About Jean Cavanaugh

Jean Cavanaugh is the founder and steward of Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary, established in 2019 as a living, learning community devoted to reconnecting people with the wisdom of nature, the sacred order of creation, and the presence of Christ within all life. Her work brings together spiritual formation, ecological stewardship, ancestral wisdom, and hands-on community practice. Through years of practical work on the land, study of the Mysteries, and the healing of her own severe health challenges through natural methods, Jean has come to recognize God’s hand at work throughout creation. Her teachings, rooted in the Mystery School tradition and Christian gnosis, explore how the patterns of heaven, earth, and the human body reveal the way back to divine presence, peace, and inner strength. Jean leads with honesty, integrity, and a deeply welcoming spirit, inviting others to let go of inherited assumptions and rediscover truth through lived experience and embodied understanding. She works with all ages—from preschoolers to elders—offering programs and celebrations that emphasize direct engagement with nature, music, story, homesteading skills, and in-person community. She and her family live at the 21-acre Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary, where daily life reflects a commitment to simplicity, beauty, and harmony with the land. The sanctuary includes gardens, woodland trails, a seasonal creek, gathering circles, and spaces designed to nourish both people and wildlife. Jean is especially passionate about creating environments that are grounding, beautiful, and spiritually restorative. Through her writing and teaching, Jean encourages others to know themselves, know creation, and recognize Christ as the living truth present within and around us—always inviting a return to love, beauty, and the sacred order of life.

Photos from Fire Ceremony with Jim TwoSnakes

By |2026-03-18T19:04:32-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations|

We were honored to have Jim TwoSnakes coming to Crossing Hedgerows to share the Q'ero Fire Ceremony with our community. The Q’ero (Peruvian) Fire Ceremony is an ancient rite with profound impact that has changed the lives of many people. Everywhere Jim TwoSnakes conducts a Fire Ceremony, you can find people willing to attest to its power to transform. With a blessed and sacred fire, we ask Pachamama (Mother Earth) to compost and recycle the issues we ...

Event: Autumn Celebration

By |2026-03-13T01:22:43-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations|

Saturday, September 24 at 2pmAs Autumn approaches, we are going to be winding down our events for the year here at Crossing Hedgerows. We are feeling the need for a breather, and also want to allow everyone time to focus on home and family. However, please do remember that we are always open by appointment for members to access the land for their own private pilgrimages. So with that in mind, we invite you to a second event ...

Sanctuary Magic

By |2026-03-18T19:04:08-04:00January 31st, 2026|Fauna, Flora|

  Hello everyone! We would once again like to provide you with a little Sanctuary Magic brought to you by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC. These were all taken in the month of August. The images are compressed, and not the high resolution of the originals, so that we can share them publicly.                   (Petey - a monarch raised from an egg by Alissa, then adopted by the Cavanaughs and ...

Recent Community Happenings and Photos

By |2026-03-18T19:03:48-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations, News|

Skills and Friendship Days (aka work days), along with an evening of community sharing this past Saturday, have rounded out the the events of the last few weeks nicely. I hope you enjoy the following photo journal to capture the late summer vibe, and a smattering of what's been happening around the farm and sanctuary. The Yew tree   Sarenth and Emily clearing grape vines off the Yew tree   Sarenth clearing  grape vines off the Yew ...

A Few Residents of the Sanctuary

By |2026-03-18T19:03:26-04:00January 31st, 2026|Fauna|

The following photographs by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC were all taken this summer at Crossing Hedgerows. These are a select few of the many creatures whose portraits she has taken at the farm and sanctuary. We wanted to share them with you in gratitude for your continued support.               Brennah is planning to start her own Patreon soon, but we will continue to occasionally feature her work here, in the same ...

Some Current Scenery at the Sanctuary

By |2026-03-13T01:16:33-04:00January 31st, 2026|Flora|

Path from the Sanctuary driveway back towards the woodsBlue Vervain standing proudlyPurple Loosestrife glowing in the sunshine (for an interesting perspective on this plant, feel free to check out the following link: https://commonwealthherbs.com/herb-of-the-week-purple-loosestrife/ )One of the wider trails through the woods - a wonderful place to be on a hot day."When you regain a sense of your life as a journey of discovery, you return to rhythm with yourself. When you take the time to travel with reverence, a ...

Lughnasadh Celebration Photos

By |2026-03-18T19:02:43-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations|

We had a lovely Lughnasadh Celebration yesterday with those who were able to make it out. One of our sacred Druid plants, who grows at the Sanctuary, asked to be featured and made use of for our ritual, so we happily obliged. At the entrance to the ritual space, we had some agrimony infused water for participants to use for cleansing.     * * * * * * ** A few folks relaxing after the potluck. ...

Monarch Butterflies at Crossing Hedgerows

By |2026-03-18T19:02:24-04:00January 31st, 2026|Fauna|

This week the monarch butterfly was put on the endangered species list. https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/07/25/monarch-butterflies-named-endangered-species-red-list/ I'm glad to report that we've still been seeing them around the farm and sanctuary regularly this year, and we do have a couple of different varieties of milkweed available for them. Yesterday I saw four different ones flitting about. Monarch on Swamp Milkweed - Photo by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC taken on July 14, 2022 at Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary I would like to ...

Skills and Friendship Days

By |2026-03-18T19:02:05-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations|

I thought it would be nice to catch you up with some pictures from some of our recent Skills and Friendship Days (previously known as Work Days 😉). So without further ado... here is some of what we've been up to lately. Harvesting garlic scapes   Preparing the garlic scapes for pickling   Putting the cut scapes into the bag   Snipping off the tough parts and the ends, and cutting them to the right size to ...

Composting Outhouse Building Progress

By |2026-03-13T01:12:59-04:00January 31st, 2026|News|

Dan has been working on finishing up the outhouse, with some help along the way from Brennah. It is now mostly finished, and fully functional! Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks:Getting ready to make a door for the back, where the bucket will be taken in and out for composting the contents.A scoop of wood chips is to be added on top after each use of the toilet.There are a few last details ...

Update on Sanctuary Earthworks and Infrastructure Project

By |2026-03-18T19:00:18-04:00January 31st, 2026|News|

One of the gardens at Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary Last week we had our third consultation with Garden Juju Collective as they continue to work on the design and project management of making our vision a reality for the Sanctuary land. (As I write this, I realize that I neglected to let you all know that we had actually contracted with them to help us continue the pond excavation, land preparation, and building project.) "Garden Juju Collective is ...

Plant Portrait – False Indigo Bush

By |2026-03-18T18:59:51-04:00January 31st, 2026|Flora|

As you might know by now, I like to periodically highlight plants we have at the farm and sanctuary. Today's pick is the False Indigo bush.  False Indigo Bush in blossom - photo by Brennah Cavanaugh Photography LLC   This is one which we planted back around 2014 in various areas because it does well in wetter habitats. It is a native plant to the area that is also a nitrogen fixer, meaning that it adds natural ...

Outhouse Building Photos

By |2026-03-13T01:07:22-04:00January 31st, 2026|News|

We got a lot done on our outhouse project this past Saturday! The materials on the left in the photo above were all donated to us by Bill Campbell, who teaches construction and engineering classes at the Saline High School. These were some leftover materials from his classes that were going to be discarded, but he snagged them for us instead!The base of the outhouse finished. It's bigger than it looks in the photo. The finished base with floor... ...

Open Submission Box

By |2026-03-18T18:59:22-04:00January 31st, 2026|News|

  We would like to invite those who have spent time at the Farm and Sanctuary to submit inspired poetry, photos, or experiences from your visit. These then will be posted here for all to enjoy, and to feel together the connections being made within our shared human and nonhuman community. You may email your submissions to: crossinghedgerowssanctuary@gmail.com Sincerely, ~Your friends at Crossing Hedgerows Farm and Sanctuary~

Update on Infrastructure Work

By |2026-03-13T01:07:10-04:00January 31st, 2026|Birds, News|

A unique aspect of Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary and Farm is that we incorporate our spiritual practices with the day to day aspects of caring for the land and creating resilient systems. Sometimes it feels like a lot of balls in the air to juggle community building, ecosystem reparations, seasonal celebrations, and farm work. The mission of our nonprofit is extensive to be sure.To that end, the degree to which we can develop each of these aspects of ...

What Happens at Work Days?

By |2026-03-18T18:56:26-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations, Musings|

Spontaneous dandelion offering left by Charlotte for the Spirits of the Land   For those who have not been to a recent work day, I would like to share what they are like and how they have been evolving, using our most recent one as an example. To begin, we take a moment to thank the Spirits of the Land for their abundance. We then spend awhile taking a walk around to see what is happening on ...

Upcoming June Events

By |2026-03-18T18:58:16-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations, Flora|

Primroses from our Spring Equinox celebration growing happily   Here's what is going on at the Farm and Sanctuary this month. Our regular workdays will resume on Wednesdays and Saturdays, on Wednesday, June 15th after a two week break starting tomorrow. Saturday, June 18th (start time TBD): We will be building a composting outhouse with the help of Bill Campbell, who teaches construction/engineering at the Saline H.S. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are needing to ...

Beltane Celebration 💜

By |2026-03-18T18:56:04-04:00January 31st, 2026|Events & Celebrations|

Our wonderful gathering today started with an excellent talk on Working with the Land Spirits by Sarenth Odinsson, and concluded with a Maypole Dance and potluck/bonfire. I thought you might enjoy some pictures. Thank you to Raven and Doug for taking such great ones! (Since we all danced together, we didn't have anyone to take pictures of the actual dance ❤️) And a big thank you to Alissa for coming early to help finish assembling the Maypole! ...

Lady’s Mantle: The Alchemical Chalice

By |2026-03-18T18:54:49-04:00January 31st, 2026|Flora|

  One of the herbs we have in our Paw Paw, Aronia Berry guild is Lady's Mantle. She is one of the magical flora of the Druid tradition. "One of the most striking characteristics of this graceful plant is the way its leaves gather dewdrops. During the night the leaves fold like umbrellas, opening in the morning to reveal their watery treasure. Dew has been considered to have magical properties since ancient times, when in the Celtic ...

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