Rural Rootz Nature Reserve

06/20/2026

One of the greatest challenges I faced in my life was becoming a tea leaf reader. I was given sign after sign that this was something I had to do. Upon doing the research, I discovered the “Country Seers” and I had an awful lot in common.

They used a combination of intuition and established symbolism but there was something about the way they did their readings that didn’t resonate with me. It was more than just the 200 year difference in lifetimes.

I created a system that builds on the old ways yet incorporates our understanding of the modern world and how everything is energy. I have taken many energy courses such as Reiki and Therapeutic Touch, which allows me to tap into the energy of the person in front of me. My version builds on the old ways but updates it so anyone can learn to do this!

It is so much fun with people who have know each other for a long time. Insights into each other’s reading is what makes it so special. At first I felt like an imposter but the validation I keep receiving keeps me offering my gift.

I offer 10am or 2pm sessions. Max 4people at $30-/person.
Please email, message or call 519-534-2522 if you would like to book a session.

06/13/2026

Adapting to a new way of being takes courage. For me it is asking for help with projects around here that Tom and I are no longer able to complete by ourselves. Over the last several summers we have been blessed with young people who “get” this place and want us to keep doing what we are doing for as long as possible.

Our volunteers all began as strangers and over the years they have become life long friends. Margaret is our hiker who loves to work on the finer details of the garden. Frank is the photographer who makes us look good. Lynn and Scott are willing to lend a hand in any project we may have on the go. Chris brings his whole family including his two teenagers.

And then there are two retired couples whom we lovingly call “The Chainsaw Gang.” They come prepared to spend a couple of days here in their motor homes. The women walk the trails and find safety issues along the way and direct the men to clean up the problem.

But our most regular volunteer is Andy. He and his partner arrived here about this time last year and every Wednesday when he has spare time he has come to help even through the winter. It is because of him that my Tea Nook is ready for me to use!

06/06/2026

When I began my paintings 28 years ago, I thought it would be just a passing summer fling. I never dreamed I would end up creating so much product I would need a gift shop. But necessity is the mother of invention.

We decided on a 24X22 foot concrete pad and because we could, we prepared it with infloor heat piping. The heating system has never been put to use because the structure above it is a basic a greenhouse. Each spring we have to put shade cloth over it to moderate the temperature inside.

Tom built large glass doors for the front to make it feel like its name, “Mother Nature’s Garden Gallery.” Hummingbirds were attracted to the bright colours of my work and would get trapped inside. String curtains across the entrance allowed people through but deterred hummingbirds.

Now as we age, the reason for the in-floor heating is coming becoming apparent. We know we can’t continue at the pace we have been, yet we want to remain on this land as long as we are able. It can easily become a tiny home where we can live out our dream while younger folks take over the big house and the day to day running of the business.

We are glad we built the foundation for our future while we were young.

06/01/2026

In 1992 when Tom wanted a kitchen garden near the house we began clearing under the hydro line. We had energy to work from sunrise to sunset, or so it seemed. We under brushed and cleared and had huge bonfires to get rid of the debris. Like Mad dogs and Englishmen we worked out in the mid-day sun.

But as the decades increase, our energy decreases. Like our gardens, we are into the dwindles. Despite the challenges of aging bodies, our minds are still enthusiastic to keep Rural Rootz in the manner to which we have become accustomed. Now we rest during the heat of the day.

Our summer outdoors lives are a blessing as the many visitors to our gardens validate the solitary work we do before the season begins. We would be lost without help from our wonderful volunteers! We know we cannot control what is going to be, but we can control how we react to changing times.

With yet another birthday upon him, Tom continues to amaze and amuse me. Over the years I have tried to turn him into a Dutchman and I must admit he has risen to the task. In fact, he has certain very Dutch traits at times. You know the ones, “Wooden shoes, wooden head, Wouldn’t listen?” I WOODEN have it any other way! Happy birthday Tom!

05/30/2026

After the floor collapsed in Hemlock House, the screened in room where I did my tea leaf reading, Tom convinced me that he needed to renovate the space under the tree house and turn it into a screened in space. Instead of merely winter storage space, now it has become a valuable addition to our endeavours. This bug free space I call the Tea Nook, is finally ready to be introduced to the world!

Before the season started I had to do my tea leaf reading in the house or in the Tree House. But now that we are approaching summer, the bookings are increasing and I needed this dedicated space not only for the readings but for Neurographic Art, the therapeutic art sessions I offer.

Since I will not be using it every day, I have decide to share it with our summer guests. It will be open to our visitors to have picnic lunch or just enjoy a bug free environment from which to watch our birds. The bird feeders are on a clothes line right outside the windows and provide a perfect view of the many species that visit our woods.

And of course there will be sunshine tea and a collection of weird tea pots and paintings and whatever funky stuff people decide we need to turn it into another magical part of our madness.

05/24/2026

The sign says OPEN. The gift shop is ready. The garden installations are in place but only one car came in on our first day! Two lovely women from Virginia hiked our Rural Rocks side trail and came up the hill to check us out and brought with them lovely smiles despite to cold and damp.

Tom shared my studio as he set about mixing his all natural bug repellant spray called “Dragons Breath.” By dinner time the first batch was ready to go out into the gift shop. We know this won’t last long because it is so effective people come back year after year to stock up on it.

While Tom was making his concoction, I was painting and assembling dragonflies, cutting paper leaves for our Comment Tree and printing and folding our garden map and brochures.

Some might think this was a poor way to begin our season but for us it was perfect. After all the physical work of readying the gardens, today we got to enjoy the warmth of our wood stove and lunch with a friend.

We feel very grateful to know since we built this place, people have come and will continue to do so. We could not do it without the blessings of friends who help to keep us going.

05/23/2026

For many years we took plants for sale to the Oliphant Women’s Institute Market. One summer I traded one of my creations for a metal rebar figure that looked like a man sitting down.

I happily brought “Manuel Labour” home with me. Each year I dress him in a new outfit with a new hat. Manuel has a bit of a drinking problem but that doesn’t seem to deter him from creating a smile on people’s faces.

While the rest of us slave away in the gardens, Manuel just sits basking in the sun, unaffected by the rain and untroubled by the amount of work going on around him. He is a gentle reminder of the importance of being in the moment.

Calendars and clocks are human constructs. Success has to do with “right timing” of a different nature. It is the timing of the Spirit at the heart of all that motivates and moves us into right action. It is the place within us where the Will of Heaven supports the Heart’s Desire to create. When the two coincide, success will be there to support your efforts.

That is why we did not rush to be open this year. Today seems like a good day to put our sign out to welcome the world! ;-)

05/17/2026

After the Anglican Church at Sauble closed, Tom was blessed to receive some of the woodworking pieces his father, Ike Ashman had made for the church. To our great delight the church warden felt it was fitting that a statue of St. Francis of Assisi be relocated to Rural Rootz as well!

We both agreed he needed to be in quiet sanctuary of the Bishop’s garden. This is where we have a labyrinth fashioned from one in the Cathedral at Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. This Romanesque cathedral can trace its origins to the 7th century.

St Francis of Assisi considered all nature as the mirror of God. He called all creatures his “brothers” and “sisters,” and it is also reported that he preached to the birds. One story tells of how he persuaded a wolf to stop attacking the livestock of the townspeople who agreed to feed the wolf instead.

And so it was that the Catholic St. Francis, born in 1181 came to cohabit a forest sanctuary beside an Anglican labyrinth which is surrounded by Viking Runes. We are in constant amazement how treasures show up in the middle of a hundred acre woods in a country that was not even a dream when the Cathedral was built or Francis was alive.

05/15/2026