Star Fusion Ranch, LLC

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The Living Novaturient Blog

Information, News and Musings from Star Fusion Ranch

Welcome to the Blog!

Here, you’ll find news, insights, and reflections by our founders and facilitators — every post invites you to see your journey from a higher vantage point.

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  • When I began eating meat again, I finally began to heal.

    When I began eating meat again, I finally began to heal.

    What are your feelings about eating meat? After 12 years as a vegetarian and one year as a vegan, eating meat again was impossible without a massive paradigm shift. My health had steadily declined in spite of “clean eating” – mostly whole foods and very little sugar or processed foods. Over those 12 years, uncomfortable…

  • Why Should I Learn Tarot – and incorporate it into my spiritual practice?

    Why Should I Learn Tarot – and incorporate it into my spiritual practice?

    What is Tarot Reading? Tarot reading typically involves drawing cards from a deck (often the 78-card Western “tarot” deck) and interpreting the symbolic imagery of the cards in relation to a question or life situation. In practical use it has evolved beyond simple fortune-telling: many practitioners treat the cards as prompts for self-reflection, metaphorical dialogue…

  • What are Dreamwork and Active Imagination – and how can these practices benefit me?

    What are Dreamwork and Active Imagination – and how can these practices benefit me?

    Dreamwork (a.k.a. dream interpretation or analysis) and Active Imagination are two related psychodynamic and depth-psychology practices aimed at exploring the unconscious, and they offer potential benefits for mind, body and spirit. Dreamwork involves reflecting on and unpacking the images, emotions and narratives that occur during sleep. It is based on the idea that dreams provide…

  • What is Holotropic Breathwork – and why should I try it?

    What is Holotropic Breathwork – and why should I try it?

    Holotropic Breathwork (HB) is a guided breathing practice developed by Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof designed to help individuals access non-ordinary states of consciousness for emotional healing, self-exploration, and spiritual growth. Physically, the practice of sustained, deeper or more rapid breathing activates the autonomic nervous system and can improve circulation, reduce muscular tension, and enhance…

  • What is Kundalini Yoga – and how is it good for me?

    What is Kundalini Yoga – and how is it good for me?

    Kundalini Yoga is a dynamic yogic tradition that blends movement, breathwork (pranayama), mantra, and meditation to stimulate the flow of kundalini energy — the innate creative and vital force believed to reside at the base of the spine. Physically, its rhythmic postures and breath practices can support strength, flexibility, nervous-system regulation, and improved respiratory function.…

  • Coming Home to Star Fusion Ranch

    Coming Home to Star Fusion Ranch

    The first time I set foot on the property, I immediately sensed there was something special about it. The house looked and felt like it had been loved. It smelled of cedar and lavender. It felt imbued with a peaceful, spiritual, healing energy.

What’s Happening on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube…

💚 A little bright spot in my day. The medaka fry are growing and doing great! There must be enough biofilm and micro critters in this still water pond to keep them thriving, because I’ve only been feeding them a tiny bit of crushed medaka food daily. #minipond #patiopond #medaka #ricefish #backyardbliss 🌿 Exciting news! Star Fusion Ranch’s Mary is now on TikTok as “Living Novaturient.” If you’re drawn to peaceful spaces, nature, slow living, and creating beauty in everyday life, I’d love to connect with you there. I’ll be sharing videos and how tos about miniponds, medaka rice fish, gardening, wildlife, inspiring views, creative projects, living and growing as a highly sensitive person, and glimpses of life at Star Fusion Ranch. If you’re looking for a little more calm, wonder, and connection in your social media feed, come join me on TikTok and follow along on the journey! 💫 #minipond #ricefish #slowliving #backyardsanctuary #highlysensitiveperson Not OG minipond v2.0… More like 5.0… 6.0? This is the biggest revamp it’s undergone since it was first built over a year ago - but it badly needed it! Make a wish! There are about a million wild dandelion puffs poking out of our front lawn - enough for everyone’s! Drop your wish below and I will run outside and blow on a dandelion puff for you! I love that the deer feel so safe and peaceful here that they will lie down for a rest and cud-chewing sesh within steps of our front door. Peekaboo, I see you! Some wacky angles of the new shelves and their residents. #plants #houseplants #orchids #plantlover Three propagation jars await their next cuttings! Thanks to the gift of these shelves from my sister, which fit in with our dining room decor beautifully, my plant family has a little room to grow. The slider faces east and plants in this window enjoy the gentle hug of early morning sunshine and a generous view of the sky all day. Before and after. This is my third minipond with a bog filter and waterfall, also home to 4 white and orange lamé medaka rice fish. The new waterfall rocks unfortunately cover the bog pot, but I believe there’s enough space between the rocks for the creeping jenny that’s planted in the bog pot to find its way through. I believe the birds will really enjoy the flat surfaces for having a drink and bathing themselves. I ordered some cardinal flower for the right side, and I need to do something with the top, but I’m not sure yet. Needless to say maybe but this is a work in progress, as all the miniponds perpetually are.
🌅 Does the weight of the world feel a little too heavy sometimes?Pause here for a moment.Breathe.Yesterday morning, Chris captured our hummingbirds gathering at the feeder as the sun rose behind them—and it was one of those little moments that reminds me how much beauty can change the way a moment feels. 💛When our minds are carrying too much, sometimes it helps to give our attention to something beautiful.Watch.Listen.Breathe.Beauty is everywhere when we remember to look for it.But we can also do more than simply notice beauty—we can invite it.Plant something. Hang a feeder. Grow a garden. Create a little sanctuary. Make your corner of the world a place where life can thrive.And sometimes, when you do…beauty comes to you. 🌿🐦I hope these hummingbirds bring a little peace to your day.Thank you for being here. 💚And now… BUSHELS. 🌾🌾🌾😂#Hummingbirds #Hummingbird #HummingbirdFeeder #HummingbirdsAtSunrise #BirdWatching #Birds #BackyardBirds #BackyardWildlife #Wildlife #Nature #NatureLovers #NatureVideo #PeacefulNature #PeacefulVideos #RelaxingNature #NatureTherapy #Mindfulness #MindfulMoments #SlowLiving #SimpleJoys #LittleThings #ThingsThatBringJoy #NoticeTheBeauty #CreateBeauty #MorningSunrise #Sunrise #BeautifulNature #NatureSounds #LivingNovaturient #Shorts
When the World Feels Heavy, Watch This 🌅🐦
🌿⚔️ The war on hair algae has escalated.It carpet-bombed nearly every surface in my bookshelf aquarium, so today I’m launching a 5-pronged counterattack:🧽 Manual removal💧 A water change🌱 More plants🐌🦐 Reinforcement algae warriors💡 Less lightWill it work?We shall see. 😬Along the way, I also removed and rearranged much of the quartz, accidentally renamed Marsilea crenata approximately three times before finally arriving at “Hakuna Matata,” and then my microphone stopped working.Because apparently the algae wasn’t providing enough adversity. 😂Fortunately, the troops remain committed to the cause.My ramshorns got straight to work—including one particularly magnificent fellow who received his orders personally:“Get to work, buddy!” 🫡🐌There was munching. There was a tiny medaka fry helping clean schmootz off a snail shell.And because this is Living Novaturient, there was a snail fart. 💨🐌😂Three hours later, O6 looks considerably better.But we’ve gained ground.We have NOT won the war. ⚔️🌿Stay tuned for the next dispatch from the front. 😂#HairAlgae #HairAlgaeRemoval #AlgaeControl #Algae #fightingalgae #PlantedAquarium #PlantedTank #Aquarium #AquariumLife #AquariumMaintenance #AquariumCleaning #Aquascaping #Aquascape #FreshwaterAquarium #FreshwaterTank #BookshelfAquarium #NanoFish #Medaka #MedakaFish #JapaneseRiceFish #RamshornSnails #AquaticSnails #AmanoShrimp #CleanupCrew #AquaticPlants #MarsileaCrenata #TinyEcosystem #Ecosystem #LivingNovaturient #AlgaeWars #Shorts #Salviniaminima #waterspangle
The War on Hair Algae: My 5-Pronged Counterattack ⚔️
🦌🌿 We said goodbye to an old wisteria that had completely outgrown its welcome beside our deck—mostly by constantly trying to eat it. 😂I still hated to see it go. Our neighborhood deer have spent years finding safe shelter beneath its shade and nibbling every leaf they could reach.But the wisteria had one last gift for them. 🥹We’d had enough wrestling vines for one day, so we left the freshly cut vines on the ground—and the deer discovered them almost immediately.They’ve been looking especially thin during this dry time of year, and judging by that wildly wagging tail, this was a VERY exciting development. 😂🦌And that little fellow with the tiny antlers? Buck sightings around our home are incredibly rare, so seeing this youngster join the feast was a special treat.What should we name him?Even Dexter managed to contain himself and quietly watch the proceedings.Good boy, Dexter. 😂🐕Sometimes a sad ending can become something good for someone else. 💚Thank you for being here. I hope you’ll stay awhile.Hashtags#Deer #BlackTailedDeer #YoungBuck #WildDeer #BackyardWildlife #CaliforniaWildlife #Wildlife #Nature #NatureMoments #DeerWatching #Wisteria #RuralLife #LivingNovaturient #Shorts
We Cut Down an Old Wisteria… The Deer Were THRILLED 🥰 🦌
🌿🐟 I found this Fluval Flex 9-gallon aquarium at a thrift store for $40—and apparently that meant I needed to immediately start building another tiny underwater world. 😂This aquascape ended up looking VERY different from my usual aesthetic. I wanted something darker and moodier, with black sand, dramatic stone, little caves and passageways for shy critters, and just enough wood and moss to soften everything.I started with ordinary soil from Star Fusion Ranch beneath the sand and built the hardscape one precariously balanced rock at a time.Then I tried aquascaping glue for the first time.There was glue.There was cotton.There was swearing. 😑😂And I may have permanently sacrificed a few aquascaping tools to the cause.But somehow… IT WORKED. 🙌I also added seasoned filter sponge from one of my established aquariums to help give the biological cycle a head start.There will be many more plants once the tank is ready for them, so this little ecosystem is nowhere near finished.But already?I LOVE IT. 🥰And perhaps my favorite part of creating tiny ecosystems like this is knowing that they never really stay “finished.”They grow. They change. They surprise us.Which is rather the point. 🌿💚Thank you for being here. I hope you’ll stay awhile.#FluvalFlex #Aquascaping #Aquascape #PlantedAquarium #FreshwaterAquarium #Aquarium #AquariumLife #AquariumSetup #NanoAquarium #ThriftStoreFind #ThriftFlip #TinyEcosystem #AquaticPlants #LivingNovaturient #Shorts
I Thrifted a Fluval Flex for $40… and Ruined My Aquascaping Tools With Glue! 🌿
🌿 One month ago, I created a tiny aquatic ecosystem inside a thrifted glass vase.Since then, the Living Lamp has been busy evolving.Plants are growing. Algae has appeared. Tiny creatures have moved in. And one little ramshorn snail has become… considerably less lonely. 😂🐌Today I’m giving the Living Lamp some loving maintenance, taking a closer look at the life that has emerged inside it, and reflecting on something these tiny ecosystems keep teaching me.Nothing in nature stays the same. And neither do we.We spend so much of our lives surrounded by change—some we choose, some we don’t. Some changes delight us. Others can be difficult, frightening, or painful.We can’t control all of it.But what is within our control is the choice to notice, create, and appreciate all the beauty we can along the way. 💚That idea is at the heart of Living Novaturient—not merely surrounding ourselves with beautiful things, but learning to notice beauty, create it where we can, and allow ourselves to be changed by the process.So take a deep breath, enjoy watching this little ecosystem receive some love, and share my delight in the beautiful results. 🌿✨And when it’s over, I’d genuinely love to know:How are you feeling?#LivingNovaturient #LivingLamp #TinyEcosystem #PlantedAquarium #Aquarium #Aquascaping #AquaticPlants #RamshornSnails #NatureTherapy #MindfulLiving #SlowLiving #NatureAtHome #Ecosystem #AquariumLife #Shorts
The Living Lamp: One Month of Change 🌿✨
🧙‍♀️🌿 Really weird things I do when my dear hubby is away on business…I miss him. ❤️ But I also try to make the most of my time alone.Apparently that means wandering through thrift stores hunting for vessels to turn into tiny ecosystems, falling under the spell of an aquarium I absolutely did not need (except I need it for the office so I will actually want to be in the office! 😂), boiling dead pieces of trees in a cauldron by candlelight, and eventually spending the evening relaxing with “my pretties.” 😈🌿Some people binge Netflix when their spouse travels.I apparently transform into an aquatic ecosystem witch. 🧙‍♀️😂But beneath all the weirdness, there’s something very important about this.Creating these tiny living worlds brings me an enormous amount of joy. I love imagining them, building them, watching them change—and simply sitting quietly in their presence.What can I say?Tiny ecosystems light me up. ✨🌿And maybe leaning into our weirdness and whimsy is good for us. 💚#LivingNovaturient #TinyEcosystems #Aquarium #AquariumLife #PlantedAquarium #Aquascaping #Aquascape #ThriftStoreFind #Thrifted #FreshwaterAquarium #AquaticPlants #NatureAtHome #SlowLiving #Whimsy #YouTubeShorts
🧙‍♀️🌿 Weird Things I Do When My Husband Is Away… 😂
🦌💚 This might be one of my favorite compliments our home ever receives.This yearling was standing just outside our front door, while its younger sibling rested peacefully beneath the holly bushes beside the porch.I love knowing that the wild creatures who share this land feel safe enough here to linger. To rest. To simply be.Creating a sanctuary isn’t only about making a place beautiful for ourselves. Sometimes we get to share it. 💚And that feels pretty beautiful too.Thank you for being here. I hope you’ll stay awhile.🎵 “The Willow Tree” — James Quinn#Deer #BabyDeer #Fawn #WildDeer #BackyardWildlife #Wildlife #Nature #NatureLovers #PeacefulMoments #SimpleBeauty #CreatingSanctuary #LivingNovaturient #Shorts
Wild Deer Feel Safe Enough to Rest at Our Front Door 🦌 – I Feel Complimented 🥰
🐌💕 My sister told me I should make a video about SNAIL SEX.So apparently this is who I am now, talking about snail sex on social media… 😂 (My sister is always getting me into trouble!)How do ramshorn snails reproduce? Why do these adorable little aquatic snails have such a notorious reputation for multiplying overnight and taking over aquariums? And is that reputation actually deserved?Meet the residents of Snail Jail—my increasingly crowded little ecosystem full of pink ramshorn snails. 🐌They’re fascinating little cleanup crews, eating algae, decaying plant matter and leftover food. And despite their reputation, their population is largely driven by how much food is available to them.Snail Jail certainly provides compelling evidence that they’re good at eating algae. There’s literally none.Butt of course… what goes in must come out. 💩😑So yes, they’re useful. They’re adorable. They’re prolific—within reason.And I like to imagine they fart. 😂💨🐌Maybe I shouldn’t blame my sister.I’m blaming hormones. 😂#RamshornSnails #AquaticSnails #Snails #FreshwaterSnails #Aquarium #AquariumLife #AquariumHobby #TinyEcosystem #FreshwaterAquarium #PlantedAquarium #AquaticLife #SnailJail #LivingNovaturient
🐌💕 Let’s Talk About SEX… Snail Sex! 😂
After fixing the substrate in my planted bookshelf aquarium, it was finally time to step back and get a good look at the aquascape—and now I need some outside opinions. 😂I love quartz. Give me access to a box full of beautiful rocks (found for only $25 at the Roseville Gem and Mineral Show!) - and apparently I lose all capacity for restraint.But did I go too far?Come take a closer look at the individual pieces with me and then tell me what you think: too much quartz, not enough, or just right? Would you remove anything? Rearrange it? Or leave the aquascape alone?There are also a couple of unscripted moments that made the final cut—including my sister’s Pomeranian, Toby, deciding that filming could wait because he required lap time. 🐾😂And when I say:“Done—but knowing me, not done.”Chris immediately laughs from the other room and replies:“Truer words have not been spoken!”Okay. Fair. 😂I already have some ideas about what I might change next, but I don’t want to influence you.What would YOU do? 👀💎🌿Thanks for being here. I hope you’ll stay awhile. 💚#Aquascape #Aquascaping #PlantedAquarium #Aquarium #AquariumLife #AquariumDesign #AquaticPlants #FreshwaterAquarium #BookshelfAquarium #NanoAquarium #Hardscape #Quartz #FishTank #Medaka #LivingNovaturient
Did I Go Overboard With the Quartz? 😬💎 | Planted Aquarium with Pink Quartzite Hardscape
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