Home is where and how you meet your needs. It is both a place and the work done in that place, be it actual housework or all the varieties of care that are given without productive physical output. Home is the support and refuge in life. Home is people as much as a locus. The… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 19 January
Category: Parables & Stories
The Full Wolf Moon
The third moon in my lunar year is the Wolf Moon. It is new between 28 December and 25 January and full between 11 January and 8 February. This is the coldest time of year in the North. It is when stores of food are running low and hunger is stalking every home. This inhospitable… Continue reading The Full Wolf Moon
Box People: Winifred Mumbles
It’s my week to tend to the box people. Don’t know why I signed up for a whole week in January. The Wolf Moon is the hardest time of year. But they were so grateful down in the valley when I did that I didn’t have the heart to change it. So now… forty-six years… Continue reading Box People: Winifred Mumbles
Midwinter Moon
The second moon cycle in my lunar year is the Midwinter Moon. It is new between 30 November and 27 December; it’s full between 14 December and 10 January. The winter solstice will usually fall in this month, and this moon will be full during the longest nights of the year. It is, therefore, the longest full moon. It… Continue reading Midwinter Moon
Wednesday Word: 24 November
I don't like Thanksgiving. I never have. I don't appreciate the the days of preparation necessary for one meal, much of which becomes an endless stream of leftovers that nobody wants to touch. I can't eat the sugary things anymore and don't want to eat a turkey. I spend far too much money to find… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 24 November
Apple Cake: Winifred Mumbles
It’s my birthday. Think I might be seventy-eight. Hard to keep track of things like that. There was that kerfuffle over calendars, some folks demanding a clean slate. As if the year number could erase history. As if anything could clean up this mess. But if it makes them feel better, it also doesn’t hurt… Continue reading Apple Cake: Winifred Mumbles
Wednesday Word: 17 November
The predicted snow arrived last night. It is mostly over now. First snow doesn't linger, though the cold still steals into the gaps around these old windows. I'm looking out on a damp grey world, more than halfway to winter sleep. But lilacs and oaks seem caught unawares, with green and yellow leaves hanging limp.… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 17 November
Wednesday Word: 10 November
I planted bulbs today. Daffodils and hyacinth, snowdrops and cyclamen, tulips and lilies. I put in a few peony and daylily roots also. There was not much of any one thing, but then my flower gardens are small so I don't need much of anything to make a big impact on the nose and eyes.… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 10 November
Wednesday Word: 3 November
It is November. This happens every year. Not just the month happens, but this dismal in between time. There's all this hoopla and hurrah all through the autumn. All through the growing season actually. It culminates with El Día de los Muertos, which is hoopla defined. Flowers, food, music. Family, fun, gathering. Bit too much… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 3 November
Wednesday Word: 27 October 2021
It is the season of the witch. Time for the maids, mothers, and crones to dance the spiral. Time to grab the broom and clean up all the messes. Time for stories and spells in the basement. Time to gather around the hearth. Time to wear midnight and sturdy boots, masks and tall hats. Time… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 27 October 2021


