Hello everyone,
it has been a while since I posted here. So much has happened over the last couple of years, not least our move to the Isle of Skye in 2020. Jean and I have been here now for almost two years - time really does fly. We have made some amazing, wonderful friends here and we are immensely grateful for that, as it has made us feel that we truly belong on this beautiful island of Skye.
I hope that I will be blogging a lot more from now on especially as my new outdoor space will soon be refurbished enough for me to work in!
Earlier this year Jean and I ran one of our Plant Encounters Workshop series. So I thought for now I would like to post a lovely review written by Jo Royle. We will be running plant workshops next year and I will keep you in touch with when they may be in 2023.
Brightest blessings,
Kim
“I loved Jean & Kim’s Plant Encounters course, especially 'meeting' the plant through smell, taste and intuition. We learnt about the historical and modern uses for the plant (realising biology might have been a useful subject in school after all... if only I'd taken it beyond the age of 12); some of the historical names; and how we might use the plant in ceremony linking to its properties... It felt an opening into something new and exciting!
I loved how we didn't just skim a few plants but went deeply into one so that it landed with us and we remember it's properties going forward. I kept thinking of this quote from Robin Wall Kimmera’s Braiding Sweetgrass book "I have learned the names of the plants, but I have yet to learn their songs." A few years ago I remember writing that quote and saying 'I long to learn their songs' and it felt that the Plant Encounters course was a first step into that… not just being able to identify and categorise plants, but to develop a relationship with them!
The course made me appreciate all the medicines growing wild amongst us & especially the 4 we learnt which are easy to identify and drink in tea. I marvelled at the multitude of uses of each plant we encountered. I’m grateful for my health, but I know who I’ll be calling if I need any support for my good health!
I am curious about using the plants in ceremonies and have already used the plantain in a healing ceremony for myself. And I’m planning to use another plant, the trifolium, in a ceremony I have coming up at the summer solstice.
I’m already looking forward to Plant Encounters 2 and adding knowledge of and connection with another 4 commonly available and frequently used plants. I have already recommended the course and your practice to several people. Thankyou both for sharing your extensive knowledge and experience with us.”
~Rev Jo Royle