Half

There was a half moon in the sky last night. That is how I am feeling. Only living at half, only a part turned to the light, the rest in shadows. I do not know why it is like that. There is no one thing preventing me from full mooning.
I have lived rather quietly and for awhile now. Moments of flash here and there, yes. Brilliant stirrings and currents, yes. I am rather near the very end of this cycle I know, I hope...
Ughh. I sure don't mean to sound so glum but today and yesterday have been especially trying. I have many blessing to count, wildly so. I need to reach out and grab a shooting star by the tail. I need to dip my cup in the fountain of abundance. I need to feel the warm sun on my cheek. I need to have a day without worry. I need a fairy godmother, a sugar daddy, a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, a wily puss in boots, a pat on the back and a smile of support.
Wish me luck, please. And thanks for listening. Love all the way around.



I know I know... boo freakin hoo...



Voluptous Mother of Nature

She is drowning us in love, raining down her affection, covering us with weedy kisses, shielding us from UV rays with cloud, blowing away vestiges of past sowings. Don't mess with her, she can be such a bitch. Tough love, earthlings.

Masterpiece of a Thinker

(Today's guest blogger is my Grandaughter*)

"Today I made a piece of art with my grandma.  It was very fun. We used glitter, crayon wax, tissue paper, pictures and beeswax."

by Dejah*

Have and Have Not

Skills. I have so many but have trouble focusing. Ideas. I have so many but don't get them mainifested. Dreams. I have so many to realize. Resources. I have so many but neglect to access them. Time. I have so little to waste but I do. Thoughts. I have such fleeting quick ones they are gone before I record them. Common sense. I have a big dose but still wonder at my silly mistakes. Cash. I have none. And thats that!

Navajo Wind Chant

 Listening to the news and seeing tornado destruction in the American midwest is unbelievable and so sad. Heart full prayers to all and I hope hope hope that no one else is lost. Please let the tornados blow thru where there are no homes or towns. This year weather is just wild.

hedgerow gnome
"remember what you have seen, because everything forgotten returns to the circling winds"

The wind began to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low -
He flung a menace at the earth,
A menace at the sky.
The leaves unhooked themselves from the trees
And started all aboard;
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road.
Emily Dickinson

Ivy Has an Ephiphany

unable to feign interest any longer, she decided after night fell she would leave forever

People can come to many decisions while working with their hands.

(note: no actual decisions were made for this blog entry)

Lady's Mantle

 "..a member of the Rose family native to Europe and Asia, but widely cultivated as an ornamental. The peculiar thing about this plant is that the leaves are "waterproof." Dew and rain bead up on them like little pearls."
 "The leaves are the part used in medicine. They contain bitters, tannins and salicin. The taste is moderately bitter and astringent, with a warm undertone. The combined bitter/astringent taste reminds one of the aspirin-like salicin compounds which it contains. This component is often found in plants that grow in wet places or expel water. The leaves are water-repellent. These properties point to the use of Lady's Mantle to dry up and expel water from the tissues, hence its use in stopping hemorrhage, diarrhea, excessive menstruation, leucorrhea and infection."
Matthew Wood
  I have had "The Book of Herbal Wisdom" by Matthew Wood for quite some time but never took it off the shelf and sat and read it much. One of my favorite things with books like this is to just open them randomly and know that I will be guided to the right pages at the right time. This chapter on Alchemilla vulgaris is a perfect example of that kind of delicious synchronicity that I live for. It tied in many current things in my life and lead me on to new discoveries. The chapter goes on to talk of the "Dew of the Philosophers."
 "The fact that dew drops bead up on the leaves is unusual.. and maintains these droplets for many hours after the dew has burned off other plants. Lady's Mantle may encourage the subtle chemical bonding which makes the surface of a drop of water more cohesive and less capable of evaporation. ...why alchemists found so much interest in Alchemilla. ...they saw a plant which was able to generate and preserve one of the most precious substances of all, the mercurius."
  "According to alchemical doctrine, mercurius is one of three primal substances which stand at the foundation of the universe. It corresponds to the essence, the archtypal/genetic/cellular matrix which gives rise to different individuals and species. It gives a person a sense of identity and direction. Sulphur stands for the combustible portion, which corresponds to the life force that burns like a candle, from cradle to grave. On the psychological level it stands for the soul and psychological passions that animate life. Salis or salt corresponds to the body, not just the physical vehicle, but the principle of embodiment on any level - thus with the spiritual body as well as the physical. It stands for the principle of integrity or character."
 I was going thru some of my old clippings from years of gleaning and realized one of my favorite prints was "the little alchemist," Alchemilla, Lady's Mantle. Also I was reading "The Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness which is concerned with alchemy among other things. And after finishing that and "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostovo, it has reignited my love of scholarship and research. Then googling Matthew Wood and discovering his website and further readings, especially the doctrine of signatures. So very interesting and magical. I thank my muse for leading down this path and with honor look forward to more intellectual journeys. Yay!

Here We Go A Maying, On The Beach

Fascinator

   I thought the British Royal Wedding was brilliant and very touching. I enjoyed every minute of the televised coverage. I stayed up all night since it began at 1am on the west coast. My 16 year old son stayed up for most of it with me. Well, he didn't really pay attention for all of it but listened to me point out the highlights. He appreciated the pomp and grandeur and cultural reference. He is very gentlemanly and I hope he will be a romantic too.
  A lovely loving bride and happy loving groom and a beautiful historical event done up proper. A revelation. My hat off to you United Kingdom, well done. (And I always do cry at weddings..) Best wishes to William and Kate. Sincerly. And love to cheeky Prince Harry!

Listeners

                           Listening silence in the glass

                           The listening rain against.

                           All in the silent house asleep,

                           The rain and the glass awake;

                           All night they listen for a noise

                           No one is there to make.

                           All in the silent house asleep,

                           The rain and the glass awake;

                           Listening silence in the glass

                           The listening rain against.
                           All night they listen for a noise
                           Their silence cannot break.
                                                                     poem by Robert Nye
                                                                    from DARKER ENDS

Bunny Love

Feast. Honor. Rebirth. Renewel.

 

Getting It All Down

   I've happily had my nose buried in the book The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I almost got rid of this book unread 3 times. It was in a box in the back of my car ready to donate. The other day I had about 25 minutes of sitting in the car so grabbed the book out of the box and sat to read. Wow, I was immediately drawn in and lost in the pages. I love how the characters are scholarly and spend lots of time in libraries and traveling around Europe. The book concerns Dracula's involvement in their lives in an deeply historic but realistic way.

   At my local library there was a class offered about writing your biography in an hour. Well, with facebook, twitter, blogs, videos, digital cameras, and every call and transaction tracked, the trail this generation will leave will be huge. The scholars of the future will be glutted with vast amounts of info, virtual and else wise for everyone. No more tracking down a musty volume in a quiet library for bits and pieces of information, searching for clues to unravel the mysteries of the individual. No small glimpses of a face in an old photograph, eyes peering out of a dim past. It will all be kaboom in loud color and reams and reams of words and images. Our leavings for posterity will be unlike any other in history. The ability to live lightly and remain ephemeral are very slim. Hardcopy, harddrive, hardware.

   I wish I had taken that class. Thinking about it now, it seems almost impossible to write of your life in an hour. I imagine the emotions or snapshots of childhood memory, little bundles of events that stand out, stitched quickly into a narrative that may reveal much.

Yo, Bodhisattva



Sutra 17
twinkie stardust

 


 

Blending Into Light

Feathered

"Birds do not cling for long. Earth is but half way for them, midway between the ancient waters of their genesis and the heavenly winds of a brief lifetime. They are messengers between here and there, binding humus and heaven, at home in both places. I need the sight of their flight. Birds penetrate the sky's depth, drawing invisible patterns, articulating the emptiness. They fly my eyes into winds and clouds and the crowns of the high cottonwoods. I scan the patterns they weave, chasing them into invisibility."
Meinrad Craighead
from "The Litany of the Great River"