Cross Quarter Day Marking Beginning of Fall

Salt Marsh Gumplant (Grindelia stricta)

In the early morning hours of August 7, 2017, Lughnasad (one of four cross quarter days) occurs and marks the beginning of Fall here in West Sonoma County in Northern California. The deer are congregating in the field South of MuRefuge and the crows are gathering in large flocks as both are wont to at this time of the year.

Many of MuRefuge native plants are entering estivation, aka dormancy. Others are sporting vibrant flowers with abundant nectar drawing butterflies and hummingbirds to feed upon their nectar.

California Fuchsia (Epilobium c. Chaparral Silver)

Raccoon prints were evident in the drying pond a few days past. The seasonal pond is fed by an artisan well which just recently stopped running and now is running once again. As the soil dries and the air dries, the life force energy, aka qi, begins the shift from predominately yang of Spring and Summer to yin of Fall and Winter. 

Sage and Cathie languishing in the warmth of the sun on an afternoon recently passed.

The foggy mornings and warm afternoons are supporting the ripening of the Black Satin thornless blackberries . . . not too fast and without drying up the lush berries.

Nutrient Dense Crisp made with freshly picked  MuRefuge blackberries
made with soaked almonds rather than soaked pecans.

NUTRIENT DENSE CRISP 

Preparation: In a warming 350 degree oven melt 1/4 C. organic, unsalted butter in a 10" Corning Ware dish in which the crisp will bake.  

In a large bowl mix the topping:

• 1/2 C. freshly ground organic flax seeds
• 1/2 C. organic almond meal (if unavailable use almond flour)
• 2 T. organic chia seeds
• 1 tsp. each of organic ground coriander seeds, cinnamon, mace
• pinch of cardamom seeds if you like
• 1/2 C. chopped, soaked for 24 hrs. pecans

Pour the melted butter from the Corning Ware dish over the above dry ingredients and mix well.

In Corning Ware dish toss 

• 1/4 C. organic chia seeds 
• with 4 generous cups of your favorite, in season fresh berries or fruit. Frozen or canned fruit can be used during the months when fresh fruit is not available. For more ease of digestion use only one kind of fruit or berries.

If the fruit is not juicy enough, using an immersion blender puree 1 C. fruit with 1/3 C. water. If the fruit is not sweet enough add 2 to 4 pitted Medjool dates and puree with the fruit/water pureed mixture.

Bake, in the preheated 350 degree oven, for 30 to 45 minutes depending on your preference for the cooked fruit. 

As we each tune our awareness of the shift in qi and honor the seasonal cycle, may we 

Day 183 of Year 2016

Today is exactly the middle day out of the 365 days of 2016. May we celebrate and review the part of the year past. Here at MuRefuge we have been so fortunate to host many avian families. Two broods of Western Bluebirds have been raised. Oh how I wish I could have gotten a picture to share: 4 youngsters and a parent sitting atop the trellis for Sasha and Tatiana's honeysuckle with the other parent sitting in the oak tree. 

Western Holly Grape (Mahonia pinnate) full of berries

Same bush denuded of berries by the hungry,
growing Western Bluebird offspring.

And there is also the family of Tree swallows being fed by Mom and Pop in the bird box Dwight situated in the dead curly willow just on the other side of our East most fence. There are lots of flying insects about for the parents to catch and quickly feed their babies.

And in the native clematis hiding the meters in the front of the house there is a California Towhee nest as well as one in the Roger Red grapes growing on a trellis on the patio.

Our resident cat has been living contentedly at MuRefuge for many years. He picked MuRefuge over the place across the gravel road where he was brought as a kitty for the then young female preschooler; she is now a teenager. She named her kitty John, then as he moved across the road he was first called Jack then Jax. None of those names really suited him nor did he respond to those names. 

So for some while I have been considering renaming him, yet again. Now that he has recovered nicely from a severe upper respiratory infection, the time seems right for a name change. The final nudge came recently when I read a blog post on the importance of naming animals to find a name for MuRefuge's cat. 

Not uncommonly when I use a reference book, the book falls open to the page of importance. Thus when I opened Flower Essence Repertory the page that appeared was the one for Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata [yellow]). The "Positive qualities" of this flower essence are "Essential or 'empty' consciousness, deep awareness of the inner Self, capable of transformation and change." These attributes seem to describe MuRefuge's cat. The following morning when this handsome male cat arrived at the garage door for his breakfast, I tried "Sage." He looked at me and I heard him say to me "You got it." Sage seems quite pleased with his name. Dwight and I are trying to break our habit of calling him Jax and honor his wishes to be called Sage.

Sage

There is a stunningly handsome buck in the neighborhood. He was trotting down our gravel road on a midday recently. His harem has produced a few offspring this season. A few days past a first year doe lost her baby deer who died just outside our South fence, reminding us all of the natural cycle of BEings on the planet and that not every baby survives.

As we review the half year past and contemplate the remainder of 2016 may we