Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
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 2025
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, I'm afraid there might be accidents. It's starting to feel like… Continue reading The Daily: 22 July 2025
My potatoes decided to flower... but they are nowhere near digging time! In my calendar, the season of Lughnasadh begins today. This is my favorite time of year. Fairs and food and the soon-to-be dwindling of summer heat — and dwindling of summer activity. (Hopefully, dwindling of summer bugs!!!) This season is marked by the… Continue reading The Daily: 21 July 2025
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... Canada is on fire. Europe is boiling. The Mediterranean is as warm as spit. The Pacific Ocean might be ENSO-neutral; but June 2025 was as hot as in any El Niño… Continue reading The Daily: 3 July 2025
Last week was a rude awakening... Okay, so I knew it was going to be different. I suspected it might be uncomfortable. I did not know it was going to be hell. I will remind you that my neighbors cut down the ancient maple in front of their house. There were reasons. The tree was… Continue reading The Daily: 30 June 2025
Midsummer's Day is past. The Strawberry Moon went dark yesterday at 6:31am. The Hay Moon is new today. (It is new between 20 June and 18 July and full between 4 July and 1 August.) The Old Farmer's Almanac calls this the Buck Moon. Not sure why. It's not deer hunting season, so that's not… Continue reading The Daily: 26 June 2025
Herself has been much occupied... At work, we are down to one person doing my job. Again. Seems to be a solstice thing. In the poetry world, there have been readings and talk of publishing. We'll see... In the garden... well, all the things have been done. In a whirlwind, over the last three weekends.… Continue reading The Daily: 10 June 2025
June 9th, was the Roman feast of Vesta. This festival fell within the state holiday of Vestalia, and it did have state rituals assigned to it. But mostly it was a festival of the plebs, and particularly of the army of bakers that kept the Romans fed. So this is a grain harvest festival tied… Continue reading The Daily: 9 June 2025
Today is St Dunstan's Day. Dunstan was a beloved bishop of Glastonbury in the early 10th century. He used his skills at casting bells and crafting music to bring beauty into his church. He believed music both glorified god and brought more people into the fold. Today, he is the patron of bell ringers, and… Continue reading The Daily: 19 May 2025
I got brave and removed the row covers on the garden beds this week. I have not put them away. They are draped over the waste bins in the garage to dry off a bit before I fold them up, so if frost is threatening, I can cover everything up again. We’ve had May snow… Continue reading The Daily: 13 May 2025
By My Solitary Hearth 