Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
The Snow Moon is full today at 8:53am, so when it rises tonight it will be closest to full. This happens at about 5:30pm here in my part of the world, with sunset about fifteen minutes before moonrise. Just after sunset, Mars will be near the moon in the east; Jupiter will be overhead; and… Continue reading The Daily: 12 February 2025
The Feast of St Brigid, or Imbolg, is an ancient holiday that falls on 1 February, midway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Brigid’s Feast Day is said to be set to this date at her request so that her day would precede the Marian Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, or… Continue reading The Daily: 30 January 2025
Plough Monday Plough Monday is an ancient rustic holiday that became attached to the Christmas holiday tradition. Plough Monday may trace its descent back to the Roman Compitalia, celebrated by slaves when plowing was over. But by the mid-15th century it became the traditional end to the Christmas season, the end of the season of… Continue reading The Daily: 13 January 2025
Tomorrow is the solstice. I don't often celebrate the exact day of the sun's reversal. There are plenty of long nights. I don't need to tax myself just for the sake of observing the very longest. I'm also more traditional. I tend to celebrate Midsummer's Day on the 24th, the day that most of my… Continue reading The Daily: 20 December 2024
The Midwinter Moon is full at 4:01am this morning, so look for the Midwinter moonrise tonight. All full moons are lovely, but there is something magical about the light at Midwinter. Moonrise is usually colored warm yellow to orange by the thick atmosphere at the horizon. But in winter's cold, the atmosphere can't hold as… Continue reading The Daily: 15 December 2024
Thanksgiving at Plymouth, oil on canvas by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1925 (An early rendition of How Many Things Are Wrong with this Picture) And then there's this... which gets a fairly comprehensive critique here.. to which I would add that nobody dressed like this in early 17th century New England. Nor were stone houses much… Continue reading The Daily: 27 November 2024
It's supposed to snow this week. We have had a few days of flurries, which is sort like flirting with winter; but we've not had Snow yet. That is what is coming. This is one of those forecasts that keeps oscillating between rain and snow, just on the border of freezing. There is no question… Continue reading The Daily: 20 November 2024
Here in central Vermont, the Winter Sleep Moon, also known as the Beaver Moon (Old Farmer's Almanac), is full today at 4:29pm. The moon rises at 3:55pm, and the sun sets at 4:22pm. This full moon is about as close to moonrise as I have ever seen. Moreover, the moon was just at perigee yesterday… Continue reading The Daily: 15 November 2024
So last week happened... It was not entirely a surprise; however, it still left most of us in a state of enraged shock for many days. But... While Trump et al have terrifying new capacities for causing harm, we have survived this once and I'm pretty sure we will survive again. As people. I am… Continue reading The Daily: 13 November 2024
Things to look forward to... going somewhere This is one that I don’t actually agree with… and that is interesting because it reveals some conflicting core values. But, no, I don’t look forward to going somewhere. Sometimes, I endure it. I never enjoy it much. And the further the travel, the less I can tolerate… Continue reading The Daily: 23 October 2024
By My Solitary Hearth 