Tuesday, June 30, 2015

haiku~~~the soapmaker

rendered the lard
in Grandma's kettle, to mix with
lye leached from ash

Monday, June 29, 2015

It has been a few days since the Solstice, and most of them rainy, just like today, sadly I missed the Firefly festival because of the rain. On the rare dry evening I have taken the time to watch for fireflies, usually just at dusk, lightening bugs or fireflys are a part of Solstice to me. They put on a spectacular ballet , well yes I know it is really their mating dance, but they don't seem to mind if we watch. And no I don't think they should be caught in jars, I have been reading about the decline in the number of fireflys, or lightening bugs as we called them when I was a kid, and probably did catch my share of them in jars.

This handsome fellow or gal is a firefly, they are even beautiful during the day light hours, just thought you might be wondering how they looked. Watching lightening bugs is magical, almost more now than it was a-way back then, when one sat on the front porch covered up to try and avoid mosquito bites and watched them sparkle as they flew over the hay fields and pasture.

~~Tsuneaki Hiramatsu

And then there is Stonehenge, which I muse about a lot, and am sure was some sort of agrarian calendar, and probably a whole lot more. The big difference between the ancients who gathered there and the moderns who gather, besides the moderns leave more garbage, is that the ancients knew the purpose and the origins of Stonehendge, perhaps if they had left more clues{garbage} behind we would know more about why and how it was built. And thinking of how long it must have taken to nail down the exact day, exact time of the Solstices, decades, may-be centuries is staggering. The very idea that this grand henge was built to be a sort of musical amplifier is a very exciting thought also. I can only wonder, and wish that Dr Who would pop by and offer me a ride back in time, yes I would go in an instant.

Apparently crop circles appear more frequently at the time of the Solstice, and that is all I have to say on the subject, except to express my admiration for the clever folk who have been constructing them for centuries. My understanding is that these both appeared in time for this

year's Solstice, but I am not sure if it was near the Stone circle at Avebury, or Stonehenge. I fancy that somewhere, someone or several someones know a lot more than they are telling, and what they know would make a far better story than anything the general public might think up.

And now the days grow growing shorted, it seems odd and wonderful to be able to watch a sunset at nearly bedtime, but I prefer it to the chill winter sunsets that come before suppertime. Right now I don't notice the days getting shorter, the rising sun wakes me well before 6AM, and the firefly ballet doesn't start until 9PM. Summer is an expansive season, when the whole world bursts to life right before our very eyes, The Solstice also makes me think of fresh fruit, cherries, strawberries and peaches, though these peaches aren't grown here, one of my favorite memories from childhood was going to a place just outside of town where large panel trucks were parked, loaded with peaches, and much less interesting crops like potatoes and green beans sometime. People flocked there to buy fruits and vegetable to can, and I especially liked the people who sold those peaches. But I digress, and I do that a lot, because what I wanted to say was that as Summer progresses the length of daylight on which life depends grows shorter.

Summer Solstice marks the exact point in the year when the daylight begins to grow shorter, as the countryside around us abounds with life.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

A sorta wordy Sunday with Huff Post and Queen Elizabeth

When I grow up, that is if I ever have to grow up, I don't want to be the Queen, I admire her as much as I loved the Queen Mum. I deeply respect them for being so gracious , in some situations it must take true girt and determination to do so. I know it is not proper to hug the Queen, but Lord knows, she deserves tons of them.

The Many Weird And Wonderful Photo Ops Of Queen Elizabeth

The Huffington Post | By Katie Sola

Posted: 06/24/2015 4:15 pm EDT Updated: 06/24/2015 4:59 pm EDT

Queen Elizabeth II may soon have to relocate from Buckingham Palace as the residence undergoes an estimated 150 million pounds, or $235 million, worth of repairs.
If she does, it'll be just one more move in her peripatetic life. The Queen spends much of her time touring Britain andhe world, watching her human and equine subjects climb walls, punch bags and parade about.
Here are just a few pictures of the journeying 89-year-old monarch observing the wonders of her kingdom.

Danny E. Martindale / Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II watches a horse with apparent displeasure on the first day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
Chris Jackson / Getty Images

In Ottawa, Canada, the Queen and her husband impassively watch a Canadian dancer shake her stuff at Canada Day celebrations.
Nigel Roddis / Getty Images

Boxers beating on bags drew the royal gaze during a visit to The Factory Youth Zone in Manchester, England.
Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images

It looks like a ride on the Yellow Duck piqued the Queen's interest in Liverpool, England.
Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

The Queen surveys wildlife through the windows of a patriotic monorail car during a visit to the Chester Zoo in Chester, England.
v Paul Grover / Getty Images

Dancers at the Chester Zoo elicit a small royal smile

Paul Grover / Getty Images

Dancers at the Chester Zoo elicit a small royal smile.
Paul Grover / AFP / Getty Images

Elizabeth casts her queenly gaze upon pupils scaling a climbing wall at the opening of Westminster School's new Sports Centre in London.
Paul Grover / Getty Images

Young fencers hold the Queen's eye at the Westminster School's sports center.
Mark Kolbe / Getty Images

The Queen is not amused by this hockey match during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images

We can't take our eyes off the diminutive royal as she poses with rail construction workers in Reading, England

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

haiku~~~~ stone bench

Bomarzo, Italy

once they sat on stone
rain, shade, and long years passing
made cushions of moss

Saturday, June 20, 2015

june 19th world sauntering day

World Sauntering Day

When : Always June 19th World Sauntering Day is a day to saunter here and there, wherever you go. You can spend your life walking through life, jogging through life, or being dragged through life. But, life is far more enjoyable, if you saunter through it. Its doubly true if you saunter with a friend or loved one. Sauntering is not a walk, jog, trot, or run. Sauntering is a form of strolling. Sauntering is a very casual, yet stylish, form of movement from point A to Point B. The dictionary defines sauntering as walking along slowly, happily and aimlessly. Now, doesn't this sound like a grand way to get around? On World Sauntering Day, practice your sauntering technique. Saunter everywhere you go.

The Origin of World Sauntering Day: This day was created in the 1970's by W. T. Rabe at Mackinac Island, Michigan while he was the Public Relations Director for a hotel on the island. Rabe was well known for his publicity stunts

Sauntering along, just and enjoying the saunter. Sauntering, walking for the pure joy of walking, with no goal, walking with no reason. but enjoying it, sounds like something people did along time ago. Yes sauntering is from a bygone time, when people had to haul water, grow their own vegetable, preserve food for winter, either raise or hunt for their own meat. Build their own homes. make their own clothes, Didn't have dishwashers or washing machines , yes I could go on but won't.

Still they found time to saunter out and look at the world around them, to remark on it's beauty in journals, and learn the names and habits of the flora and fauna.

Walking wasn't exercise, but relaxation, and balm for the soul. and perhaps the chance to sample a few of natures sweet treats, like wild strawberries. sauntering surely isn't an activity to be rushed, it is an activity to be savored, and an activity to "see and be seen" at. One doesn't have to saunter down a woodland path, one could saunter down main street on a Friday evening, perhaps to see some friends or

even make new ones.

Deep and profound thoughts could be thought, and well may-be not particular thoughts, at all. But enough of this "good old days" talk, shall we rocket to the present? After all that is where we are living. A time in which every action seems to need a purpose every excursion needs a definite destination, does that sound like"so no fun" or what.

That may-be is the attraction of the word Sauntering, that it doesn't imply a specific purpose, other than enjoyment. Or a specific time frame to get to and return from wherever one chooses to saunter to. A total lack of structure, and purposeful productivity, with a side of style and fun,
Yes, that is appealing to me, there is just too much structure. Imagine walking considered only as a way to get somewhere, or worse yet as something that is good for you.

Shall one grab ones camera and call a friend or two and saunter down the avenue? An avenue through the woods or orchard, or an avenue of concrete and bricks it makes no difference. And remember you don't have to come back home or be anywhere until you want to.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

teachers, learning, some random rambling thoughts

When I say "teacher" what comes to your mind?

Probably school, right? I had a few remarkable teachers in school.

I learned many things in school, but most of them were not part of the curriculum.   Ann E Moss

More to the point teachers are everywhere, my feeling is that we all know that, but seldom acknowledge it. Life really is a learning experience, learning curve, call it what you will, it is all about being alive and aware. Every one you meet will have something to teach you, some gift of learning is left behind, be it good or be it sweet; be it bad or be it bitter, and sometimes be it hard to tell what it was until years down the road.    In this immense cashe of knowledge there are practical things, like " go fishing everyday after work, only keep the smack fish and dig a deep hole under each tomato plant etc, etc" and how to get extra play out of the Juke Box without getting electrocuted, and many, many lessons about how to be a better and/or worse person.

Where am I going with this??? Even I don't know, oh yes.

" Your circle of interests is the distance between the tip of your nose and you farthest imagination." somewhat paraphrased from my greatest mentor Arlene Heath.    And here is where the best teacher you have ever had come in.   That teacher is yourself.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

haiku~~never fades

sitting there each day

alone, watching the garden

beauty never fades

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Sorts Silent sunday with some beautiful stones

Home Nature 25 Unbelievably Beautiful Stones And Minerals

25 Unbelievably Beautiful Stones And Minerals

April 13, 2015

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When you hear the word “beauty,” what is the first thing that comes to your mind? I bet it wasn’t stones or minerals! The selection of beautiful stones and minerals you’ll find below are some of the most breathtaking spectacles our world has to offer.
Minerals are “naturally occurring substance that is solid and inorganic representable by a chemical formula, and has an ordered atomic structure.” While there are over 4,900 different types of stones and minerals, the ones pictured below absolutely took our breath away. Do you have a picture of a beautiful stone or mineral? Share it with us in the comments below!