.....stale

Yogis,
In the early days of covid life took a major turn. Days on end spent at home. All classes moved to zoom. What I cooked changed. What I read changed. Even what I wore changed. New routines were developed and for the past two years these have all become my new norm and I have felt satisfied.

Recently though it has all begun to feel a little stale. Dry. Not bad, mind you. I have a wonderful life and still enjoy my days but this little inner stirring is quietly nudging me to break out of the current patterns and is making itself noticed. Some part of me realizes I am in a bit of a covid rut and wants to switch lanes. I am paying attention.

Last weekend my sister and I left our daily lives behind to meet up in Philadelphia for some good quality sister time. Three days where we only had one or two things plugged into our schedule, leaving lots of open space for life to fill on its own. It felt awesome!

We walked and walked……and when we felt like we couldn’t walk one more step, we rested up and walked some more. We ate when and where we felt like it. We stood in awe in front of a wall of bagged herbs and tinctures and bought books on teas and mushrooms. We wandered through parks, immersed ourselves in art and jumped into a late night group’s selfie. One evening we even found ourselves alone in the dark in front of the liberty bell at ten o’clock while bells tolled the time overhead.

One afternoon as we finished up our salads at a hip vegan lunch spot, my sister offered me a breath mint. I don’t really do breath mints so I waved it off. Then my inner voice said, ‘take the breath mint.’ I did. Silly, right? But maybe not. Life offered and I took. A teeny tiny step.

I don’t tend to drink tea at night. I did when she offered. I drank mushroom coffee. We ate fresh figs for breakfast. I dressed up more. We were spontaneous and it was exactly what I needed. Thank goodness for sisters!

Now that I am back home, I am watching my days for those small opportunities to continue saying yes to the mint.

I noticed that I am in a rut (noticing is always step number one) and found that I am ready for change (wanting is always step number two.) Now it is up to me to take conscious steps which sets the energy of change in motion. They can be small…….or they can be large.  Shifting around the order of things. Reading a book on a new topic. Taking a walk on a different path. Making a new recipe. Wearing a different shirt.

Each step tells the universe that yes, I am ready for new……and the universe will respond with new coming my way.

This afternoon I was at the beach. I am more of a knee-deep ocean splasher than an ocean swimmer (as my sister will attest), but I felt the stirring. Do it. Come in, the ocean whispered. And I did. Really in. Feet off the ground and face in the water in. You know what? It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. It was a change and it felt great.

From the book I started reading today – If I want things to change, I have to change how I do them.

Indeed,
SARAH

.....seeds

Yogis,
We have officially entered nature’s fifth season. That wonderful space that exists when the sizzling days of summer are dwindling yet the trees remain green and lush. Not too hot…..not too cold. The sounds of crickets fill the night and birds begin to flock. The sun lowers after dinner, but the days still feel long. No longer summer, not quite fall.

The arrival of the fifth season ignites a desire in me to get out and collect seeds……..

As a gardener it is never too early to begin planning for next year’s plantings and this time of year is prime for a productive jump start. The flowers and fruits of this year’s plants are beginning to wilt and are turning their attention to ensuring their survival going forward. Making seeds.

When I first began gardening I was scared to death of seeds. I felt like that way of growing was for those more advance gardeners. You know….the ones who have any idea what they are doing. That wasn’t me. I needed that seedling already grown by the professionals at least a few inches high in a plastic container. But in these last several years I have discovered the magic of seeds.

For one, they are often free! This week I collected seeds from butterfly weed, echinacea and cardinal flower from my yard. A friend traded me some butterfly weed for some of her hibiscus seed pods. Down at the river I snipped off the dried heads of wingstem, sneezeweed and ironweed. Am I sure all of these will grow from the seeds I scatter over these next couple weeks? No. Does that matter? No. Scatter away and see what happens!

I tend to scatter some in the fall, and save some to put out in the spring, giving me a higher possibility of return. I spread them out and put a very light sprinkle of dirt over them to keep them from being blown away and then I wait. They may sprout in the spring……..they may wait a couple of years. Seeds are funny like that. They rest until the perfect time to rise.

Secondly, I can take the seeds from the plants that I know thrive in my garden. I began several years ago with one echinacea that I bought (coneflower) and by spreading their dried seeds every spring and fall I now have a large patch and have them in two other areas in the yard. The largest zinnia flowers with the deepest colors are dried and saved (they like spring planting.)

Seed gathering also connects me in a meaningful way to the past. Our ancestors knew seeds. They gathered, saved, traded and planted. Seeds are life. A form of self-sufficiency which is becoming increasingly critical in these tumultuous times.

Finally, seeds are beautiful. As their own fifth season, when you look closely, they are perfectly formed to do the job for which they are intended. A bundle of pure potential.

Head out and pay attention to the plants that you love, whether in your yard, the park, or the woods. Notice the environment they are growing in. Snip off a couple of seed heads and sprinkle away. Who knows! There is a thrill in discovering something new rising from the earth as nature re-awakens in spring, especially when you had a hand in it.

Spreading seeds,
SARAH

.......witness

Yogis,
I experienced a new clarity but not sure I can put it into words. I am going to give it a whirl anyway.

While at the beach for our vacation I decided to get up early the first day to go see the sunrise. Alarm set for 5:50. Quick brushing of the teeth, Phoebe fed, clothes thrown on and we are out the door by 6:05. Sunrise was at 6:25. We began our run.

As soon as we start toward the ocean, we enter a thick dense fog. Uh oh.  The closer we get, the foggier it becomes. We crest the dune to an eerie scene. Only one other person sits in the distance quietly on a lifeguard stand, shrouded in fog. As we sit in the sand, the sky slowly lightens but no clear evidence of the sun’s ascent. My hair wet from the air.

It became a habit. Each day the alarm rang at 5:50 and we made our way down. The next day less foggy with small portions of the sun showing through the breaks. The following day low clouds along the horizon line with a pink streaked sky I spotted from two blocks away. The day after that crystal clear. Different people. Different birds. Every sunrise unique. Every one special.

On the fourth day as I stood welcoming in the new day, I experienced a moment where instead of watching the sunrise, I was her witness.

I have always announced that ‘I am going to see the sunrise’ which puts the emphasis on me. Me as the center and an action that I am taking. What I noticed that morning while being serenaded by the waves was that the sun rises every morning whether I am there or not. She lifts slightly differently each morning even when I am snuggled under the covers or sitting at the table drinking my tea. Whether it is raining out or there is a snowstorm. She happens.

That day I felt different. Instead of watching her, I felt that I was her witness. Can you feel any shift? It is quite subtle.

To bear witness to her is to stop my ‘doing’ and be present to the life force that is happening in front of me at that moment. The sun as the doer and I as the receiver. Acknowledging her awesome ‘sun-ness’.

We can choose to be the witness at any moment. Instead of looking at the flower…pause, let go of thought, and receive the beauty she is already shining your way. Look up to the sky and watch the way a cloud floats across the blue sky, shape shifting as she moves. When you see your next star, bear witness to the miracle of stars lighting our night sky.

On the yoga path we practice being in touch with the ‘you’. The self. The observer inside who doesn’t think, judge, worry……or ever change. It is this ‘you’ that can bear witness, and in so doing, creates a bond between the seer and the seen.

On that day, the sun was seen,
SARAH

......butterfly weed

Yogis,
As summer begins her swan song, I would like to introduce you to a plant you might consider adding to next year’s garden. Her name is Asclepias Tuberosa, but she also answers to Butterfly Weed or Pleurisy Root. As a member of the milkweed family she plays an important role in the landscape.

There isn’t any other plant in my garden that has as many stages of interest as butterfly weed. It all begins in spring as her upright stems carrying thin lance shaped leaves begin their rise. As a perennial she will return each year with no intervention on your part, reaching a height of about 2 feet at maturity.

As summer arrives large flat-topped clusters of long lasting brilliant orange flowers begin opening on the tops, catching your eye each time you pass. And as you would imagine from her name, several varieties of butterflies begin to arrive for her nectar, including Monarchs who use her as a host plant to lay eggs. In fact, the milkweed family of plants is the only place Monarchs reproduce. An important and distinctive honor she carries!!

As the monarch caterpillars emerge, they spend the next several days eating the leaves of butterfly weed which contain a toxin they need for metamorphosis. They fatten up nicely and head off to form their chrysalis. I love how their black antennae look like horns.

In the meantime, as the flowers fade, large pods filled with seeds begin to form. Now it’s the milkweed bugs turn to arrive to lay their eggs and raise their young on the stems and pods. Hundreds of them! Bright orange and black, they stay solely on the butterfly weed as they are specialists, with juveniles requiring the seeds of milkweed plants for growth. Her toxins when ingested protect them too from predators. Once again butterfly weed to the rescue!

As if that isn’t enough, the milkweed bug’s activities help open the pods revealing hundreds of seeds each attached to a white silky hair. The wind will catch this weightless fluff and send the large seeds floating like fairies through the early autumn air, aiding in their dispersal. This fluff is even used as a hypoallergenic pillow filling.

You can start your butterfly weed from plant, lay seeds in the fall or if you are lucky, one of the fairies may land in your yard and surprise you.

As the days begin to cool, butterfly weed begins to die back.  The monarchs, bumblebees and milkweed bugs too will disappear but will remember where to come next spring to continue this miraculous life cycle.

Thank you butterfly weed,
SARAH