My winter forcast predictions.

 Somehow i earned a reputation for being able to predict the weather.  And  i am proud to say  that i am almost as good at getting the forecast wrong as most TV weathermen.  

 

First , must remind you that my interest in weather forecasting started when i read about a man in " TheYankee" magazine who became extremely accurate  at forecasting the weather in the area where he lived. He did this by watching the behavior of birds, insects and animals, Perhaps i should say the world that surrounded him.  Well i was already watching the activities of birds  and animals, even observed the  foliage  of certain trees and shrubs, love to observe clouds, sooooo it only made sense, to take it to the next step.  I also included observations from my garden journal, which goes neglected  alot, but still contains some information. 

 

Guided to some extent this year,  mindful that there were few apples on the trees and have still not found any nuts, just think this could be a mellower winter.  My reckoning on the lack of mast in the woods and poor yields from back yard garden is attributed to the  almost tropical early summer weather.   Nuff said,   So far Autumn has been fairly warm and really dry, the remaining days don't seem to be good snow producing weather. Perhaps the snowstorm lovers will be pleased again,or not.  

becI say this because  most years that the first snowfall comes early, i have noticed that the winter was mild .  

 

At this point, nothing would surprise me.  And I will update this if there is reason too. After all the initial Summer prediction was for colder and wetter weather than normal weather...... well DUH!!!!

 

To quote my favorite backwoods philosifer~~~Anne E. Mosse   "All you kave to do to be wrong is to say something that gets proved wrong."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just thinking about change, ramble with me

My printing actually looks alot like this only not so neat and tidy or evenly spaced or, well you get the idea. 

Some things were made to always stay the same, like Tin roof ice cream and kite flying on a Sunday afternoon.  But other stuff gotta change, and that includes this blog.  

Essentially my blog  must please me, or I would never work on it.  It is also meant to be shared so it needs to reflect that also.  Yah, I'm working on it.

 Right. Yet I have no idea where this is going.  Just letting you know that I am thinking about you, not forgetting you.  Though I'm always forget my reading glasses, which is annoying, but then I didn't need then a year ago,  That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

So hang in there with me, the best I hope is yet to be.

I am grateful for your all gentle readers. 

A ramble on the power of an image

 An image, this image, stopped me in my in my tracks, or more correctly in my "Google search", and for  awhile I just looked at it.  IN SILENCE,  mentally kept repeating to myself, "  speechless, I am speechless".  And  periodically during that day  I came back to look at the image created by Vika Krokhina, a first year art student at Poltava Technical University in Ukraine.  

At one time, many decades ago I wrote about about art being used as propaganda.  I won't bore you with the details of that paper, and anyway my Prof was totally unimpressed with my work and instructed me to turn in something on a "worthwhile"  topic.  However I surely did learn alot from writing it.  

With that in mind, I looked at the image, and said if i didn't know there was a war going on in Ukraine,what does this mean. The first thought that came to me was about was mystic or if you prefer otherworldly, that the lives of this woman and her faithful cat, were snuffed out so suddenly, she, they didn't realize that they were dead.  Continuing  on their routine as if nothing had happened, perhaps they and other souls find comfort it this way.  If that, should be the case, that our spirits go on long after our physical selves are completely gone, I feel they are comforted by being there. 

A portrait of love and courage, an homage to grandmothers, mothers, sisters, kin and friends.  Those who are forever near and dear, and forever gone because of violence struggle, natural disaster or the ravages of time.

 

 

 

 

 

  Art Credit: Vika Krokhina, first year Art student at Poltava Technical University

 

on going barefoot, being grounded a ramble

 Spring fever has started really early this year.  I for one have been spoiled by the 'global warming' winters.  Winter seems to end earlier each year, but that doesn't mean spring comes early, it just means there is a space of a few weeks that are neither winter or spring. Snow or ice in the morning and flipflop weather in the afternoon, sometime the other way 'round.

Going barefooted is my preferred method of locomotion, otherwise flipflops or when needed my steel toed  work boots.  Don't have very many, Ok make that nearly any shoes per say.  this can make certain social occasions where footwear is mandatory a major pain, in the feet. Where there is a will there is often a way, and for those who see worth in looking for it.

 Even as a child I went barefoot and would sometimes tie strips of fabric around my feet and call the  sandals, of course my sandals had no soles.  and I learned to walk carefully, to pay attention to what i stepped on.  Where you step when you are barefoot is really key. Learning t areas where there might be dangerous items like rusty nails and broken glass... good reasons to wear shoes.

I have found a certain secure feeling when I can feel the surface under my feet.  Carpet, flooring , mud, sand, grass even the feel of the steps of a ladder, I feel more balanced, more secure.  

 

Following is a brief passage I cut and pasted from Cody Lundin's site. it was nice to see someone who thinks in a similar manner, and also goes barefoot in the snow, honest you do get used to it after awhile, but i have never walked in snow for more than half a mile.... now he is the survivalist, teacher and expert, and i would listen to him. 

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 v

The following are frequent “Cody questions.” We’ll be adding to the list as need and time allows … enjoy!

Why do you go barefoot?
I like my feet tough. Prisoners of war were always stripped of their shoes as without them they were less likely or able to run. Going barefoot forces me to pay attention to my environment. I see more, I have better focus, I feel a greater connection to the planet; all very valuable survival traits. Due to the forced, free range of motion that my feet and ankles are forced to deal with, they are both very strong. On the “everyday life” side of things, the majority of the situations in my life do not require footwear…so why would I consume a resource when it’s not necessary? I also like the challenge.

Do you recommend that others go barefoot?
No. I have no agenda either way; do what feels natural. At times people feel the need to ask me to wear shoes, or that native peoples wore shoes, (some did, some didn't) so why don't I. I'm not asking that anyone go barefoot, so I appreciate the same courtesy of folks letting me do my thing without hassling. If people choose to travel in the world beyond predictable, "modern" destinations, they will see how common going barefoot is for millions of people. It really isn't that big of a deal when thousands of grandmothers and little boys are doing it, right?

How long have you been going barefoot, and do you ever wear shoes?
I started going barefoot in the late 1980’s. I don't wear "shoes" but i do wear sandals on pieces of some advanced cross country courses due to ground temperatures, extreme mileage and/or student safety. I keep flip flops in vehicles to allow me to enter certain stores, restaurants, or to board airplanes.

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Going barefoot also makes me feel very free, secure and even younger. When you consider it carefully there is good reason for that.

Now to grounding, my own personal version of the world "grounding" is that I feel in sync, and a part of the environment. Let's toss in , my true self, also could call it focus on what is really in my surrounding environment, or even being present and in the moment.

If you get the feeling I think "be grounded" has a slightly different definition for each of us you are correct. he same runs true for the method one chooses.  

My most often used method is to stand silently, palms  facing the sun, eyes closed and remain motionless for as long as comfortably possible.  I also like the "Earth touching" yoga pose.

Also find that there is something about a starry night grounds me.

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This has been patiently waiting in the "drafts' section for a very, very long time.  And I have no idea who wrote it, I am only sure that it wasn't me

One of the easiest ways to ground ourselves is to bring our attention to our breath as it enters and leaves our bodies. After about 10 breaths, we will probably find that we feel much more connected to our physical selves. We might then bring our awareness to the sensations in our bodies.  Just a few minutes of this can bring us home to bodies and to the earth, and this is what it means to ground ourselves.

We can go further by imagining that we have roots growing out of the bottoms of our feet, connecting us to the earth. The roots flow with us so we can we always move, but at the same time they keep us grounded. We receive powerful energy from the earth just as we do from the forms of energy we associate with the sky, and our body is a tool that brings these two energies together in a sacred union. When we are grounded, we essentially become a strong container in which our spirit can safely and productively dwell. This is why grounding ourselves every day, especially at the beginning of the day, is such a beneficial practice. Fortunately, it's as simple as bringing our conscious awareness to our bodies and the earth on which we walk.

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Snow day, the 8th day of Christmas, a ramble, guest blogger

 

This particular Day of Christmas, Snow Day, seemed to come as a surprise to Google.  To honest, it surprised me also.   I was sure I read a story about it in 4th grade, no not the kind of snow day that cancels, school, work, travel, and other things we are used to, like electricity.

 

As best I can remember it was about a group of Farmers who were praying for snow.  Why were they praying for snow?  Because snow melts slowly into the ground and makes it easier to plow and plant.  It also carries traces of minerals and nutrients, not all of them good, but are necessary for good crops. 

 

Pagan Calender

Snow Day

Published January 3, 2016 | By shirleytwofeathers

The tenth day of Christmas (Jan 3) is Snow Day. On this day we pay our respects to snow. No depiction of Christmas and Midwinter celebration is complete without it. Snow has so many qualities and so many aspects that it is not surprising that the Inuit people have literally hundreds of words that describe its variety of colors and texture.

So today let us devote ourselves to the contemplation and honoring of the million small crystals that drift across the lands of the Northern hemisphere at this time of the year. And, if we have no snow to look at and celebrate, let us at least remember it in all its fine whiteness, cancelling out the darkness of Midwinter and transforming even the grayest and bleakest of scenes into a place of magic

haiku~~~hickory nuts

For much of my life the very essence of Autumn has always been picking apples and hickory nuts.

 

first wisps of coal smoke

walking with our empty pails

leaves crunch and blue sky

first one nut, then more

and still more, filling  each pail

 sweet smell of hickory

 

 

 

   
 

 

Haiku, oceans dreams and a ramble about the first haiku I ever wrote

Anyroad,  I have  been captivated by the haiku for more than more than half a century now.  It even seems strange to me as I write this, but it has been that long. Not exactly sure if I learned about haiku in my High School English class, or  not.   Probably did because at that time all things Japanese were "cool".   Being interested in the art of the Ainu, the indigenous people of  portions of Japan, and fascinated by the similarity of  their art to the Tlingit  and other indigenous peoples of the west coast of North America.    Then there was the influence of Yoko Ono, and weighty tome " How to wrap 5 eggs", looking back  the the strength  of 17 syllables expressing  moment in time.

 

And so with out further much ado about it,  my first Haiku

 

Waves wash onto shore

Fishermans' nets drip foam , waves

 return to  the sea

 

 

 

 

 

Mama Donna Henes on this Lammas

 Blessings, bounty, joy, and a Peaceful heart on this Lammas day!   Again i draw on the expertise and knowledge of Mama Donna .

On this day I celebrated by baking bread, something i have been doing for  a long time, and it seems especially fitting that this pandemic has made bread baking a refound tradition.  and without delays,  the words of  mama Donna, who changed my life when I read her book.  Can't thank her enough for that.

Inspiration for Personal & Planetary Transformation 8.1.2021 Midsummer Blessings! Greetings to my spirit circles!

 Today is Lammas, or midsummer. The halfway point of summer marks and celebrates the glorious bounty of the ripening season. Trees and vines, stems and stalks are hung heavy with the abundance of the Earth. Mushrooms push themselves up uninvited onto the musty floor of the dark forest. Animals, birds and fish, fat from their greedy feasts and lazy, all but offer themselves up to the hunters who are a step above them on the food chain. Summer crops are ready for the table and to be collected and prepared for the larder. But it is the growth of the grain that holds the strongest significance of the midsummer season in agrarian societies. Grain, the staple, the sustenance, the stuff, the staff of life. The reaping of the first ripened grain was great cause for celebration in honor of the Great Grain Mother who feeds us all. She has been known by many names: Astarte, Ashoreth, Isis, Demeter, Ceres, Op, Terre Mater, Tailltiu, Chicomecoatl, Green Corn Girl, Blue Corn Girl, Mother Quescapenek. The English word, "Lady" is derived from the Old English, hlaf-dig. The root word, hlaf means loaf and dig means knead. Used together, they have the connotation of woman, lady of the house, matriarch, as provider of nourishment, "giver of daily bread." In gratitude, people made offerings of the first harvested ears of corn. Corn being the generic term for a multitude of grains: wheat, barley, millet, oats, rice, rye, spelt, kinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, as well as what we know as maize or Indian corn. Fresh cut sheaves were bundled and braided, decorated with ribbons and flowers and placed at the altars of the Grain Mother.

 Considered very potent, the first corn was also held to be an effective love charm, symbolizing as it did, fertility, prosperity and growth. Throwing rice at the bride and groom after a wedding is a relic of this belief. "The golden grain piles high in the yard. Round, round wheat, better than pomegranate seeds. Bite it with your teeth, it goes 'go-pou!' The first pile of wheat is really lovely. After we have dried it in the sun, And cleaned it, We will turn it into the public share." - Li Chii , 20th Century Chinese In pagan Europe, the first sheaths at midsummer and the last sheaths at the autumn harvest were twisted and shaped into corn dollies which were the embodiment of the harvest. She was called Corn Mother, Harvest Mother, Mother Sheaf, Old Woman, Queen, and was honored in different ways in different places. She was left in the fields. She was taken to dances. She was promenaded through the town. She was kept for good luck for one year. She was ceremonially cremated on a funeral pyre to be resurrected in the sowing of the spring seeds. What ever the occasion, she was always well dressed. The summer cross-quarter day was celebrated by the Saxons as Hlaf Mass, "Feast of Bread," and by the Celts as Lughnasadh, "Commemoration of Lugh." Lugh was the grain god, son of Mother Earth. Every August he was sacrificed with the reaping of the corn only to be born again in the new shoots of spring exactly as the Egyptian, Osiris, had been. Loaf Mass and Lugh Mass evolved into Lammas, the Druid corn feast, one of the four cornerstone festivals around which their year revolved. When the Church adopted, co-opted, Lammas, it was referred to as Lamb's Mass in commemoration of St. Peter in Chains, and the practice of the offering of the first fruits on the altar remained exactly the same. "Now Lammas comes in Our harvest begins. We have now to endeavor to get the corn in. We reap and we mow And stoutly we blow And cut down the corn that sweetly did grow." - Traditional English Song The midsummer cross-quarter day is the only one of the four seasonal midpoints that is not still actively celebrated in our contemporary culture. Midsummer is celebrated in Europe, but there it refers to June 21, the first day of summer and not the middle, at all. Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" actually takes place on the summer solstice. Many celebrations of the first corn were observed on August 1. Named for Juno Augusta of Rome, August was particularly sacred to the Goddess Who Gives All Life and Feeds It, Too. It was considered for this reason an especially propitious time to be born. To this day, when a Scot says that someone was born in August, it is a compliment in praise of skilled accomplishment, with absolutely no bearing on the person's actual birthday. The only living vestige of Lammas in the United Stated is a rural holiday called Second Planting. But unless you read the Farmer's Almanac or belong to the Grange or 4H Clubs, you would have no reason to hear about it. It is celebrated exactly as midsummer has always been celebrated. The first grain is harvested, threshed, milled, baked into bread and cake, brewed into beer, and then shared in community. After a night of feasting and dancing, work starts again at first light planting the second crop of summer wheat that will the mature by the fall harvest. How can we, separated from the agricultural process by city and century, appreciate the atmosphere of the season which surrounds us, but which we cannot see? What is the Goddess of Grain to us of the boulangerie? The patisserie? We who buy our grain in bags, in boxes, premixed, premeasured, prepackaged, prepared; sown, grown, harvested, hulled, milled, by someone else, somewhere else. How can we identify with the Earth values taught by Terra Mater during this time of year from where we are held captive in the synthetic heart of the genetically modified Pop Tart culture, which claims us? Well, we can behave, as they say, as if we were born in August. We can, in fact, become august - wise and generous and gloriously noble, each on our own chosen paths. We can hone our skills as the tenders of Mother Earth. We can hoe our row. We can carry our load. We can break bread together. We can feed the hungry. We reap what we sow. Blessings of bread, 

 To learn more about Midsummer and other holidays and holy days, read my book: :Celestially Auspicious Occasions: Seasons, Cycles & Celebrations."