Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Last week was a rude awakening... Okay, so I knew it was going to be different. I suspected it might be uncomfortable. I did not know it was going to be hell. I will remind you that my neighbors cut down the ancient maple in front of their house. There were reasons. The tree was… Continue reading The Daily: 30 June 2025
On the solstice, I began reading Robert Macfarlane’s book Is a River Alive? (seemed appropriate) which is already as elegiac and reverential as anything he has produced. Lauds can not do justice. However, there is a fundamental logical error that has not been addressed in this book yet (I am not that far in at… Continue reading The Daily: 27 June 2025
Midsummer's Day is past. The Strawberry Moon went dark yesterday at 6:31am. The Hay Moon is new today. (It is new between 20 June and 18 July and full between 4 July and 1 August.) The Old Farmer's Almanac calls this the Buck Moon. Not sure why. It's not deer hunting season, so that's not… Continue reading The Daily: 26 June 2025
Well, folks... I don't know about y'all, but I feel like I've used up my lifetime quota of WTF moments in these last... how long's it been?... feels like eternal hell... but it's only been 22 weeks. Not even six months. Less than half a year. But in those 22 weeks, there have been maybe… Continue reading The Daily: 25 June 25
Today is St John's Day and Midsummer's Day. Last night, the faeries ran amok. Today is the last day with over 15 1/2 hours of sunlight. Tomorrow, the Strawberry Moon goes dark at 6:31am, ushering in the Hay Moon. It may seem like summer has hardly begun, but we are halfway through the growing season… Continue reading The Daily: 24 June 2025
Tonight is the night that Shakespeare had faeries running amok in the woods around Athens. This is Midsummer's Night, tomorrow being Midsummer's Day. Folklore has it that this is the best time to go find the Good Folk, though lore also makes it pretty clear that you may be in for trouble if you do.… Continue reading The Daily: 23 June 2025
June 22nd is the feast day of St Alban, one of the first British martyrs to the Christian faith, a sort of protomartyr, in fact. It is said that Alban was beheaded by Roman authorities on this date, though the year this happened may be any time between 209 and 304. Stained-glass portrait of St… Continue reading The Daily: 22 June 2025
Last night was the shortest night of the year. Tonight will be just a bit longer. Tomorrow's sunrise will be ever so slightly later. Of course, you'd be hard-pressed to note the difference even with a very flat horizon that reveals the exact moment of sunrise. Exact moments are difficult to catch even when you… Continue reading The Daily: 21 June 2025
Summer Solstice Today is the solstice; today, the sun stands still. Well, actually, it's been standing still for a few days now, and it will continue to do so for a few more days. In my part of the world, from 16 June to 24 June, day length is 15 hours, 30 minutes, and a… Continue reading The Daily: 20 June 2025
June 15th, the Ides of June, was the last day of Vestalia. With great ceremony, the sanctuary of Vesta was cleansed and closed to the public for another year, the sustaining Vestal hearth-flame hidden behind walls that no man was allowed to pass. This is a slack time, a time when heat is intolerable and… Continue reading The Daily: 15 June 2025
By My Solitary Hearth 