"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 ...
Some of the permaculture presentation attendees at Gateway Farm I had a fantastic time presenting at Gateway Farm this past Sunday and though it was not recorded, I wanted to share a transcript of my presentation here with you all! But before I do, something to understand about permaculture is that it is a design system based on observation and pattern recognition within nature. This is also the basis of the Mystery School tradition ...
Pear tree before pruning Pear tree after pruning Apple tree before pruning Apple tree after pruning Peach tree before we harvested the peaches Peach tree after pruning Gary the master pruner Brennah putting tree salve on the cuts Brennah putting tree salve on the cuts ...
Sunday, September 14th at Gateway Farm Just a reminder that I will be making a presentation at Gateway Farm in Plymouth on Sunday along with other local folks in the permaculture community. The organizers have now made it a FREE event, by donation only! So if that was a concern for you, you do not have to miss out! Here is a summary of the talk I will be giving. ✨ It's All Connected Do ...
Peach tree before we harvested the peaches Saturday, August 30th - Noon to 4pm Would you like to learn how to prune fruit trees? Our friend, Gary Turner is going to come work with us on our apple, pear, and peach trees to get them in better shape for being able to produce fruit better. You are invited to come hang out, help carry the pruned branches away, and learn about pruning from Gary! ...
I used to think this was not all that important a question. One God, many Gods, no God... as long as people had good ethics, it didn't really matter. But guess what? Truth matters. And we can actually know the truth. That's what I've been delving into a lot lately. Gnosis. Not simply personal gnosis, but verifiable, provable, information that is all around us in nature. Permaculture teaches us to see patterns. It's the foundation for permaculture ...
Saturday, January 25th at 2:00 pm Your body is what connects you to the physical material realm. Join me for a discussion of your body as part of the earth element, and a nature hike led by self-taught naturalist, Brennah Cavanaugh. Jean connecting with the earth (not enough snow to make a snow angel!) As always we will talk about ways to take care of ourselves and the land, looking through the lenses of both ...
Red Osier Dogwood in the foreground Hi Friends! As we head ever closer to winter, I want to share something I found which could help many of us to be more resilient in our lives. As most of you know by now, we practice permaculture principles here at the Sanctuary, which involves finding ways to live more sustainably. woodland trail For quite a few years I have been interested in ...
The Swan Creek at Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary 💧 How does the fact that you are a water being relate to your health and well being? What are some things you can do to support the function of water in your body? 💧Learn also how water is related to your emotions and the importance of embodiment practices in connecting to love. 💧Gather a magical berry found at the sanctuary to take home to use for ...
rainbow in the fire circle Do you consider your body and spirit a natural system mirroring the world around you? As you picture sunshine, fresh air, and pure water nourishing and stabilizing the land, can you see it doing the same for you? Come join us as we explore the element of Earth and connect with our own inner healers. We will begin with a meditation and a song. There will then be a ...
Spring is in full swing at the Farm and Sanctuary! So I wanted to give you a small tour of the current beauty and abundance! As most of you know, we specialize in perennial food crops at Crossing Hedgerows, and have planted a food forest nearby the house. We used permaculture design to create this food forest, which I love to talk about when we have folks out for walks. Every year it becomes more and more ...
Moving forward with EGLEs requirements, yesterday we had a wetland specialist come out to do a survey, which will be part of what we will be submitting for the permit process. We are doing our best throughout this process to show EGLE that our intent is for land regeneration, as well as for giving opportunities for the public to experience and learn from the restored land. (EGLE is the State of Michigan's department of Environment, Great Lakes, ...
Sunday, August 27th, 10 AM to 1 PMOur topic will be AIR IS MEDICINE. 🌬*Designing permaculture zone 1 (our homes) for healthy air, and the impacts of clean air both inside and outside.*How our thoughts affect our health.*We will go for a walk through the woods to soak up the fresh forest air and write love notes to the trees.*We will meander through the meadow and notice all the "air creatures" - bees, butterflies, flying insects, dragonflies, ...
How can we take small steps together in community to shift our lives towards healing on all levels? Integrating spirituality and ecology to heal our lives and create deep friendships will be the purpose of this group. 🌀Facilitated by Jean Cavanaugh, in each session we will dive into a topic, sample food using our farm fresh ingredients, and experience the healing of earth, water, air, and fire on the land of Crossing Hedgerows. 🌀There will be a variety ...
Sunrise - July 1st, 2023: A distinctive purple glow over the stone circleAs we head into July, I want to thank you all for your continued support of Crossing Hedgerows Sanctuary. Though we haven't been having as many events this year, the land continues to heal and is teaming with ever more life. Sometimes the bird song is almost deafening around here, and the varieties of insects, and animals passing through are too many to list. Yet ...
On Monday I had the opportunity to speak at a public meeting of County Drain Commissioners for Wayne, Monroe, and Washtenaw counties regarding the clearing of the North Branch of the Swan Creek. This is the creek which runs through the Sanctuary land, eventually emptying into Lake Erie. The creek runs through these three counties, and the commissioners were asking for public comment from the land owners whose properties would be affected by a proposal to clear ...
For our Skills and Friendship Day last week, the focus was on clearing around one of our American Hazelnut bushes to give it a bit more space. It had been getting closed in on by False Indigo Bush and Sunchokes, both of which are native perennials which we planted along with the hazelnut, but were beginning to crowd it out a bit too much.Sarenth cutting False Indigo Bush. It is a spreading shrub which has done really ...
The photo above was taken this summer of some native plants growing under the shade of autumn olive shrubs, which are considered invasive. There are two sassafras trees and some spicebush, both of which are highly valuable for wildlife and humans alike. These native forest plants popped up on their own in this spot, spread by natural processes.Autumn olives can be problematic when they take over areas that have generally been dominated by native thickets of shrubs ...
https://youtube.com/shorts/Q5i-7VtLsro?feature=share A couple of our members donated their leftover pumpkins to us for the chickens this past week. As you can see in the video, the chickens appreciated it very much... to the point that some were not wanting to share! So I ended up bringing in another pumpkin for them, as there were plenty to go around! Each chicken area got some pumpkins, and they were all very happy indeed. Pumpkin seeds are a ...
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 ...