~*~philosopha~*~peregrinator~*~sacerdos~*~

Look, between the stones is a blade of grass;
And all the rites of the high Mysteries,
And the runes of all witcheries,
Are written upon it.

Doreen Valiente, "The Mysteries"

A Wiccan Version of the Five Principles of Reiki:

Just for today, I release myself from anger.

Just for today, I release myself from worry.

I give thanks for my many blessings.

I live well and cultivate my true will with grace and joy.

Blessed be my family, friends, and teachers.

Kodama (Tree Spirits), Hayao Miyazaki

Hunting Dog Rescue

While our cats endure me with good grace, I'm primarily a dog witch, and I'd like to plug a favorite local charity to anyone with room for a hound in their heart: Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland.

In the U.S. MidAtlantic region (and elsewhere, I'm sure), beagles, coonhounds, and labrador retrievers are often treated as disposable animals. The hounds in particular are frequently starved or abandoned if they won't hunt (and sometimes if they will hunt; older hounds have been dumped outside of shelters at night, complete with crate and award papers). Like other dog rescue organizations, BRSM relies entirely on a network of volunteer fosters from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Hounds in need of a loving permanent home range from feisty puppies to senior couch-potatoes, and due to the prevalence of hunting in the area, there's a constant influx of beagles who would benefit from good nutrition, decent vetting, and a loving touch. If you're looking for a furry companion, please consider opening your heart and home to one of Diana's own!

Restoring the Greenworld of the Chesapeake

If you live within a hundred miles of the Chesapeake Bay, or near one of its many tributaries in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, or West Virginia, chances are that water runoff from your roof, paved driveway, concrete sidewalk, or grass lawn ends up, at some point, in the Bay. You can help mitigate the effects of runoff from impervious surfaces and contribute to the Bay's overall health (through aiding water filtration and helping bolster native plant species) by adopting one or more of these practices:

Install a Rain Barrel

Capturing rainwater from one of your downspouts gives you a handy supply of gardening water, and also eases the wear and tear on your well pump or the strain on your municipal water supply.

Plant a Rain Garden

Is there a natural low spot in your yard that always seems to collect rainwater? Do you have swales or drainage ditches on your property? These are ideal sites for native plants who love wet feet. Such plants help filter silt and pollutants from rainwater runoff on its way back into the watershed; they also provide food and nesting material for native animal and insect populations. And many of these plants have magickal and medicinal attributes to add to their appeal. Just a few of the candidates for the MidAtlantic region are:


Blue Flag
Boneset
Buttonbush
Cardinal Flower
Cattail
Great Blue Lobelia
Joe Pye Weed
New England Aster
New York Ironweed
Spicebush
Swamp Milkweed
Turtlehead

Reintroduce Native Species

New to gardening? Lucky you! With a few exceptions, native plants tend to be hardier and more forgiving than their more frou-frou cousins. Just starting to incorporate natives into your yard? Lucky as well! You're about to discover the delights of these plants and the visitors they encourage --- hummingbirds, dragonflies, butterflies, and who knows who else. Native plants have adapted to a wide variety of local moisture, light, and soil conditions, and often cope better with cyclical climate variations than their exotic cousins. Here are a few wonderful and reliable additions to the garden:


Alumroot/Heuchera (shade-loving, drought-tolerant)
Black-eyed Susan (drought-tolerant)
Christmas Fern (shade-loving; evergreen)
Dwarf Crested Iris (shade-loving)
Echinacea (drought-tolerant)
Foamflower (shade-loving)
Geranium (Geranium maculatum; shade-loving)
Green-and-Gold (shade-loving; ground cover)
Sedum (drought-tolerant)
Smooth Aster (drought-tolerant)
Solomon's Seal (shade-loving)
Tickseed (drought-tolerant)

Consider Edible Landscaping

A garden does not need to be confined to tilled plots and neat rows. Many native vines, shrubs, and small trees produce edible fruit:

American Elderberry
Blackberry (many region-specific cultivars available)
Blueberry (ditto)
Cranberry
Juneberry (also called Serviceberry or Saskatoon)
Pawpaw
Wintergreen (also called Teaberry)

What a Native Garden Looks Like

Before:
This began as a typical drainage swale, consisting
mostly of mud with some sparse lawn grass and
a thick blanket of leaves. Here it is raked free of
accumulated leaves and old debris with a gravel
berm at one end to help retain rainwater, and newly
planted with a few young Cattails and Yellow Flag.
The green clumps toward the front are Asiatic
Dayflower, an exotic weed, which were later
replaced with various natives.



After:
Here is the same swale a few years later; the
gravel berm was moved further down the swale
to expand the planting area. The Cattails and
Yellow Flag have matured. Additional moist-
zone plantings include Cardinal Flower, Great
Blue Lobelia, and New England Aster. The
drier zones are planted with Butterfly Weed,
Tickseed, Smooth Aster, and two varieties of
Sedum (in the front), and Swamp Milkweed,
Echinacea, and Joe Pye Weed (behind the Cattails).

These plants are becoming increasingly easy to find as local and mail-order nurseries begin carrying native stock. Leaf for leaf, they are much gentler on the Bay and more species-supportive than a large expanse of grass lawn. If you have planting space and you're wondering what you can do in an immediate and intimate sense to help ease the burden on the natural environment, consider going native.