The magical alchemy of Eco dye was taught to me by my dear friend Ananda. She in turn was taught by the guru of the process India Flint (google her - it'll be time well spent I promise!).

It is now my time to share this with others and as they say 'spread the love'...a premise I truly believe in.

So today, I began.

I invited a few families over and we started by gathering lichen with my trusty basket. The kids had so much fun spotting it in the grass, on fallen sticks and bits of wood in the fire pile.

Then it was time to make our 'witches brew'...

With the pot simmering over a warm winters fire we set to work arranging our leaves, lichens and metals on material and wrapping them up. Lots of laughter as we practiced letting go of desired outcomes, spattering coffee grounds on pants and playing with squishy berries.

Then we just had to artfully arrange the bundles as they were so damn gorgeous!

Everyone fell in love with their bundles:)

Then into the pot they went and it was time for us to sit around the fire with cups of tea and chat about life...and maybe do a spot of canoeing;)

I love this bit. Tending the fire to keep the heat up, watching the birds, being part of the dancing shadows...

Everyone's bundles were wrapped up to take home with the promise to 'wait til the morning to unwrap!'. Easier said than done, but delaying gratification is part of the process - in the old days dyeing cloth took months, years even decades to follow through to completion.

Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to share my new bit of wonder with you. Here's to experimentation, slow process, kids and mess, smoke and colour!

So, it's time to announce my new obsession here on the Freedom Farm:

Eco Dyeing!

A process that involves earth, air, fire and water in divine harmony to produce satisfying and beautiful creative cloth.

Step one: gather interesting various bits of nature and found materials...

Place said leaves, lichens, rusty nails etc onto a piece of natural material...Budle around a stone or piece of wood and tie with string (like a gorgeous Christmas present.

Place into pot of water which is happily boiling over a fire...

Leave to bubble away for an hour whilst you chat, read, ponder the beauty of nature...

Leave overnight to steep in the fragrant juices...then unwrap in the morning to see what exciting patterns and colours have been created!

Alchemy! Fun! Time well spent in a slow, sweet process expressing the divine dance of human and Mother Earth.

This week we attended the NAIDOC celebration down in Gosford.

I didn't even know it was on, but got a message from a friend that her boys were performing on stage, so off we went with a couple of friends in tow...

It was great. Or should I say 'deadly' :)

Black, yellow and red colours proudly on display, dancers from local tribes and the Torres Strait as well as a great performance by the local hip hop mob.

We ate a delicious free lunch and were even provided with free bottles of water. I guess they are really trying to educate the people about nutrition and encouraging the choice of aqua over Coke!

The boys made loom bands in the indigenous colours and got to experience this passionate Central Coast indigenous community.

A great day.

Oh my, there is so much catching up to do.

We had 3 incredible months of travelling through Canada and the USA experiencing astonishingly varied landscapes and topography, flora and fauna, people and places.

It was a chunk of amazing family time as we had the flowing travellers schedule which allowed for long conversations, extended silences and the following through of ideas.

The boys created art out of sticks, danced under a million stars, steamed in a handmade sauna, soaked in various hot springs, played with tonnes of kids (some of which spoke not a word of English), explored National Parks and Theme Parks with joy and abandon.

It was epic.

If I were to blog properly about the trip it would take me a year at least and I think around 2000 photos were taken.

So you'll just have to be satisfied with this meagre offering, and if we aren't friends already, friend me on Facebook, as the whole trip is chronicled there....