The Daily: 30 March 2024

A Confusion of Grain Gods Our culture is confused about food and farming. We believe that we are in a power-over relationship with the world, and particularly with our food. We are so enamored with dominance that we've lost sight of the inherent partnership between plants and animals, between prey and predator, between the farmer… Continue reading The Daily: 30 March 2024

The Daily: 25 March 2024

Lady Day March 25th is Lady Day. This is another Marian holiday which incorporated older pagan traditions — in this case the New Year celebrations which fell on 25 March before Julius Caesar shifted the Roman observance to the beginning of January. Lady Day is nine months before December 25th, so you can probably figure… Continue reading The Daily: 25 March 2024

The Daily: 24 March 24

The view out my back door yesterday... The fifth moon of my solar year is the Sap Moon. It is new between 24 February and 24 March, full between 10 March and 7 April. This is a period of rapid change. The Sap Moon rarely sees the same weather from year to year. When it’s early… Continue reading The Daily: 24 March 24

The Daily: 20 March 2024

Things to look forward to... listening to a familiar song I had to buy a new CD player. OK, so that statement wasn't precise. I didn't have to, but I wanted to — because I have possibly thousands of CDs of recorded music. I've never counted, but they fill many bins and a couple library… Continue reading The Daily: 20 March 2024

The Daily: 13 March 2024

Things to look forward to... a new word Most of my poetry flows from discovering some new word. Today it was etiolated. I was looking for a synonym of pale and found this gem. It is almost onomatopoeic. You can feel its meaning on your tongue. Drawn and wan and stretched thin from lack of… Continue reading The Daily: 13 March 2024

The Daily: 6 March 2024

Things to look forward to... evening tea I look forward to my evening tea every day. I have a small cabinet of dried herbs put by to please my every whim. Usually I pull out the chamomile and lavender. I like the flavor and the smell, and these herbs also both help moderate digestion. But… Continue reading The Daily: 6 March 2024

The Daily: 28 February 2024

Things to look forward to... drawing on eggs Sophie Blackall has very interesting hobbies... This isn't anything so banal as dyeing eggs in spring pastels. Nor is it as extravagant as a Faberge confection. Nope, Sophie literally draws on eggs. Faces. Animals. Flowers. Abstract patterns. Mostly in monochrome charcoal or soy ink. The effect is… Continue reading The Daily: 28 February 2024

The Daily: 24 February 24

If Matthew finds ice, he breaks it. When the cat lies in sunshine in February If he doesn’t break it, he makes it all the harder. she'll creep behind the stove in March. St Matthias with his ice breaker... If there is sharp frost on Matthew’s Day, it will last till March. The fox is… Continue reading The Daily: 24 February 24

The Daily: 21 February 2024

Things to look forward to... applause Once upon a time, I got up on the stage and played piano for people. I did not stand on a stage willingly. I am not a performer. I still don't like bearing the full attention of people, even after years of teaching science and speaking on books. To… Continue reading The Daily: 21 February 2024