My Witch’s Cottage
For YEARS upon decades, I visualized a witch’s cottage in the hollows of a forest where I had gardens of food and herbs and lived by the power of the sun. That dream has literally come true. Three years ago, I got the biggest royalty check of my life because during the pandemic, people went to Target to get toilet paper and came home with The Book of Spells. Bless each and every one of you! With those book sales, I invested the down payment on a 45-acre cannabis farm that was a former 1800s homestead.
We decorated the trim shack, nestled deep in the forest two miles down a dirt road, like college kids with our parents’ furniture and wooden crates for kitchen shelves. We painted a turquoise front door and bright colors inside. Over the years we’ve gathered local art, wine, olive oils, and jams. We built raised beds from fallen trees and the soil left over from the growers. We learned which herbs and plants can survive our long absences with just the morning fog to water them. We have learned where the water flows and the huge difference of the sun’s arc from winter to summer over the canopy of redwood and fir trees. Each day is a new discovery. I didn’t know that potatoes have white flowers.
For the last year, most of the heavy duty efforts on the homestead focused on fixing road damage due to winter rains of up 40 inches. Thirty years’ experience at Caltrans has come in handy. Operating a backhoe we call Hank, Joey fixed the rutted dirt roads with culverts, water bars, and French drains. He created a platform to place a second tank to hold water with a special food-grade hose for the house. When that happens the water pressure for showers increases and the quality of our drinking water improves!! We’ll water our garden through a gravity drip system from the existing water tank just above the house with. Joey is on his third year of growing artichokes and the garlic keeps on giving.
I created a kasbah to watch nature and my brain grows in pleasing ways. The Tom turkey protecting his Hen are adorably like me and Joey. Mother Earth is my teacher in the hollows. I’ve learned to accept that some ideas will work out and others will not. I’m learning how not to be precious with my plans. Some plants have died of lack of water or because the deer ate every green leaf and flower. So, we wait until we make a huge garden fence before planting yummies like butter lettuce and cilantro and stick with thyme, chives, oregano, garlic, artichoke. The spiral path lined with poppies to the firepit will give way to hardscape of shiny pebbles and flagstone. The poppies prefer to live with the thyme any way.
Three years have brought a lot of change. We used to have candles, one battery, and one solar panel. Now we have four solar panels, three batteries, two inverters, internet, and a pressure pump because I prefer/require the extra power to get the shampoo out of my hair. Now I can flip a switch and the light turns on, the pilot automatically lights, but I prefer when we turn off the inverter and the wi-fi each evening and watch nighttime fall sitting on our huge deck.
This forest is a balm for my frayed nervous system. When I arrived in the hollows this time, I was so depleted that I couldn’t hear the hum of the bees at the base of the olive tree. There was too much buzzing in my head. Rest, birdsong, and wind in the towering trees healed me. I enjoyed a facial steam with rose geranium, bay leaves and lavender from the garden. I hear the bees now.
Living in aligned with the land helps me find balance, peace, and meaning. Learning to only take the energy that we make each day gives me a sense of security and sustainability. Being a witch, shows me the Magick at play as I discover unique connections with each living thing.
