Nature by Night & Other Adventures

So, another highly adventurous weekend was had by yours truly up at Twa Corbies' Hollow. I went up for a "Nature by Night" On Friday evening, after arriving at the Hollow, my little buddy, Willowisp greeted me with his favorite thing: stick. We played for a bit then Lady Daphne packed up our supper, I picked out a lovely Pinot Noir and Cliff gathered 2 bottles of his fine ale that he makes and off we headed into the wood for an evening of fun.

The cabin is a small hunting cabin about 4 or 5 miles from the Hollow. On the way there, Daphne spotted a cute little porcupine twaddling along the side of the dirt road, as we drove closer, his quills stuck up in warning to stay back. We turned onto another dirt road that led to the cabin in the woods.

After settling into the cabin, we ate a hearty meal of organic stir-fry with brown rice, chicken & veg all grown from the Hollow. I had a couple of glasses of the Pinot Noir and the men drank their ales. The fireflies were out that night, so we all ventured out into the warm night to watch as little glowing balls of green & yellow light gave us a show. We could hear the flying squirrels in the brush, as well as a raccoon. The sky up above was filled with stars, something this city girl doesn't get to see very often.

The next morning after partaking in a Medieval breakfast of homemade cheese & bread (with another glass of wine) Cliff & I headed out for a little hike in the wood. We had some good conversation, he showed me coyote tracks that were somewhat fresh, bear dung that was a couple of days old and we found some chanterelles that were just a bit too ripe for the picking. I was a bit surprised that the flies didn't bite, as I am an "all you can eat buffet" to them. After our hike, we packed up the cabin and headed back to the Hollow for the day's work.

That evening, we got the horses, Acorn & Aval, readied & saddled up for a little exercise in the corral. I was to ride Acorn...riding a horse is something I haven't done since I was a teenager. So, to be honest, I was a wee bit nervous to be on top of a 1200lb Belgian. After getting into the saddle, I rode her around the corral as Cliff rode Aval. Of course when they started trotting, Acorn decided that she was going to follow their lead and proceeded to go a little faster than I was ready to experience at that moment. After she stopped, I had my trusty guide Natalia guide me along on the horse. You know, when you hear people talking about how sore they are after riding, I totally get what they are saying. After only riding Acorn for about 15-20 minutes, my inner thighs were screaming. Daphne chuckled as I slowly walked over to where she was after dismounting Acorn.

As always, my time at the Hollow are filled with a lot of good times. I especially like hanging out with Daphne, she is such a gentle soul and she laughs at my jokes. The girls are great, they don't rib me too much about being a city girl too much. Just before I left the Hollow, I was given a copy of "Lore of the Bard" which I am currently reading. It was written by Cliff a few years ago. It is a very interesting read about Celtic lore. I am only 1/2 way through it, so I can't really give a full review of it, but it is a very good book. If you can still find it out there, get it.

Slainte
Rowan
)O(

A Visit to Twa Corbies Hollow

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to have a good friend over to get her haircut. In exchange for the haircut she brought me some clothes that no longer fit her (bonus) and she did an Intuitive Art Reading for me. This meant that she would hold my hand for a bit while getting visions. She then would interpret those visions through her art. On the 5"x7" card she painted as she looked at me telling me of what she saw. One thing she mentioned that has relevance to this note was about my upcoming trip to Twa Corbies for a Spirit Journey Workshop. I was told that something of importance would happen to me that would blow me away. What did that mean, I asked. She just smiled in her cute way that I would have to experience it to know it. I had been planning on going up to my friend, Cliff's place for a bit and was excited to get out of the city & breathe for a change.

As the weeks rolled by, the anticipation grew. A couple of days before the long weekend, I received a group email from Cliff. He wanted to know who was coming or not to his place so he could make the necessary arrangements. I was the only one who responded. Was that a sign of things to come??

I took an early bus ride from the city to arrive around noon at part of my destination. I was picked up by Cliff & his daughter, Natalia. After running a few errands, we went to a cute Pagan stored in New Glasgow, The White Lotus. There I found some interesting herbal teas (Faery , Vervain, Oolong & Jamaican Spice), a few more crystals for my ever-growing collection, and a Goddess figurine (I can never have enough of Her). I also got a small hand-carved stone owl, my totem animal.

We took the scenic route back to Twa Corbies Hollow. I hoping to meet others that were also invited to come. Now, for those of you who know me well, I am quite a talker, but I got the case of the shyness (hard to believe, I know) I listened to Cliff talk to me about his horses, Aval, Acorn & Sidhe Bheg. Then, I saw them as we rounded the curve in the road approaching the Hollow. Wow, they're huge!! That was my first thought As we pulled up the driveway, I could see a black dog running happily towards the truck, I got a bit nervous, as my old fear of dogs came back to me. But this dog was a playful boy who wanted to play stick. he jumped up at me & proceeded to goober up my hand with dog kisses.

I was shown the gardens, where Lady Daphne & Ariel were working on making rows for planting. I saw Claire the cow grazing in the field nearby. She's not very social for a cow. After putting my backpack up in my room, I went outside & helped (as best as I could) with whatever work they needed me to do. Natalia took me down to the barn where I met the horses close up. Aval & Acorn were the gentle giants, I fell in love with them at first sight. Sidhe Bheg, what can I say about her?? If she were human, she would be the diva of all divas. Natalia warned me that she likes to nip people, so my hands stayed in my jacket pockets, nice & safe.

After a quick lunch, we got back to work. There was no word from anyone else who were supposed to be coming for the workshop. I had a feeling that I was the only one. After playing stick with Willowisp, Cliff got Sidhe Bheg ready to go for a carriage ride, while his oldest daughter, Ariel cooked supper. Daphne, Natalia, Cliff & myself took a long winding ride through the countryside. We saw a few deer, lots of apple trees and houses with stars on them (is this a trend or are they wannabe witches?). When we arrived back to the Hollow, no one had called or showed up for the workshop. Their loss was my gain, as I was thoroughly enjoying my time. After eating a hearty potato cauliflower soup with bread & homemade cheese, we watched the Simpson's episode where Lisa meets with the Wiccans.

The next morning, after a restful sleep, I was awaken by a somewhat large furry being in bed with me, licking my hair. That could only mean one thing, my new playfriend, Willowisp was with me. I got dressed and headed downstairs to see what was on the plan for today...planting in the garden. I got to plant parsnips, get eaten alive by blackflies (still recovering from them) in spite of wearing long sleeves, bug repellent and no deodorant. They saw me as their "all you can eat buffet" and they feasted. I also went & visited with the horses, saw the goats and played stick with Willowisp. Ariel & I also pruned the apple tree next to the house. For being a city girl, I think I did alright...going without makeup, hair not done and not caring how dirty I got. I was having a blast!!

I ate homemade cheeses, organic food, drank mead for the first time (yum!), tried new things, watched a few movies, gardened, learned new things about myself I really didn't know. I didn't get to ride a horse, but maybe on my next visit I will. I even tried...miserably...archer

y and played croquet (how did I go from 2nd place to 5th so fast?) Even though no one showed up for the workshop, it was well worth the 3 hr trip from the city. I even gave Lady Daphne a haircut, using a broken hairbrush & kitchen scissors. Next time I'll bring the real scissors with me.

I would write more, but my calamine lotion needs to be reapplied, as my arms are raw from the scratching. All in all, I had a wonderful time & I can't wait to go back to the Hollow very soon. My hosts were the best!! I can always come back in time to harvest my parsnips...