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Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Monday, October 20, 2014

My Autumn (photo blog)

 
Those glorious Mums.
 
Pyewacket has adopted the Old Barn roof.


Basil joins Pyewacket.  It's a Kitty-Fest.



 
The Garden Path, covered with maple leaves.
 
 
 
 
 
 Autumn Blooms


The Primroses (this is a flower from my childhood).
 

A yellow Lily, one final burst of energy before autumn's end.


Rose bushes, in the front yard garden, bursting with blossoms, still laden with unopened buds.

Pumpkins appearing in unusual places...I love this time of year.

 

Afternoon sunbeams.

Garden "Creatures"




 
Have you Hugged-A-Witch today??

 

Thursday, August 28, 2014

A Hell-Of-A-Week...or...There Are Fish in Our Ditch

It's been a Hell-Of-A-Week...

Joe just got his stitches removed yesterday, and was given a little rubber ball and a wad of silly putty to be used for 'therapy', to get his gripping strength back in shape before he goes back to work and hits 10 hour days with a  welding gun in his hand (ow).  The purple writing is all courtesy of the Doctor, who very carefully marked all three fingers to be done, then drew arrows on the palm at what appears to be the area for incision, and then adds-- with a flair-- his initials at the bottom of it all.  Ta-da!!!



This is Joe's-Hand, the day of the surgery, stitches & all. 

Night before last I was hit, unexpectedly and very rudely I might add, with a terrific bout of "Internal Issues".  Suffice it to say that I was rolling on the floor at one point, while Joe-- my loving and ever thoughtful and caring husband-- kept asking me, "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital, honey?"  At that point, honestly, I could not have gotten up to get to a hospital on my own steam-- I actually needed help just getting to the bathroom and back.

It progressed through the night to a point that was actually alarming, so much so, that I wound up making an impromptu ER visit the next morning.

"What do you think could've brought this on?", I was asked by the Medical People. (Actually, for the several hundred to a thousand dollars that this ER visit will probably cost, I was sort of hoping that they could tell me.)

Let's see...the possibilities could be:

1)  that narley ice-cream cone that I ate at McDonald's the day before-- it Didn't-Look-Right; I almost handed it back.  I even mentioned this fact to my daughter, who was with me.  I jokingly said, "I might regret eating this." (I'm psychic, remember, she says with a wink-- so why don't I listen to myself?)

2)  St. John's Wort-- which I just started re-taking 2 days before the onslaught of "Internal Issues".  We actually googled this and there is a syndrome, called Serotonin Syndrome, which is linked to taking this herb in combination with other medications, or taking too much at one time (she says guiltily, the extra 3 pills glaring at her from the dark recesses of her memory).  And I have to say, though I'm not a Doctor, that my symptoms and this syndrome were right on cue.  I have thrown the bottle away, and from now on, I will now be an advocate for tightening up access to "Herbal Remedies"-- Hey, peoples, these 'herbs' are drugs, they may be 'natural', but they're still chemicals that need to be handled with caution!!

3)  For months I've been bothered with severe pain in my lower left abdomen, even had a Cat Scan done, which revealed "nothing".  My body, and the sharp shooting pain, has kept telling me There's-Something-Wrong-Here, but the highly modern and technological cat scan says that everything is "OK".  Everything is not okay, believe me, technology or not, you know when something is wrong with your body.  This is where the severe pain stemmed from, and it shot straight across my lower tummy, laughing at me all the way.

Okay, so the Medical People get this all down.  Doctor comes back in and wants to do another Cat Scan, at $4000.00 a pop, no less.  I had already explained that this was recently done, and I had my own copy, and he could look it up and view it since it was done at this facility.  (Yes, I declined.)

Then I said, "This hospital is already suing us for a back bill."

Holy crap.  They had me up and out of there faster than you can say "witch-on-a-broom".

"Okay, we'll just treat the symptoms." Doctor says, slightly red-faced and rushed.

Yes, I felt better when I left-- they had rehydrated me, given me a pain killer, and some anti-inflammatory medication.  But remember, oh--I didn't tell you, colon cancer runs in my family, but, oh well.  What the hell-- get her outa' here. (This is the energy I felt.)

I won't name this facility, but you know where we live, so you can google it.  And from now on, I think we'll listen to the advice we've been given by oodles & oodles of people-- Bypass this facility and go into Omaha for medical treatment.

There is a humorous turn about this story-- You know the little paper armbands with your name & DOB on it, the one they use to identify you, and the one they use to scan every single item they use or bring you in order to charge you for it?  Mine didn't work.

Nurse Gena, who was a sweetheart by the way, tries to scan the meds she's giving me.  "Hmmm, this is odd.", she says. She calls over the phone, "Bring me another scanner, this one isn't working." 

In minutes, a new scanner is delivered to the room.  It doesn't work.  "Hmmm, this is really odd.", Nurse Gena says again.  Over the phone once more, "Can you print me off another wrist band, this one isn't working."

Within minutes, I have another wrist band on my other arm.

The scanners don't work on this one either.  "Now this is really, really *Weird*!", Nurse Gena says with emphasis.  She laughs, and looking down at me she says, "You must be a ghost!"

I look up at her, laughing, and say, "It must be Witchcraft!"

She hasn't got a clue.


My Witchy Room

Spells & Stuff...I love receiving emails and messages from people who are interested in Witchcraft and the whole Pagan scene.  But I have to tell you, I cringe when I start an email that says, "I need your help..."  And it goes on for several paragraphs, in-depth, about their personal issues.  They want me to come up with some sort of magickal spell, on the spur of the moment, and apparently with no compensation for time spent working on the project. 

I tell you peoples, if money were no issue, and I had all the time in the world to sit around and write up spells for people, I would be in seventh heaven.  But that is not the case.  Money is tight here, just as it is for many families, and if I'm going to spend time researching your particular situation, hovering over spell books, typing out all the info, and keeping in touch if you have Any-Other-Questions, I'm going to have to be paid for my effort.

Please note-- there are oodles of Free-Spells at my blog, just follow the links; and also, you can search my blog, Magickal Connections, for blog posts on a variety of magickal subjects.  You could also buy my books-- Ahem!

If  none of the above suit you, and you still want me to help you put together a spell tailored just for you and your specific issues, I offer Spell Consultations at my website.  (No, they're not free.)

I know this is my Personal-Blog-Spot-For-Personal-Stuff, but I've just been inundated with requests; and I may wind up posting this section of this blog at my Other Blog and elsewhere.  (In the couple days I've been sick, my email has been deluged with 600 pieces of correspondence coming through for all kinds of things, including requests like this-- this is why I usually manage my email Every Day to keep up with it.)


Our Backyard Garden
 
I'm going to wind up this blog post with a weather report, because we can all relate to the weather.

It's rainy here, we've gotten so much rain that I looked out the bedroom window this morning to see that the ditch was flooded to the point it was ready to run over into the road.  I love rain.  Love it, love it, love it.  But once in a while, it's true, you can have too much of a good thing.  It can stop now, preferably before we get water in the basement.

The photo above is Our Backyard Garden, as the caption says, complete with a cool spider web and sun rays-- you can almost hear the Angel's Choir.  You'll find fairies in this garden, though, and maybe a gnome or two.  :)


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Men versus Dandelions

Every man I've ever known has glowered at the dandelions in spring.  Every one.  They reach for their bottle of poison, going after these beautiful plants like they were going after an enemy, extermination on their mind.  Dandelions are one of my favorite plants, and as versatile as they are, I'll never understand why they're considered a weed:  the leaves are edible, akin to spinach (but the earlier you gather them, the better, they get bitter as the season wears on); you can make wine from this plant; and they are a good medicinal plant.

"While many people think of the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) as a pesky weed, it's chock full of vitamins A, B, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. Dandelion leaves are used to add flavor to salads, sandwiches, and teas. The roots are used in some coffee substitutes, and the flowers are used to make wines.

In the past, dandelion roots and leaves were used to treat liver problems. Native Americans also boiled dandelion in water and took it to treat kidney disease, swelling, skin problems, heartburn, and upset stomach. In traditional Chinese medicine, dandelion has been used to treat stomach problems, appendicitis, and breast problems, such as inflammation or lack of milk flow. In Europe, it was used in remedies for fever, boils, eye problems, diabetes, and diarrhea.

So far, there have not been any good quality scientific studies on dandelion. Today, the roots are mainly used to stimulate the appetite, and for liver and gallbladder problems. Dandelion leaves are used as a diuretic to help the body get rid of too much fluid..."

This photo was proudly taken yesterday, in our backyard.  My husband Joe picked up his bottle of herbicide, ready to do battle with our crop of dandelions, but it wouldn't work.  The sprayer thingy wouldn't spray...I say it's a sign. :)


The medicinal info for this post was taken from the following site, and there's lots more reading there if you have the time and inclination:

https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dandelion



Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Photo Blog: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jog


This is one of the walking trails at Fremont Lakes-- the morning I took this, it was just Joe and me, the hot sun, Sophie (the dog), and my camera.  Joe couldn't walk the trail (broken foot), but was sitting on the dock fishing-- heavy metal music blaring away.  Even though it was still pretty early morning, the temperature was in the 90s, humidity in the 80s, and the only thing keeping me from a hard sweat was the shade that you see on the trail.  After I rounded a bend, the shade was gone, and I said to myself, forget this crap (truth is, I don't like to sweat, and I don't appreciate the hot sun on my little white girl skin).


Our apple trees are loaded, and I mean *Loaded*.  I've never seen this many apples on the trees before.  The limbs are hanging to the ground, moaning with the weight.  The girls love to take a blanket out and spread it beneath the canopy.  They feel like they're all cloistered in the middle of a woods, hidden in the leaves and the cool shady spots; and the dog and the cats come to them there, slinking onto the blanket, gathering together. 




As I look at this picture, I'm thinking, "It's all about getting all your ducks in a row."...that's it.  This isn't what I was thinking about the day I shot this photo; I was simply concentrating on getting the lineup in focus, but now, this makes sense.  As a pagan, an occultist, a spiritual feminist, I'm always looking for divine messages in the natural mundane things of the world.  That's what this is about, for Joe and me, with issues and responsibilities coming up-- "Make sure you've got all your ducks in a row."


The message here?...Even out of something rotten, good things will grow.

And that's the truth.

Mundanely speaking, I know people who go mushroom hunting, but I'm not among them.  I couldn't identify a poisonous mushroom from an edible mushroom if my life depended on it...and yes, that pun was intended.  But I think they're pretty.


There's cactus scattered all over the grassy areas along the walking trails at the lakes.  Our neighbor was surprised by this, stating that he thought cactus only grows like this out in the Sandhills.  And the moral of this story?...with enough stubborness, strength, and determination, you can plant yourself anywhere and thrive.
 
 
Thumper, oh ya...silly thing is so use to people that I was fairly close to it, and it could've cared less.  I see so many dogs out at the lakes with their owners, I'm surprised this rabbit wasn't a little more cautious than it was.  Lessons? Ummm-- finding a balance between predator and prey; a shaky truce; learning to trust after being taken for a ride; throwing caution to the wind...but the most important lesson-- be still and listen.
 
 
Hibiscus, blossoming in one of our flower beds this year.  Beautiful, isn't it.  I save the dried blossoms to use in mojo bags, oils, spell crafting, and the like-- for love and passion.  Did you know that in some parts of the Orient it's illegal to serve women hibiscus tea because it's believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac.  I have yet to personally test this theory.  I think next year I'm going to transplant the hibiscus to the flower bed in the front yard-- more sun.

This is what's been blooming at our house...








My husband loves the morning glories that grow up and around the back-porch deck.  He told me that as a child he walked to a babysitter's house after school.  He said that the house was easy for him to find because it had morning glories growing in the front yard, and this is what he watched for.  He told me that when he saw these flowers, he knew he was home.

 


(A photo taken the beginning of the summer season)

 To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
 Home again, home again, dancing a jig;
 To market, to market, to buy a fat hog;
 Home again, home again, jiggety-jog;
 To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
 Home again, home again, market is done.
 
~ Mother Goose