Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Notes upon finishing Is a River Alive... Spoiler alert! Please, don't read any further if you want to read the book... Also, this is kinda rough... still haven't completely lassoed the brain back into coherence... consider this essay poetry... because that's my natural language... To my mind, the titular question, Is a River Alive, remains… Continue reading The Daily: 24 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
On the solstice, I began reading Robert Macfarlane’s book Is a River Alive? (seemed appropriate) which is already as elegiac and reverential as anything he has produced. Lauds can not do justice. However, there is a fundamental logical error that has not been addressed in this book yet (I am not that far in at… Continue reading The Daily: 27 June 2025
Today is St John's Day and Midsummer's Day. Last night, the faeries ran amok. Today is the last day with over 15 1/2 hours of sunlight. Tomorrow, the Strawberry Moon goes dark at 6:31am, ushering in the Hay Moon. It may seem like summer has hardly begun, but we are halfway through the growing season… Continue reading The Daily: 24 June 2025
Tonight is the night that Shakespeare had faeries running amok in the woods around Athens. This is Midsummer's Night, tomorrow being Midsummer's Day. Folklore has it that this is the best time to go find the Good Folk, though lore also makes it pretty clear that you may be in for trouble if you do.… Continue reading The Daily: 23 June 2025
June 22nd is the feast day of St Alban, one of the first British martyrs to the Christian faith, a sort of protomartyr, in fact. It is said that Alban was beheaded by Roman authorities on this date, though the year this happened may be any time between 209 and 304. Stained-glass portrait of St… Continue reading The Daily: 22 June 2025
Last night was the shortest night of the year. Tonight will be just a bit longer. Tomorrow's sunrise will be ever so slightly later. Of course, you'd be hard-pressed to note the difference even with a very flat horizon that reveals the exact moment of sunrise. Exact moments are difficult to catch even when you… Continue reading The Daily: 21 June 2025
The Season of Renewal This year, the Vernal Equinox happens on March 20th at 5:01am. This is, I think, the most nebulous of the solar festivals. Yes, it does mark an actual solar event, but it’s not the one we typically hear about. It’s not much of an event at all. This festival is less… Continue reading The Daily: 20 March 2025
St Joseph, Patron of Fatherhood To me Christianity seems to be rather quiet on Joseph, the husband of Mary and the step-father of their deity. That may be because I've never lived in an Italian neighborhood where Joe is the patron saint of roughly half the male population (though I did get a faint whiff… Continue reading The Daily: 19 March 2025
Today is Mardi Gras. I don't much celebrate Fat Tuesday. I like the pancakes, but that's about it. I don't drink much, certainly not when I have to be at work in the morning. I've no use for purple plastic beads. There aren't any parades round these parts — because who wants to be standing… Continue reading The Daily: 4 March 2025
By My Solitary Hearth 