Making the Aspen Essence: Tractor Tango Magic

Star Riparetti
Part 6 of the series The Moment of Bloom ~ My Ecstatic Journey Making the Bach Flower Essences in a Golden Bowl



One of my favorite things to do is to watch a skilled tractor driver move dirt around at Chaska Norte, my 20 acres of land on a mountain top here near Santa Barbara. The land is very steep, and when I first got it, it didn't have much flat space. Over the past 10 years we have been creating terraces, roads, and paths, so there would be more accessible land with trails, contemplation stations, and places to grow things. I like to say I'm building a mini Machu Picchu.

There is one particular tractor driver, Jon, who is especially amazing in his skills.  He also teaches tango. I feel like he also does "tractor tango," the way he dances with the tractor and the land in such a beautiful and graceful way that the land feels good about it, rather than abused (which I've also seen happen).

Recently Jon was available do some more work. I felt very strong guidance to have him come and make some new terraces. It's like that was the very most important thing that wanted to happen- and I can't say that I have any idea what these terraces are for. I do know that all of the energy was there for it to happen, and I was in joy for the whole 6 days. He works and I go away and come back and check every hour or so to see what he has done. It is like being gratified every hour! So many changes, and new places that I had never been able to access before.

We were going to work thru Sunday. On Saturday afternoon he had done everything I wanted and more. I didn't know what else for him to do so I told Jon to go ahead and explore. He had already done such an amazing amount of road/terrace work-  I let him go ahead and follow his intuition. (Most guys do seem to love tractors- and I felt this made him happy.) There is this even steeper section of land where Jon went that I never expected to penetrate. The tractor was going into uncharted territory. I will mention here that there is a tree in that area that is taller than all the other trees. I had never been able to get close enough to it to see what it was.

I walked away to let Jon "tractor tango" on the hillside, assuming he would go up up up.  A little while later I came back and, whoa- I noticed he had not gone up, instead he had gone straight down. Like literally, straight down. There was no way to go back up that way, he would have to find another way out (which of course he did). I crawled down the super steep passage he had made to go look for him. All of a sudden I was standing close enough to that tall tree to get a look at it. Could it be what it looked like?! I went and found Jon and asked him what he thought that tree was. I needed validation, as I was so surprised. He said, "Looks like an Aspen." I was in ecstasy! This was cosmic!!! I had no idea Aspens even grew here.  It is definitely the only Aspen on the land!

Jon had no idea why he went straight down at that point, he said he was just guided to do it somehow. He didn't know the tree was there, you couldn't see it from the angle he was going. To me it was pure magic- as Aspen was the first essence I ever took, and it was the tree I was sitting under when I got the message to make the Golden Bach essences.  An interesting aside is that Jon's father was a homeopathist, and when he passed away Jon got his remedies, including a set of Bach essences- so he even knew what they were. We spent a few moments in awe.


The Aspen tree was still unreachable. I looked at the tree with my telephoto lens, and had this feeling there was a possibility that it was actually in bloom. That would be the coolest thing ever! We talked about that possibility, then he had to find a way out of where he was, as it was getting dark. I was wondering how in the world we could get closer to the tree. To me it seemed impossible, as even with a big ladder, I wasn't going to get close enough to get to those potential buds.

The next day was slated to be the clean-up and finish-up day. When Jon came he immediately said he thought he should go back and work around the Aspen tree. He was feeling it was just too synchronistic that he ended up there, to not try and make an essence. He ended up cleaning up all around it- altar like. He made a lovely road to it. Still- how to get to its foliage. Jon had the answer. He climbed out on the tractor arm. Miraculously, there were flowering buds! By this time, I was truly in an ebullient and altered state. I brought the bowl and everything we needed, and we made the Aspen essence. I think the only other time I was that high was when I made the first Orchid essences. It is an indescribable feeling- of co-creating with Nature. It is like all of Nature is conspiring to get me to make these essences, and it is happening so fun and gracefully.



As soon as we got the blossoms in the bowl, and we were standing there admiring our work (well, mostly Jon's work), a Red-tailed Hawk circled us. That was a beautiful sign- and just when we thought things couldn't get any better, another big bird began to circle. We kept looking...  It was big, and it wasn't a Turkey Vulture. What was it? We discovered it was- hold on- A Golden Eagle!! I found out there is a big nest not too far away, and they are in this territory, which I hadn't known before. One other time on the land (in 10 years), at an auspicious moment, I had seen a condor. The Golden Eagle, with the Golden Bowl, in this new Golden Age- it was truly a sign that gives me even more confidence that I am doing the right thing.  Abounding happiness and fulfillment!!!

Dr. Bach was ever-present during this time.  He didn't want to leave, as he too was enjoying it so much.

Ahhhh - the magic magic magic of the Moment of Bloom.



NEXT: Making the ROCK ROSE Essence