13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment ~ Sometimes I take photos that have a lot of meaning to me in the moment.  In this moment back in 2004, perhaps I was reflecting on the volunteer work involved in maintaining the firewood piles we use for different occasions at Circle.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Firewood Moment © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile ~ Associated with the sweat lodge are several piles of stones.  Different sweat leaders handle the stones in different ways.  Seen here is the pile of spent stones that have accumulated after many sweats.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Stone Pile © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles ~ I do not recall when the last sweat was held in the old sweat lodge area.  I will sort through my photos and see if I can figure that out.  It wasn’t too much previous to my taking this sequence of photos.  The fire pit and wood piles are fresh enough to imagine that perhaps it was in 2003.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Wood Piles © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Fire Pit Stones

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Fire Pit Stones ~ There are a number of fire pits on the land at Circle Sanctuary.  This fire pit is at the old sweat lodge area, which is right next to the creek and the large cottonwood trees.  This was the second location for sweats at Circle.  This location is now retired and a new sweat lodge area is being located in Hickory Grove.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Sweat Lodge Fire Pit Stones © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Deer Trail Down To The Creek

13 Apr 2004 Deer Trail Down To The Creek ~ I have always followed the stag and Herne; look at the license plate on my car.  Thanks to Al, one of the Circle Patrol members over the years, I began to seek out more and more deer sign when I visit the land.  Lately, it is mostly on Samhain that I am out to Circle, which is the time of the rut.  Stag rubs and hoof markings are found throughout the land.  This photo shows one of the deer trails coming down from Ritual Mound to the creek.  There is a matching trail on the other side of the creek.  Some shrines are mobile and ephemeral; the King Stag territorial markings and paths are one of these.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Deer Trail Down To The Creek © Nicholas Sea

13 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Rocks

13 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Rocks ~ For many years I tended the Circle Community Bonfire circle of stones.  I am the volunteer who spread the base gravel that levels the area, and I have added many stones from Circle Land to maintain the fire ring.  On this volunteer day I put in a lot of effort digging fresh rocks from the upper parking lot embankment for the Community Bonfire ring and for the various Circle House Gardens.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

13 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire Circle Rocks © Nicholas Sea

06 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire and Maypole

06 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire and Maypole ~ Volunteers have cleared the mugwort stalks from around the Maypole and stacked a might heap of firewood.  The Community Bonfire has a few scraps ready for a small fire and the circle of chairs has yet to be brought out.  Coming soon are both Earth Day 2004, and Circle Beltane Festival.  Preparations are in progress.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

06 Apr 2004 Community Bonfire and Maypole © Nicholas Sea

06 Apr 2004 Kwan Yin Trellis Garden

06 Apr 2004 Kwan Yin Trellis Garden ~ Kwan Yin has been at Circle Sanctuary for quite some time.  There have been various iterations of decorative components to the shrine.  The trellis seen in this image has seen a bit of weathering by 2004.  During this time, I began work on the Circle House Gardens.  Alas, the gardens have faded over the years as volunteers have worked on other projects.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

06 Apr 2004 Kwan Yin Trellis Garden © Nicholas Sea

02 Apr 2004 Three Evergreens of Yule

02 Apr 2004 Three Evergreens of Yule ~ For a number of the early years at Circle Sanctuary, live Yule trees were decorated in December and then planted in the Spring.  As I recall, there are 5 of these between the barn and the house.  Though these trees are not native to the land, they are a deep reminder of the cycles of the year and Yuletide cheer.  I particularly love seeing these evergreens in the Winter, albeit here we have them in early Spring.  The Yule Tree is very much a poignant Pagan shrine of our times.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

02 Apr 2004 Three Evergreens of Yule © Nicholas Sea

02 Apr 2004 Circle Barn Garden in Spring

02 Apr 2004 Circle Barn Garden in Spring ~ Midmorning early in April a few days before the Ostara Moon, we can see that the gardens at Circle Sanctuary are budding green ~ “O’ she will bring the buds in Spring and laugh among the flowers.”

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

02 Apr 2004 Circle Barn Garden in Spring © Nicholas Sea

20 Mar 2004 Circle Maypole on Spring Equinox

20 Mar 2004 Circle Maypole on Spring Equinox ~ Midmorning on Spring Equinox in 2004, the Circle Maypole stands regal inside the Mugwort Circle.  The old stalks of mugwort will be removed in time for Beltane which is 6 weeks away.  The New of the Moon was on the evening of March 20th in 2004, therefore the Ostara Full Moon will come in two weeks on April 5th.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

20 Mar 2004 Circle Maypole on Spring Equinox © Nicholas Sea

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 02

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 02 ~ Here is another photo of Circle Barn Garden back in February of 2004.  It is a look at the barn and at Circle House 12 years ago.  Much has changed since then and yet the iconic nature of Circle’s buildings endures.  This photo of barn garden and shrine was taken from the south end of the barn.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 02 © Nicholas Sea

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 01

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 01 ~ On the east side of Circle Barn is a long raised garden bed constructed and planted by the Garden Circle.  Many renovations on the barn have happened over the years, including this garden addition. The Circle Barn Garden is both beautiful and functional.  The garden structure provides a bit of buttress to the barn foundation.  I consider the Circle Barn Garden to be one of the multifaceted shrines at Circle Sanctuary.  It is important because it is wheelchair accessible and because it has so many components and people who have nurtured and cared for it.  This photo of barn garden and shrine was taken from the north end of the barn.

Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve, Wisconsin, USA

25 Feb 2004 Circle Barn Garden Winter 01 © Nicholas Sea