Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
The Hay Moon went dark at 7:13am yesterday, over 36 hours before moonset today. So the 10th new moon of my year, the Blueberry Moon, should be visible as a thin crescent following the sun down to the western horizon this evening. This month is the second of the harvest moons and the first that… Continue reading The Daily: 5 August 2024
Lammas It's the probably not-terribly-ancient festival of bread, Lammas, Hlaf-mas, Loaf Mass. This holiday is possibly an English variant on the Irish first fruits and fair festival of Lughnasadh, but compacted into one day and generally lacking any ritual or narrative. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, churches in East Anglia constructed elaborate… Continue reading The Daily: 2 August 2024
Things to look forward to... clean laundry You might think me odd — well, additionally odd — but I like doing laundry. I love clean laundry, of course. Who doesn't? But I like the process as well, with one caveat: I don't much like the dryer. I've made my peace with owning the machine, but… Continue reading The Daily: 31 July 2024
Crom Dubh Sunday In many northern communities, July is a hungry month. The spring flush of greens and quick-growing roots like radishes and beets may still be trickling out of the garden, but most have bolted and run to seed. However, those that remain are long on fiber and short on calories, and little of… Continue reading The Daily: 28 July 2024
The Romans had concerns about drought at this time of year. Three very old festivals were grouped together at the end of July to honor deities who presided over watery things. The first was the Lucaria, the clearing of the groves. This was an ancient observance even in Varro's time (116-27 BCE), and little is… Continue reading The Daily: 25 July 2024
Neptunalia Today (or tomorrow, or both) is the ancient Roman (or Phoenician) holiday of Neptunalia, one of three obscure Roman festivals that honored watery deities in the last days of July. Neptune was the Roman god of both freshwater and the seas, but this festival, which shares many similarities with the Jewish Sukkot, is focused… Continue reading The Daily: 23 July 2024
The Old Farmer's Almanac says that it's time to start paying attention to the potatoes. In my garden you can hardly not pay attention to them. The potatoes are reaching out and grabbing attention. Passers-by are rubber-necking the veg. The potatoes are so prolific this year, I'm afraid there might be accidents. It's starting to… Continue reading The Daily: 22 July 2024
I have embraced some of the sillier "holidays" in The Old Farmers' Almanac's calendar. Today, they say, is National Blueberry Muffin Day. I have no idea where they get these things. Perhaps this is a nod to King Arthur Baking, which is almost as venerable a New England tradition as the Almanac. National Blueberry Muffin… Continue reading The Daily: 11 July 2024
Yesterday morning I woke to three young raccoons in my backyard. They were digging hard in the fruit crate planters. I yelled out the window for them to stop. Miraculously, they did. They got out of the planters and went looking about under the cedars. But by the time I got myself together, I realized… Continue reading The Daily: 8 July 2024
Things to look forward to... visiting a museum The Dog Days begin today. This is when Sol and Sirius shine together all day long, creating blast-furnace heat. Or maybe that's just carbon... Either way, it is the hottest time of the year in northern climes. My mother keeps calling to tell me the latest and… Continue reading The Daily: 3 July 2024
By My Solitary Hearth 