speed, its important for others to start and understand how fragile our economy is, and how we can soon get caught out when things start to crumble..
We only need but see how people panic buy when the shops close for a couple of days, and while I do not wish this post to sound negative, We have all of us got to open up our eyes more to what is taking place around this world, as the huge corporations take over crippling our rights to grow our own Food. As they( genetically modify , part 1) (for part 2 & 3 click links 2 and Links 3 of this story of GM Products, you will be amazed and concerned at the findings by scientists as animals die, Cancers are detected and Allergies occur as authorities condone and endorse these products where testing has been proven to be inadequate in Soya Modified crops. )
For those who have heard of Findhorn Foundation in Scotland you can see how from one persons Vision a whole community and way of life was born, around sustaining themselves and eco living. It now has one of the lowest ecological footprints in the developed world and it has also gained United Nations recognition, also seeding other communities around the world as a founder member of the Global Eco-village Network.
The reason I want you to explore Findhorn is that it is also a centre for Holistic Learning, which each year attracts Students and Seekers from around our World.~I need you to start and think again outside your boxes, As we go through our Earth changes there will come a time when our electronic systems will be of little use.. and for those who may laugh and scoff, while I wouldn’t want to have the last laugh, I would want to think I was in some way prepared!.. You need to start and rely upon your intuition more as we open up our Hearts Centres we will see communities needing to pull together once more.. We have only just begun to see the changes taking place.. As our Weather patterns alter and our Earth starts to shake us up to some truths..
The media are not informing us of the consequences of the Suns solar flares, or the probable volcanic eruptions which are starting now to accelerate at an alarming rate around our world. Nor are they telling us of the Military manoeuvres in the Middle East.. But again I ask you to look outside your boxes and inform yourselves, Do not ever take my word on any thing.. Question and seek your own answers..
This post while I want it to remain as positive as it can be, I also think its time now to Wake up to the many destructive forces taking place around our world.. Which many have their eyes closed to.
I remember only in March 2010 when the Iceland volcano (Eyjafjallajökull) erupted spewing larva and ash into the air how it grounded planes.. It wasn’t long before the Fresh Vegetables and Fruits dried up in our Supermarkets as no imports were getting in from abroad via plane.. The knock on effects do not take long to overspill to the consumer who as we have only just seen here in the UK react in mad panic when told there is going to be a shortage as we have just witnessed with the Mad dash to fill up our Cars with Petrol, which all stemmed from an official government rumour.
So as I am always asking you to open your hearts and give of yourselves, as I ask you to promote positivity and kindness which brings our communities together..I am also asking you to start and think about our modern day resources and how you would perhaps cope if suddenly you didn’t have them at your finger tips?
Getting in touch with Nature, just planting a few flower seeds is a start.. We have to start and look at the teachings of our Native American Indian Brothers once again as we connect back to Mother Earth helping her and ourselves to heal..
So I will leave you with this quote..
Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way – that is, ~ ~ ~ ~
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
© Sue Dreamwalker – 2012 All rights reserved.
Wolf ~Pastels ~Power Animals.
25 Nov 2011 61 Comments
in Hobbies, Inner Chatter, Native Americans, Uncategorized Tags: Native American Indians, Pastel Drawings. Hobbies, Wolf
As you can see my pastel box has been out again. And this week I drew this Wolf..
Wolves have always fascinated me and it saddens me that they get such bad press.
In Europe the wolf can still be found in the mountainous regions of the Pyrenees, the Alps, Poland, Russia, and Scandinavia The Wolf was virtually wiped out in Western Europe by the end of the 19th Century and like its American brother it avoids Man. And I can’t say I blame him..
Recently there has been a movement to reintroduce the wolf to remote areas of Scotland and England, although there is still a lot of protests by Farmers.
I have had one or two images of the Wolf recently drop into my meditations.. so I have been reading up on its attributes as a Power Animal.. For when Wolf appears he/she has a message for me..
Click Here for some Attributes. If Wolf is your Power Animal
There are some wonderful Legends and Traditions associated with the Wolf.. The Shoshone believed that after death the human spirit went to the land of Coyote who along with wolf created the world. Wolf guarded the path walked by the dead. Wolf would awaken and wash the human soul in the river, thereby making it sacred, and then the newly cleansed spirit gained entry into the promised land.. Elsewhere in North western America Wolf was linked with Raven, especially those tribes who credited Raven with the origin of the Universe. So wolf is inextricably bound with the creation story.
The Wolf as a teacher was so integral an idea to the Native Americans that in sign language which was used across the Plains, and the Mississippi Valley which spread into the Rockies- The Hand position for Medicine( power) was nearly identical to that of the sign for Wolf.
The Plains Tribes invested much in the wisdom of the Wolf. The Pawnee were one of the most feared tribes upon the plains and the sign for Pawnee was also ‘Wolf.’
The Lakota based much of the male society on the wolf, just as the female society was constructed on the model of the Buffalo.
The holy-man with wolf medicine would lead the men in a wolf-like howl prior to battle, for it was thought this would instill in them the wolf’s fighting spirit .
Wolves love to howl, they do this for several reasons, to contact each other, to announce their presence and boundaries of their territory, and for the sheer joy of doing so..
Wolf ‘Song’ has often been equated with Whale Song as maintaining the history of the Universe..
To me Wolves are not savage but family oriented, who live, work, hunt and play in a spirit of co-operation…
We could all learn much from the Wolf..
I hope you enjoyed my own Howl tonight…
Horsing Around My Village
21 Oct 2011 48 Comments
in Hobbies, Inner Chatter, Travel Tags: Hobbies, Horse, Pastel Drawings. Me., Stoney Middleton. Eyam
Another Pastel Drawing of mine.. along with some History of where I grew up .
The Horse to me has always held a fascination..As a child I would pester my Dad until he relented to let me have riding lessons.. Living out in the country in a small village in the Derbyshire Dales all my friends either lived on farms or had access to horses.. But being the eldest daughter of Five siblings my Fathers wages as a Quarry Face worker in the Limestone Quarry in the Valley of our Village Stoney Middleton meant that he had to dig deep into his pockets to allow me that luxury.. Needless to say my riding-lesson days were numbered, so I used to tag along with my friends and walk and run for miles alongside them as they rode and would jump for joy when at last I was allowed to ride for 10 minutes or so..
My fascination for horses I think for me began before my life on Earth started for I am sure I held a memory of riding long ago.. It wasn’t until later that my interest developed in Native American Indians and through past life memory recall I was able to recall living among these wonderful Tribes.
While I was growing up as a young girl I would help in the Village to create their Well Dressings A well dressing is a celebration of the life giving waters of fresh wells. And in the Derbyshire Peak District many villages create well dressings.. This is done by filling a wooden frame with clay, in the case of Stoney Middleton the clay is soaked in the Brooke which runs through the Village which once upon a time ran a small water wheel to the Mill which was the Boot Factory which is one of the oldest buildings in the village which began in the late 18th Century and by 1835 there were four factories in Stoney Middleton .. Lennon’s Factory still makes Steel capped Work-Boots and Hiking Boots today. In fact when my Dad first left school aged 14 this was his very first place of work.
After the clay was soaked petals from flowers from villages gardens and fields were pressed one by one to overlap by hand into the clay to make pictures.. As a child we were allowed only to do the borders not the main picture We would gather in the yard of the local Pub the Moon Inn… Where once upon at time it was said that a Murder took place of a Pedlar who had been to the next Village of EYAM which was famous as the Plague Village in 1665 after a Taylor took in some fabric delivered from London this fabric contain Fleas which spread the Plague.. The Village of Eyam shut itself off from the outside world and Whole families were wiped out.. a List of the Victims can be found here a website that tells the story of the Plague..
Thousands of petals and seeds were used to make this Well Dressing.. more pictures and information can be found on my links in red.
Well Dressing week was always good fun.. There would be a Village Tug of war.. and fancy dress and in the old Days there would be the Village Beauty Queen.. and I also remember taking part in the May-Pole Dancing too..
At Christmas time as I child I would be part of the Choir in my Church St Martins,
Later I went to Sunday School at the Local Wesleyan Reform Church where I went until I was 15yrs old.
At 15 I started Work and I left my childhood Horsing around Days and started upon my Adult Adventures.. 
I hope you enjoyed your Trip around the Village I grew up in..
Here is Me.. Age 5.. 
Have a Great Weekend all of you.. Sue Dreamwalker
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