Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Winter in San Jose
The weather has been pouring of late, so its not been that encouraging, as the paths turn into muddy, slippery messes at this time of the year. Instead, I've been celebrating the seasons by working on my gardening skills. In addition to digging in kitchen scraps and leaves, I'm harvesting salads, radishes and the peas are flowering.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Getting ready for Winter at Quicksilver
It was a tad upsetting lately to see that the park "service" decided to run more bulldozers through Almaden Quicksilver Park, trashing the place quite effectively. Doubly so, because all the fresh mud will flow much more quickly into the watersheds now that rain is on the way. Ironically, I'm sure they will close the trails so walkers dont "damage" the trails after it has rained. The same has happened up on the peninsula, where their jeeps run huge tire tracks through the mud, but if you dare and go off trail, you'll be accused of demolishing the park. In a free world, the police would have to obey the rules, too. Long time before that happens.
On the plus side, their bulldozer exposed and smashed open quite a few rocks, exposing their cut surfaces, which is a pleasure for any rockhound. I think I may even have found a piece of Cinnabar!
On the plus side, their bulldozer exposed and smashed open quite a few rocks, exposing their cut surfaces, which is a pleasure for any rockhound. I think I may even have found a piece of Cinnabar!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Dirty Weather
has at long last come to the Bay Area. While this is very welcome from the point of view of bringing more green to the area, it has certainly had the impact of keeping me out of the woods. Most trails are now closed, and its no fun hiking on the mud that you are allowed on. So instead of heading out to explore new trails, I've been at home, doing some medical editing.
Another thing I have been doing lately, which I recommend to all pagan-minded folk in the area to do; is some water engineering in my garden, and planting more herbs. Until now, excess rainwater has simply been washing off into the street, down the drains, and into the bay. San Jose gets its water from pumping groundwater - which it recharges by allowing water from its dams to soak into the water table. I figure that after the drought that we have had, that there should be some way of using all the rainwater we have now, to soak in to the water table. Both on a local level (my garden), and at an area-wide level, it therefore makes sense to hold as much of this water as possible, and to develop our own soakaways to recharge the soil water levels. So this first thing I have been doing, is some contouring of sloping areas, so that they hold water for a while after the rain has stopped, so that it continues to soak in. If this were done by everyone, and particularly by the state, on freeway margins, etc., we could certainly abate flooding in winter, and recharge out water table more.
In addition, I have put a water barrel in place, as a temporary water storage solution. While I havent yet installed some form of pond - the ideal solution for holding winter rain until summer shortages; this can at least hold some water from wetter weeks, when the soil is waterlogged, to drier weeks, when I can empty the barrel allowing it to soak into the soil more efficiently.
Another thing I have been doing lately, which I recommend to all pagan-minded folk in the area to do; is some water engineering in my garden, and planting more herbs. Until now, excess rainwater has simply been washing off into the street, down the drains, and into the bay. San Jose gets its water from pumping groundwater - which it recharges by allowing water from its dams to soak into the water table. I figure that after the drought that we have had, that there should be some way of using all the rainwater we have now, to soak in to the water table. Both on a local level (my garden), and at an area-wide level, it therefore makes sense to hold as much of this water as possible, and to develop our own soakaways to recharge the soil water levels. So this first thing I have been doing, is some contouring of sloping areas, so that they hold water for a while after the rain has stopped, so that it continues to soak in. If this were done by everyone, and particularly by the state, on freeway margins, etc., we could certainly abate flooding in winter, and recharge out water table more.
In addition, I have put a water barrel in place, as a temporary water storage solution. While I havent yet installed some form of pond - the ideal solution for holding winter rain until summer shortages; this can at least hold some water from wetter weeks, when the soil is waterlogged, to drier weeks, when I can empty the barrel allowing it to soak into the soil more efficiently.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Almaden Park; 40 Minutes
If there is a park in the Bay Area which can be rightfully dedicated to the God Mercury, it is definitely Almaden Park, at the south side of San Jose. Ohlone Indians first discovered Cinnabar, a red ore of Quicksilver, and used it for their ceremonies. They then showed the deposits to the settlers, which was probably a major mistake, as the settlers quickly set about mining the ore and producing mercury to feed the gold mines in the Sierra, as well as exporting it to China to produce vermilion paste for their chops.
The walk begins at the Southernmost end of McAbee Rd, near Camden Ave.
Park at the bend where McAbee Road ends, and walk along the trail into the park. The trail into the park passes several Bay Laurel trees, sacred to the Nymph Daphne, and used in many spells. As you cross a concrete bridge, in spring, you may see woodpeckers nesting in a hole in a tree on your left, at the south end of the bridge. From the bridge, I have seen a wonderful Stag, representative of the great Cernunnos, watching me gravely. Before long, you will enter the park proper, and after reading the Mountain Lion warning sign (always a fun read), continue straight (to the right) on McAbee Road. On the trail you will see teasels here and there, as well as some more domesticated flowers that seem to have survived in the wild (Clarkia, Godetia, Cornflower). Before long, you will see the Senador Mine Workings, and if you look up to the right, the scar in the hill where the ore was mined, and all around, tailings piles. You can continue upwards (where there are lots of lupins in spring), or return with me for a shorter walk up the New Almaden trail. Immediately you join the New Almaden trail, you come to a small wooden bridge, under which a troll may be living. Send the children first in case. Then the trail begins to rise, and on the right, in spring, you will find the pleasant flowers of blue-eyed grass, together with bluedicks. As the path gets more shaded, look for Mugwort, a divination herb which grows in this location. Just before crossing another bridge and climbing up, you will be under a large oak, which is the genius Loci of this part of the trail. Pause to share some energy with him, before crossing the bridge and beginning the climb.
As the trail climbs, there is still some fur left from a recent kill, where I was gifted a nice clean rabbits foot. All around you will find the silvery branches of wormwood, which has a nice clean scent. You can also find Milk thistle growing on this hill beside the path. Continue upwards, where you will pass under the branches of another wood spirit on a local rise in the path, just before the final stretch before you reach the crossroads (sacred to Hecate), with two more significant Oak Spirits. Pause to enjoy the view, before descending down Mine Hill trail past a fine silvery blue outcrop of Serpentine, reputed to cleanse Chakras, provide protection, and aid meditation and divination. As you descend, you pass around a sharp bend back into the shade, and as you do so, you are entering an area of the parent rock of the mercury ore. Then you walk down a long curving slope past another father Oak, before re-entering the bay woods where you will find Miners lettuce in spring. Shortly you rejoin McAbee Rd, and can leave the park and find your car.
Animals you may have encountered on the way include butterflies, lizards, grasshoppers, deer, joggers and rabbits. The walk is a pleasant short walk, with enough elevation change to make it heart-healthy, but not too strenuous, and has traversed riparian, meadow, hillside and forest habitats. The spirits are friendly here, with the exception of a dark patch between the bridge-oak and the blue-eyed grass. The Oak spirit by the bridge provides protection, so there is little to fear except a few rustlings in the riverbed.
For more about the park, search on the Santa Clara County Website, and under "find a park", look for Almaden Quicksilver park, the first on the list. A full map is also available at this location.
The walk begins at the Southernmost end of McAbee Rd, near Camden Ave.
Park at the bend where McAbee Road ends, and walk along the trail into the park. The trail into the park passes several Bay Laurel trees, sacred to the Nymph Daphne, and used in many spells. As you cross a concrete bridge, in spring, you may see woodpeckers nesting in a hole in a tree on your left, at the south end of the bridge. From the bridge, I have seen a wonderful Stag, representative of the great Cernunnos, watching me gravely. Before long, you will enter the park proper, and after reading the Mountain Lion warning sign (always a fun read), continue straight (to the right) on McAbee Road. On the trail you will see teasels here and there, as well as some more domesticated flowers that seem to have survived in the wild (Clarkia, Godetia, Cornflower). Before long, you will see the Senador Mine Workings, and if you look up to the right, the scar in the hill where the ore was mined, and all around, tailings piles. You can continue upwards (where there are lots of lupins in spring), or return with me for a shorter walk up the New Almaden trail. Immediately you join the New Almaden trail, you come to a small wooden bridge, under which a troll may be living. Send the children first in case. Then the trail begins to rise, and on the right, in spring, you will find the pleasant flowers of blue-eyed grass, together with bluedicks. As the path gets more shaded, look for Mugwort, a divination herb which grows in this location. Just before crossing another bridge and climbing up, you will be under a large oak, which is the genius Loci of this part of the trail. Pause to share some energy with him, before crossing the bridge and beginning the climb.
As the trail climbs, there is still some fur left from a recent kill, where I was gifted a nice clean rabbits foot. All around you will find the silvery branches of wormwood, which has a nice clean scent. You can also find Milk thistle growing on this hill beside the path. Continue upwards, where you will pass under the branches of another wood spirit on a local rise in the path, just before the final stretch before you reach the crossroads (sacred to Hecate), with two more significant Oak Spirits. Pause to enjoy the view, before descending down Mine Hill trail past a fine silvery blue outcrop of Serpentine, reputed to cleanse Chakras, provide protection, and aid meditation and divination. As you descend, you pass around a sharp bend back into the shade, and as you do so, you are entering an area of the parent rock of the mercury ore. Then you walk down a long curving slope past another father Oak, before re-entering the bay woods where you will find Miners lettuce in spring. Shortly you rejoin McAbee Rd, and can leave the park and find your car.
Animals you may have encountered on the way include butterflies, lizards, grasshoppers, deer, joggers and rabbits. The walk is a pleasant short walk, with enough elevation change to make it heart-healthy, but not too strenuous, and has traversed riparian, meadow, hillside and forest habitats. The spirits are friendly here, with the exception of a dark patch between the bridge-oak and the blue-eyed grass. The Oak spirit by the bridge provides protection, so there is little to fear except a few rustlings in the riverbed.
For more about the park, search on the Santa Clara County Website, and under "find a park", look for Almaden Quicksilver park, the first on the list. A full map is also available at this location.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Journey begins!
San Francisco Bay Area is a deeply magickal place; one myth holds that after Atlantis sank beneath the waves, that all the descendants of that race move to the Bay Area, where we wait for the next "Big One", until we at last rejoin our ancestors beneath the waves in another gigantic cataclysm.
There is a deep underlying sacred geography about the place, with the primary orientation being NNW-SSE along the axis of the telluric forces and faultlines in the region. Within this overall pattern, there are many special spiritual sites, each with their own Genius Loci, where water spirits, wood spirits and other entities abound. Some of these are easy to spot; Mt. Diablo, Muir Woods, San Francisco itself; but there are literally thousands of smaller sites scattered across the geography of the Bay Area, where we can sense the Spirit world and Great Forces at work.
In this blog, I'll be writing about some of the many walks in the area which you can take to visit these places; and the things which you can see there. There are locations for Sacred Stones and Minerals, for Healing Herbs, which can be used in spellwork, brews, potions, or for mojo-bags and your pagan Altars. I'll also be sharing what I know about the plants, geology and geography of the Bay Area, and connecting that with the metaphysical landscape invisible to objectivism. And along the way, I'll be randomly discussing philosophy and whatnot. Feel free to join in the discussion by commenting on the posts (and on the comments), and also to contribute what you know.
Right now, I'm off to another of our wonderful parks! Be seeing you!
There is a deep underlying sacred geography about the place, with the primary orientation being NNW-SSE along the axis of the telluric forces and faultlines in the region. Within this overall pattern, there are many special spiritual sites, each with their own Genius Loci, where water spirits, wood spirits and other entities abound. Some of these are easy to spot; Mt. Diablo, Muir Woods, San Francisco itself; but there are literally thousands of smaller sites scattered across the geography of the Bay Area, where we can sense the Spirit world and Great Forces at work.
In this blog, I'll be writing about some of the many walks in the area which you can take to visit these places; and the things which you can see there. There are locations for Sacred Stones and Minerals, for Healing Herbs, which can be used in spellwork, brews, potions, or for mojo-bags and your pagan Altars. I'll also be sharing what I know about the plants, geology and geography of the Bay Area, and connecting that with the metaphysical landscape invisible to objectivism. And along the way, I'll be randomly discussing philosophy and whatnot. Feel free to join in the discussion by commenting on the posts (and on the comments), and also to contribute what you know.
Right now, I'm off to another of our wonderful parks! Be seeing you!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)