We found a Hag Stone!

What is a Hag Stone you might ask? Well, here is the story…

Hag stones can be made of any type of stone but are unique in that they have somehow had a hole burrowed into them naturally. They have been called many other names, Witch Stones, Adder Stones, Snake Eggs, Hex Stones, Fairy Stones, Holy Stones, and Eye Stones to name a few.

They are most often found in dry riverbeds or along the seashore as the moving water is what causes the erosion of the hole through the rock. The reason people (pagans) are so interested in them is because there is a commonly held belief that magick cannot work on moving water, and since the holes in hag stones are made by the force of this element, the stones retain water’s beneficial influence. 

The stones are often used as a protection amulet but have also been said to possess healing qualities. Some other uses include enhancing spell work, protection against another person’s magick to ward off the dead, curses, sickness, and nightmares…or more simply put, for protection. IT is also said they can be used to see into the land of the Fae and even open up windows to their realm.

So there you have it, one stone, many uses!

Tremont Park Cleanup

Another successful park clean-up this past weekend. We had a great turnout and perfect weather.

After having completed a few of these as a group, we have come to some pretty interesting observations.

Firstly, one of the biggest culprits of littering is cigarette butts. It seems like such a small thing but they take hours to clean up and we could easily fill a grocery bag with what we found this time. Did you know that cigarette butts take anywhere from 18 months to 10 years to biodegrade? The cellulose is largely plastic and when they get thrown on the ground they essentially allow for microplastics to be released into our most precious areas, like parks. Another sad fact about this is that small animals will take these small plastic filters and sometimes even eat them which can irreparably damage their bodies.

The second most common culprit is dog poo bags, and let me tell you, cleaning these up on a hot August day was just awful. Did you know these bags can take anywhere from 10 - 1000 years to decompose? Even the "biodegradable bags" ! Now, we know you cant leave dog poop in the middle of the park but there are ways to make it greener. Try a paper bag if you are going to a park with easily accessible garbage cans, or allow your dog to poop in your yard so when you do a big clean up you can minimize the number of plastic bags you need to use.

We find all kinds of things when we do park clean-up and some of them are legitimate accidents or things that made it to the garbage cans and then blew out but it is important that we all try to do our best and model these behaviours for future generations.

Ocean

Ocean tides that ebb and flow

Velvet mists that come and go

Silence broken by the cry

Scavenger patrols the sky

Sweet scent of salt-laden air

The breath of one who would dare

To be a man who loves the ocean

Wharf a hive as boats prepare

Faces of crew, hope laid bare

Be it trap or net or trawl

A way of life for one and all

Fishing vessel second home

Trusted friend with him to roam

At sea, a man who loves the ocean

Never content upon the land

He listens for her command

When she calls, he must obey

Follow his heart, come what may

Ocean mistress, sacred love

Honoured by the one above

Blessed is the man who loves the ocean

Fisherman's son he was born

To the water he is sworn

By wind and wave, moon and sky

Destiny to live and die

One with nature, spirit free

All that he is meant to be

By blood, a man who loves the ocean

On the water, yet he yearns

Loved ones tend a lamp that burns

Light keepers upon the land

Their duty to understand

They must share him with the sea

Heart and soul eternally

To love a man who loves the ocean

- Teddy Wood

Canadian Residential schools

Greetings to the Members of ADF,

With the discovery of the remains of 215 children outside of the former Kamloops residential school in the community of Tk’emlúps te Secweìpem, in present-day British Columbia, Canada, we in ADF wish to share our deepest condolences with those Indigenous communities grieving.

We recognize and honour the stolen lives of these children and the countless others whose lives have been impacted by Canada’s residential schools.

As people who spiritually build a connection with the land on which we reside, we abhor and denounce the mistreatment of the primary caretakers of this land, the first peoples of Turtle Island.

We pray for true reconciliation for our Indigenous kin. May those who have suffered find justice and peace. And may we all continue to build the right relationships with each other.

May the Blessings of the Kindreds be on all who need,

The ADF Mother Grove

Ogham weekly

Ogham (/ˈɒɡəm/;[4] Modern Irish [ˈoː(ə)mˠ]; Old Irish: ogam [ˈɔɣamˠ]) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language (scholastic ogham, 6th to 9th centuries). There are roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain, the bulk of which are in southern Munster.[5] The largest number outside Ireland are in Pembrokeshire, Wales.[6]

The vast majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names.

According to the High Medieval Bríatharogam, names of various trees can be ascribed to individual letters.

The etymology of the word ogam or ogham remains unclear. One possible origin is from the Irish og-úaim 'point-seam', referring to the seam made by the point of a sharp weapon.

The Ogham to us as druids is a tool we use for divination in a sense. We draw ogham from a small bag, crane bag, or what ever enclosure we may have with each of the ogham symbols having a different meaning. I am going to post weekly from this point on and cover each symbol in the ogham and their meaning and different ways we have interpreted it over various rituals and moments we have had. There are 24 in total, we use 25 so watch for 25 posts to come!

Bullying, its not ok. ANYWHERE!

What is bullying? I would truly hope it does not need to be defined at this stage, but I am going to put it in for clarity.

Bullying is defined as actions that seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable.

Coming from a woman who spends just way too much of her time reminding others how to behave in a respectful manner (and also having to remind myself) I am here to tell you that pushing ANY opinion on ANYONE in a bullying way is NOT OK. I will back up a little. I am lucky enough to work in Human Resources. I have a degree, a certificate, 10 plus years of experience and continued training on this and similar topics. I take this pretty seriously.

You will not get the results you want, hate breeds hate. I appreciate things can get heated and passionate, but this past year has shown us all so much humility. I have seen major public figures apologize for simply raising their voices. This should be an example to us all. We need to strive to be better than the things that enrage us.

If you see something you don’t agree within a group or even in person, remember, there are people out there who just do things to stir the pot. Don’t take the bait. I am reminded of a children’s book that I read to my son:

“That’s monkey business. Don’t eat from that tree”

- You’re All Kinds of Wonderful – Nancy Tillman

You know what, they should be removed. Don’t get yourself removed by overreacting. Plea your case in a respectful manner. One person very, very rarely speaks for the whole and when someone comes in just to create chaos they thrive on getting others wound up. And if you do not feel able to speak respectfully at that moment, step away and come back or let someone else handle it. There is no need to lower yourself.

Here’s a great example for you, I am part of an online group of like-minded spiritual individuals who often have liberal views. Recently, someone came in and stated boldly that since we did not have a statement on our main page indicating we were not racist, we obviously were all racists. I am sorry but WHAT?!?

It’s in the group rules; it’s part of our collective code as religious/spiritual people and holy cow, what a bad way to approach it if you wanted to change in your favour…

This person could have said “I would like to see us as a group make a statement about X” or “I have some suggestions on how to write a statement about X, I think it’s a good direction for this group” but instead they walked in and blanketed everyone racists.

Now, here’s the important part…. for some people, it just rolls off their backs. Others will spend a day or two reflecting and move on but for some, THIS WAS GREATLY DAMAGING. THIS HURT PEOPLE WHO WERENT DOING ANYTHING WRONG TO BEGIN WITH and that, I cannot abide. In a world where there is already so much hate and guilt and mental health is at an all-time low with a global pandemic, why would you just blanket attack someone who did nothing wrong?

The individual in question was removed and it prompted us to review some of the group practice. The long and short is that even if you are making a good point, you can’t go about it in a rude/offensive way. Not only because it probably won’t get you what you want in the long run but also because in an effort to create a better world you should know bullying is just WRONG.

Pagan Gardening 2021

For many of us in the Northern hemisphere Gardening season is just around the corner and as we prepare our seedling and start to eye up those piles of leaves, we need to keep in mind that most yardwork should be left until it is a consistent 10 degrees centigrade. Why, you might ask? Because many bugs and insects are still hibernating and growing under those leaf piles and damaging their lifecycle can have very real impacts on our environment.

What can we do in the meantime with our itchy green thumbs? Try starting some seedlings indoors, just find yourself a night bright window and follow the instructions on the seed packs. Seeds often like to be kept moist but not so wet that mold grows. If you don’t have a good window for this, LED grow lights are a low footprint option and caring for these little babies can be a great mood booster while we await the earth mother’s thawing.

Photo credit: onecreativemommy.com

Another fun thing to do is plan and research for your gardens. You can look up Square Foot Gardening if you have a small bed and make it a challenge to see what you can get out of it. Square Foot Gardening is a process by which you divide your small space into square sections (typically 1 sq foot). The idea is to line up your crop rotations and increase the yield for the small space. Or start planning larger yields with some Companion Planting Research. Companion planting matches up plants that leech differing nutrients from the soil in order to see that both plants get as much as they need while not drawing from others. It also helps with pest control, pollination and of course crop productivity.

If you just HAVE to get out and clean the yard, pick up litter, grab the fallen sticks and get them out before you have to deal with all the leaves. Start moving your pots around, pull out the old rain barrels or yard toys/furniture. But hang tight, gardening season is just around the corner. 

Another fun thing to do is to start to catalogue what trees you have on your property; you may find you have a use for some of the fallen sticks in your magical practice. If you use herbs in your practice, start looking at local versions you can grow in your yard. For example, I don’t grow White Sage but there are many Sages I can grow in my yard so, I do and I VERY much enjoy making my own saining bundles and gifting extras to friends. I also grow rosemary, thyme, oregano, lavender and a few varieties of mint. I use these both in my practice and in my kitchen. Best of luck with your yard this year and Blessed be.

Websites and Social Media for Pagans

I was asked to write this as a regional Druid of ADF for new grove organizers within ADF but in all honestly, this would apply to anyone attempting to form or run any sort of organization. I will be writing this as directed to Grove Organizers and new Senior Druids. I will attempt to be sure to cover any free options but also highlight paid options. Running an organization of any size can be cheap but rarely free. Be it money or your time. Often if you are paying for a service you will be saving your self-time, you will need to keep this in mind as you organize your online presence for your group.

Websites

The place you find you will start for the majority of your online presence will be your website. You want to create a website that will provide as much solid factual information as you can while offering the opportunity for your readers to ask questions and reach out and contact you. Our website is very involved and detailed and contains a lot of information that I am constantly adding to. I personally want to create a portal that anyone can find and educate themselves on Druidry from an ADF perspective. We have a page for our virtues and beliefs. We have a fairly active blog that provides more topical information as well as media and resources we have created. The most important aspect of your site though is some form of contact that your readers can use to reach out to you and discover more. You do not need to provide personal contact information or phone numbers but a central grove email is essential, more on this later.

Your website will most likely take a fair amount of time and resources to get started, but it begins to run its self, which is excellent. It is the front door to your grove so be sure to maintain it.

Below are a few solid options for quick and easy website options. These are not the be-all-end-all of options. There are thousands out there and it changes on an almost hourly basis. These are the resources I personally have experience with as well as the more common options that you may be able to find help with from an associate.

WordPress ( https://wordpress.com/ )
WordPress is a bit of both world. There is an excellent and involved free option which will most likely cover the majority of your needs. A domain can be purchased separately and forwarded towards your site with ease but the WordPress URL will eventually reveal itself. There is also a paid plan option and many include a free domain if paid annually, these would keep a consistent domain throughout your website. WordPress has been around for years and provides an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand backend that allows you to easily customize your website with a huge portfolio of various free and paid themes and templates. As well WordPress has a huge selection of mods that will most likely add any service you may need that isn’t an option in the base install. Another bonus is WordPress providers an excellent option to export your website if you needed to move or backup the website itself. I would highly recommend looking at WordPress, but with one negative point that WordPress has had issues with being easily hacked and broken into over the years. Many hosts will refuse to allow it on their servers as a standalone program but be aware that you will need to keep it constantly updated.

Wix ( https://www.wix.com/ )
I am not going to gentle but I personally really dislike Wix. The reason I am writing about it though is a lot of people do consider it one of the best free options out there. The sites are incredibly customizable and their ability to easily integrate online shopping into their sites is a huge bonus for some groups. Unfortunately, my experience with Wix is limited but reviews online are excellent. I personally am just not a fan of the layout and back-end system.

SquareSpace ( https://squarespace.com )

Personally, this is my website provider of choice but it is far from free. Sadly with no non-profit support, Squarespace may not be for everyone but of the sites listed so far it by providers the most in the box options. With everything built in from HTTPS services to free domains and even free google suite access for annual plans. Squarespace has a large variety of templates and designs you can start with and easily customize from there for your own needs. On top of all the services, the others provide Squarespace providers advanced options that will help improve your SEO (more talk on this later) as well as an excellent export option of your website content.

Email

The email will become your number one form of communication with new potential members and readers. There are many free options out there and I will list a few as well as a paid option.

Hotmail / Outlook ( https://outlook.live.com/owa/)
The old standard is still around and going strong. Free and easy to use. The only thing is it doesn’t give the ear of professionalism as using your own domain. It isn’t as hip and cool if that matters to you at all but it’s a solid option that isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Free with a paid option.

Gmail ( https://gmail.com )
The hip cool new kid on the block. I say that. but Gmail has been around for some time now. Once again a solid option that isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Also free with a paid option.

G Suite / Google workspace ( https://workspace.google.com/ )
The paid version of Gmail is my personal go-to for all sorts of social organizations. The ability to connect your members via email as well as share documents in a well-structured organized space is phenomenal. Now, this does come at a price but below I will discuss a way to make it free for your organization.

Social Media

Here is the big bad wolf of this post. Social media can be a positive tool used to spread the word of your organization as well as engage with users outside of your bubble. There are of course a lot of options when it comes to social media and it’s ever-changing. Something may be in this week and out the next. Below I will list some of the more major social media options which will help you engage with the most users as well as at the end list some tools to help you manage your social media in such a way to consume less of your time. Luckily social media itself tends to be free so no costs are expected here but the tools to manage it can be free or paid. The paid options of course just giving you more control.

Twitter ( https://twitter.com )
Twitter currently is one of the more influential social media platforms. Independent from others it allows you to post pretty much anything you like. It allows you to control the content you view in the form of following as allows you to be either private or open about your own content. For paganism, I personally feel this is the starting point for most people’s social media journey. Now for every positive of Twitter, there is a magnitude of negatives. The community is full of trolls and haters which you will need to monitor if you get on someone’s bad side. luckily there are several controls to block and mute other users. I highly recommend using them to make your usage as agreeable as possible.

Facebook ( https://facebook.com )
Everyone has a Facebook. We don’t even really need to discuss this one. Facebook consists of groups, pages and profiles. Depending on what you want to use it for any of those things may apply. We personally have a private group for our grove which has severed us well. In the future, I’d like to see us have a more public page but that’s for the grove to decide. A large portion of our new members has come from Facebook as that’s where they find us. Facebook though has a long history of issues concerning individuals’ privacy and selling user data which makes it a turn-off for many people.

For Groves, there are a few options such as pages that would be in the form of a direct advertisement for your Grove or use groups as a way to connect your grove members. From there you would need to decide if your group is private or public. Private would allow you to perform actual grove business on the group or to keep it public allowing others to join in the conversation.

Instagram ( https://instagram.com )
Instagram owned and run by Facebook is mostly a photo / image-focused form of social media. Plagued with similar issues to Facebook over censoring content as well as privacy concerns Instagram still goes strong. Between posts as well as “stories” Instagram has a huge reach for a younger crowd. The shift to a more commercial experience though has turned a lot of users off. While it still has a purpose it doesn’t have the reach it did a few years ago. The online pagan community though on Instagram is still very strong.

Youtube ( https://youtube.com )
Youtube, the video version of Instagram has been around since the early days of the internet. Now not really your typical form of social media it definitely deserves inclusion. If your group is into live streaming or video content creating a youtube channel can be an incredibly powerful thing. Users can subscribe to your content with ease.

TikTok ( https://tiktok.com )
Personally, I am relatively new to TikTok so I cannot talk from experience too much but this is the new kid on the block. Having much richer content has attracted a lot of new and fresh faces to social media. TikTok though can be incredibly time-consuming in the content department as the content created for the platform is much more involved. Pagan Tiktok though is alive and well with several popular Instagram stars moving to Tiktok in the past while bringing their audience with them.

Tools

The internet can be a wild wild west of the world at any given moment. There have been attempts to control it over the years but in the end, the underbelly of it all still exists. It can be incredibly fulfilling but also incredibly time-consuming. Listed below are going to be a few random tools you can use to navigate the wild west as well as tools that may just general help you establish your presence online and reduce your time consumption. As well as I will list other tools that may help you organize and manage your grove or group with ease.

Buffer ( https://buffer.com )
Buffer is an all-encompassing social media tool that helps you update your content from one easy location. The free option allows you to connect three social media platforms and can post on all three from one location instead of having to go to each source and post individually. This can be a huge help in saving you time and energy. It also allows you to schedule posts for the future which makes things so much easier.

Hootsuite ( https://hootsuite.com )
Similar in all regards to buffer Hootsuite was the powerhouse of this service. While writing this piece, they have removed the free option and are now only a paid service. Offering the same system as a buffer, from scheduling posts and posting to multiple social media services.

Later ( https://later.com/ )

Newer to the tool world Later offers similar services as buffer and Hootsuite but has a focus on Instagram. Instagram has been a trouble spot for the other two for years. I personally have no used Later but I suggest you look into it. Has a free option as well that covers the main three social media platforms.

Google Analytics ( https://analytics.google.com/ )
The tool you will use to see if all the hard work you are doing is amounting to anything. Now you don’t really need this in any form or fashion, but I like to see the results of my work for some like myself. I want to see where my content has travelled and the interactions that are taking place. You can take entire courses on analytics but even for the most basic user you can look at the content and get a grasp of what is happening

Square ( https://square.com )
Not needed by everyone but a very useful tool is the online payment program square. Easy to use and very user-friendly square can be used for a variety of things such as members dues, selling crafts or fundraising. Be wary though as Square in the past has rejected users who may sell things of an occult nature. Their argument in the past has been to protect users from scams but it’s fairly broad.

Techsoup ( https://www.techsoup.org/ )
If you take the time to register your grove as a non-profit society where you are located you may be eligible for TechSoup. Techsoup is a non-profit enabler that connects groups and societies to discounted services from larger donors. Some of the services above are free if you are verified under tech soup. I highly recommend looking into this. Registering as a non-profit in your area may have various fees associated with it.

Apps

Like tools, Appls are great little extras that you can use on various systems that may help spruce up what you are working on and creating.

Mojo (https://mojo.video/)
While Instagram of course provides a tool to create stories within Instagram, Mojo is just that on coffee. It is a fantastic addition to any tool belt for just adding that little extra.

Canva (https://www.canva.com/)
Canva has been described as photoshop for non-graphic designers. An excellent little app that lets you do a wide range of things that the normal phone editing just misses out on.

Repost (https://repostapp.com/)
One thing Instagram lacks over Twitter and Facebook is the ability to share content from other content creators. Repost fixes that by allowing you to share other content to your feed. It is a huge help with community engagement.

Asana (https://asana.com/)

This is a new app for me. Similar to basecamp this allows you to share with a team various projects and schedules.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search engine optimization is one of the most difficult aspects of running any sort of web presence. It is something that constantly changes and can be difficult to stay on top of. If your grove just intends to give your domain and social media directly via cards or whatnot then SEO is less important but if you are hoping to garner members online-only then SEO can be important. Now luckily being that Paganism and Druidry is a bit of a niche community it makes SEO a little simpler for you as you won’t be exactly competing against anyone for some key terms.

Google Analytics will help you with this by showing you some terms users have used to find your website. You can then focus these terms on your website to build a higher ranking. Personally, the Grove of Nova Scotia Druids has found the best tool we have for SEO has been our blog. It generates an incredible amount of clicks to our website based on various niche posts we have done. Posts about gods and goddesses have been a huge success for us as they are often searched on google.

Perils of the Internet

The internet is a wonderful place that allows us as a society to share more information than we ever have. I can pull up a browser and find the number of Pi to the 23rd decimal point in seconds. I can find someone's favourite banana bread recipe, I can find the hours of a local business.

With this power though comes some darker sides. There are plenty of people out there who are only out for their own and their own means. This may affect you more than you think. Druidry and Paganism being a minor religion / spiritual practice in the world can often mean there are a lot of individuals out there who look very negatively on us. They may go out of their way to cause you problems by reporting pages and groups and causing all sorts of administrative headaches. Just keep in mind that we live in modern society and in this society all people are and should be treated equally. You are allowed to believe what it is you believe and that is ok. The community around you is larger than you may think.

Why pagans need to support biodiversity act

The Tree of Life is one of my preferred visualizations and methods of grounding.  Often, I’ll consider which large trees are close by when doing it, and use their shape and form to assist the visualization.  Old willow trees are a favourite, especially trees that reach high to the sky, and low to the earth with their weeping branches.

This love of trees, and nature more generally, is one of the things that sets pagans apart. Our relationship with nature often develops early in life. Many people describe their discovery of paganism and/or the Goddess as a homecoming, forged in childhood memories of babbling brooks and forests and farms. Our sacred spaces are often marked by natural phenomena. Some temples, marked simply by groves of trees, form circles reaching above and below - as in the mystery of all things.

So when the corporations who clear-cut our forests start interfering in politics, pagans need to get involved as well.

That’s what is happening right now around the Biodiversity Act, proposed legislation that is designed to help protect wildlife and plants that are increasingly endangered as a result of climate change and unsustainable harvesting practices.  The corporations who clear-cut our forests are opposed to this legislation because they want to continue their destructive practices. 

The truth is that this legislation doesn’t go nearly far enough.  It is a start, but even with this legislation, we will continue to see a major loss of biodiversity as climate change accelerates. Even with this legislation, clear-cutting and destroying forests will still be legal in Nova Scotia. 

But the weakness of this legislation has not stopped the clear-cutting lobby from telling lies and half-truths about it. The so-called "Concerned Private Landowners Coalition" isn't a real group. It is a front set up by Forest Nova Scotia, who represents the clear-cutting industry. They do not speak for the thousands of tiny and small woodlot owners, or small farmers, who make up the vast majority of people that own rural land in our province. 

Our forests have become so degraded that they are growing back much slower, with much less biodiversity. The impacts on our natural environment are easy to see. The impacts on human health, emotions, state of mind, and spirituality, are as intense, but more difficult to see.

Consider: Our native Beech, Elm, and White Ash trees are dying off due to disease and the impacts of climate change and globalization. Our Sugar Maples and White Birch are also threatened. 

This is not to say that we can't have a forestry and lumber industry. With time, sustainable harvest practices and higher-value forestry much are still possible. To get there, we need to press pause, and allow our forests time to heal and grow. We need to make a shift as a society toward saying that extractive industries like clear-cutting are unacceptable - whether on public or private land. Ecosystems do not respect property lines. 

For pagans, and everyone who cares about our forests, the intense campaign against the Biodiversity Act should raise alarm. Even a fairly minor attempt to support a more sustainable future is being vocally opposed by the clear-cut lobby.  The only solution, that I can see, is to be equally as vocal.  To say that we must go further.  To say that we cannot allow any further destruction of the earth. To say that the land, trees and animals are sacred and that they have usefulness beyond human greed.

So please, take a moment to call your Member of the Legislative Assembly and ask them to support this legislation. A phone call to their office, even in evening hours when it will go to an answering machine, is much more effective than sending an email. Speak out against the lies of the clear-cutting industry.

Then, close your eyes, breathe deep, relax your muscles, and form in your mind the vision of glorious, mature, diverse forests from Yarmouth to Glace Bay.  Dig your roots deep into the crust of the Earth, draw up the earth-fire, let it flow and grow and crescendo, then let it sink back to the Earth itself, and let us weave the strands of a different vision.

Another world is possible. 

Learn more about the so-called “controversial” parts of the legislation: https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/local-perspectives/lisa-mitchell-nova-scotias-new-biodiversity-bill-is-reasonable-not-radical-565284/

Food waste over the Holidays

Every year for the Holidays there are way too many parties, way too many dinners out and of course at least one (often more) big family meals. This year because of Covid-19 things were a little different. No big deal, I can adapt! But this had me thinking about reducing my waste, I knew I was already pretty successful with my gift wrapping and I had ideas on improving it (see previous blog) but food waste was going to be my next big project.

Of course, if you do it properly you can always compost but do we really need to toss everything? Even if its going back to the earth? It's easier, but that doesn’t make it the right (side note: mental health comes first people… if you can’t save those potatoes…compost them!).

After a tiny bit of forethought, I came up with a tiered plan, and here it is.

Step one: DON’T OVERBUY AND BUY LOCAL WHERE YOU CAN! This one can easily cut down not only on your single-use plastics but also in what you end up having to be creative with later. No need to buy a big old bag of brussels sprouts when we each only take 3-4 anyway, just handpick a few and call it a day. 

Step two: Cook that stuff mindfully, if you keep things a little plain, you can easily repurpose them later. It is easy for people to add seasonings to veg on their own plate.

Step three: Once dinner is done, start to look at what you’ve got! This was my first year ever considering the turkey insides, and why not!? I have a dog and a cat that would be all too happy to eat that liver! Holiday treats all around!

Strip that carcass down, boil it up into some bone broth and make yourself a lovely turkey soup. This is also a great chance to use up leftover veggies (Assuming they aren’t too starchy). Toss in your carrots, beans, peas, some onion, celery etc, and voila! Soup! Delicious freezable soup! I also toss in barley, it is my new soup obsession…

Now, those starches and other things you don’t really want in your soup.. NO PROBLEM! If you’ve got mashed or whipped potatoes and broccoli just smoosh them all together with some onion and maybe cheese and make potato patties. You can fry them up on a pan OR even more fun, fry them up in the waffle iron. These also freeze really well and kids tend to love them.

Now you’ve got all these onion skins and those carrot tops and celery leaves… again, NO PROBLEM! You can pop them in a pot and cover with water to make veggie broth (add salt and pepper to taste) and if you don’t have quite enough to make it worth your while just freeze them, they will still be good in a couple of weeks when you have more to add.

Leftovers are always welcome in my house, you can do turkey sammies and of course, you can always freeze meat or plated up meals. There you have it folks, SUPER MINIMAL FOOD WASTE!

I hope this was as fun for you as it was for me and that you now go down an internet rabbit hole looking for recipes. Blessed feasting my friends.