The Art of Photography - Class 3

Focal length 35mm Manual focus

Exercise 6: Controlling Depth-of-Field when photographing a macro subject (*yawn*)

Last night. Two hours into the class. I can’t think anymore. I really want to get this, I really do. And I think I am. But, by 9:00 I’m starting to feel that I’m operating on nothing more than a 40watt bulb and I’m so tired. However, I manage to get the proper settings and get a decent result when photographing the pile of coins on the table. Total embarrassment averted, whew! This morning I re-did the exercise using these buttons. Both photos are acceptable. It’s just deciding what you want and knowing how to do it. Onward and upward.

The Art of Photography - Class 1

Fargo Circa 1950 - textures, filters, overlays and blend modes

Last night was the first night of an eight week course in photography that I'm taking at our local college. Our instructor covered a wide range of topics and by 9:30 I wasn't listening anymore . . . well, I was trying but it was starting to sound like mumbo-jumbo. He said we need to concentrate on the five primary components of our camera; aperture, shutter, imaging chip, lens focusing, and lens focal length. I had taken his earlier course on camera essentials so I felt comfortable with all this and I thought it was a good start, but the process is like a tributary, running off into many directions until it gets to where its going. Its amazingly complicated! But I'm very excited. Most of this course is going to be about the artistic side to photography and we have assignments and everything! I feel like a kid! What fun! He wants to see some of our work, good and bad so he can critique it. Among others, I'm going to show him what I think is my number one top photo - my pride and joy - "Fargo, Circa 1950". I want to pick it apart with him, and get him to help me understand just what is so good about it, and perhaps what isn't. The most surprising advice he gave was that he can't really teach us how to make a good photo! There are techniques and guidelines, but you need to develop a feel for it and you do that by studying good photography and art from the masters. That's where you will learn what looks good so that when you are out shooting you will know a good photo when you see one. I thought that was great. Lastly, he is a firm believer in post-processing and he said that by the end of this course if you don't have Photoshop, you will want it, you will have to have it. I'm in heaven!

Nourishing the Wild You- Food, Energetics and Nourishment Online Intensive

Back by popular demand in 2011!  I will only offer this course once this year, so get in while the getting is good!
Class size is strictly limited to 20 students!  Last year 45 students enrolled!  Don't miss out!

Join Herbalist, Nutritionist, and food lover, Darcey Blue French of Brighid's Well Herbs (www.brighidswellherbs.com), for an  8 week online intensive course on the energetics of food, true nourishment, nutrition, relationship with place and food, nutritional healing and more.

Feb 15 2011 - April 19 2011

*Learn about the ways traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine see food energetics, and use food as healing tools on a day to day basis.

* Explore your relationship with food, your body, what you eat and why.

* Discover your natural physical constitution, and how you can use food to help you stay balanced.

* Be prepared for a deep exploration of food and our relationship to it, this can be uncomfortable and emotional, as well as enlightening and sensual. Food is a deeply influential factor in our psyche, social interactions, and cultures. All students are expected to be sensitive to others and compassionate and respectful.

*Appropriate for food enthusiasts & practitioners alike.

*Very HANDS ON, expect to be preparing foods, meals and weekly assignments for the duration of the course. This is an EXPERIENTIAL class, not just book work. I will provide resources and readings, but the bulk of the work will require the actual preparation and consumption of food.

* This is not a cooking how to class. You should feel comfortable cooking and working in your kitchen. There will be recipes and ideas shared during class discussion, and pointers and questions are always acceptable.

*Requires access to e mail and the internet on a weekly basis. Class discussion is a part of the learning process.

*Weekly telephone conference session with Darcey and other students for discussion, questions and sharing.  

*some additional texts/books suggested in addition to course fee

Arrangements may be available for those with limited access. Please inquire.

Sliding scale $125- $150-$175  per student, payable by check or paypal. Payment in installments is available by request.

Please register by emailing Darcey at shamana.flora@gmail.com or calling 520 429 2654.

About the Instructor:

Darcey Blue French is an herbalist and food lover, who has over the years explored various ways of eating, interacting with food and preparing food. Educated as a Clinical Nutritionist at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in 2008, she has been in private practice since that time. She has experience in Ayurvedic Cooking, Vegetarian, Allergen Free, Primal/Paleo diets and the philosophies of Dr. Weston Price. Food is far more than fuel, and Darcey is passionate about food that not only nourishes the body, but also the spirit, and tastes wonderful too. She works closely with plants, both wild and cultivated that provide both food and medicine. She is an avid forager of wild foods, gardener of organic vegetables, and is passionate about local and sustainable food systems, and how our relationship with the land, nature and wilderness impacts our physical and spiritual health and wellbeing. She truly believes that one cannot separate the health of the people from the health of the ecosystem in which they live.

Intense, vibrantly wild and alive!

REPOST FREELY!! PLEASE & THANK YOU!

Discovering Herbalism :Classes in Avon, Maine

January 29-30, February 19-20, March 12-13, April 23-24, May 14-15

Summer and Autumn Dates TBA

$100 - $150/month, payment plans and thoughtful barter proposals will gladly be considered.

Sean Donahue and Darcey Blue French are offering an opportunity for beginning and intermediate herbalists to develop or deepen their relationships with the healing plants of New England through a series of weekend intensives at our home in Avon, ME.

Through lectures and discussions, readings, meditations, ceremony, and direct experience, participants will learn about:

* Listening to and learning directly from the plants themselves

* The art and ethics of wildcrafting

* Making herbal medicines

* Understanding the energetics of herbal medicine and of the human body

* Nourishing the body, mind, and spirit

* Therapies for chronic and acute injury and disease

* Working with plants in ceremony and magic

* Plant identification and Materia Medica

* Establishing herb gardens

For more information or to register, e-mail herbalists@brighidswellherbs.com

Floor space and limited couch or bed space will be available for those traveling. 

Breakfast will be provided.  Lunch and dinner will be potluck.

A double gift

A good friend of mine is a Stampin' Up Demonstrator and I quite often attend some of her fabulous classes. I made this Christmas card in July! along with seven others. I don't actually send out a lot of Christmas cards, I do send a few, but I like to give people a set of four cards as an early gift so that they can send them out. That just doubles up the pleasure for me! But isn't this card gorgeous! Seriously! I love Stampin' Up!

Take Classes!

I've always taken classes, everything from macrame to floral arrangement to photography. I just finished a six hour class on photography essentials at our local college. I've had my DSLR for over a year and only now felt like I would really benefit from something like this. Our instructor went over RAW, ISO, white balance, histograms, and exposure compensation with a bit of post-processing in Photoshop to finish up. I was afraid to take this class, to spend the money, to assert myself in front of what was most likely to be young(er) people. Granted, I had taken a few photography classes on one of our cruises and I am quite familiar with Photoshop (a future post) so I did have a leg to stand on, so to speak. You just have to believe in yourself (cliche, I know) and get out there and do it! I'm practicing what I learned - at the moment only about 1/2 of my photos are turning out the way I want them to using any mode other than auto but so what! what does a digital image cost if you don't print it? I'm so inspired I've registered for another class, "The Art of Digital Photography" and it runs from January 25 to March 15 - 3 hrs/week. I cannot wait and there is no fear in me now - it's full steam ahead!

White Admiral 30/06/2010
Nikon D3000 145mm F/10 125s ISO100

Preliminary Syllabus for Magic & Medicine of Plants: Year long online herbal study

We've got the preliminary syllabus for the year long online herb course ready, and here it is!  Ifyou've been thinking about taking this course, now is the time to register! 
with Darcey Blue French and Sean Donahue November 1, 2010 - October 31, 2011
Plants are our ancestors and teachers.
Throughout history, people have looked to them for healing, guidance, and transformation.

In this year long course, herbalists Sean Donahue and Darcey Blue French will help you connect with the wisdom, magic, and living medicine of the plants growing around you.
Our proposed syllabus is posted below -- but is subject to change.
Tuition will be $75 a month (or $750 if you pay for the entire year in advance.) Students will also be expected to purchase herbs and books for the course.

Please register by October 25 2010- herbalists@brighidswellherbs.com


November


Origins: The Shamanic Roots of Herbalism

Plants as ancestors and teachers

How the plants speak to us

Shamanic journeying

Vitalism and the vital force: the world is alive

Finding a plant ally

Research project: Trace your ally through history and folklore

Samhain

The third harvest

Death and the healer

The underworld

Medicine making: Infusions — hot and cold, long and short

December

Awakening the heart

Anatomy of the spirit — Chinese, Ayurvedic, Celtic, Huna

Three centers of consciousness

Heart-centered consciousness

Plants from a heart-centered perspective

People from a heart-centered perspective

Treating the person, not the condition

Finding your plant ally’s unique personality

Yule

Stories of descent and return

Bringing messages back from the dreamtime

Evergreens

Medicine making: Decoctions

JANUARY

Energetics

Constitutions — Ayurvedic perspective

The body as ecosystem

Samuel Thomson and the Physiomedicalists

Energetics of herbs — hot and cold, wet and dry, stimulating and relaxing

Energetics of conditions — six tissue states

Herbal actions

Energetics of your ally and how your ally effects different constitutions and tissue states

Direction of cure: Moving from center to circumference

Medicine making: Baths and hydrotherapy

FEBRUARY

Nourishment

Primal nutrition

Insulin resistance and metabolism

Food allergies

Sleep

Exercise

Spiritual practice/meditation

Gut ecology

Nutritional deficiencies and supplementation

Conditions of the digestive system: tissue states and the herbs that match them

Imbolc

Brighid of the three fires

Nourishing the three fires

Medicine making: cooking with healing herbs

MARCH

Supporting the Immune System

Understanding the immune system

Nourishing the immune system

Immune modulation vs. immune stimulation

Vectors of transmission

Herbs for acute infection

Herbs for chronic infection

Fevers

Allergies, inflammation, and autoimmunity

Ostara

Rejuvenation

Rising sap, blood types, and Southern folk medicine

Seeds

Medicine making: Herbal vinegars

April

Paths of elimination

The myth of the “herbal detox”

Understanding “spring tonics”

The liver: functions, dysfunctions, and therapeutics

The kidneys: functions, dysfunctions, and therapeutics

Lymph and lymphatic herbs

Medicine making: The art and ethics of wildcrafting

Drying herbs

May

Mental and Emotional Health

The biology of stress

Nourishing the nervous and endocrine systems

Regulating the nervous and endocrine systems

Understanding and easing anxiety

Understanding and easing depression

Heartsickness and soul sickness

Sleep and insomnia

Beltane

Ecstasy vs.Fertility

Aphrodesiacs

Leaves

Medicine making: Tinctures and elixirs

June

Muscles and Bones

Nourishing the muscles, bones, and connective tissues

Herbs, nutrition, and muscular development

Acute injuries to muscles, bones, and connective tissues

Chronic problems of muscles, bones, and connective tissues

Midsummer

Elder, Hawthorn, and the Faery Realm

Flowers

Medicine making: Oils

July

Reproductive Health

Nourishing the reproductive system

Menstruation

Pregnancy

Contraception and fertility

Reproductive health for male bodied people

Menopause and Andropause

Sexual trauma and reproductive health

Medicine making: Salves

August

Circulation

The heart revisited

Hemoglobin and Chlorophyl

Nourishing the heart and blood vessels

Blood pressure

Stress and the heart

Peripheral circulation

Connecting the physical, emotional, and spiritual hearts

Medicine making: Flower essences

Lughnasadh

Honoring the sun

Wild nourishment

Fruits

September

Respiration

Breath

Nourishing and strengthening the respiratory system

Asthma

Acute respiratory infections

Chronic respiratory infections

Medicine making: smoking blends

Mabon

Harvest

Fall planting

Honoring and restoring our medicine places

Roots

October

What kind of herbalist are you?

Ethics for healers

Boundaries, protection, and clearing

Personal consultations on next steps on your path

Sharing of allies’ lessons

Medicine making: formulation

Samhain

The underworld journey revisited

Journeying for healing

Entheogens

Talking to Trees: Exploring the Medicine of the Tree Nation ONLINE COURSE

the willow and the ash

Talking to Trees: Exploring the Medicine of the Tree Nation
- 8 week online herbal intensive
$150-$200 sliding scale

• Learn about the major medicinal trees of North America
o Ecology and biology
o Energetic, medicinal and practical uses
o harvesting, preparations, medicine making
o Tree essences
o folklore and more

• Make your own medicinal oils, tinctures, teas and smudges
• Learn how to identify and work with trees unique to your bioregion
• Share experiences and learning with other herb students, herbalists and plant lovers.


Weekly lessons sent via e-mail, and group discussion on an e mail list forum is expected as part of the course. Some additional books and supplies may be needed.

Please register with a $50 deposit by Sept 14, 2010 by e mailing shamana.flora@gmail.com
Payment plans available, please inquire.

Climbin trees....

About Darcey Blue:
Darcey Blue French is an herbalist & nutritionist, wildcrafter, gardener, food lover, Earth lover and wild woman. She was trained as a Clinical Herbalist & Nutritionist at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism under Paul Bergner, and studied under Rosemary Gladstar and Charlie Kane. Darcey has been using and learning from the plants, both wild and cultivated since childhood, and it is her deep love of the wild Earth and its creatures that fuels her passion for healing and teaching about plants, wilderness, spirit, nourishment and healing. She spends her time leading Edible and Medicinal Wild Plant walks, Plant Spirit Medicine groups, teaching herbal and nutritional classes and intensives both in person and online, creating nourishing and delicious meals, wildcrafting and making medicines from the plants, seeing clients and enjoying the wild places on the earth.
Darcey practices in the the Vitalist tradition of herbalism, which fosters the interconnection and nourishment of body, mind, and spirit. Through the use of nutrition, herbal formulas, flower essences, and connection with nature, she aims to support the vitality of all aspects of the human being. She is the co-owner of Brighid's Well Herbs, located in Keene, NH. E-mail today for consultations, herbal offerings, workshops and more!

Magic and Medicine of Plants: 12 month online course

Upcoming Fall Online Courses from Brighid's Well Herbs

LISTENING TO THE WILD: AN ONLINE WORKSHOP
September 1 - October 1
Sliding Scale -- $150 - 200

The world is alive and speaking to us. All we have to do is remember how to listen.

We are all born knowing this simple truth, and begin our lives in a world rich with meaning. But in our culture, the voices around us are quickly drowned out by electronic noise, and we are taught to ignore the bits of song we still hear on the wind or risk insanity. Eventually we reach a point where we no longer trust our own senses.

But for some of us the vibrant memory of the world we knew as children is stronger than the fear of madness.

The wildness of our souls can be recovered, just as a forest can grown from an abandoned field.

In this six week online workshop, we will engage in an intense process of connecting with the living Earth and awakening the wildness within themselves.

Through reading, writing, meditation, and direct experience of the natural world, we will explore:

-- Our personal, familial, and cultural histories of relating to the land we live on and the beings that inhabit it
-- Engaging nature through engaging our senses
-- The use of the heart as an organ of perception (drawing from the work of Stephen Buhner)
-- Developing and deepening relationships with the plants that grow around us

Participants will share their experiences with each other and build community through an e-mail discussion list.

This promises to be a powerfully transformational, and at times emotionally intense journey. My goal as a teacher is to provide a safe and supportive space for that work. But I am not in a position to serve as therapist or counselor for students. Please bear this in mind as you consider undertaking this work.

Payment for this class is on a sliding scale from $150 - 200. The price reflects the work that I put into preparing and teaching this course. The higher end of the sliding scale is intended for people who can regularly afford things like eating out, going to concerts, and attending workshops and retreats. For those who are deeply committed to this work but are not able to afford even the low end of the sliding scale I am willing to discuss payment plans and partial or full barter arrangements. If enough people pay at the higher end of the sliding scale, I may be able to offer a few partial scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to take this course.

If you are interested in enrolling, please e-mail me at seandonahuepoet@gmail.com.

I would like to have a brief, informal e-mail exchange with potential students before the course begins to make sure everyone understands the intensity of this work. A $50 deposit is required by August 20 to enroll in the course.

_____________________________________

Sean Donahue is an herbalist, poet, activist, and witch committed to healing and transformation through connection with the living Earth.

As an herbalist, Sean works primarily with the wild plants of the forests and fields of New England. He views the plants as teachers, helping the body, mind, and spirit learn to correct imbalances that stand in the way of health.

As a teacher, poet, and ritualist, Sean works to connect people with their own wild nature and with the life of the world around them.

As an activist and journalist he has documented the human and environmental impacts of U.S. policies in Latin America, organized against nuclear power and nuclear weapons, trained hundreds of activists in techniques of nonviolent resistance, helped military families tell the stories of how the war in Iraq impacted their lives, and advocated for the rights of medical marijuana patients.

He believes that personal, community, and cultural healing are all deeply intertwined with the healing of our planet.

TRADITIONS OF THE NEW ENGLAND ROOT DOCTORS
with Sean Donahue
Online, October 1 - December 1
$150

In the eighteen and nineteenth centuries, rural New England root doctors blended some of the energetic understandings of British folk medicine with what they learned from Native peoples about the plants around them and developed a system of medicine based on working with and supporting the actions' of the body's vital force. Samuel Thomson of New Hampshire condensed this system into a series of easy to understand principles and practices, and launched a movement that sought to empower people to take their health care back from the physicians of the day whose methods relied heavily on bloodletting and the use of toxic compounds like Mercury.

Building on this foundation, a later generation would develop the science of Physiomedicalism which informs many strains of contemporary herbalism. This course will explore the philosophy, energetic systems, and therapeutics of the New England root doctors and the Physiomedicalists, and look at how we can apply their insights today.

The Magic and Medicine of Plants: A Year-Long Online Herbal Course

with Darcey Blue French and Sean Donahue
November 1, 2010 - October 31, 2011

Plants are our ancestors and teachers.

Throughout history, people have looked to them for healing, guidance, and transformation.

In this year long course, herbalists Sean Donahue and Darcey Blue French will help you connect with the wisdom, magic, and living medicine of the plants growing around you.


Through online lectures and discussions, readings, meditations, ceremony, and direct experience, you will learn about:

* Listening to and learning directly from the plants themselves
* The art and ethics of wildcrafting
* Making your own herbal medicines
* Understanding the energetics of herbal medicine and of the human body
* Nourishing the body, mind, and spirit
* Therapies for chronic and acute injury and disease
* Working with plants in ceremony and magic

Students will receive twelve monthly lessons; eight mini-lessons exploring how the Equinoxes, Solstices, and Cross-Quarter Days provide us with opportunities to connect with the life cycle of the plants; and individual support and guidance from Darcey and Sean.

Tuition will be $75 a month (or $750 if you pay for the entire year in advance.) Students will also be expected to purchase herbs and books for the course.

Please register by Oct 25 2010.  herbalists@brighidswellherbs.com

ABOUT THE TEACHERS:

Darcey Blue French is an herbalist & nutritionist, wildcrafter, gardener, food lover, Earth lover and wild woman. She was trained as a Clinical Herbalist & Nutritionist at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism under Paul Bergner, and studied under Rosemary Gladstar and Charlie Kane. Darcey has been using and learning from the plants, both wild and cultivated since childhood, and it is her deep love of the wild Earth and its creatures that fuels her passion for healing and teaching about plants, wilderness, spirit, nourishment and healing. She spends her time leading Edible and Medicinal Wild Plant walks, Plant Spirit Medicine groups, teaching herbal and nutritional classes and intensives both in person and online, creating nourishing and delicious meals, wildcrafting and making medicines from the plants, seeing clients and enjoying the wild places on the earth.

Darcey practices in the the Vitalist tradition of herbalism, which fosters the interconnection and nourishment of body, mind, and spirit. Through the use of nutrition, herbal formulas, flower essences, and connection with nature, she aims to support the vitality of all aspects of the human being.

Darcey is passionate about food that nourishes the body and spirit, and tastes wonderful too. She works closely with plants, both wild and cultivated that provide food and medicine. She is an avid forager of wild foods and , gardener of organic vegetables, and is passionate about local and sustainable food systems, and how our relationship with the land, nature and wilderness impacts our physical and spiritual health and wellbeing. She truly believes that one cannot separate the health of the people from the health of the ecosystem in which they live, nor the well-being of the body from that of the mind & spirit.

Sean Donahue is an herbalist, poet, activist, and witch committed to healing and transformation through connection with the living Earth.

As an herbalist, Sean works primarily with the wild plants of the forests and fields of New England. He views the plants as teachers, helping the body, mind, and spirit learn to correct imbalances that stand in the way of health.

As a teacher, poet, and ritualist, Sean works to connect people with their own wild nature and with the life of the world around them.

As an activist and journalist he has documented the human and environmental impacts of U.S. policies in Latin America, organized against nuclear power and nuclear weapons, trained hundreds of activists in techniques of nonviolent resistance, helped military families tell the stories of how the war in Iraq impacted their lives, and advocated for the rights of medical marijuana patients.

He believes that personal, community, and cultural healing are all deeply intertwined with the healing of our planet.

Online Course Announcement: Stress: The Vitalist Perspective

STRESS: A VITALIST PERSPECTIVE
an online seminar with Sean Donahue
July 12 - August 30
$150

Our bodies have developed an amazing set of responses to help us respond to danger.

But life in our fast-paced society puts many people perpetually on edge -- and that constant stress throws us out of balance with serious consequences for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

In this seminar we will explore herbal and nutritional strategies for supporting the body, mind, and spirit in times of extreme stress -- and helping bodies that have been under stress for a long time remember how to relax into a natural state of relaxation that allows for healing and rejuvenation.

The emphasis will be on nourishing the body, identifying and removing "obstacles to cure," and supporting the body's natural healing processes.

Topics covered will include:

-- The Biology and Energetics of Stress
-- Nourishing the Adrenals
-- Nourishing the Nervous System
-- Understanding Adaptogens from a Vitalist Perspective
-- Stress and Physical Tension
-- Acute Anxiety
-- Trauma and Anxiety

I am open to considering payment plans and thoughtful barter, but all such requests must be received by July 5.

To register, e-mail seandonahuepoet@gmail.com
________________________________________________________
About the instructor:

Sean Donahue is a traditional herbalist, poet, activist, and witch committed to healing and transformation through connection with the living Earth. As an herbalist, Sean works primarily with the wild plants of the forests and fields of New England. He views the plants as teachers, helping the body, mind, and spirit learn to correct imbalances that stand in the way of health. As a teacher, poet, and ritualist, Sean works to connect people with their own wild nature and with the life of the world around them. He believes that personal, community, and cultural healing are all deeply intertwined with the healing of our planet.

Wild Medicine Intensive - June 26- 27 2010

This class needs a few more people to sign up for it in order to run, so if you are on the fence, now is the time to take action! Please share this information with anyone you know who would be interested.
This class is happening at Great Hollow Wilderness School. Great Hollow is a special piece of land with 800+ acres of wild forest, wetland, meadow, stream and garden habitats in New Fairfield, CT. You wouldn't believe the quantities and varieties of medicinal and edible plant allies growing there. You won't want to miss this opportunity!

In addition there are 4 more herbal classes being offered this summer! Check them out!

Advanced cash only materials fee and $25 deposit is required. 10% discount for multiple classes.
For information call Great Hollow Wilderness School 203-746-5852
Great Hollow is a program of the Regional YMCA of Western CT

WILD MEDICINE INTENSIVE

Join Herbalist, Wildcrafter and plant lover Darcey Blue French for a weekend intensive learning to identify, harvest, and turn our wild, local medicine plants into useful medicines to stock the pantry! Learn how to make tinctures, elixirs, syrups, honeys, oils, linaments, salves, teas, decoctions, poultices and compresses. Explore the best times to use which type of medicine and also unique ways to use plant medicine including medicinal smudging, herbal bathing and more! This workshop will combine time in the outdoors learning about the plants we will be using and harvesting in their natural environment, along with time in the kitchen concocting herbal potions and medicines, and learning about how to process and store the plants. No previous herbal experience required, just an open mind and a willingness to get up close and personal with the plants. Supplies provided. Materials fee 25$ Class Fee: $125

Summer Herbal Healing Classes in SW Conneticut!

For all my New England plant friends, I'm offering the following herbal classes at Great Hollow Wilderness School in New Fairfield, CT this summer! The first is next weekend, but there is still time to sign up! Please register with Great Hollow directly and spread the word to anyone interested in learning about herbal medicine. Perfect for beginning and intermediate students!



Wild Medicine Intensive ~ June 26 & June 27
During this weekend intensive learn to identify, harvest and turn our wild local medicinal plants into useful remedies to stock the pantry. Fee: $125; materials fee: $25

Talking with Trees ~ July 17
In this day-long exploration of the Tree Nation, learn about trees in their natural habitats; explore folklore and tree symbolism; medicinal uses of various parts of trees and harvesting and preparation of tree medicines.
Fee: $62.50; materials fee $15


Flower Essences ~ July 18
Spend a day among the flowering plants of New England. Learn the techniques for making your own Flower Essences, the energetic medicine of the flower. Fee: $62.50; materials fee $15

The Herbal Kitchen ~ July 24
Explore your pantry! Learn about the spices and ingredients you already have at home and how they can be used to make effective home remedies for your family. Fee: $62.50; materials fee $15

Intensive Medicinal Plant Walk – July 25
Explore our forests, fields, rivers and gardens and learn about the medicinal, edible and functional uses of New England native plants and common weeds. Fee: $62.50


Advanced cash only materials fee and $25 deposit is required. 10% discount for multiple classes.
For information call Great Hollow Wilderness School 203-746-5852
Great Hollow is a program of the Regional YMCA of Western CT


Thanks and please spread the word!

Green Man Rising: Recovering the Wild Masculine

Here's a beautiful oppurtunity to reenvision our ideas about masculinity and gender. Sean is insightful and wise and you wont want to miss this opportunity!
Darcey


GREEN MAN RISING: Recovering the Wild Masculine
An Online Intensive with Sean Donahue
June 21 - August 1
Sliding Scale $150 - 200

The face of the Green Man, leaf-bearded god of regeneration, appeared etched in stone churches throughout Europe well into the early modern period. The stories surrounding him have largely vanished, but he is widely understood to represent the irrepressible virility of the wild -- its rebirth in spring from the seeds that fall from dying plants in the fall, and its survival in the face of attempts to contain it and push it back. And he represents the vital force of the wild masculine -- before patriarchy bound ideas of masculinity to ideas of violence and domination.

Any attempt to transform our culture has to take into account the need to redefine and reshape masculinity, to provide channels for masculine energy to flow that meet and match and dance with the incredible strength of the feminine rather than seeing to subjugate it.

In this intensive, we will work with myth, magic, poetry, and direct experience of the living world to re-imagine masculinity and reclaim our own relationship to the wild masculine within us and within the people around us.

This class is open to people of all genders, sexes, sexualities, gender identities, and gender expressions. We will strive to create an environment of respect and openness where it is safe to take risks and to try on new ideas and identities.

To apply e-mail greenmansean@gmail.com by June 15.

A note on payment:

This class is offered on a sliding scale. The higher end of the sliding scale is intended for those who are regularly able to afford "extras" like restaurant meals, concert tickets, and yoga retreats. If enough people are able to pay at the higher end, I will be able to afford to offer partial scholarships to passionate students who cannot afford even the lower end of the sliding scale.

If you are interested in this course and cannot afford even the lower end of the sliding scale, please contact me and we will endeavor to make an arrangement that is fair to all involved.

_____________________
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Sean Donahue is an herbalist, poet, activist, and witch committed to healing and transformation through connection with the living Earth.

As an herbalist, Sean works primarily with the wild plants of the forests and fields of New England. He views the plants as teachers, helping the body, mind, and spirit learn to correct imbalances that stand in the way of health. As a teacher, poet, and ritualist, Sean works to connect people with their own wild nature and with the life of the world around them. As an activist and journalist he has documented the human and environmental impacts of U.S. policies in Latin America, organized against nuclear power and nuclear weapons, trained hundreds of activists in techniques of nonviolent resistance, helped military families tell the stories of how the war in Iraq impacted their lives, and advocated for the rights of medical marijuana patients.

He believes that personal, community, and cultural healing are all deeply intertwined with the healing of our planet.

Conquering Insulin Resistance Naturally with Nutrition and Herbs: Online Intensive

Conquering Insulin Resistance Naturally with Nutrition and Herbs: Online Intensive

Are you concerned about any of the following modern diseases: Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, trouble losing weight, cardiovascular health concerns, inflammation, cancer. Did you know that all of these are signs and or symptoms of what is called Syndrome X, or Metabolic Syndrome. Underlying the syndrome/symptoms is a metabolic dysregulation called Insulin Resistance. Much to our dismay, this is rampant in the United States, and is causing health problems for millions of people, some without even knowing! Fortunately for us, there are many natural ways of dealing with and controlling insulin resistance through food, nutrition, herbalism and lifestyle changes. Western medicine will tell you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer and throw you a medication to control the symptom, but very rarely does the underlying cause of the symptom get addressed.

Join Herbalist and Nutritionist, Darcey Blue, for an 8 week long online intensive covering all aspects of Insulin Resistance and how to manage it naturally through food, herbs and lifestyle changes. We will cover the following topics.

*Physiology of insulin resistance
*Sugar/carbohydrate cravings and addiction
*Nutrient dense foods and meals that control insulin resistance
*Herbs and Supplements
*appropriate and effective exercise specifically for managing IR
*stress and sleep
*the role of inflammation

This course is specifically helpful for those who are working to manage Insulin Resistance in their own lives, but is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about health and the roots of many of today's chronic and rampant diseases, or those working with clients or family members with Insuslin resistance.

You will receive bi-weekly lessons and reading material, suggestions for additional resources, assignments which focus on experiencing first hand the ways you can use the suggestions for Insulin Resistance in your own life, personal attention and coaching from Darcey, a supportive group community all working towards the same goal! Classes are run via e-mail mailing list, and weekly computer access is a requirement for the course.

Class runs from July 5- Aug 30
Cost: Sliding scale $150-$200- payments plans are available
Some additional materials (books, herbs) will be needed for the course.

For more details or questions, or to register contact Darcey (shamana.flora@gmail.com or 520-429-2654)
Payments may be made via check/money order or paypal.


About the Instructor:
Darcey Blue French is an herbalist and food lover, who has over the years explored various ways of eating, interacting with food and preparing food. Educated as a Clinical Herbalist and Nutritionist at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in 2008, she has been in private practice since that time. She has experience in Ayurvedic Cooking, Vegetarian, Allergen Free, Insulin Resistance diets and the philosophies of Dr. Weston Price. Food is far more than fuel, and Darcey is passionate about food that not only nourishes the body, but also the spirit, and tastes wonderful too. She works closely with plants, both wild and cultivated that provide both food and medicine. She is an avid forager of wild foods, gardener of organic vegetables, and is passionate about local and sustainable food systems, and how our relationship with the land, nature and wilderness impacts our physical and spiritual health and wellbeing. She truly believes that one cannot separate the health of the people from the health of the ecosystem in which they live.

Intense, vibrantly wild and alive!