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Bloody bull hearts
The bowl, brassy bright and gleaming in the light of the sun as it streamed through her windows. Glass, she thought, always seemed to magnify that which was important to her.
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Beautiful.
Harvest Altar, 2009, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
When God came to the Carpathians (<- my family comes from western Ukraine which backs into - and up - the Carpathian mountains) it put a serious dent in His conversionmobile. Ukrainians - much like the Celts - didn’t bother dropping the baggage of their pagan past. Instead, Christianity was incorporated into ancient traditions and beliefs, giving a superficial Christian veneer to longstanding rituals they practiced - and still continue to practice - for thousands of years.
You don’t even need to scratch the surface to view Ukraine’s pagan past - it’s all there, in the open, with the equivalent of a slightly new name. Take the decorated wheat bundle, the didukhy. The very last of the wheat was considered crazy sacred, and great care, ceremony and seriousness went into harvesting it. (There’s a lot of mythology and religious practice involved with wheat growing and harvesting, but I’ll leave that for another entry.)
It was ritually cut and then ritually decorated and then ritually displayed in a prominent place in the house. Later on, when Eastern Orthodox Catholicism greatly influenced the people, religious icons were added to the display until the didukhy were partially phased out leaving only icons in their place. Growing up I remember token stalks of wheat in my grandparents’ dining room, but never a full-fledged bundle decorated with a ceremonial embroidered cloth. (I’m pretty sure a Rushnyk is used.)
I have absolutely no idea what a traditional didukhy even looks like. Seriously. It’s not for the lack of resources because I know damn well I could just Google the shit, but I feel like that’d be copying rather than creating. A bundle of wheat cut and revered by my pagan ancestors a thousand years ago is going to look different - symbolize something different - to future generations. For me it’s enough that I sowed the wheat myself, that I grew it and reaped it, that I created the didukhy, decorated and displayed it.
(I don’t have a proper rushnyk, so, instead, I used a cloth that my mother embroidered which was originally used for covering our Easter baskets when taking them to church on Holy Saturday.)
By creating my approximation of a didukhy I’m at once celebrating the work of my ancestors (not only the effort, sweat and blood that went into growing and harvesting, but also the primitive genetic modifications made through generations of selecting and growing the wheat with the best qualities - it’s an exercise in transformation, from something rough with potential to a finalized product sculpted by the idea of “something better”), observing the life/death cycle of the divine male (who I nurture and grow during the Light year as the Bride, and then reap/kill as the Hag fertilizing the dying year with blood and sex, keeping His seed to pass onto next year’s Bride) and giving thanks, in my own way, for a food that’s become the foundation of western civilization - bread.
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Chanterelle-a-thon mushroom sale is a-go!
Key points of the 12+ hour chanterelle-a-thon were documented in previous journal entries, so if you’re interested in learning more about my wild Scottish mushroom products be sure to check out: Borderline Delirious, Chanterelle Duxelles: Preparing, Chanterelle Duxelles: Bagging, Chanterelle Duxelles: Vacuum Sealed, Later Eatin’, Chanterelle Fox’s Pickled Chanterelles and Chanterelle Group Shot.
A basic list of ingredients for the chanterelle duxelles can be found here, and the brine-cured chanterelle ingredients can be found here. Both products are halal, gluten-free and are vegetarian-friendly. These preserved chanterelles have been tested and approved by a certain Indoor Crow, who gives ‘em both one droopy wing of approval.
01. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
02. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
03. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
04. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
05. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
06. 110g brine-cured jar @ £2.00 GBP - Available!01. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
02. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
03. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
04. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
05. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
06. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
07. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
08. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!
09. 100g duxelles bag @ £2.00 GBP - Available!I use my trusty digital kitchen scale and Royal Mail’s price finder to determine shipping. (Note: Postage for 100g to the UK is £2.70 GBP, and to the EU is £2.93 GBP. This price doesn’t include cost of packaging, but it gives you a rough idea of shipping.) If either are wrong in their calculation I’ll immediately refund any difference; I hate being overcharged for shipping, so I won’t pull that shit on you. These mushrooms won’t survive international travel, so this small sale is limited to EU and UK residents. (Next time, internationals - I promise!)
To nab yourself some of my Scottish chanterelles all you gotta do is contact me. Email’s preferred (graveyarddirt{AT}gmail{dot}com), although a private message or a comment is fine. Please let me know what you’re after, how much you want, what country you’re in and what email address I can send a PayPal invoice to. If you buy several or more products I’m happy to give you a wee thank you! discount.
Due to the perishable nature of this sale I strongly recommend all buyers to promptly pay for their mushrooms so they can be sent as soon as effin’ possible!
Any questions? Don’t be afraid to ask.
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Chanterelle Ketchup, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
First chanterelle preserving job of the day? Ketchup, of the wild mushroom variety!
The pumpkin-hued chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) bestowed a celebratory autumn air to the culinary experiment, and the warming spices used - fresh ginger, cloves and allspice - brought a sense of familiarity to the unorthodox “ketchup”. With one taste we were both smitten, and it wasn’t long before we were proposing future culinary experiments (i.e., “WHAT IF WE USED THIS AS A PIZZA SAUCE? WHAT IF WE MIXED THIS WITH HONEY AND GLUTEN-FREE SOY SAUCE AND USED IT AS A MARINADE? WHAT IF WE…”).
This is sort of brilliant… seriously.
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Wild Woodland Mix, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
A quick close-up of my (in)famous Wild Woodland Mix.
This autumn-rich scented mixture includes (dried) larch boletes, Slippery Jacks, porcini (aka cep and penny bun), brown birch boletes, orange birch boletes, bay boletes and probably a few other tasty bolete varieties I’m forgetting. I’ll be selling last year’s reserves very soon in 20g packets, along with dried and pickled chanterelles.
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Jul 6, 2012 I, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
After six motherfucking weeks of relentless rain and sodden skies there was the briefest of respites on July 6th. Despite ominous clouds we dared to tumble out of the house and into the woods for the first time since Easter to clear the congestion of modern living out of our lungs. (How deep did I breathe? With my mouth, palms and pussy against the humid, welcoming ground.)
We soaked in the luscious green of Dead Rabbit Woods, offered home-baked goods to the local dead, unexpectedly filled one of my magic wooden baskets with a fistful of chanterelles and the first fly agaric of the year, left pysanky (ritually decorated Ukrainian eggs) at a cairn for the ancient dead and crossed paths with an opportunistic fox attempting to outrun a pair of disgruntled kites.
See also: Unexpected Discovery & Larch Bolete
Reblogging for general awesomeness and a lovely image… as usual.
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Scottish Summer Jam, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
Between rescuing roadkill, reacquainting myself with the land, hunting down wild mushrooms, refamiliarizing myself with the internet (HEY GUYS, WHAT’S GOING ON AND HOW THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?), visiting with the local dead and finishing the first major piece of a 1.5 year project I found the time to make a batch of my most popular magic: Scottish Summer Jam.
Pictured above: Local summer fruits and wildcrafted elderflowers getting muddled with sugar in one of my Bean Nighe-blessed cauldrons.
There isn’t much prettier than strawberries… yum…
Photo reblogged from Graveyard Dirt with 93 notes
I’m not usually a sucker for foxes, but I’ll have to keep my eyes out for this one… and some of those beautiful mushrooms. Delicious all around.
templewitch: Perfection. I’m a little in love with your auspicious little friend.
That’s good to hear since I’m planning on sellin’ it! (<- Its skeleton isn’t complete, but cigar smokin’ Chanterelle Fox definitely makes up for it with character.)
Auspicious Find, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
A fox’s skull is one helluva auspicious find for a feral witch huntin’ wild mushrooms in an unfamiliar Scottish hedge.
DISCLAIMER: If you decide to reblog any of my roadkill pictures please keep all of the relevant information (i.e., name, title and Flickr link) with the image. (Why?)
Perfection.
I’m a little in love with your auspicious little friend.
Photo reblogged from Graveyard Dirt with 93 notes
Auspicious Find, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
A fox’s skull is one helluva auspicious find for a feral witch huntin’ wild mushrooms in an unfamiliar Scottish hedge.
DISCLAIMER: If you decide to reblog any of my roadkill pictures please keep all of the relevant information (i.e., name, title and Flickr link) with the image. (Why?)
Perfection.
I’m a little in love with your auspicious little friend.
Photo reblogged from Graveyard Dirt with 45 notes
That’s fantastic! *cheers*
satyrmagos: envy. i has it.
I can kinda help with that!
Within a few weeks I’ll finally be selling my beloved mushrooms on-line. Mama Dirty’s treasured fly agarics will be on sale (can I get a WOOT EFFIN’ WOOT?), as will my (in)famous Wild Woodland Mix (a tasty, bolete-tastic mix of “edible” - in other words, non-psychoactive - wild mushrooms).
Please stay tuned to Ms. Graveyard Dirt to nab some wild fungal goodness!
envy. i has it.
Unexpected Discovery, by Ms. Graveyard Dirt
Italics unexpectedly discovered the first fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) of the year as I was collecting 36g worth of chanterelles in Dead Pigeon Woods.
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