Saturday, April 11th at 1 p.m. Welcome to a new year of Family Mystery School! Our opening session will be for those early birds ready to get a jump start and experience something special for Easter and springtime! We will read a story called The Sleeping Tree Mystery by Jean Lewis - a mystery story about some animal’s missing items being used by a mother bird for her nest. We will talk about the concept of mysteries ...
May 2nd, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Beltane is the cross quarter celebration halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice of our big sky clock. It is a time of great fertility and we celebrate the fecundity of the earth as well as ourselves! All members are invited to a ceremony, potluck and bonfire, as well as a maypole dance. I do ask that you read through our Community Guidelines before attending. Because these celebrations are deeply ...
Today is the vernal equinox. It is the time when day and night are of equal length. We celebrate the balance between dark and light (the sun and the moon), not only in the sky, but within ourselves. Over the years we have enacted this concept through our Druidic Alban Eiler ritual, walking into the light half of the year through the gateway of the merging of the sun and the moon. We understand this is an ...
Saturday, April 25, 2026 ⋅1:00 – 3:30pm We will be planting Norway Spruce seedlings to grow some more Christmas trees for the coming years. In the past we have shared our homegrown trees with members of the sanctuary and would like to continue this tradition! We'll plant some trees and then gather around the bonfire for some fellowship. Feel free to bring a snack or beverage, or something to share if that sounds fun. Kindly RSVP to ...
"You are not a machine. You're a soul who needs music, connection, sunsets, laughter, and small pockets of joy. Prioritize them like your life depends on it - because it does." - Vex King Those sublime moments are really what it's all about. Being able to recognize them, take them in, and help others to do the same gives life meaning. Knowing how to say no to that which drains you and constantly keeps you away ...
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" -William Shakespeare Have you been wondering about the significance of our name - Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary? Found within the word hedgerow is the word "edge". In permaculture design we view edges as some of the most abundant places. Within ecosystems they allow for the biggest variety of life. On the edge of a forest where it is next to ...
What if you knew someone who was cutting themself and you took them to a psychiatrist, and instead of seeking the underlying reason why the person was so distraught as to be cutting themself you were told that cutting yourself is a perfectly ok thing to do. You were told in fact that we should support this person by giving them medication that masks the deeper issues and makes them feel alright about cutting themself. And you ...
Imbolc falls on February 2nd this year. It's the cross quarter between the winter solstice and spring equinox - the halfway point between them. The light is growing and this is when I actually always begin to notice the days becoming slightly longer. So it makes sense to celebrate with candles as the tiny light from Christmas grows stronger and we nurture this light within ourselves as well. Decorating the NE stone of the circle is ...
Monarch Butterfly on Sunchoke flowers by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC "For the world is not painted or adorned, but is from the beginning beautiful; and God has not made some beautiful things, but Beauty is the creator of the universe." --Ralph Waldo Emerson Truly studying the patterns of nature will always bring us eventually to God. Lately I've been reading the book A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, ...
In the Druid tradition, the Cailleach is the goddess who represents the dark time, the time of tearing down and decay, but also it is she who builds the bones of the land, the bringer of the mountains. Within nature and our own lives we find the same cycles of darkness, death and decay leading to renewal and rebirth. We cannot have one without the other. Hail to the Cailleach, an essential aspect of ...
Our mystical Christmas celebration was another beautiful gathering. For those who weren't able to make it, we missed you! The North stone decorated for Christmas as we go around the wheel of the year / stone clock reflecting the big sky clock of our planisphere. The North stone Yew on one side of the center stone and a bare oak branch on the other. The cross ...
Ironweed dried remains - what looks like dried petals is the calyx. Photo by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC "When one sees Eternity in things that pass away, then one has pure knowledge." ~ From the Bhagavad Gita Ironweed beginning to blossom Ironweed in bloom Dried Ironweed in Autumn Icey Winter Ironweed Ironweed is a native perennial plant which grows at Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary along with other native wildflowers such as Joe Pyeweed, native ...
Lately I've been feeling exceedingly tired. I'm not sure all the reasons why my energy has been so low, but I know many people have been feeling the heaviness of the dark time of year being upon us. Things that might not feel so daunting at other times can feel more burdensome. Of course, the winter solstice is when we have reached the darkest part of the year, so our celebrations revolve around the return of the ...
Hello Friends, As you probably know, we have lots of cats at the sanctuary. Stray cats find their way to us and we take in as many as we can. We currently have eight cats, with another couple who come regularly to eat food we leave out for them. I have slowly been becoming more knowledgeable about how to care for them in a more holistic way. This video covers some of the most important aspects of ...
Saturday, December 20th at Noon If you celebrate the winter solstice, you are celebrating the birth of Christ! In the midst of the darkness, a new light is born. He brings the gift of the present; He is the living Word of God, the Logos, the Savior who can set you free. He is Lord Jesus Christ, in whose magical name can be found the ever flowing Way leading you back home. He is within and without, ...
Hi everyone! This winter has already been very cold and snowy, and it's not even officially winter yet! We hope you are all staying warm! The farm cats have been greatly appreciating the heat lamps we have set up for them inside the hoophouse, as well as straw to burrow down into. In the video above you can see and hear the wind gusting outside, but Charlie the cat is completely cozy and undisturbed. Following are a ...
Cleaning Up the Creek Bed Last week we received notice that the county was planning to come in this month to do the cleaning out of the creek (or as they like to call it, the "drain"). As you can see in the pictures, we're in a dry period and there's currently no water in it. Included in the plan was to take down trees and plants all along one side so they could get their equipment ...
On 11.11 - Martinmas, Veterans Day, Armistice Day St. Martin a poem by Eugene Schwartz “St. Martin, St. Martin, a Roman soldier bold, Swiftly on his snow-white steed through icy streets once rode, Not fearing bleak November skies nor numbing winds so cold! An aged, ailing beggar Martin met upon his way, "Oh, could you spare a coin for one so poor, my lord, I pray? "Oh, would you save a soul who suffers from the chill ...
A big thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this day so beautiful! Each person, from the youngest to the oldest, participated and made it incredibly special. Charging the water with moonlight and sunlight for blessings and consecration Preparing for the ceremony Ceremony in the Stone Circle The arrival of the Cailleach representing the destructive and cleansing forces of nature. ...
Going into the darker time of year is difficult for many of us. Our energy wanes with the sun. The cycles of the year and the seasons are really also our own cycles in so many ways. It seems a bit trite on the surface, but the more l delve into the layers of it, the more I find there is to discover. From the fullness of a breath taken, to the emptiness of a breath released, ...