Louse Point, East Hampton

Dreamy foggy morning. 

Mysterious and beautiful light today at Louse Point.

Reflections on Nature

Today the most amazing gift arrived in the mail from a beautiful and thoughtful friend,

a book titled Four Elements, Reflections on Nature by John O'Donohue. I fell in love with it the moment  that I opened to the first page. The Forward was written by Pat O'Donahue, the author's brother. The first sentence reads:

"As we journey from the womb of the sea with our gaze of longing fixed on the stars, we have stopped off this earth for a short spell of belonging."

These gorgeous words went into the center of my heart and filled my breath with joy. This sentence beautifully sets the tone for the rest of Mr. O'Donahue's poetic book.  I am now savoring each page like a piece of exquisite dark chocolate. Mr. O'Donohue writes of the elements, nature, folklore and even mermaids! 

"One of the most amazing shapes that water takes is that of the ocean. The presence of an ocean is so huge that it resembles the divine, its constant movement and soundings signal a powerful inner life".

In my recent walks along the waters edge, I have been appreciating all of the amazing secrets and gifts that the ocean has for us if we are willing to take the time to sit with them and listen to their stories.  I have been photographing these treasures at my kitchen window in the new light of Spring. I gathered these specimens at the end of Springs Fireplace road and the bay beaches of Amagansett, creating little vignettes of these magnificent life forms. 

The following excerpt is from Mr. O'Donohue's chapter titled 'The Ocean As Immense Divinity'.

I love his description of the sea and the seashore.

"One of the most ancient conversations on the planet is that between sea and seashore. This conversation is a sublime metaphor for expectation. The land is trapped where it is. It can never move anywhere. This zen-like stillness and thereness of the land makes it vulnerable; it cannot get out of the way. But the ocean has a fluency, it can travel anywhere, even deeper into its own self."

Thank you my beautiful friend for this perfect gift. 

With love and appreciation. 

The Welcome Fragrance of Spring

Today my heart skipped a beat as I saw this beautiful purple crocus peek out from under the leaves. I photographed it in the afternoon light. The presence of this beauty reassured me that Spring has indeed arrived and that from now on, more beautiful colorful flowers would appear in many different shapes, sizes, and fragrances. 

Over the winter, I created many scents that I recently poured into sample vials that are now for sale. These precious perfumes have been melding for quite a while. My Pink lotus and Vanilla perfume took me two years to get to the point where I was happy. I also created a Hay and Rose liquid  perfume, and Pear and Pink Lotus. These are just a few. Within each recipe I use between nine to fifteen botanicals. These liquid perfumes are created in very limited quantities.

 I have recently completed several custom scents for clients in different parts of the country, mostly in the form of solids. I love how the process unfolds as I work with each botanical and explore how they behave with other oils, concretes and absolutes. There is a beauty to the alchemy of matching botanicals to the desires of the client. The most popular combinations this winter have included Cistus, Lemongrass and Chinese Rose. 

In honor of Spring, I am now working on a Saffron and Ylang Ylang perfume. The Saffron is from India and the Ylang Ylang is from Madagascar. The stigmas, or threads are what are dried and used for the spice saffron. 

These threads come from a variety of crocus known as Crocus cartwrightianus, believed to be a native to Asia and Crete. It is also a member of the Iris family (Iridaceae). It is one of the most costly spices in the world. In perfumery, it has a rich buttery flat scent and is a deep red color that is employed as a top note. Combined with the Ylang Ylang, it tells a new and curious story, about a far away and exotic place. The two together compliment one another and now I will explore new combinations to see how I can translate this into something beautiful to wear. 

Wishing everyone a very happy Spring!

Winter Wisdom

  As we are now experiencing a true Winter, I have been exploring the Classics of Chinese medicine through the translations of Claude Larre and Elizabeth Rochat de la Vallee. I am currently reading their book titled, The Kidneys, which discusses the element of water, and the energy of seasonal stillness. 

I just came across this passage which so elegantly conveys my understanding of this season. It contains beautiful instructions for how we should live during this time of year. 

On these beautiful snowy days I have been taking pictures that reflect the mood and energy of the winter light.

This translation is from the Su Wen, Chapter 2. 

'Three months of winter

are called closing and preserving.

Water freezes, the earth is broken up,

there is no longer any communication with the yang.

One goes to bed early, one gets up late,

doing everything according to the light of the sun;

exerting the will as if buried or hidden,

taking care only of oneself,

falling back on oneself, in possession of oneself.

One must avoid the cold and seek the warmth, 

letting nothing flow out of the layers of the skin

through fear of losing qi. 

This is the way that is natural to the qi of winter 

which thus corresponds 

to the maintenance and preservation of life. 

To go against this current would injure the kidneys

causing weakening in spring

through insufficient contribution to the generation of life.'

Seedtime

As a child, I was gifted many little envelopes and preciously folded pieces of paper filled with seeds from my grandmother Isabelle who was a botanist. 

It was not until I read Seedtime by Scott Chaskey and heard his interview with Stefanie Sacks on Stirring the Pot that I had a full appreciation of the many gifts that my grandmother had given to me. 

http://peconicpublicbroadcasting.org/post/stirring-pot-stefanie-sacks-seedtime

It was as if a light bulb went on in my head and my heart. I saw my grandmother's legacy in a completely new light and my appreciation for her presence in my life deepened. 

Seedtime is a similar gift, but it is for all of us. This is an important book that we must share with our friends, families and communities. It is deeply meaningful and masterfully written by a luminary in the fields of organic farming, poetry and botany. 

Last year, Scott asked if I would be interested in submitting some of my work to Rodale Press for his book on seeds, and as I recall, I said "yes!" in the blink of an eye.

I am deeply honored that my photograph of a milkweed seed is on the cover of Seedtime. The seed came from a pod that was collected at a nature preserve along Accabonac  harbor in the Springs, East Hampton, N.Y. It was photographed in natural light on a precious piece of black velvet in the Winter sunlight. 

This book is a beautiful and poetic exploration of the history, husbandry and promise of seeds. It is a celebration of the very essence of the cycles of nature. As I read each page of this book, I felt that I was going on a journey through time, from the ancient tombs of the world to the current accounts of GMOs and how they are impacting our agricultural industry.

The very first sentence of the first chapter reads…

"Encapsulated in each seed is a story, a story held in a state of rest until released. Only with significant patience and effort can we interpret this language, which gradually is revealed as the cotyledons, or first leaves, unfold from a seed's invisible center."

In this book, there are many gorgeous and poetic sentences that ask for us to put the book down, if only for a moment, to relish in the cadence of the words and take in the magic of Scott's vision and lyrical expressions.

There are many curious and amazing historical details about ancient seeds, Native American traditions and the evolution of seeds through time. Scott masterfully weaves personal stories, personalities of plants, along side important information about botanical history. 

I have been deeply moved by the sincerity and the depth with which this book was crafted and published.
Rodale Press did a lovely job in the design and printing of this book. It is a book that you want to hold and read with time so as to savor the depth and richness of the words.
Thank you Scott for sharing your magic with us!
This book may be purchased locally at Canio's book store in Sag Harbor, N.Y.

It is also available through Amazon books.

http://www.amazon.com/Seedtime-History-Husbandry-Politics-Promise/dp/1609615034

Winter Beauty

The winter light helps us to see the simple beauty in nature. 

The Courage to Heal

The snow has made the light particularly beautiful here in the woods, and while the air has been crisp, there has been time for many hours of reflection and internal stillness. In my quiet time, I have been exploring the topics of courage and healing. I have been remembering moments in my own journey when I followed my heart onto a new terrain and trusted my internal compass to lead me in the right direction for my highest good.
In my own process, the greatest moments of courage were initiated by stillness. It takes a very brave heart to open up to the of healing trauma of any kind and wounds that are sometimes inherited by our lineages. Along the journey, many may stop. It requires steady patience, inspiration, hope, and great self care. It also requires a community of loving and supportive people who understand what it means to the person on this deeply personal journey.

As Dr. Peter Levine so elegantly suggests, we are naturally 'restoring our bodies to goodness'.

In the new year, it is my intention to bring together a larger community of likeminded people that understand this critical work especially in these  turbulent times. Creating a safe space, or sanctuary is the first step to healing work. Our nervous systems settle with more ease and grace when we are comfortable.

Healing trauma is a sacred process.

 In our current culture it is often difficult to take the time to allow our nervous systems to truly heal.  We often need a lot of space in our lives for much needed stillness and integration of the work. We are delicate, yet resilient. In my current study of healing trauma through a three year training of Somatic Experiencing I am learning so many new aspects of our system and our amazing and often mysterious capacities to heal.
As I move through the grace of this training, I too am being transformed.

Once someone commits to this path, miracles can happen. But this process may take time, often years. There are moments of challenge and there may be internal activations that require attention in our lives. It also requires the slowing down to listen to the subtle needs of our bodies.
We must also have safe environments where the people around us understand that we are in a delicate and meaningful process. We often come to this path because there were aspects of our lives that were not working for us, we may have been in pain or we felt the pull to experience life more deeply. 

During this time of exploration, we are committed to living in the land of the heart and exploring the terrain of the body. 

The heart, is the Emperor in Chinese medicine. It may lead us along a new path if we listen to the whispering of the call.

In my personal journey, I have also found mother nature to be a beautiful healer. She frequently opens her heart to me and sends me courage through beautiful messages. It may be the unexpected arrival of a marsh hawk, a butterfly or the chance meeting with a beautiful lady bug.

For more information on this particular process of healing trauma, Dr. Peter Levine he has written several beautiful books and has also created a CD workbook.
To find a practitioner please visit:
www.traumahealing.com