The sun passed the ecliptic yesterday at 8:43am (EDT). This marks the autumnal equinox, the day the sun passes that imaginary equator in the sky in its annual trek through the seasons. By now, those of you who tolerate my blathering know that this event does not mark the true equinox since that day of… Continue reading The Daily: 23 September 2024
The Daily: 22 September 2024
Happy Mabon? Is it possible to unselfconsciously use the Wiccan-derived names for the quarter days? Because I can’t seem to get there. For the third quarter day of the year, they chose a rather obscure deity to name this holiday. I couldn’t say what the Cymric (Welsh) Mabon, or Maponos, the perpetually young Son of… Continue reading The Daily: 22 September 2024
The Daily: 18 September 2024
I had a hell of a day... so I wrote kids' poetry instead of what I had planned. Here is a sample: the path Autumn Forest by William Trost Richards (1833-1905) Richards painted in my neck of the woods in the 19th century. He may have known the family whose heiress daughter had my house… Continue reading The Daily: 18 September 2024
The Daily: 17 September 2024
The Harvest Moon is full today at 10:34pm. This moon nearest the autumnal equinox, this period of rapidly shortening days, gets its name because it appears full for several days and therefore gives evening light to those who are harvesting the fields, racing against the sunset. However true this might be, at this time of… Continue reading The Daily: 17 September 2024
The Daily: 16 September 2024
I made a bittersweet discovery last week. I had been noticing little piles of chewed up green stuff on the walkways and on my porches. It looked like unripe fruit, so I thought the rodents had gotten into some deep patch of the jungle that had a stunted peach or plum or something. I am… Continue reading The Daily: 16 September 2024
The Daily: 13 September 2024
Friday the 13th Today is judged unlucky by many. It is the weekday named for the goddess, Frigg, mother and matron of the Norse. She is wife to Odin, the wanderer and all-father in the Nordic pantheon. She is mother to Baldur, the golden summer lord who dies from a dart of mistletoe wielded by… Continue reading The Daily: 13 September 2024
The Daily: 11 September 2024
Things to look forward to... receiving a letter My son and my father have taken to writing each other physical letters. I know this because they both call or text me to report on the letters they have sent and received. They are both transformed by this project that started on a whim, with my… Continue reading The Daily: 11 September 2024
The Daily: 4 September 2024
Things to look forward to... growing your own food While I don't believe anyone can grow all their own food, most everyone can grow some of what they eat. And this is always a delight! A radish, pulled from the cold ground in the springtime. A cucumber slid from the vine. A pile of potatoes… Continue reading The Daily: 4 September 2024
The Daily: 3 September 2024
The Blueberry Moon went dark at 9:56pm last night. Today, the sickle Harvest Moon follows the sun into the western horizon. The Harvest Moon is full on 17 September at 10:34pm. Moonrise so close to the full will be a lovely sight, but at its fullest it will be dimmed. This year in North America… Continue reading The Daily: 3 September 2024
The Daily: 2 September 2024
Today is Labor Day in the US. This first Monday in September is the day that our country dedicated to honoring the working classes after the powers that be decided that May Day, the original Labor Day, was too closely tied to the actual labor movement. A parade of organized laborers was held in New… Continue reading The Daily: 2 September 2024
