Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver Harper, 2022 I preordered Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book from our local bookstore because that’s just something I do, buy Barbara Kingsolver books. I had no idea what this one was about, had only a vague notion on the title, didn’t much care. I’ve never been disappointed by her writing. And I… Continue reading Demon Copperhead & an Idea
Today is the last day that my part of the world will see more than nine hours of sunlight in a day. Nearly all plants need at least that much light to generate more energy than they use when active. Even in a greenhouse, growth will be negligible for the next few months, unless you… Continue reading Last Nine-hour Day
A Full Moon Tale for the Hunter's Moon For many thousands of years of the sun, the people did not fear death. They were not callous or evil. They grieved for lost loves and shed many tears at eternal partings. Nor were they blind. They knew that each breath led on to a last gasp.… Continue reading The Sight
The Hunter's Moon is full at 6:02am (EST) on November 8th, but that's not why this is the blood moon. That appellation is a recent attempt to glamorize a full lunar eclipse which, of course, also happens early tomorrow morning. The moon begins to slide into eclipse at 3:01am EST and is done by 8:58am… Continue reading Blood Moon
'We ask the wrong question when we say, "What will happen after death?" When we speak about the future, we speak of time, but when we die, we leave time behind.' — Tolstoy, on November 7th, Calendar of Wisdom Thoughts?... ©Elizabeth Anker 2022
I am usually behind the times. No help for that. I find my kitchen and garden and books and making and doing far more interesting than much of what passes for au courant. Heck, I find sitting staring out the window far more interesting. Especially if there are crows. So I'm normally not motivated to… Continue reading Unmediated?
In Tolstoy’s Calendar of Wisdom, he says that a “man” does not fear death. “Fear of death is our animal nature,” he claims. I don’t know that any part of that is accurate. To be sure, we have a very unhealthy relationship to death. We tell ourselves stories of our mastery of death, of death’s… Continue reading The Day of the Dead
It is All Saints Day, All Hallows, the ancient new year festival called Samhaine, which is usually translated as “end of summer”. Last night was the All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, a new year's eve in former days with all the sweet treats, riotous good fun, and debauchery that entails. This is one of the few… Continue reading All Hallows: An Entanglement
Today is All Hallows' Eve, Hallowe'en, the first night in the ancient new year's festival that Celtic language speaking people called Samhaine. We hardly remember that it was once a sacred festival, celebrating endings and beginnings, nor that it was "converted" by the Catholic Church into a day for honoring the dead. It's possible that… Continue reading Cookies for Hallowe’en
Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World: Essays Barry Lopez Random House, 2022 In his final collection of essays, Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World, Barry Lopez got me thinking on trauma. His was a life-long struggle to understand that we don’t ever get over it. Nor do we successfully bury it under a stoic silence. But his… Continue reading Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World: Book Discussion
By My Solitary Hearth 