Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Deep snow in winter, tall grain in summer. — Old Farmer's Almanac calendar, 5 March 2023 Well, grain futures might be looking good. Because we've sure got the deep snow. My garden is buried under roughly three feet of snow that have all fallen within the last couple weeks — with one or two intervals… Continue reading The Daily: 5 March 2023
So it's been snowing every day since... I can't remember. My weather journal says 19 February. We've seen the sun here and there but only for a couple hours, mostly in the mornings. Today, we were supposed to have "snow showers" which normally means a bit here and there. However, it is 5pm and it… Continue reading The Daily: 2 March 2023
Lion and Lamb March is upon us once again. An Old English name for March was Hlyda, meaning “loud”, presumably referring to the roaring March winds. This name survived as Lide in the West countries. Eat leeks in Lide and ramsons in May, And all the year after physicians may play. — proverb from western… Continue reading The Daily: 1 March 2023
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 2023
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 2023
It is Ash Wednesday. In the Christian calendar, this day inaugurates the fasts of Lent. This is holy time, a period of 46 days of cleansing and purging the body and soul before the celebration of Easter. The time echoes the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before he went to his death. Originally,… Continue reading The Daily: 22 February 2023
Mardi Gras Means Pancakes... I briefly considered writing about Mardi Gras today, but I just don’t like it enough. I am not a Carnival person. I don’t like the noise, the crowds, the mess, the stink. I hate feeling inebriated and I simply can’t tolerate drunk people. I have no use for plastic beads. And… Continue reading The Daily: 21 February 2023
The Wolf Moon ends today. Tomorrow is Mardi Gras and the New Hunger Moon. Time is getting on! One of the best and purest joys is having a rest after labor. — Marcus Aurelius (found in Tolstoy's Calendar of Wisdom on 19 February) I've decided that I am done with my job. I am just… Continue reading The Daily: 20 February 2023
We lost power last Thursday night. That I still don't know why is testament to the ordinariness of such things. I was typing away at something and suddenly all the lights went out. It had been snowing quite heavily when I drove home from work, but the snow had turned to freezing drizzle by the… Continue reading The Daily: 17 February 2023
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 2023
By My Solitary Hearth 