Thursday, June 23, 2022
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Summer Solstice Morning Walking! slowly with My Two Girls!
It has been a long while... Months almost a year maybe... That I have been able to take a morning walk down our local lane with my two body guards and fur baby companions, Mollie the Dog and Verde the cat. Illness and other circumstances had prevented me to do so. As some of you know.. Mollie and I have been going through various stages of the madness of our times.. see previous bloggings for that.
Well this am I took Mollie out onto our road again.. the two of them bolted out the gate.. as if no time had been lost. So I followed their lead... We saw some usual women walking on the road.. and then to my surprise.. off we went... Slowly walking over to see the horses, the oh-so-amazing view in the East... And alas the sun.. the sun coming up through the trees on this, the longest day of the year.
I have to keep walking at this point (or I truly feel that I am going to lose my legs), though I thought Mollie as well as I might just recover and she has!!!
Whether it was muscle memory or just divine intervention... We made it all the way to the first gate.
They both rolled in the white sand on the road that they both like to do. Verde skipped to and fro...playing with us both like she loves to do! Magic was truly in the air... And once again.. I count myself blessed... Happy Summer Solstice Y'all indeed!
Just some of my Art... You too can become a supporter of my own as a Creative Being!!
Over the years since starting this blog way back at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse circa 2007, I have attempted to be my own promoter of my own, (now much bigger) collection of watercolors, potato prints, nature rubbings, collages, photographs and mixed media creations.
I was supposed to have my first show and opening in June of 2009.. in a cafe in Half Moon Bay , California, but my abrupt departure from my entire life on the Pacific Coastline... It wasn't to be so.
In 2009 I finally posted alot of my work on this my eddy, my book, my blog! Giving it all away free to the universe to see...in hopes that it would someday finally pay off! and you can click on that year to the right here... In the fall of 2009.
So I packed it all up... In a tote given to me by a couple from Germany who were staying at our hostel...and hauled it all the way back to Ohio. One half of ( that then) couple became one of my greatest supporters and remains to be an amazing supporter by both the occasional monetary donation via paypal and as just a beacon of wisdom for me, who remains to be my biggest supporter still.. and remains to be my friend across the pond.
As a matter of fact, I have asked , Claudia, who remains a facebook friend.. (often communicating with me when I wake up in the middle of my OwlGirlRhythyms night and hop onto The Net), to along with a longtime pal in (Upper Manhatten, NYC,NY) to somehow oversee what exactly becomes of this huge body of work, should these recent covid/lymes disease/spider bite... Take me down.
My one showing was two pieces I had in the Rhodes Tower Gallery located on the first floor of The Ohio State office building in the center of downtown Columbus.. all Thanks to my fellow artist (famous) cousin Jim Siemer... Who was organizing the show back in the day. Note Jimmy's work can be seen on
But besides that, and this blog, my work has never been seen. I go back and forth about whether or not to put it onto a site such as etsy... But the fiercely independent woman that I am... Still wants to try and sell it on my own.
You too can be a supporter of my (lifelong) creative process.. and help me to NOT be yet another artist " who died penniless! " Never really benefitting from it myself.
Contact me at my
annie.siemer@gmail.com
Via comment here or on a facebook project I use for an umbrella for my wider work as a kaleidoscopic Environmental Educator, longtime Interpretive Naturalist, Herbalist, organic gardener-farmer... That is a site on face book I call
Withlacoochee Arts and Ecology!
Link here
And!
Happy Summer Solstice Y'ALL!!!!
Wisdom from a nearly 10 year old magazine...
I have been known to be somewhat of a magazine hoarder. I have carried this one copy of Mary Janes Farm since I purchased it up in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.. right before I moved down here permanently to become my Dad's caretaker.
I have kept mostly magazines such as The Mother Earth News, National Geographic, and other publications that feature herbal medicine wisdom... Traveling, backpacking, bicycling and such. Most of them were left behind in moves, in my storage unit still in Ohio.. and some of them made it down here. I am not sure if it is still in existence.. but it remains to be timeless.. and now it's all new again.
Here is one illustration in this edition (Oct-Nov 2012) that "resonates" with me.. and became just the perfect illustration regarding what I have been going through... Now.
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| Illustration by Dr. Laura Koniver Guest writer for this issue Of Mary Janes Farm Back then, Dr. Koniver had a website www. IntuitionPhysician.com And was a "South Carolina physician who brings intuition and medicine together for a fuller understanding of healing and a deeper connection to her patients. Again, I am not sure whether she is still practicing.. or who knows after this pandemic.. whether she is still helping US ALL to heal... One intuition at a time. I certainly hope so. |
And
both still seem to be surviving and thriving like me!
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Happy Father's Day... To my Dad "Ray"!
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| My Dad Ray and I on the steps of my Maternal Grandparent's Barry and Bernie (nee McVay) Finneran front stoop.. Avondale Avenue, Franklinton/Westside Columbus, Ohio Circa 1961. |
After the Storm.. as seen on Riverbend Road yesterday afternoon...
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| There are many beautiful Crepe Myrtle Trees on our Riverbend Road.. the daily thunderstorms have returned, we all get a chance to cool off and the plants , animals and birds all Rejoice!!! |
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| I love all Airstreams.. young and old and still have an old one Up for sale... |
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| This collection of gnomes has grown over the years and I just love seeing the changes.. its been a while since I have been able to drive our road.. so yesterday everything just Looked amazingly vibrant! |
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| Ibis on Riverbend Road |
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| My consumer cellular flip phone camera just doesn't do these crepe myrtles justice.... |
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| This land was once owned by my Grandpa's best friend Joe "Jack" Lewis, who became my Dad's best friend and fishing buddy after Grandpa passed on back in 1991. Years ago, while coming here between Outdoor and Park Naturalist jobs, Jack allowed Us to hang out in his dockhouse to fish or in my case.. get some time To watch the numerous Egrets, Great Blue Herons, turtles, alligators and myriad other forms of wildlife that were more numerous..here on Lake Rousseau, Back in the day. |
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| I recently met the family who purchased the property.. and will use it as a vacation spot. Changes come hard on me at times.. especially now when the difference betwen the haves and have nots seems so poignantly clear. |
They did keep the old mailbox.. and for me that is a really nice way
to maintain the history and folklore
Of the place.
And alas, our road is a mixture of red and blue and all colors
Of our beautiful spectrum.. like the tiny Mexican Hat (purchased for my
dog and constant companion Mollie) , now an old blind dog at home in the
Air conditioning.
This post is dedicated to my Dad.. Raymond ,
this today being Father's Day... And my Paternal
Grandpa Francis "Frank/Pee Wee" Siemer, whose retirement from
The New York Central Railroad... Got us all here to Riverbend Road,
Dunnellon , Florida
In the first place.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Our Entire planet... Is having a crisis of acidity!
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| I and others were given free copies of this little book called "The Hundreth Monkey" back in (my more activist days) at an event just North of Las Vegas in the Nevada Desert by the same name. Back then we.. All there were Taking part in a larger concert and food not bombs sponsored event to once and for all.. stop nuclear testing At the Nevada Test site. There I also saw Michelle Shocked in concert... And though its been many years since I have sang her music... One lyric stands out... "The secret to a long life is knowing when it's time to go!!!!!!! " This was circa 1992. I continue to reference this book and carry it too.. where ever I roam.... |
We are not separate...and how easily We All forget! I too am learning and forgetting over and over again.
Truth be told...eating more foods that are alkaline such as millet and what you tech savvy readers (and recently as today my old Camp Arnold Girl Scout friend, camp name "ROWDIE " so gently reminded me in a facebook message).. I had to google... WFPB...stands for what we all know as ...
whole food plant based foods.... And yes i too have been trying.. very slowly.. sloth like indeed.. more and more humans... Around the globe are discovering what many many cultures have known for so long... And that is that we truly do not need to eat animals anymore. ... I have tried over and over for years and have mostly eliminated all but occasional fish and chicken.. but flawed as we are.. know that I will continue to try try again. We have the ability to make these changes in our own lives.. and in these tumultuous times... We have to try to stay above ground and endure... Laughing at ourselves... Not taking ourselves.. ah that illusion of separation... So seriously. Or as the Hopi said in my message that started this entire blog back in 2007.. and/or to paraphrase ...
"as soon as you take yourself seriously... All of your spiritual growth grinds to a halt!".
So Thank You Rowdie! For nudging me back?..!!!!. To find this am... A website... Zillions it seems...
Friday, June 17, 2022
Two of my favorite Herbal Reference Books and a gmail message to my Cousin Dawn! Essential oils and one or two uses!
I recently purchased as a birthday present for my cousin Dawn, a small collection of essential oils as an attempt to introduce her to an ongoing element in my life as an herbalist, plant geek and hater of all things chemical.
I have wanted to talk on the phone to her regarding these but these days its hard to dodge what others now have on their proverbial plates.
So now I will share some pictures of my little ever-changing kitchen table collection... As well as a few other uses.. it seems alot folks over past ten years have jumped onto the herbal medicine bandwagon.. and oh what a good band wagon it is... And good shall always prevail.
Still my all time favorite guide for sharing herbal info with folks on my trails and medicine walks. My east coast version is a little more worn out.? But I love my West Coast version as well...
I am still recovering from multi -illness.. computer zaps my vitality... I have been in the tail end of my third time dealing with covid related symptoms on top of long term Lyme's disease ... (Since 2009).. but as I almost always go barefoot and have two fur babies....I am constantly being bitten and re-affected.. so nearly every spring I start taking a natural antibiotic that is propolis and it kicks it back.
Supposedly you cant fully get rid of it until you eliminate the bacteria.. and I have clearly not and will never choose to use big pharmas version... And I have not put big pharma into my body since my bout of stage one endometriosis ovarian cancer, back in 1994... And I sure as heaven am not going to start NOW!
On top of all of the aforementioned current ailments, nearly four weeks ago, I along with my beloved companion Mollie, ( as seen via this eddy since way back in November of 2012 when I got her as a puppy) was bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider. I didn't know it at the time, as I mistook it for yet another tick bite and or deer fly bite.. right smack in the middle of my right gluteus maximus.
I immediately referenced a little book I carry around since buying it directly from the author at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel back in 2008, (where I was living and working at the time) which is "The Healthy Traveler" by Susan W. Kramer, Ph. D, AHG, Esq.
Susan and I met for the first time when we were both down in Whaler's Cove there on the the beautiful Northern, California coastline while looking for pieces of sea glass and somehow struck up a beautiful conversation about plant medicine, our similiar paths in finding our way to the wonders of Herbal - Plant healing, our relationship with the plant world.. we both talked to plants... And the state of the world in general back in 2008.
This little book remains to be a gold mine of plant medicine/emergency back country remedies and alongside that Peterson Guide... It is always in my backpack.. .anywhere I go.
Sidenote: Back in 2015 or so I tried to go visit Dr. Kramer in her home... but something/ some large emergency was happening in Atlanta.. now unremembered my me, that prevented her from remembering who I was... But i will always cherish that book.. as much as my wider fellow Herbalist community here in the States and as far away as Europe. I am supported in my health care decisions almost always by the community of Women involved in The Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium ( held back then every Memorial Day weekend ) who are now a much larger community in a facebook group called "Women Gather" (where Thank God/dess, Great Spirit/ALL-that-Is) we can now f r e e l y exchange remedies and solutions to finally heal ourselves, our loved ones and companion animals one and ALL.
So to bring it all around full circle..as an eddy...coming back around and around I have also used essential oils for so many things over the past 27 years and will do so until I finally take the red clay road in the west back home myself.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Aha! The Goethe Quote I've been searching for....
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, a chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all aspects of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, that ignorance of which kills countless ideas, and splendid plans: that the moment one finally commits oneself, then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur, to help one, that might never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor, all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no (wo)man dreams could have come his/her way.
Whatever you think you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it".
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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| Photos by Annie B. Siemer |
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
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| My Moms John F. Kennedy head that has been an art piece in many forms over past several 10 years.! This is jfk in the backyard, last summer... And now this summer... |
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| Mom's JFK June 17,2022 |
Last night with Mollie in our one night of Luxury! And the Full Flower Super Moon following us all the way back home...
The Dinner Bell Motel
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| I have been dealing with chronic pain from Long term Lyme's Disease on top of long covid symptoms on top Of a bite by a brown recluse! And you sure can see it here in my eyes. |
For many weeks what I have wanted is merely to take a HOT bath. We are just a step above camping here and without a bathtub.. I take outdoor cold water showers...
So yesterday I appealed to my Facebook friends and two of them responded with money wired via paypal to help me get a hotel room last evening. I originally wanted to go to Motel 6 in Ocala.. as I have stayed at them over these past Ten years caring for my Dad.. mostly on breaks away.. up north.. because my beloved dog Mollie can stay too.
Well gas prices being what they are.. combined with my failing health.. I decided to stay right here in our town of Dunnellon , on the confluence of the Rainbow and Withlacoochee Rivers at the Dinner Bell Motel.. a kitchy fixture of the heyday of old Florida motels that were here back when my Grandparents first retired here from Ohio and The New York Central Railroad in the early 1970s.
Here is a link to that.. but I will forever be grateful to my friend Claudia in Germany! And an old friend from Jones Gulch La Honda California, Rusi for funding our one night of pure luxury.. I felt like royalty and took several baths and showers.. very little sleep but MollieDawg slept soundly through the night for both of us.
Has some really nice links to other features of this beautiful area of Florida they call The Nature Coast.
This morning I got up at my recent usual 4 am and was headed back home here by 6.
On the way we got to see The Flower Moon.. a full moon folks are calling a Super Moon.
Finding Arleen Polite part Three...
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| Self Portrait Woodcut By Arleen Polite (Year Unknown) May She Rest in Peace |
stjamesaustin.org/our-sister-arleen-polite/
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