Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
the hawthorn queen she waxes full in fertile grace queen of quick and fay, she reigns in mantle green and seemly face quelling fear and mortal pains eternal mother, ever maid undying wisdom in her glance deathless wierd is on her laid to spin th' unceasing wheel of chance again, she comes in crown of… Continue reading May Day
As it is the last day of April and the day before Beltaine, I thought it good to give a reference list of flowers to fill your garden with love. I have an ever-growing list of essential flowers and herbs — annuals, perennials and a very few small shrubs. These are the plants that feed… Continue reading My Language of Flowers
23 April is St George's Feast Day. This year the bank holiday is on Monday, 25 April. To honor the day, here is a version of the story of St George and the Dragon, which itself is a version of a much older tale of annual agricultural sacrifice. Andromeda being tied for sacrifice, Apulian red-figure vase, ca.… Continue reading Andromeda
A pair of poems from the spring garden. spring expectation is a blanket on my garden soil time it is to make room for new life prune, compost the dead for the earth is pregnant time it is to prepare for expectations mine is a northern soul bred and refined in the seasons of swelling… Continue reading April Garden Poetry
A pair of poems by others and two garden pictures of my own creation — both photo and garden. April I open wide to the portals of the Spring To welcome the procession of the flowers, With their gay banners, and the birds that sing Their song of songs from their aerial towers. I soften… Continue reading April Poetry
the gardener i’ve got my trowel and my trencher she said i’m off to sow so saying, a-sowing she went with words hidden up her sleeves an idea or two tucked into her hatband and the rows await pull out weedy fallacy cut back dead superstition cultivate and amend and then drop the seed in… Continue reading Dandelion Break
It’s time to make Hot Cross Buns! Though there are many conflicting and confounding stories about hot cross buns in the spring, I’ve never found a satisfactory explanation for why these are associated with the middle of spring and specifically with Good Friday. Yes, I know there’s the whole “holy rood” thing. Except the tradition… Continue reading Hot Cross Buns
The birds are busy in the backyard. They’re awake at dawn, debating the latest household design fashions and hipster watering holes. Possibly a few duels among the cardinals. The doves are sighing in frustration because they prefer to sleep in. The wren is just permanently enraged. But he sounds lovely — as long as you… Continue reading Eggs!
The fifth moon of the year is the Sap Moon. It is new between 24 February and 24 March, full between 10 March and 7 April. This is a period of rapid change. The Sap Moon rarely sees the same weather from year to year. When it’s early in the solar calendar, this month is… Continue reading The Sap Moon
There is some confusion regarding the solar event that happens this week. I thought I might try to clear that up. True or False: The vernal equinox is when spring begins. Not exactly. The beginning of spring depends on where you live, and it is more a cultural phenomenon than a meteorological one. Tradition in… Continue reading What Is This Vernal Equinox Thing?
By My Solitary Hearth 