Georgia, Georgia, what peace I find...

In two days time, I will be headed down to my home state of Georgia to visit my family and celebrate the birthday of a magnificent friend. I will be leaving Friday and come back Sunday.

The lingering warmth

We are a week into Autumn but the warmth of Lady Summer lingers still. It is warm in the house today but still cool enough (by my terms) to wear long pants. Today I wandered down to Karm Thrift Store in Maryville to take a look at the growing number of discounted fall and winter clothing. That was how I found a lovely knit sweater depicting two moose facing each other, bittersweet on cocoa brown.

A good way to start a new week.

Autumn Rain

The first rain of new Autumn falls gentle on the dog wood tree, that sways gentle in the cool breeze that rolls of the mountains.

It trickles over green leaves that looked as if they have been dipped in blood, splashed scarlet by the coming cold.

 It follows smoothly the contours of a hanging acorn, collecting at the point to fall to the dark ground below.

The first autumn's rain falls like a song, tender upon ear and soul.

It is both promise and warning.

It is both living and dying.

Samhain to come, Mabon undone.

There can be no denying.

Throwback Thursday- Fox Kit

Joy at Equinox

Summer has come to an end across the land. Today marks Equinox, the first day of Autumn has arrived. My soul soars high for this my most beloved season but grieves softly for the death of Summer, for he was ever a good lover and friend. Autumn comes on a friend, a riot of joy in saffron, carmine and walnut. All across the back acre, you can smell the sweet aroma of wood fires. The nights grow cool and we turn off the AC in the Clan Home and open all the windows. Many a night this week I have fallen asleep awash in cool Autumn air and I wake to find my hair scented with wood smoke. The taste of apples is sweet and light upon my tongue; soon I will take a knife to my last two pumpkins of the season. One will go in the over, rubbed all over with cinnamon and cane sugar, studded with cloves. The other will have a fearsome face and a candle withn. For the first time in my life, I have the knowledge that I grew my own jack-o-lantern. It fills me with a wild pleasure, mind full of acorns and fire kissed sunsets. The leaves on the dogwood tree, once a tireless green in summer, are now splashed crimson as bright as fresh blood.

I go into Autumn with a chocolate cake sitting on the counter. Today, marks the my husband's 31st birthday and the cake is make for him. Dark chocolate studded with mini chocolate chips, lightly frosted. It is beautiful and I cannot wait for him to get into it.

In small truth because it means I may have a tiny slice.

Tomorrow I must paint a banner for my SCA persona and make a tart for Her Majesty, Queen
of Meridies. I must also look around for my fine art pens which seem to have disappeared magically from my art stack. 

I suspect a toddler is involved and failing that, pixies. 

Silent Sunday

The Princess and I

Happy Birthday, Heart of Home!

September 6th 2015 saw the one year birthday of this blog, Heart of Home: Finding My Homestead.

It has been 365 days since this blog was first created, back in the early part of September 2014. I have just read One Woman Farm again, third time around, when I decided to start writing my story. I toyed with the idea of keeping a leather journal and using a burgundy ball point pen to record the story of moving forward to the homestead. 

I couldn't do that.

I wanted this story to be told to the world because, ultimately, this was about getting others the encouragement they need to change their life. That is exactly what my journey is all about. Changing my life from an endless cycle of grocery stores and blind consumption of what was cheap and empty. It was running away, rightfully screaming for both fear and raw joy, from a concrete jungle and an endless desert of glass and plastic. It was all about getting back to where the cool, wet air was fresh upon my face. It was in the moist earth and bright greens. 

It was about taking back my story book and adding my own colors. 

So this is a celebration of freedom, of finding my heart's desire and peace with nature.