October is for Dreaming Outside

What a month.

The first weekend was the Mid Atlantic Women's Herbal Conference. All day under tents and clearing skies in the rolling hills of Kempton PA.

The second was one of the final days with Linda Shanahan in this year's Herbs Through the Seasons class. Another day outside, sunny and breezy at the Barefoot Gardens farm.

Also in there was a very warm pre-dawn jaunt around town to watch the full moon eclipse. There's a post about that, that somehow won't copy into this here blog writer. Hopefully more on that soon, but suffice to say now that it was an opening experience.

And this weekend- Antlerstock! TWO days of outside fun. I cut down a tree (OK, not all by myself, but still. A tree!) I threw an axe and hit the target (sort of), learned how to make soap, what I had done wrong with my sourdough bread way back when I had a starter, and beekeeping and goat keeping and archery basics. We talked emergency and storm preparedness, harnessing a draft horse, pig and rabbit raising, and first aid salve making.

And those are only the goings-on I got to see. I missed out on processing wool from sheep to spindle, chainsaw basics, food preservation and frugal eating, and who knows what else. It was too much for one person, and not nearly enough! We had rain and sun and wind and mud and a Merlin cake (not the Merlin you're thinking, if you don't know Jenna!) We had great teachers and interested students and good, warm, kind people eager to share their own experiences. I came home with books and soap and new friends and new ideas.

This month has fed my soul. If you haven't had a multitude of soul-nourishment experiences heaped at you recently, I highly recommend it. In fact, I insist on it. What a great time.