Crickhollow Newsletter
What’s happening on the farm
If you have been to the farm for an event or energy session it is quite likely that you have met these lovely creatures. For a few years now Petra and Andreas, beef farmers whose home farm is just down the road from us, have rented our barn. They take good care of their animals and keep our barn in tip top shape. They will now have their cows on our pasture during the summer.
We are working with them to ensure that organic practices are followed as much as possible. Organic seed has been purchased to frost seed the pasture, the area that the bobolinks nest in will be protected and the pasture will be fertilized with manure. I will put the biodynamic preparations in the to manure pile to continue with my goal of Crickhollow being a biodynamic farm.
Last Saturday I attended the Biodynamic Society of Ontario’s AGM and picked up the preparations. It was nice to reconnect with the society. I look forward to the preparation making day in the spring.
Events on the farm
I am having such a great time collaborating with Jenny Parsons and her dad, Bruce Parsons on our labyrinth project. As I mentioned last month, Bruce made a labyrinth here over ten years ago and this spring we are making it again. This time we are making it wide enough to fit our mower through so we can keep it clear and easy to walk for years to come.
Bruce incorporates labyrinths in his art exhibitions and has this to say: “This is a celebration of my 80 years of walking, hiking and climbing mountains in Alberta and later in China and Tibet; also at the great pyramid sites of Egypt, Guatemala and Mexico, the Avalon peninsula trail at Witless Bay in Newfoundland and the rocky shores of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. … I use a well-known source of the design from ancient Crete, which was used for divination. "
Bruce Parsons has been exhibiting in solo and group exhibitions throughout his long practice as a painter, printmaker, muralist and installation artist. From late 1970’s to late 2000 he was a Director of the Graduate MFA programme and Associate Professor of Fine Arts department at York University. His extensive exhibition record includes solo and group exhibitions in Canada, Beijing, New York City, Hong Kong and England.
It is such a meditative, calm and beautiful experience to walk a labyrinth. When I used to walk the one we had here I could hear music. It was particularly lovely to walk with other people and feel each others experience. We feel very fortunate to have Bruce back again.
Please join us for the following events:
Wednesday May 1, 5:30 to 7pm at Jest Arts in Durham
Beltane Labyrinth Celebrations*
Meet in the store - Friday’s Child Apothecary “Cuppa Chill” tea will be offered
Black Cat Chat - “What/When/Why Beltane” with Kat Assaff
Tarot Card Club - "A comparison between the Tarot images by Crowley & Harris and those of Rider, Waite, & Smith (as an introduction to the two women who painted them)" presented by Jenny Parsons. Followed by a Tarot/Oracle swap. Bring one, leave with one!
Labyrinth Teaser - We move around to the back of the building, to the little forest behind the gazebo, to walk a temporary labyrinth made by Professor Bruce Parsons.
*Advance tickets will be offered at a discount at www.jestarts.ca or $33, on the day, at the door.
Friday May 3, 1:00
Labyrinth preparation work bee at Crickhollow.
Work along side Bruce to stake out where the labyrinth will sit in the meadow. Learn where to start when you have an artistic concept to place on the landscape. There will be quite a bit of bending and walking involved. Up to four people. Contact Rosemary at rosemary@crickhollow.ca to sign up to help out. Your help is greatly appreciated as this part can be quite hard on the back!
Saturday May 4, 1:00. Rain date: Sunday May 5.
Labyrinth Creation Day and Celebratory Walk of the Labyrinth
Work along side Bruce to define the labyrinth paths and feel the magic of the labyrinth as it takes form. We will also make finger labyrinths to take home and generally have a wonderful time basking in the beauty of spring. There is no fee for this event but there will be lots of opportunity to help out and similar to the Friday work bee there will be a fair bit of bending and walking. Contact Rosemary at rosemary@crickhollow.ca to sign up. There is room for about 12 people.
Energy Work
Our Reiki Level One class was an absolute joy to teach.
I am so grateful for our experience. It was such a pleasure to be part of women developing their intuition and learning how to bring healing energy to themselves and those around them.
I welcome you all to experience reiki here at Crickhollow. I have set up online appointment booking and you can also reach me by email (rosemary@crickhollow.ca) or phone (519-369-0058) to book an appointment. Reiki appointments are $60 for a one hour session. This button takes you to our web page about reiki where you will find another ‘Book a reiki session with Rosemary’ button that takes you to our Calendly booking system.
Thank you for reading this months newsletter! I hope that you enjoy the rhythm of new moon intention setting. This month is particularly exciting with the solar eclipse!