The plan for my trip was to spend more time in nature for my own exploration of nature connection and nature immersion without any program or course. To simply live outside as a normal, everyday kind of thing. And to see how to combine this nature immersion with still somewhat running my online business. This included figuring out where to keep my devices so they won't freeze, how long the power banks would last, where to have good reception or internet, and where to load all the power banks up again. While still connecting with the nature around me and not get caught up by technology.
I recently read two different articles that showcase how our thoughtless acts can have disastrous consequences for our wild animal brothers and sisters.
touching, viral bear video
One is about a bear mother and her cub, apparently fleeing from a drone filming them. The video went viral, because apparently it shows that perseverance gets you to your goal eventually. But all I could feel is the struggle of the little cub, and her fear. It did show the strength of that small animal that couldn’t have been more than a few months old. both physical and mental strength to handle such a situation.read more
This is the third and last part of a three part series about nature connected rituals for the end of the year. If you want to learn more about the closure of the past and start of the new year, you will find that in part 1 – closing nights and part 2 – winter solstice. There is also a german version of this post.
The rawly nights (Rauhnächte) have regained their popularity the last few years. Many people are searching for instructions or guidance on how to spend those nights, what they tell us, which rituals can be used. This post should offer you an attunement and some ideas on how to do that. I do however also want to offer the perspective, not to have to follow any instructions, but to really listen to your inner voice of what is important right now. For this, you need to be really quiet and calm, but it might be worth it.read more
This is the second part of a three part series about nature connected rituals for the end of the year. If you want to learn more about the closure of the past and start of the new year, you will find that in part 1 – closing nights and part 3 – rawly nights. There is also a german version of this post.
This year, the shortest day and longest night of the year is on the 21st of December. This doesn’t only mean that – according to the calendar – now the Winter starts. It means so much more.read more
This is the first part of a three part series about nature connected rituals for the end of the year. If you want to learn more about the closure of the past and start of the new year, you will find that in part 2 – winter solstice and part 3 – rawly nights. There is also a german version of this post.
On December 8th, the locking nights (Sperrnächte) started. They are the lesser known harbingers of the longest night of the year and the following rawly nights (Rauhnächte). But where does this tradition come from? And what do we actually do in that time?read more
Last week I was embarking on a new journey full of challenges and new experiences.
I was offered to join a small group of people to go on a 3 day, 3 night adventure with the canoe into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. It was organized and facilitated by the Teaching Drum Outdoor School, so the main goal was a full immersion into the land and to learn and experience to use simple (some would say primitive) tools and techniques to help to get really connected with the natural world around you.
we are starting…
When we started, my feelings were a mix of excitement, curiosity and fear, which is a mix I know all to well, since most of my adventures start off like that. The only difference might be the intensity of one feeling over another.read more
I do like the motto of the Stark family in the Game of Thrones books, and I do like winter, but the season have been in transformation for some time now. This year, winter seems to be especially undecided. At christmas it had +15°C, only a few days later it was below 0 and looked like this:
Only a week after that, it was sunny and warm again.
I read a while back in a book called “The Vanishing Face of Gaia” (by James Lovelock) that the climate change will result in extremes. I guess that means that not only are spring and fall cut short, but also during the seasons the temperature changes rapidly and unpredictably in any direction. No adaptation periods. I can only guess, but this can’t be good for neither plants, animals or any other living creature. Well, we’ll see what’s to come when it’s here… What did you notice about the weather and climate in your area?read more
I already started three vegetable beds last year, and extended my garden to house another four. I was planning on planting tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, peas, beans, carrots and a mixture of herbs. At the beginning of the year, my enthusiasm and motivation was great, but it diminished over time… mostly due to a very well known garden-pet: the slug!
Since the garden is in a rather musty and wet area there were huge amounts of slugs! They left my tiny and fragile tomato plants mostly alone – I guess that is due to the fact that they have a special odor, but everything else was gorged down in almost lightning speed (especially for a slug). My equally tiny and fragile cucumber and zucchini and pepper plants seem to be the most delicious thing the slugs had seen.
My frustration with these creatures grew by the minute. I was researching all kinds of ways to get rid of them either without killing them or at least without being too cruel about it. Nothing seemed to work – except just picking them off one by one… And that isn’t less cruel if you kill them afterwards and also far too much work to do on a regular basis. Also it didn’t keep my fragile non-tomato-plants alive anyways.
I read about creating all kinds of rough surfaces that they supposedly do not want to cross, and odorous plants that they do not like… they didn’t care at all about the surface, they only disliked lavender and rosemary, but loved loved loved thyme (the day after planting, I found about 15 or more slugs on the one plant), and even though they surely disliked the lavender and rosemary, that didn’t keep them from eating the delicious plants right next to them. I would have liked to go the permaculture-way and get a runner duck, but what would I have done with it as soon as the slugs were gone??
But after spending a lot of time, thoughts and observations, the tide somehow turned. I became more and more fascinated by these creatures! There were so many different kinds in my garden that were all slightly different in appearance and behaviour. There was the rather normal dark brown spanish slug (Arion vulgaris), but also differently coloured ones that were lighter and had yellowish stripes.
And the most fascinating one: the tiger slug (Limax maximus). Almost right away, I noticed something different about this slug. It wasn’t as inactive and slow as the others, but almost like a sprinter-slug. Only later I first heard and then read that they are the predators among their kind, because they not only eat plants, but also the eggs of other slugs, and sometimes even other slugs themselves!
A few weeks ago, when I first thought of writing an ode to my new pets, there were still quite a few of them around, but now, as I wanted to take some pictures, I almost couldn’t find any! It seems that they only like it here until June or so, because now it’s too dry for them and they apparently moved on to moistier pastures… – until next year
Is their name a coincidence? I can’t tell for the history of the word, but it is definitely true for my new strawberry-patch! A very dear friend contacted me and asked if I wanted 30 or so different kinds of strawberry plants. And who says no to such an offer? – not me!
So with the help of another dear friend, I prepared two beds, both 5×2 meters, then we layed out the black “mulching and anti-root” sheet and fixated it on the edges with soil. Usually, strawberries create offshoots around the mother-plant, where new independent plants will develop, which is usually a good thing. The sheet however keeps them from forming roots in the soil. This is necessary in my case, because I don’t want the different kinds of strawberries to mix.read more
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