unseeliej

[unseeliej]

Beltane!

This past weekend, some friends, my Handsome Assistant, and I went to the woods to celebrate Beltane. What is Beltane? It’s a celebration of the coming summer and occurs roughly halfway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. Traditionally, in Ireland, it was when cattle were sent to their summer pastures. There’s be fires, rituals to protect the cattle, people, and homes, and lots…

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I found a small bear in the woods, so I took him home.

So while my friend, my Handsome Assistant, and I were digging up kudzu roots, I encountered a small guy. He was very dirty and neglected — it looked like he’d been left in the mud for the entire winter. There were seeds sprouting in his fur. Burrs. Earthworms. He had a missing ear and most of the flocking rubbed off his nose. He was, in short, the most tragic stuffed bear that I’d ever…

[unseeliej]

A riverside hike (with *giant* mushrooms!)

This past weekend, my Handsome Assistant and I packed a small picnic and went for a bit of a walk. This particular area is beside the northwest branch of the Anacostia River, near an abandoned mica mine. There are some really cool mineral specimens here — the usual bull quartz, but also tons of mica-bearing rocks and golden beryl. That’s not all it has, though. The trail is mostly shaded by…

[unseeliej]

Mayapple Folklore and Magical Properties

I love mayapples. They look like a prank. Like someone picked a bunch of leaves off of something bigger and stuck them in the ground so they could trick people into thinking that that’s how a mayapple grows. They’re patently ridiculous and fantastic. I remember the first time I encountered them. Though I don’t remember when, or where, I do remember seeing a bunch of sprouts that looked like…

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Project Pan: What's Worth It, and What Wasn't.

As I mentioned a bit ago, I’ve been doing a sort of Project Pan with my skincare supplies. (I am not a dude of makeup, so I don’t tend to accumulate enough of that to warrant one. When I do get fancy face colors, they’re usually sample sizes to begin with.) I’ve made quite a bit of progress, so I thought I might do a short breakdown of what proved to be worth re-buying, and what definitely…

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"YOU WOULDN'T DOWNLOAD KOMBUCHA!"

Remember when I was brewing water kefir and accidentally almost made my Handsome Assistant lose an eye? As much as I loved the process (and the product), I also found that water kefir required a lot more attention than I am accustomed to from my colonies of semi-feral microorganisms. So, I’d been considering going back to making kombucha. And remember those PSAs about video piracy from back in…

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The solution to kudzu: Eat it.

The other day, I posted a video of foraging and processing kudzu roots to a group I’m a part of. A few friends seemed interested — one messaged me that they knew of a potential patch. That weekend, armed with trowels, bags, and gloves, we set out to track us down some kudzu. If you’re in the southeastern US and you do any kind of gardening, the word “kudzu” may well strike fear into your heart.…

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Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, TrollfesT, and NiNi at Baltimore Soundstage.

Last Friday, my Handsome Assistant and I went to Baltimore Soundstage to see Folkfest of the North, featuring Nini, TrollfesT, Ensiferum, and Korpiklaani. We were both only familiar with the latter two, but hey, I’m always up to hear some unfamiliar stuff in genres I’m into. And it was a fantastic idea. We came in at the end of Nini’s set because we were running late, despite our best efforts.…

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What's going down in Rock Creek (and why it's a big deal)

This weekend, my Handsome Assistant and I attended an educational picnic to save Rock Creek, which is currently at risk from the continued expansion of a golf course. Construction has already begun, parts of the forest are being turned into mulch as we speak. Over 1,200 trees are slated to be cut down, including some that would otherwise be considered special or heritage trees under DC law. This…

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Happy Spring Equinox!

As I write this, it’s the first day of spring. There’s an Ostara celebration this weekend, things are coming up in the garden, and the crows have returned from their winter perambulations. Happy spring equinox! Sadly, I probably won’t be able to make it to the big ritual and feast this weekend — it’s a bit of a hike for my Handsome Assistant and me, and it’s been a rough week. (He’s had stress…

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Caring for crows in a time of avian flu.

It’s the time of year when my crow bros — Magni, Ruff, Boink, Muse, Peanut, and company — typically come back. They’ll be around until the starlings fledge, then usually disappear with the rest of their murder over the winter. I love them dearly and I’m excited to have them, but it’s an excitement that’s tinged with worry for one reason: H5N1, the virus responsible for avian flu. There’s avian…

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Does AI have a place in witchcraft?

I discovered a YouTuber fairly recently, GrumpyOldCrone. I find her videos delightful — she’s talented and funny, and it’s refreshing to hear someone else complain about the same minor things that I find annoying, but don’t really have anyone else with which to gripe about them. She’s fun. I like her. You might, too. Two months ago, she posted a video about AI’s increasing presence in witchcraft…

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Today's Plant a Flower Day!

March 12th is Plant a Flower Day. While the idea of dedicating a day to planting seeds goes back pretty far, this is a fairly recent innovation that likely originated in the US. A lot of the seasonal celebrations that I follow revolve around things like seed swaps, observing wild plants as they exit dormancy, and planting seeds as a form of sympathetic magic, but I also like observing days like…

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Larkspur Folklore and Magical Properties

Larkspurs are strikingly lovely flowers of the genera Delphinium and Consolida. They’re summer flowers that are possibly best known for being a) extremely deadly to most things, and b) the birth flower for the month of… July. Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking, and I have a very good reason for writing about them now. Despite their birth month symbolism and all that, they’re actually…

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Ready for the Economic Blackout

Hello! By the time this is posted, it’ll be February 28th, the date of the US Economic Blackout put forth by The People’s Union USA. While a few key companies are the targets, participants are being asked to pause all discretionary spending for the day or, if that’s not possible, to only support small, local business. My Handsome Assistant and I knew this was coming up, but it didn’t really take…

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Lobelia Folklore and Magical Properties

Every time I read the word “lobelia,” I always hear it in the voices of those girls from Lobelia Girls’ Academy from Ouran High School Host Club. It’s a very specific kind of brain rot. Anyway. The other day, during the bone walk, we came across some Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata) in a meadow. It was a striking looking plant, with tall flower spikes covered in things that looked almost like…

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Bones, Beavers, and Vegan Tacos.

This past Saturday, my Handsome Assistant, some friends, and I went on a bone walk. This was organized by a friend in the Druidry group of which I’m a part, and it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a walk through an area where it’s common to find bones. Late winter/early spring is the best time for this, because winter is harsh on wild things and this is when the snow melts and…