{"product_id":"seasons-of-a-magical-life-by-h-byron-ballard-9781578637232","title":"Seasons of a Magical Life","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn invitation to return to a simpler time of earth-based spirituality and ritual living, through writings from a small forest-farm in the Appalachian Highlands.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSeasons of a Magical Life\u003c\/em\u003e looks at the agricultural year as a starting space for a deepening of earth-centred spirituality. It provides a set of backstories to ease the reader into a time between the pre-industrial era and the modern one, into a place where the fast-moving stress of American life can be affected by a better connection not only to the natural world but to the elegant expression of the year as expressed through seasonal festivals and celebrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapters are divided into four seasons, with the quarter days as highlights within each, and feature simple skills that accompany each marker in the year. Author H. Byron Ballard offers advice on spiritual and physical immersion into the seasons that applies to readers from all areas: rural, urban, and suburban.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is also a deeply practical book, including insights into the following:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFarming \u0026amp; gardening:\u003c\/strong\u003e composting, manure, soil preparation, pests, seed-saving\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFood:\u003c\/strong\u003e cooking, preserving, foraging, the summer kitchen, mushrooms and mycelium\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFibre arts:\u003c\/strong\u003e knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, decorative cut-work, and embroidery\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSewing:\u003c\/strong\u003e treadle machines, electric machines, hand sewing\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHousehold crafts:\u003c\/strong\u003e candle-making, soap-making, broom-making, sharpening tools\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHealth:\u003c\/strong\u003e medicines, tending the dying, death and death rituals\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eA glossary is included for any unfamiliar terms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46868775928044,"sku":"9781578637232","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1249823482750.jpg?v=1759768978","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/seasons-of-a-magical-life-by-h-byron-ballard-9781578637232","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}