Lesley Land

I went out to check my garden today only to find my Mr. Stacky planter had blown over in the heavy winds last night! Thankfully only one plant had actually come out of its pot and there was only a bit of soil lost that I replaced. It seems fine now that it is back upright. It was probably mostly my fault since the ground is not completely level where I have it (or pretty much anywhere in my yard).  As you can maybe see from the photos, my kale and herbs (especially cilantro and lemon balm) are super happy! I still have one stack left that could be planted, but with it blowing over last night I am not sure about doing that. The top would totally be spilled out all over if there had been anything in there. Also, I kept a heavy metal garden sculpture with a heavy solid glass ball (it must weigh close to 5 lbs) in the top to try to keep it from blowing over!  Oh, and the top photo of this post is my mulberry tree! It is just full of berries! I am so happy because there were very f...

 I was super happy with this box! It came on the day of my second COVID shot and was the bright spot of that day!  The first thing I saw upon opening was The Earth and Animal Spirits book! I am always happy to get books and looking through this one since then - it is quite informative! The first part is about different animal spirits and second half are earth spirits like fairies, elves, gnomes and even goblins!  The second thing I pulled out wondering what it was ended up being a small bar of handmade soap with little amethyst chips inside! I can't wait to use and get all the chips out!  Next I opened the little box and inside was a green aventurine tree of life necklace! I have a couple tree of life pendants, but this one is quite different. It is a good size, around 2", not tiny like last months pendant. I've already worn it once!  Then the little bag, an adorable carved agate stone cat! Apparently there were quite a few different animals you could get and th...

 Happily at least some of my seeds have sprouted! Not a lot so far, but my container zucchini (I almost always have good luck with that), container eggplant and arugula. I've never grown arugula before and haven't in the past much luck with eggplant, but we'll see how it goes. I am hoping more seeds will eventually sprout. In the meantime, I bought this niffy "Mr Stacky" 5 tier planter which I am filling with herbs and small plants. So far, sweet basil, thai basil, cilantro, lemon balm and a couple succulents. There is also something called pineapple sage, but I will be moving that tomorrow because I didn't realize it grows to 3 feet tall! I also planted a few herbs in the yard, echinacea (purple cornflower), chamomile, which I've never had much luck with, but love the dainty little flowers and the smell. Also, Bee Balm which I had luck with in the past for a few years, but that was with daily watering. I put it in a shadier spot this time and hope it won...

Last year my seedlings didn't come up. I have a feeling that had something to do with me. Last Spring was a confusing time, COVID was a new thing that came and changed our lives and so many things about it were unknown then. Anyhow, I am sure that I probably watered too much or not enough or did something wrong!  I was unsure if I would try again this Spring, but I guess I feel more hopeful and so today I started my seeds in their little greenhouses. Hopefully, they will decide to sprout for me this year! If so, it will be mainly a container garden. The soil in my yard is just too hard for me to dig into and most of the places that aren't full sun all day don't have enough space to lay out a garden. Seed packets often say the plant likes "full sun," but I know for a fact that does not mean New Mexico full sun because I have never had a plant grow in full sun!  Oh, and I am scheduled for my first COVID shot on Monday. I'll admit that as much as I want this shot...

Not sure why, but I ordered a moonstone worry stone on Etsy. I like moonstones so I guess that is reason enough. When I got it 5 days ago I read somewhere that they are good to calm and help to fall asleep. I am always trying to find something that calms my mind when I can't sleep. I've tried all the lavender and CBD oils, various sprays, teas and so on. None of them worked for me. Why not try one more thing? I put it on the table next to my bed and forgot about it. That night I had the BEST dream! I don't normally have nightmares, but most of my dreams are kind of weird and uncomfortable (at least the ones I remember), but this was just a wonderful dream. I woke up right after and thought "wow!" All of the sudden the moonstone popped up in my mind, almost like it was telling me that it had somehow brought me that dream. I have used the moonstone almost every night since then, it is a worry stone so when I can't turn my mind off and fall asleep I rub it and st...

 In Albuquerque at the end of a road named Menaul is an area that is said to be haunted.  During the day it doesn't seem at all haunted, there are several hiking trails and in good weather it is pretty busy with hikers and nature lovers.  This is the story I know about the haunting:  There was a serial killer who lived in a cave in that area. He would kidnap people and take them there where he would then kill them, roast and eat them.  So far nobody has found a proper cave, though there are large stones that could form a shelter from the elements. Also, I have checked the local archives and found no mention of any serial killer, so it would seem this is an urban legend used as it was with me to scare children not to go anywhere with a stranger.  Well, or this story could have sprung up due to people reporting seeing ghostly lights in the area at night. Most report the lights as looking like someone running around with a lantern. However, one of my friends h...

 I just recently subscribed to Tamed Wild . It was sort of a toss up between that and Mindful Souls. However, Mindful Souls is about $20 more per month.  Since I subscribed at the end of March I ended up with the Ostara box even though Ostara had already passed. Possibly I should have waited a bit longer.  So was it worth the $20 subscription is the main question. Well, and that is sort of subjective because it also depends whether you like what you got, if you didn't it is pretty worthless.  First off, the box it came in was lovely, the sort of box you don't want to throw away even though you have no clue why you should save it!  I couldn't wait to open it and check out the contents!  First off, a tea light or "ritual candle" they call it. No information on what this is made from so I assume it is a normal candle, not soy or beeswax. Meh! I would not buy. Second, Rose of Jericho. I wasn't really sure what this was for. No real information other than it is ...