On The Farm-ish
Suri Alpaca
I returned mid-November from Lima, Peru at 80 degrees to Michigan at 25 degrees. Felt good to be cool again, although I missed the beautiful fall colors—the color shift was rapid this year because of drought. What an experience! Even though I’ve been going nearly every year to Peru for the past 25 years, I experienced many things/events I had never done before. That really opened me up, stretched me, and held me.
When I return to places like Peru or Scotland over time (see October 2025 newsletter), I feel like I’m coming home. It’s not just the familiarity of the landscape, although I felt strongly supported by the islands, the mountains, and the nature and spirit of both places. It’s the people I’ve come to know who welcome me back each time. Friendships built over decades and maintained each year with birthdays, emails, photos, phone calls. All I had to do was show up in the sacred valley in Pisac, and our days were filled for two weeks with invitations and gatherings. My friend, Lee Anne, went with me to experience a more personal Peru than when she came in the group two years ago. I warned her that she would get the family treatment—good thing she’s a hugger.
Mural
Ice Cream
In Lima, my friend, Manuel, gave us a bike tour from Miraflores to Baranco—I have not ridden for nearly 20 years! We explored local cuisine, which was amazing—Manuel’s favorite ice cream parlor is a hidden jewel with literally MOUNTAINS of ice cream. Best ever—the passion fruit ice cream was so good, I was looking for seeds. We also saw building murals in the art district of Baranco. Beauty everywhere in the city.
The sacred valley also has hidden treasures. My friend, Keli, invited us for a picnic and hike at the three lagoons located ABOVE Amaru. We hiked a very rugged trail at 12,000 feet that was more rock climbing than hiking most of the time. Exhilarating, calm and still, and beautiful in a raw, pristine way. Horses, llamas and alpacas joined our picnic. We also had a “chica’s” day in Cusco to honor the women whom I love, including my oldest goddaughter, Hilayne, friends, and my Peruvian sister, Fielding.
We participated in Days of the Dead, making pan WaWa with community and family, and helping to build an ofrenda. Pan WaWa is called so because you form the dough into shapes—at least a llama and a baby (wawa)—that your dead ancestors could use in their world. The bread goes onto the ofrenda to be eaten by spirits. Day after el Dia de los Muertos, we could eat the bread, as it had been blessed by the ancestors.
Pan Wawa
We traveled to Arequipa to visit Colca Canyon, and to see the condors who live there. Arequipa is a beautiful colonial city with predominantly Spanish style buildings surrounded by volcanoes. It is located in the southern Peruvian desert, where many ruins, textiles, pottery and artifacts have been discovered in pristine condition over centuries, preserved by the dryness.
En route to the canyon, we came through a 38,000 acre preserve for vicuñas, the smallest camelids. They roam wild, protected as an endangered species at 15,000 feet altitude. It was exciting to see their small herds throughout the passes.
Wild Vicuña
Colca Canyon is huge. 26 miles of sheer drop. At 12,000 feet in altitude, the canyon itself is 13,000+ feet deep, so some of the highest mountains in the world are located here. It’s beauty has to be seen to be believed. Here, the condors, the largest birds in the world with a 10’-12’ wingspan, flourish in the rocky crags of the mountains—condors don’t build nests. You have to rise early to see them and by 10am, they have mostly retreated to their high cliffs. We were fortunate to have a guide who knew just where to be, so I shared my video with you. What a rush to be so close! And yes, I used animal communication to get it.
Colca Canyon
We lived for 4 days at 13,000 feet altitude, and the rest of the time outside of Lima at 10,000 feet. Life is slower, and you can expand into the beauty of the landscape, supported by the land itself. You have time for wonder—time to let things come to you, to unfold naturally, to observe. It’s a way of slowing time, forced on you by the altitude, and being present. No energy to look too far ahead or behind.
I hope your holidays are blessed and beautiful. May you find a slow pace that will allow you to expand time and wonder. I hope you soar in 2026!
BOOKSHELF
While returning from my daily terrace walk in Pisac, I took a different path back to our rooms. I encountered this saying on a wall. I couldn’t find a source author, but I suspect Paulo Friere, a Latin American author/activist who strongly believed that literacy would free thousands of those kept in servitude. Here is my best translation:
Read a lot,
read everything,
read what looks say
read the gestures,
read what is said without words,
read stories, read tears on handkerchiefs.
Reading educates, saves, accompanies,
makes free.
DENTAL HEALTH FOR YOUR ANIMAL COMPANION
Our friends at ADORED BEAST just posted their blog for this month on canine and feline dental care. Check it out for a homemade toothpaste for dogs and cats, as well as tips on how to brush their teeth, what NOT to let your dog chew on, and other useful information.
Dental health for your animal companion is important for overall wellbeing. Things like tartar buildup, gum disease, and even more serious issues with the heart, lungs, or kidneys can come from not paying enough attention to their mouth.
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE TOOLS
In my practice, it seems that at this time of year, many animals choose to leave the planet.
November was National Animal Hospice Month. The International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) website has many tools to help guide your end-of-life decisions. Their ‘toolbox’ contains resources for both veterinary professionals and for pet parents navigating end-of-life care for beloved companions.
You will find quality of life scales, disease-specific assessments, pain scales, end-of-life guidelines, and grief support resources. Go to https://iaahpc.org/helpful-links/
Please pass this information along to friends, family, clients who may need it. These resources will ease the difficult process of decision-making.
UPCOMING CLASSES
JANUARY BEGINS THE SHAMANIC TEACHING YEAR. IF YOU ARE CURIOUS, CALLED, OR WANT TO FINE-TUNE YOUR SHAMANIC PRACTICE, BEGIN THE YEAR WITH US. See the website, https://judyramsey.net, for a full calendar so you can look ahead to plan your training.
Find full descriptions and costs of the classes and events on the website - https://JudyRamsey.net. Registrations are on the website. Once registered, a Zoom invitation will be sent to receive the meeting link. If you want to attend a journey circle, please contact Judy at info@judyramsey.net. Journey circles are held the first and third Thursday of each month. All classes and journey circles are recorded for your convenience. All class times listed are eastern time.
JANUARY 8 & 22, 2026
Journey Circle—Journey circle meets on the first and third Thursday of each month, exploring themes that support your inner work. Your first circle is free. Pre-requisite: shamanic journeying skills.
Held online via ZOOM
$25 per session or $40 per month
7pm-8:30pm est
Contact Judy for registration and payment.
JANUARY 17-18 & FEBRUARY 21-22, 2026
A Shamanic View of Death & Dying— This is an advanced class with a limit of 6 students and will be carefully monitored to assure safe application of techniques.. One of the traditional roles of a shaman was to prepare the dying person for a good death, escort the souls of the deceased to their ancestors, and to help those grieving left behind. By doing psychopomp work, a shamanic practitioner can heal those who have passed and help suffering souls to be at peace. This workshop will teach about helping people in the dying process, connecting with compassionate spirits to do psychopomp, helping spirits of the departed after death, and experiencing your own beautiful death. Individual, as well as group psychopomp will be presented. Initiation and ceremony will anchor your learning. Prerequisite: Soul Retrieval. Suggested Reading: Walking In Light by Sandra Ingerman. This class is taught online via ZOOM.
$440 per person, $220 for repeating students
9am-4pm each day (consideration may be made for west coast students with starting time at 10am-5pm)
Attendance at all sessions is required. Optional mentoring sessions will be held November 17 and December 1, 2024, at 7pm eastern time.
JANUARY 13-FEBRUARY 17, 2026
Shamanic Animal Communication - Learn the difference between telepathic and shamanic animal communication and how to apply the best of both in an integrated way. Join us for this deeply spiritual exploration of communication. Knowledge of telepathic communication not required. Optional mentoring sessions are offered with this class on Mondays following. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$350 per person, $175 for repeating students
7pm-9pm weekly on Tuesdays for 6 weeks
Optional mentoring sessions on Mondays following class from 7pm-8pm
JANUARY 24-25, 2026
Basic Shamanic Journeying— The shamanic journey is an easy and powerful tool we can use to access spiritual information. In this class you will meet and begin to develop a relationship with a compassionate spirit or power animal who is coming forward to help you at this time in your life. You will learn techniques to help you develop a self-directed practice of empowerment, allowing you to move safely, intentionally through the world in a balanced way.This class is a prerequisite to ongoing and more advanced shamanic studies.
The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$160 per person, $80 for repeating students
9am-3pm each day (consideration may be made for west coast students with starting time at 10am-4pm)
Please note: “Repeat Student” means that you have already taken a particular class once, or you have spoken with me and I have given you permission to do this based on my evaluation of your experience. If repeating a class, you will be eligible for reduced tuition in most cases.