Sept 28th, ask a stupid question day

  "Better to ask a stupid question and  appear foolish, than to not ask it and prove it." ~~moi

So think about it, is there realty such a thing as a stupid question.  Well in my opinion, yes, there probably is.  A better way to put it might be as the founders of this day suggest "No question is too stupid to ask.  And that the place to ask it is in the classroom.

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.

This might sound stupid, but......

Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that (duh!)

Seen on a T-shirt "I'm with Stupid". Well, if that's true, how smart are you?

~~~http://www.holidayinsights.com



 "Stupid is a stupid does." says Forrest Gump.  Larry the Cable Guy is credited with saying, "you can't fix stupid." Does this mean that the definition of "stupid question" is like contact lenses completely in the eye of the beholder? 

Sometime in the 1980s a groups of teachers were trying to get students to ask more questions in class. They choose  Sept 28th as the official day to ask any question.  Encouraging the students to ask questions and hopefully discouraging laughter.  Peer pressure, and the cruelty attributed to children,  which is, I feel, the lack of the veneer social customs which maintain a balance of civility; children who pick on others seldom find themselves being picked on.   Not saying that there are times when it is difficult for the teachers themselves to stifle a laugh.

Who hasn't asked a stupid question, on purpose or by accident.  Realized as the question left their lips that it was destined to be answered by laughter.   And for that matter who hasn't  asked a question because they were afraid it would be considered stupid and later regretted it. 

How long is a piece of string?
How many is a few?

 

 

Crow and raven, sorta silent saturday

 

 

Just a few random crumbs about these outstanding creatures.

 

 

people perceived as threats and teach other crows to fear them? Cool, huh? Follow along in January as Kidwings and WERC introduce ideas about the relationship between crows, ravens, and apex predators. Invite your friends! —

 

 

 

 

 Join Kidwings & WERC https://www.facebook.com/WolfCenter?ref=profile

There went Summer, Ivy

Ivy kicked off her muddy clogs before she even got to the kitchen door.  The slat basket that should have been overflowing with tomatoes, held only a few.  It had been a wet cold summer,  a few nights were so cold that she had built a fire in the wood stove.  The spring in the cellar made the old trough overflow several times.  The creek had overflowed it banks and washed away the little bridge Gus  built and rebuilt more than once.



She placed the sad little tomatoes in the sink as Skye hovered around her feet, "Skye," she said " This year I think I will be glad to see winter come.  Only because that means this miserable, rainy, foggy, cold  summer will be over."   "We can sit around and plan next years garden.  I can get an early start on my quilt,  this little bit isn't worth canning, I'll just freeze it."  Frustration showed on her face and in her voice, Skye whimpered.  "This year I should just pull up stakes and turn it all in early."  After she washed the tomatoes she put them out to  dry, they would stay on the counter, they tasted better that way, at least that's  what her Grandmother taught her.

"Oh, Skye. It's just too soon for winter.  I think I am getting too old for this cold weather  and I should go to Florida, can you imagine me with the "snow birds"?  can you faithful friend?"  There was silence a loud and deep silence, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator and the clock patiently ticking away the seconds.  Leaning on the edge of the sink  Ivy stared out into the yard.   Motionless and silent for what seemed like hours, with Sky looking upward quizzically at her.  Skye broke the silence with a muffled yip as he  scampered to the door, when the school bus went by. 
"See you tomorrow, buddy." Ivy said softly as she let him out.  Skye streaked across the lawn and disappeared.  "Where are you going, little man?" she whispered "
Where?'  

Somewhere Skye had  a home with a family, and probably there was one or more children but she just wasn't sure. And for so many reasons she really didn't want to know.   What if they mistreated him, no he wasn't mistreated, he was well groomed, well mannered and well fed.  What if the child was sickly, but would a sickly child ride the school bus everyday?    What if it was one of those houses where he was expected to be perfect all the time, and not allowed to play?  No, that would be awful.  Leaning on the steps her mind racing as the shadows cast by the lowering sun cast longer and longer shadows.  And the chill forced Ivy to go back indoors.   And as she sat in  her chair watching the lights in the village first turn on and then one by one turn off she thought of her mother and her flamboyant grandmother.  Some thing was stirring in her mind, a thought that had been dormant for a very long time.

Making her way down the steps, she paused to take the old family album, that belonged to her grandmother and settled into her chair.  Ivy gently opened the old velvet covered album, the front cover was decorated with birds and leaves and in the center of the back cover was a large crest.  Inside the cover was the inscription in fading masculine script, "I pledge my, love to you forever Mona Belle, your loving Clayton." above a photo of Ivy's  flamboyant grandmother, Mona Belle Pike in her High School uniform.

The fly leaf had a family tree and painted in delicate tints, all of the branches were filled in. The next page was the wedding portrait of Mona Belle and Clayton.   Ivy often  spent a several weeks at her grandparents during the summer and loved to spend rainy afternoons  looking at the very ornate wedding gown that hung in the cedar closet.  it was really a small room where winter clothing and Sunday suits were also kept.  There was a large window with shutters on the inside, a window bench, with seat cushions, the box underneath was filled with clothes Ivy and her sisters were allowed to use for dress-up. 

 

 Norma Jean, the oldest, was the glamorous one, Belle the middle sister was  the brainy daredevil, and Ivy, was the free spirit. 

 

 

 Looking in Mr. Chips' direction, but speaking to no one in particular  Ivy said softly "I took this with  my Kodak Brownie, a gift from them.  I think it is the last picture of them together." Carefully removing it from the album she held it and whispered, "I miss you so much.  I miss you."  and then  sat looking at it for awhile, as she smiled  the tears welled up, and she placed it on the tabletop.  "Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again."

There were also pictures of her Mother, and her Aunt.
And of course  Uncle Clayton, a brilliant man who had a wicked sense of humor, Ivy was his favorite.

~~ all photos from https://www.etsy.com/shop/AndSoForth
Mr. Chips was silent, and setting aside the album, she covered his cage and walked up the stairs. 


Morning  was dank, and foggy, Ivy leaned on the counter straining to see through the fog as she drank her coffee.  There was a black streak, she recognized as Millie followed by to young men, calling to her and sliding on the wet grass.   "Hey Fellas!" Ivy yelled out the door, Millie turned on a dime and rocketed to her place beside the refrigerator,  and began to beg for a cookie, which she was enjoying when Mike came through the door.  "Sorry, Mrs C." "Oh think nothing of it" Ivy replied, "I have a favor to ask."  I'm going to  take a few days to go back and visit some of the places I remember from when I was a kid.  Will you keep an eye on Skye while I'm gone?"

To be continued

cabin

 

 

 

 

I 

door swung wide open

they hadn't been gone for long

all things still in place

 

II

 

door  fastened closed

 paint worn thin by wind and rain

did a curtain move

 

III

 

springtime came and I left

 I can  walk  past the cabin 

only in my dreams

 

IIII 

 

the garden is the lawn

the clapboards grey, curtains still

stone path slick with rain

 

V

loose gate hangs open

sweet scent of bees and flowers

 new key in my hand

September 22 at 10:29 P.M. EDT, the Autumnal equinox

              

Our Druid ancestors called the equinox "Alban Elfed" has a beautiful poetic sounding name, I think, and it means "the light of the water", again a beautiful image which refers to it being the time of year when the balance of light and dark shifts from being primarily the light of day to primarily themdark of night. 

Mabon is the name given to this feast day in the modern Paganism.  Ronald Hutton, one of my favorite historians, has pointed out that there is no evidence it was ever called Mabon by the ancient Celts.  The  used of Mabon  only goes back to about 1970,  and was included in Aiden Kelly's 1991 book "Crafting the Art of Magic", where he replaced the old names of Pagan holidays  with new names with Celtic roots. 

Where does the word Mabon come from?

In Welsh folklore, there is a figure known as Mabon ap Modron, or Mabon son of Modron. He appears in some of the Arthurian legends, as one of Uther Pendragon’s loyal servants, and as a follower of Arthur himself.

Also of note, there was a female Cornish saint named Mabyn, to whom the founding of St. Mabyn’s Church is dedicated, although there is speculation that the church was actually started by the Welshman, Mabon, rather than the female martyred saint. Mabyn’s festival is celebrated on November 18, approximately halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.
~~Patti Wiggington

In that long ago age, there must have been some way to mark the passage of days, and years,  planting  too early or too late could have, probably would have meat failed crops and starvation.   The establishment of the exact date of the equinoxes and solstices made reliable markers, and mid point between these days was also marked.

People, being social beings, created celebrations around these dates, I would guess that beyond ceremonies of thanksgiving and petitioning for blessings in coming season, convivial reflection on the bounty of the season, each holy day had  prayers and ceremonies unique to it.

Mabon is a bit like a bridge between the abundance of summer and the bleak winter, and perhaps this lead to prayers for a balance in daily life, meaning that there should be no catastrophic events, that would cause the physical and/or spiritual world to collapse.

With the certainty of winter approaching, perhaps there were prayers to bless and protect home and property not only from the harsh weather and storms but from intruders and marauders, disease, possibly even the ravages of age.   These probably mingled with petitions for the return of lengthening days and warmer weather.

In places where grapes were apart of the harvest most certainly wine was part of the celebration.   Farther north there were the beverages made from John Barley Corn. Both from recently harvested crops, must have been welcome additions to the table fare and reason for thanksgiving.  The Equinox celebration was probably not one of the solemn holy days, and depending on who you read,  was at least partially centered on friends, family and community.

Peace

                                    ~~the official Page for the Glastonbury Thorn


Wage peace
wage peace with your words
wage peace with your actions
wage peace with every breath
wage peace
wage with your heart
wage with your soul
wage with your love
wage with your courage
wage peace
wage peace and pass it on

sorta silent Saturday with some rocks from New Zealand

                   

They are called the Moeraki Boulders, strange orbs of stone near the New Zealand village that bears their name. The Moeraki Boulders, almost identical to the Ball Beach of Mendocino in California, are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden. There are many theories about where the circular boulders come from, but the prevailing one is that they are volcanic and many millions of years old.

Source: Slightlywarped

Looking for the waning moon tonight, but I haven't seen it yet. In the deepest part of my being, I feel that there is something extra, something more meaningful in the transits of Full Moons that make a change in seasons.  Living in a climate where there is little variation in it's warm and sunny seasons does sound good, even if a little repetitive.   All seasons are about the same length on the calendar, in fact 3 of them are much too short and one is much too long.   Summer, as little of it as there was this year is gone, and in the truly inexplicable fashion of this year, departed with days which were the most summerlike that we have had all season. 

In the changing seasons I find a connection, a continuity, something that reaches back to into times lit by the hearthfires of my ancestors and my imagination.  each has something to look forward to, something different, 

~~Michael Henderson



 

At this time of year when the earth is a vast pantry of ripening fruit, grains and nuts we still rush to gather this bounty together for the coming winter, as our ancestors did though our lives are not usually dependent on it as theirs were.    Here in the snowy woods, one never knows, what one never knows, so a few preparations can turn  a really bad storm, from misery to bearable, or even fun. A foraging trip, probably does more for my soul, more to point  how much I have to be thankful for, than it really does for my winter stores.  The world really is filled with many wonderful things, and a few really rotten ones.
To me, this is a season for giving thanks.  And standing alone under the most crystalline blue skies with falling leaves rustling in the slightest breeze, it is easy to see how thin the veil between worlds is becoming, as the circle of this agricultural year approaches the beginning of next year.  The beautiful colors of the dying leaves,  give me with the certain knowledge that all life is a circle. 

The greenery of summer  begins to change to the reds and golds, bronze and burgandys  of  the last great effort of  Gaia before she slumbers under a blanket of snow, for these colors are there to let us know she hasn't left us all alone , but is in deepest slumber under the dark blue skies and thick blanket of snow and ice, and filled with new life she will awaken.  An image I keep with me on the coldest winter nights.

But for now, I revel in the clear skies, the crisp air and mysterious and beautiful fogs, the vibrant colors that grace even the smallest plants.  And I am grateful, not only for the  harvest, that feeds me. but for the beauty that feeds my soul.

The tiniest details and the widest panorama, each with a place and each in it's  own place. There is so much to be grateful for, and so much to look forward
to, everything  around me tells me that.  

As the veil grows thinner and the days advance until it is time us to draw inward, into our home and into our hearts, taking with use the seeds of ideas, and plans for when Gaia emerges. 

 

Bridges with a view on a silent Saturday

September moon, the Looking Backward Moon

The full Moon of September,  is again a supermoon,   it is nearer the earth, and therefore appears  larger. The moon always seems to look larger near the horizon no matter what moon it is, anyway that is my observation, and I was glad to find I am not the only one with that opinion.

 Gathering in Moon,  Harvest Moon and Hunters Moon are names it is also known by,  I don't know if it is true or not, the light from this full moon is said to have been used to for these vital  activities. Vine Moon, Turkey Moon, Acorn Moon, Apple Moon, Nut Moon, Chestnut  Noon, the first frosts will be here soon and after that they will be dormant under the snow.  The time to get in those last few apples, or go on a road trip, make repairs and gather supplies, before the biting cold of winter winds.

The Falling Leaves Moon and the Turning Leaves Moon, Michaelmas Daisy Moon, Frost Moon, Singing Moon, Hazel Moon are among it's names. This year the September full moon  really does bring in the season of colored leaves, cork stalks and pumpkin patches, last of the garden pickles and crisp clear nights.


From some long distant reading, I remember this Moon being called the Looking Backward Moon.   I am not sure what it meant, though perhaps it was more like looking over your shoulder , the book was about the Old West,  perhaps looking back to Spring and Summer, or even looking back over ones life in general.    And then again to look forward again. 

a Sorta Silent Saturday slice of Sience

'Fire rainbows' are a rare phenomenon that only occur when the Sun is higher than 58° above the horizon and its light passes through cirrus clouds made of ice crystals. At the right alignment, the ice crystals act as a prism, and refract the light to look like a rainbow. Photo by Livescience.

Hello September

Hello September

You are early this year. But never mind, the daylight is getting shorter, and the leaves are hinting at their true colors, there are Mammoth Sunflowers, and the fences are covered with morning glories, goldenrod, bursting into golden plumes....and the carefully tended pumpkin vines, wither as the great green pumpkins turn into orange globes,  tomatoes hang so heavy on the vine that the vine withers under their weight.  Before long there will be a wisp of smoke in the air, and even blankets to warm ourselves, under after a day of apple picking.

Thinking back to a time when shortly after Labor Day we returned, most of us very reluctantly to school.  Wearing our new clothes and new shoes that gave us blisters,  because we had been barefoot for most of the summer.  There to meet new friends and catch up with old ones.  Discuss the teachers we hated and why.  We grimaced our way through the first few weeks, but as the weather got colder, it wasn't so bad. It was something to do.  I lamented the lost freedom, the chance to roam around the hills  gathering fossils, berries, or nothing at all, except for  memories.  Then the first snows fell. And I was waited for Spring.

Later I sent my own off to school, I remember thinking, even saying that "This is the day you go out to join the world."  And hoping I done a good enough job. 

I relish the changing seasons and consider myself lucky to live where I can enjoy them.  But if I am being honest, they could all be a bit longer, except for winter, which should be the very shortest of all.

Month:

• Classical Music Month
• Hispanic Heritage Month
• Fall Hat Month
• International Square Dancing Month
• National Blueberry Popsicle Month
• National Courtesy Month
• National Piano Month
• Chicken Month
• Baby Safety Month
• Little League Month
• Honey Month
• Self Improvement Month
• Better Breakfast Month

September, 2014 Daily Holidays, Special and Wacky Days: 1 Emma M. Nutt Day, the first woman telephone operator 1 Labor Day First Monday of month 2 National Beheading Day 3 Skyscraper Day 4 Newspaper Carrier Day 5 Be Late for Something Day 5 Cheese Pizza Day 6 Fight Procrastination Day 6 Read a Book Day 7 Grandparent's Day - first Sunday after Labor Day 7 Neither Rain nor Snow Day 8 International Literacy Day 8 National Date Nut Bread Day - or December 22!? 8 Pardon Day 9 Teddy Bear Day 10 Sewing Machine Day 10 Swap Ideas Day 11 911 Remembrance 11 Make Your Bed Day 11 No News is Good News Day 12 Chocolate Milk Shake Day 12 National Video Games Day - also see Video Games Day in July 13 Defy Superstition Day 13 Fortune Cookie Day 13 National Peanut Day 13 Positive Thinking Day 13 Uncle Sam Day - his image was first used in 1813 14 National Cream-Filled Donut Day 14 National Pet Memorial Day -second Sunday in September 15 Make a Hat Day 15 Felt Hat Day - On this day, men traditionally put away their felt hats. 16 American Legion Day 16 Collect Rocks Day 16 Step Family Day 16 Mayflower Day 16 Mexican Independence Day 16 National Play Doh Day 16 Working Parents Day 17 National Apple Dumpling Day 17 Citizenship Day 17 Constitution Day 18 National Cheeseburger Day 19 International Talk Like A Pirate Day 19  National Butterscotch Pudding Day 19 POW/MIA Recognition Day - Third Friday of September 20 National Punch Day 20 Oktoberfest, begins, date varies 21 International Peace Day 21 Miniature Golf Day 21 National Women's Friendship Day - third Sunday in September 21 World Gratitude Day 22 Business Women's Day 22 Elephant Appreciation Day 23 Checkers Day 23 Dog in Politics Day 24 National Cherries Jubilee Day 25 National Comic Book Day 26 Johnny Appleseed Day 26 Native American Day - fourth Friday of the month 27 Crush a Can Day 27 International Rabbit Day - Fourth Saturday in September 28 Ask a Stupid Question Day (one of my favorite days) 28 National Good Neighbor Day - Always September 28, previously the 4th Sunday in month 29 Confucius Day - Try your luck. Get a Fortune Cookie. 30 National Mud Pack Day ~~http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/september.htm

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