Summer Solstice, June 21, 2009

AP Photo/Akira Suemori

The Summer Solstice celebration has been an event that spans hundreds of years and although I've never had the opportunity to experience the celebration at Stonehenge I still find it intriguing. Stonehenge has left historians, archeologists and visitors of the landmark in awe and curious about how the large rocks came to stand on end.

The one thing that is for certain is that approximately 35,000 people took part in the summer solstice for religious and curiosity reasons today. The area & the event will never cease to amaze me.

To read more on today's summer solstice event at Stonehenge please see ~ Pagans, Partygoers Greet Solstice at Stonehenge

Friends &Ye Olde Ale House

Last night Dan and I went out with a couple friends to Ye Olde Ale House. We had a great time chatting over dinner and later shooting pool and listening to the live band.

It had been a while since I was out like that and with everything going on with my sister it felt good to be out with friends and have a good time.

With the way I played pool last night you wouldn't even know I grew up with a pool table in the house. The below photo shows you how Dan had to direct me with making a shot.


Here are a couple pictures of Kathy and Terri shooting. I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but they were taken with my cell phone.

Rainy Days

I have always loved rainy days. And today is one of them. It was a beautiful weekend filled with sunshine and the laughter of my grandbabies, so, today's rain causes me to take pause and remember how fortunate I am to have the things in my life that I do.

My lilacs will soon be blooming and I can't wait for their scent to fill the air. Then the honeysuckle that covers my fence will be in bloom.

Events within the past months, which include the downturn of my sister's health and my own health issues from stress, have caused me to reevaluate the good things I have in my life and to focus on the positive. I am very fortunate to have my family, my friends, and the fulfillment of my dreams.

Many times I have felt my life has been empty, when in reality it was not. I just couldn't see what I had going for me. I appreciate the values I learned from my parents and the fact that no matter what the issues may be within a family they are always overlooked in a time of need.

I am thankful for the value of friendship and what it means to have friends during the good times and bad. I hope I give back to my friends as much as they have given me.

So, on this very rainy day, I leave you with this poem ~

A Spring Rain

by Raymond A. Foss

The world is wet today
luxurious, damp, drenched
drops hug the leaves,
anoint the still budded lilac blossoms
before their blooming
rich purple and plum
made richer by their watery skin
New leaves under the weight
droplets heavy, hanging
bowing the white pine needles
undersides exposed to drink
drink in the morning
hushed in the rain
temperature near the dewpoint
sprouts of just planted flowers
eager from the parched soil
new puddles bloom too
on the ground, the driveway
collect and gather
without the smell of summer rain yet
tears splash and spread
silent shimmers, heralds, messengers
in the spring rain

King's Gap Night Hike

spring peeper

Last night I had the opportunity to experience a night hike with 53 other people. It was fantastic!! Although only a few sounds of nature were heard, I enjoyed being in the moment and the smell of the earth, seeing the stars that hung overhead, and the sound of spring peepers. If you want to hear what a spring peeper (a very small frog) sounds like click on the link.

Relearning What I Already Knew

Sometimes in life we forget to live life consciously and move through the days without realizing the importance of that day. Recently I've been reflecting on my life; the things and places I've seen, the people I've met, and those who have impacted my life. It is these things, places, and people who have contributed to who I am today.

This year holds a particular significance for me. In September I hit a milestone and I am very much looking forward to it. Living life consciously is so important to do and I hope I never take friends, family or life for granted.

October Air

I've always loved the autumn season. I love the low 70s temperatures and the 40s or lower temperatures in the evening. I love watching the leaves slowly changing from green to auburn, gold, yellow, burgundy, and brown and on light airy days, the loose leaves slowly swirl their way to the ground.

I enjoy watching the harvesting of corn and soybean. Have you ever smelled a corn stalk after its cob has been picked from it or consciously feel the dry rough corn stalk? Growing up on the farm, I've done these things and at the time it didn't mean anything to me, it's funny now that I think of it.

I love seeing the pumpkins lined up on porches and sitting atop fences. This too, is the time of year I love watching scary movies. I prefer the old black and white classics such as, The Thirteen Ghosts (be careful if you have a canopy bed), anything Vincent Price, and Alfred Hitchcock.

But, I don't mind watching some of the newer films as well (newer meaning starting in the 70s). Some of them are The Dark Secret of Harvest home, Halloween, Children of the Corn, Trilogy of Terror, and The Tommyknockers to name a few.

Fall Equinox

It's the first day of fall. My very favorite season.

September has always felt like a new beginning for me. Not sure why. Maybe because it's the month of my birthday or because it's the beginning of a new school year, just can't say for sure ~what I do know though, it's the time of year I am most at peace.

The first day of fall also called the fall equinox ~ when the day is balanced ~ meaning the day is equally divided in daylight and night.

There are several different cultures that celebrate the fall equinox, primarily in relation to the time of harvest. The celebrations continue from the first day of fall to November 1.

Fall Equinox Traditions:

• Wine Moon ~ "The month of September also marks the 'Wine Moon,' the lunar cycle when grapes are harvested from the arbors, pressed and put away to become wine...The full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox is known as the 'Harvest Moon,' since farmers would also harvest their crops during the night with the light of the full moon to aid them."
  

• Teutonic tribes called the period from the fall equinox until Winter Night (OCT-15) by the name "Winter Finding." Winter Night was the Norse new year.

• "Symbols celebrating the season include various types of gourd and melons. Stalk can be tied together symbolizing the Harvest Lord and then set in a circle of gourds. A besom can be constructed to symbolize the polarity of male and female. The Harvest Lord is often symbolized by a straw man, whose sacrificial body is burned and its ashes scattered upon the earth. The Harvest Queen, or Kern Baby, is made from the last sheaf of the harvest and bundled by the reapers who proclaim, 'We have the Kern!' The sheaf is dressed in a white frock decorated with colorful ribbons depicting spring, and then hung upon a pole (a phallic fertility symbol). In Scotland, the last sheaf of harvest is called the Maiden, and must be cut by the youngest female in attendance."

• Since the fall equinox is thought of as the day of balance, is also believed that one can balance an egg on its end on this day.
  

(the above statements were taken from Fall Equinox Celebration.