Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
This was the first weekend with no garden tasks. I had every intention of writing pages of prose and poetry. But did I? Nope... Instead, I had a weekend off. I made six pints of apple butter. Roasted a pie pumpkin and turned that into ginger pumpkin soup. Also made another round of spiced pumpkin… Continue reading The Daily: 10 November 2025
Yesterday, the clocks all changed. No, I'll not use passive voice. Except for the Apple things in this house, the clocks do not change themselves. To spring forward and fall back, I have to wander around the house setting some dozen clocks, ranging from the phone system and thermostat to the enormous wall clock in… Continue reading The Daily: 3 November 2025
All Hallows: An Entanglement Today is All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, with all the sweet treats, riotous good fun, and spooky debauchery that entails. Tomorrow is All Saints Day, All Hallows, a reincarnation of the ancient Irish festival called Samhain, which means “end of summer”. Samhain is one of the few clear remnants from at least… Continue reading The Daily: 31 October 2025
Tomorrow is All Hallows' Eve, Hallowe'en, the night before Hallowmas, All Souls' Day, the Christian reincarnation of the ancient festival of Lemuria, the Roman festival of the dead, merged with the ancient Irish celebration of the end of summer, Samhain. These days, we hardly remember that it was once a sacred festival. But, while the… Continue reading The Daily: 30 October 2025
It's the last week of autumn in my calendar. Just as well, because they're predicting snow by Thursday. The forecast started out as "well, it's going to be cold enough so if stuff falls from the sky, it might be snow". This morning that turned into "best dig out the snow shovel". I think they're… Continue reading The Daily: 27 October 2025
Friday, I got my first heating oil delivery of the year. It was a bit of an ouch... but necessary. It is definitely getting into furnace weather. (I turned it on a week or so ago.) It was 28°F Saturday morning. There was dazzling frost on the State House lawn where the No Kings rally… Continue reading The Daily: 20 October 2025
We had our first frost last Friday with a sustained low of around 26°F that lasted half the night. Most of the veg garden died. Some of the trees finally decided to get going on fall, those that aren’t already bare, that is. The honey locust is dotted with gold droplets amongst the green. The… Continue reading The Daily: 16 October 2025
Well, we still have not had a frost, though tomorrow night temperatures are supposed to "plummet" all up and down the eastern third of the country. We'll see what happens... It may be that we get to have highs in the 60s (°F) rather than in the 80s. Still much higher than what is expected… Continue reading The Daily: 7 October 2025
The ancient world of the Mediterranean and Near East has a great number of interesting mythological beings. Some are related to old gods and tutelary spirits. Some are fairly accurate illustrations of the anxieties of humankind — or maybe mankind, since women didn't have much of a voice. Some are just ludicrous. One of my… Continue reading The Daily: 29 September 2025
The sun passed the ecliptic on Monday. That marked the autumnal equinox, the day the sun passes that imaginary equator in the sky in its annual trek through the seasons. By now, those of you who tolerate my blathering know that this event does not mark the true equinox since that day of equal length… Continue reading The Daily: 25 September 25
By My Solitary Hearth 