Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being,the seed of your destiny.
- The Findhorn Community

Spring Seed Planting

In celebration of Spring, we planted some herb seeds in plastic cups. We made sure to place some seeds on the side of the cups so we could observe the growth process as the seeds transformed, began to root downward and then grow upward.

Exchanging Eggs

A charming legend tells how the Saxon goddess Eostre found a wounded bird and transformed it into a hare, so that it could survive the winter. The hare found that it could lay eggs, so it decorated these each Spring and left them as an offering to the goddess.

Among other traditions, Iranians give gifts of eggs dyed red to mark the new year's first day. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans also celebrated Spring with colored eggs. Traditionally eggs were dyed red to symblize Christ's blood, and red is also associated with fertility and rebirth. The Russian tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II gave their wives exquisite enamelled Faberge eggs at Easter- a custom which became fashionable among aristocrats and royalty in early modern Europe.

My Grandmas

Eggs

Today I got out the painted glass eggs that belonged to my grandmother. I remember these eggs sat regally in an antique egg tray in grandma's beautiful dining room. Memories return of going to grandma's house on holidays such as Easter; the air filled with the aroma of grandma's wonderful cooking/baking. I recall all the relatives gathered around the large, finely decorated table. This wonderful, secure feeling of family connection is one I hope to pass on to my daughter.

This was our first year dying Easter eggs and we decided to experiment with natural methods of coloring. We combined resources with friends and used beet juice, red cabbage, turmeric, and onion skins to create very light hues. The turmeric turned out to be the strongest color, turning out a lovely yellow.