Or: Why this is NOT Columbus Day Here is this guy. He has several boats worth of men with him on a trip into the unknown. They are lost, hungry, tired. Many are sick. Some have died already. They probably stink worse than an open sewer riddled with rotting bodies. Which is not far off… Continue reading Clarification
Falling Leaves Moon
Odin Rides to the Rock by Arthur Rackham The Old Farmers' Almanac calls this moon cycle the Hunter's Moon, but for me the Falling Leaves Moon is full today at 4:54pm. They seem to think this moon is named for the hunting season. This is neither temporally nor mythically correct. It is not yet hunting… Continue reading Falling Leaves Moon
St Francis of the Birdbath
4 October is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi. You might know him as the irreverent but apt moniker, St Francis of the Birdbath, because that is where many of us encounter him. Bare-headed with the monk's tonsure, dressed in rough robes and coarse rope belting, he stands with one palm out, feeding… Continue reading St Francis of the Birdbath
Heat: A Common Concern?
I’m still on the subject of heat. I imagine many of you are as well, given that the weather in the Northern Hemisphere is turning cold, and there’s this ongoing fuel crisis where it’s coldest… We haven’t had a hard freeze here yet, but it’s been cold enough to drape frost over the fields on… Continue reading Heat: A Common Concern?
michaelmas murmuring
there’s a lot of advice on how we should feel and what we should think. not a lot on how to adjust the body to these changes we’re experiencing now, how to live physically. how to be in the body in this time and place. ultimately that is the only kind of living. in the… Continue reading michaelmas murmuring
Magical Thinking…
It is the season of the witch. I should be in my element. Yet I am generally... not... I just get so frustrated with modern paganism. Here, I think, is a philosophy and a way of living that has so much potential to heal, to create joy, to fix all the crap that western culture… Continue reading Magical Thinking…
Winter Approacheth
It’s getting cold in Vermont. We’ve had more than one day that did not top 50°F. But so far, we’ve not had a frost. So I’m still puttering along in the garden as much as I am able. Which is not much this week, being that it’s been raining every day and at least one… Continue reading Winter Approacheth
Customary Monstrosity
I work in a university bookstore. My official title is not very descriptive so I shall say that most of my days are spent shipping out web orders and receiving in merchandise. I am not altogether happy with this experience. It has surprisingly less to do with books that one might imagine from the label.… Continue reading Customary Monstrosity
Autumn Reflection
The sun passes the ecliptic today at 9:04 pm (EDT). This is the autumnal equinox. By now, those of you who tolerate my blathering know that this is not the true equinox since that day of equal length for night and day is dependent on latitude. Here where I live, we have a 12-hour day… Continue reading Autumn Reflection
Winter Fluff
I realized this week that not everybody knows how to winterize a home. I grew up with wood heat and old houses. I’ve spent the last many years in New England living in even older houses. My Massachusetts farmhouse didn’t even have heating ductwork. (It did have fabulous iron grates in the floors for the… Continue reading Winter Fluff





