Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
St Nicholas December 6th is St Nicholas' Day. Nicholas is an interesting figure, or perhaps collection of figures, as the case may be. The official Nick was a bishop of Myra. His legends claim that he was born in about 270CE to wealthy parents in Greek Lycia. While still a child, he was orphaned by… Continue reading Jolly Old St Nick
for 5 December 2022 It is Krampusnacht. Tonight, the long-tongued goat-man goes running through the streets, sometimes tagging along with the kindly old St Nicholas, sometimes striking out on his own, always seeking the naughty kids. He carries iron chains, a birch bough and a sack. Sometimes a good lashing is all it takes to… Continue reading The Daily
for 4 December 2022 It is said that nature abhors a garden, among other vacuums. But I think nature really hates holiday decorations. Or maybe any outdoor frivolity. There was that time that I hung 30 feet of juniper and pine garland on the front of my house in New Mexico and woke the next… Continue reading The Daily
for 3 December 2022 While listening to Nate Hagens talk with Betsy Taylor (another newbie Vermonter!) about "nature based solutions" I finally realized why I am not fond of podcasts. To begin with, I don't generally like listening to talk media because most of it is just horrible in all sorts of sociopathic and stupid… Continue reading The Daily
for 30 November 2022 St Andrew by Artus Wolffurt (1581-1641) Today is St Andrew's Day. Andrew, whose name means simply "a man" (though it can also be glossed as "virile" or "manly"), was the brother of St Peter. Both were fishermen and, as such, were part of the backbone of the local economy. He is… Continue reading The Daily
Enjoy your holiday! However you celebrate! Cheers! I'll be busy. There may be more here over the weekend, but it's not looking good...
for 22 November 2022 If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it. — Shakespeare, Twelfth Night November 22nd is St Cecilia’s Day. Nothing of her story bears repeating, but through it she became the patron saint of musicians. And maybe there is more in that story of a feisty… Continue reading The Daily
20 November 2022 Set garlike and pease saint Edmund to please 20 November is the Feast of St Edmund the Martyr. I'm not sure when this quip, found in the Oxford Book of Days (Blackburn & Holford-Strevens, Oxford, 2000), was current. From the spelling, I would guess 15th or 16th century. Perhaps earlier, as Edmund's… Continue reading The Daily
19 November 2022 This weather is not doing things by half, I'll give it that. We went from the longest growing season on record — 181 days, theoretically long enough to grow even protracted growing season veg like okra — with the official first frost date ringing in at 28 October, to... well, there's a… Continue reading The Daily
On November 11th at 11 in the morning, we practice a moment of silence for two minutes to remember the day we reached an accord and agreed to lay down arms after the brutality of World War 1. A century ago we stopped fighting. Soldiers came home. It was a time very like this. A… Continue reading Martinmas
