Category Archives: winter

Winter Gardening

Ah, the nights after Solstice and all through the house, no one was stirring, not even the mouse (this is the one the cat brought in and let go last fall☺).
And in the quiet I sat in my warm winter wrap, with the seed catalogs open all over my lap.
Gary still snuggled all warm in his bed, while visions of tomatoes and herbs danced in my head…
Winter Dreams
The new seed catalogs are arriving and I’m like a kid in a candy store. But just what does my garden planning have to do with shamanism, you might ask. And my answer is that we are all gardeners…gardeners of our own life. We all know the old saying “You reap what you sow.” What are you going to sow in the upcoming year?

It’s no coincidence that we gardeners take the winter months when the earth seemingly lies dormant to assess the previous year’s harvest and plan for the new year’s planting.  It is this time of “dreaming” and planning that gives us the beautiful gardens and bountiful harvests. Without this assessment time, we would repeat the same mistakes and/or not see the new varieties and options available to us. Continue reading →

Our First Winter at Shaman’s Grove

Well, life is back functioning normally (what ever that might be) here at Shaman’s Grove. Our first winter has proving to be exciting so far. As you may have noticed, we haven’t made any new posts for a while. That because we have been “experiencing winter.” Now, we chose this area of Oregon because like we say in Grants Pass… “It’s the climate”. That’s what brings many people to this area. It’s generally mild – mild summers with a few hot days and mild winters. We get the occasional snow flurries, but the snow is usually gone by noon. We had a few days of waking up to a dusting of snow in The Grove and it was quite beautiful.

Yule Eve brought a major snow storm to the NW Coast. We had been in town when it started to snow. So we finished our lunch and business and headed back to The Grove. Our little car spun out in our long drive once, but Gary was able to maneuver through the thick slush and get us to the garage. And the snow continued to come down… thick, sloppy, heavy snow… about 6 inches worth! Now I know you folks in snow country are laughing at our whining, but we don’t own a snow shovel! We came here because we didn’t want to shovel the stuff! Continue reading →

Winter Solstice Celebrations

yule-candle1For many years, since our children moved through the Santa Claus phase, we have gathered with family and friends to celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule. Like our ancestors of old, following the rhythms of Mother Earth’s cycles, we gather to celebrate the end of the darkness and the return of the light.


Our ancestors lived in harmony with Mother Earth, Father Sun and Grandmother Moon, recognizing their cycles and living their lives within these rhythms, and celebrating the turning of the year and its cycles. The year’s shortest day and longest night, the Winter Solstice, is still celebrated in many traditions around the globe, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness… the return of the Sun. Continue reading →