The Old Woman still lives in the Forest as she once did in fairy tales. She can present her dark side to those who are uninitiated (mirror mirror on the wall…) but she also offers gifts to those that visit… Read More ›
Eco-systems
Suzanne Simard Creates a Bridge to the Future by Sara Wright
It interests me that September 30th was declared Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada because this is the day I was born and this is where I think we need to begin. Truth and Reconciliation is about acknowledging the wound… Read More ›
Sequoias by Sara Wright
When I think about the burning trees I think about women because we are so closely related through myth and story as well as sharing DNA. What is happening to these trees once happened to us… I note that women… Read More ›
Avian Friendship by Sara Wright
The other night I had a dream about a strange green hooded figure that was guarding a green gate underground. She wasn’t human; she had a hooked bird’s beak (like many of Marija Gimbutas’s goddess figures). Something about the strange… Read More ›
Moving towards the Dark… “Elder”berry Musings…by Sara Wright
“I wake up under a tropical dome that has been with us most of August. The thick air feels like it is smothering me, and with emphysema that may not be my imagination. I can no longer walk or hike… Read More ›
Women, Birds, and Feminism by Sara Wright
When I was about forty years old I discovered a clay deposit on a beach that I visited frequently. Intrigued, I sat down and began working with the river’s gift. I remember my astonishment when a beaked bird – woman… Read More ›
Patriarchy – For Love of Predators by Sara Wright
I live just down the road from one of our many lakes and ponds here in western Maine. Almost every morning I hear the haunting call of the loons as they fly over the house. Although I cherish the symphony… Read More ›
Rainy day Reflection by Sara Wright
Although the rain is tapering off we have had a temporary reprieve from the drought that has followed us through last year into spring and summer. Although the brook is flowing too quietly even after three days of showers the… Read More ›
Perilous Passages by Sara Wright
Old Woman cackled on the winga pterodactyl with clawscrimson black and whitea great windwas howlingand she was too.Passages she screeched.Her wrath undid me. The Way was Narrow. Cushions of mosscalmed wet cavern walls,steep stones threatened uncertain footsteps,echoing my descent.At the bottomof… Read More ›
Deluge by Sara Wright
It’s time to submit another post to FAR, the only blog site I follow, and a place where I have found genuine support and even a sense of community, which for me is a great gift. Mostly, I experience myself… Read More ›
Lessons From the Mother Tree by Sara Wright
Last night I was reading Forest Scientist Susanne Simard’s new book “Finding the Mother Tree”. She was writing about how uncanny it was that her personal life has paralleled that of trees, the forests, the plants, the fungi, the mycorrhiza… Read More ›
‘Mother’ West Wind and Mary’s Gold by Sara Wright
One day last week it almost drizzled. When I stepped outside that morning I was engulfed by fragrant mist. Rarely does light fog give the thirst- driven forest a temporary reprieve, greening needles, and encouraging tiny leaves to unfurl. With… Read More ›
Bears and Radical Ecology by Sara Wright
As an eco feminist I am deeply concerned with the loss of the animals I love. One of these is the Black bear whose visits are becoming more and more scarce as the forest around me disappears. The bear in… Read More ›
“Finding The Mother Tree” by Sara Wright
Susan Simard received her PhD in Forest Science and is a research scientist who works primarily in the field. Part of her dissertation was published in the prestigious journal Nature. Currently she is a professor in the department of Forest… Read More ›
Lily B and Messages From the Beyond by Sara Wright
The night before last I had a dream that has stayed with me. My dreams rise out of my body to teach and to comfort me so I pay close attention. I had recently written tributes for two men, Lynn… Read More ›
High Desert Sojourn by Sara Wright
I longed to re-visit the desert – my first journey left me with a longing for wide open spaces, a blue sky dome, a bowl of stars at night, so to return 25 years later was to complete an unfinished… Read More ›
Wings by Sara Wright
Early in January I discovered a chickadee with a broken wing floundering in the snow. I rescued him, providing him with a safe haven in the house, hoping he might recover use of his wing. For the first couple of… Read More ›
Toadwise: A Tale for a Life Lover – Part II by Sara Wright
Read Part I here… In the Americas I found more recent Indigenous mythology on the Toad as Goddess. Tlaltecuhtli is a Pre–Columbian (1200–1519) goddess belonging to the Mexica. Although Tlaltecuhtli’s name is masculine modern scholars interpret this toad figure as… Read More ›
Toadwise: A Tale for a Life Lover – Part I by Sara Wright
Last night I was thinking about the giant western toad that is living in my garden when I had a peculiar thought: Write a story about the Toad and an Old Woman and call it A Tale for a Life… Read More ›
Uncovering What’s Hidden by Sara Wright
Shame is the shadow of being unloved, unwanted, rejected, strung out on need. Shame paralyzes; slamming into reverse actions that would create new intentions including hope of love. Shame blots out Personhood, snapping the thread of interdependency. Plant Consciousness restores… Read More ›
A Story to Inspire Hope by Elizabeth Chloe Erdmann
These days deep emotions seem to burst forth at unexpected moments. While in the car between visiting a pumpkin farm owned by friends and the local cider mill, I decided to pull out a crumpled paper with my brief presentation… Read More ›
Telepathy, Women, and Birds by Sara Wright
I am a naturalist and ethologist who has studied many animals and birds in their natural habitat; my 15 year study of Maine’s black bears is perhaps the best example of the work I do. I am a dedicated animal… Read More ›
Sacrificial Gathering in the Long Covid Desert by Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee
I am a fairly private person; but I do like nice hugs. I grew up in a home that involved so much intentional love and affection that I came to see it as a normal part of any loving relationship…. Read More ›
Herb Talk: Bee Balm by Sara Wright
For Carol. Women’s relationship with plants stretches back to the beginning of humankind. Most of us know that women invented agriculture and became the first healers. I come from a family of women who all had gardens, but no one… Read More ›
Morning Meditation by Sara Wright
I have just returned from the brook where I offered up my Toad Moon prayers to the song of the Hermit thrush and to the rippling waters – first honoring my body with a poem written just for her, and… Read More ›
In Sight (Part 1) by Sara Wright
Four years ago I made a radical decision to spend a winter in New Mexico. Maine winters were long and I was 71 years old. An unfinished experience 25 years ago had left me with a longing to spend more… Read More ›
Ecocide and PTSD by Sara Wright
The fierce light of the white star pierced her thick white fur as the mother froze. She was trying to imagine how her cubs could make the jump from one jagged ice flow to another in the cracked deep blue… Read More ›
Lessons From Birch & Mother Earth—Grace, Resilience, and Rebirth by Mary Gelfand
When I moved to Maine from New Orleans 15 years ago, I was delighted to discover how many birch trees were on the property where I lived with my new partner. Previously I had had little contact with these beautiful… Read More ›
Midsummer Meditation by Sara Wright
It is past “midsummer” and we are moving into the hottest time of the year without a drop of nourishing, healing rain… When I walk around outdoors I find myself focusing on the many different ferns that grace the forest… Read More ›
Gardening Through the Storm by Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee
I spend a lot of time thinking about gardens. I think there might be something to them. It seems strange to talk about gardens during such an intense time. The crucible of injustice, laid so bare during the pandemic, is… Read More ›
