Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Today is Leap Day. This is the day we insert into the calendar to make up for the fact that the year is not actually 365 days. The Earth circles the sun in 365 days, Earth-rotations, plus about 6 more hours. Not exactly 6 hours though. The actual difference is 5 hours and 49 minutes.… Continue reading The Daily: 29 February 2024
Things to look forward to... drawing on eggs Sophie Blackall has very interesting hobbies... This isn't anything so banal as dyeing eggs in spring pastels. Nor is it as extravagant as a Faberge confection. Nope, Sophie literally draws on eggs. Faces. Animals. Flowers. Abstract patterns. Mostly in monochrome charcoal or soy ink. The effect is… Continue reading The Daily: 28 February 2024
After yesterday's diatribe, I feel rather talked out... but there are a few points that did not get made... somehow... In all the discussion of capitalism and its discontents, there is one thing that is often brushed away, like an annoying gnat. Capitalism is horrible. We acknowledge that. We know that it is destructive. It… Continue reading The Daily: 27 February 2024
To underline Friday's assertion that everything is falling apart, perhaps led by our economy, in his weekly news summary, Justin at ClimateandEconomy.com shared links to two hypertension-provoking articles. Both were written and published by what we would normally consider conservative experts, those who are more inclined to cheer-lead despite all evidence to the contrary than… Continue reading The Daily: 26 February 2024
If Matthew finds ice, he breaks it. When the cat lies in sunshine in February If he doesn’t break it, he makes it all the harder. she'll creep behind the stove in March. St Matthias with his ice breaker... If there is sharp frost on Matthew’s Day, it will last till March. The fox is… Continue reading The Daily: 24 February 24
A Parable of the 1%* Imagine a flock of pigeons in a corn field. Imagine that ninety-nine of them, instead of pecking the corn they need and using it as they need it, start to collect all they can into one big heap. Imagine that they do not leave much corn for themselves, but save… Continue reading The Daily: 23 February 2024
Things to look forward to... applause Once upon a time, I got up on the stage and played piano for people. I did not stand on a stage willingly. I am not a performer. I still don't like bearing the full attention of people, even after years of teaching science and speaking on books. To… Continue reading The Daily: 21 February 2024
It may seem strange, but I follow the tradition of fasting in Lent, not for self-mortification, but perhaps for self-abnegation. It is a good practice to deny the selfish maw of want every now and then, and spring – which is what “lent” means – is a good time to practice. This is the time… Continue reading The Daily: 20 February 2024
On Valentine's Day, I woke to several inches of snow draped over my corner of the world. This is not the feet of snow that had fallen to the south, but it was far more than we in central Vermont were told to expect. No road prep happened. No clearing of walkways. And because we've… Continue reading The Daily: 19 February 2024
February First Fruits & Quirinalia To highlight just how different the seasonal cycle is depending on latitude, mid-February, the last ides period of the ritual year in Rome, was a festival of the first-fruit offerings. While here in Vermont we are barely thinking about the growing season, never mind able to see actual earth, during… Continue reading The Daily: 16 February 2024
By My Solitary Hearth 