Month: July 2026

As of right now, we are planning to have practice on 07/05/26. I may or may not be there due to some non-SCA issues that have come up this week, The same is true of the loaner gear. If I am able to attend, I will bring it, if not, there may not be loaner gear available.

I have arranged for other Marshals to be on site and run practice in my stead, so there will be practice in the usual place at the usual time unless the heat index exceeds the safety guidelines noted below.

This is also a reminder that, per Society Regulations, as the Kingdom Earl Marshal was kind enough to remind us this week, practice, and all other marital activities can and will be canceled and/or stopped if the Heat Index is over 103, for safety reasons. I keep the NIOSH Heat Index app on my phone for this reason, and WILL be checking.

Regardless, remember to bring something to keep yourself hydrated, appropriate clothing for the heat, sunscreen, a place to sit, and additional shade if you need it.

I want to practice and acclimate to the heat for Pennsic as much as anyone out there, but I will not hold a practice at heat levels deemed unsafe.

YIS,

Patrokles Athenaios, Baronial KM

All across our lands, guilds of artisans gathered this past weekend to work on large projects together, to turn tedium into fun and spread the work across multiple people. On Saturday, Fiber Guild came together at the home of Lady Ilsa to extract dyes from a number of locally foraged plants. On Sunday, the Debatable Brewers’ Guild set out to make nearly 9 gallons of sekanjabin syrup in preparation for Pennsic. Despite two very different goals, brewers and dyers alike spent the weekend chopping plants, watching pots of simmering liquid, and pouring off hot colorful liquids into jars and bottles (and onto the hands of their A&S Minister on both days).

Under the expertise and direction of Lady Ilsa, Fiber Guild processed and extracted several gallons of dye from jewelweed stalks and leaves, avocado skins, dyer’s chamomile flowers, a mix of coreopsis flowers, and dried black walnut husks. These plants were locally harvested by Lady Ilsa and Lady Fíne, which was part of their appeal! All the plants were chopped up or ground to increase their surface area and cooked in 180 degree water for a few hours to extract the color from the various dyestuff. After straining out the solid plant mass, we were left with gallons of dye ready for scoured and mordanted fiber! I was surprised at the range of colors we ended the day with, as the green stalks of jewelweed resulted in a bright “Gatorade orange” and the dark frozen avocado skins turned the water a beautiful pink color.

The actual dyeing of fiber is another step entirely, but every attendee left with gallons of natural dye to try on their own projects. Consider visiting the Open A&S Display at Pennsic to check out Lady Ilsa’s full range of dyed fibers from plants harvested from the natural lands of Pennsic before European contact!

Thank you to Sym, Owen, Michi, Fíne, Alric, and Ilsa for all the work you did at Dye Day! Photo credits to Alric Smith and Ilsa Starling

On Sunday, an entirely different group of artisans took on the task of harvesting plants and cooking them into useful liquids, this time for our collective hydration! Baron Alaric MacConnal led the charge for the production of many gallons of sekanjabin syrup, mainly for the Royal Hospitality Tent at Pennsic. The recipe has been tested and refined over a number of decades, originating from Cariadoc himself. Alaric harvested lemon balm from his own garden, Master Alastar provided dried spearmint, and the apple cider vinegar and sugar came from the collective pantries of the Guild. By the end of the day, over 30 pounds of sugar were used in the production process!

Following the ancient and venerable sekanjabin recipe, the fresh and dried herbs were simmered in a solution of water, sugar, and vinegar to produce a few different varieties of syrup. For Royal needs, the Brewers’ Guild made 6.5 gallons of apple cider and spearmint sekanjabin syrup for all to enjoy. For Debatable Lands activities, additional batches were made of apple cider and lemon balm syrup, both with white sugar for a refreshing taste and dark brown sugar for the more indulgent palette. Because the Guild can’t make anything without including an experiment for science, they also infused frozen berries (provided by Thora and Dofinn-Hallr – thank you!) in apple cider and red wine vinegars for a shrub-inspired syrup to be made in a few weeks.

The process of making sekanjabin syrup resulted in a lot of group effort to pick leaves from stems, prepare so many pots of sugar water, and wash dozens of containers in which to store all the finished syrup. Like Dye Day, the afternoon proved that tedious A&S tasks are much more fun in the company of friends, as no one wants to do brewing dishes alone. With the efforts of Dofinn-Hallr Morrisson, Thora Sharptooth, Alastar Scott McCrummin, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Myfanwy verch Rhiannon, and Alaric MacConnal, all three syrups were prepped, made, and bottled for Pennsic – totaling over 9 gallons of syrup by the end of the day!

Thank you to Alaric and Elsbeth for hosting the Brewers Guild Sekanjabin Day!

At the end of the day, all of the pots were washed, the bottles were stored away, and the friends traveled home. Thank you to everyone who supported the efforts of our baronial guilds and we can’t wait to see what becomes of all the fun! For me, it was amazing to see just a small selection of the many arts and sciences going on across our barony in just one weekend as we all enjoyed the summer weather and activities.

YIS, THLady Elinor Walden

A&S Minister of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands