Plow Monday and Full Wolf Moon

Plow Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, is the traditional day in Europe for farmers to restart their farm work. Our garden isn't large, but, with the ducks, it's like a miniature farm. Normally, it's too wet at this time in the Pacific Northwest to do any digging, but many other tasks are possible, and it's good motivation for me to have this set date each year to start my “farm work”.

 

And tonight is the full moon of January, called atalka - the "Stay Inside Moon" - by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Wolf Moon by others, because of the hungry packs of wolves that used to roam for prey at this time of deep winter. The full Wolf Moon is a good time to ponder what I am hungry for, and how to be resilient.

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. The full moon shines her light on everything; use the full moon energy for creatively completing things, and for seeing your next moves, and also to CELEBRATE how far you've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

Agenda for today & this week: 

1. Journal query

2. Vision walk

3. Celebrate stillness

4. Tool blessing ceremony

5. Garden planing

6. Daily garden visits

7. Make Homity Pie

1. Journal query:

Plow Monday is the day I like to fantasize and plan changes in my garden: I ruminate about what worked last year, and what didn’t. Then I take out a fresh garden notebook and write up my goals for the new year - new garden projects, and new things to plant. My query this year is:

How can I make my garden a better sanctuary for wildlife and for my family, more comfortable for friends, a greater learning experience for my grandsons, an environmental teaching space for neighbors and passers-by, more mysterious and secluded, more of a visual treat, AND easier to keep up with?

My focus this year is to continue to plant native plants that feed native pollinators and birds; I want to plant a keystone tree in the front yard (or perhaps a Western Serviceberry?); and add layers of education (witness) with art and craftivism in public and private parts of the yard. Also, a secluded place for the boys tepee or a fort, and  a bigger sand pit with an edger and a cover. And maybe this is the year I will invest in a large umbrella (for the front)?

2. Vision walk:

Photo by Alan Gillespie

The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be shocked by the clarity of my insights. I might see some ugliness, all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.

Today I'm going to settle in to silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - by putting myself into a relaxed, trance-like state, and seeking a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart.

Today I call on the Spirit of Light to guide me, bring me clarity and open my eyes. 

 

What are my habits of mindfulness and stillness? How do I stay centered in the chaos of life?

What is my growing edge? What skills, knowledge, and practical wisdom would be helpful?

Where is my inner guide leading me? Who is helping me towards clarity?

 

3. Celebrate stillness:

My theme for this White Moon cycle continues to be stillness. I've been sitting with some big questions about how to best proceed in my life, and have gotten clarity on some of them. Today I get to celebrate my accomplishments and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks.

To celebrate stillness I will:

• Call a friend and set a date to meet for a drink tonight.
• Take a long walk and take photos of the trees.
• Plan an Inspiration Retreat for Saturday.

4. Tool Blessing Ceremony:

Before farm work starts on Plow Monday, a ceremonial plow is blessed at church, then paraded through the streets to collect money for the parish.

One of the projects we completed last fall is a new tool wall and potting cabinet! Today I will clean and sharpen my garden tools and oil the wooden handles; and disinfect all pruners with alcohol wipes. While I work, I'll focus on the purpose and history of these tools: All the planting of food that they have helped with, and the pruning of trees, and the trimming of grass. 

I clean the dirt out of my storage basket, and put everything away again in better order. I make the act of cleaning into a blessing: “Bless these tools to do their work”.

5. Garden Planning:

January is the perfect time to get my plans for the year in order. This is actually a pretty time-consuming project, so I will schedule a few times this week to work on it: 

1. Choose what to plant: First I'll make a list of what we like to eat, all the standards, plus a few experimental crops. (loofa sponges?) + some new natives to try.
2. Map out the garden: Revise the rotation of my vegetable beds for the year, and figure out where to plant each thing. 
3. Research and list the best kind of seed to get for my growing season. Check out the Second Breakfast Garden list of favorite seed companies.
4. Order seeds: Look through my seeds to see what new seed I need and make a comprehensive list, then place an order!
5. Update my planting schedule: Next, I need to determine the date to start each thing, and put it onto my planting spreadsheet, and my calendar. Hardiness zones are shifting, and first and last frost dates are less predictable than they used to be, but we are typically in USDA zone 8b, and Sunset zone 6, and our last frost date is April 25th (15 weeks from now).
6. Update my monthly checklists: I'm going to use the Second Breakfast Garden monthly guides this year to update my checklists, because they are in zone 8b.
7. Start a new garden record book: I used to keep better records, but somewhere along the line I stopped. This is the year I'm going to keep track of garden successes and failures—dates when I notice certain pests, and when I add soil amendments, for example.

6. Daily Garden Visits:

I've been out in my garden less since winter started. But even in January, the garden offers me connections with the earth and sky, the seasons, and the Spirit of Creation. My heart fills when I visits even for a few minutes each day, to watch the ducks, see the buds poking up and the changes in the trees.

Here are the tasks that will inspire me to step out into my garden this week:

• Harvest kale and bok choy for dinner.
• Take my camera out into the garden to collect images. 
• Check the bird feeders and refill them.
• This is a good time to prune the grape, and summer flowering bushes like the hydrangea.
• Rake up the last of the Hawthorn leaves and berries, and move them to mulch the paths.
• Keep applying leaf mold to beds (but leave the pumpkin bed bare so as not to provide protection to overwintering squash bugs).

7. Make Plough Pudding or Homity Pie:

Plough pudding is a steamed meat pudding traditionally made in Britain on Plow Monday - very rich and yummy, but full of meat. See the recipe here.

Here is a vegetarian Homity Pie, pioneered by Land Girls during World War Two rationing - not a steamed pudding, but also not pure meat.

Ingredients

• shortcrust pastry for 2 small pies
• 2 medium large potatoes
• 1-1/2 Tbsp oil
• 1 onion or 3 leeks, or a mix of both
• 4 oz. peas or chopped green beans
• 1 large carrot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 Tbsp. parsley
• 3 oz. grated cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 Tbsp milk
• Salt & pepper to taste

Yield: 2 small pies

1. Line 2 small pie tins or dishes with the pastry.

2. Peel then chop the potatoes into quarters and boil until just tender – not falling apart.

3. Chop the onions and/or leeks fairly fine, then fry them in the oil until soft. Chop carrots, green beans, parsley, and peel and crush the garlic. 

4. Add in the drained potatoes, peas or beans, butter, carrots, parley garlic, grated cheese, milk, then season to taste. 

5. Fill the pastry tins with the mix, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Add a top pastry if desired. Bake in the oven at 425ºF for 20 minutes until the top is golden and set.