First camping of the season
With spring well underway and the fiery days of summer growing closer, it's once again time for me to be camping in the woods...
Saturday morning Dawn picked me up and we drove down to Our Haven where my coven has a private campsite. It was good to see that the grass I planted a couple weeks ago in our ritual circle has sprouted into a beautiful but still fragile green carpet. After getting set up, we all spent several hours helping out around the land. My High Priest and I cut up two trees that had fallen into the roof of the tool barn- pretty strenuous labor two stories up on a sheet-metal roof in the bright sun. After that, we went back to our site for a quick lunch over a fire and then I took a long walk through the woods in search of mushrooms. After that we all worked at cutting down a dead tree not far from our campsite and then dragging the wood back to the campsite to feul our fires throughout the season. The evening was another tasty meal by the fire followed by a discussion about revising our coven policies and rules. Then we just sat around the campfire having a few drinks as darknes fell and we were enveloped in moonlight and nightsound.
The night's sleep was broken by chilly temps (it got down into the low 40s), and morning came too soon. After a leisurely breakfast warming ourselves around the fire, we once again got to work on the land. We began erecting a fence around the children's play area and then I spent a couple hours splitting wood for the fires of Beltaine. Lunch was graciously prepared by monty's wife Christy- a delicious lasagne with salad and garlic bread.
Toward late afternoon it was time to pack up and head home- I was feeling pretty exhausted and a bit sick from too much sun and heat. The ride home with Dawn was also enjoyable, particularly after I got cooled down by the air conditioning and ate a bit of icecream we picked up on the way. I'm still exhausted and my muscles are still sore, but my spirit is glowing. It's been a long time since I've done so much physical labor of a primal nature. It reminded me of how I used to work with my grandfather and brought back very pleasant body-memories I've not awakened in years.
It was good to connect with the woods again, to connect with the cycle of life and my own buried body-memories. Although still tired and sore, I feel vibrant and energized and centered...
Saturday morning Dawn picked me up and we drove down to Our Haven where my coven has a private campsite. It was good to see that the grass I planted a couple weeks ago in our ritual circle has sprouted into a beautiful but still fragile green carpet. After getting set up, we all spent several hours helping out around the land. My High Priest and I cut up two trees that had fallen into the roof of the tool barn- pretty strenuous labor two stories up on a sheet-metal roof in the bright sun. After that, we went back to our site for a quick lunch over a fire and then I took a long walk through the woods in search of mushrooms. After that we all worked at cutting down a dead tree not far from our campsite and then dragging the wood back to the campsite to feul our fires throughout the season. The evening was another tasty meal by the fire followed by a discussion about revising our coven policies and rules. Then we just sat around the campfire having a few drinks as darknes fell and we were enveloped in moonlight and nightsound.
The night's sleep was broken by chilly temps (it got down into the low 40s), and morning came too soon. After a leisurely breakfast warming ourselves around the fire, we once again got to work on the land. We began erecting a fence around the children's play area and then I spent a couple hours splitting wood for the fires of Beltaine. Lunch was graciously prepared by monty's wife Christy- a delicious lasagne with salad and garlic bread.
Toward late afternoon it was time to pack up and head home- I was feeling pretty exhausted and a bit sick from too much sun and heat. The ride home with Dawn was also enjoyable, particularly after I got cooled down by the air conditioning and ate a bit of icecream we picked up on the way. I'm still exhausted and my muscles are still sore, but my spirit is glowing. It's been a long time since I've done so much physical labor of a primal nature. It reminded me of how I used to work with my grandfather and brought back very pleasant body-memories I've not awakened in years.
It was good to connect with the woods again, to connect with the cycle of life and my own buried body-memories. Although still tired and sore, I feel vibrant and energized and centered...